Sarutobi Shinnosuke raised one hand, signaling the ANBU behind him to halt.
A moment later, he dropped down from the tree.
Ahead of him, Kizaru stood in the middle of the road with his upper body bare, his right arm hanging slightly at his side as if it had been injured.
Shinnosuke's expression immediately turned serious.
Kizaru was injured?
What kind of enemy could do that?
Then his eyes fell on Kizaru's right index finger. The skin there had turned black and red, clearly damaged from some kind of extreme impact.
This was the first time Shinnosuke had ever seen Kizaru hurt.
And for Kizaru, even this kind of wound already counted as "serious."
Shinnosuke's heart sank.
Did several jinchūriki from another village attack together?
Other than that, he genuinely could not imagine anyone in the ninja world making this much noise while also managing to injure Kizaru.
"Kizaru!" Shinnosuke appeared in front of him in an instant. "How bad is it? Where's the enemy?"
"Enemy?"
Kizaru scratched the back of his head and gave a slow, lazy laugh.
"There's no enemy, Shinnosuke-san. I was just testing a new move."
Shinnosuke froze.
His eyes widened slightly.
For a moment, he could not think of anything besides a Tailed Beast Bomb that could cause such a violent tremor.
He stared at Kizaru in silence for a while before finally speaking.
"…Next time you train a new jutsu, report it to Hokage-sama first."
Kizaru nodded with an easy smile.
"Ahh… my bad. I'll remember next time."
"Where were you training?" Shinnosuke asked. "If you don't mind, I want to see it."
It was not that he doubted Kizaru.
He was just too curious.
What kind of terrifying technique had Kizaru created this time?
Kizaru smiled and nodded, then led Shinnosuke and the ten ANBU back toward the place where he had been training.
By the time they arrived, the entire terrain had changed.
The bare mountain land from before had vanished.
In its place was a massive crater with a diameter of more than ten li.
At the bottom of the crater, underground spring water had already begun to gush out, slowly swallowing the earth, stone, and broken debris.
Shinnosuke stared at the scene.
For a long moment, he could not say anything.
"…This…"
He turned his head stiffly and looked at Kizaru, who was still standing there with that calm, harmless smile.
Just by training a new move, he had forcibly altered the terrain and created a giant basin that was already turning into a lake.
Was this really something a human could do?
After a long silence, Shinnosuke gave him the most sincere advice of his life.
"Kizaru… next time you train, go farther from the village."
"I understand, Shinnosuke-san."
Hearing that answer, Shinnosuke finally let out a quiet breath.
He was honestly afraid that if Kizaru kept training like this near Konoha, the village would eventually become an island in the middle of a circular lake.
After warning Kizaru, Shinnosuke took the ANBU and carefully inspected the surrounding area.
Once they had roughly confirmed the scale of the destruction caused by Kizaru's new move, Shinnosuke returned to the village with his men and Kizaru.
After entering Konoha, the two separated.
Kizaru went home to change clothes before heading to the hospital to have Tsunade treat his hand.
Shinnosuke went straight to the Hokage Building to report the truth behind the explosion to his father, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the other village elders.
"Ahem!"
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen choked hard on his pipe smoke after hearing Shinnosuke's report.
That earth-shaking tremor had actually been caused by Kizaru practicing a new move?
Surprised and pleased at the same time, Hiruzen instinctively glanced at Danzo, who sat nearby.
Danzo narrowed his eye slightly.
Although pride and surprise filled his heart, his face remained calm and unmoved.
"Kizaru is still far too careless," Danzo said flatly. "Hiruzen, there is no need to get angry."
There it was.
The moment something went wrong, Shimura Kizaru became "that child" again.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane silently exchanged a look.
Their thoughts were almost identical.
Angry?
Why would Hiruzen be angry?
It was already good enough that he was not laughing out loud.
Hiruzen put down his pipe and hid the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
No matter what, Kizaru's strength had clearly taken another step forward.
"Since it wasn't an enemy attack, everyone can stand down."
At Konoha Hospital.
Inside Tsunade's private treatment room, she carefully examined Kizaru's right hand, then frowned.
"This was caused by a mistake while using chakra-enhanced strength."
She looked at him sharply.
"With your chakra control, how did you even make that kind of mistake?"
Kizaru sat on the hospital bed with his right hand resting on the table.
"I was trying to combine the Eight Gates with chakra-enhanced strength."
Tsunade's expression immediately changed.
She had treated Might Duy before, so she knew enough about the Eight Gates to understand how dangerous it was.
"Once the Eight Gates are opened, chakra becomes extremely unstable," Tsunade said seriously. "The strain on the body alone is already severe."
Her voice grew heavier.
"If you force chakra-enhanced strength on top of that, the backlash will be far worse."
She stared straight at him.
"Kizaru. Don't use it again."
"I just wanted to see where my limit was."
Kizaru smiled lazily while watching Tsunade treat his hand.
"Don't do it again," Tsunade repeated, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Kizaru nodded with the same relaxed smile.
"Yeah, yeah. There won't be a next time."
Tsunade looked at him.
For a moment, she seemed like she wanted to say something else, but hesitated.
Then she sighed.
"If you really insist on perfecting this technique… call me next time."
Kizaru blinked.
Tsunade immediately turned her gaze away and explained in a firmer voice.
"I'm more skilled with chakra-enhanced strength than you are. And as a medical ninja, I understand the human body better than anyone."
She continued, "If this technique can be completed safely, then I'm more suited to testing the theory. I can ask Might Duy about the Eight Gates and study it first."
Kizaru looked at her.
The smile on his face widened slightly.
"Thanks, Tsunade-san."
"Hmph."
Tsunade turned back to his hand and focused on the treatment.
Kizaru's injury was not too severe.
Most of it was muscle strain, along with a slight fracture in the bone of his index finger.
With the Mystical Palm Technique, Tsunade quickly healed the damage.
"All right. Try moving it."
She stood up with one hand on her hip.
Kizaru raised his right hand and flexed his fingers, then moved his wrist and arm.
After confirming that the soreness and pain were gone, he looked up at Tsunade.
"No problem."
"Remember what I said," Tsunade warned. "Don't train that technique recklessly again."
"Tsunade-san, you're starting to sound more and more like a strict old lady."
The moment his injury healed, Kizaru's mouth started moving again.
A vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead.
"You…"
Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath, clearly forcing herself not to punch him through the hospital wall.
"Say that again."
"To thank you for treating me, I'll buy you dinner tonight."
Kizaru stood from the bed with a smile, smoothly changing the subject.
Tsunade drove a fist into his stomach.
Kizaru bent slightly.
Tsunade turned around and walked toward the door without saying another word.
But just as she reached the entrance, she stopped.
Then she turned halfway and glared back at him.
"Well? Aren't you treating me?"
"Ohh…"
Kizaru straightened up with a slow laugh and walked after her.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Barbecue."
Tsunade was still clearly angry about being called an old lady.
Tonight, she was going to make sure Kizaru paid properly.
"Then BBQ Q?"
"No. The Akimichi clan's place."
Kizaru's smile stiffened slightly.
"Ooh… how terrifying."
"Shut up."
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