Invisible Physical Problems

"You..."

Tsunade had wanted to reprimand him, but when she saw those clear, unruffled eyes, she unexpectedly dismissed her suspicions!

"I believe him!"

Katsuo glanced at Orochimaru. He was actually the first person to believe him.

Orochimaru had a discerning eye. He had seen Katsuo's gaze, and it was not the look of someone who was lying. What he said should be credible.

"There really is no problem!"

Tsunade carefully examined him again, even using the Mystical Palm Technique!

"Could it be some kind of hidden illness?"

Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "The possibility is very low."

"Have you recently had sudden headaches? Drowsiness? Fainting? Or nosebleeds?"

Katsuo shook his head.

"None of what you mentioned. My mind is fairly clear too..."

His mental state was fine, and his five senses remained fairly sharp. That was evidence of powerful spiritual energy. It was precisely because of his immense and vigorous spiritual power that he could conclude the problem lay in his physical body!

"The body's protective mechanisms have shown no response. We can basically rule out illness as the cause."

Tsunade reached her conclusion.

"Katsuo, could you give me a drop of your blood and a small piece of skin tissue? I want to test them."

Orochimaru suddenly asked, leaving Tsunade and Jiraiya stunned.

"..."

After a brief pause, Katsuo nodded.

He picked up a wine cup from the table. His right index finger brushed across his rough left palm, and his not-so-sharp nail sliced a small cut into his wrist before gouging out a bit of flesh. Bright red, scalding blood rapidly dripped into the cup along with the flesh!

A considerable amount of blood even splattered across the wine table. Seeing Katsuo's unruffled expression and his calm, almost indifferent demeanor, the Sannin were shaken to the core!

Would a normal person be this ruthless toward himself? Doing something like this without even furrowing his brow or blinking... He really is a lunatic who only knows how to train!

How much pain had he endured to become this numb...

Could a child really possess such a temperament?

The Sannin all thought the same thing.

"Is this enough?"

Katsuo's question snapped the three of them out of their shock.

Looking at the small cup overflowing with fresh blood, Orochimaru licked his lips.

"That's enough, Katsuo!"

Katsuo gave him a deep look, then extended his wrist toward Tsunade.

"I'm counting on you, Sister Tsunade."

"Ah! O-Okay..."

Tsunade was a beat slow to react before hurriedly using the Mystical Palm Technique to heal Katsuo's wound.

Before long, his wound had miraculously healed without even leaving a scar!

Seeing such miraculous Medical Ninjutsu, Katsuo's eyes gleamed.

"Sister Tsunade, could you teach me this kind of Medical Ninjutsu...?"

Katsuo asked somewhat sheepishly.

Only then did Tsunade suddenly realize that he was still a child!

He still has a childlike side!

For no apparent reason, Tsunade relaxed. She had not even noticed that both her body and mind had been tense!

"Hmph, you think you can learn Medical Ninjutsu? You're still far from it. We'll talk after you graduate!"

"Alright, when I graduate, you have to keep your word!"

Katsuo hurriedly nodded, sealing the agreement. The importance of Medical Ninjutsu went without saying. It was a means of saving one's life at critical moments!

"Tch!"

Tsunade clicked her tongue disdainfully. She had just wanted to pour herself another cup of wine, but the moment she saw that cup overflowing with blood, she instantly lost her appetite.

"I'm counting on you, Uncle Snake..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Since Tsunade could not find the problem, he could only place his hopes on Orochimaru!

Orochimaru is probably still a good snake right now. He should not be venomous yet...

After leaving the tavern, Katsuo returned to the camp.

No matter how exhausted or weak his body was, he would grit his teeth and persist with his training. He feared that his body's functions would decline again and again. He feared this feeling of growing weaker!

He felt as if he had returned to the frail, powerless state he had been in when he first crossed over. He feared that the effort he had put in over the past three years would all be wasted!

"Ten..."

"One hundred..."

"Four hundred ninety-one, four hundred ninety-two..."

Bang!

The moment he finished five hundred push-ups, he collapsed face-first onto the ground, gasping endlessly.

His powerful will tried to control his arms. He wanted to reach for the bottle of Body Tempering Elixir in his pocket, but the instant he took it out, his arms completely stopped obeying him!

It hurts so much!

Why is this happening?!

He felt every cell in his body throbbing with pain, a suffering that penetrated deep into his bones!

He did not understand what had happened to his body!

"Why exactly? This has happened every time I temper my body recently. I clearly reduced the intensity of my training, yet my body still can't take it!"

He felt that his body was truly deteriorating!

"Where... exactly is the problem?!"

Katsuo gritted his teeth and panted heavily, feeling utterly exhausted.

With difficulty, he pulled open the cap of the Body Tempering Elixir. After wiping down his aching hands and feet, Katsuo staggered back to his tent.

He weakly fell onto his bedding, his eyes looking somewhat hollow!

The next day, he unusually stopped training. In truth, he had only slept for five hours the night before. After that, he had sat blankly by the river near camp until Might Duy came looking for him.

He had not gone to morning training today, so Old Duy came over out of curiosity. Katsuo had never skipped his daily morning training before. Even when Old Duy had missions and could not attend, the child would never slack off for a single day because of it. He sweated every day and trained tirelessly!

"Yo, little Katsuo, looks like you finally took my advice to heart. You even know to get some rest!"

"Ah, Brother Dai, you're here! I forgot to tell you yesterday and made you worry! Yeah, I really do want to rest for a couple of days!"

Katsuo replied with a slightly stiff smile.

"Haha, it's fine. You're doing the right thing. Training needs a balance between work and rest. Taking a break now and then is absolutely necessary!"

Old Duy laughed heartily and patted Katsuo's shoulder. He had always worried that Katsuo was overtraining and had reminded him many times to rest properly.

As a Body Refinement Master, someone passionate about training and who treasured youth above all else, he had told Katsuo to rest more than once. That alone showed just how crazed and unhealthy Katsuo's usual training routine was!

He had actually told Katsuo many times that the Body Tempering Elixir was not a miracle medicine and could not be used without restraint, but Katsuo had not taken much of it to heart!

He was worried that this little fellow would pursue power too obsessively and lose his way in the future!

Watching Old Duy leave, Katsuo sighed weakly. With his body in its current state, he could not continue cultivating the path of body refinement for the time being!