"What do you mean, Dad? Ijin, are you talking about..."
Ino groggily got up and felt someone beside her. She replied a bit confusedly; but the moment she saw Uchiha Yoichi's face, she immediately became clear-headed. What Ijin was talking about... was Sai.
So Yamanaka Ino quickly got out of bed to get dressed, and then gently nudged sleeping Uchiha Yoichi awake, placing a finger over her lips in a shushing gesture, indicating to Uchiha Yoichi not to make a sound.
After Yamanaka Ino dressed piece by piece, she swiftly opened the door and stepped out, closing it immediately to block the view. She then asked Ijin, "What's going on, Ijin? What happened to your dad?"
"I'm not sure, a Konoha ninja came, saying the Seventh Hokage wanted to see you, and also said Dad is at Konoha Hospital..."
"Come with me..."
After taking Yamanaka Ijin downstairs, Yamanaka Ino handed him some money saying, "Ijin, get yourself breakfast outside this morning; mom has something to do and can't make breakfast for you."
Yamanaka Ijin nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll also check on Dad at the hospital after school."
After that, one went to school and the other headed to Konoha Hospital. Yamanaka Ino originally wanted to say a few words to Uchiha Yoichi, but with Ijin there, and considering that Uchiha Yoichi wouldn't put her in a difficult position, she decided not to go back to remind him.
However, on the way, Yamanaka Ino suddenly felt sticky and uncomfortable, feeling the effects of last night's prolonged activity, along with having not bathed this morning after being soiled a lot... But there wasn't really time either.
Upon arriving at Konoha Hospital, she quickly found Sai's ward, seeing Sakura inside treating him without yet knowing the situation.
After all, they've been married for seven or eight years, and Yamanaka Ino still has feelings for Sai, just not as much weight as for Uchiha Yoichi now.
"Naruto, what's going on? How did Sai get so badly injured? How is he now?"
"Don't worry, Ino. If Sakura is attending to him, there's certainly no problem."
Uzumaki Naruto quickly comforted her, further explaining, "Sai went to investigate the theft of the Hashirama cells from earlier. This must be the work of the same orchestrators as behind the last incident, and Sai must have acquired very important information for them to chase him to the border of the Land of Fire...."
"Sai..."
Yamanaka Ino felt a mix of emotions. While Sai was risking himself for the village, she had given herself to another man... But she realized she had fallen for Uchiha Yoichi, and her feelings for Sai were not like before.
But with Sai critically injured now, she decided not to dwell on it and waited quietly outside.
After a while, Sakura managed to heal Sai sufficiently awake, and after giving him a recovery pill, his complexion improved somewhat.
After finishing, Sakura came out and told Naruto, Ino, and the others, "There's nothing major now. After taking the recovery pill just now, Sai is recovering well and can communicate already."
"Then go inside and take a look. Ino, we'll also need to ask Sai a few things later."
Uzumaki Naruto finished speaking and went inside with Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru.
Seeing Sai's decent complexion, Uzumaki Naruto asked, "Sai, how do you feel?"
Sai replied, "Much better. That secret medicine pill from the village surely works wonders; I can feel my body recovering rapidly...."
Sakura added, "Yes, the recovery pill's effects are indeed robust. Pity you didn't take one when you left the village. It heals like constantly using Mystical Palm Jutsu. Taking it right after getting hurt wouldn't have led to such severity...."
Uzumaki Naruto's expression grew grave as he asked Sai, "Sai, who injured you?"
"Victor Medical Company from the Land of Valleys; they're the masterminds behind the theft of the Hashirama cells. They hired someone to steal the Hashirama cells—likely to cultivate the Divine Tree...."
"Divine Tree?"
Hearing this shocked Uzumaki Naruto. He had once encountered the Six Paths Sage, and the Nine-tails had also told him that the Divine Tree was the Ten-tails; now hearing about it from Sai, how could he not be surprised?
Everyone involved in the Fourth Great Ninja War knows about the Divine Tree, an existence that nearly turned everyone into White Zetsu.
"Sai, is Victor Medical Group using Hashirama cells to cultivate the Divine Tree?"
Nara Shikamaru, also looking serious, asked, "How many people do they have? What stage are they at? Do we have more detailed intel?"
"Yes, here's a scroll, inside are photos I took...."
Sai handed a storage scroll from his person to Shikamaru; Nara Shikamaru received it and immediately had another ninja retrieve the photos from inside.
"There's one more thing that might need inquiries with the Sixth Hokage."
Uzumaki Naruto, puzzled, asked, "Kakashi-sensei? What about him?"
Sai said, "When I infiltrated Victor Medical Company's underground base for cultivating the Divine Tree, I discovered that Victor was collaborating with another person; that person wore a mask and had space-time abilities... which resembled Uchiha Obito's Kamui!"
"Uchiha Obito's Kamui?"
Uzumaki Naruto and the others, upon hearing it, found it even more unbelievable. Uchiha Obito had died in the Fourth Great Ninja War, and his Sharingan power vanished with the war's end from Kakashi's body... Moreover, Uchiha Obito's name is inscribed on the Memorial Tablet.
"Sai, are you sure you didn't make a mistake."
"No, I also saw Uchiha Obito a few times back then, I'm very familiar with his abilities. That kind of space-time ability is completely different from the Flying Thunder God Jutsu... it's exactly the same as Uchiha Obito's Kamui ability."
Upon hearing such certainty from Sai, Uzumaki Naruto and Shikamaru cast aside any doubt. Sai also participated in the Great Ninja War and is the Anbu Leader, a Jonin highly trusted within the village.
After a moment of silence indoors, Uzumaki Naruto spoke up, "I'll ask Kakashi-sensei later, and as for this Victor Medical Company from the Land of Valleys... send some ninja to monitor them. Once we've dealt with this Otherworld monster disaster, we'll investigate them thoroughly!"
Nara Shikamaru spoke up, "Naruto, talk to the other four Kage first. We must unite with the Five Great Ninja Villages to deal with the Divine Tree matter. We don't know what cards Victor Company has up its sleeve. If they really have a space-time ability like Uchiha Obito..."
When he said this, Nara Shikamaru didn't continue. Although they had intel, Uchiha Obito's ability was extremely difficult to handle, and Kakashi no longer has the Kamui Sharingan. They utterly lack methods to deal with it and can only tackle it head-on...
"Yes, I understand. I'll contact the others when I get back later, but the most important thing is to handle tonight's early hours."
Uzumaki Naruto nodded, as tonight was once more when monsters from the Otherworld would descend, and this must be prioritized. Otherwise, if one suddenly appears near the village, Konoha will be in danger.
"Sai, take good care of your injuries, I'm going back to hold a Five Kage meeting. Ino, I'll leave this place to you."
After exchanging farewells, Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru left.
Once these two had left, the treatment room became quiet again, and for a moment, no one spoke.
After a few dozen seconds, Sakura spoke first, "Sai, your injuries have stabilized. I'll move you to a ward. There's no need to stay in the treatment room."
Sai said, "Okay, thank you."
At this point, Yamanaka Ino asked, "Sai, are you hungry? Would you like to eat something?"
"I am indeed a bit hungry, so I'll bother you with that, Ino... How is Ijin at home?"
"He's fine. I had him eat outside this morning..."
It seemed like something unfamiliar had sprung up between them as husband and wife. After a question and answer, they didn't know what else to say. Yamanaka Ino also realized this but didn't know what to do.
Unlike Uchiha Yoichi, Ino felt that when she was with Uchiha Yoichi, there were countless things she wanted to say, yet when faced with Sai, she suddenly didn't know what to say.
"... Let's leave it at that for now, Ino. I'll go with you to get breakfast."
Sakura perceived the awkward atmosphere and pulled Ino along with her to leave.
Once they arrived at an empty place outside, Sakura finally asked, "Ino, are you still mad at Sai?"
"How could I be, it's been such a long time, I don't care anymore..."
Yamanaka Ino waved her hand as she spoke. She wasn't lying; she really didn't care about what Sai said back then anymore - but it's because of Uchiha Yoichi, and that reason couldn't be spoken.
"You wouldn't be..."
Sakura stopped mid-sentence, what she had on her mind couldn't be said, so she changed her words, "You should quickly go get breakfast, I also need to get busy."
"Yes, thanks for your hard work, Sakura."
Yamanaka Ino waved goodbye and, after taking just a few steps, thought about going back home. Uchiha Yoichi was still in her room, so after last night's craziness, she definitely needed to tidy up. However, Sai wouldn't be coming home anytime soon, so after thinking it over, Ino decided against it.
She bought breakfast and then went back to take care of Sai.
After spending some time, Ino found an excuse to leave Konoha Hospital, initially intending to go home but running into members of the Barrier Team on her way, she proceeded to inspect the newly setup barrier in Konoha with them.
It wasn't until close to evening that Yamanaka Ino carried her somewhat weary body back home, and upon entering, suddenly remembered the bedroom hadn't been tidied.
Just as Ino was about to go to her room, Yamanaka Ijin suddenly walked to the doorway and said, "Mom, you left after cooking. Good timing though, the curry's just finished."
"Eh? Oh, hmm... Something suddenly came up, and I forgot, hehehe..."
Yamanaka Ino was initially stunned, then quickly reacted and laughed to brush it off. However, she couldn't help but think of Uchiha Yoichi - no one but him would have cooked curry in her house.
Then, worried that Uchiha Yoichi might still be inside, Yamanaka Ino said, "Ijin, you should eat first, and after eating, scoop some out to take to your dad. I'll go back to my room for a moment."
"Alright..."
Yamanaka Ijin watched his mother quickly go upstairs, feeling somewhat odd, but soon his attention was drawn by the aroma of curry. After scooping out a bowl, he couldn't help but wonder, "Mom's cooking skills improved? This curry smells so good."
On the other side, arriving at her room, Yamanaka Ino did not find Uchiha Yoichi but saw a tidy room, clean bedding, and a vase of Kosumosu on the nightstand...
Yamanaka Ino's heart was filled with a sense of happiness as she realized Uchiha Yoichi had taken care of everything and cooked her a meal before leaving quietly, instilling her with a feeling of being cared for...
"Mr. Yoichi..."