Pushing Through the Limit Chapter 71: Mending Mistakes

“Heh, never thought I’d ever see the Hiraishin again, much less experience it myself,” Rōshi commented. “So this is Konoha? It’s a little more closed off than I’d expected. Have you people ever heard of windows?”

Well, he wasn’t exactly wrong to complain about how closed off the room was. I had brought us to a much more secure location located underneath one of Konoha’s hospitals… The same place I brought Kimimaro after Anko, Shizune and I had retrieved him.

Unfortunately, bringing Itachi to a room upstairs would be both unsafe and could potentially cause a panic if the general population saw one of Konoha’s most notorious missing-nin who was also well known for being a member of the Akatsuki, recovering in a bed upstairs.

Outside of Obito and Zetsu, there’d likely be a few idiots, whether civilian or Shinobi that would try and do something stupid. It was easier for everyone if the general population wasn’t aware of Itachi’s presence.

“Windows invite unwanted eyes,” Tsunade called out, walking down the hallway. “Besides, the view from down here is terrible.” Stopping, she glanced over Itachi and Rōshi, before nodding. “I see the mission was a complete success. Do any of you need medical attention?”

“We have a few scratches, but other than that, no,” Kakashi replied. “The targets, however…” He trailed off, looking over at Itachi who was being supported by Sasuke and one of my clones, before stopping at Rōshi. “You might need to look them over.”

“I expected as much,” Tsunade nodded. Gesturing for Itachi to be placed on a nearby gurney, she formed a Shadow Clone. “I’ll handle things from here. Rōshi, you can go with my clone for a quick check up. As for the rest of you–“

“I’m going with,” Sasuke decided.

Tsunade sighed and palmed her forehead. “No, you won’t.” She held her hand in front of him, cutting him off before he started arguing. “No… This isn’t up for debate. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your brother already has one foot in the grave and it’s going to take all of my focus to dig it out. If you come with, you’ll only end up getting in the way.”

Glaring at the floor, Sasuke’s Sharingan activated unconsciously. Seeing this, Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, steering him away. “Let’s go, Sasuke. You’ll be able to visit your brother after Tsunade’s finished healing him. He’s in good hands. As for us, we still have a mission report to fill out.”

“Yeah, or we could do something fun instead,” Fu suggested desperately.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke exhaled, letting his Sharingan fade. Giving Tsunade one final look, he slowly nodded his head. “Alright. Just… Let me know when he’s awake. I still have a lot that I need to say to him.”

Huh… Sasuke seemed to have made a lot of progress in controlling his temper. I seem to recall a time when he tried to attack me when I wouldn’t let him talk to Kurama... Although, in his defense, he wasn’t exactly in a good state of mind back then.

“I’ll call you to my office,” Tsunade replied. “Until then, assume that he’s still recovering.”

With that said, Sasuke turned and left with his team. Stopping only for a short moment to give a quick “Thank you,” before disappearing down the hallway.

“I should probably get going as well,” I said.

I still had a few things I wanted to do, namely, placing a few of my Kunai in places far removed from any village or town. The Akatsuki might be down to only a few members, but Obito still had the Gobi at his disposal and I wanted a place to send any potential Bijuudama that wouldn’t result in the deaths of thousands.

Tsunade nodded. “I’ll see you later,” She hummed, pushing the gurney down the hallway as she headed towards an operating room that had been reserved for Itachi’s arrival.

Deciding to leave, I got all of three steps, before coming to a stop.

“Oi, Yondaime’s brat. You really think it’s a good idea to leave a foreign Jinchuriki alone with a clone of all things to escort him?” Rōshi asked.

“…I don’t think that–“

“You see, there’s your problem. You’re not thinking,” Rōshi said, cutting me off. “If I’m going to be getting a check up, I’m going to at least be properly guarded.”

Hearing Kurama let out a soft chuckle, I glanced towards Tsunade’s clone who seemed equally amused. I hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk with Rōshi yet, but he appeared to be a fairly gruff man.

“If you wanted to talk, you could have just said so,” I sighed.

Ōnoki had pretty much done the same thing... It must be an Iwa thing.

“What’s the point in that when this gets the same results?” Rōshi asked. “So are we going to just stand around here all day or are we going to get this checkup started?”

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade’s clone gestured for us to follow her, leading us down the hallway.

“So the Yondaime really sealed the Kyuubi in his own son?” Rōshi asked. “I never would have thought the man had it in him, it couldn’t have been easy doing something like that. I guess I misjudged him.”

“He did what he needed to do,” I hummed, not really bothered by the direction the conversation was going. “It was tough growing up, but I actually prefer it this way. It wouldn’t be the same without the Kyuubi.”

“You’re probably the only Jinchuriki outside of Kumo’s that thinks of it that way,” Rōshi muttered. “So, tell me. Why has Konoha gotten involved in Iwa’s affair? I know it’s got something to do with stopping a war between Kiri and Iwa, but what’s Konoha got to gain by interfering?”

“A united front against the Akatsuki,” I replied, following Tsunade’s clone through a doorway.

“Good luck with that,” Rōshi chuckled. “The old fence sitting goat would never agree to such a thing. Working together with other nations… He’d be too worried that one of them would stab him in the back.”

“Unless he already agreed to an alliance along with the other nations,” I hummed.

“Good one,” Rōshi snorted. Seeing my smirk, his eyes widened. “Wait, you’re serious? How in the hell did you manage to convince that stubborn old goat?”

“It wasn’t that hard when Madara decided to make an appearance,” Tsunade’s clone muttered. “Just the thought of him still being alive scares the crap out of the old man.”

“Itachi mentioned him,” Rōshi said, rubbing his beard. “But I wasn’t sure if he was delirious from his wounds or not. You say that Madara’s actually still alive?”

“If not him, then someone that has enough power to pretend to be him,” Tsunade shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter either way. He declared his intentions, announcing his plan to go to war with any nation that doesn’t hand over their Biju.”

“And since none of the other nations would agree to that, Ōnoki had no other choice but to go along,” Rōshi finished. “Triggering the Fourth Shinobi War. You don’t need me in order to smooth things over with Iwa… You’ve already got what you wanted.”

“I suppose that much is true,” Tsunade admitted. “But it also helps that I can rub this in Ōnoki’s face. That smug little bastard won’t know what hit him when he sees you tomorrow.”

Slapping a palm to my face, I let out a long, tired sigh. I did share her sentiment, but she didn’t need to say it out loud, let alone to the Jinchuriki we’d be returning to Iwa tomorrow.

Rōshi stared at Tsunade in disbelief, before letting out a small chuckle. Starting as a soft rumble, it quickly grew into gut clenching laughter and he fought to get a breath in. Wiping a tear from his eye, he finally settled down.

“That I can understand,” Rōshi said breathlessly. “It’s been a while since someone high up said what they mean instead of skirting around it. I’ll be sure to play up just how helpful Konoha was in my retrieval, if only to see the sour look on that old goat's face.”

“That would be highly appreciated,” Tsunade smirked. “Now we really should begin this examination or we’ll be here all day.”

“At least someone in this village has their priority straight,” Rōshi said, giving an approving nod.

As it turns out, I was wrong. The power that was capable of bringing the world together wasn’t love and understanding or even Ninshu… It was spite.

Watching as Tsunade’s clone began to examine Rōshi for any lingering injuries, I allowed my mind to drift.

Now that Rōshi had been found, it wouldn’t be long before Obito made his move and attempted to snatch another Jinchuriki. The only question was of how he’d attempt to do it. He had to know by now that I’d respond to any place he attacked, so his next move would likely be something that would limit my ability to respond.

He had a few things at his disposal, but nothing that would really be able to stop me as I am now. The Gobi might slow me a little, but I’d be able to neutralize it with Mokuton, so it wasn’t really that big of an issue.

I took a slow breath.

There wasn’t much else I could do except prepare for his next move and the first step to that was preparing several empty locations to send any Jutsu that I redirect.

…PTL…

Doing a cursory scan of his Itachi’s, Tsunade had to say that Itachi’s condition wasn’t looking good. He wasn’t quite critical, but if nothing was done, she doubted he’d live longer than a week.

If he’d taken things a little easier, he’d likely be in better condition. Hell, taking a few days to rest would have gone a long way to helping his condition. Instead, he’d pushed his body far further than it could handle, surviving on sheer will power.

If nothing else, she was impressed by his tenacity and ability to power through the pain. That being said, despite being a genius, Itachi was also an idiot. Seriously… She understood the position he’d been put in, but it was him ignoring his health that lead to his current state. His illness, while bad, was far from incurable.

It wasn’t one big thing that was wrong with him, but dozens of little things. His body was severely strained from his brief use of his Mangekyou Sharingan, his white blood cell count was down thanks to his illness, slowing his recovery and his cardiovascular system was in disarray. 

He also had several wounds, ranging from broken bones that were in the process of healing to flesh wounds that were bandaged up.

All in all, he was lucky to be alive.

The sedative that Kakashi had managed to administer to him had done its job in easing the strain on Itachi’s body, but there was still a lot of work to be done.

If this’d been a few short years ago, Tsunade would have been hard-pressed to save Itachi in his current condition, but she’d learnt a lot since she returned to Konoha… And even more with the fall of the Sky Nation.

“Blood pressure is holding steady,” Shizune noted. “We’re ready to begin, Tsunade-sama. Where do you want to start?”

That was a good question.

“We’ll start with the more serious problems first,” Tsunade announced. “I’m going to need your help with this, Shizune.”

“…Of course,” Shizune replied, a little taken aback.

“Good,” Tsunade hummed. “We’ll be using what we learned from the Sky Nation to regenerate healthy cells while destroying sickly ones.”

They still had a few other options to healing Itachi, like grafting her grandfather’s cells onto his body or healing him the old fashioned way, but both had their downsides.

Tsunade had no doubt that Hashirama’s cells would keep Itachi alive, but they wouldn’t exactly get rid of his illness. They’d just heal him to the point where it was no longer an issue. It wasn’t so much of a cure as it would be a means for Itachi to simply ignore his illness.

Healing him through conventional means was a viable route, but it would take far longer and would be more reliant on Itachi’s own ability to recover which would only extend the amount of time it would take for him to recover and seeing as the Fourth Shinobi War was on the horizon, time wasn’t exactly something they had a lot of.

So she instead opted for using what they’d learnt from studying the Sky Nations technology.

Shizune had more than enough practice in using Shinnō’s technique and there was little worry of her overloading Itachi’s body with Chakra. Unlike the fish that she’d practiced on, Itachi was both a trained Shinobi capable of using Chakra and an Uchiha. The amount of Chakra it would take to overload his body would be comparable to that of a Biju.

“I’ll keep him stable, while you focus on regenerating healthy cells,” Tsunade continued. “We'll switch when you start running low on Chakra.”

“O–Okay,” Shizune said, sounding a little unsure.

Watching as the green glow surrounding Shizune’s hands darkened, Tsunade focused her attention towards Itachi as Shizune began healing him. Making sure that Shizune didn’t cause any unnecessary damage to his body.

Time ticked on and slowly but surely Itachi began to show visible signs of improvement. His breathing was no longer strained and his heart began to beat evenly.

Looking up at her apprentice, it was clear to see that Shizune was struggling. Her hair was damp and clung to her and she was taking short, tired breaths.

The technique was fairly exhausting. The fact that Shizune was able to keep it active for even this long without having access to Sage Chakra or even above average amounts of Chakra was a testament to her skill.

Planning on suggesting that they switch, Tsunade paused when she noticed Shizune’s exhaustion suddenly disappear as the green glow darkened further, turning jet black.

Splitting her focus between Itachi and Shizune, Tsunade observed her apprentice. This was new. Shizune hadn’t mentioned anything about this. Whatever it was she was doing, it seemed to lessen the strain of the technique while, at the same time, improving the potency of the technique.

Itachi’s health began to visibly improve at an almost accelerated rate. Even now, Tsunade could feel how Shizune’s Chakra bled through the unconscious Uchiha, mending broken ribs and stitching torn flesh, steadily returning him to perfect health.

Tsunade was impressed. This was far beyond anything Shizune had ever been capable of… Beyond even what Tsunade was capable of a handful of years ago. Shizune had gone above and beyond when it came to reverse engineering this healing technique.

Hovering her hands above Itachi’s chest, Tsunade found that his sickness, while still there, was being combated by a newly bolstered immune system. Now all he would need is a few days of rest and some medication to fully cure him of his illness.

“That’s enough for now,” Tsunade announced, pulling her hands back.

Stopping, Shizune looked up. “Are you sure? I can still keep going.”

“You can, but there’d be no point in it,” Tsunade replied. “We’re done here.”

Looking down at the Uchiha’s body, Shizune’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, then…” Taking a step to the side, she stumbled and caught herself on the operating table.

Sighing, Tsunade formed a clone to take care of Itachi, while she tended to her now exhausted apprentice. It appeared that whatever Shizune did, it took a toll. 

…PTL…

Having lost track of time while placing my Kunai in various, unpopulated locations, I arrived back in Konoha in the middle of the night. Silently teleporting to Tsunade’s apartment, I kicked off my sandals and quietly made my way through the lounge, only to stop when I found Tsunade’s form slumbering on her couch.

Was she… Waiting for me?

Making my way a little closer, I glanced at the half empty Sake jar that sat on the table along with a medical folder, before turning back towards her. Alcohol had long since lost its effect on her, so it wasn’t like she’d passed out in a drunken stupor.

Crouching down, I hooked an arm under her legs and another behind her back, before lifting her. Looking down at her sleeping face, her brown eyes flickered open.

“Finally back?” She hummed tiredly, hooking her arms around my neck. “You sure took your time.”

“Sorry, I was just…”

Leaning up, she placed her lips against mine. Feeling her tongue brush against my lips, before slipping in my mouth, her hand gripped my hair as she deepened the kiss. Lasting only for a few moments, she finally pulled back, leaving me with a slight hint of Sake in my mouth.

“What was that for?”

“Do I really need a reason to want to kiss you?” Tsunade asked softly, trailing a finger across my whisker marks. “Especially after it being such a long day.”

Well, she’s got me there.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long,” I said, shifting my hold of her.

“Just an hour. I had some work to do, so it wasn’t too boring,” Tsunade replied, leaning her head against my chest. “I decided to have some Sake and dozed off around the third cup.”

At least she didn’t spend that time just waiting for me. Looking down at the mess of papers on the coffee table, I found it a little odd. I couldn’t remember the last time it looked like that… In fact, it never looked like that. Shizune always cleaned up after Tsunade, making sure to neatly file her paperwork for the next day.

“Thinking about another woman while you hold me in your arms?” Tsunade asked. Tilting her head back to stare up at me, she smirked. “She’s asleep, if you’re wondering… She was more than a little exhausted after treating Itachi.”

“Am I really that easy to read?”

“Only because I know you so well,” Tsunade hummed, patting my cheek lightly. “Now, to paraphrase a certain Jinchuriki, are we going to stand here all night or are you going to take me to bed?”

Choking at the thought of Rōshi saying that to me, I nodded. “Sure… Let’s go.”

“Good,” Tsunade said, snuggling into my chest.

Making my way to Tsunade’s room, I sat her down on the edge of her bed, before moving towards the other side. We were expected to arrive in Iwa sometime tomorrow, so it’d be for the best if we got some sleep now.

Switching the lights off, I laid down beside her, feeling her warm body press up against me in the dark as she cuddled into my side.

…PTL…

The next day came and Tsunade found herself standing in front of Itachi’s bed. She was scheduled to meet with the Tsuchikage in a few short hours, but she had more than enough time for this. Jabbing a needle into his drip, she emptied its contents, a mild stimulant that would wake the unconscious Uchiha.

It wasn’t anything too strong. Even though he’d shown remarkable improvement from his treatment yesterday, Tsunade would prefer to exercise a little caution. This was still new grounds for them, there was no telling if they’d ended up making him more sensitive to medication. The last thing she wanted to do was shock his system.

Taking a seat next to his bed, she began to wait and around the ten minute mark, she noticed Itachi’s eyes begin to shift under his eyelids. A few moments later, he opened his eyes, only to immediately shut them.

“Where…” Itachi coughed lightly. Covering his mouth, he pulled back his hand and looked at it quizzically. “No blood?” It was a simple question that implied he’d done this more than a few times before. Looking to the side, his eyes locked with Tsunade’s before he turned away, staring back up at the ceiling. “Oh… I was caught.”

“It seems you’ve managed to grasp your situation fairly quickly,” Tsunade commented. Grabbing a glass, on the bedside table, she filled it with water before offering it to him. “Here, drink it slowly.”

Rolling onto his side, he took the glass and nodded his thanks before draining its contents. Placing it back on the bedside table, he looked at his hand, opening and closing it, before looking towards Tsunade. “I feel strange.”

“I’d imagine you would,” Tsunade replied. “The feeling you’re experiencing is that of a body that is actually healthy, one that hasn’t been damaged by overuse of your Mangekyou or your illness.”

Sitting up, Itachi looked down at his hospital clothing. Patting his body down in spots where he knew there to be wounds, he found none.

“Why?”

It was a simple question that carried a massive weight to it.

“To right the wrongs of my predecessors,” Tsunade sighed. “What you were forced to do… No one should ever go through that. Hiruzen failed you and I want to make up for that.”

“Danzo was the one to order the massacre,” Itachi replied. “If I didn’t do it, the clan would have attacked Konoha and everyone would have died.”

“There were other options… Other paths that wouldn’t necessitate the death of children. If Hiruzen had just trusted the Uchiha clan, the massacre could have been prevented entirely,” Tsunade said. “As for Danzo,” Her tone turned frosty. “He got what was coming to him.”

“So Sasuke was telling the truth about Danzo,” Itachi muttered softly.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that. Anything Sasuke would have said about Danzo would only be a small part of the whole truth.

Outside of his part in the Uchiha massacre, he’d also been guilty of conspiring with Orochimaru, harvesting Sharingan from the Uchiha clan’s corpses, tampering with Kushina’s body and use of Shisui’s Mangekyou.

While he deserved to die for his actions in the Uchiha clan massacre, it wasn’t the only thing he deserved death for. If Danzo’s death at Sasuke’s hand continued to bother him, she’d happily give him the full details.

“What is it that you want of me?”

“Your help,” Tsunade replied. “Specifically any locations that are frequented by the Akatsuki and any place that might match the description of a mountainous graveyard filled with massive bones.”

While she had seen the location in Naruto’s memories, she didn’t know where it was on a map. If she could find out where it was, they’d be able to launch an attack directly against Obito and wipe out his main base of operation.

If he retreated to his Kamui dimension and started running things there, well… They still had Kakashi. It’s a pity he wore a mask because the look on his face when he found out that even his personal dimension wasn’t safe would be priceless.

“I don’t believe I know the location of the graveyard you’re looking for, but the rest can be done easily enough,” Itachi nodded. “I notice that you haven’t mentioned my place in all of this yet.”

“Having you on the front lines would be difficult, especially with your reputation, unless you want to reveal the full truth of the Uchiha massacre to the world.”

“I would prefer that as few people as possible knew the truth,” Itachi replied shortly. “Having it out there wouldn’t do any good. The other clans might become wary of the Hokage, thinking that you would do the same to them if they stepped out of line.”

She’d thought the same as well. “I thought you’d say that,” She hummed. “Fortunately for you, there are other options that would allow you to live a regular life in Konoha.” Slipping a scroll out of her sleeve, she tossed it to the Uchiha who unfurled it.

“This is…”

Tsunade nodded. “As of last night, Uchiha Itachi is dead. He died while on the operating table. His remains were cremated and disposed of in short notice.”

All that remained was for Itachi to have a suitable disguise that would prevent others from discovering his true identity. A regular Henge wouldn’t be enough, but Tsunade’s own personal one that she’d used for most of her life… That one would work. It wouldn’t even take that long to teach him especially since he was both a genius and had the Sharingan at his disposal.

She just had to remember to tell Sasuke before Itachi’s ‘death’ was officially announced. The last thing she wanted to deal with was another crazed Uchiha. One was already one too many. She didn’t want to have Sasuke take Obito’s place directly after his death.