Kitahara Kaede's eyes snapped open.
The first thing he saw was the yellowed ceiling above his bed.
Instinctively, he clutched his stomach.
His fingertips met the dry fabric of his T-shirt, not sticky blood.
There was no gaping wound. His body was completely unharmed.
Kitahara Kaede let out a long breath and collapsed back onto the bed.
"That damn Simulator's pain feedback... it's brutal."
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Even now, just breathing made his stomach ache faintly.
Still, it was worth it.
The thought of the wooden box he'd left in the Simulator, and the letter...
Kitahara Kaede couldn't help grinning.
Given Tsunade's personality, seeing those things would hit her hard. Hard enough that she wouldn't be able to take it.
Even if she hadn't seen him, he'd done more than enough.
His carefully planned "emotional scam" had ended perfectly.
Just then, a chime rang in his mind.
A screen popped up in the dim room.
[Simulation ended. Calculating evaluation...] [Evaluation: S-Rank White Moonlight.] [Comment: With the most tragic death and the most perfect lie, you carved an indelible mark into her heart. You became an insurmountable wall in her life.]
As he read those lines, the light in Kitahara Kaede's eyes grew brighter.
Taking that final blow without dodging had been worth it.
S-Rank. He'd got it!
The text on the screen continued to scroll. Here came the main event.
[Distributing rewards...] [Chakra extraction efficiency permanently increased by 15% (up from the original 5%)] [Ninjutsu effectiveness permanently increased by 10% (up from the original 5%)] [Physical attributes permanently increased by 10% (up from the original 5%)]
Boom!
The instant the rewards arrived, Kitahara Kaede squeezed his eyes shut.
He could feel the 130 trillion cells in his body revving up like