After the initial explosion died down, the battle shifted into a quieter, more restrained clash of taijutsu.
Shinji only glanced over briefly before withdrawing his gaze.
"Looks like the attackers don't want to make this incident too public."
He smiled faintly, already having a good guess at the identity of the assailants.
Those wary of the Hidden Leaf and unwilling to see the Hidden Sand Village obtain 'Wood Release' —The culprits had to come from among the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, or Hidden Mist.
Or perhaps... all three were involved.
Regardless—
Whether the attackers wanted to kidnap or kill the surviving Hidden Sand volunteer, Shinji didn't really care.
Karin's fusion was nearly complete.The Hidden Sand volunteer had already outlived his usefulness.
In truth, keeping that volunteer alive had been no easy task for Shinji.
Long hours of constant monitoring, combined with the repeated use of Jikibi and Wazunagi, placed a heavy burden even on his advanced body.
Each operation demanded extreme focus; a single moment of negligence could have led to the volunteer's immediate death.The mental toll was tremendous.
Perhaps triggered by the nearby fighting, the First Hokage cells within the Hidden Sand volunteer began rampaging once again.
This time, even though Shinji sensed it immediately — he did nothing.
He silently watched as the berserk chakra tore through the volunteer's body, devouring his healthy cells one by one.
Beep—Beep—Beep—!
Sharp alarms blared from the vitals monitors.
Medical shinobi rushed toward the ICU — but the skirmish outside the ICU between the Hidden Sand guards and the attackers blocked their way.They could only anxiously gather along the hallways.
Shinji thought for a moment, then casually left his private laboratory, blending in with the other medics heading toward the ICU.
Along the way, he carefully observed the situation.
Gradually, he noticed something odd.
"Strange. Ever since Tsunade took over the Medical Corps, the Hidden Leaf Hospital's security level had been greatly enhanced. The fighting outside the ICU has been raging for a while now... why haven't the ANBU shown up yet?"
He furrowed his brows.
"Could it be... the Hidden Leaf also permitted this assault?"
It made perfect sense.
Among all the villages, the Hidden Leaf had the strongest incentive to prevent the Hidden Sand from obtaining 'Wood Release.'
But since they themselves had initiated the transplant project, they couldn't very well take direct action — outsourcing the task would be their only option.
Still—
The village leadership's fears were unnecessary.
At best, Shinji had only barely managed to keep the Hidden Sand volunteer alive temporarily.In reality, even without today's assault, the volunteer wouldn't have lasted longer than another month.
Thus, the fear of 'Wood Release' leaking out was completely unfounded — at least, for this batch of surgeries.
When Shinji reached the ICU floor, the hallways were already packed with medical shinobi and the newly arrived Chiyo from the Hidden Sand.
Fortunately, the earlier alarm sounds had spooked the attackers.They failed to breach the ICU.
However, the incident still sparked furious protests from the Hidden Sand side.
As Chiyo was heatedly arguing with the Medical Corps, Tsunade stepped out of the ICU.
Swoosh—
All eyes immediately turned to her.
Tsunade shook her head solemnly:
"I'm sorry. The volunteer's vital signs have ceased. He has been confirmed dead."
"What?!"
Chiyo shouted in disbelief.
"How could this happen?!"
Tsunade explained:
"I told you from the start — his survival was a near-miracle. His bodily functions had already been overloaded beyond repair. The moment that delicate balance was disrupted, death was inevitable."
Indeed, although Tsunade never figured out why the volunteer had lasted so long, she had long known that his body was utterly broken.
Chiyo clenched her fists but still questioned:
"But why right now? Right during the assault?"
Tsunade opened her mouth but found herself unable to produce any convincing explanation.
Among the gathered crowd—
Shinji silently glanced at the situation, then quietly slipped away.
Over the next few days, the village atmosphere grew even more tense.
The sudden assault, combined with the timely death of the surviving Hidden Sand volunteer, created the worst possible storm.
No culprit was apprehended.
Not only were the other three villages now facing formal protests from the Hidden Sand, but even the Hidden Leaf itself was dragged into the controversy.
Inside the Hokage's Office.
Tsunade, visibly furious, roared at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the assembled Elders:
"Why won't you believe my judgment?!
I told you — that Hidden Sand volunteer could never succeed!
This whole mess was unnecessary from the start!"
"Hmph."
Danzo snorted coldly.
Tsunade glared at him:
"What do you want to say?"
Danzo said icily:
"All of this is your doing. If the surgeries you supported hadn't led to these accidents, we wouldn't be facing this trouble now."
Homura Mitokado coughed lightly and said:
"Tsunade, you must understand — preventing the leakage of 'Wood Release' is our top priority."
Koharu Utatane added:
"Exactly. Even if risks were involved, it was worth it. Besides, it's not like we personally participated. Let the other villages take the blame—"
Before she could finish, Hiruzen raised a hand, silencing her.
Turning to Tsunade, he asked:
"Has the cause of death for the volunteer been fully investigated? Was it related to the assault?"
Tsunade sighed heavily:
"The autopsy is complete. The Hidden Sand also participated in the examination. The conclusion: his internal organs were already too badly damaged. His death had little to do with the attack."
Hiruzen frowned slightly and posed another question:
"Then why was he even able to survive for so long?"
"That..."
For once, Tsunade was at a loss for words.
This mystery had gnawed at her ever since Yakumo's surgery.
Back then too, she had witnessed a sudden, inexplicable calming of the rampaging Yang Release chakra from the First Hokage's cells.
Her experience told her that some external intervention must have occurred.
But she simply couldn't imagine who could pull off such a feat — and why.
Inside Karin's Apartment.
While the Hidden Leaf's upper echelons were still burning with frustration over the death of the Hidden Sand volunteer—
Inside the apartment, dressed in the signature cloak of the Akatsuki, Uchiha Shinji gently untied the bandages covering Karin's eyes.
He whispered softly:
"You can open your eyes now."