Traveling Through Multiple Realms: The Supporting Character's Counterattack

Shizune was stunned. Genma's approach was different from all the treatments she knew. There was no coercion, no direct confrontation with the trauma, but rather a lot of understanding, guidance and hope.

She murmured, "To create a safe environment and redefine meaning, we need a strong 'anchor'..."

She pondered these words repeatedly, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

These ideas may sound absurd, but upon closer examination, they contain profound truths.

The term "anchor point" in particular struck a chord with her.

Perhaps, I really can be the key to helping Lady Tsunade emerge from her darkest period?

"Genma, you're right!"

Shizune suddenly grabbed Genma's hand, her voice excited, "Perhaps, we really can try your method! But..."

She hesitated again, "How exactly should we do it? Lady Tsunade is completely unwilling to get involved in anything related right now."

Genma gently grasped Shizune's hand in return, offering her support and confidence: "Don't rush, Shizune. This takes time and patience. You need to spend more time with her, but don't mention treatment. Just simply care for her, let her feel warmth and dependence, and solidify your presence as an 'anchor'."

He looked up towards the Hokage Rock, his gaze deep: "As for the reason of 'needing her,' the prelude to war has already begun, and Konoha needs her strength. This reason will become increasingly compelling. What we need to do is prepare to lend her a hand at the right time and in the right way."

As Shizune looked at Genma's calm and confident profile, the gloom in her heart caused by the news of the war and Tsunade's illness seemed to dissipate considerably.

She nodded firmly, her eyes regaining their resolve: "I understand, Genma. Thank you, I know what to do."

She was determined to give it a try, no matter what.

In order for Tsunade to recover, and in order to stay in Konoha, to stay by the side of the person who gives her peace of mind.

Seeing Shizune's renewed fighting spirit, Genma smiled slightly.

Save Tsunade, preserve Shizune, and prepare for the impending war.

He believed that, with his intervention, everything would develop in the ideal direction.

After parting ways with Shizune, Genma did not go straight home.

The urgency of war whipped him, urging him to accelerate his pace of becoming stronger.

He turned and walked toward the secluded woodland where he usually cultivated.

Night began to fall, and the light in the forest was dim, but Genma's steps were unusually firm; he had to race against time.

……

The shadow of war loomed over Konoha as if it were a tangible reality.

As the war between Sunagakure and Kumogakure escalates, friction along the border of the Land of Fire becomes increasingly frequent, and a tense atmosphere permeates every corner of the village.

The pace of the ninja academy's curriculum has noticeably accelerated, with practical combat training replacing some of the theoretical classes, and the air is thick with the tense atmosphere of impending battle.

Genji knew that he didn't have much time left to develop peacefully.

He maximized the effectiveness of his shadow clone technique.

One clone continues to play the role of an excellent student, absorbing necessary theoretical knowledge in class, engaging in regular taijutsu and ninjutsu sparring with classmates, and maintaining a normal performance.

Meanwhile, Genji's main body, along with his seven other clones, were engaged in a near-brutal high-intensity training session in a more secluded and complex valley in the woods behind the mountain.

The completion of "Flame Release: Rasengan" gave him a powerful attack method, but Genma pursued the perfect combination of this destructive power with extreme speed to form a unique, one-hit-kill tactical system.

In the forest clearing, several figures from Xuanjian moved at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive, leaving trails of afterimages and stirring up fallen leaves to form small whirlwinds.

Their footsteps tread on tree trunks, rocks, and even vertical cliffs, their movements fluid and unpredictable, a testament to the ultimate combination of teleportation techniques and basic physical skills.

One of the figures suddenly went from extreme motion to extreme stillness, stopping abruptly on a horizontal branch of a giant tree, its body as steady as a rock.

He raised his right hand, and simultaneously completed the nature and form transformation of his chakra. The crimson Flame Release Rasengan instantly took shape, and the high temperature caused the surrounding air to distort violently, emitting a low hum, as if a miniature sun was burning in his palm.

However, he did not throw the sphere containing terrifying energy. Instead, he maintained its stable rotation by relying on his powerful chakra control, while simultaneously pushing off the tree branch with both feet.

"call out!"

The figure once again burst forth with astonishing speed, carrying this extremely unstable "little sun" as it traversed, turned back, and made sharp turns through the complex terrain.

Wherever he went, the vegetation withered and the air became scorching.

This was an extremely dangerous attempt. The vibrations and inertia caused by high-speed movement required an abnormal level of precision in chakra control.

Even the slightest mistake, the slightest stagnation in the flow of chakra, would cause the highly compressed, violent energy in the palm to instantly lose its balance, with unimaginable consequences.

"Bang!"

With a soft sound, one of the clones, due to a slight imbalance in chakra output, caused its Fire Release: Rasengan to suddenly expand out of control, transforming into a ball of flame that engulfed it. Immediately afterward, the clone also turned into white smoke and disappeared.

The memories and fatigue returned to his body, and Genma frowned slightly, but his eyes remained sharp.

With his extraordinary comprehension brought by the soul replenishment and his subtle perception of chakra, he managed to walk on the edge of failure time and time again, constantly adjusting the rhythm of chakra output and the coordination of his body movements, and gradually mastered the exquisite balance point of maintaining the stability of the Flame Release: Rasengan while moving at high speed.

He could clearly feel that the training under such extreme pressure was causing his chakra control to climb to a whole new level. His body coordination, reaction speed, and grasp of the rhythm of battle were all improving at an astonishing rate.

This is not just about mastering a skill, but about comprehensive training.

At the same time, he did not give up his training in medical ninjutsu.

During his hospital internship, he became even more focused, especially working hard to improve the precision of his chakra scalpel.

He combined his chakra scalpel technique with the chakra metal kunai he had obtained in previous matches.

Through repeated optimization and practice, he has become skilled at concentrating chakra at the tip of a kunai, forming an incomparably sharp chakra blade whose length can be freely extended or retracted.

In his vision, this agile chakra sword, combined with the elusive Body Flicker Technique, will be his efficient and chakra-saving regular combat capability when facing enemies in the future.

The ultimate move, "Flame Release: Rasengan," will be his final, decisive method to deal with exceptionally powerful opponents.

On the other side, Shizune kept Genma's words in mind and completely changed her previous cautious and often worried attitude.

Instead of directly persuading Tsunade to accept treatment, she transformed Genma's ideas of "creating a safe environment" and "strengthening the anchor point" into gentle, daily companionship.

That evening, Shizune carried her carefully prepared, lightly flavored bento box to the back room of the izakaya that Tsunade frequented.

The room reeked of alcohol. Tsunade leaned against the window, staring blankly at the lights gradually coming on outside. Her profile looked particularly lonely.

"Lady Tsunade, I brought dinner. It's your favorite salt-grilled sea bream and tofu miso soup. And some sake, please have something to eat first, if you'd like, instead of drinking too much today."

The voice was gentle and calm, without the usual timidity and worry, like a family member's ordinary greeting.

She skillfully tidied up the scattered wine bottles, opened the lunchbox, and the aroma of the food slightly dispelled the smell of alcohol in the room.

Tsunade glanced at her, said nothing, but also didn't wave her away impatiently as usual.

Shizune didn't say much, but just sat quietly to the side, picked up a piece of Tsunade's old coat, and silently sewed up the tear that had been accidentally snagged.

In between sewing, she would speak in a lighthearted tone about how a baby she had seen at the hospital that day had bravely survived the critical period, and how the parents were overjoyed and wept.

He then mentioned seeing a plant growing tenaciously in the cracks between bricks by the roadside, blooming with small red flowers, and marveled at the resilience of life.

She didn't mention any words about blood, war, or treatment.

Tsunade remained silent at first, mechanically eating her food, but gradually, she slowed down her drinking.

Sometimes, when Shizune tells some interesting stories, she can feel Tsunade's gaze, which is filled with complex emotions.

In that gaze, there was lingering pain and deep weariness, but also, seemingly, a subtle dependence on this warm companionship.

This small change filled Shizune with hope and strengthened her resolve.

She knew the road was long and difficult, but the direction was right.

She would take extra care of Tsunade after she got drunk, wiping her face and covering her with a blanket. When the weather was nice, she would try to invite Tsunade to take a walk in a park full of flowers. Although she was rejected nine times out of ten, she never got discouraged.

Night completely enveloped Konoha. Genma's main body finished his intense training and dragged his tired but satisfied body home.

Shizune soothed the slightly tipsy Tsunade to sleep and gently closed the door.

Two teenagers, in different places, are working hard for a common goal and to protect the important people and things in the coming storm.