In a cold, dark cave...
The withered form of Uchiha Madara sat slumped on a stone chair, his scythe-like weapon resting across his knees. Behind him loomed the grotesque husk of the Gedo Statue, its monstrous form casting eerie shadows across the stone floor.
At this point, Madara was ancient—kept alive only through the vitality siphoned from the Gedo Statue.
A rustling echoed nearby.
"White Zetsu, you've returned early. Did something catch your attention?"
Madara's voice was hoarse and low, like stone grinding against stone. His eyes narrowed as White Zetsu emerged from the earth like a sprouting weed.
"Ahh, Madara-sama," White Zetsu said in his usual playful tone. "I found a rather interesting Uchiha brat. He's already awakened his two tomoe Sharingan—at the ripe old age of seven."
Madara's fingers flexed slightly on his weapon. "Hmph. And what's his temperament?"
White Zetsu grinned. "Surprisingly cheerful. Unlike the usual arrogant Uchiha. He's the kind of kid who helps old grannies across the road and believes in the power of friendship."
"Oh—and you'll love this part—his dream is to become Hokage."
Madara let out a raspy, humorless chuckle.
"Heh~ How adorably naive. He probably hasn't realized yet that Konoha would sooner crown a Nara deer than let an Uchiha take that seat."
But... perhaps that wasn't important.
The clan had long since severed its bonds with him. But this boy... he might still be useful.
Time was slipping away, and he needed a new pawn.
"White Zetsu, keep watching him—and the ones close to him. We may have a role for them soon."
"Yes, Madara-sama!"
Meanwhile… somewhere in Konoha's forest training ground...
"Argh! No more! I officially identify as a corpse now!"
Kakashi was dramatically sprawled across the grass, arms wide like he was posing for a crime scene chalk outline.
Around him, scrolls lay scattered like battlefield casualties—each one loaded with complex sealing formulas.
He groaned again. "Tell me why my brilliant plan to train under the legendary Tsunade turned into death by seal diagrams?"
It had been two and a half years since he'd become Tsunade's apprentice. And in that time, he had repeatedly demonstrated his absurd, near-inhuman learning speed.
Medical theory? Child's play.
Healing Jutsu? Done.
Chakra Scalpel? Learned during lunch.
Nervous System Rupture? Picked it up like a side quest.
And don't even get started on Super Strength and the Heavenly Guard Kick—he mastered those in less time than it took Tsunade to finish a cup of sake.
His progress was so rapid, it had started to genuinely mess with Tsunade's pride as a legendary kunoichi.
Eventually, after recovering from the repeated ego bruises, she agreed to teach him her Forbidden Techniques:Mitotic Regeneration and Strength of a Hundred Technique.
But first...
She dropped the ultimate requirement: he had to master the Hundred Healings Mark.
Kakashi had never regretted being a genius more.
"The sealing script for this technique is absurd!"
When he first received the secret scroll, Kakashi had been ecstatic. This was his real target—his core reason for becoming her student.
But when he opened the scroll and saw hundreds of tightly packed sealing formulas and chakra matrices...
He questioned every life choice that had led him here.
"Pretty sure this is how people go blind."
The Hundred Healings Mark was a relic handed down from Uzumaki Mito, wife of the First Hokage and sealing master of the Uzumaki clan. It was the crown jewel of Uzumaki sealing arts—refined, dense, and maddeningly complex.
Tsunade had told him he didn't need to fully understand it—just learn to copy the formulas and miniaturize them, then tattoo them in precise positions on his body.
Sounded easy.
Wasn't.
He'd even tried to guilt Tsunade into giving a demonstration.
She declined—gleefully.
He was pretty sure she was using this to get back at him for being too much of a prodigy.
He could see it in her smug grin.
But despite the mental trauma, Kakashi wasn't one to give up. He lay there groaning dramatically for a bit, then sat up and returned to deciphering the technique.
The process of shrinking down the runes without losing structural integrity reminded him of writing machine code from his past life.
Logical layering, conditionals, fail-safes—it was sealing tech that wouldn't look out of place in a high-security database.
And the Hundred Healings Mark boiled down to two primary functions:
Energy Storage: Compress unused chakra into dense, crystalline form and stockpile it inside a sealed matrix.
Energy Release: Decompress and unleash it when needed in massive quantities.
No concurrent systems, no scaling architecture—just raw chakra buffering.
And the more Kakashi analyzed it, the more he appreciated its brilliance.
Somewhere along the way, he realized he wasn't just learning a technique—he was gaining a master's insight into Uzumaki-level sealing.
He even found elements of the Four Symbols Seal hidden inside—one of the most advanced barrier jutsu in existence.
He hadn't even reached Minato's team yet, and he was already knee-deep in top-tier seal knowledge.
One month later...
Tsunade blinked in disbelief as a disheveled Kakashi—eyes bloodshot, hair sticking up like a science experiment—stumbled toward her.
A perfect diamond-shaped seal now glowed faintly on his forehead.
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.
(…I'm pretty sure it took me twice as long. Granted, I did take some strategic gambling breaks, but still.)
She sighed inwardly. "So, you really did it."
"Congratulations, Kakashi. Since you've mastered the Hundred Healings Mark, I'll now teach you the techniques that follow."
She motioned to the side.
"Rin, come join us. You should hear this too."
Rin jogged over obediently. As for Shizune, she already knew these techniques but had never practiced them herself.
Tsunade's voice turned serious.
"Now listen carefully. This is the foundation of what makes a true combat medic ninja."
She raised her hand."Hundred Healings Mark—Release!"
A purple glow erupted from the seal on her forehead, spreading across her face like a blooming curse seal.
"Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration!"
The markings pulsed and extended across her face and body, covering her arms and even down to her ankles.
"Forbidden Technique—Strength of a Hundred!"
The pressure in the air thickened. Chakra surged around her like a storm. Kakashi and Rin both took an instinctive step back.
Tsunade's voice cut through the roar.
"Remember the Four Rules of Medical Ninja."
"A medical ninja must never stop treatment until the teammate is dead."
"A medical ninja must never be on the front lines."
"A medical ninja must never die before their comrades."
"Only those who have mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique... are allowed to break all three of the above."
Her aura flared like a battle goddess as the final seal stabilized.
Kakashi's eye twitched slightly. "Note to self: Do not annoy Tsunade when she's glowing like a curse seal nuke."
Rin whispered, "This… this is the power of a top-level medical shinobi?"
Kakashi smirked, exhausted but impressed. "Yeah. Remind me to never get into a bar fight with her."
Tsunade smiled faintly.
"Good. Because from now on... I expect you to become even stronger."