Wasn't this guy an Uchiha?
How could he use the Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu?
Tsunade was growing more and more shocked, but she had no time to think about it. Dan's massive hands were squeezing harder and harder, crushing her voluptuous body out of shape. Even the veins across her chest were bulging into view.
At this rate, he'd crush her to death.
"Ha!"
Tsunade let out a furious shout, and a powerful burst of Chakra erupted from within her. She broke free of the giant hands in an instant.
The force sent Dan staggering back several steps.
Boom!
Tsunade pressed her advantage, driving a punch toward Dan's chest. A powerful gust burst around her, whipping her golden hair and making her trench coat snap in the wind.
Her presence was astonishing.
Here it comes.
Faced with Tsunade's lethal move, Dan wasn't afraid. If anything, he was delighted.
Through his Sharingan, he could see the vast amount of Chakra inside Tsunade rushing toward her fist like streams converging into the sea, all gathering at a single point.
This was the Senju Clan's Monster Strength.
By the time Dan had figured it out, Tsunade's fist had reached him.
He actually isn't dodging. Does he think he's so big and strong that he can arrogantly take my Monster Strength head-on?
A thought flashed through Tsunade's mind. Her gaze hardened, and she drove her fist into Dan's chest without holding back.
Thud!
Monster Strength erupted.
Her punch caved in Dan's entire chest, leaving a horrifying sight.
With an injury that severe, even if he somehow survived, he'd be paralyzed for life.
Back then,
Jiraiya had peeked at Tsunade while she was bathing, and she'd used Monster Strength to break six of his ribs, fracture both arms, and rupture several internal organs. He'd nearly died.
In Tsunade's eyes, this Uchiha certainly wasn't tougher than Jiraiya.
But was that really the case?
"Hm?"
Tsunade's pupils suddenly contracted as she realized something was wrong.
Dan's chest hadn't caved in from her blow. Instead, he'd used some unknown technique to deliberately soften his body.
At that moment,
Dan's Steel Muscles and Bones Body had turned to rubbery putty. Even his bones had become as soft as noodles, revealing his terrifying control over his own muscles.
Tsunade's Monster Strength concentrated all her power at a single point and unleashed it in one burst. No matter how sturdy the defense, it could be destroyed.
Dan's way of countering it was to let his chest cave in, avoiding the point where the attack was strongest and neutralizing most of Tsunade's power.
Whoosh.
Using the force of Tsunade's punch, he drifted backward with his feet off the ground, then landed like a leaf.
Dan's chest returned to its normal shape. He wasn't hurt at all.
That was what it meant to have the skill to match your courage.
Aside from Dan, no one else would dare take Tsunade's Monster Strength like that.
He stood there without striking back, as if inviting Tsunade to come at him again.
Tsunade felt thoroughly provoked.
Rumble.
She slammed her fist into a nearby wall in frustration. The wall shattered, then collapsed with a crash, crumbling into countless chunks of stone.
Then she kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, raising one leg high above her head.
And brought it crashing down.
Painful Sky Leg!
More powerful than a punch, Painful Sky Leg concentrated Chakra in the sole of the foot and used the weight of the whole body to crush the enemy. It was a Taijutsu technique.
One stomp, and the mountains would crumble and the earth would split.
Dan still didn't dodge.
This time, his Sharingan saw even more clearly, fully discerning the path of Monster Strength's Chakra flow.
Besides,
he no longer planned to soften his body to absorb Tsunade's kick. His gaze sharpened as he prepared to take it head-on.
Only by feeling Tsunade's exertion with his own body could he grasp the principles of Monster Strength more quickly.
The next second,
Dan tensed every muscle and activated his Golden Bell Shield Body, standing like a great bell planted on the ground.
Tsunade's Painful Sky Leg came crashing down like a bell striker.
It struck Dan in the chest once more.
Clang~
The bell's toll rang out, deep and resonant.
"What?!"
Tsunade's kick landed on Dan's chest. A powerful rebound shuddered through her, numbing one of her legs as she fell backward to the ground.
Dan, however, wasn't entirely unscathed either.
The force of Tsunade's kick was simply too great for even him to withstand. Her power surged through him like a tsunami, rampaging through his body.
Even so,
Dan's feet stayed perfectly still, like tree roots driven deep into the earth. He didn't take a single step back.
But his upper body suddenly began to sway, the movement growing wider and wider.
As Dan swayed, the ground beneath the entire street began to shake with him, as though an earthquake had struck. Countless web-like cracks spread across the ground.
In that instant, Dan seemed to merge with the earth beneath his feet.
Rumble, rumble.
He passed the full force of Tsunade's Painful Sky Leg through his body and into the ground, then released it there.
In the process,
the hundreds of onlookers in the street panicked, stumbling and swaying in every direction.
When the "earthquake" ended, a glance down the street showed that no one besides Dan and Tsunade was still standing.
Everyone had fallen to the ground.
Was this what a battle between Sannin-level shinobi looked like?
The people cautiously lay on the ground and looked up at the two, their faces full of awe and shock as they gazed upon them like mortals looking up at gods.
All right, that's probably enough.
Dan figured that after taking Tsunade's Monster Strength twice, he'd seen and felt enough.
He was confident he could copy the ability.
There was no need to keep fighting.
So he turned and walked away.
What did that mean?
When Tsunade saw Dan leaving, she felt deeply insulted.
He wasn't running away because he couldn't beat her. He'd stood there and taken two of her punches without fighting back once, then simply dusted himself off and left.
Could there be anything more humiliating?
At the thought,
"Stop!"
She shouted and chased after him again, punching him in the back.
Dan shook his head.
Feeling the powerful Fist Wind behind him, he lifted his right arm and swung it backward. His arm trembled rapidly and minutely, making the air crackle.
Thud!
Their forearms slammed together once more.
In an instant, a sonic boom erupted at the point where they clashed, shattering every window in the nearby shops.
Suddenly,
Tsunade's vision blurred. It was as if she'd developed farsightedness; she couldn't make out Dan in front of her.
Not good.
She immediately realized she'd fallen under a Genjutsu.
But Tsunade couldn't understand how. She'd been careful to avoid looking into Dan's Sharingan.
She didn't know
that Dan's Yin Release Phantom Body Technique combined Taijutsu and Genjutsu, circulating Yin Release Chakra throughout his body so that he could cast Genjutsu with any part of his body while fighting an opponent.
The technique had a tell.
To an enemy, one of Dan's body parts would seem to tremble rapidly and minutely, giving it an unreal, ethereal appearance.
From Uchiha Itachi, to the Root Ninja, and now Tsunade,
this trick had never failed.
Of course,
the principles of the Yin Release Phantom Body Technique sounded simple, but mastering it was as difficult as learning the Lightning Release Nintaijutsu of Cloud Hidden Village.
Dan had spent a full ten years developing the technique's prototype, and it was still a work in progress.
Members of the Senju Clan had far superior constitutions, and were naturally highly resistant to Genjutsu.
So,
Tsunade took only half a second to break free of the Genjutsu, and her vision cleared again.
But that half second was enough for Dan to circle behind her.
Whoosh.
He shot out one thick arm, his forearm and biceps forming a ninety-degree angle as he looped it around Tsunade's neck from behind.
At the same time,
Dan's other hand slid around the back of Tsunade's neck, and his arms locked together.
Tsunade had just come to her senses and realized something was wrong.
Dan immediately braced his head against hers, then tightened his elbows and pulled back, leaving Tsunade no room to struggle.
At that moment,
Dan was holding Tsunade from behind, their faces pressed together. They looked like a couple madly in love.
But the truth was the complete opposite.
This was a Rear Naked Choke.
The Rear Naked Choke was a Jujutsu hold that came in two forms: Blood Choke and Air Choke.
A Blood Choke tightened around the enemy's carotid arteries, stopping the heart. It took little strength to apply, making it a move that allowed the weak to overcome the strong.
An Air Choke, by contrast, blocked the enemy's throat and caused a suffocation-like effect. It was better suited to people with thick arms.
Dan was using an Air Choke on Tsunade.
As he tightened his hold,
his arm pressed against Tsunade's neck and lifted her petite body off the ground, leaving her feet dangling in the air.
"Mm..."
Tsunade couldn't make a sound. Her face quickly turned red from the blood rushing to it, and with her feet dangling helplessly, all she could do was kick wildly in the air.
Driven by an intense will to survive,
Boom.
A tremendous burst of Chakra erupted from within Tsunade again. She raised her elbow with all her might and struck Dan's ribs.
But it was no use.
Dan's expression didn't change as he tanked Tsunade's feeble elbow strike. Then he tightened his hold, locking her in even more securely.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Just five seconds later,
Tsunade's eyes rolled back. Her arm fell limp, and she passed out from suffocation.
Thump.
Dan let go, and Tsunade crumpled to the ground, limp and unresponsive.
Ignoring the stunned onlookers around him, he swept away without a care and soon disappeared at the far end of the street.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Shizune rushed over in a panic and began treating the unconscious Tsunade.
After a flurry of activity,
"Hah..."
Tsunade suddenly sat bolt upright and gasped for air, her chest heaving.
Her face was pale, and cold sweat drenched her. She looked as though she'd just returned from the gates of death.
"Lady Tsunade, I'm so glad you're all right." Shizune finally let out a breath, her eyes moist.
Tsunade looked shaken.
Over the past dozen years, she'd developed Hemophobia and neglected fighting. She'd also let herself go and abandoned her training, leaving her with nothing but the title of Sannin to intimidate people.
Now she'd faced a powerful enemy and, unable to adapt, revealed her true weakness and been subdued with ease.
However,
what Tsunade found confusing was this.
What exactly was that Uchiha's intention?
He had deliberately provoked her into attacking, yet hadn't fought back. Only when Tsunade was relentless did he make a move and choke her unconscious.
Suddenly,
Tsunade remembered that he had used the Akimichi Clan's Secret Technique, Expansion Jutsu.
Could he have done it to... copy her Monster Strength with the Sharingan?
It was simply unbelievable.
At that thought,
"Shizune, let's go." Tsunade stood, her expression grave, and hurried away from the street with her student.
Two days later,
Dan walked into a small grove.
He had fought Tsunade and taken two punches from her head-on. Although there was nothing to show for it on the outside, the truth was that he had suffered some minor internal injuries.
That woman's strength was truly terrifying.
However, Dan had recovered after a little rest.
In exchange for that minor injury, Dan had gained a new ability—Monster Strength.
In fact, he had been studying this form of Taijutsu for a long time. This time, after observing it with the Sharingan and experiencing it firsthand, he had finally mastered it.
Dan walked up to a huge boulder taller than a man and pressed one finger against its surface.
The next second,
Boom.
A powerful current of air erupted around him, and an enormous force traveled along his finger into the stone.
Crack.
A spiderweb of fractures spread across the boulder's surface, radiating from Dan's fingertip. Then it burst apart with a crash,
breaking into a pile of rubble.
That was Monster Strength.
The principle behind Monster Strength was actually simple: concentrate Chakra in one part of the body, then release it in an instant to increase the destructive force.
But as the saying went, the simpler a technique sounded, the harder it could be to master.
After experimenting, Dan found that successfully using Monster Strength required three conditions:
First was the amount of Chakra.
Using Monster Strength required concentrating a large amount of Chakra. Only with enough Chakra could it unleash its destructive power. As a member of the Senju Clan, Tsunade naturally had several times more Chakra than an ordinary shinobi.
Second was physical strength.
Concentrating a large amount of Chakra in one part of the body put tremendous strain on the flesh. If it couldn't withstand the pressure, the result would be crippling yourself.
Tsunade's physical strength went without saying.
Third was precise Chakra refinement and control.
To use Monster Strength in battle, you had to refine Chakra quickly and control it well enough to make it flow instantly to a specific part of your body.
As a medical ninja, Tsunade was especially skilled in this regard.
What about Dan?
Chakra was essentially a mixture of physical and mental energy.
The Senju and Uzumaki had powerful bodies, while the Uchiha had powerful minds, which was why their Chakra reserves exceeded those of ordinary people.
Dan, meanwhile, was strong in both body and mind. He had no idea how much Chakra he had, because he had never once run out.
As for physical strength,
Dan had once learned the Eight Inner Gates from Might Duy. His body, having undergone physical modification, could easily withstand opening the sixth gate, let alone the comparatively simple Monster Strength.
And finally,
Although Dan wasn't a medical ninja, he had spent years strengthening his body. He could control all 639 muscles in his body, and even the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves within him.
Those things were more difficult than refining and controlling Chakra.
So, Dan had learned Monster Strength, even though it seemed impossible to copy with the Sharingan.
There was another unexpected bonus, too.
Ever since Dan awakened his Stand, "The World," he had only been able to stop time for two seconds. It was a little short.
But during this period, he had fought Obito, a Root squad, and Tsunade in succession. He had faced several dangerous situations and even been injured.
Perhaps that sense of danger had finally pushed his Stand's potential further.
And so, at that moment,
Dan raised a finger toward the empty space before him and calmly spoke those four words once more:
"Za~ Warudo."
The next instant,
Dan's pupils widened. Reflected in both his eyes was a gigantic gear, turning slowly.
It was the Time Gear.
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