Shinichi nodded. He slowly adjusted his stance, then pushed off with his foot, his figure transforming into a rapid shadow in the wind and snow, charging straight toward the rock formation covered in thick snow far across the training ground, his right arm extended.
The fiery red, scorching Fire style: Rasengan in his palm emitted an increasingly violent hum, like a miniature sun held in his hand, which he slammed fiercely against the cold mountain rock!
The moment of contact—
Boom!!!!
A deafening explosion tore through the silence of the training ground. A terrifying light, interwoven with brilliant white and fiery red, erupted suddenly, instantly engulfing the area!
A huge fireball expanded. High-temperature air waves spread out like a tidal wave in an annular pattern, instantly evaporating all the snow within dozens of meters, revealing scorched earth. Even the distant trees shook violently from the shockwave, causing the snow on their branches and leaves to rustle down.
The wild fire release chakra perfectly combined with the inherent tearing power of the Rasengan, unleashing astonishing destructive force.
The rock formation shattered, melted, and vaporized in the light, turning into scattered fragments of molten rock and dust filling the sky!
'This kind of power!?'
Even with Enma's vast experience and confidence in its "indestructible " body, witnessing this scene caused its Adam's apple to bob unconsciously as it swallowed.
It knew very well that even if he could withstand the attack, it would definitely not feel good.
The dazzling light and churning smoke gradually dispersed.
Enma's golden pupils suddenly contracted, and its expression changed.
He instantly ignored the completely destroyed rock formation area, which retained traces of high temperature and melting, and fixed its gaze on the young man near the epicenter of the explosion.
Shinichi's right arm was hanging limply, trembling slightly and uncontrollably.
The sleeve from his palm to his forearm had long turned to ash. The exposed skin was a mess—scorched black, cracked, and covered in horrifying bloody gashes. In the deepest spots, the bone was almost visible.
The most terrifying thing was that the wounds were not merely burns; the flesh seemed to have been torn and eroded from the inside by some ferocious force, and it was still "sizzling" with strange blue smoke and heat. A peculiar stench of burnt flesh and excessive chakra scorching permeated the air.
"Kid!"
Enma let out a low growl, and its massive body instantly appeared beside Shinichi.
It quickly scanned Shinichi's right arm, and its brow immediately furrowed tightly.
This injury... was not a simple high-temperature burn or blast trauma. The flesh exhibited a bizarre state of being violently torn from the inside and then instantly burned by extreme heat. The residual chakra fluctuations were extremely violent and chaotic, and were even continuously eroding the surrounding healthy tissue.
If it were an ordinary ninja, this arm would likely have been destroyed on the spot, and it might even be life-threatening.
It was only because this kid's physique far exceeded that of ordinary people, and his muscles and bones were incredibly tough, that he could barely maintain the structural integrity of his arm. But the continuously worsening injury still made Enma feel extremely troubled.
"Senpai, developing a new technique means getting injured sometimes," Shinichi said, his face pale and his forehead covered in cold sweat, yet he still managed a smile.
He had various attribute bonuses, and his physical fitness far surpassed ordinary people. Now, he also had the recovery-focused [Endless Life], backed by the efficient energy intake and conversion ability provided by [Big Eater].
He estimated that although this injury was troublesome, with his recovery ability, a good diet and rest for ten days to half a month should be enough for him to recover mostly.
"You can still smile like this?!" Enma glared at him, its tone stern, but its concern was obvious: "This injury is serious, don't try to tough it out! I'm notifying Hiruzen immediately!"
It wasted no time and quickly performed a certain secret technique for emergency communication with the Third Hokage.
The message was relayed to the Hokage Office at the fastest speed. When Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Shinichi was seriously injured while developing a new technique and that even Enma found the injury difficult to handle, he immediately dropped all matters at hand and personally issued a series of orders.
Shinichi was rushed to Konoha Hospital at the highest speed, directly entering the highest-spec emergency ward.
A consultation team composed of several senior medical Jonin who rushed over upon hearing the news quickly arrived. However, when they clearly saw the injury to Shinichi's right arm and attempted to treat it using conventional or even advanced medical ninjutsu, their expressions all turned solemn.
The complexity of the injury far exceeded expectations. The residual, violent energy—a fusion of highly condensed fire release chakra and the tearing properties of the Rasengan—acted like the most stubborn toxin, continuously destroying new tissue. They could only barely manage to stabilize Shinichi's condition, preventing further deterioration.
Seeing that the hospital's top team was helpless and there were no signs of improvement, the Third Hokage immediately summoned one of his most trusted Anbu nearby and personally issued instructions.
Thus, came the scene that snowy afternoon when an Anbu knocked on Tsunade's door.
---
Konoha Hospital, inside the special ward.
Although Tsunade had forced herself to prepare mentally in various ways on the way, repeatedly telling herself that this was just an injured patient who needed treatment.
But when she saw the shocking sight of the young man's right arm under the bright lights of the ward, the familiar feelings of dizziness and fear still shot up her spine like a cold viper.
A faint smell of blood and char permeated the scent of disinfectant, causing her stomach to cramp violently. Her face instantly paled significantly, and her feet even involuntarily retreated two steps.
She fiercely clenched her jaw, digging her nails deep into her palm, using the sharp pain to force herself to stay put.
After a few breaths, she took a deep breath. When she raised her eyes again, her face was covered with an ice-cold indifference and mockery, as if her previous loss of composure had never happened.
"Oh, isn't this Higashino Shinichi, our promising 'Will of Fire' successor and great genius?"
She folded her arms, her voice laced with deliberate, drawn-out sarcasm: "What, did you practice yourself into this state? It seems mere determination isn't enough; you also need the brains to match. In the end, don't you still need me—the person you look down on, the one who speaks discouraging words—to save you?"
Faced with this obvious sarcasm, Shinichi, lying on the bed, merely gave a pale smile, his tone as calm as ever, as if the intense conflict at the barbecue restaurant a few days ago had never happened: "Thank you for your concern, Lady Tsunade. I apologize for the trouble."
His candid, almost apologetic attitude was like punching cotton, causing the further sarcasm Tsunade had prepared to get stuck in her throat.
She snorted coldly, stopped wasting words, and walked straight to the bedside.
She forced herself to focus completely on the arm itself, rather than the psychological associations triggered by blood and trauma.
She reached out and hovered her hand over Shinichi's right arm. A bright emerald-green light of medical chakra illuminated from her fingertips, acting like the most precise scanner, beginning a detailed examination of the internal condition of the wound.
The more she investigated, the tighter Tsunade's brow furrowed.
The complexity of the injury exceeded her expectations. The residual, violent fire release chakra was intertwined with the peculiar spiraling, tearing nature, continuously destroying vitality.
But at the same time, she clearly sensed that the young man's physical quality was extremely strong, and an unusually vigorous life force within him was autonomously resisting the destruction. This was likely the reason he could remain conscious and even joke.
"Bear with it!"
She said coldly, and then began the actual treatment.