Makoto glanced at Shizune, who was squatting beside Tsunade like a nervous mother hen, constantly monitoring her vital signs.
He was honestly afraid Shizune might suddenly drop to her knees and beg Tsunade to stop circulating this mysterious energy.
Makoto was almost certain that Tsunade's physical condition was essentially the same as Zuo Tong's.
The difference lay entirely in their mental states and the mechanics of their power.
Tsunade didn't need to actively maintain her youthful appearance minute-by-minute.
Maintaining a young body was a passive effect of the Yin Seal combined with the Strength of a Hundred technique.
As long as her chakra wasn't depleted, she wouldn't revert to a granny.
Think of it like a rubber band.
One person uses their hand to pull a rubber band taut to prevent it from snapping back (active effort).
Another person uses two nails to fix the rubber band in place (passive mechanism).
The rubber band represents the Body.
The hand represents the Spirit/Will.
The nails represent the Chakra of the Yin Seal.
For the rubber band itself—the body—there is no physical difference between being held by a hand or pinned by nails. It's stretched either way.
However, in this ninja world where the underlying laws of physics are more like "suggestions," the outcomes differ.
In a world where resurrection is terrifyingly easy, rejuvenation isn't exactly a heaven-defying act.
Look at Uchiha Madara.
He died as a wrinkled old man.
He was reincarnated in a specially crafted young body through Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei), and then fully revived through Rinne Rebirth.
This was essentially extreme rejuvenation.
And the most outrageous aspect of Madara's resurrection wasn't the youth or the revival itself, but the "Assimilation and Overwriting."
The assimilation in Impure World Reincarnation is temporary—once the technique is released, the dust falls away and the original sacrifice's corpse reappears.
But after being revived through Rinne Rebirth, Madara's original sacrifice completely disappeared.
It was assimilated and overwritten by the concept of "Madara."
Every cell of the revived Uchiha Madara was constructed from his original body's blueprint (plus some Hashirama spice).
If Madara's old corpse still existed in a grave somewhere at that moment, there would be one living Madara and one dead Madara, and both would be the genuine article.
This situation had already transcended the category of mere "healing."
It followed the same principle as the "Turning Illusion into Reality" technique Makoto was currently preparing.
The final step was to let the world itself perform an "adaptive repair" on reality.
Rinne Rebirth revived the Edo Tensei Madara into flesh.
The cells of Rin Nohara created through Turning Illusion into Reality could be used to summon the real Rin's soul.
Both belonged to this same layer of reality manipulation.
To put it in... cruder terms:
If Tobirama Senju were to use Impure World Reincarnation to summon his rival Izuna Uchiha and then, for some ungodly reason, have sex with him, he would technically be having sex with a dirt-covered White Zetsu sacrifice that just looks like Izuna.
But if someone were to use Rinne Rebirth to fully revive that Edo Tensei Izuna? Even if the real Izuna's skeleton was buried five feet away, it would mean Tobirama was truly having sex with the real Izuna Uchiha.
It would have absolutely nothing to do with White Zetsu anymore.
This is the influence of the world's fundamental laws correcting the data.
Therefore, when facing Tsunade's current situation, Makoto quickly made a judgment call.
"Don't stop. Continue using Creation Rebirth to maintain repairs and keep your current state."
Hearing Makoto's command, Tsunade—who had been hesitating on whether to drop the youth transformation to save energy—understood what to do.
Rip.
Tear.
Heal.
Tsunade's body continued to destroy and reconstruct itself.
The bodies of people in the ninja world are remarkably durable.
The fact that Might Duy could put his son Guy through hellish physical training since childhood without leaving him permanently disabled—and actually turning him into a Taijutsu god—speaks volumes about the biology here.
Just like that, several hours passed.
At first, Shizune was a nervous wreck, watching Tsunade shudder in pain.
But as time went on, everyone noticed that Tsunade was just occasionally twitching in the corner like a glitching NPC, while her chakra remained rock-stable.
So, naturally, they stopped paying attention.
Shizune realized that after running the village for so long, she could finally relax.
Plop.
She hopped into the hot spring.
Since she couldn't leave her master's side, she might as well enjoy the perks of the luxury suite.
Rin and Kushina, being dead, couldn't enjoy the hot springs.
They chose to be productive instead.
After using transformation jutsu, Kushina went off to activate the chakra imprint she had left in Naruto's body years ago.
...
Several hours later.
Tsunade had gradually adapted to the Natural Energy.
"Hey, Makoto. Come take a look. I thought it was my imagination earlier, but it's really getting slower and slower."
Tsunade suddenly called out from her corner.
Makoto walked over.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, Tsunade didn't turn around.
She immediately described her situation. "Has the Natural Energy in that stone run out?"
"If you depleted the Natural Energy inside, you would have dropped out of the transformation state entirely," Makoto denied her speculation.
"Then... what's happening to me now?"
"Can't you guess?"
"No way...?"
Tsunade's incredulous tone carried a hint of genuine shock and pleasant surprise.
"Hmm? What's going on?"
Shizune, who had become somewhat drowsy from turning into a prune in the hot spring, opened her eyes and looked over.
"I..."
Tsunade touched her face with both hands several times.
Then she squeezed her arms.
She checked her skin elasticity, finally, she stood up and turned around.
"Eh? Has the technique ended already?" Shizune blinked.
Tsunade appeared to have returned to normal—except for the glowing golden tattoos covering her body.
Realizing she was naked in front of a man while her boss was fully clothed in chakra, Shizune panicked.
She quickly scrambled out of the water, grabbed her clothes, hid behind a paper screen to change at light speed, and ran out.
"It hasn't ended yet. Well, it should be said that it hasn't even started," Tsunade murmured.
She waved her arm, watching the gold light trail behind it.
She looked at Makoto. "Is my current condition the result of enhancement and amplification, or..."
Tsunade could sense the fundamental changes in her biology now.
Creation Rebirth no longer required her active chakra to perform repairs.
Even more miraculous was that the "switch" controlling her youthful appearance... had disappeared.
The rubber band wasn't being held by nails anymore.
The rubber band had just become short.
"There was once a man who carried a fake ball on his head, thinking if he wore it long enough, it would eventually become a second head. He failed."
"You, however... you tied the ball to your head without any expectations, and now it has truly become a head."
Makoto sighed with philosophical emotion.
"Huh?" Tsunade looked utterly confused.
'What ball? What head? Is this another one of his weird metaphors?'
"It's nothing. Whether this state of yours is permanent or not, you'll know once the energy fades. Let's focus on the task at hand."
"Oh. Right."
Tsunade shook off the confusion and began to focus.
She sensed the trace of violent Solar Natural Energy within her body.
With the precision of a legendary Medical Ninja, she began calculating exactly what percentage of this nuclear-grade energy a normal human being could withstand without exploding.
...
Meanwhile, at the Fire Daimyo's Palace.
Tobirama Senju, having thoroughly "resolved" matters throughout the palace (AKA: massacred the guards and staff), did not leave yet.
According to his intelligence, one person was still missing—a crucial loose end.
Maruichi Kyuu.
The Daimyo's son.
The heir.
The future obstacle.
This heir had gone out to deliver a public speech.
'Strange.'
But Tobirama soon discovered the reason: The Daimyo's son had gone out to speak because of the rapid reforms happening in other countries.
'Could it be that this boy also had intentions of reform?'
This thought crossed Tobirama's mind for exactly one second.
He used a transformation technique and blended into the crowd to listen.
Maruichi Kyuu finished his speech about "progress" and "unity" and returned to his private inn amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the ignorant crowd.
"Maruichi-sama, someone has sent you a gift."
A servant hurried over to the heir, carrying a beautifully wrapped box.
Maruichi Kyuu, feeling like a man of the people, smiled.
He put on white gloves and opened the box.
Inside, he saw hundreds of delicately folded paper cranes.
"Ah," he smiled gently. "It seems my speech was quite effective. I am well-loved by the people of the Land of Fire..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Maruichi Kyuu noticed something odd.
The paper cranes in the box... were beginning to glow red.
BOOM.