The Land of Fire, Konoha
The Nara Clan's compound,
As one of Konoha's major ninja clans, the Nara Clan naturally occupied a central position in the village.
At the heart of their compound stood a spacious courtyard, fully equipped with all kinds of training gear.
Quite a few pieces were battered and worn, clear evidence that they were used often.
The Nara Clan was famous throughout the Ninja World,
not only for being part of Konoha's renowned Ino-Shika-Cho trio, but also because members of the clan had long served as aides to the Hokage.
Thanks to those two things, information about the Nara Clan regularly appeared on the desks in other villages' Kage offices.
As for the clan's medicinal-herb business, it seemed insignificant in this world known for its military might.
But whether through their role in Ino-Shika-Cho or as aides to the Hokage, the Nara were all renowned for their intelligence.
Only this generation, before the head of the Nara House's line had come of age, produced an exception.
That exception was Nara Dan.
Crossing the disorderly front yard, one saw a tall figure sitting cross-legged inside the house.
Nara Dan wore a black ninja outfit.
He was tall and lean, with rugged, sharply defined features. His eyes held a bright, piercing light that shone even in the darkness.
Nara Dan sat with his legs crossed and his back ramrod straight, displaying remarkable flexibility.
Along the centerline of his body lay muscles like forged iron.
His close-fitting ninja clothes strained around his powerfully built frame, revealing a physique with exaggerated definition.
Every muscle shifted with Nara Dan's steady breaths, rising and falling in turn, radiating a silent intimidation.
This was the freak of the Nara Clan people liked to talk about.
Unlike the other Nara, who were famous for their intelligence and Shadow Secret Technique, Nara Dan had displayed peerless Taijutsu talent from childhood.
His immense strength, superb Taijutsu, and terrifying body—impervious to blades and even capable of withstanding ninjutsu—had earned him the names "freak," "physical monster," and "oddity."
Fortunately, this was a ninja world where strength was what mattered. No matter how strange you were,
whether you worshipped an evil god, underwent biological modification, turned into a toad, or became a white snake, as long as you were strong enough, no one would say anything.
So ever since Nara Dan had arrived in this world, he had lived quite comfortably—luxuriously, even.
Nara Dan slowly picked up a block of bluish-black material from the floor and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, it clanked like metal striking metal.
The bluish-black material was, unmistakably, a piece of forged iron!
"System."
Nara Dan called out inwardly.
Of course, his achievements were all thanks to his tireless efforts, day and night. There was definitely no such thing as cheating.
Host: Nara Dan
Talent Entries:
(Gold) Otherworld Visitor: Having come from another world, you possess unfathomable potential.
Otherworld Visitor Ability One:
When you travel to a New World, you can randomly obtain a Talent Entry of at least purple grade.
Otherworld Visitor Ability Two:
You can sacrifice Luck to travel to another world.
(Purple) Metal-Devouring: You have the gluttonous chewing and digestive abilities of a voracious beast. You can eat metal and poisonous compounds as food, and your ability to fully absorb nutrients from food far surpasses that of ordinary people.
(Blue) Copper Head Iron Bone: Years of digesting and absorbing metal have given your body certain metallic properties. Ordinary physical or elemental attacks can hardly harm you.
(Blue) Taijutsu Mastery: Years of training your body and fighting others have made you exceptionally proficient in biomechanics, human anatomy, and combat. On Earth, you are Ip Man; in the Ninja World, you are Might Guy.
(Blue) Blood Energy Pillar: Years of honing your strength and digesting and absorbing high-energy medicinal herbs have made you physically superior to most people. Your strength is beyond the reach of ordinary people—you could be called an Overlord reborn.
As Nara Dan swallowed the last piece of iron, a flash of blue light passed over the Copper Head Iron Bone entry,
showing that the entry was being strengthened or activated.
That was why Nara Dan's life could be called luxurious. Aside from the Gold Otherworld Visitor ability, which he had from the start,
and the Purple Metal-Devouring entry, which the Otherworld Visitor ability had granted him when he first arrived in this world,
he had worked tirelessly, day and night, for all the other entries.
That meant not only a daily supply of nourishing tonics and food to replenish his energy,
but also, at his peak, the need to digest more than a hundred pounds of forged iron every month—an expense ordinary people could hardly imagine.
Only the Nara Clan, one of Konoha's prominent families and a clan that also controlled the village's medicinal-herb trade, could afford to supply him like that.
It was fortunate, too, that Nara Dan had been born into the united Nara Clan.
If he had been born into the Hyuga Branch Family, it would have been a Hellish start, with every step an uphill struggle.
"Sigh."
Looking at the still rather ornate system interface, Nara Dan felt no joy, only a little dejected.
The interface had remained unchanged for nearly half a year.
Compared to the years when his strength had soared by leaps and bounds,
his current training progressed at a snail's pace, leaving him deeply frustrated.
"A bottleneck, huh?"
"Looks like it's time to start planning for that thing after all."
The Ninja World held plenty of good things, and Nara Dan knew that as someone familiar with the story.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A crisp series of knocks sounded, and a pineapple-shaped head appeared before Nara Dan.
"Big Brother Dan, the clan's called a meeting. They want you there."
Nara Dan's expression remained unchanged, as if he'd known the pineapple head was coming.
"Got it."
Nara Dan didn't make the slightest move to get up. Instead, relying on the faintest support from his legs, he lifted his body straight up.
The pineapple-headed boy beside him gaped.
"Hey, hey, hey. I've seen this before, but it never gets any less amazing."
"Seriously, can you really do that without using Chakra?"
Nara Shikaku put on an exaggerated expression of astonishment.
Generally speaking, Chakra's adhesive properties were enough to let a ninja stand on water.
But standing up straight using only the strength of one's legs was another matter entirely.
Nara Dan chuckled and said with a touch of exasperation,
"If you'd just stick to the Taijutsu plan I made for you, this would be easy."
"But you're a lazy guy who inherited the Nara temperament. You can't be bothered to put in the hard work on Taijutsu."
"You don't need to try and sweet-talk me, either."
Unlike the "deer" in Ino-Shika-Cho, who would later shine on the battlefield, Nara Shikaku was still a freshly graduated boy, green and inexperienced.
"Who's a monster like you?"
Nara Shikaku protested, unconvinced, though his voice was almost too quiet to hear.
Of course, it was only too quiet for ordinary people. With Nara Dan's hearing, that mutter was no different from someone speaking right next to his ear.
Nara Dan merely smiled and made no comment.
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