Forcing Tsunade to Treat His Wounds, Wood Release Awakening Progress Soars

The carriage rolled along the mountain road in the early morning, its wheels making a monotonous and rhythmic sound of bearings.

As the sun rose above the horizon, golden rays streamed into the carriage through the gaps in the curtains.

Naruto leaned against the thick wooden wall, closing his eyes to rest.

Deep within the body, the newly planted Wood Release seed is taking root at an immeasurable speed.

It fused with the cells of the Uzumaki Sage Body, and a hidden, tingling heat flowed down the spine to every part of the body.

With the powerful influx of immense vitality, the severely overdrawn body produced a violent reorganization and rejection reaction.

The skin and flesh of her right leg and shoulder, which had been partially healed by Tsunade, tore open again without warning.

Crimson blood quickly soaked through their clothes, and the heavy stench of blood rapidly filled the already cramped, enclosed space.

Tsunade, sitting opposite, caught her breath and her face turned pale.

A surge of passion became the final weight that overwhelmed reason.

Her vision began to distort and warp; the snake blood flowing all over the ground, the empty chest of the Nawaki, and the fragmented face overlapped and intertwined before her eyes.

All surrounding sounds were stripped away, and the person was forcibly pulled back into that abyss of blood.

She gripped the hem of her dress tightly with both hands, her nails almost digging into her flesh, and she trembled uncontrollably.

Shizune, she frantically rummaged through the first-aid kit for hemostatic forceps and medicine, pushing them over, but dared not overstep her bounds.

At this point, Naruto's cell activation reserves were down to only eleven percent, Yang Release Chakra circulation was obstructed, making it impossible for him to transfer chakra to calm her emotions as before.

He simply stopped trying to restrain her, and directly reached out his blood-stained right hand, grabbed her wrist, and forcibly dragged her hand against his bleeding chest.

A sticky, warm sensation came over her, Tsunade instinctively wanted to back away.

Naruto's five fingers were like iron clamps, firmly pinning it to its original position.

He looked down at her, his words carrying immense force. "You dared to use the Strength of a Hundred Technique to fight Orochimaru just now, but now you don't even dare to save me? Fifth Hokage, are you prepared to watch your patient bleed to death on your very first day in office?"

His words, sharp as a knife, pierced right to the heart of the matter.

Tsunade her teeth and bit her tongue so hard it bled.

A metallic, metallic sweetness assaulted my mind, and the excruciating pain forcibly dragged my shattered reason back to reality.

She gasped for breath, and the trembling in her palms finally stopped. A bright green medical Chakra light shone, steadily healing the reopened wound.

The severed muscle fibers reconnected in the soft light.

After the treatment, her forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and her hands hung limply at her sides.

Naruto raised his hand, placing his palm on the back of her neck, which was covered in cold sweat, and pressed his thumb against her throbbing pulse. "Remember today. From now on, if blood is seen, you save people first. The rest, leave to me."

Tsunade's ears burned. She turned her head away, pretending to check Shizune's ankle, and sneered, "Don't try to lecture me, brat. Mind your own business."

Neither of them said anything more, and the only sound in the carriage was their steady breathing.

Deep within my mind, the system's mechanical voice broadcasted precisely on time:

[The core trigger for Tsunade's Hemophobia has been completely eliminated. Residual physiological reflexes will subside on their own with continued medical practice.]

[Bond stability increased; Perfect Wood Release Awakening progress: 17%]

Just then, a noise came from the roof of the car.

Jiraiya leaned upside down out of the window, clutching an urgent Ninja Dog communication scroll, his face so grave it was almost dripping with sweat. "Naruto, things have changed. Sasuke deserted the village two days ago with the Sound Four."

As soon as she finished speaking, Tsunade and Shizune stopped what they were doing.

Naruto didn't even lift his eyelids, his head hitting the wooden board, and slowly said, "I know."

His long, slender fingers hooked around the emerald green First Hokage Necklace on his chest, his tone as languid as if discussing a casual meal. "That kid has my Yang Release Mark on his shoulder. Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, I can still find him. Perfect, let him lead the way for me, saves me the trouble of searching Orochimaru's rat hole myself."

Jiraiya remained silent for a while, then asked, "When do you plan to go?"

"Wait until Wood Release awakens, until Lady Hokage Lady Tsunade, and until Kabuto has extracted all the information he needs."

Naruto held up three fingers. "Three days. In three days, I'll go to Otogakure and wipe out everything Orochimaru has accumulated over the years—his people, his techniques, his experimental data, his territory—everything."

In the corner of the carriage, Kabuto Yakushi was bound in a pretzel with rope, had been completely still.

Tsunade's gaze swept over him, and after probing his Chakra, her brows furrowed. "This kid has something buried in his brain. It's Brain-Destroying Formula left by Orochimaru. As long as he's subjected to mind-reading or Genjutsu torture, the technique will activate, completely destroying his brain nerves."

Before he could finish speaking, the Chakra dormant within Kabuto's body surged.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and a dark purple, snake-shaped incantation appeared beneath the base of his tongue.

His jaw muscles twitched violently, clearly indicating he was about to bite off his carotid artery and commit suicide.

"You don't understand the script, right? Then I'll give you a few questions to answer, and you'll understand."

Naruto leaned forward, grabbed Kabuto's chin with one hand, and used his powerful arm strength to dislocate Kabuto's jaw joint.

"What kind of question is it? Is it difficult?"

Shizune in from the side.

Naruto glanced at Kabuto: "Don't worry, it's just handwritten questions, oral questions, and fill-in-the-blank questions. If you don't understand, I'll teach you myself."

Shizune was taken aback, and her expression became indescribably strange.

As Naruto's Wood Release awakening progressed, the overflowing life force seeped into the soil along the train carriage.

The carriage wheels rolled over a withered sapling by the roadside, and as if the dead tree had come back to life, a few tender green leaves broke through the bark and fluttered in the wind.

At the same time, in an unknown depth in a northern underground cave.

As the white smoke dissipated, Orochimaru dragged his newly molted body out of the swamp.

His snake-like neck, burned by the Yang Release technique, was extensively carbonized, and even his proud regenerative abilities were completely paralyzed.

"The seed of Wood Release... has actually been planted."

He licked his dry lips, his snake-like eyes filled with a greedy madness. "Yang Release, Sage Body, Ice Release, Wood Release... Naruto Uzumaki, you're far more interesting than Sasuke-kun."

In the shadows behind them, the Sound Four knelt on one knee, awaiting orders.

On Sasuke's shoulder, the Yang Release mark left by Naruto was faintly glowing with golden light, silently tearing at the Snake Seal planted by Orochimaru in the shadows.

The carriage continued south.

In my mind, the entire map and the radar glowed with a dazzling red light.

[System Notification: Two new target signals have appeared in the direction of Otogakure —female, potential rating: S-rank. They are rapidly approaching Sasuke Uchiha's movement trajectory.]

Naruto's lips curled up, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

This final, brutal battle for the prey has only just begun.