Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha.

Chapter 484 An Unprecedented Strange Experience

Black Crow walked beside the two, listening to the noisy argument around him, but did not answer. He just looked up at the flock of birds flying freely in the sky, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

As the morning sun shone through the eaves of the houses on the west side of Konoha, three figures with extremely strange movements appeared on the long street outside the Seventh Training Ground.

Suzuki Riku gripped the wooden railing on the side of the street tightly with both hands. With each half step forward, his face contorted like crumpled toilet paper.

His legs were straight and stiff, his knees barely bending, and he walked like a frightened and rusty puppet.

"Ouch—it hurts! This is killing me, this is definitely murder—" Lu gasped, carefully shifting his weight from his left foot to his right. "I've never known that so many painful muscles could grow between my back and buttocks! Senior Li must have used my ligaments as a bowstring yesterday!"

Huimei, walking next to him, was in no better shape.

Although she was wearing loose casual clothes today, she took very small steps, turned sideways as she went down the stairs, held the stone steps tightly with both hands, and her brows were furrowed in a tight knot.

"Stop yelling, Lu." Huimei gritted her teeth, a layer of fine sweat appearing on her forehead. "Every time you yell, my eardrums throb along with my temples."

Not only do my thighs feel like they're on fire, but even when I raise my hand to tie my hair up, both my shoulders are shaking.

"How can you blame me?" Lu turned around indignantly, looking at Black Crow following behind them. "Black Crow! Say something! You were the one Senior Li was paying special attention to yesterday, didn't you feel anything at all?"

The black crow walked on the inside of the cobblestone path.

Although on the surface his steps remain as steady as a ninja's, a closer look reveals that with each step he takes, there is a barely perceptible pause the moment his foot lands.

His dark shirt was zipped up high, and his hands hung naturally at his sides, but his fingertips would occasionally tremble slightly due to muscle soreness. "I can feel it," Black Crow said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"How does it feel?" Lu asked eagerly.

"My whole body feels like it's been hit by an explosive tag at close range." Black Crow stared ahead expressionlessly, his tone completely calm. "My periosteum and tendons are sending out warning signals, and when I turn over, it feels like I'm being crushed by a 200-pound rock."

I woke up four times last night.

Hearing Black Crow admit to feeling pain, Lu felt a strange sense of relief, but then he wailed again: "Even an iron man from the Dark Division can't handle this! If Teacher Chi Quan makes us run thirty more laps today, or if he calls Senior Li over again—I swear, I'll just lie down in the mud and play dead, let whoever wants to move me move!"

"Playing dead on the battlefield is not a good habit."

A gentle and steady voice came from the tree-lined corner ahead.

The three of them stopped in their tracks and looked in the direction of the sound.

Chi Quan was standing under a lush wisteria tree.

Today, he wasn't wearing his serious ninja tactical vest or his pathology lab coat. Instead, he wore a light gray casual cotton-linen kimono with a dark blue haori over it.

He still held the cane he always carried, and in his other hand he carried a wicker basket that looked quite heavy. The gold-rimmed glasses on his nose gleamed warmly in the morning light.

"Teacher Chi Quan—" the three greeted him listlessly.

Lu slumped his shoulders, raised his hands with a pained expression, and said, "Teacher, confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist and you'll be punished severely."

My entire motor nervous system is completely paralyzed today. If I were to test my reaction speed, my current reflex time would be at least three seconds.

Chi Quan sized up the three students in front of him.

His gaze swept over Lu's trembling knees, Huimei's stiff shoulders and neck, and Black Crow's ankles as he deliberately maintained his balance, a knowing smile playing on his lips behind his glasses.

"Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOM for short." Chi Quan walked forward with a calm step, his cane making a soft tapping sound on the bluestone slab. "Strenuous exercise causes damage to the ultrastructure of muscle fibers, accompanied by aseptic inflammation and the accumulation of metabolic products."

This physiological response typically peaks 24 to 48 hours after training.

If you're still jumping around energetically today, it just means yesterday's training was completely inadequate.

Hui Mei looked at Chi Quan with some concern: "Teacher, are we still going to have sparring training today? My arms are even stiff when I'm doing hand seals."

"Combat training?" Chi Quan raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Do you think I'm the kind of physical trainer who only knows how to push people to their limits?"

Lu was taken aback for a moment: "Isn't that right?"

"Yes."

Chi Quan tapped Lu's shoe tip lightly with his cane, causing Lu to gasp in pain, lift his foot, and stand on one leg, almost falling over on the spot.

"Reasonable training must be accompanied by recovery methods of equal magnitude." Chi Quan put away his cane and said in a calm tone, "Excessive strain will only lead to decreased muscle elasticity and compensatory strain, and will not result in supercompensation."

There were no tactical drills or physical sparring sessions today.

Lu's eyes lit up instantly: "Really?! You're going home to sleep during the holidays?!"

"It's not like we're going home to sleep." Chi Quan turned around and pointed with his cane towards the mountain path south of the village. "Today we're having physical hydrotherapy and thermotherapy."

Get ready and follow me.

We're going to a hot spring resort upstream on the Naka River.

"Warm————hot spring?!"

Lu and Huimei were both stunned.

Black Crow was also slightly taken aback, a hint of confusion flashing in his dark eyes.

For him, who grew up in the shadows, the word "hot spring" usually only appeared on mission scrolls as a hiding place or target rendezvous point, and had almost nothing to do with "training" or "rest".

"Teacher, you mean—that famous White Heron Bath hot spring resort outside the village?" Hui Mei's eyes widened in disbelief. "I heard that the natural sulfur springs there are especially effective at relieving fatigue, but because it's a long-established resort in Konoha, it's not cheap—"

"That's one of the designated medical and recuperative sites for Konoha Hospital," Chi Quan said, walking ahead without turning his head. "The natural warm water, rich in sulfates and sodium bicarbonate, can effectively promote peripheral vasodilation, accelerate microcirculation in deep muscle groups, eliminate lactic acid, and at the same time reduce the excitability of muscle spindles and relieve muscle spasms."

For your current physical condition, this is the most scientific way to recover.

The cost will be deducted from our class's medical allowance for this month; you don't need to pay anything.

"A free hot spring!" Lu was so excited he almost jumped up, but as soon as he exerted himself, a sharp pain in his groin made him wince and bend over. "Ouch! It hurts—but it's totally worth it! Long live Teacher Chi Quan! Today, you're even greater than the Hokage in my heart!"

Hui Mei couldn't help but smile, her tense nerves finally relaxing completely at this moment.

Black Crow silently followed half a step behind Chi Quan, looking at the wicker basket Chi Quan was carrying, and asked in a low voice, "Teacher, do you need me to carry the basket for you?"

Chi Quan glanced at him sideways and handed him the basket: "Inside are some clean towels and several herbal sachets to help soothe nerves. Don't crush them."

Black Crow took the basket; it was heavy and exuded a refreshing fragrance of mugwort and mint.

He held it steadily in his hand, feeling that although his steps were still heavy, a certain string in his heart had unconsciously loosened.

Leaving the bustling city center of Konoha, we headed south along the winding cobblestone path beside the Naka River.

The scenery on both sides gradually changed from dense wooden houses to lush maple forests and verdant bamboo groves.

The morning breeze of late autumn swept through the valley, taking away a trace of the sultry heat and bringing with it a refreshing fragrance of grass and trees.

The mountain stream cascades through the jagged rocks, making a clear, splashing sound. The water vapor, carried by the mountain breeze, invigorates the spirit.

After walking for about half an hour, passing through a quiet red maple forest, a large Japanese garden complex built against the mountain, with a rather ancient and rustic atmosphere, came into view.

The dark gray, double-eaved hip roof is partially hidden among the lush green trees. Several wisps of warm, white steam rise from the bamboo pipes and the roof's vents, merging with the morning mist in the mountains.

A faint, slightly sulfurous, mineral-smelling warm water scent could already be detected in the air.

A huge plaque carved from a single piece of sandalwood hangs at the entrance of the courtyard, with the four characters "Bai Lu Tang Su" written on it in vigorous ink.

Running water is drawn from both sides of the entrance. Clear spring water cascades down section by section of a broken bamboo tube, striking the stone mortar and producing a clear, melodious "dong-dong" sound.

"Wow—it's really magnificent." Lu stood in front of the mahogany covered bridge, looking up at the building before him, and exclaimed repeatedly, "When I pass by..."

I've been here many times, but I've never actually come inside.

I've heard that many Jonin who have returned from major missions come here to relax.

"Stop looking around like a country bumpkin in the city, it's embarrassing." Although Huimei said this, her big eyes couldn't help but keep looking at the exquisite Japanese dry landscape garden around her.

Chi Quan walked up the steps with a calm expression and pushed open the carved wooden door.

A clear, crisp sound of a copper bell immediately came from inside the door.

Welcome to Egret Bathhouse!

Behind the counter, a middle-aged female proprietress, dressed in a dark purple floral kimono with her hair neatly styled, greeted us with a smile.

But when she saw Chi Quan walking at the front, the proprietress's eyes lit up, and her professional smile instantly turned into warmth and respect.

"Oh my, isn't this Dr. Chi Quan?" The proprietress quickly walked around the counter, bowing slightly. "What brings you here today? We usually ask you to come and give us your feedback on the seasonal herbal spring water formulas, but you always say the pathology department can't find the time."

"I brought the students here today for physical recovery." Chi Quan nodded slightly in greeting, his tone calm. "The three children were severely overexerted yesterday and need to soak in the medium-temperature sulfur spring and the carbonated spring alternately."

Is the pine-covered courtyard on the back hill, which was reserved before, still empty?

"Empty, of course empty! Dr. Chi Quan's private courtyard, how could we dare to just give it to anyone else?" The proprietress smiled and took out four clean, dark blue yukatas and wooden clogs from under the counter, distributing them to the four people. "The open-air bath in the back mountain was filled with fresh spring water early this morning, the temperature..."

The ideal temperature is between 41 and 42 degrees Celsius, which is perfect for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.

"Ms. Takahashi, the women's area is just across the wisteria-covered corridor. It wasn't crowded this morning, so it was very quiet."

"Thank you, ma'am!" Huimei politely accepted the yukata and the pure white towel printed with egret patterns.

Lu Ye eagerly hugged his yukata, turned to Chi Quan and grinned, "Teacher, what are we waiting for? Let's go! My ankles are desperately craving a warm embrace!"

"Don't rush to jump into the water." Chi Quan calmly instructed as he led everyone towards the backyard, "Don't drink too much on an empty stomach, and definitely don't soak it for too long."

Next to the changing room, there are special warm saline solution and barley tea. Everyone drinks 300 ml first to replenish blood volume.

Before going into the water, you must first use a wooden bucket to scoop water and rinse your limbs to allow your heart to adjust to the temperature change, understand?

"Understood, understood!" Lu agreed quickly, but his steps were unsteady due to his excitement.

Passing through a winding wooden corridor lined with red maples and bamboo, the courtyard becomes even more serene.

At the end of the corridor, two curtains hang.

The blue curtain on the left reads "Men's Bath," while the red curtain on the right reads "Women's Bath." In between them is a tall, solid wooden screen and a secluded artificial mountain and water landscape.

"Huimei, go ahead." Chi Quan stopped in his tracks. "The soaking time should be strictly limited to within forty minutes."

If you feel dizzy or have heart palpitations, get up immediately and don't push yourself.

"I understand, Ms. Ikezumi!" Huimei waved lightly to the three of them while holding her yukata, then turned and lifted the red curtain to go inside.

Chi Quan turned around and looked at Lu and Hei Ya: "Let's go in too."

The men's changing room was filled with warm, humid air and the fresh scent of natural cypress wood.

The floor was covered with rush mats that were very comfortable to walk on barefoot, and rows of bamboo-woven clothes baskets were neatly stacked in wooden shelves.

The surroundings were very quiet, with only the faint sound of flowing water coming from the inner room.

Lu frantically ripped off his casual clothes, rubbing his aching stomach and yelling, "Taking off my clothes hurts so much! Senior Li is inhuman! Black Crow, why are you so slow?"

Black Crow stood in front of the locker, his fingers fiddling with the buttons of his clothes, his movements somewhat hesitant.

In the shadows, removing combat gear often means being in a vulnerable, near-death state, or undergoing brutal, anesthesia-free surgery in a field hospital.

Removing all protective gear in a bright, warm public place without any guard was an unprecedented and unfamiliar experience for him.

"There are no enemies here, Black Crow."

Chi Quanping's calm voice came from the side.

Chi Quan had neatly folded his coat and put it into the bamboo basket, with only a clean white towel wrapped around his waist.