Trial by the limit

Ryuto pushed open the wooden cabin's door and headed straight for the largest tent in the center of camp.

The thought in his head burned like fire.

"If Tobirama won't work, Hashirama should, right?" Ryuto muttered as he walked. "He's the man who beat Madara. Hitting a little harder and beating me half to death shouldn't be much of a problem."

A few minutes later, Ryuto stood outside Hashirama Senju's tent.

The flap wasn't fully closed, and he could see Hashirama talking to Tobirama inside.

Ryuto knocked on the wooden post beside him.

"Hashirama, got a moment? Let's talk."

The voices inside stopped.

Hashirama lifted the flap and came out, looking at Ryuto with some of the seriousness from the earlier test still on his face.

"Ryuto? What is it? Have your injuries been treated?"

"No injuries, just a few scrapes." Ryuto waved a hand. "I want to talk to you alone about... that constitution of mine."

Hashirama looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"All right. Come in."

The two entered the tent.

Tobirama was there too, sorting a pile of scrolls. His red eyes swept over Ryuto as he entered, but he said nothing.

Hashirama sat on a cushion and gestured across from him.

"Sit. What did you want to talk about?"

Ryuto didn't sit. He remained standing.

He took a deep breath.

"I want you to attack me and beat me to death," Ryuto said.

The tent fell silent.

Tobirama stopped what he was doing and looked up.

Hashirama frowned.

"You want to... get yourself killed?"

"Not get myself killed. Exploit a bug," Ryuto corrected him. "Find someone reliable, strong enough, and able to control their blows, have them beat me to the brink of death under controlled conditions, then pull me back. That way, I can get stronger fast."

He paused and looked at Hashirama.

"Tobirama is strong enough, but under normal conditions, he can't beat me as I am now. So he can't push me that far unless he goes for the kill. But it was a test, so he wouldn't."

"So?" Hashirama asked.

"So I want to ask you to do it," Ryuto said. "You're stronger than Tobirama, and compared to Madara... about the same. If you go all out, you should be able to beat me to the brink of death without actually killing me."

Hashirama didn't answer immediately.

He tapped his fingers on his knee.

"The risk is too high," Hashirama said slowly. "That line between 'near death' and death is hard to judge. If I hit too hard, you'll die on the spot. Or the medical treatment might not keep up, and we won't be able to save you."

"That's why I need your cooperation," Ryuto said. "Go all out, without holding back. But the medical support has to be ready, and... ideally, Tobirama should be watching from the side too, ready to pull me back at any moment."

Tobirama spoke up then.

"Brother, from a research perspective, this could indeed yield extremely valuable data on his constitution. If his claim that his strength skyrockets after recovering from near death is true, then this growth pattern... is unprecedented."

"But what about the risk?" Hashirama looked at Tobirama.

"Extremely high," Tobirama said objectively. "However, if you personally control the force, while I monitor his vital signs and prepare the highest level of medical support, the risk can be reduced to... relatively manageable levels."

"Relatively?" Hashirama raised an eyebrow.

"Better than letting him go risk his life against Madara himself," Tobirama said.

Hashirama fell silent.

He looked at Ryuto.

"Why are you in such a hurry to get stronger?"

"Because I'm not strong enough," Ryuto answered immediately. "Madara can pin me to the ground and wipe the floor with me using one hand. I want to end this age of chaos, protect the people I want to protect, and carve out my own path... without enough strength, all of that is just bullshit."

He took half a step forward. "Besides, I've realized I like fighting too. I want to fight you, to fight strong opponents."

Maybe that's just an essential Saiyan trait! Ryuto thought.

"Hashirama, you recruited me because you valued my strength, and me as a person. I'm telling you now, this constitution of mine is a cheat, but it needs to be 'activated.' Help me activate it, and once I'm stronger, it'll benefit you, the Senju, and the peace you want to achieve. It's a win-win."

"What if you really die?" Hashirama asked.

"Then I lose the bet," Ryuto said. "But I trust your control, and I trust the Senju's Medical Ninjutsu. Besides..."

He grinned.

"I'm hard to kill."

Hashirama stared at him for a long time.

Only the sound of breathing filled the tent.

At last, Hashirama sighed.

"All right. I agree."

Ryuto's eyes lit up.

"But I have a few conditions." Hashirama raised a finger. "First, the location must be far from camp. We'll find an open, deserted valley to avoid collateral damage. Second, Tobirama must be present to monitor your vital signs throughout, with the medical team on standby. Third, if I feel something is wrong, or Tobirama calls a halt, we stop immediately. Fourth..."

He looked at Ryuto.

"If you really survive this and your strength skyrockets... I hope you'll seriously consider what I proposed before, about joining the Senju. I'm not forcing you. It's a hope."

Ryuto nodded.

"Deal."

Three days later.

In a barren valley dozens of li from the Senju camp.

Mountains enclosed the valley on all sides. In the middle lay a flat stretch of gravel, without a blade of grass, looking as though it had been plowed hundreds of times.

Ryuto stood in the center of the valley.

Today, he wasn't wearing his simple cloth clothes. He had changed into a sturdier black training outfit, secured tightly at his wrists and ankles.

He had long since removed all the Weighted Scrolls on his body.

Ki flowed steadily inside him, a little more condensed than three days earlier.

Hashirama stood opposite him, roughly fifty meters away.

Today, Hashirama wasn't wearing his usual dark clan attire either. He had changed into a light gray outfit that allowed easy movement, his hair tied simply behind his head with a cord.

He looked at Ryuto, his expression serious.

"Ready?"

"Bring it on." Ryuto took his stance.

Tobirama stood on a high rock at the edge of the valley, holding a strange instrument. Several thin wires ran from it, their other ends attached to Ryuto's chest, forehead, and wrist.

It was a vital-sign monitoring device he had worked through the night to make.

"Vital signs stable. Chakra... no, ki energy fluctuations steady." Tobirama's voice came down through some kind of amplification device. "You may begin."

Hashirama nodded.

He slowly raised both hands and pressed his palms together before his chest.

"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three clones identical to Hashirama emerged beside him and instantly scattered, surrounding Ryuto in a triangular formation.

Ryuto's gaze sharpened.

Clones? No, something feels wrong.

The energy inside these three clones... is almost as strong as the original's!

"These are Wood Release clones. They're different from ordinary shadow clones." Hashirama's voice came from four directions at once. "Be careful."

The moment he finished speaking, all four Hashiramas moved.

They didn't vanish with a swish like the Body Flicker Technique. Instead, they kicked off the ground, blasting it apart as they hurtled forward like cannonballs.

Their speed was more than twice Tobirama's!

Ryuto had no time to think. His ki erupted instantly, and he shot backward at an angle.

But the four Hashiramas had already encircled him.

The Hashirama directly ahead threw a punch, its pressure making the air crack explosively.

Ryuto gritted his teeth, concentrated ki in his right fist, and punched to meet it!

Boom!!!

Their fists collided, and a blast of air erupted.

Ryuto felt as though he had slammed into a mountain. He flew backward uncontrollably, his right arm going numb.

Before he landed, the Hashirama on his left appeared in his flight path and swept a kick across.

Ryuto forcibly twisted in midair, crossing his arms over his chest.

Thud!

He was kicked away again, his direction changing.

The Hashirama on the right was waiting for him.

This time, it was an elbow strike.

Ryuto barely managed to take it on his shoulder. His bones creaked, and searing pain shot through him.

He was knocked around like a ball, ricocheting between the four Hashiramas without any way to stop.

Fuck... what the hell is this coordination?! Ryuto cursed inwardly.

He knew Hashirama was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be this strong.

The speed and strength of these four clones alone completely overwhelmed him!

I can't keep letting them hit me!

Ryuto gritted his teeth and unleashed his ki at full power, forcibly steadying himself in midair before thrusting both hands out to the sides.

"Ki Blast!"

Golden pillars of light blasted toward the two Hashirama clones ahead and to his left.

Neither clone dodged. Both formed hand seals simultaneously.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Two enormous wooden dragons burst from the ground, roaring as they crashed into the Ki Blasts.

Boom!!!

The explosion's blazing light swallowed half the valley.

When the dust cleared, the front halves of both wooden dragons had been blasted to pieces, but their rear halves were still writhing, while the Ki Blasts... had been canceled out.

Ryuto's pupils contracted.

Two clones just used ninjutsu to withstand my full-power Ki Blasts head-on?

"Still not enough." The original Hashirama's voice came from above.

Ryuto looked up.

At some point, Hashirama had leaped high into the air. His palms were pressed together, and his chakra fluctuations were so intense that even the air trembled.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Rumble!!!

The ground throughout the valley shook violently. Countless thick trees burst from the earth and grew wildly, turning the valley into a primeval forest in the blink of an eye.

As though the trees had come alive, thick branches and vines reached for Ryuto from every direction.

Ryuto activated the Flight Technique, trying to fly upward.

But interwoven treetops had sealed off the space overhead too.

"Damn it, the range is huge!" Ryuto cursed, forming ki blades in both hands and frantically slashing at the approaching vines.

But there were too many. For every vine he cut, ten more immediately took its place.

His room to move shrank rapidly.

Destructo Disc... no, it takes too long to charge, Ryuto thought rapidly. I'll have to force my way through!

He abandoned defense, concentrated all his ki in his arms and legs, and spun like a drill, charging fiercely in one direction.

Trees were forcibly torn apart, wood chips flying everywhere.

But before he had gone twenty meters, he slowed.

The ki consumption was too great.

And the surrounding trees kept surging toward him without end.

"At this rate... I'll be worn down to death." Ryuto panted, feeling that he had already used nearly forty percent of his ki.

He looked toward Hashirama's original body.

Hashirama still stood high above, his hands maintaining their seal, his expression calm.

"Looks like I'll have to make you get serious."

Ryuto took a deep breath, stopped spinning, and cupped his hands at his waist again.

This time, he held nothing back.

Ki gathered furiously, the golden light growing brighter and brighter, even outshining the surrounding trees.

"Ka... me... ha... me... ha!!!"

A golden pillar of light twice as thick as the previous ones roared forth, reducing every tree in its path to ashes as it shot straight at Hashirama's original body!

Hashirama's gaze sharpened.

He released his hand seal and pressed one hand forward instead.

"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"

Several vines shot out of the forest beneath his feet, joining end to end to form an enormous shield in front of Hashirama.

The Ki Blast slammed into the enormous shield.

Boom!!!

The explosion's shock wave uprooted and hurled away a vast swath of trees throughout the valley.

Smoke and dust filled the air.

Ryuto knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.

That shot had drained nearly half his Ki.

The smoke and dust slowly cleared.

The massive shield had shattered, but Hashirama... stood unharmed where he had been, with only a few cracks in the rock beneath his feet.

He brushed the dust off himself.

"Decent power," Hashirama remarked. "But it still takes too long to charge. In a real fight to the death, that would give me enough time to kill you three times."

Ryuto said nothing. He simply stood up and steadied his breathing.

He knew Hashirama had yet to get serious.

Everything so far had only been a warm-up.

"Next, I'll use more power," Hashirama said. "Get ready."

He pressed his palms together again.

This time, his aura changed.

An immense, vast energy brimming with vitality surged from his body. The remaining trees around him seemed to receive nourishment and began regenerating at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Red markings appeared around Hashirama's eyes, and a strange pattern formed on his forehead.

Senjutsu Chakra!

"Here he comes..." Every muscle in Ryuto's body tensed.

Hashirama moved.

No Hand Seals, no Ninjutsu. He simply took a step forward.

But that step seemed to compress the ground beneath him, carrying him dozens of meters in an instant and placing him right in front of Ryuto.

One punch.

A plain, unadorned punch.

Ryuto wanted to dodge, but his body could not keep up with his mind.

The fist slammed squarely into his chest.

"Pff-!"

Ryuto spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a kite with its string cut, snapping several tree trunks that had yet to finish regrowing before finally crashing into the rock face at the valley's edge.

The rock face caved in, cracks spreading across it.

"Vital signs plummeting!" Tobirama's voice came from above. "Multiple fractures in the rib cage, internal bleeding!"

Embedded in the rock face, Ryuto's vision darkened, the pain in his chest nearly suffocating him.

His Ki... automatically flowed toward his wounds, trying to repair them.

But the repairs could not come close to keeping pace with the damage.

Hashirama's punch had not only shattered his bones, but also left a violent energy inside him that continued wreaking destruction.

"Still not enough..." Gritting his teeth, Ryuto pulled himself free of the rock face and fell to the ground.

He staggered to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He had less than twenty percent of his Ki left.

Hashirama stood a short distance away, watching him.

"Still want to continue?"

"Con... tinue." Ryuto forced the word through clenched teeth.

Hashirama nodded.

He charged in again, even faster.

Ryuto gave it everything he had, coating his entire body with the last of his Ki in an attempt to defend himself.

But it was useless.

Hashirama's fist pierced the layer of Ki as easily as paper and slammed into his abdomen.

"Urgh-!"

Ryuto doubled over and vomited another mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

His vision began to blur.

His Ki... was almost exhausted.

Hashirama did not stop. His third punch struck Ryuto's shoulder.

Crack!

His shoulder blade shattered.

Ryuto collapsed to his knees, no longer able to stay on his feet.

His consciousness was rapidly slipping away.

Tobirama's urgent voice reached his ears. "Vital signs approaching the critical threshold! Brother, you can stop now!"

Hashirama withdrew his fist and looked at Ryuto, who lay curled up on the ground.

Ryuto's eyes were half-open, his pupils already beginning to lose focus.

His breathing was so faint it was barely perceptible.

His Ki... was completely depleted.

Now... is the time... One final thought flashed through Ryuto's mind.

Then darkness swallowed everything.

Atop the high rock, Tobirama stared intently at the instrument's screen.

After plunging to the bottom, the lines representing Ryuto's vital signs suddenly... stopped.

They neither fell further nor rose.

They simply remained motionless at those extremely low, extremely dangerous values.

"He's entered a state of suspended animation," Tobirama recorded rapidly. "Cellular activity hasn't ceased completely, but his metabolism has dropped to its minimum."

He abruptly looked up. "Brother, begin treatment." Hashirama bent down, his hands glowing green as the light enveloped Ryuto's entire body. Soon, Ryuto's injuries began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Hashirama sensed that the once-depleted "Ki" inside Ryuto was regenerating and growing at an astonishing speed.

It was not recovering.

It was surging!

"So... it really is true," Hashirama said quietly.

Tobirama jumped down from the high rock and landed beside Hashirama. The lines on the screen of the instrument in his hand began fluctuating wildly.

"The energy readings are skyrocketing!" Tobirama's voice carried shock. "They've already exceeded his peak before the test, and they're still rising!"

The two of them watched.

More than ten minutes later.

Ryuto's eyelids twitched. Then he opened his eyes.

His gaze was clear and sharp, without the slightest trace of weakness.

He sat up, moved his shoulder, then felt his chest.

As good as new.

No, better than before.

He could feel the Ki inside him, frighteningly vast, like a volcano that might erupt at any moment.

"It worked..." Ryuto broke into a grin.

He stood and looked at Hashirama and Tobirama.

"Thanks."

Hashirama stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled too.

"Welcome back."

Tobirama hurried over with his instrument and attached the wires to Ryuto again.

"Data. I need data," he said without looking up.

Ryuto let him do as he pleased.

Hashirama walked up to Ryuto and looked at him very seriously.

"Ryuto, how do you feel now?"

"Great." Ryuto clenched his fists, making the air crack. "At least... thirty percent stronger, I'd say. No, maybe more."

"That's good." Hashirama nodded, then paused before speaking again. "Do you remember the condition I mentioned earlier?"

Ryuto knew what he meant.

Joining the Senju.

"I remember," Ryuto said. "I accept. But not as a 'ninja of the Senju Clan.' As 'Ryuto,' working alongside you toward that goal of peace."

He looked at Hashirama.

"You provide the vision, I provide the muscle. Together, let's see if we can turn this chaotic world around."

Hashirama smiled and held out his hand.

"Here's to working together."

Ryuto took his hand.

"Here's to working together."