Ding. Host physical condition detected as suboptimal.
Wow, you actually noticed, huh…
Jun rolled his eyes—or would've, if he had control. The situation felt eerily familiar. Right as he opened his mouth to rant—
Ding. Host detected with severe injuries due to overtraining. System will now provide free medical intervention.
…Wait, what?
Last time the system detected his condition, it stopped training. But now?
Jun suddenly remembered: compared to the hours spent last night running around Konoha, today's "auto-mode" session—
Hadn't even lasted two hours.
Step! Step! Step!
Jun charged down the main commercial street, arm trailing blood.
"Wait a second! System bro, just tell me what the treatment plan is!"
But of course, silence.
The system guided his body through turns like it had a precise destination. Jun wasn't even surprised anymore.
If it could sniff out scrolls and stolen soldier pills, surely it could find a place to heal.
—
The Hot Springs
A treasured escape for both civilians and shinobi alike. After a long day, nothing beat a steaming soak to drain the fatigue from your bones.
Separated by gender, of course.
Ancient times supposedly had mixed bathing, but now? Civilization had evolved.
Within the women's side—
Inuzuka Tsume bowed apologetically to the kind-faced woman beside her. "Lady Mitarashi, I apologize. I failed to send Anko back to the Academy."
The woman sighed, but her expression remained warm. "It's fine. She needs to face reality eventually. It's her choice."
Tsume was about to reply when the curtain rustled and two new figures entered the bathhouse.
She straightened up instantly, clutching her towel tighter and bowing. "Ma'am!"
Lady Mitarashi followed suit.
The woman who entered had long pale blond hair tied up in a loose ponytail. A violet diamond mark gleamed on her forehead.
With a loud, carefree tone, she waved them off: "No need to bow. Go ahead, keep talking."
Then, with no modesty whatsoever, she stripped and stepped confidently into the steam, revealing a figure that could make statues weep.
Tsume looked from the woman's curves to her own flat chest and slowly slid deeper into the water, vanishing up to her chin.
The busty woman—Tsunade—motioned to the short-haired girl beside her and led her to the other side of the bath.
They slipped into the water together.
Tsunade sighed in bliss, stretching her arms above the surface. Two large assets floated to the top, catching immediate attention.
The girl, Shizune, stared, wide-eyed.
"Shizune," Tsunade said softly, "I came back this time just for you. Will you train in medical ninjutsu under me?"
"M-Milady Tsunade, I… yes! I will!" Shizune flushed crimson.
"You sure? If you come with me… we might never return to Konoha again."
"I'm sure!" Her voice was firm.
Shizune had just graduated the day before. Earlier, she'd been wondering why everyone else had been assigned squads—except her.
Then she appeared. Bought her favorite genmai rice, brought her here to soak, and now this invitation.
The woman everyone admired… was this approachable?
The warmth of the spring, the fog, the heat… everything felt dreamlike.
—
Jun tore through the commercial district like a madman.
At a takoyaki stand, an older Uchiha named Tezuka caught sight of the blur.
"Huh? Jun?!"
He dropped his paper and ran out.
"Hey! Kid! You're hurt—get that wound treated! Don't try to tough it out!"
But Jun was long gone.
Still, Tezuka had seen the red streaks. His expression darkened.
"That kid… Is the pressure of graduation getting to him that badly?"
—
Jun's shoulder was soaked red. His bandages were ruined, bleeding through.
Truth was, the injury from Mizuki's shuriken hadn't been serious. With proper dressing, it should've healed within a day.
But the system had him doing taijutsu drills over and over.
With no rest.
Now the minor wound had grown into something serious. A compound of reinjury upon reinjury.
Jun wanted to scream.
Even if the system muted his pain, seeing himself run toward the women's bath finally broke him.
No. Nonono. SYSTEM—STOP! You can't take me there! That's not—THAT'S NOT A PLACE I'M ALLOWED TO BE!
The curtain parted.
"SYSTEM—YOU SON OF A—"
"AHHH!"
"KYAAA!"
The shrieking hit like a thunderclap.
The moment Jun stepped into the women's side of the bathhouse, all hell broke loose.
Sure, he looked young—but he was still a boy.
Worse, he was half-covered in blood, looking like something that crawled out of a horror movie.
Tsume shot to her feet, towel clutched to her chest. "YOU—Uchiha brat, how dare you—!"
But the bloodied boy didn't even glance at her. He dove straight into the hot spring.
Straight toward Tsunade.
Tsume froze.
He's after—?!
Shizune stood protectively on the edge of the water. "Lady Tsunade?!"
Konoha's most legendary kunoichi—the Fifth Hokage-to-be—stood frozen.
Her wide eyes stared at the crimson trail in the water. Her lips trembled. She didn't speak.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The hot spring turned red as Jun closed the distance.
Shizune panicked.
She jumped in, planting herself between him and Tsunade.
She didn't know what was happening—but instinct told her to protect.
She stared as the blood-soaked figure drew closer—and finally recognized the face.
"You… Uchiha Jun…"
She didn't use the cruel nickname other students gave him. That wasn't her style.
Still, as he got closer, even calm little Shizune began to tremble.
Then—
"You bastard, Jun! I actually started to like you today!"
Tsume's roar split the air.
"You have no right to be here!"
BAM!
She leapt up and slammed a foot into Jun's chest, kicking him out of the water and saving Shizune.
He skidded, crashing onto the wooden floor outside the pool, soaking wet but stable.
"You still want to resist?!"
Tsume's rage hadn't cooled.
She dropped to all fours. "Tsuga!"
Her towel-wrapped body spun like a mini cyclone, rocketing straight toward him.
Jun couldn't dodge.
He braced himself, arms raised in a textbook defensive pose.
CRACK!
BOOM!
The wooden wall behind him exploded into splinters, leaving behind a Jun-shaped hole.
Screams echoed from every corner of the bathhouse.
The entire side of the women's section collapsed.