Chapter 176: Digestion
Four days after Kushina was
kidnapped, all the wounded and sick had been treated, and Konoha Hospital
reopened after being closed for four days. Although the villagers in Konoha
were surprised that the disinfection operation lasted so long, the Third Hokage
had arranged temporary treatment and consultation facilities for the villagers.
This ensured that the villagers were not too inconvenienced, though they were
surprised by the prolonged disinfection.
Kiba also marveled at the Third
Hokage's ability to manage such a significant issue seamlessly.
On the fifth day, with the treatment
of the wounded and sick completed, the hospital had extra capacity. With the
available manpower, the injuries of Hirohiko, Yukina, and Hyuga Yutaka were
treated using medical ninjutsu.
Hyuga Yutaka was discharged from the
hospital on the same day. Most of his injuries were quickly treated with
medical ninjutsu. Rin had already treated him, but as she was not very
proficient in medical chakra, she had only achieved hemostasis. This resulted
in partial healing, but not complete recovery.
This time, a veteran medical ninja
treated him, and his injuries were almost completely healed in just an hour.
Hirohiko still needed to be
hospitalized for a while due to his hand injuries, though other injuries were
healed. Yukina, after treatment, was taken back to the Hyuga household to
recover as she was too weak.
Kakashi, Obito, Shiga Taketake, and
Kiuchi Taketo were treated for their
injuries the day before Kiba woke up. After their recovery, they were assigned
missions and were unable to visit him.
Kiba hadn't seen Kushina since the
day he woke up. She was likely under strict protection after the kidnapping
incident.
On the eighth day after the
incident, Kiba was still in a single ward, covered in plaster, unable to move,
and experiencing daily itching.
However, Kiba's mind was occupied
with other matters. He was deeply engrossed in thoughts about his battle with Yotsuki
bi. Yotsuki bi had extensive combat experience, and Kiba had been recalling the
battle, learning from it.
In this battle, he also activated
the Injury Mode for the first time. He was constantly recalling that feeling,
thinking about how to master Injury Mode. Opening it once did not mean he had
completely mastered it. After initially opening the Gate of Healing, he had to
try many times before he could truly open it at will.
The Injury Mode he activated was not
perfect. The catharsis of the gate's violent chakra caused a significant loss
of chakra during transformation. When he activated the Injury Mode, his chakra
level was just barely at the level of a Jonin. It was still far from the
estimated amount of chakra at the elite Jonin level.
This was partly because, during the
battle with Yotsuki bi, his chakra was more exhausted. There was still much
room for improvement in the Injury Mode, but Kiba confirmed that it could
definitely have the chakra of an elite Jonin.
This battle, though nearly fatal,
turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed him to activate the
Injury Mode.
In addition to the Injury Mode, Kiba
felt his biggest gain was his mentality. This life-and-death battle made him
take the concept of death more lightly. He wasn't indifferent to his own life
and death, but when facing death, Kiba became more daring and able to
"fight hard."
He wouldn't retreat because of the
fear of death, becoming overly cautious in tactical decisions and missing
opportunities to turn the tide.
The saying "the brave win on a
narrow road" began to resonate with him after this life-and-death
struggle. Kiba started to develop the mentality of a "brave."
Facing the Third Ninja World War,
Kiba no longer trembled as before. The change in mentality and the activation
of the Injury Mode for the first time gave him the confidence to survive the
three battles.
From the battle with Yotsuki bi,
Kiba also learned a lot. Repeated memories and analysis allowed him to
unknowingly incorporate some of Yotsuki bi's experienced combat techniques into
his own taijutsu.
However, Kiba did not feel
complacent about the Third Ninja World War because of the Injury Mode and
change in mentality.
Many enemy ninjas with outstanding
strength emerged during the war, and he knew he couldn't afford to be
complacent.
Moreover, he noticed another thing
that made him feel particularly heavy.
"Boom boom boom!"
At this moment, there was a knock on
Kiba's ward door.
"Is it Hirohiko?" Kiba
murmured to himself.
Hirohiko still needed to be
hospitalized for a period of time. Besides the injuries to his hands, other
parts of his body had almost recovered. He occasionally visited Kiba.
As for Kiba's own injury, it would
take some time. According to Yuriko's estimate, the cast could be removed this
month.
"Come in," Kiba responded.
The door of the ward opened, and
Hirohiko walked in, his hands still bandaged. He looked at Kiba's mummy-like
appearance and said, "How is it?"
"The plaster cast will be
removed this month," Kiba replied with a slight smile. Seeing Hirohiko,
the heaviness in his heart dissipated.
Although Hirohiko had a poker face
and his hands were bandaged like mallets, his presence was reassuring.
After Hirohiko came in, he sat down
beside Kiba's bed and said, "I'll remove the plaster and leave the
hospital tomorrow."
"Oh, that's good," Kiba
said.
"What do you bring for a
visit?" Hirohiko still had a poker face, but there was a smile in his
eyes.
Kiba's eyes lit up, instantly
understanding what Hirohiko was thinking. A mischievous smile appeared on the
corner of his mouth.
"Get your purse ready,"
Kiba said.
Hirohiko still had a poker face, but
his eyes mirrored Kiba's mischievous look.
"I saved a lot of money for the
Chunin exam," Hirohiko said.
"Ha! You really bet on me more
than once. Give me half!" Kiba said.
"How about barbecue?"
Hirohiko said, breaking the topic.
"Barbecue!" Kiba's eyes
lit up. He was tired of hospital food and craved something tasty. "For
two."
"Understood!" Hirohiko
successfully changed the topic and hit Kiba's weakness.
As Hirohiko got up to leave, he
remembered something. "I'll also see Yukina tomorrow."
"Well, I don't know how Yukina
is," Kiba said. "Come back and tell me."
"Yeah." Hirohiko stood up,
ready to leave.
When opening the door, Kiba suddenly
said, "Since you want to see her, let's buy some gifts."
"Gift?" Hirohiko was
startled and looked back.
Kiba smiled and said, "Remember
to sign it. We bought it together."
Hirohiko's poker face twitched.
Hateful!
He tricked me again.
"Boom!" Hirohiko opened
the door and left.
Kiba watched him leave and let out a
long breath.
He almost
bypassed me! This kid is so cunning when it comes to money!