Chapter 84: Healthy Itachi? Sub-healthy Itachi!
The private room fell into silence once again.
Tsunade rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
Shizune muttered quietly, "That sounds... like it actually makes some sense?"
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi exchanged a glance, a flicker of light flashing in their eyes.
Slap!
Tsunade slammed her hand onto HaRoko~kun's back, looking at him as if he were some priceless treasure.
"You brat! How does your brain work?! You were actually able to round... ahem, deduce this?!"
"Cough, cough, cough..." That hit nearly knocked the wind out of HaRoko~kun. "This is still just a hypothesis; it still needs to be verified..."
"No... this hypothesis must be correct." Uchiha Fugaku appeared extremely excited and turned to look at Uchiha Itachi. "In that case, Uchiha Itachi, from now on—"
'Are all Uchiha this extreme?!"
Seeing that Uchiha Fugaku was about to force his son to grind progress on the spot, HaRoko~kun quickly intervened.
"Stop, stop, stop! Uncle Uchiha Fugaku, calm down! You aren't planning on making Uchiha Itachi start using his Mangekyo at high intensity right now, are you?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"Of course there's a problem!" HaRoko~kun rolled his eyes. "Exceeding the body's capacity with a Kekkei Genkai will lead to a bloodline disease. Do you want Uchiha Itachi to ruin his body before he even gets the chance to swap eyes?"
Uchiha Fugaku froze, then immediately realized his mistake, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
He had indeed been carried away by HaRoko~kun's theory just now and had almost made a grave error.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade also put aside her playful expression and beckoned to Uchiha Itachi.
"Come here and take off your shirt."
Uchiha Itachi did as he was told. Tsunade placed her palm over Uchiha Itachi's chest, and green Chakra probed into his body.
A moment later, Tsunade withdrew her hand, her expression somewhat grave.
"Your body has reached its limit."
"What?" Uchiha Fugaku leaned in anxiously.
"Long-term anxiety, excessive stress, combined with a Kekkei Genkai of the Mangekyo's level—your son's body has long been overdrawn." Tsunade looked at Uchiha Fugaku. "If this continues, forget about swapping eyes; whether he can live past twenty is a question."
Uchiha Fugaku's face instantly turned pale.
His enthusiasm was instantly extinguished, replaced by deep guilt and lingering fear.
Uchiha Itachi, however, lowered his head and said nothing, as if he had long expected this.
HaRoko~kun watched from the side and sighed inwardly.
'If I remember correctly, in the original work, he dragged his sick body until he was twenty-one? So that's how it is; that's why he always thought about bearing everything on his own."
"Forget about swapping eyes for now." Tsunade gave her final verdict.
"Then... what should we do now?"
"What else can you do? Let him rest and recover!"
"First, we must solve the underlying issues. I will treat this boy's body and at least stabilize his condition. As for you—"
She looked at Uchiha Fugaku.
"I can help you replace that blind eye. Using an ordinary Sharingan from one of your Uchiha Clan Members will suffice."
"...No, let's replace both." Uchiha Fugaku considered it for a moment and made his decision. "According to HaRoko~kun's hypothesis, if ocular power can be transferred, it's better to replace them early to preserve more of it."
"Oh, if you think that's fine, suit yourself." Tsunade turned to look at HaRoko~kun, who was standing to the side.
"Kid, you'll be the first assistant for the surgery."
"Huh? I'm just a beginner, Master..."
"Enough nonsense!" Tsunade ignored HaRoko~kun's excuse. "Shizune will be the lead surgeon, and you will assist. I'll be watching from the side. This will be a good test for you."
...
That same day, Tsunade began treating Uchiha Itachi's body.
As for HaRoko~kun, he was dragged off by Shizune for a crash course.
"This is human anatomy, then the Chakra meridians, and then the special structure of the eyeball..."
Watching Shizune pull out thick medical textbooks one after another, HaRoko~kun's mouth twitched.
'I knew it... this task definitely wouldn't be simple."
However, on second thought, learning this knowledge wouldn't be a loss.
In his past life, knowledge of ophthalmic surgery was something he would never use. But in the Ninja World...
As everyone knows, swapping eyes in the Ninja World is just like changing a lightbulb, and it's also the fastest way to become stronger.
This skill is one that can actually be put to use.
"Fine." HaRoko~kun sat down, resigning himself to his fate. "Let's begin, Senior Sister."
"U-hu-hu..." Perhaps because it was the first time she had been called "Senior Sister," Shizune opened the book with a radiant smile.
"Then let's start with the basic structure of the eyeball..."
Like this, the two of them studied until the sun went down.
Shizune discovered that HaRoko~kun's comprehension ability was astonishing; often, as soon as she finished explaining a concept, he could draw inferences about other cases from it.
She praised him sincerely, "HaRoko~kun, you are truly talented. At this rate, you'll be able to perform surgery by the day after tomorrow."
"Thank you, Senior Sister." HaRoko~kun, who was already slumped over the table, replied perfunctorily.
'I finally understand why they say that convincing people to study medicine is a sin."
"By the way, Senior Sister, is it necessary to make it this complicated? Couldn't this surgery be done directly with the Mystical Palm Technique?"
Recalling the joke-like hot-swappable eye transplants from the original work, HaRoko~kun asked.
"In emergency situations, that is indeed possible. But the risks are very high; the slightest carelessness could damage the ocular nerves and Chakra meridians. Moreover, the eye is a very delicate organ, and using the Mystical Palm Technique directly depends heavily on the skill of the practitioner."
She paused and added with a smile, "Actually, I could complete this surgery by myself. Lady Tsunade wants you to accumulate more hands-on experience. After all, Medical Ninjutsu is not something you can learn just by reading books."
Since she had put it that way, what else could HaRoko~kun say? He just had to study seriously.
By the next morning, HaRoko~kun had basically digested all the necessary knowledge.
"...Forget it, it's not the first time this has happened."
Feeling numb, Shizune took a deep breath and put on a gentle smile.
That afternoon.
In a surgery room rented from the hospital, Uchiha Fugaku lay on the operating table.
Tsunade stood to the side, arms crossed.
"Then, let's begin the surgery." Shizune's voice came through her mask.
"Understood."
Shizune's movements were clean and efficient, with every step precise and in place.
Chakra condensed on her scalpel as she carefully separated the tissue around the eyeball.
HaRoko~kun stood by, serving as her assistant while watching her every move.
In less than twenty minutes, the first eye transplant was completed.
"HaRoko~kun, you perform the surgery for the other one." Tsunade, who was supervising from the side, suddenly gave the order. "Shizune, you act as the assistant."
"Huh?" "Eh?"
Both of them looked up at Tsunade simultaneously, then exchanged a glance.
Shizune asked HaRokokun with her eyes, "Are you confident?" Seeing HaRokokun nod, she stepped aside and gave the position to him.
HaRoko~kun took a deep breath, stepped forward, and gripped the scalpel.
His movements were slower than Shizune's, but every step was steady and solid, without the slightest hesitation.
Tsunade watched from the side, a flicker of approval flashing in her eyes.
Half an hour later, HaRoko~kun put down the scalpel and let out a long breath.
"It's done."
"To be able to do this on your first time as a lead surgeon... HaRoko~kun, you are truly amazing."
Shizune looked at HaRoko~kun with unconcealed admiration.
"It's all thanks to Senior Sister's teaching." HaRoko~kun waved his hand.
Tsunade walked over, checked Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, and nodded with satisfaction.
"All right, the surgery was a success. Uchiha Fugaku, try using your Sharingan tomorrow; if there are no problems, you can be discharged. Uchiha Itachi needs to stay with me for a few more days; if you're in a hurry, you can go back first."
As she spoke, Tsunade placed the nutrient solution bottle containing the Mangekyo in front of Uchiha Fugaku.
"Thank you very much, Lady Tsunade." There was sincere gratitude in Uchiha Fugaku's voice. "Just give my eyes directly to Uchiha Itachi. That way, when he is ready, he can swap them immediately..."
Walking out of the surgery room, HaRoko~kun stretched his somewhat stiff shoulders.
'Finally, it's done..."
Shizune watched his retreating figure, a smile curling on her lips unconsciously.
Want To Read More Chapters? Check Out 80+Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/SloppyGuy