Forged Beyond

Death?

The hospital air smelled of antiseptic and damp parchment. Scrolls rustled. Pens scratched.

Tsunade stood hunched over a medical chart, glasses low on her nose, hair tied back in a loose ponytail as she filed in a detailed report for a shinobi with burn wounds. Shizune hovered close by, carrying a tray of salves.

But then she saw it.

Sakura.

Slumped against Naruto like her bones were jelly. Her skin, pale. Her posture, weak. Naruto's arm held her steady, her hand limp over his shoulder.

Tsunade's eyes widened. Her instincts snapped into place like a kunai drawn mid-battle.

"Shizune," she barked, thrusting the report into her assistant's hands without even glancing up, "Take over."

"But Tsunade-sama—!"

"Now."

She rushed toward them, her boots clicking against the tile floor. Naruto shifted Sakura into her arms without a word, letting the Tsunade scoop her up like she was porcelain.

Tsunade held Sakura's chin delicately and tilted her face toward the light. Her eyes flicked fast—iris dilation, flush, breath, pulse point. She pried her jaw open slightly, checking her tongue.

Then... her brows furrowed. Just slightly.

Poison.

But she didn't say it aloud.

No twitch in her brow, no hiss of realization—nothing that could give away the truth to the wrong ears.

"She's extremely exhausted," Tsunade said instead, voice calm and sharp as steel under silk.

Sakura's stomach clenched—but then she remembered.
Ryuki didn't know medical ninjutsu.
She wouldn't be able to tell a fever from a flatline if it wasn't listed in a bingo book. She was just the messenger, the pawn.

Tsunade turned on her heel and began walking Sakura toward one of the private treatment rooms.

Ryuki started to follow, her little feet almost silent against the floor.

But Tsunade didn't miss a step. She pivoted halfway into the room, her back still toward them, and her voice rang out like thunder wrapped in velvet:

"I don't need anyone else in the room while I'm helping Sakura."

She turned her head just enough for her sharp eyes to catch Ryuki in their sights.

There was no room for debate.

Naruto caught on immediately, slipping into the gap.

"C'mon," he said with his usual grin—just a little forced, just a little flat. "Let Tsunade handle her. She's way more helpful than we could ever be."

Taka nodded, plopping onto a bench outside the door.

Ryuki's expression didn't change, but her eyes flickered toward the shut door as Tsunade took Sakura inside and it clicked—

They didn't trust her.

Inside the room, Tsunade gently lay Sakura down, closing the door behind her with a soft click that felt like a wall slamming into place.

She crouched beside the bed, her eyes blazing.

"Tell me what that brat fed you."

Sakura exhaled slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"A full meal. Laced top to bottom. Sasori's blend."

Tsunade swore under her breath, already forming hand signs. "You're lucky you trained your body the way you did."