Seeing the boulder burst through the fireball and come hurtling toward him, Uchiha Dan quickly gathered Chakra into his right fist as he retreated. His feet had yet to touch the ground when he swung his fist with all his might.
Monster Strength Technique!
The instant his fist struck the boulder, the hard rock exploded. Uchiha Dan used the force of the recoil to keep flying backward.
But almost at the same time, Tsunade came charging in right behind the boulder and reached Uchiha Dan. She landed a Heavenly Foot of Pain before he could even react, kicking him squarely in the chest.
Poof!
Uchiha Dan's body instantly burst into smoke.
Shadow Clone!
At the same time, a wrist-thick stream of water shot toward Tsunade from ten meters to the side.
Tsunade seemed to have sensed it in advance. The instant she landed, she used precise Chakra control to apply a subtle force through her toes, anchoring herself firmly to the ground.
Using the tremendous suction, Tsunade's body suddenly sank. She ducked low and narrowly avoided the stream of water.
As she evaded it, Tsunade leaped to the side, once again dodging the stream of water that sliced down from above like a sword.
The instant it touched the hard rock on the ground, the water stream cleaved it in two. But it didn't stop; instead, it swept sideways after Tsunade.
Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
This Water Release Ninjutsu had been developed by Tobirama Senju.
It fired a high-pressure stream of water in a straight line from the mouth, slicing through its target like a sharp blade.
Yet the sweeping attack missed as well. Tsunade ducked beneath the stream, then charged at Uchiha Dan once more.
By then, the water stream had stopped.
"Let's see you dodge this!"
With a quiet shout, Tsunade appeared above Uchiha Dan in an instant and brought her foot down hard toward him.
After training together for so long, Tsunade understood Uchiha Dan's abilities very well.
Uchiha Dan could use Shadow Clones to perform some of the lower-level techniques, like Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.
But for a technique as advanced as Water Release: Water Severing Wave, he first had to dispel his Shadow Clone and then perform it with his real body.
Not everyone was Uzumaki Naruto, with his seemingly bottomless Chakra reserves, able to recklessly use an advanced technique like Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, which consumed a tremendous amount of Chakra, even through a Shadow Clone.
And not everyone was Edo Madara, able to use Perfect Susanoo even through a Shadow Clone.
Uchiha Dan's talent was astonishing, but his Chakra reserves were only at an ordinary Kage Level. He couldn't spend it as freely as a Jinchuriki.
Caught off guard and unable to perform another technique in time, Uchiha Dan could only gather Chakra throughout his body and raise his left arm to block.
Boom!
The tremendous force of their collision made the hard ground crack inch by inch from beneath Uchiha Dan's feet, the fissures spreading dozens of meters in every direction.
The enormous force pushing down against him sent Uchiha Dan spinning through the air several times. After dampening the impact, he used his momentum to bring his foot down toward Tsunade, who had just landed.
But Tsunade had been ready for him. She threw a punch, meeting the descending foot head-on.
Their clash raised a violent gust that swept away the already shattered ground, leaving the entire area a little lower.
Uchiha Dan had meant to use the recoil to put some distance between himself and Tsunade. But the moment he moved, she appeared before him like a ghost and unleashed a storm of attacks.
So the two of them fought hand-to-hand, their figures constantly shifting as they chased and countered each other with fists and kicks in a fierce battle.
Uchiha Dan had only recently learned Monster Strength Technique—strictly speaking, less than ten days ago—and still hadn't mastered precise Chakra control.
On top of that, he lacked combat experience. He was no match for Tsunade in Taijutsu, but he had no other choice.
Tsunade gave him no chance to break away from the fight. She forced him to defend himself with Taijutsu, leaving him no opportunity to use Ninjutsu.
As their attacks came faster and harder, Uchiha Dan gradually fell behind.
Fortunately, he had been practicing the Chakra Body Strengthening Technique ever since six years ago, so his body was exceptionally strong. Combined with his astonishing reflexes, that was enough for him to hold his own against Tsunade—barely.
But when it came to Taijutsu alone, the gap between them was still there.
Ten minutes later, Uchiha Dan lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Once again, he had ended the day's sparring as the loser.
Before he'd been transported to this world, Uchiha Dan had underestimated Tsunade's strength.
After all, not every Taijutsu shinobi was Might Guy, flying into a rage and opening the Eight Gates at the slightest provocation.
But after fighting Tsunade for real, Uchiha Dan realized just how badly he'd been mistaken.
Because of him, Tsunade had never slacked off in her training over the years.
She had once been the laziest of the Sannin, but now she had become the most hardworking of them all.
She had even quit gambling, devoting all her time to training and studying Medical Ninjutsu.
As a result, Tsunade, who had already been exceptionally gifted, was far stronger than Orochimaru and Jiraiya at this point. She was firmly at Kage Level.
Most importantly, Tsunade was still improving. Her potential was terrifyingly high; it was as if she'd been born with every advantage.
In the original timeline, even after neglecting her training and wasting more than twenty years, Tsunade could still display Strong Kage Level combat power during the Fourth Ninja World War.
Given that she had never slacked off this time, no one could imagine how strong she'd become in the future.
But while Uchiha Dan was shocked by Tsunade's strength, Tsunade herself was even more astonished.
Uchiha Dan's rate of improvement had left her dumbfounded. She couldn't help calling him a complete monster.
A month ago, Uchiha Dan had been a total novice, completely ignorant when it came to Ninjutsu and combat.
But now, even with Tsunade fighting at full strength, he could trade blows with her evenly.
And that was without Uchiha Dan using Senjutsu or his Sharingan.
If he used Senjutsu, Tsunade wouldn't stand a chance.
At this rate, wouldn't he be able to crush her even in his normal state after another month?
That wasn't to say Uchiha Dan's talent really surpassed Tsunade's by that much.
For the past seven years, Uchiha Dan hadn't trained, but he'd never stopped thinking about Ninjutsu and combat. He had simulated all kinds of battles in his mind hundreds of thousands of times.
But the Uchiha Dan of the past had been nothing more than a theorist. He had never properly performed a single Ninjutsu, nor had he ever fought anyone.
So even with his astonishing talent, he still needed time to adjust when it came to putting theory into practice.
Fortunately, he had Tsunade as an exceptionally patient and attentive sparring partner. That was what let him put all his ideas into practice in just one month.
When all was said and done, Uchiha Dan had only been training for a month.
To last twenty minutes against Tsunade, whose strength had already reached Kage Level and who was fighting at full power, without using Senjutsu or his Sharingan, before finally losing—that was already an incredible feat.
Uchiha Dan's unbelievable rate of progress suddenly helped Tsunade understand why her Second Grandfather had been wary of him.
Was it because he'd recognized Uchiha Dan's unmatched talent and wanted to nip it in the bud?
The reason was obvious.
Because he was an Uchiha.
That made everything fit.
But it only made Tsunade angrier.
Just because he was an Uchiha, was he not allowed to fulfill his potential? Did that mean his whole life had to be ruined? That he had to be eliminated?
At the end of the day, it all came down to the prejudice in her Second Grandfather's heart.
Were Uchiha shinobi not Konoha shinobi too?
Knowing Tobirama Senju, Tsunade had reason to believe that if Uchiha Dan hadn't belonged to the Uchiha Clan, her Second Grandfather might have done everything he could to train him and give Konoha another powerhouse.
To go to such lengths just because of the word "Uchiha" was truly ridiculous.
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