Shinichi nodded. He slowly adjusted his stance. Then, with a push of his foot, his figure turned into a swift blur within the wind and snow, charging straight toward the rockery formation in the distance of the training ground, which was covered in thick snow, his right arm extended forward.
In his palm, the crimson, scorching Great Flame Rasengan emitted an increasingly violent buzzing, as if a miniature sun were clenched in his hand, as he fiercely pressed it against the cold mountain rock!
At the moment of contact—
Boom!!!!
The deafening explosion tore apart the silence of the training ground. A terrifying radiance of blazing white interwoven with crimson erupted in an instant, swallowing that entire area at once!
A massive fireball swelled outward. A ring-shaped wave of scorching air spread out like a collapsing mountain and overturning sea, instantly vaporizing all the accumulated snow within a radius of dozens of meters, exposing the charred black ground. Even the trees in the distance were shaken violently by the shockwave, the snow on their branches falling in flurries.
The violent Fire Release chakra combined perfectly with the tearing force of the Rasengan itself, unleashing astonishing destructive power.
The rockery formation shattered, melted, and vaporized within the light, turning into splattering fragments of molten rock and a sky full of dust!
This kind of power!?
Even with the Monkey King's vast experience and his confidence in his "indestructible" body, witnessing this scene caused his throat to move involuntarily as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
He knew very clearly that even if he could withstand it head-on, it would by no means be easy.
The blinding light and the roiling smoke gradually dispersed.
The Monkey King's golden pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression changed.
He instantly ignored the rockery area that had been completely destroyed, still radiating heat and bearing traces of melting, and locked his gaze firmly onto the boy near the center of the explosion.
Shinichi's right arm hung limply at his side, trembling slightly beyond his control.
From his palm to his forearm, the sleeve had long since turned to ashes. The exposed skin was in a horrific state—charred black, split open, covered in dreadful bloodstains, the deepest parts nearly exposing bone.
Most horrifying of all, the wounds were not merely burns. The flesh seemed to have been torn apart and scorched from within by some violent force, and was even emitting a strange sizzling blue smoke and heat. A peculiar, fishy stench—of burnt flesh and chakra excessively scorched—spread through the air.
"Kid!"
The Monkey King let out a low roar, his massive body appearing beside Shinichi in an instant.
He quickly scanned Shinichi's right arm, and his brows immediately locked tightly together.
The injury… was not a simple high-temperature burn or blast-impact wound. The flesh showed an eerie state—violently torn from the inside, then instantly scorched by extreme heat. The residual chakra fluctuations were exceedingly violent and chaotic, and they were still continuously eroding the surrounding intact tissue.
If this were an ordinary shinobi, that arm would likely have been crippled on the spot, and it could very well have endangered his life.
It was only because this kid's physique far surpassed that of ordinary people—his tendons and bones unbelievably tough—that he had barely managed to preserve the arm's overall structural integrity. But the steadily worsening injury still left the Monkey King feeling at a complete loss.
"Senior, developing a new jutsu—getting a little hurt is unavoidable." Shinichi's face was deathly pale, his forehead slick with cold sweat, yet he still forced out a smile.
He had all kinds of Entry bonuses. His physical quality was far beyond normal, and now he also had the main recovery-type [Unceasing Vitality], with the efficient energy intake and conversion ability brought by [Big Eater] as backing.
He estimated that although this kind of injury was troublesome, with his own recovery ability, if he ate and drank well for ten days to half a month, he should be mostly recovered.
"You're like this and you can still smile?!" The Monkey King shot him a glare. His tone was severe, but his concern was obvious. "This injury isn't ordinary—don't grit your teeth and endure it! I'll notify Hiruzen immediately!"
He did not delay any further, quickly performing some kind of emergency communication secret technique between himself and the Third Hokage.
The message was sent back to the Hokage's office at the fastest speed. When the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, learned that Shinichi had been seriously injured while developing a new jutsu—and that even the Monkey King found it difficult—he immediately set aside all matters at hand and personally issued a string of orders.
Shinichi was transported to Konoha Hospital at top speed, sent straight into the highest-spec emergency ward.
Several senior medical jōnin who rushed over upon hearing the news quickly formed a consultation team. However, when they saw the injury on Shinichi's right arm and attempted treatment with conventional—and even advanced—medical ninjutsu, their expressions all turned grave.
The complexity of the injury far exceeded expectations. The residual violent energy—fused from highly condensed Fire Release chakra and the Rasengan's tearing characteristics—was like the most stubborn toxin, constantly destroying newly formed tissue. They could only barely stabilize Shinichi's condition to prevent further deterioration.
Seeing that even the hospital's top team was at their wits' end, with no sign of improvement, the Third Hokage immediately summoned one of his most trusted ANBU at his side and personally issued an order.
And so, there came that wind-and-snow-lashed afternoon—the scene of ANBU knocking on Tsunade's door.
...
Konoha Hospital, inside a special ward.
Although on the way here Tsunade had already forced herself through all kinds of mental preparation, repeatedly telling herself that this was merely a wounded patient in need of treatment, when, beneath the bright lights of the ward, she clearly saw the boy's shocking right arm on the hospital bed, the familiar dizziness and fear still shot up her spine like an icy venomous snake.
The faint smell of blood and scorched flesh mingled with the scent of disinfectant, causing her stomach to convulse violently. Her face turned several shades paler in an instant, and her feet even stepped back two paces involuntarily.
She suddenly clenched her teeth, her nails digging deeply into her palm, forcing herself to remain where she stood through the sharp pain.
Several breaths later, she drew in a deep breath. When she raised her eyes again, a layer of icy indifference and ridicule already hung upon her face, as if her previous loss of composure had never occurred.
"Well, well, isn't this our promising inheritor of the Will of Fire, the great genius Higashino Shinichi?"
With her arms crossed, her voice carried deliberately drawn-out mockery. "What's this? Training yourself into this state? Seems determination alone isn't enough—you also need a brain to match it. In the end, don't you still need someone like me—the one you look down on, the one who talks doom and gloom—to save you?"
Faced with the obvious sarcasm, Shinichi on the hospital bed merely smiled faintly despite his pale complexion, his tone as calm as ever, as though the intense clash at Yakiniku Q a few days ago had never happened.
"Thank you for troubling yourself, Tsunade-sama. I've caused you inconvenience."
His frank—almost apologetic—attitude was like a punch landing on cotton, leaving the additional barbs Tsunade had prepared stuck in her throat.
She let out a cold snort, said no more, and walked straight to the bedside.
She forced herself to focus entirely on the arm itself, rather than on the psychological associations brought by blood and injury.
Extending her hand to hover above Shinichi's right arm, a glow of emerald medical chakra lit up from her fingertips. Like the most precise scanner, it began meticulously probing the condition within the wound.
The more she examined it, the tighter Tsunade's brows knit.
The complexity and stubbornness of the injury exceeded her expectations. The residual violent Fire Release chakra and the peculiar spiraling tearing force were entangled together, continuously destroying vitality.
Yet at the same time, she could clearly sense that the boy's physical condition was extremely strong, and within his body there was an unusually vigorous life force autonomously resisting this destruction. That was probably the reason he could still remain conscious and even speak lightly.
"Bear with it!"
She said coldly, and then began the real treatment.
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