Jiraiya shook his head slightly.
He had already asked Tsunade this question, and her answer was that Yakumo wasn't an ordinary person—she had barely made it through.
The meaning was simple.
Even a genius like Yakumo, who possessed high-intensity Yin Release chakra, had faced a near-death experience. If it were anyone else, it would almost certainly be a death sentence.
It could be said that while medical ninjutsu had been developing and progressing over the years,
there was still a considerable distance to go before fully taming the First Hokage's cells.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage's expression darkened, and he let out a sigh.
Clearly,
compared to gaining just one Yakumo, he would rather see the First Hokage's cell surgery become something that could be applied to everyone.
A moment later, the Third Hokage instructed, "Tell Tsunade to keep the success of this surgery under wraps as much as possible. Also, I need her to submit a written report."
Jiraiya nodded.
In the special care ward,
Yakumo opened her eyes, slowly coming to.
Tsunade, who had been standing by her side, immediately stood up. "Yakumo, you're awake!"
Yakumo asked weakly, "Teacher Tsunade, did the surgery succeed?"
Tsunade nodded firmly. "Yes, it succeeded. You did wonderfully!"
"Phew."
Yakumo let out a breath of relief.
During the surgery, there had been a moment when she felt her body teetering on the edge of collapse. At that critical juncture, the leader intervened.
Tsunade and Shizune, who were in the operating room at the time, might not have known what happened.
But having experienced the infusion and extraction of chakra through 'Wazunagi' multiple times, she knew full well—this was the leader's power, the power of that man who, like a radiant light, had changed her life!
"Sir…"
She closed her eyes, recalling the figure of the leader in her mind.
When she was at her most helpless, it was the leader who extended a hand of hope. When she was in her direst moment, it was the leader who once again reached out with a hand of salvation.
She kept picturing the leader's appearance in her mind, but in the end, all that lingered was the wise gaze of his eyes peering through the mask!
In her inner world, Ido, with a trembling voice, suddenly spoke. "Yakumo, we made it through!"
"Yes!"
Yakumo responded in her heart.
"That blasted Koryugan actually abandoned us at the critical moment!" After a pause, Ido grumbled indignantly, "If it weren't for the lord, we'd be done for!"
Yakumo asked, "Why would you ever doubt him? The lord said we'd be fine, so we were always going to be fine!"
Yakumo had expected the rebellious Ido to argue back.
But this time, Ido unexpectedly nodded, admitting fault. "It's… it's my mistake! The lord saved us again!"
Seeing Yakumo seemingly close her eyes in exhaustion, Tsunade hurriedly asked, "Yakumo, how does your body feel right now?"
A smile bloomed on Yakumo's lips. "I feel absolutely fantastic!"
On the shinobi academy's training field,
Boom, boom, boom.
A series of low, muffled thuds seemed to chase a figure darting back and forth across the field. With each thud, a puff of white smoke rose, and one of the shadow clones on the field vanished.
Watching the number of Naruto's shadow clones diminish at a pace visible to the naked eye, not only were the peers on the sidelines stunned, but even Kakashi, secretly observing from a distance, was taken aback.
No doubt about it.
After recovering physically, Sasuke, impatient as ever, had sought out Naruto, leading to this sparring match.
Naruto stuck to the same winning strategy from last time, using the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique' to disrupt Sasuke, then looking for an opening to clinch victory with the 'Rasengan.'
But Sasuke, having learned from his previous loss, pushed his three-tomoe Sharingan to its absolute limit, missing no detail. His agile figure weaved through Naruto's shadow clones, giving Naruto no chance at all.
As Naruto's shadow clones dwindled, Sasuke quickly pinpointed the real Naruto's position. With a flash, he closed in, took down Naruto's real body, and won the match.
"That kid's gotten stronger again!"
Kakashi couldn't help but mutter in amazement.
Just yesterday, he'd been worried that Sasuke might sink into despair after taking a hit to his pride. Yet today, Sasuke had turned it around and reclaimed his ground.
On the field,
Sasuke, panting heavily, said, "Naruto, this is the real gap in strength between us! It's not something you can close by learning one or two ninjutsu!"
Naruto, sprawled on the ground, didn't look frustrated. Instead, his face lit up with anticipation. "Sasuke, so now do you recognize me as your teammate?"
Sasuke froze. "You fought this hard just for something like that?"
"Yup!"
Naruto nodded.
Looking into Naruto's earnest eyes, Sasuke said, "You're a bit clumsy, but as my teammate, you're just barely passable!"
From a bystander's perspective, Sasuke had indeed won impressively.
But only he knew how exhausting it was to maximize the Sharingan's dynamic perception alongside his taijutsu in combat.
Even now, his breathing hadn't fully steadied, so while he wouldn't admit it out loud, deep down, he'd already acknowledged Naruto's strength.
At the sidelines,
Kiba rested his hand on his forehead. "Oh no, even Naruto's gotten this strong now. It's going to be even harder for us to win in the future!"
Shikamaru sighed in exasperation. "Even if Naruto hadn't gotten stronger, we still couldn't beat Sasuke! The ones who should really be worried are Uchiha Shinji, Kimimaro, and Neji!"
Ino chimed in, "What's there to worry about with Kimimaro? Don't forget he's got Yakumo on his team!"
Shino adjusted his sunglasses. "The pressure's on Uchiha Shinji and Neji now."
In the eyes of their peers, the strength gap between the four shinobi academy geniuses—Uchiha Shinji, Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Neji—wasn't all that significant.
Before, it had always been these four geniuses carrying their deadweight teammates. But now, Naruto on Sasuke's team and Yakumo on Kimimaro's team were starting to show their potential. In the future, the outcomes between these four geniuses might very well hinge on their teammates.
And as it stood, Sasuke and Kimimaro undoubtedly held the advantage.
Though Naruto and Yakumo hadn't yet reached the level of the four geniuses, they'd gained the ability to shake up a battle. In team confrontations, they were already forces that couldn't be ignored.
In contrast, Uchiha Shinji and Neji's teammates were clearly a step behind.
Karin, Haku, Tenten, and Rock Lee—the four of them had consistently average scores in the academy's various tests. Among them, Rock Lee was an even bigger deadweight than Naruto had been, still unable to master a single ninjutsu to this day.
In this situation, Uchiha Shinji and Neji were essentially carrying a heavy burden.
Tenten realized this too. Biting her lip, she said to Neji beside her, "Neji, I'll work harder!"
Rock Lee clenched his fists. "Me too!"
Neji let out a soft sigh.
On the other side,
Haku apologized meekly to Uchiha Shinji. "Shinji-kun, I've been holding you back."
Karin also 'looked' toward Uchiha Shinji. "Sorry about that."
Uchiha Shinji gave a carefree smile. "No worries—I've got this!"