Evening, Training Ground Seven.

  "Finally, the st jutsu."

  Dripping with sweat, Link sat on a rock, rec from his self-imposed overtraining regimen. He had decided to test it on himself before applying it to his teammates.

  The results were inclusive for now. There were no visible differences yet, as the true effects would only ma during subsequent training sessions or natural body growth. However, Delicate Illness Extra Jutsu had proven its value—it left no lingering damage.

  It was as though the injuries had never occurred.

  The extracted "damage" seemed to dissipate too quickly for him to store it, and wheed on a rabbit, it produo noticeable reas. Perhaps the damage was simply too minor for the rabbit to notice.

  Another observation was that while the jutsu eliminated physical pain and fatigue caused by training or damage, mental fatigue persisted. This meant careful pnning would be necessary when using it.

  Satisfied for now, Link exhaled deeply and stood. He gathered his chakra, formed seals, and executed—

  "Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon."

  "Cck! Boom!"

  A bd-gray gate burst forth from the ground, kig up a cloud of dust. It wasn’t as ominous as he had imagihe structure was about 7–8 meters tall and nearly 10 meters wide, resembling a cssic Japanese castle gate, plete with tiled roofing and wooden framework.

  It looked oddly simir to the main gate of Tanzaku Town.

  The gate's double doors bore menag demon faces with fangs and horns. The sides were bck walls emitting a faint, ominous aura.

  Breathing heavily from the chakra expenditure, Link approached and pushed the gate open.

  "Creak..."

  Inside, a swirling vortex of strange energy ed, apanied by fragmented whispers. Though the words were unclear, the air was thick with ive emotions.

  He took a step back, sensing something was about to emerge.

  "Tap... Tap... Tap..."

  Footsteps echoed from within. Moments ter, a figure stepped into the su-lit se—a man wearing a Konohagakure Anbu chest pte and bck cropped pants, his face obscured by a monkey mask.

  Link froze, staring at the man in disbelief.

  The man removed his mask, revealing a faewhat resembling Link’s. Smiling warmly, he ruffled Link’s hair and said, "Long time no see, son."

  But before Link could react, tless gray-white hands shot out from the vortex, grabbing the man and dragging him baside.

  "Bang!"

  The gate smmed shut, twisting and dissolving into nothingness as if it had never existed.

  Link snapped out of his daze to realize his chakra reserves were nearly depleted. His body throbbed with intense pain—a sign of tinuous chakra release.

  "It hurts..."

  There was no time to dwell on his ued reunion with his father. The pain was overwhelming, f him to crouch down.

  He had read about this before: excessive chakra release caused severe pain. Hyūga Neji mentio during his fight with Kidōmaru, and Sasuke experienced simir agony while activating Susanoo.

  But Link hadn’t expected it to be this bad. No wonder Sasuke could barely stand during suents.

  After some time, he staggered to his feet, wiping tears caused by the pain. His expression was plex.

  "As I suspected, I’ve opened a gateway to the Pure Land..."

  The liween life ah had blurred in his hands.

  The good news? The Sage of Six Paths hadn’t shown up to lecture him.

  The bad news? The tinuous pain from prolonged chakra expenditure couldn’t be avoided.

  Moreover, it seemed that someone o have prior unication with him to cross from the Pure Land to the living world via Rashomon.

  "I guess I’ll o figure out how to make a call to the First or Sed Hokage..."

  Determined, Link made a mental note: he had to ensure Hiruzen Sarutobi survived the Konoha Crush Pn. The Reaper Death Seal would interfere with his newfound "service" and limit its potential.

  "The power of ge... is in my hands."

  …

  One Month Later, Training Ground Seven.

  "Huff... Huff..."

  Lying shirtless on a rock, Link panted heavily. His once vaguely defined muscles were noly cut, sweat dripping onto the grass below.

  He hadn’t used the Delicate Illness Extra Jutsu to repair his muscle damage yet. Extrag the damage too early would halt the natural repair and growth processes.

  One session of interaining paired with the jutsu every week was enough to accelerate his physical development. Overdoing it would only cause unnecessary mental strain.

  Training alongside his teammates, Link realized that pure effort wasn’t enough to build strength. Natural talent pyed a huge role.

  Muscle repair, structural adjustments, and neural recruitment for better trol—all of these varied greatly between individuals. Physical growth was as much about geics as it was effort.

  Unfortunately, her he nor his teammates were physical prodigies.

  But with his advahe gap could eventually be closed.

  "Boss..." Iris stumbled over, colpsing against the rock. "We’re resuming missions tomorrow... ’t we just stay in the vilge araining?"

  Of the three, Iris was the most addicted to the feeling of getting stronger.

  Sitting oher side, Ami sighed as she ied her developing muscles. "If it weren’t for Boss, do you think you’d get to stay in the vilge for over a month without taking on a single mission?"

  "Thud. Thud."

  Link unstrapped the weights from his waist and legs, letting them drop to the ground. Staring at the blue sky, he said, "Take your time. lenty of it..."

  Even geniuses couldn’t afford to stay idle in the vilge. Missions were essential for tributing to the vilge and developing as a ninja.

  Besides, his wallet was suffering from their interaining diet.

  " early today a some rest. We’ll meet at the Hokage’s offiorrow m."

  With that, Link closed his eyes, enjoying the calm after his training. Ami and Iris exged gnces before accepting his decision.

  Soon, the three of them were sitting shoulder to shoulder against the rock, their breathing soft and synized.