"Okay, stop looking at me like that. I'm happy to help you," Tsunade said, a little annoyed.

As she spoke, she placed her palm against Kaito's chest, releasing a steady stream of medical chakra.

Ayanami Kaito sighed inwardly. How did he end up with such a troublesome teacher?

"Oh, right! How could I forget this?" Tsunade suddenly slapped her forehead.

"What is it?" Kaito asked, confused.

"Your body's locked in a clash between two energies. All I can do is support the vitality inside you with medical ninjutsu to help tip the balance. It'll work, but it'll take time. Honestly, instead of wasting so many hours like this, you might as well have a couple of Katsuyu clones do it while I get some sleep," Tsunade said seriously.

Kaito sighed. His teacher and relative was incorrigible.

"Don't give me that look. I'm being practical here! Whether it's my chakra or Katsuyu's, the output's the same. So why not let your teacher get some rest while you recover?"

Kaito rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He knew how his body worked and realized she wasn't wrong. Then, an idea struck him.

"Tsunade-sensei, what if you convert your chakra directly into medical chakra and inject it into me? Wouldn't that work better?"

"Good thought! Let's give it a try."

Without waiting for his consent, Tsunade immediately channeled her chakra into pure medical energy and transferred it into his chest.

Kaito couldn't stop her even if he wanted to. He cursed inwardly. Seriously, you didn't even wait!

The moment Tsunade's medical chakra entered his body, the vitality inside him surged like fire doused in oil, aggressively suppressing the remaining destructive energy.

The recovery speed was many times faster than what he'd achieved alone in the training space. Within an hour, the dark energy had shrunk to the size of a walnut. Two hours later, it was no bigger than a red date.

At this point, Tsunade was sweating, her complexion pale from exertion.

Seeing this, Kaito's heart ached. "Tsunade-sensei, let's stop for now. You can continue after resting. I'm already much better."

Though she still had the Yin Seal to fall back on, Kaito didn't want her to tap into it. He remembered how she'd aged drastically after using it against Pain during the Konoha invasion.

"No need," Tsunade wiped the sweat from her brow, then turned to Hinata. "Hinata, you're up next. I'm taking a break."

"Okay, Tsunade-sensei," Hinata said softly, her face filled with worry.

"You can use medical ninjutsu?" Kaito asked in surprise.

"Of course. Not just Hinata — Ino too. Both of them have exceptional chakra control, especially Hinata. She's already mastered medical ninjutsu," Tsunade said proudly.

While Tsunade spoke, Hinata was already channeling medical chakra into Kaito's chest.

An hour passed, and Hinata was soaked in sweat, her face flushed and breathing ragged.

"Enough, Hinata! That's plenty, stop now," Kaito said, heart aching.

"It's fine, Kaito," Hinata gave him a gentle smile, and to his shock, released the Yin Seal on her forehead.

Her complexion recovered instantly, and she continued healing him.

Kaito's heart clenched. He didn't say anything further, though the ache in his chest wasn't from injury anymore.

Another hour later, Kaito could move freely again. The destructive energy had shrunk even more .

At this rate, it would only take another two hours to completely purge it.

Sure enough, after two hours, the last remnant of destructive energy dispersed. Kaito's body was finally back to normal.

"Hah… it's finally gone!" Tsunade exhaled, pulling her hand away.

Hinata, exhausted, had fallen asleep an hour ago.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sensei," Kaito said gratefully.

"Hmph, good that you know how to thank your teacher," Tsunade huffed, though she looked pleased.

"It's late. I'm heading back. We'll talk tomorrow," she yawned.

Kaito felt a little guilty. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

He saw Tsunade out with a smile, then gently gathered the sleeping Hinata into his arms. His gaze softened as he looked down at her peaceful face.

---

The Next Morning

Ino tiptoed into the room carrying a small pot of soup.

Inside, she found Kaito making breakfast while Hinata still slept soundly from exhaustion.

Ino's gaze lingered on Hinata, and when she noticed the Yin Seal mark on her forehead had vanished, she was stunned.

What kind of situation went down here last night? Ino imagined an intense battle between Kaito and Hinata, her cheeks reddening at the thought.

Snap!

Kaito flicked her forehead lightly.

"What's going through your head, Ino? I had some issues with my training last night. Tsunade-sensei and Hinata helped me stabilize things," Kaito said calmly.

Ino gave him a suspicious look, as if to say, Do you think I'm that gullible?

Kaito sighed, knowing there was no way she'd believe him.

"Fine, let's eat. Don't wake Hinata. She needs rest."

"Oh, by the way! This is chicken and red date soup my mom made," Ino placed the pot on the table, lowering her voice.

"Please help me thank your mom," Kaito said with a grateful smile. He knew Hinata would need this to regain her strength.

Ino smiled but said nothing, though her eyes gleamed mischievously, as if silently teasing, Go on, keep lying. I'd love to see what you come up with next.

---

Apologies for not uploading the chapters earlier today

I've been sick (still am, actually, lol).

That said, I'll be switching the update time back to the original schedule: 6 PM to 7 PM (WAT).