Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 153 What Kakashi Sees!

Meanwhile, in a secret examination room at Konoha Hospital.

The stark white light illuminated the entire room without a single shadow, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant mixed with a faint herbal fragrance.

The walls were a cold white, the floor a smooth cement, and apart from an operating table and a few instruments whose names I didn't know, there was nothing else in the room.

Kakashi lay on the operating table, his limbs firmly secured to the four corners of the table by wide leather straps.

The belt was so tight that his wrists and ankles could only twist to a limited extent, making it impossible for him to break free.

The collar was unbuttoned down to the chest, revealing the collarbone and left shoulder, and the left eye, which had been covered by a headband, was now fully exposed to the light.

Tsunade stood beside the operating table, one hand in the pocket of her white coat, the other holding a scalpel.

The blade is long and slender, its edge gleaming with a cold, silvery light under the lamp, its sharp edge almost imperceptible in thickness.

She slowly moved the tip of the knife toward Kakashi's left eye, so slowly that Kakashi could clearly see the distance between the blade and his eyeball gradually decreasing.

"Kid, don't be afraid, I won't do anything to you." Tsunade's tone was light and casual, even with a hint of nonchalant comfort, as if she were coaxing a child who was afraid of needles.

But the next sentence caused Kakashi's pupils to shrink to the size of pinpoints.

"Even if I cut you open, I can guarantee you'll leave unharmed, without any wounds."

Kakashi's body tensed up suddenly, and the veins on his neck stood out.

He twisted his wrist forcefully, the belt creaking and the buckle scraping against the metal frame with a harsh noise.

But those belts were specially made, with an inner layer of steel wire, specifically designed to restrain ninjas who might lose control during surgery due to pain or fear.

Let alone Kakashi being just a special Jonin without the Sharingan, even Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, would have a hard time breaking free if she were bound like this without superhuman strength.

"Lady Tsunade!" Kakashi's voice was two octaves higher than usual, carrying a tension that he was trying hard to suppress but still managed to reveal.

"I think this examination really didn't need to go to this extent."

"The sealing team has already sealed it, and the Third Hokage has also examined it. There is nothing wrong with my left eye."

"If their examination were effective, you wouldn't be lying here," Tsunade interrupted him, pushing the tip of her knife forward another millimeter. "All they can find is superficial information."

"What I need to investigate is what that man left in your eyes."

Kakashi's Adam's apple bobbed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead; the pressure was simply too intense.

That eye does belong to that man, but now it's connected to his brain!

He was enduring the sensation of a gleaming knife tip about to pierce his eyes!

Tsunade ignored his tension, the tip of her sword hovering less than two centimeters from his eyeballs.

She took her other hand out of her pocket and gently pressed it against Kakashi's forehead.

The chakra in his palm glowed faintly as he began to sense the flow of chakra in his left eye.

On the surface, this eye looks no different from an ordinary eye.

His pupils were pale green, and his chakra fluctuations were within the normal range.

But Tsunade always felt that something was wrong, not with the eyes themselves, but with some kind of connection between the eyes and the outside world.

The connection was so weak that it could easily be overlooked if one did not pay close attention.

Her brows furrowed slightly.

"What are you worried about?" Tsunade suddenly asked, her tone still casual and nonchalant, but Kakashi could read seriousness in her eyes.

"I—" Before Kakashi could answer, he felt Tsunade's hand on his forehead tighten.

A warm chakra seeped from her palm into his head, spreading outwards along his meridians.

That chakra wasn't aggressive, but it possessed an irresistible penetrating power, as if countless eyes had been planted inside his body.

Deep in his consciousness, it seemed as if someone was telling him to break free, to break free with all his might.

This caused Kakashi's chakra to begin flowing, unleashing the Eight Gates—

Open the door—open!

"Don't move!" Tsunade's voice suddenly turned cold, and the hand on his forehead abruptly increased its chakra output.

She noticed Kakashi's subtle movements and frowned.

An even larger surge of chakra erupted from Tsunade's palm, like an invisible giant hand, instantly suppressing the accelerating chakra within Kakashi's body.

It feels like you're about to sprint, but someone grabs you from behind by the back of your collar, leaving you stuck in mid-air, unable to exert any force or land.

Open the door—

?

It's open—but not open anymore.

Kakashi's muscles relaxed, and he lay resignedly on the operating table, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I told you, I won't do anything to you." Tsunade withdrew some of her strength, but still suppressed the chakra within Kakashi's body, preventing him from making any further "small moves".

"You little rascal, you're not that old, but you've got quite the mind."

"You might be able to pull this trick on your teacher, but don't even think about it with me."

Kakashi didn't speak, but silently turned his head away, refusing to look at the sword hanging above his eyeballs.

Tsunade didn't actually cut down; she moved the tip of the knife a few centimeters away, then bent down to examine the eye closely.

"Hmm—" Tsunade let out a low groan, released the scalpel, and placed it on the tray beside her.

He placed both hands on either side of Kakashi's head, and the chakra light in his palms became even more intense.

The chakra surged from her palm, seeping into Kakashi's temples like two warm streams, converging, spreading, and extending inside his head.

Kakashi felt as if his brain was being soaked in warm water, a feeling that was both comfortable and eerie.

The feeling of being invaded by something foreign made him instinctively want to resist, but his body wouldn't obey him at all.

Tsunade's senses extended inward along the meridians of her left eye.

She bypassed the surface seal set up by the sealing team and directly touched the more subtle surgical structure engraved inside the eyeball.

Sure enough, the problem was discovered; the structure seemed to be different from what they had.

Tsunade's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged.

She withdrew her chakra, stood up straight, put her hands back in the pockets of her white coat, and looked down at Kakashi.

"Alright, get up!"

Kakashi paused for a moment, then subconsciously glanced at his limbs. The belt was still tightly fastened and hadn't loosened.

He moved his wrist, and the belt buckle made a crisp clinking sound.

"Untie it!" Tsunade waved her hand impatiently. "Do you want me to untie it for you?"

"I can't come by myself."

Tsunade then realized that she had forgotten about this, and reached out to undo the belts one by one.

Kakashi sat up, rubbing his wrists which were red from being constricted. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Lady Tsunade, what's wrong with my eyes?"

Tsunade did not answer immediately. She turned around, walked to the window, and opened it.

The cold wind blowing in from outside diluted the smell of disinfectant in the examination room.

"In that eye," Tsunade said, her back to Kakashi, her voice unusually calm, "there is a jutsu structure similar to the ones inside my body and Shizune's."

"The other party concealed it very well, even hiding it behind the optic nerve, a place that is difficult for ordinary people to detect."

Kakashi unconsciously pressed his hand against his left eye, but he didn't feel anything unusual.

The sealing system is functioning normally, and there are no problems with the vision in the left eye.

But Tsunade's words stirred up an inexplicable unease in his heart.

"That man," Tsunade turned around, leaned against the window frame, crossed her arms, and looked at Kakashi's face.

"He planted a seed in your eye. It's asleep now, but one day it will wake up."

"Furthermore, it enhances the flow of chakra within your body. You should be able to feel yourself becoming stronger quickly, and your chakra will also increase."

Kakashi nodded slightly. He had assumed it was because he had broken free from the limitations of the Sharingan.

So, it's all because of that man's methods in this left eye that things turned out this way?

"Can it be removed?"

"Yes," Tsunade answered decisively, "but this seed is fused with your optic nerve. If you remove it, your left eye will be ruined."

Kakashi remained silent for a moment before lowering his hand from his left eye.

"Understood." His voice was calm, so calm that it didn't sound like someone who had been told that a hidden weapon had been planted inside their body.

Tsunade glanced at him, her lips twitching slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just shook her head gently.

"You're quite carefree."

"It's not that I'm careless." Kakashi jumped off the operating table, straightening his disheveled collar. "It's just a habit."

Tsunade didn't reply. She turned around, picked up the sealing scroll from the table, and put it into Kakashi's hand.

"This is a newly improved sealing technique from the Sealing Class. Go back and find someone to help you reseal it; it will allow that seed to sleep for a longer time."

Kakashi took the scroll, held it in his hand, and felt its weight.

"Lady Tsunade, there is one more thing I would like to ask."

"explain."

"That man—what exactly does he want?"

Tsunade remained silent for a long time. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, casting interplay of light and shadow on her face.

"I don't know," she finally said, her voice carrying an unusual sense of helplessness. "But whatever he wants to do, we have to be prepared."

Kakashi nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He turned and left the examination room, the door closing gently behind him.

The sound of his footsteps receding into the distance echoed down the corridor, quickly swallowed up by the noise of the hospital.

Tsunade stood alone by the window, gazing at the sunlit Konoha Village outside, her eyes deep and complex.

"Taketori Izumi-gawa—" she murmured the name, her tone devoid of emotion.

"What exactly do you want to do, and what do you want to achieve through us?"