Kaito relied on sheer willpower, clinging to the obsession in his heart as he persevered desperately. One day, then two. Before he knew it, a full week had passed in this relentless struggle.

For seven straight days, Kaito endured unimaginable torment. He had become somewhat numb to the pain, or maybe just used to it — but more importantly, he was quietly pleased.

Because, in the deadlock between death and vitality raging inside him, he could feel it. As the days dragged on, the vitality in his heart had begun to resist. Little by little, it was gaining the upper hand.

If this continued, it wouldn't be long before his body stabilized. All he had to do was endure the pain a little longer and wait for the balance to tip.

Three days later, Kaito left the training space, his injuries instantly syncing with his physical body.

Looking over at Hinata, who had fallen asleep nearby, Kaito hesitated. He felt reluctant to wake her, but recovery couldn't wait.

Though the vitality in his body was now prevailing, leaving it to heal naturally would take too long. If Tsunade came to assist him, that recovery time would shrink drastically.

After all, Tsunade wasn't known as the greatest medical-nin in the shinobi world for nothing.

"H-Hinata… Hinata…" Kaito called out in a hoarse whisper, gently brushing a hand through her hair.

Hearing his weak voice, Hinata's eyes fluttered open in confusion.

"Kaito? What's wrong?"

When she saw the difference between his current, strained expression and how relaxed he'd looked before bed, Hinata's face filled with worry.

"Please… go get Tsunade-sensei," Kaito managed with difficulty.

Right now, his whole body was still struggling against the residual death energy in his heart. Moving, speaking, or even circulating chakra was nearly impossible. He was completely powerless.

"I'll go right away!" Hinata's eyes shimmered with tears as she nodded. Without wasting another second, she vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

A short while later, a sleepy, visibly irritated Tsunade arrived.

"Oi, what's your problem, brat? Can't you let me get a decent night's sleep? Do you know how long it's been since I actually went to bed early?" she grumbled the moment she entered.

"If you keep sleeping, I'll probably be dead by morning," Kaito rasped out weakly.

Tsunade froze at the sound of his voice. Her bleary eyes immediately cleared as she frowned in alarm.

"Wait — Hinata told me you were fine earlier. What the hell happened?"

"I… forcibly reversed the Eight Gates Technique, opening the Death Gate first," Kaito said with difficulty. He knew Tsunade was smart enough to understand the implications right away.

Sure enough, her face darkened instantly.

"You reckless idiot! Do you have any idea what you're playing with? The Eight Gates Technique already has terrifying side effects — and you think it's fine to modify it on a whim?!"

Tsunade stormed over furiously, muttering under her breath about beating him senseless the moment he could stand.

Without hesitation, she yanked off his upper garments, revealing the dense network of muscle beneath.

"Damn kid's got a good physique at least," she muttered, not missing the chance to tease even in a crisis.

She pressed a hand to his chest, her chakra immediately probing into his heart. A few moments later, her expression eased slightly, though her tone stayed serious.

"There are two conflicting energies inside your heart — one destructive, the other regenerative. Right now, the destructive one's losing ground."

Tsunade frowned in thought. "I'm guessing the destructive energy's a side effect of forcing open the Death Gate, but the regenerative energy… that's your body's natural vitality. Even if you didn't call me over, you'd probably recover on your own within a month."

Her brows furrowed deeper as she added, "But seriously, how the hell does your body have this much vitality? It's practically on par with my grandfather's Sage Body…"

Then Tsunade gave him a pointed look, half-joking, half-curious.

"Oi, don't tell me you're a Senju?"

Everyone knew the Senju clan was famed for their robust life force. And while Kaito's regenerative ability far surpassed the typical Senju, there had been one other person in history to rival it — her grandfather, Senju Hashirama.

But if that was the case… why hadn't she sensed it earlier? Could it have only awakened recently?

Tsunade's mind spun as she tried to piece it together.

"You've got a lot of questions for someone who hasn't even finished healing me yet," Kaito managed a small, amused smile.

"Tch. I just explained your condition, didn't I? Even without my help, that vitality of yours would've sorted it out eventually."

Despite her words, Tsunade pressed both palms firmly to his chest and activated her Healing Jutsu, flooding his body with medical chakra.

Kaito's guess had been right. With Tsunade's assistance, his abundant vitality gained a reliable ally. Two forces against one — the destructive energy had no chance.

Based on the way things were going, if Tsunade kept at it through the night, she could completely purge the death energy from his body.

"Oi, answer me," Tsunade's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Huh? What now?"

"What's with that insane life force in your body? And why didn't I notice it before?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth, already vowing to give him a good beating once he recovered for keeping secrets.

"Alright, fine," Kaito sighed. "I have a trace of Senju blood. I only fully awakened it after practicing Sage Arts."

He figured there was no reason to hide it from Tsunade. They were practically family by blood now anyway. Besides, if he claimed his vitality didn't come from the Senju clan, Tsunade probably wouldn't believe him.

"Really?! That's incredible!" Tsunade's face lit up with genuine excitement as she hugged Kaito tightly, practically crushing him.

"That's amazing! The Senju clan isn't extinct after all!" Tears welled up in her eyes, falling freely as she clung to him.

"Sensei, wait — Kaito! Kaito!" Hinata, who'd been quietly standing by, suddenly cried out in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade turned her head in confusion.

Hinata pointed to Kaito, whose face had gone pale as his body started twitching uncontrollably.

Tsunade quickly released him, her expression turning awkward.

"Ah… sorry about that."

Kaito sucked in a desperate breath, not even caring about the pain. Right now, he was no more than an injured civilian. If Tsunade had kept holding him like that, he might've gone down in Konoha's history as the first person to get smothered to death by a well-meaning medical-nin.

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