Holding a book that recorded the history of the Uchiha clan, Toshirou was casually flipping through it.
"Toshirou, everything is ready here, come on over."
Uchiha Mika's voice called from inside the room. Following the voice, Toshirou entered the bathroom. At that moment, Uchiha Mika had her hair tied up and was busy beside a large wooden barrel. Shimmering drops of water streamed down her temples from her forehead, whether it was due to the steam filling the bathroom or from exhaustion was unclear.
"There are a few more herbs that will need to be added only after you successfully refine your chakra, which will enhance the medicinal effect."
Faced with the large bathtub in front of him, Toshirou hesitated for a moment.
One reason was the thick herbal smell emanating from the brown "bathwater," giving him a bad feeling. Another reason was the scalding temperature of the liquid inside the barrel. Lastly, as a man with the mental age of a 30-year-old being stripped down in front of a girl in her mid-teens was rather embarrassing. Though he had gradually given up on such concerns in the past few days.
Seeing Toshirou's hesitation, the girl named Uchiha Mika narrowed her eyes with a light smile. With one swift motion, she lifted him up and, with a few rapid moves, stripped off his outerwear, shirt, trousers, and even the last layer of his clothes, tossing him into the bathtub.
"Aah! It's boiling! It's boiling! It's boiling!" Instinctively, Toshirou gripped the edge of the barrel, attempting to leap out of the scorching water.
At that moment, a fair arm extended and pressed his head down, forcing the leaping Toshirou back into the bathtub.
"Toshirou, if you can't endure this bit of pain, you'd better give up on being a ninja early," said Uchiha Mika, her hand still pressing down on his head, as she looked at the flushed red Toshirou in the bathtub.
As a ninja, learning to endure pain was his first lesson. The life of a ninja entailed physical pain from training, learning jutsus, injuries, bleeding, and even being killed, as well as mental anguish from missions, losing teachers, comrades, loved ones, and even lovers; it was commonplace.
"Alright, Mika-neesan, you can let go of my head now, I'm starting to adjust," said Toshirou, almost standing in the tub, panting heavily with skin reddened by the hot medicinal water.
"Oh, you're starting to adjust? Then I'll proceed to the next step..." said Mika as she withdrew her right hand, bent down to retrieve some firewood from who knows where, waved it before his eyes, and stuffed it into a stone slot at the bottom of the wooden barrel. After forming a few hand seals, she ignited the wood with a breath of scorching flame. She then produced a thermometer from somewhere and placed it in his hand.
"Watch closely, if the temperature exceeds 70 degrees, you'll end up cooked, Toshirou. Also, the higher the temperature, the more effective the medicinal bath."
Seeing Mika's operations, Toshirou couldn't help but regret his decision—wondering if he should have chosen a different path, or set his ambitions lower as an ordinary ninja. Simultaneously, he cursed in his heart about his situation - no cheats, no mentors, nothing but a troublesome Uchiha identity.
Lost in his curses, Toshirou felt like tears might flow from the sheer frustration. He lamented how others would graduate at five, defeat Chunin at six, become Jonin at seven, and reach Kage-level at eight, their journeys filled with ease and charisma. But here he was, nearly becoming a boiled dish in the first step of his journey.
Time seemed dreadfully slow in pain. Nevertheless, all suffering eventually ends. Just when Toshirou felt he couldn't hold out any longer and might faint, Uchiha Mika fished him out of the tub. At that moment, his whole body was bright red, resembling a cooked lobster, and his mind was hazy.
"Toshirou! Toshirou! Are you okay?" Wrapped in a towel, Toshirou finally heaved a huge sigh of relief and regained some clarity.
"Mika-neesan, will every medicinal bath be this painful?" he asked, fearing that if every bath was like this, he wouldn't need to become a ninja as he would soon be done for.
"Of course not. As you successfully refine your chakra, dealing with the high temperature of the bath will become much easier," Mika reassured him as she carried him to the bedroom. Holding the child, she added with a teasing smile, "The clan's formula has been refined many times. The higher the bath temperature and the longer one can endure it, the better the effects."
"Most children can't endure for three years, and the bath temperature doesn't reach the optimal high heat."
Hearing this, Toshirou couldn't help but feel downhearted. Higher temperatures, longer durations, better effects—it seemed the more he tortured himself, the better it would be.
"Who came up with this prescription? Did they use it themselves?"
"Okay, stop complaining, it's time to start the second phase."
"The second phase? Isn't it supposed to be rest and absorption after the bath?"
Laying Toshirou down on the bed, Mika explained, "It's to better absorb the medicinal properties that there's a second phase."
"Let's start," Mika said, giving a warning before she began. With a crisp "crack," she twisted Toshirou's right arm backward.
"Mm! Hmph!" Ignoring his groans of pain, she continued working while explaining, "Right after a high-temperature medicinal bath is the best time to stretch and realign the bones." She supported him up as she spoke, making another "crack." Next came exercises like backbends, high kicks, and splits that he would never have imagined attempting in his previous life.
(End of Chapter)