Hiruzen stood up from his seat at the head of the table. "Let's get this meeting started. As I'm sure you have all been informed, Koryu has been killed in action. This meeting is to choose a new commander and reallocate our forces as necessary. Does anyone have any suggestions for a new commander on the k.u.mo front?"
No one said anything. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as everyone waited for someone to break the ice. This was a very difficult decision and no one wanted to have to make it.
Breaking the silence, Shikaramu spoke up, "At the moment, we can't transfer anyone that is capable of the role from the other fronts. Regardless of our situation, our enemies must not be allowed an advantage. Thus, we will need to send someone from the village."
Upon hearing this, the room fell into silence yet again. Growing impatient, Shikaramu spoke up again, "I advise that we send some serious firepower so that we can end the war on that front quickly. I volunteer to go and take on the role of commander for the k.u.mo front."
Shinsui smiled and said, "In that case, I will go as well. I would be doing Koryu a disservice if I didn't return the favor to k.u.mo. With Shikaramu and I, we should be able to suppress their forces quickly."
Hiruzen smiled and said, "All is set then. Please head out immediately. Best of luck."
-Back in the war room-
A large group of Konoha jonin grew restless in the war room. They were impatiently waiting to find out what to do next. In addition, everyone was still mourning the loss of their commander.
Suddenly, there was a flash in the corner of the room. Everyone immediately turned to the source to find out what happened. From the flash, three people became visible. The three of them began to walk towards the center of the room where the table is.
As the Konoha jonin recognized the three people, they stepped to the side and opened a path to the center of the room. Shikaramu projected his voice across the room, "Good afternoon everyone. In case any of you don't know me, I am Nara Shikaramu and I will be your commander for the time being. In addition, allow my vice commander to introduce himself."
"h.e.l.lo everyone. I am Uchiha Shunsui. I look forward to working with you all." Shunsui then looked over to Shikaramu and nodded.
Shikaramu then said, "Now, let's get this meeting started." He then started filling everyone in on the other fronts and also received intel on their current available forces.
As he did this, Shunsui tapped Nawaki's shoulder and nodded his head to the side. They then left the room while the meeting was taking place. As they neared the door, they found Fugaku and Minato. Shunsui did the same thing with Fugaku and brought them outside.
Shunsui turned to Nawaki and then said, "Time is of the essence. I suggest we do the transplant now."
Nawaki sighed and led the way to the field hospital. On the way, Fugaku turned to Shunsui and asked, "Shunsui san, what do you need me for?"
Shunsui just shook his head and said, "You'll find out soon. This is not the place to discuss it."
After a short walk, the trio entered the medical building. As they entered, Biwako noticed them and said, "Shunsui? When did you get here?" Shunsui smiled when he saw Biwako. The two have always been somewhat friendly due to her position at the hospital.
Shunsui then said, "I arrived just now. Ah yes, it is quite convenient that you're here. I need to borrow you for a procedure. Is there an available operating room?"
Biwako laughed and said, "I'd be happy to help. What do you need from me?" Shunsui shook his head and said, "I'll tell you when we get to the OR."
Biwako led the group to a secluded operating room. Once they arrived, Nawaki sealed the walls to prevent any eavesdropping.
After doing this, Shunsui turned to Biwako and Fugaku before saying, "From what I have heard, Fugaku, you have awoken your mangekyou. As I am sure you know, the mangekyou is a double edged sword. It gives you great power but also punishes its user with a severe backlash. Your father's dying wish was for his eyes to be transplanted into yours to eliminate most of said backlash."
Fugaku was speechless. He had yet to hear anything about this. He then realized that this must be what Koryu whispered to Nawaki before he died. He then asked, "Why now?"
Shunsui sighed and said, "If we were not in our current circ.u.mstances, I would opt to not do the transplant now. However, we need you at full strength for the next battle. I believe that with a bit of support, Nawaki, you and myself should be able to end this fight quickly. That will only be possible if you undergo this procedure."
Fugaku hesitated before responding. These were his father's eyes. It was obvious that he needed to do it but he truly wished he didn't have to. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Alright. Let's get this over with then. It was his dying wish so it is my duty to respect it."
Nawaki nodded upon hearing this and took the eyes out of his inventory before placing the jar on the table. He then also took out the necessary tools and medicines including disinfectant, gauze, anesthesia, and another jar to put Fugaku's eyes in.
He then turned to Shunsui and Fugaku. "Shunsui, would you mind standing to the side? And Fugaku, go ahead and lay down on the table." He then turned to Biwako and continued, "Please administer the anesthesia once he is settled in. I am going to prepare the eyes."
Shunsui nodded and stepped back. Fugaku then laid down on the table while Biwako took out a syringe to inject the anesthesia. Meanwhile, Nawaki opened the jar with Koryu's eyes and placed them into a metal dish.
(Yeah, I'm too d.a.m.n lazy to type out another eye surgery. Basically, Fugaku got put under, got his eyes yoinked, then got some new ones yeeted in there, and then Nawaki stored the eyes in his "prison wallet". Lastly, he used sage boosted medical ninjutsu to reduce the recovery time. I'm not sorry for my laziness. I just wanna move on with the story and get to some fun stuff.)
Once the surgery was done, Nawaki placed Fugaku's old eyes into the new jar and stored them away. He did this because he recently had an epiphany: these eyes can be saved and given to Itachi or Sasuke in the future.
Shunsui noticed Nawaki lay claim to the eyes and asked, "May I know why you are holding onto those?"
Nawaki sighed and said, "I believe they might have some use in the future. Do you mind if I hold onto them until then?" Shunsui nodded and said, "That is quite the foresight you have there. I'll leave it to you then. Thank you for this."
Nawaki shrugged and said, "Eh, don't worry about it. It is just natural to help a friend." Shunsui smiled, "I'm glad that he had friends like you and Minato to rely on. I hope you two can help him through the mourning process. My clan has a long history of people losing themselves to their emotions after the death of a loved one. I'll have to trouble you two with that."
As they talked, Biwako wheeled Fugaku back to the infirmary to rest until he woke up.
After about an hour, he groaned as he tried sitting up. Nawaki quickly dashed over and held him down, "I would stay laying down for now. And don't try opening your eyes yet. It'd probably be best if you kept them closed until the pain is mostly gone."
Fugaku laid back down into the bed, "Ughhh. Okay doc, whatever you say. How'd the surgery go?" Nawaki chuckled and said, "Obviously it went perfectly. Who do you think was operating on you?"
Fugaku let out a soft laugh in response. Nawaki then said, "Try and get some rest. I'm going to come back later to heal you some more so that maybe you can open those eyes tonight." Fugaku shuddered and said, "Tonight? Didn't the surgery just finish? How would I be able to see even a couple days from now?"
Nawaki grinned and said, "I got the magic in me baybee." Inside his head, he heard an audible slap as Kensho popped up with a red forehead. "Dude, you just posted cringe. You're gonna lose subscribers." Nawaki rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, my healing abilities are quite strong so it is not surprising that you might be able to see by the end of the night."
Fugaku smiled and said, "That's great news. Thank you Nawaki." Nawaki nodded and said, "Of course. Happy to help a friend."
