Shinichi nodded. He slowly adjusted his stance, then pushed off the ground. His figure blurred into a swift shadow through the driving snow, charging straight toward the snow-covered rock formation at the far end of the training ground, his right arm extended.
The scorching, crimson Great Flame Rasengan in his palm let out an increasingly violent hum. It looked like he was holding a miniature sun as he violently slammed it into the freezing rock face!
The moment of impact—
BOOM!!!!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence of the training ground. A terrifying shockwave of blinding white and crimson light erupted, instantly swallowing the entire area.
A massive fireball expanded outward. The searing heatwave rippled in a colossal ring, instantly vaporizing the snow within a dozen-meter radius and leaving only scorched black earth behind. Even the distant trees whipped violently in the shockwave, sending avalanches of snow falling from their branches.
The frenzied Fire-nature chakra combined flawlessly with the Rasengan's innate tearing force, unleashing staggering destructive power. Caught in the blinding light, the rock formation shattered, melted, and vaporized, turning into flying chunks of molten slag and a sky full of thick dust!
Such power!?
Even with the Ape Demon King's vast experience and absolute confidence in his own indestructible body, watching this scene unfold made him swallow hard. He knew perfectly well that even if he could tank that hit, it would hurt like hell.
The blinding light and churning smoke slowly began to clear.
The Ape Demon King's golden eyes suddenly contracted, and his expression drastically changed. Completely ignoring the annihilated, slag-dripping rock formation, his gaze locked dead onto the boy near ground zero.
Shinichi's right arm hung limply at his side, trembling uncontrollably.
His sleeve from palm to forearm had been reduced to ash. The exposed skin was a horrific mess—charred, split open, and covered in gruesome, bloody lacerations. The deepest gashes cut so far down that bone was almost visible.
The most terrifying part wasn't just the burns. The flesh looked as though it had been torn and corroded from the inside out by some berserk energy. The wounds were literally sizzling, emitting eerie wisps of smoke and intense heat. The unmistakable stench of charred meat mixed with the metallic tang of over-burnt chakra filled the air.
"Kid!" the Ape Demon King roared.
His massive frame materialized beside Shinichi in an instant. After a rapid glance over the boy's right arm, the summon's brows locked together in a tight, grim knot.
This injury... it wasn't a simple thermal burn or explosive trauma. The flesh displayed a grotesque combination of violent internal tearing and instantaneous extreme-heat cauterization. The residual chakra fluctuations were chaotic and savage, actively eating away at the surrounding healthy tissue.
If this had been an ordinary shinobi, the arm would have been crippled on the spot—it might have even killed them. It was only because this kid's constitution and bone density were leagues beyond a normal human's that his arm remained structurally intact. Yet, the rapidly worsening state of the wound left the Ape Demon King feeling entirely out of his depth.
"Senior... developing a new jutsu always comes with a few scratches," Shinichi managed to say. He was pale as a ghost, forehead slick with cold sweat, yet he still forced a weak smile.
Thanks to his various system trait bonuses, his physical specs were monstrous. Plus, he now possessed the recovery-focused [Endless Vitality] trait, backed up by the high-efficiency energy intake and conversion from [Big Eater]. He figured that while the injury was a pain, given his regen rate, resting and eating well for a week or two should get him mostly back to normal.
"You're still laughing looking like that?!" The Ape Demon King glared at him. His tone was harsh, but the underlying concern was obvious. "This isn't a normal injury. Stop trying to tough it out! I'm notifying Hiruzen immediately!"
Refusing to delay, he quickly executed an emergency communication jutsu linked directly to the Third Hokage.
The news reached the Hokage's office instantly. When Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Shinichi was severely injured during jutsu development—and that even the Ape Demon King was at a loss—he dropped everything and personally issued a rapid string of orders.
Shinichi was rushed to Konoha Hospital at top speed and wheeled straight into their highest-tier emergency ward.
A consultation team of elite Medical Jonin scrambled to his side. However, the moment they saw the state of his right arm and attempted to apply standard—and even advanced—medical ninjutsu, their expressions darkened.
The complexity of the wound vastly exceeded their expectations. The residual energy—a highly condensed fusion of Fire-nature chakra and the Rasengan's tearing properties—acted like a stubborn toxin, constantly destroying any newly generated tissue. All they could do was barely stabilize his condition to prevent further deterioration.
Seeing that the hospital's finest team was helpless and the boy was showing no signs of improvement, the Third Hokage immediately summoned his most trusted Anbu operative and gave a direct order.
And so, on that snowy afternoon, an Anbu knocked on Tsunade's door.
---
Inside Konoha Hospital's Special Ward
During the rush over, Tsunade had aggressively mentally prepped herself, repeating over and over that this was just another patient in need of treatment.
But the moment she stepped under the bright lights of the ward and saw the gruesome state of the boy's right arm, that familiar wave of dizziness and terror coiled up her spine like a freezing viper.
The faint smell of blood and charred flesh cutting through the sharp scent of antiseptic made her stomach violently heave. The color drained from her face, and her feet involuntarily stepped back.
She gritted her teeth hard, digging her fingernails deep into her palms, using the sharp pain to anchor herself in place.
A few seconds later, she took a deep breath. When she looked up again, her face was masked with icy detachment and a mocking sneer, erasing any trace of her momentary panic.
"Well, well. If it isn't our incredibly promising heir to the 'Will of Fire,' the great genius Shinichi Higashino."
She crossed her arms, dragging out her words with deliberate sarcasm. "What happened? Trained yourself half to death? I guess determination isn't enough if you don't have the brains to back it up. In the end, you still have to rely on the cynical burnout you were lecturing the other day to save your life, don't you?"
Faced with her biting mockery, the pale boy in the bed simply smiled. His tone remained as steady and calm as ever, completely ignoring the fiery argument they'd had at the yakiniku restaurant days prior.
"I appreciate your help, Lady Tsunade. Sorry to cause you trouble."
His sincere, almost apologetic attitude felt like punching a cloud. It entirely choked out the rest of the sarcastic remarks Tsunade had chambered in her throat.
She let out a cold snort and, without another word, marched straight to his bedside.
She forced her focus entirely onto the arm itself, walling off the traumatic mental associations triggered by the blood and gore. Hovering her hands over Shinichi's ruined limb, a vibrant green medical chakra bloomed from her fingertips. Like an ultra-precise scanner, she began a meticulous probe of the internal damage.
The deeper she looked, the tighter Tsunade's brow furrowed.
The complexity and stubbornness of the injury completely defied her expectations. That chaotic, residual Fire-nature chakra was twisted tightly with a strange, spiraling tearing force, actively devouring the arm's vitality.
However, at the same time, she clearly sensed his monstrous physical constitution. An unnaturally vibrant surge of life force was surging inside him, autonomously fighting back against the destruction. That's probably the only reason he's still conscious and cracking jokes right now, she realized.
"Bite down on something," she ordered coldly.
And with that, the real treatment began.
---