Naruto: Imitation Ninja

Under Minato's agreement to let Tsunade treat Kakashi, everyone began preparing the tools needed for the procedure.

Meanwhile, Xingliu, another of Konoha's aces, merely lay on an idle hospital bed, lazily watching others hustle and bustle around him.

This arrangement was unanimously approved by everyone present. After all, this particular "lord" was bold enough to offend even the Hokage, Minato. Who knew if he might suddenly refuse to cooperate?

To avoid any unpleasant surprises, the group decided it was better to put in a little extra effort and maintain Xingliu's mood.

After a solid ten minutes of preparation, the tools were ready. However, Xingliu, who had been lounging on the hospital bed, had already fallen sound asleep.

"Let's begin the treatment. There's no strict requirement to wake the patient and address the side effects simultaneously," Tsunade said.

Initially, she had considered waking the sleeping Xingliu, but after some thought, she decided it was better to focus on reviving Kakashi first. After all, her medical techniques were both time-consuming and energy-intensive.

If she woke Xingliu only to find Kakashi wasn't ready, there was no guarantee the "lord" wouldn't storm back to the gambling hall to flirt with some innocent girl.

But honestly, if not for the demands of the plot, Xingliu would have healed Kakashi long ago.

As a man blessed with a cheat-like ability, wouldn't curing a minor ailment be child's play?

"Tsunade-sama, please command us as you see fit. No matter what you need, we will do it as long as it helps bring Kakashi back!"

Instead of being moved by their words, Tsunade rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Of course! Did you think I'd be polite with you?"

"You over there—the one with the thick brows—yes, you! Help me secure Kakashi to the bed."

"Next, my method of awakening him might be a little… forceful."

"For my safety as a frail woman, I'll need to inconvenience the patient a bit."

"…"

"Are you serious?" That thought echoed collectively in everyone's minds.

The legendary Sannin, claiming to be a frail woman? If they hadn't seen her send Jiraiya flying with a single punch, they might have actually believed her nonsense.

"Hurry up! All you need to do is secure a completely immobilized patient to the bed—what's taking so long?"

Seeing that the volunteers who had pledged their help were now frozen in place, Tsunade nearly lost her temper.

"You volunteered to help earlier, and now you're standing there like statues. If you didn't want to save him, you should've just let me go back to my game!"

Tsunade had been dragged away from her Mahjong game by Minato, and now that she'd promised to revive Kakashi, these people were wasting her time. Was this some sort of prank?

"Alright, alright, we're on it!" Finally snapping out of their daze, the group started securing Kakashi to the bed.

"See? If you'd just done this earlier, I wouldn't have had to scold you!" Tsunade muttered, glaring at the overly elaborate scene before her.

When she saw Kakashi wrapped up like a mummy, her barely suppressed anger flared up again.

"Are you all idiots? I only told you to secure him to the bed, not turn him into a cocoon!" she snapped, pointing at the tightly wrapped Kakashi.

"Do you all secretly hate this man or something?"

"Uh…"

Embarrassed by Tsunade's tirade, the group finally realized how absurd their actions were.

"Are they the ones responsible for this 'zongzi'?" Tsunade grumbled as she shooed everyone out of the room. Left alone, she unwrapped the "cocoon" herself.

---

The surgery lasted over an hour. By then, Xingliu had already woken up and was stretching lazily.

"Perfect timing. I'm just about done here," Tsunade remarked. "The rest is up to you."

Sure enough, as Tsunade stepped back, Kakashi, who had been lying still with his eyes closed, began to stir.

"Ugh…"

Slowly, Kakashi opened his eyes and lifted a hand to rub his head.

"Where… Where am I? And who are all of you? Why are you standing around my bed?"

Heh, who could resist playing that classic prank on a freshly awakened patient?

Draped in a white coat he'd mysteriously procured, Xingliu held a clipboard and pretended to read from it.

"Congratulations, Kakashi… oh no, I mean Kakashi-chan. The surgery was a success. You're now a fine young lady," Xingliu declared, adjusting his imaginary glasses.

"What?! A girl? Are you talking about me?"

Xingliu's deadpan delivery almost sent Kakashi into another fainting spell. His trembling hand shot down to check his most private of areas, and only after confirming everything was intact did he sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness… My little brother is still here…"

Although Kakashi hadn't fallen for the prank entirely, Xingliu wasn't surprised. After all, he hadn't actually performed any surgery.

But seeing Kakashi's brief moment of panic made the joke worthwhile.

Tsunade, who had initially been unsure why Xingliu donned the white coat, shook her head when she realized it was just for a prank.

"Ahem…" Tsunade cleared her throat. "Xingliu, don't you think you're forgetting something?"

"Hmm? Forgetting something? I don't think so…" Xingliu replied, feigning innocence.

"Really? Think harder," Tsunade said, subtly gesturing toward Kakashi.

"Ohhh, that," Xingliu said with mock realization as he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Should I really turn his consciousness into that of a girl?" Xingliu mused, speaking loud enough for the still-dazed Kakashi to hear.

"Stop right there! If you're not afraid of Minato hunting you down, go ahead and try," Tsunade warned.

"Alright, alright. No need to get so serious. Trying it could end badly…" Xingliu muttered, backing off with a smirk.

---

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