Chapter 117: The Red Flash of the Whirlpool
The rusted spire of the Rain tower was slick with grime, but Rimon didn't care. He deactivated his infrared goggles, the glowing orange lenses fading to black. Below, the Leaf camp was a chaotic hive of mourning and frantic mobilization, but for Rimon, the mission in the Land of Rain was over.
He reached into his utility pouch and pulled out a three-pronged kunai, its hilt wrapped in a dense, custom-inked sealing formula. Unlike the version Minato Namikaze would eventually perfect, Rimon's formula was etched with Uzumaki Frequency Modulators—designed to stabilize the transition through the vacuum of space-time without the "shudder" that usually accompanied long-distance jumps.
"Kushina," Rimon said into his comms, his voice steady. "The payload is secure. I'm initiating the jump to the Primary Anchor. Clear the medical bay. I want Fuso and Young Mito on standby. Tell the parents to stay calm—they're about to see a ghost."
"Understood, Rimon," Kushina's voice came back, sounding both relieved and terrified. "The seals are humming. We're ready for you."
Rimon closed his eyes. He performed a single, complex hand seal. The air around him didn't just vibrate; it folded. The constant drumming of the rain was replaced by a high-pitched whine as the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God) tore through the dimensional veil.
A flash of brilliant, golden-crimson light lit up the Rain tower for a microsecond. Then, the spire was empty.
Uzushio Medical Center: Sub-Level 4
The transition was instantaneous. One moment, Rimon was surrounded by the stench of swamp mud and death; the next, he was standing in a sterile, white-lit laboratory scented with sea salt and ozone.
He stumbled slightly as his feet hit the cold tile, the spatial displacement tugging at his equilibrium. Before he could even steady himself, several figures moved toward him.
"He's here!" a soft voice cried.
Fuso—Nagato's mother—stepped forward, her red hair tied back in a practical bun. Beside her stood Ise(Nagato's father), his medical tools already prepared. But it was the third figure who commanded the most presence: a young Mito Uzumaki, her eyes sharp and analytical, her hands glowing with a refined healing chakra that looked like liquid moonlight.
Rimon didn't waste words. He unsealed the Sub-Space Storage Void at his waist.
In a puff of white smoke, the real Nawaki Senju appeared on the central operating table. He was still in the coma-seal, his skin pale and his flak jacket shredded, but his chest was rising and falling in a slow, rhythmic cadence.
"By the Sage..." Ise whispered, leaning over the boy. "The internal trauma is extensive. Concussive hemorrhaging in the lungs, three fractured ribs, and the beginning of poison-induced organ failure."
"Fix him," Rimon commanded, leaning against the wall as the adrenaline began to crash. "He needs to wake up in forty-eight hours. Not as a Senju, but as a citizen of the Whirlpool. Mito, use the Genesis Rebirth technique you created and Emi (future karin's mother) use the treatment Chopper taught you in those 7 days. We need his cellular structure stabilized before the 'fake' death in the Leaf becomes a reality."
Young Mito(8) and Emi(13) nodded, they face set in a mask of grim determination. Mito placed her hands over Nawaki's chest, the moonlight-colored chakra flowing into his ruptured organs. "I've got the primary vessels, Fuso! Start the detox flush! We can't let the Amegakure poison settle in his bone marrow!"
Fuso moved with practiced efficiency. Since being rescued and brought to Uzushio by Rimon, Nagato's parents had become the backbone of the village's medical advancement. They weren't just medics; they were survivors who knew the value of every life Rimon brought back from the brink.
Rimon watched them work for a moment. In the original timeline, Nawaki was a memory. Here, he was a patient.
"The Leaf thinks they lost their future," Rimon murmured, looking at the boy on the table. "They don't realize that the future just moved to a better neighborhood."
He turned to the door, where Kushina was standing, her eyes wide as she looked at the "dead" boy everyone in the village would soon be talking about.
"Is he going to be okay?" she asked quietly.
"He's an Uzumaki now, Kushina," Rimon replied, a small, tired smirk appearing on his face. "And we don't stay dead for long."