If Lin Mu had known that Jiraiya thought he had narrowly escaped death at Kisame Hoshigaki's hands, he would surely have grumbled to himself:
"Kisame Hoshigaki's probably still lying in some tree hollow!"
Unfortunately, Lin Mu had no idea what Jiraiya was thinking. Even if he had, with a life hanging in the balance, he wouldn't have had time to complain.
He quickly ran a few steps forward and reached Sasuke Uchiha's side.
After examining him carefully, Lin Mu found that Sasuke Uchiha really was in terrible shape. Even his breathing was growing faint!
Phew...
He took a deep breath, then placed a hand over Sasuke Uchiha's chest.
Chakra surged within him, then flowed through his hands and into Sasuke Uchiha's body.
During his fight with Kisame Hoshigaki, he had controlled the Wood Human to battle, using up every last bit of his chakra.
By now, he had recovered only about twenty percent.
Without hesitation, he poured all the chakra he had left into Sasuke Uchiha.
"Cough, cough..."
The effect was immediate. As chakra continued to flow from Lin Mu's hands,
the wounds on Sasuke's body healed at a visible speed, and his complexion gradually improved.
"This..."
Jiraiya's face showed a hint of amazement.
As expected of Senju blood. Its unique chakra had an incredibly powerful healing effect!
It was fair to say that Tsunade's status as the Ninja World's strongest and most renowned medical ninja was inseparable from the Senju Clan blood flowing through her veins!
The power passed down by the Senju Clan could heal its own members quickly, and it was also remarkably effective at treating other people's injuries!
What's more, the fact that Lin Mu had awakened a Wood Style Body meant that his bloodline might even be purer than Tsunade's.
"What kind of mysterious background does this kid have?"
Jiraiya wondered silently.
He and Tsunade had been in the same class, taught by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
They had fought side by side often over the years that followed, and Jiraiya considered himself better acquainted with Tsunade than almost anyone.
Because of his connection to Tsunade, he knew a great deal about the Senju Clan—he might even say he knew it extremely well.
Yet now, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with a single clue about Lin Mu's background.
It was as if Lin Mu had appeared out of nowhere. There wasn't a single lead anyone could use to investigate him!
With both hands pressed to Sasuke Uchiha's chest, Lin Mu continued transferring chakra while glancing up at Jiraiya.
He could naturally see the thoughtful look in Jiraiya's eyes.
He immediately felt speechless. Jiraiya was definitely trying to guess his background again.
What a self-important old man!
My Wood Style Body came from the system. Of course you won't find a single clue!
"Cough, cough..."
Sasuke coughed a few more times. His eyes slowly opened, and he gradually came around.
He should be all right now.
"Sasuke! Hahaha, I knew you'd be fine!"
Seeing that Sasuke had recovered quite a bit, Naruto Uzumaki was overjoyed, his usual energy returning at once.
"..."
Watching Naruto's happy expression, Lin Mu was speechless again.
Sure enough, the Prince and Sasuke were a match made in heaven!
Lin Mu had just barely escaped Kisame Hoshigaki, who had chased him down and hacked at him. Yet Naruto hadn't looked nearly this happy to see him come back!
Lin Mu shamelessly thought about Naruto and Sasuke as the real couple, completely forgetting that he, not someone else, had been the one pounded into the ground earlier.
"Hmm? Lin Mu, what's that on your back?"
Naruto, now fully alert, suddenly noticed the Samehada strapped to Lin Mu's back.
Hearing Naruto call out, Jiraiya's gaze instinctively shifted to Lin Mu's back, too.
That thing... looked kind of familiar?!
"Ah... you mean this."
Lin Mu pulled the Samehada from his back and set it on the ground.
"This is Samehada, Kisame Hoshigaki's sword!"
Lin Mu ran his hand over the hard spikes on Samehada. It seemed to enjoy the feeling, as it wiggled its blade.
"Thanks to this sword, when that weirdo tried to cut me with it, Samehada suddenly absorbed his chakra."
Lin Mu spoke with a grave expression, delivering his made-up story with a straight face.
"Then the sword knocked that weirdo's hand away and leaped over to me. I managed to beat him only because of this sword!"
Lin Mu reached out again, picked up Samehada, and swung it around a few times. He looked quite imposing, with a hint of menace.
"This sword seems to like me. It feels good to use, too!"
Naruto looked utterly envious. He stared at Samehada, swallowed, and said,
"Really? A man who's going to become Hokage someday like me doesn't even have a suitable weapon yet!"
"..."
Lin Mu felt disdainful. Of course it wasn't true!
He'd gotten Samehada through sheer force.
Jiraiya watched Samehada and Lin Mu acting so friendly together. Scratching his head, he smiled and said,
"You really are lucky, kid. Samehada is very perceptive and likes unique, powerful chakra. Your Wood Release chakra must have attracted it, making it turn against Kisame Hoshigaki!"
Jiraiya couldn't help glancing at Samehada again. He secretly swallowed, too.
Ninja tools with a will of their own were extremely rare. Only someone suited to wield one could bring out its full power.
If someone tried to use one by force, the tool might turn on them.
At his age, Jiraiya still had to rely on his fists when he fought!
Hearing Jiraiya's teasing, Lin Mu laughed along with him.
It looked like he had managed to get away with it this time.
That made sense. In the eyes of ordinary people, he really had just been lucky enough to earn Samehada's approval and defeat Kisame Hoshigaki!
Lin Mu touched the sharp spikes on Samehada again, feeling a little wary.
Although he had crushed Kisame Hoshigaki and taken Samehada,
he had only managed it with the Wood Release: Wood Human Technique Trial Card.
If he had relied on his own strength, he might only have barely escaped Kisame Hoshigaki alive.
With his current abilities, he was still nowhere near strong enough to defeat Kisame outright.
"But aside from Samehada, I gained something else from that fight with Kisame Hoshigaki."
Lin Mu murmured to himself,
"I feel like I'm about to break through my bottleneck... Once I reach the elite jonin level, my strength will surge dramatically."
By then, he wouldn't lose to Kisame Hoshigaki even in a head-on fight!
"All right, all right. Let's call this matter settled!"
Jiraiya was feeling completely at ease now. He smiled and said,
"We should go find Tsunade!"
Before you continue