Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Chapter 8

Sasuke had awoken to a summons to the hospital first thing the next morning. The genin that had delivered the message had barely spent more than a moment after relaying the message before dashing away with a heavy pant and a satchel full of letters. Hopefully, whatever this was about wouldn't take too long.

Sakura had met him at the hospital's entrance, clipboard in hand and hair pulled back. "Sasuke-kun, Shishou is waiting for you downstairs," she said and started looking through the papers on her clipboard.

"What's this about?" Sasuke asked and followed Sakura's lead through the doors.

"Shishou wanted to talk to you and Naruko about what we found out from Kakuzu's body. The kind of damage we saw... She was curious about the jutsu you two used," Sakura explained.

Sasuke was about to respond, but the sounds of shouting and crashing made him pause. Sakura didn't react to the noise and instead stepped to the side just in time to avoid getting bowled over by a flying Jiraiya. Sasuke watched the large man crash to the ground and lay on his back with a dazed look in his eyes and a broken, bloody nose. "Tsunade-sama," Sakura greeted the blonde woman still glaring at the unconscious Jiraiya.

"Sakura," Tsunade acknowledged and accepted the clipboard from Sakura's hands. The blonde scanned the papers quickly before handing them back. "Get started without me. This should only take a few minutes, but you might finish before I get there."

"Alright. Should I have someone move Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura asked and pointed a thumb over her shoulder.

Tsunade scoffed. "Leave him. He'll make himself scarce once he wakes up," Tsunade said before turning to Sasuke. The irritated look on her face quickly melted into one of amusement. "Uchiha brat," Tsunade greeted in an almost amiable tone. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sakura looked between the two, a look of complete incomprehension on her face. Sakura had always found his interactions with Tsunade to be both puzzling and slightly fascinating. It was well known that Tsunade didn't tolerate disrespect from anyone (except Naruko), but she seemed to have some modicum of tolerance for Sasuke. He could even (unintentionally) make her laugh. Fortunately, the two never spent enough time together for Tsunade to grow tired of him and end up breaking bones.

"Sakura," Tsunade dismissed with a nod before waving Sasuke forward. Sakura left with a bow while Sasuke followed Tsunade into an examination room.

"Sasuke," Naruko greeted from where she was standing next to the table holding Kakuzu's body.

"I'll make this quick. After examining the body, I have to say that I've never seen damage this extensive from one attack, not even a combination jutsu," Tsunade started pulled back a portion of the sheet covering Kakuzu. "Not only was every individual nerve and chakra pathway within the body severed, but there were also extensive, internal burns. The external burns hardly compare to the amount of damage done to the vital organs. This kind of damage is something that not even I can heal."

Sasuke stared at the splotchy, red burns scattered along Kakuzu's skin. "From what I could see with my sharingan, the Rasenshuriken alone produces countless microscopic blades," Sasuke offered.

Tsunade nodded once in acknowledgement. "The microscopic blades alone don't have to mean a death sentence. The severing of the chakra pathways causes an inability to mold chakra or use jutsu and the added nerve damage can cause immobility and a loss of senses. But even without being able to use chakra or move, a person can still survive...if they are extremely lucky and able to be stabilized soon enough."

'Or they're immortal with multiple hearts,' Sasuke thought and examined the charred hole through Kakuzu's chest.

"In this case, the added fire release put the nail in the coffin," Tsunade started again. "Fire is usually indiscriminate in how or what it attacks. But in this case, it almost seems to follow the path laid by the wind chakra."