Life in Konoha's ANBU by Shezza

Chapter 24: The Pack

In had been five days since Naruto had first departed to the Manufactorium, and the 30th International Chunin Exams were scheduled to begin in Konoha in two days. Konoha as packed to the brim with foreign guests, dignitaries and tourists. During this time, Naruto found himself in a small examination room in Konoha's hospital. He sat on an examination table, unwrapping his bandages, while his Medic-Nin stood above him, her palms glowing. After a few moments, she nodded, made a satisfied 'tsk' and lowered her hands.

"Well, that should be just about it," Tsunade declared briskly.

Naruto gingerly took off the last of the bandages wrapped around his chest and let them flutter to the floor. Most of his burns and blisters had been healed quite easily, but the large, sizzling gouge that the Raijin had slashed into his chest had required some extra effort. Luckily, Tsunade had been more than willing to get Naruto onto the medical table and heal him.

Even if this 'healing' had been more painful than actually receiving the injury.

Still, Tsunade was the medical genius of the Elemental Countries, and it took less than a week for her to heal most of the damage the slash had caused. It would have been a fatal wound for many others, but with his enhanced stamina and longevity Naruto had been able to recover much quicker than normally anticipated. Still, it certainly had been a debilitating strike, and it could have kept Naruto out of action for weeks, if not months, if it hadn't been treated properly. Even then, despite Tsunade's skills, there was still a rather nasty scar and patch of whitened, burnt skin. Naruto stared at it with wide blue eyes, his mouth open in fascination as he traced a finger over the skin. He couldn't feel a thing.

"Neural degeneration," Tsunade explained briskly. She took off her gloves and tossed back her blonde ponytails. "It might heal. It might not. There's nothing we can do about the scar though."

Naruto frowned. He flexed his muscles and adopted a small pose. Tsunade watched him with a cocked eyebrow as he made a few poses, grinning.

"Hey," Naruto said, looking up and smiling, "I look pretty cool, don't I?"

Tsunade's eyes widened. For a moment, she stood there, her face blank and her eyes glazed over. Naruto just waited. This happened to the legendary Sannin every so often, or so Naruto had seen. Something somebody would say would trigger an old memory, and Tsunade would be lost in her thoughts. It was always hard to tell what she was thinking, but it was best to let her have her time alone.

Otherwise she might punt you into the ground.

Naruto felt his phantom bruises and shivered. He quietly stood up and put on his black t-shirt. Then, after picking up the bandages and placing them on the examination table, he walked quietly past the Sannin and towards the door. Something gripped him on the shoulder and he paused. He turned his head, and saw Tsunade staring down at him.

"You know," she murmured, "You almost died." Her hand snaked forward, reaching into his shirt, and Naruto felt her tug at the First Hokage's necklace that he wore. "Based on the angle of the blade, the Raijin should have bisected your lung- but something stopped it."

Her hand against his skin was warm, and he could feel a curiously pulsing chakra emanating from the crystal. A soft green light bathed the room, and Naruto glanced down with wide eyes. In the hand of a Senju, the crystal shone with a beautiful light, as if confirming Tsunade's hypothesis. It was possible, Naruto supposed, that the Senju-made blade had recognised the heirloom of the Senju and had stopped short of its attack. Whatever the reason was, it made Tsunade smiled sadly. Then, her golden-brown eyes narrowed and her face twitched with anger. She wrenched her hand back from underneath his shirt and slammed it into the wall next to her. Naruto felt a sudden pressure, and he staggered back as the wall cracked and exploded outwards.