Asuna felt drowsy, her body slowly melting, as if it were merging with everything around her. She had felt this way before when practicing control over natural energy. That boundless sensation was unnerving, yet it also gave one a feeling of omnipotence.
Compared to the natural energy of the entire world, anyone's chakra was incredibly minuscule. Therefore, Sage Mode had always been a very dangerous power.
Asuna had learned of the risks from her father early on, and in this operation, she understood how dangerous it was to draw in natural energy during combat. However, the situation at the time left her no choice but to use this method, and Asuna never regretted it, as it was her own decision.
Although the medical ninjas' treatment had suppressed the natural energy causing the adverse reaction, with no new influx of natural energy, Asuna's own power slowly dissolved what remained. Even so, Asuna did not wake up immediately; her weakened body was unusually ill, and in her daze, countless fragmented thoughts spun in her mind.
Hatake Sakumo sat by the bedside, looking at the unconscious Asuna, his heart heavy. His sensei's daughter was in a dangerous situation, and to some extent, it was because he had failed to protect her adequately. Even though he knew it was due to the extreme danger of the battlefield and not entirely his fault, he still felt a sense of self-blame.
Hatake Sakumo had always thought Asuna was incredibly strong, and others had witnessed it too. But now, looking at the pale Asuna, he felt for the first time that she wasn't as powerful as he had imagined. This Asuna seemed to reveal a fragile side for the first time.
—Perhaps her usual strength had deceived him, making him forget that Asuna was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.
Hatake Sakumo frowned deeply. Although he knew Asuna had passed the critical period, he couldn't rest easy until she woke up. And at this moment, the Hidden Sand Village was still pressing hard, coupled with the atmosphere in the camp, he felt that the situation was worse than ever before.
Just then, Hatake Sakumo suddenly heard a soft moan from Asuna on the bed. She slowly opened her eyes. He quickly rose from his chair, nervously looking at Asuna, and said, "Asuna, you're awake?"
"Sakumo-san." Asuna was clearly not fully conscious yet, her expression somewhat dazed. She stared blankly at Hatake Sakumo and asked, "How are things now?"
"It's alright, it's safe now. I'll call the doctor right away." With that, Hatake Sakumo motioned to the nurse at the door, and the nurse immediately went to fetch the doctor.
The attending physician hurried into the tent and began to examine Asuna's condition. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. Asuna was the Hokage's daughter; no matter how approachable she was, her status remained, and her safety was naturally of paramount importance. He, as the attending physician, bore a very heavy responsibility.
Fortunately, since Asuna had woken up, everything was moving in a good direction. He also confirmed that the special energy causing the adverse effects had completely disappeared. Now, with careful recuperation, Asuna's body would recover very quickly.
The attending physician explained the current situation to Hatake Sakumo, telling him what kind of herbal medicine Asuna needed to take and what to pay attention to. Hatake Sakumo noted everything down and expressed his gratitude to the physician.
"No need to thank me. Saving lives is our responsibility, and besides—" The attending physician glanced at Asuna, "She's also a hero of the village."
Asuna, despite being the Hokage's daughter, fought alongside other ninjas on the front lines, enjoying few special privileges, and engaging the enemy like any ordinary ninja. Everyone—especially civilian ninjas—held her in admiration. In the previous battle, it was Hatake Sakumo and Asuna who carved a path, allowing the others to return safely. For Asuna, who was near death because of it, there was even less dissent.
And according to the merit standards set by the Hidden Leaf Village,
Asuna's contributions in this operation were enough to earn her an extremely high evaluation. Therefore, the attending physician referred to Asuna as a hero of the village, a title she fully deserved, and no one else would have any objections.
After seeing off the attending physician, Hatake Sakumo sat back down in the chair, looking at the gradually clearing Asuna, and said, "Asuna, are you feeling better?"
"Much better." Asuna nodded lightly, saying, "I'm so lucky, I got my life back."
Hearing this, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but frown slightly and said to her, "Asuna, you were really too reckless this time. Such dangerous power should be used carefully."
"But it was the quickest way to cut losses, wasn't it?" Asuna said. "A slight delay could have led to many deaths. Paying some price to salvage the situation is well worth it."
"But you also need to take care of yourself," Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but say. "Ninjas in the past advocated self-sacrifice, and that's not wrong, but it shouldn't lead to neglecting other things, especially yourself."
Asuna glanced at Hatake Sakumo. She found his words somewhat difficult to understand, as self-sacrifice and self-care seemed a bit contradictory. Come to think of it, there seemed to be a debate on this very topic in the teachings of the Sage of Six Paths. She said nothing, only nodding lightly, "I'm sorry for making you worry, Sakumo-san."
"It's not just me, there are others too: Mizuki, Risa, and your father," Hatake Sakumo said. "In any case, you should rest and recover now, don't worry about anything else. We'll handle the rest."
"Mhm," Asuna nodded obediently.
Seeing that Asuna wasn't forcing herself, Hatake Sakumo smiled slightly, rose, and walked out. He first needed to prepare the herbal medicine Asuna needed and also inform Mizuki and Risa of the news. They had been very worried these past few days.
News of Asuna's awakening quickly spread throughout the camp. The safety of the Hokage's daughter was always a major concern, and no one would overlook it. Everyone who had been worried about Asuna's safety immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was truly wonderful. However, not everyone was happy about Asuna's safety.
This person was Uchiha Setsuna. Although he presented a friendly demeanor in front of others, he had always harbored ill will towards Fumori masaki, who inherited the Senju lineage, and naturally didn't care about Asuna's safety. In fact, he even wished Asuna would die.
Upon hearing that Asuna had turned the corner, Uchiha Setsuna couldn't help but inwardly lament "what a pity." His adopted son, Uchiha Ken, the new generation's reincarnate, however, harbored no ill will. Although Uchiha Setsuna was subtly instilling hostility towards the Hokage lineage in him, Uchiha Ken was not without judgment. He acknowledged that the current Hokage lineage was very effective, and naturally, he bore no animosity towards Asuna.
Because of this, Uchiha Setsuna was also somewhat troubled, unsure how to guide him. As time passed, the Uchiha clan became increasingly content with the status quo, which made Uchiha Setsuna, who had always been dissatisfied with the current situation, increasingly anxious.
Uchiha Kagami, of the Hokage lineage, was gaining increasing influence within the clan, causing the faction that adhered to Uchiha Madara's ideology to wane. Uchiha Setsuna also heard that Uchiha Kagami's daughter, who had never awakened her bloodline limit, had finally awakened her Sharingan this time, and it was already in the intermediate state with two tomoe, just one step away from its fully awakened state.
Uchiha Setsuna felt that things couldn't go on like this and that he had to find a way to instigate change. Conveniently, he used this opportunity of being out on an operation to secretly discuss with Zetsu how to resolve the situation.
Zetsu told him not to worry, that war was the easiest place for accidents to happen, and that anything could occur. Uchiha Setsuna's wish would certainly be fulfilled in this war.
And Uchiha Ken, who was highly regarded by the two, was unaware that he was slowly being drawn into a vortex of conspiracy. At this moment, he was marveling at Asuna's awakening, and his teammate, Fujimura Yuuki, felt the same way. They had also participated in that operation, and their safe return was undoubtedly due to Asuna's efforts.
"Ken, aren't you going to see her? You and Fumori are friends, aren't you?" Fujimura Yuuki asked.
"We're not friends, just acquaintances," Uchiha Ken replied. They were in the same cohort during their two years of training in the Land of Rain. Because he and Mizuki were both from the Uchiha clan, they were more familiar with each other than with others.
But it was merely familiarity, not a deep relationship. Given Uchiha Ken's personality, he certainly wouldn't go to see her. Fujimura Yuuki didn't know what to say about this, only shrugging slightly and saying, "Even so, I think it's an opportunity to deepen your relationship."
"If you want to go, then go. She's not that hard to approach, is she?" Uchiha Ken said.
"But her demeanor makes her seem not so easy to get close to. My friends all say that even if they know she's a good person, they don't dare to approach her easily," Fujimura Yuuki said, crossing his arms and shaking his head slightly.
Uchiha Ken thought about it. Indeed, Asuna's appearance gave off too cold an impression. Even knowing she was a kind person, when facing her directly and looking into her clear, cool eyes, ordinary people might not feel comfortable speaking. He shrugged, mimicking Fujimura Yuuki, indicating that he had no solution either. It was others' freedom, and what did it have to do with him?
"Ken, why don't you introduce me? I'd actually really like to be friends with them," Fujimura Yuuki said.
"With your abilities, you don't need to rely on such connections, do you?" Uchiha Ken glanced at him, letting out a soft huff.
Fujimura Yuuki also came from a civilian background but possessed excellent talent. Even Uchiha Ken had to admit his strength. Regarding Fujimura Yuuki's intentions, he believed the other party wanted to leverage his connection with the Hokage's daughter to make his career advancement smoother. However, he felt that with Fujimura Yuuki's strength, he would certainly be promoted if he performed diligently.
"Well, I don't deny that there's a bit of that reason, but I genuinely want to be friends with her," Fujimura Yuuki said, scratching his head. For a civilian, having a friend with a strong background would definitely be beneficial for the future. He didn't aspire to marry into the Fumori family; just having a friendship would be enough.
Moreover, Fujimura Yuuki didn't consider himself a complete stranger; he actually had some blood relation to Asuna. His mother was from a branch family of the Senju clan, and their bloodline connection to the main branch was very close. During the Senju's retreat back then, many Senju clan members married civilians and completely disappeared from public view. They no longer promoted the Senju name, living as ordinary civilians.
Because of this, even though Fujimura Yuuki knew he had Senju blood flowing in his veins, he never told anyone about it. After the Senju's retreat, aside from the direct descendants of Senju Hashirama, the so-called Senju name actually held little influence. Mentioning it would at most cause a slight surprise.
Of course, this blood relation could be said to be quite distant, almost like strangers, but Fujimura Yuuki considered himself to still have a slight connection, which led to some optimistic thoughts.
"If you really want to, then go yourself. She's not truly unapproachable. However, if someone has ulterior motives, they'll be turned away by her protectors," Uchiha Ken said.
"Ah, protectors?" Fujimura Yuuki asked in surprise.
"It's our clan head's daughter, Uchiha Mizuki," Uchiha Ken said. "She's Fumori Asuna's protector, you see. A whole bunch of guys trying to curry favor, using her background and with ulterior motives, were all rejected by her. Fumori Asuna was happy to have the peace."
Uchiha Ken then paused and said, "To be honest, it's really not easy to become friends with someone of that status. If it's not a natural interaction, it can easily cause aversion. And precisely because of her prominent status, there aren't many people who can interact with her naturally."
Uchiha Ken had never cared about people's backgrounds. Their formal interaction began during their internship in the Land of Rain, and they slowly became familiar with each other, but they couldn't be considered true friends. Of course, if Uchiha Ken wanted to, he could certainly become friends with her.
"Simply put, it means not being deliberate, but interacting with her naturally, and then slowly getting to know each other and becoming friends, right?" Fujimura Yuuki stroked his chin and said, "Okay, I understand."
"Just don't drag me into it," Uchiha Ken said without looking up, organizing his ninja tools.
"Ken, I think you should socialize more. Always being alone isn't very good, is it?" Fujimura Yuuki said.
"Mind your own business," Uchiha Ken rolled his eyes.