HGBW: Ch. 115

"The battle of illusions is a battle of spiritual energy." Mikoto murmured softly, repeatedly pondering these words.

She sighed in her heart.

This sentence truly encapsulated the essence of genjutsu. At the same time, she was amazed by Tanaka's immense spiritual energy.

To have accumulated such astonishing spiritual energy at his age, it was evident how rigorous his training must have been.

In the shinobi world, aside from the Uchiha, who could attain enlightenment through the pain of killing their own kin, others had no shortcuts to enhancing their spiritual energy.

The only path was through persistent training, using a strong body and an indomitable will to nourish the mind.

"I lost."

The crimson glow and tomoe in Mikoto's eyes began to fade as she released the kunai in her grip and formed the Seal of Reconciliation.

When she looked at Tanaka again, her gaze now carried a trace of admiration and respect.

The Uchiha's greatest power lay in their Sharingan.

Yet even the dōjutsu they prided themselves on had proven ineffective. She had no choice but to admit defeat wholeheartedly.

"I really like this return gift of yours."

Turning to face Tanaka, Mikoto's voice remained gentle, but unlike before, when it carried the politeness of keeping others at a distance, there was now a hint of closeness.

Though she was naturally kind and gentle, the Uchiha blood in her veins meant she, like the rest of her clan, revered the strong.

Especially given her past, having grown up without familial love, she yearned for a sense of security. And in the harsh reality of the shinobi world, security was often synonymous with strength.

It's at 78.

Tanaka knew Mikoto wasn't lying—she genuinely liked it. Because after their sparring session, her favorability score toward him had skyrocketed to 78.

So, Uchiha favorability could be earned through battle.

"Mikoto-nee, I just thought of the perfect gift for you."

At that moment, inspiration struck Tanaka.

"Oh?"

Mikoto was intrigued, her anticipation rising.

If this were earlier, she wouldn't have cared whether Tanaka returned her gift or not. But after their brief time alone together and the sparring match they just had, her thoughts had changed.

"Give me your hand."

Tanaka extended his right hand, palm up.

"Alright."

Without hesitation, Mikoto placed her left hand in his palm.

As an Uchiha jonin with fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan, she had carried out countless missions in the past. Fighting, killing—these were routine matters to her, let alone simple physical contact.

Besides, while it wasn't yet publicly announced in the village, she was technically already Tanaka's fiancée.

With a favorability score of 78 as a foundation, there was no reason to reject such minor physical interaction.

"ROOM."

Tanaka grasped Mikoto's hand, activated ROOM, covering her in its influence while simultaneously opening his Byakugan to scan her body.

In an instant, Mikoto underwent a thorough physical examination—down to the cellular level.

All her hidden injuries were laid bare before his eyes.

Her body has accumulated quite a few hidden injuries. Tanaka thought to himself, though he wasn't surprised.

In the future, even Itachi would suffer from chronic illness, to the point of being terminally ill.

It was clear that the Uchiha clan, constantly suppressed by Konoha, lacked skilled medical ninja within their ranks.

If even Itachi, the son of the clan leader, suffered from such issues, how much worse would it be for Mikoto?

Years of relying on shadow clones. Countless battles during missions. Tanaka saw it all clearly—Mikoto's body had accumulated numerous hidden injuries.

For now, while she was still in her early twenties, it wasn't a serious issue.

But once she reached her forties, the problems would start to surface.

Physical decline.

Deteriorating strength.

Weakened chakra.

It was even possible that, like Itachi, she would become plagued by illness.

After thoroughly assessing Mikoto's physical condition, Tanaka paused for a moment. Having received personal medical ninjutsu training from Tsunade, he quickly formulated a treatment plan for her.

First, he needed to remove the metabolic waste accumulated in her body due to intense training and battles, transferring it outside.

This adjusted Mikoto's bodily circulation to a more optimal and healthy state.

Next, he applied the Mystical Palm Technique to repair her skeletal muscles and ligaments.

With the Byakugan's vision and ROOM's scanning ability, he could precisely treat every single muscle fiber.

Is he... healing me?

Mikoto gazed at Tanaka as he held her palm, a soft green glow emanating from it. She wasn't a medical ninja, but she understood medical ninjutsu.

Especially with Tsunade recently establishing a medical ninja training program, even civilian ninjas were now aware of medical techniques.

Let alone someone from a bloodline clan like her.

As the warmth spread throughout her body, it felt as if she were immersed in a hot spring. A soothing sensation swept through her, washing away all exhaustion and lifting an overwhelming burden off her shoulders.

The sheer comfort made her unconsciously let out a soft moan. However, realizing it was somewhat inappropriate, she quickly stifled it.

But not for long. Soon, she couldn't suppress it again. Seeing Tanaka's focused expression, his Byakugan fixed on her, Mikoto initially felt a subtle ripple in her heart.

As time passed, that feeling transformed—from a faint tingle, like a weak electric current, into a powerful, uncontrollable surge.

After a while, Tanaka finally stopped, and the green glow surrounding his hand gradually faded.

He checked himself and realized that his chakra had decreased by seven units.

That's right—seven whole units.

The amount of chakra exceeding that of an average jonin had been spent solely on treating Mikoto's injuries.

This was proof of just how severe the hidden wounds she had accumulated from years of intense training and battles truly were.

"For the next few days, don't train at all. Let your body, and mind rest. After that, when you start training again, you'll improve much faster."

Tanaka released Mikoto's hand.

Just as he was about to wipe away the sweat trickling down his forehead, about to touch his eye, a hand moved faster than his own, gently wiping it away for him.

"Mikoto-nee."

He was about to say something, but before he could, Mikoto withdrew her hand and leaned in close to his ear.

"I wasn't wrong earlier. You really are amazing. And… this is the best gift I've received."

With that, Mikoto pressed her lips lightly against Tanaka's cheek, leaving a soft kiss.

Then, before Tanaka could react, she turned around and walked away. She didn't want him to see the faint blush on her cheeks.

Nor did she want her fiancé to notice the rippling emotions in her dark eyes.

However, while her plan was good, she overlooked two things. Tanaka still had his Byakugan activated.

And she was still inside ROOM.

Her slightly quickened breathing, her rapidly beating heart, the increased flow of her blood—he saw it all.

Of course, he also noticed one other thing, her favorability had surpassed 80.

[Mikoto: Favorability 83.]