Chapter 41 (C41)

Among all kinds of bloodline barriers, the eye technique is the most exquisite and complex, and it relies on a single organ. There is a possibility that it can be removed and transplanted. Therefore, such families have the strictest control over the secrets of bloodline.

In addition, due to the massacre of their clan a few years ago, the Sharingan is now a rare and unique item, and research and understanding of it are severely lacking.

The medical team members each came to Kakashi's bedside, shook their heads, and in the end, the one most confident in treating him was Kana, the assassin.

The silver-haired youth lay on the bed with dark circles under his eyes, drenched in cold sweat.

Kana placed her right hand above the man's forehead, using her chakra to help him regulate the chaotic and surging chakra within his body.

"How are you?" Might Guy's wound was purely physical, and because it was treated in time, there was no need to worry too much. He rushed over after being bandaged.

“It has relieved some of the pain and brought the nerve damage under control,” Kanae said, withdrawing his hand, “but we still have to wait for him to wake up on his own.”

"The illusion hasn't been broken?" Kakashi's breathing had calmed down, and he looked much better than before, but his brows were still furrowed.

"I can't." The Sharingan's Tsukuyomi is not an ordinary genjutsu.

"But you just now..."

"Just because I'm not easily affected by illusions doesn't mean I can dispel them for others." Kana Ren put away her Byakugan, which she had kept open for healing, and looked at Yuhi Kurenai strangely. "You're the expert in perfecting illusions, aren't you?"

Despite being a genjutsu ninja, she was completely defeated by Uchiha Itachi in genjutsu. Although her tone was flat and emotionless, mentioning this at this time could easily be interpreted as sarcasm.

Asuma couldn't help but remind her, "Kana."

Asuma was rebellious in his youth, and when he left the village to travel, Itachi Uchiha had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy. Asuma's only knowledge of Asuma was of him as a rogue ninja, as others later told him. In his memory, he had never heard of any relationship between Hyuga Kana and Itachi Uchiha, but upon meeting them today, he realized that the two were definitely not "unfamiliar" as everyone thought.

Kana had already stood up.

Kai: "Huh? You're leaving already? What about Kakashi..."

"I've done everything I needed to do. I'll come back tomorrow."

"You seem very familiar with the Sharingan?" Asuma used the Sharingan to replace a person's name.

As luck would have it, while he was pondering, he inadvertently took a small step to the right, which blocked Kana's path.

"It's not like Kakashi is the only one in this world with the Sharingan..."

As she was talking, Kana seemed to suddenly remember something, and her eyebrows furrowed.

As soon as Asuma activated her Byakugan, he immediately sensed a change in her aura.

It was probably a few minutes later.

Confirming that she couldn't sense that familiar chakra within a three-kilometer radius, Kana's expression darkened, and she bypassed Asuma, heading straight out.

Just then, Yamashiro Aoba burst in, shouting, "Uchiha Sasuke...!"

Upon hearing this, Kana paused, tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled from her chest.

Asma felt that the sound was somewhat like a sigh.

There was one more person in the ward who had been affected by the Tsukuyomi.

Kana dipped a cotton swab in water and applied it to her slightly dry lips.

His lips were deathly pale, even more so than his face.

Naruto rushed in, but stopped himself from shouting at a glance from Kana.

"Kana-nee," he leaned closer and lowered his voice, "how are Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei?"

Everyone who comes to the ward asks her the same question—how is he?

This "he" is sometimes Sasuke, sometimes Kakashi, and sometimes both.

Among those who come to visit, some will question, "Why isn't he better yet?" and others will express their dissatisfaction, "Why haven't you cured him yet?"

Concern can lead to confusion, which is understandable, but unacceptable.

"I'm better at killing than saving people." Kana began to reflect on whether her temper was too mild, allowing just anyone to bark at her. "Why don't you do it?"

However, she rarely took her anger out on others, so she replied to Naruto, "It will take a little more time."

Naruto clenched his fists tightly. "Kana-nee, that person—Uchiha Itachi, he really... really killed..." Naruto, who had been lonely and longed for a family since childhood, couldn't understand how someone could kill his precious family with their own hands.

"Naruto," Kana called out, "where are you going?"

Naruto followed her gaze and turned his head, seeing the bag on his back. He remembered the purpose of his visit: "I'm going to find someone with the Perverted Sage. The Perverted Sage said she can heal any injury. I'm going to bring her back to save Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei."

"A lecherous immortal?"

The door opened at the opportune moment, and a man with long, spiky white hair appeared in the doorway. His right hand was spread wide, his chin raised, and his head drew a small circle in the air. If this were an anime, background music would likely play at this moment. "That's right, I am the Sage of Mount Myōboku, one of the Legendary Sannin..."

“Jiraiya.” Kana thought for a moment, then added, “My lord.”

"Naruto, you've said goodbye already? We're about to set off."

"Eh?? Eh!" Naruto panicked, "And Sakura..."

He rushed in in a flurry of activity, and then rushed out in a flustered rush.

Suddenly, only two people in the room remained awake.

Jiraiya's gaze fell on her. "You're Hyuga Kana?"

"You were looking for me?"

"I heard you've been suspended?" Jiraiya was a natural at making friends—when your status reaches a certain level, you can become familiar with anyone. He casually chose to sit down at the foot of the bed.

So that's the message they announced to the public. No wonder no one asked her why she had time to stay in the ward. "She resigned."

Jiraiya looked her up and down a few times. "You're just like the old man said."

Jiraiya waited a while, but didn't get the reaction he expected. He scratched his head and laughed out loud, "The old man was right—he really is no fun kid."

The Third Hokage had sensed something was wrong before the Chunin Exams and sent him a message in advance, which is why he rushed back so quickly.

"But you don't seem to be curious at all about what the old man said about you."

“Sending messages is quite troublesome,” Kana said. “It’s such a hassle to send messages about the most important things and the most important people.”

She smiled slightly, "To the Third Hokage, I am not an important person."

“You are the vice minister he promoted himself; he won’t put someone he doesn’t trust in that position.”

Kana blinked, her expression unchanged, and asked in a tone that sounded to Jiraiya like she was indulging and coaxing a child, "Okay, so what did he say about me?"

Jiraiya's smile slowly disappeared.

He had personally experienced wars that claimed countless lives, all for the sake of ensuring that future generations could live in a peaceful and happy environment free from war. However, since returning to Konoha, none of the many children he had encountered—Naruto, Sasuke, and now Kana—were happy.

Naruto and Sasuke, being young, still retain imagination about the "future," but he couldn't see what she wanted from her.

Kana waited quietly for a while.

"If you remember, just tell me," she said considerately, nodding slightly before heading towards the door.

"I guess he meant to say 'I'm sorry'."

Kana paused, her hand on the doorknob momentarily still.

“You’re right.” The old man didn’t mention her in the letter; the previous parts were just his speculation. “But this was also sent with the letter.”

Jiraiya held a thin piece of paper between his two fingers; the edges were slightly curled, and the paper was slightly yellowed.

When unfolded, it reveals a very familiar font.

—It was her resignation letter from four years ago.

The bottom right corner is where Hiruzen Sarutobi signed his name at some unknown time.

If you look closely, you can tell that there are subtle differences between it and the forged signature.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was born here, grew up here, and ultimately died here.

"His teacher dedicated his entire life to Konoha."

In this process, he gained a lot and lost a lot, and he felt apologetic towards many people.

"Konoha needs you, Kana."

Jiraiya held back, and Kana tried but couldn't pull the paper out.

Kana looked up, and their eyes met.

Jiraiya was the first to let go, "But if this is the old man's last wish."

The Third Hokage was already dead, and Jiraiya could never know the real reason why he left her to him. Perhaps it was out of remorse, perhaps he wanted to give her a choice, or perhaps he wanted to entrust her to him.

But because he was already dead, it became his last wish.

As a disciple, how could I disobey my teacher's last wishes?

“You…” Jiraiya looked into her eyes, but couldn’t say anything. He didn’t know her past, couldn’t empathize with her pain, and didn’t even know what she wanted.

Undoubtedly, she rose to fame in the ninja world as an Anbu member of Konoha in just a few years. She was the sharpest and most useful blade in the Third Hokage's hands. In dangerous moments such as the Uchiha clan massacre and the bombing of the intelligence department, she stood in front of Konoha to deal with those open and hidden attacks, and accompanied him all the way.

"You did a great job."

On behalf of the teacher, I said, "Thank you."