Chương 112

"Rei.. You should take him and Kakashi-san there, to see if anyone there can take care of them." As Rei was getting ready to leave, Hana spoke these words, like a whisper, near his ears. Rei stopped right on his tracks when his mother spoke those words.

"Mom, if I take them away, how will you explain their disappearance to the hospital?" Rei was confused about why his mother wanted them take away to the other world. It wasn't like the doctors there had huge knowledge about brain injuries. Okay, maybe they did but he didn't have access to Wakandan tech or something of that sort, and even then he wasn't sure if they could be of any help because of their physiology when it came to Sharingan.

"Nobody is going to visit them at night, and since the time flow has changed between us and the other place, they would spend lesser time in coma in calculation if they are in that world, making Tsunade-sama's help arrive much earlier." Hana replied. This impressed Rei as he didn't think of that point at all. If these people were in the other world, they would really spend lesser time in reality, though he still didn't understand how the age was being maintained in the contract, but hey, if it worked, it worked.

"But mother, I ain't sure if I can even take them to the other world as I would need their permission." Rei reminded as how the contract worked. Hana too went into deep thought and then said.

"It is said that when a patient is in coma, often times they can say what is going on around, due to their subconscious being active. You can ask them and maybe they will allow you." Rei looked toward the two unconscious figures lying peacefully upon their hospital beds before slowly nodding. It sounded absurd at first, yet the more he thought about it, the more reasonable Hana's suggestion became.

Even if nobody in the other world could cure Tsukuyomi directly, modern medicine was far ahead in monitoring coma patients. More importantly, the slower passage of time there meant Kakashi and Sasuke would effectively spend less time unconscious from Konoha's perspective. If Tsunade returned after several days, it would feel like only a short while had passed for the two patients. Of course that would mean, he would have to do this work of transfer every day as they would have to keep up public appearance.

That was the part he wasn't sure, but he could go along for now.

"... It's worth trying." Rei finally replied before walking toward Kakashi's bedside. He gently placed a hand over the Copy Ninja's arm and closed his eyes. The familiar warmth of the contract immediately resonated with the unconscious shinobi.

"Kakashi-sensei... I need your permission. I want to take you to that place until Tsunade-sama returns. If you can hear me and you agree, answer through the contract." Rei waited for a few seconds and was actually surprised to see that he did get the permission to take him away. His mother was right.

"It actually worked." He immediately repeated the process beside Sasuke's bed, speaking just loudly enough for the unconscious teenager's subconscious to hear.

"Sasuke... I'm taking you to the other place sometimes until your treatment begins. If you trust me, give your permission." And just as the previous time, Rei was allowed to take Sasuke away too.

"Looks like the stories were true after all." Without wasting another second, she quietly moved toward the corridor, making sure no nurses or doctors were approaching the room. After confirming the hallway was empty, she closed the door once more and nodded toward her son.

"Go ahead. Nobody should come here until the next scheduled inspection." Rei, Kakashi and Sasuke vanished from the room altogether. Hana quietly pulled the blankets into place, making the beds appear occupied from a quick glance before calmly returning to her chair beside them. Anyone peeking through the small window would simply assume both patients were still asleep beneath the covers. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Several moments later, Rei appeared inside the ranch house in the other world with both unconscious shinobi resting upon separate guest beds Daniel and Laura had hurriedly prepared after receiving his message. After ensuring neither patient's condition had changed during transportation, Rei quietly took out the cellphone, and called Zabuza.

"What happened?"

"I need your help." Rei answered seriously.

"Find the best doctor you know who specializes in coma patients or severe neurological injuries."

"Who is injured?" Zabuza asked.

"Kakashi and Sasuke."

"..."

"I will find one. And also make sure to keep their mouth shut." Sasuke and Kakashi were both placed in separate beds, and since it was afternoon, Laura and Daniel were taken aback seeing two coma patients. They had heard of the dangers of the other world but seeing the most powerful people they had known to be unresponsive made them realize how their new physique was nothing in front of actual monsters. Daniel stood silently beside the two beds for a long while before finally letting out a slow breath.

Seeing two people whom he had always associated with impossible strength lying completely motionless reminded him that power alone didn't guarantee victory.

"... So even people like them can lose." Laura quietly adjusted the blanket covering Kakashi before looking toward Rei.

"I'll prepare the guest rooms properly and make sure nobody disturbs them. If the doctor arrives, we'll bring him in through the back entrance. The fewer people who know about this, the better." Rei nodded before stepping outside onto the porch with Daniel. The evening breeze carried the scent of freshly cut grass across the ranch while both men watched the setting sun slowly disappear beyond the distant trees.

"I never expected things to get this serious." Daniel admitted quietly.

"Every story you've told us sounded dangerous, but seeing it with my own eyes... it makes everything feel different."

"They'll recover." Rei answered while keeping his gaze on the horizon.

"Tsunade is the best medical ninja alive. I'm only buying them time until she arrives." He wasn't really concerned about these two, he did what he did just for making his mother calm down and not feel like shit since the time they were injured. Now that his mother had such an overwhelming physique and even after that she failed to help someone like Rei's friend and his sensei, it filled her with guilt. She never spoke about it, but Rei could always see that. Daniel nodded before changing the subject.

"Zabuza sounded confident over the phone."

"He'll find someone."

"And if modern medicine can't help?"

"Tsunade would take car of it as I said. She is the best in the business." Rei and others were busy talking, not realizing that, at that very moment, someone else had already entered the ranch. Not through the doors or windows. No footsteps echoed across the wooden floor. Even Rei's enhanced perception, capable of sensing life across enormous distances, failed to register the newcomer's existence. Inside the quiet guest room where Sasuke laid motionless, the air suddenly became unnaturally still.

A towering silhouette slowly emerged from the corner where no shadows should have existed. It seemed draped in pale garments that swayed without wind, while an ancient presence filled the room with a weight that belonged neither to man nor spirit. Its face remained hidden beneath darkness, only fragments of an impossibly long beak-like outline and two cold, hollow eye sockets becoming visible whenever the fading sunlight touched them. It stopped beside Sasuke's bed. For several long moments... It simply watched.

"... Such hatred." The voice was calm and absurdly deep. As though it had spoken the same words countless times across countless centuries.

"... Such purpose." No response came from the unconscious teenager. Yet somewhere far beneath the shattered fragments of his mind, inside his mind world that had been broken apart by Tsukuyomi, Sasuke heard the voice as clearly as if someone stood directly before him.

"You seek vengeance." The darkness surrounding Sasuke trembled.

"You seek justice."

"You seek the strength to punish those who deserve punishment." Broken memories surfaced around him. His parents. The Uchiha compound. Everything that he had seen and suffered so far. The towering figure slowly lowered its head.

"Your mind has been broken." A skeletal hand reached toward Sasuke's forehead without ever physically touching him.

"I can mend it."

"I can restore what was taken."

"In return..." A faint silver glow spread across the endless darkness.

"... walk my path."

"... Become my hand."

"... Become my justice."

"... Become my avatar." Sasuke remained silent for what felt like an eternity. Then, from somewhere deep within the fractured remains of his consciousness, came a single answer.

"... Will it let me kill him?" The figure did not hesitate.

"It will give you another chance."

"... Fine. I accept. But if I find you are lying, I shall come for your head." The mysterious figure slowly stepped few steps away and lowered its head a bit.

"So be it. Let my powers flow through you."