This is... the power called "Miracle"!

"Where is Tsunade's squad right now?!"

Orochimaru sped through the forests of the Land of Rain, his gaze darting left and right as he searched for the silhouette of Tsunade's team.

"Kato! Hold on! I'm here! I can save you!"

Tsunade's voice carried a terror and sorrow unlike anything she had ever felt before. Even though her mastery of medical ninjutsu had reached its zenith, she could feel the life of her subordinate slipping away with terrifying speed.

The poison on the spikes was far too fierce and overbearing; it was not only eroding his flesh but also destroying his chakra meridians and internal organ functions.

What was truly horrifying were those piercing wounds, which had compromised nearly every vital organ in his chest cavity. His liver, kidneys, and intestines... all had been severely damaged by the toxic spikes.

"Cough... cough... I... I don't want to die yet... There are still so many things I want to do..."

Kato Dan's body convulsed violently. Every spasm tugged at his wounds, causing a massive amount of fresh blood to seep out.

His once-handsome face was now expressionless, appearing somewhat numb. His lips had lost all color, replaced by the dark, bruised purple of severe poisoning. His consciousness was like a candle in the wind, fading rapidly under the dual assault of excruciating pain and icy cold.

"Stop talking, Kato!"

Kato Dan's unfocused gaze struggled to settle on Tsunade's face, which was etched with horror and grief. His lips moved, but he could only emit a faint sound:

"I... I can't just die in a place like this..."

"It's alright, I've already stopped the bleeding... so you'll be fine. You're going to be saved, Kato..."

Tsunade's voice was choked with tears. Although she had long grown accustomed to life and death, she still felt profound pain and sorrow every time she watched someone she knew lose their life before her eyes.

"Is... that so? That's good..."

Hearing Tsunade's comfort, Kato Dan couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. A difficult, faint curve tugged at the corners of his mouth before he fell completely unconscious.

Tears mixed with the cold rain as they slid down Tsunade's face. Her brain was operating at an unprecedented speed, and the intensity of the Mystical Palm Technique she released was greater than ever before. The green light emitted an extraordinary heat, forming a tangible halo around her hands.

"The universal antidote has started to take effect; the poison is temporarily suppressed. Now, I just need to reconnect the blood vessels, stop the hemorrhaging at the wounds, maintain basic organ function, and then create a new antidote before the poison flares up again..."

Tsunade bit her lip until it bled, the crimson mixing with the rain as it flowed from the corner of her mouth. She pushed her lifelong learning and her limit-breaking chakra control to the absolute edge, forcibly using a massive amount of life-force-infused chakra to stitch together ruptured major blood vessels. She even used a vast amount of chakra in an attempt to jump-start Kato Dan's nearly stopped heart!

Simultaneously, she used a large amount of chakra to encapsulate the toxins within his body, preventing them from erupting again in the short term!

Such an act was equivalent to burning away Tsunade's own life force, draining her mental energy, and exhausting her remaining chakra!

"It's not enough! The poison is too strong; the universal antidote's effect has completely failed! Now... I have no choice but to use the Chakra Scalpel Extraction Technique to pull the poison from his body, and then heal his wounds completely..."

Feeling the volatile changes within Kato Dan's body, Tsunade, though already drenched in tears, made the most rational judgment with a clear mind.

Time ticked by second by second. Tsunade first stopped the heavy bleeding from multiple wounds on Kato Dan's body, then meticulously and precisely extracted the poison from within him.

Finally, through unremitting effort, a pool of foul-smelling, purple-black toxic blood was drawn out of Kato Dan's body. However, just as she prepared to treat the remaining wounds, her remaining chakra was no longer enough to support even a single ninjutsu.

Tsunade looked blankly at her trembling hands, and finally, her body went limp as she collapsed onto the ground.

"Chakra... it's not enough..."

"Life is always so fragile..."

Orochimaru, who had finally found Tsunade's squad, looked down at Kato Dan, who was on the verge of becoming a corpse, and Tsunade, who sat slumped in the mud with her chakra exhausted. A single drop of liquid—whether sweat or rain—rolled from the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, just as Orochimaru was lamenting, a miracle occurred: a pale golden chakra surged forth from the body of Tsunade, who had finally collapsed from exhaustion onto Kato Dan's "corpse"!

This chakra gradually spread and expanded until it enveloped both Tsunade and Kato Dan, finally stabilizing.

To the astonishment of Orochimaru and the other Konoha ninja, this strange, pale golden chakra rapidly repaired Kato Dan's wounds. In the blink of an eye, the several wounds on his body had completely healed, leaving not even a trace of injury behind!

"That is...!!!"

To the people of Konoha, perhaps it was Tsunade's limit-breaking medical ninjutsu that had forcibly held onto Kato Dan's last breath; perhaps it was Kato Dan's own powerful willpower, clutching onto his obsession with his family, Konoha, and the future amidst the boundless darkness; or perhaps, it was simply that fate, in its cruelty, had stingily bestowed a shred of "luck."

Kato Dan's heart, which had been beating at a negligible rate, began to beat again—weakly and intermittently—under the stimulus of Tsunade's desperate efforts and the favor of a "miracle."

He... had survived!

However, only Orochimaru knew that this was no miracle, nor was it the favor of the Sage of Six Paths.

It was the same special, pale golden chakra that had appeared once before on his dying disciple, Nawaki!

It was the special chakra possessed only by the Uzumaki Clan after their bloodline limit had been highly awakened!

It was the chakra that only Uzumaki Mito, or perhaps Uzumaki Qi Luna, possessed!

Watching Tsunade, who had been enveloped by the pale golden chakra and was already showing signs of waking up, Orochimaru's golden slit pupils were filled with shock.

"Kono chikara... subarashii! Uzumaki..." (This power... it's wonderful! Uzumaki...)

A strong desire surged in Orochimaru's heart; he desperately wanted to study the peculiar bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan!

His hands clenched into fists involuntarily, and a frantic light flickered in his eyes.

Just then, Kato Dan slowly opened his eyes. He looked around in confusion, seemingly unable to process the reality that he had returned from the gates of death.

"Kore wa... ore wa ikiteiru no ka?!" (This is... am I still alive?!)

Kato Dan said weakly.

Tsunade slowly stirred awake. Seeing that Kato Dan was safe and sound, she wept with joy, feeling that her efforts had not been in vain.

Orochimaru suppressed the urge rising within him, stepped forward, and said, "Tsunade, it is more than a miracle that Jonin Kato survived."

"I am far more interested in this pale golden chakra. Could you spare a little for me to study?"

Tsunade watched Orochimaru with vigilance, especially noting the fanaticism in his eyes, which gave her a vague sense that his motives were not so simple.

"Orochimaru, I don't even know how to control this chakra myself. If you are truly interested, then wait until the war is over and go find Qi Luna yourself."

Tsunade frowned slightly. Although she possessed one-quarter of the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline, she had failed to awaken any of the clan's bloodline limits, which was why she could not control the pale golden chakra within her at will.

Moreover, neither the time nor the place was appropriate for discussing such matters!

Orochimaru furrowed his brows slightly. He knew that now was not the time to devote himself entirely to research. Just like the ambush on Tsunade's squad, the borders of the various nations appeared calm, but in reality, undercurrents were surging, and murderous intent lay hidden everywhere!

However, in his mind, the outline of a major plan had already begun to take shape...