Sakura swept her glowing right hand across the practice dummy. The Chakra Scalpel cut cleanly through the marked section without touching the material underneath.
Shizune watched from the other side of the metal table, her clipboard tucked securely under one arm. "Again."
Sakura reset her stance, drew a breath, and made the second cut. The blue edge remained just as steady, gliding through the target.
Shizune inspected both cuts before finally nodding. "Your blade forms much faster today. You've stopped treating the Scalpel like something fragile you need to protect."
Sakura couldn't stop the pleased smile that appeared on her face. She let the blue chakra fade and picked up a towel to wipe her hands.
"You look tired," Shizune added casually, not looking up from her notes.
Sakura paused, the towel halfway to her forehead, and narrowed her eyes. "Why did you say it like that?"
"Like what?" Shizune asked, turning a page on her clipboard.
"I got my underwear back."
The scratching of Shizune's pen stopped entirely. Sakura froze, her own words catching up to her brain a second too late. Shizune slowly raised an eyebrow and looked over the top of the paper. "I didn't ask."
Sakura's face went completely red. She stared at the floor, mortified that she had just voluntarily offered the exact information she was trying to hide. After a long, agonizing second of silence, Shizune casually tapped her pen against the clipboard.
"Congratulations."
Kenji walked into the training room a moment later. He greeted Shizune and asked how Sasuke was progressing. While Shizune answered, Kenji stepped beside Sakura to look at the notes on her clipboard. His hand settled casually on her waist as he leaned closer, remaining there for several seconds before he straightened again and continued talking to Shizune.
Sakura watched him closely. The lack of teasing was infinitely worse than a joke.
"Why are you acting normal?" she demanded, crossing her arms.
Kenji paused and looked back at her, his expression perfectly confused. "You said it meant nothing."
Shizune lowered her clipboard slightly to hide a sudden smile. Sakura realized she had walked directly into that trap and ground her teeth together, annoyed. Shizune mercifully broke the tension by tearing a sheet of paper free and handing it over.
"You're due to check Sasuke's ribs," Shizune told her.
Kenji glanced toward the corridor. "Convenient. That's where I'm going."
Sakura gave him a deeply suspicious look but took the medical chart, and they walked down the hall together.
Kakashi was already standing inside the room when they arrived. Sasuke sat upright against his pillows, glaring at the far wall and clearly sick of being confined.
"How long?" Sasuke asked the moment they walked through the door.
Sakura stepped forward and checked his healing ribs before moving up toward the mark on his shoulder. Her fingers paused near the dark seal.
"His ribs are healing well, but the chakra around the seal still jerks whenever he tries to push too much through it."
"Karin found the same thing," Kakashi confirmed from the corner of the room. "Force too much chakra through the seal right now and it'll flare again."
"How long?" Sasuke repeated, his voice sharpening with frustration.
"Not today," Sakura told him flatly, stepping back from the bed. "Give it a few more days and stop trying to prove you're healthy every time someone walks into the room."
Kenji leaned casually against the wall. "You wanted power. Apparently, terrible hospital food is part of the training."
"Shut up," Sasuke muttered, though his attention quickly shifted past Kenji toward his teacher. "Has she talked yet?"
"She started talking," Kakashi said, leaning against the windowsill. "Ibiki's still working through the rest."
The door slid open, and Naruto entered with Hinata right behind him. Naruto's shoulder was still heavily bandaged, but he moved his arm with much more freedom than the day before. Hinata carried a small bag containing fresh bandages and specialized healing ointment.
"I'm practically healed!" Naruto announced loudly to the room.
Sakura immediately pointed an accusing finger at his shoulder. "No, you aren't."
Naruto started complaining, turning to Hinata for support. Hinata smiled apologetically and quietly agreed with Sakura instead. Naruto looked genuinely betrayed while Hinata calmly handed him the medicine.
Kakashi stepped forward, cutting off the argument. "Light training can resume soon, Naruto, but you are not allowed to tear the shoulder open trying to prove something to Sasuke."
"I wasn't going to!" Naruto insisted immediately.
Everyone in the room looked at him in total silence. He was absolutely going to.
Ino appeared in the doorway with an empty flower basket hanging from one arm. She had just finished a flower delivery somewhere down the hall.
Sakura's hand paused over Sasuke's medical chart.
"Forehead," Ino greeted smoothly.
"Ino-pig," Sakura replied without missing a beat.
Ino offered a bright, perfectly polite smile. Sakura smiled back just as sweetly. Kenji took one look at how painfully polite the two girls had become and wisely kept his mouth shut.
Ino shifted the empty basket onto her other arm and stepped into the room. Sakura immediately returned to organizing the supplies on the side table.
Kenji shifted his weight and casually placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to look at the chart. Sakura let it rest there for several seconds while she read the notes. Then, she noticed Ino staring directly at his hand. Sakura hastily brushed his fingers away.
Ino's eyebrow slowly rose. Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. Neither of them said a word.
A few minutes later, Sakura finished updating Sasuke's chart and carried it toward the nurses' station. Ino fell into step beside her without saying anything.
Sakura immediately knew that was a bad sign.
She tried to lose her near the hospital courtyard. Ino followed her straight outside, leaned against one of the stone pillars, and finally spoke.
"So?"
Sakura tightened her grip on her clipboard, refusing to look panicked. "So what?"
Ino just looked at her.
Sakura held the stare for several seconds.
"He stole my underwear," Sakura blurted out.
Ino's smile widened into something incredibly smug. "And getting them back took that long?"
"I got them back."
"Mm-hm."
Sakura pointed the clipboard at her like a weapon. "Don't start."
"I haven't said anything."
"Your face is saying enough," Sakura snapped.
Ino laughed softly. The sound only sharpened Sakura's glare.
"Besides, you don't get to act superior," Sakura added, taking a step closer. "You hid your neck for two days."
Ino's smile slipped. Sakura smiled instead.
"That's different," Ino tried, crossing her arms.
"Sure it is."
Kenji returned to the courtyard alongside Kakashi. Both women immediately straightened their posture, acting as if they hadn't just been glaring at each other.
Kenji stopped and looked between them. "What happened?"
"Nothing," they answered in exact, terrifying unison.
Kenji stepped between them, slipped an arm around Sakura's waist, and rested his other hand on Ino's hip. Sakura gave him a sharp warning look. Ino deliberately leaned closer just to spite her. Sakura saw the movement and chose to stay exactly where she was rather than backing down.
An ANBU operative landed quietly beside the courtyard wall before either girl could speak again.
"Kenji Sato. Hatake."
Kakashi turned first.
"Ibiki wants you downstairs," the masked shinobi reported. "The Sound prisoner started talking."
Kenji stopped smiling. "About?"
"The Uchiha extraction order. The three who escaped." The ANBU paused. "And Kabuto."
Kakashi straightened his posture, his visible eye narrowing.
"Why does Ibiki want me?" Kenji asked.
"Because she keeps bringing you up."
Ten minutes later, Kenji walked down the secured, reinforced corridor beneath the Torture and Interrogation department.
Ibiki Morino was already waiting outside a heavy iron door. He reached out, his scarred hand opening the viewing hatch slightly.
"Your prisoner finally decided to talk," Ibiki said.
From inside the dark interrogation room, Tayuya's furious, muffled voice immediately echoed out into the hallway.
"I'm not his fucking prisoner!"
Kenji smiled.
"Good. She's feeling better."
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