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Resets Weekly! [Monday]
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"At present, there are no signs of rejection, but his vital signs remain extremely weak. After all, he sustained such severe injuries and underwent such a major surgery. Whether he wakes up or not will be left to fate," Jinghang said helplessly as he observed Nawaki, who was floating in a glass tank filled with nutrient solution, an oxygen tube still attached to him.
"I've done everything I could… I've done everything I could," Tsunade murmured, her voice trembling. She was panting heavily, wiping the blood off her face, her eyes blank as they stared at the glass tank. Her muttering sounded almost obsessive.
Jinghang tightened the bathrobe around himself and glanced at the nearby operating table, where the remains of White Zetsu lay dissected and dismembered. His mind drifted back to the shocking events of the previous night.
After a long day of work, Jinghang had been relaxing in his private villa, soaking in a traditional pinewood bathtub. Unlike modern bathtubs, he preferred the classic wooden style, with its rising steam and the faint fragrance of pinewood. It was the perfect way to unwind, melting away the day's fatigue—a truly unparalleled pleasure.
Just as he was closing his eyes to enjoy the moment, a loud "Bang!" shattered the tranquility. A puff of white smoke filled the bathroom, and when it cleared, two figures appeared out of nowhere. Jinghang opened his eyes wide in disbelief. Standing before him was Tsunade, covered in blood and cradling an equally bloodied young boy in her arms. Without even acknowledging the awkward situation, Tsunade yelled at him:
"Quick! Take me to the underground lab!"
Jinghang stared blankly at her for about two seconds before piecing together the situation. Realizing the urgency, he didn't waste another moment. Grabbing a bathrobe and wrapping it hastily around himself, he scooped up both Tsunade and Nawaki, activating his Lightning Cloak as he sped toward the underground lab. In his haste, he even smashed through the door of his own bathroom.
"This must be the Nawaki ambush incident," Jinghang thought as he sprinted. "But why did Tsunade come here? Surely Konoha's medical facilities are far superior to ours. And in the original manga, Nawaki was supposed to die… How does she plan to save him? Wait—how did she even get here? Flying Thunder God Technique? But the Second Hokage, Tobirama, has been dead for years, and Minato is probably still a kid… Does someone else know this technique? If so, I must find a way to learn it someday."
Questions swirled in his mind, but his feet never slowed. The hospital wasn't far from his villa, and in no time, they had reached the underground lab.
As the doors slid open, Tsunade rushed straight into the operating room. She carefully placed Nawaki on the operating table and turned to Jinghang, barking orders:
"The patient is in severe hemorrhagic shock. Go to the blood bank and get 1,000cc of Type B blood. Turn on the shadowless lamp, prepare the surgical instruments, and activate the nutrient tank. Get everything ready for surgery! I'll fetch the donor! Move!"
Without even glancing up, Tsunade quickly inserted an oxygen tube and attached monitoring devices to Nawaki before rushing out.
Jinghang followed her instructions without hesitation, moving swiftly to prepare everything. Yet, his mind was still flooded with questions—most pressing of all: "Donor? Where is she going to find a donor?"
The answer came soon enough. Just as Jinghang finished transfusing the blood into Nawaki's veins, Tsunade returned, dragging a struggling White Zetsu sample behind her like a rag doll. Clearly annoyed by its resistance, she tightened her grip and, with a sharp twist of her arm, snapped its neck with a sickening "crack." She then tossed the lifeless body onto an adjacent operating table with a loud "thud."
"How's his blood pressure? What are his vitals?" Tsunade asked, slipping on surgical gloves.
"Blood pressure is at 65/32, pulse rate is 33, and his vitals are extremely weak," Jinghang reported, his eyes on the monitor.
"10ml of adrenaline! Hand me the instruments. I'm starting the surgery!" Tsunade commanded, her expression resolute as she made the first incision into Nawaki's abdomen.
Jinghang, unbothered by the sight of blood, calmly assumed the role of assistant and nurse. He silently handed Tsunade the tools she needed and occasionally wiped the sweat from her brow, all while observing her every move. As the surgery progressed, Jinghang finally realized Tsunade's plan when she carefully placed White Zetsu's still-beating heart into Nawaki's chest cavity.
"This… this is an organ transplant surgery!" Jinghang thought, stunned. "Seriously? No prior compatibility tests? Just cutting and swapping like this? Isn't this way too reckless? What if there's a rejection reaction? All this effort would be for nothing! Sure, you might not consider White Zetsu human, but what about Nawaki? Can his body even handle this?"
"Another 1,000cc of Type B blood," Tsunade ordered, her hands never stopping. Nawaki's blood had soaked the operating table, and his body resembled a sieve, bleeding uncontrollably.
Jinghang swiftly replaced the blood bag, ready for Tsunade's next instruction. Suddenly, Tsunade smeared some blood on the ground, clapped her hands together, and shouted: "Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, the massive Slug Princess Katsuyu appeared beside the operating table.
"Katsuyu-sama, please help me stop Nawaki's bleeding," Tsunade pleaded.
Without a word, Katsuyu crawled onto the table, partially enveloping Nawaki's body. A soft green glow emanated from the slug, and soon, the bleeding stopped. Nawaki's blood pressure stabilized at 80/40 and began to rise slowly. Watching White Zetsu's pale heart gradually beat steadily in Nawaki's chest, Jinghang couldn't help but give Tsunade a mental thumbs-up. "To pull off such a complex heart transplant under these rushed conditions… it's nothing short of a miracle."
On closer thought, Jinghang realized the logic behind it. White Zetsu's origins traced back to Hashirama Senju's cells and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. As Hashirama's grandson, Nawaki likely shared enough genetic compatibility to avoid rejection.
Tsunade's hands didn't stop there. Under Jinghang's watchful gaze, she replaced Nawaki's liver, spleen, and kidneys. By the time she finished, White Zetsu had been reduced to a pile of dismembered remains.
"Katsuyu-sama, you can release him now. Thank you for your help," Tsunade said as she stitched up the final incision.
"It's no trouble at all," Katsuyu replied before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Help me move Nawaki into the nutrient tank," Tsunade said, lifting his shoulders. Jinghang quickly grabbed his legs, and together, they placed him into the tank.
Only then did the surgery truly conclude.
"Nawaki is just a child, while White Zetsu was an adult. Most of the organs are fine, but the heart is a bit problematic. I didn't fully close his chest cavity earlier. Even if he wakes up, he'll need to stay in the nutrient tank for at least two years. Once his chest cavity grows large enough to accommodate the heart, we'll have to perform another surgery to seal it properly," Tsunade explained, her voice flat as she stared at Nawaki floating in the tank.
"Well, keeping him alive is the priority. Where there's life, there's hope," Jinghang said, trying to comfort her.
"Where there's life, there's hope… Where there's life, there's hope," Tsunade repeated softly, as if savoring the words. She turned to Jinghang with a look of gratitude.
"Thank you," she said, bowing slightly before suddenly collapsing into Jinghang's arms.
"It seems the stress was too much for you," Jinghang remarked, gently carrying Tsunade toward the resting room. It was no surprise—between saving Nawaki, exhausting her chakra, teleporting halfway across the continent, and performing such an intensive surgery, Tsunade had gone over ten hours without rest or food. Her nerves had been stretched to the breaking point.
As they entered the resting room, Tsunade began to stir. Opening her eyes, she saw Jinghang's concerned face framed by his long blue hair. His handsome features and the faint scent of pinewood made her heart skip a beat. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
Caught off guard, Jinghang froze. Wearing only a bathrobe, his body immediately reacted. After fifty years of celibacy across two lifetimes, how could he resist? He instinctively responded to the kiss, which only seemed to ignite Tsunade further.
With a sudden twist, she pinned him down, shedding her clothes in one swift motion, revealing her stunning figure.
Jinghang tried to say something, but Tsunade silenced him with another kiss. Overwhelmed by the double onslaught of physical and emotional sensations, he gave in completely.
"Forget it," he thought, locking the door with one hand. "We'll talk later."