Ino and Tsunade (Combined)

A look of desolation flickered in Hyuga Hinata's pale eyes; she knew things were not as her father claimed.

The excuse that "it is normal to have your own thoughts" was merely a change in tone brought about by hearing that Akimichi Denji had been taken on as an apprentice.

She did have her own thoughts, but Hyuga Hiashi had never accepted them. Within the Hyuga Clan, she was constantly compared to Hyuga Neji, leading Hyuga Hiashi to feel that the Main House losing to the Branch House was a disgrace.

Over time, the high-pressure environment had molded her into the introverted personality she possessed today.

Everything had changed because of Akimichi Denji. She had been grounded because of him, yet she had also been rescued because of him.

Truly, thank you. Without realizing it, Denji-kun, you have helped me once again.

Seeing that Hyuga Hinata had no reaction, Hyuga Hiashi revealed his ulterior motive: "I intend to go and congratulate Akimichi Denji on being accepted as an apprentice by Lady Tsunade. Since you and Denji are good friends, you shall accompany me tomorrow."

"Ding! Hyuga Hinata's wish [Grounded] has been completed. Wish Point +1."

Akimichi Denji stared at the panel notification that had suddenly popped up, stunned for a moment. It seemed Hyuga Hinata's grounding had been lifted, but what did that have to do with him? He found it a bit baffling, so he simply cast the thought aside.

Seeing him distracted, Tsunade was slightly annoyed: "Didn't I tell you? You have only just begun practicing the Strength of a Hundred. Your proficiency is not yet high. Do not use it recklessly when I am not present, or you will end up injured."

Although the words were a reprimand, they held a hint of concern.

After speaking, she reached out to examine Akimichi Denji's limbs.

"Let me see if you are hurt."

Her slender, elegant fingers radiated a faint glow as they roamed over Akimichi Denji's body. Seeming uneasy, she even reached inside his clothes to check his internal organs.

But the result of the examination left her somewhat surprised.

"I don't see any issues." Tsunade was very astonished.

"I controlled my strength when I threw the punch," Akimichi Denji explained.

A flicker of light passed through Tsunade's eyes. This could not be explained away by a simple "controlled strength." Beginners of the Strength of a Hundred lacked a sense of proportion, and it was common for them to cripple themselves.

This was precisely why the Strength of a Hundred was classified as a forbidden technique.

Furthermore, she had heard that Akimichi Denji had used the Strength of a Hundred in a duel against two peers, and neither of them had sustained serious injuries. This proved that Akimichi Denji had remained in complete control the entire time he used the technique.

Tsunade said, "Then let us first test how well you have mastered the Strength of a Hundred."

"Onefold Strength of a Hundred."

"Maximum Strength of a Hundred."

The test results left Tsunade very surprised; Akimichi Denji seemed to have mastered the Strength of a Hundred completely.

She had originally intended to train Akimichi Denji in the Strength of a Hundred today, but looking at this, there seemed to be nothing left to teach.

Is this what a monster is?

Tsunade looked at Akimichi Denji. She did not know whether to feel fortunate or inferior to have such an apprentice.

She straightened her expression and said, "Not bad. Your master here also trained that quickly back in the day. Your talent is acceptable."

"Since you have already learned the Strength of a Hundred, you must now diligently study taijutsu. The Strength of a Hundred works best when combined with taijutsu to maximize your power advantage."

Akimichi Denji listened intently to Tsunade's explanation. This was exactly what he wanted; his duel with Sasuke had made it clear to him that power alone was not enough—he needed taijutsu to match it.

"What I am going to teach you is our Senju Style Taijutsu. This taijutsu can be traced back to the Warring States period and was improved and passed down by my grand-uncle," Tsunade said, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. "If your physique can suppress your opponent, you can maximize the effects of our Senju Style Taijutsu. This style emphasizes overpowering others with force and utilizes wide, sweeping movements."

Akimichi Denji was not surprised.

The grand-uncle Tsunade spoke of was none other than the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. That man was famous for his Wood Release, but what few people knew was that his strength was also immense, rooted fundamentally in the powerful life energy of his cells. This was also why the Wood Release used by Hashirama was completely different in power from that used by others.

Tsunade assumed a stance to demonstrate how to execute it, her chest heaving with the movement.

Akimichi Denji absorbed the knowledge and essence of the movements as if he were parched.

"Did you learn it?" Tsunade asked.

He chose not to add points, wanting to learn it himself first.

Akimichi Denji looked at the panel, where the skill column now displayed Senju Style Taijutsu. Because it did not involve chakra flow, it appeared in the skill category.

[Skill: Senju Style Taijutsu (Not yet initiated).]

He mimicked the stance, his movements extremely clumsy.

Tsunade used her hands to guide him, adjusting his posture.

Seeing Akimichi Denji's clumsy appearance and slack stance, Tsunade smiled at the corner of her mouth. This is normal.

The fact that Akimichi Denji had learned the Strength of a Hundred in an instant had truly given her a fright.

Seeing him like this while practicing taijutsu finally made her feel that he was just a child, a fledgling ninja.

It seems his talent for taijutsu is a bit inferior to his talent for ninjutsu, Tsunade mused. But that was fine, too; at least it wasn't the other way around. One could compensate for a lack of talent in taijutsu through diligence, but if one lacked talent in ninjutsu, one could only sigh in regret. Otherwise, he would end up as a green-clad Might Denji.

During the instruction, Tsunade would occasionally brush against Akimichi Denji by accident.

Akimichi Denji was completely unaffected, immersed in the world of taijutsu.

The sky began to darken.

"Alright, we will continue training later. Let's go eat first," Tsunade called for a pause.

Akimichi Denji thought for a moment and said, "I have plans to go out for a meal with some classmates. I will come back after I finish eating."

Tsunade did not refuse; she was very supportive of Akimichi Denji connecting with his classmates. In her view, the friendships formed at the Ninja Academy were precious.

Bidding farewell to Tsunade, Akimichi Denji headed toward the barbecue restaurant. That was the location they had decided upon. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, Akimichi Choji, and Inuzuka Kiba—a group of children—had already gathered together.

"Sorry, Lady Tsunade kept me training until just now."

Akimichi Denji pushed aside the curtain and walked in.

Yamanaka Ino said, "Hurry over, we saved you a seat."

She pointed to the empty spot beside her, which she had specifically reserved.

Akimichi Denji sat down, and Yamanaka Ino smiled quietly. With Hyuga Hinata not here today, she was going to make some serious progress.

Uzumaki Naruto said, "Let's start grilling quickly, I'm so hungry. Ino told us to wait for you."

"How about we have a contest to see who grills the best?" Yamanaka Ino suggested.

No one had any objections.

The barbecue restaurant provided individual grills for everyone, so they wouldn't interfere with each other.

Akimichi Choji couldn't wait any longer and dumped all his meat onto the grill at once.

"Let me show you guys my skills," Uzumaki Naruto said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Are you sure you know how?" Nara Shikamaru glanced at him. He had seen that the food Uzumaki Naruto ate during lunch was either expired or hard and raw.

"Putting meat on a grill to cook it, what's so hard about that?"

Akimichi Choji chuckled.

After a while, everyone's fresh batch was ready. Naruto looked at the charred meat on his plate in surprise; how did it end up like this?

Akimichi Denji was not surprised. It was normal for Naruto not to know how to cook. In Konoha, no one would sell him ingredients, so he could only eat instant noodles.

Inuzuka Kiba laughed, "Didn't you say it was very simple?"

Akimichi Denji took the meat from Akimichi Choji's plate—he had grilled plenty—and placed it into Naruto's bowl.

"If you burned it, don't eat it."

Akimichi Choji watched helplessly as his meat was taken away by his older brother. He wanted to resist, but remembering his brother's Strength of a Hundred, he silently shut his mouth.

"You should learn how to cook, too," Yamanaka Ino said, sounding annoyed.

"It doesn't feel as good as the food Denji makes," Naruto said regretfully while tasting the barbecue.

His eyes lit up: "How about Denji-kun teaches me how to cook?"

He was met with Yamanaka Ino's fist: "In your dreams!"

"Denji-kun is very busy. Didn't you see? He still has to go find Teacher Tsunade to study after class."

Akimichi Denji stared at the Wish Point popping up over Uzumaki Naruto's head: I don't really have an opinion on it; teaching a meal won't take up much time.

Uzumaki Naruto made a victory sign and looked triumphantly at Yamanaka Ino.

Yamanaka Ino hesitated for a moment and said, "How about I learn too? I think my cooking is also quite bad."

Akimichi Denji had no problem with that; teaching one was the same as teaching two.

"Come to my house this weekend. I'll teach you both personally."

Yamanaka Ino happily started devouring the barbecue.

The Wish Point had not been credited yet; it seemed he would only receive it after the teaching was done.

"Can Denji-kun make food for dogs?" Inuzuka Kiba suddenly asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Yamanaka Ino said, dissatisfied.

"It's for Inuzuka Kiba's ninja hound," Nara Shikamaru explained, smoothing things over.

The Inuzuka Clan was a ninja clan that signed contracts with ninja hounds to fight. Almost all of their strength relied on the ninja hounds that were their lifelong companions.

"You don't have a contracted ninja hound yet, right?" Yamanaka Ino asked.

"Yeah, but I'm thinking about how to properly cultivate our bond, so I thought I'd learn how to make dog food in advance."

Like other ninja clans, the Inuzuka Clan only began learning their clan's secret techniques after entering the Ninja Academy. Most only learned them in their second year, and the Inuzuka Clan also contracted their ninja hounds in their second year; currently, Inuzuka Kiba had not yet contracted Akamaru.

It was fine; he still had Shikamaru.

Akimichi Denji's thoughts wandered. This reminded him of summoning beasts. Mature ninjas usually had their own summoning beasts. He didn't have a preference yet.

Looking at it now, a ninja hound was a good choice. He was somewhat lacking in sensory perception, and a ninja hound could make up for that weakness.

He would ask for Tsunade's opinion later.

After all, Tsunade's summoning beast was Katsuyu, which came from one of the three great summoning holy lands.

After finishing their meal, the group left. Yamanaka Ino shooed the other children away and walked alongside Akimichi Denji.

"Thank you, Denji-kun, for agreeing to teach me how to cook."

No need to thank me, it's just for the Wish Points. Akimichi Denji did not say this out loud.

The night was like ink, soaking into the rooftop garden of the Yamanaka Clan.

The noisy sea of flowers from the daytime sank into shadow, leaving only a few fragments of golden jasmine whispering in the dark, alongside clusters of red balsam flowers that looked like solidified flames.

Yamanaka Ino looked at the flowers and asked, "Are the flowers of our Yamanaka clan pretty?"

Akimichi Denji nodded. Although he was a fitness fanatic, he had some research into plants; for instance, curcumin and beetroot were excellent for anti-inflammation.

"The flowers are quite nice."

"And what about me?" Yamanaka Ino smiled slyly, tilting her head and leaning in.

"Ino-san is as well," Akimichi Denji replied without a moment's hesitation.

Yamanaka Ino's pretty face flushed red, and against the backdrop of the fiery red balsam and golden jasmine, she looked even more bashfully maidenly.

"Does this flower look like you?" Yamanaka Ino plucked a balsam flower and held it up against Akimichi Denji's fiery red hair.

Crazy. How could a flower look like a person? Akimichi Denji shot Yamanaka Ino a glance.

"That yellow flower also looks a lot like you."

Akimichi Denji did not know the name of that flower.

"Are you talking about the golden jasmine? Thank you, Denji-kun!" Yamanaka Ino replied with a smile.

Akimichi Denji didn't say anything, thinking Yamanaka Ino was a bit slow; he had clearly been using sarcasm.

Mrs. Yamanaka was already waiting at the door.

She smiled and said, "Thank you for bringing Ino home, Akimichi-kun. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all."

After saying goodbye to Ino, he returned to the Senju Ancestral Home. Tsunade was already drinking, her face slightly flushed.

"You're back." She stood up and sniffed the scent on Denji. "Did you have barbecue?"

Akimichi Denji nodded and pulled a Military Ration Pill from his sleeve to consume.

"Weren't you full?"

Akimichi Denji explained, "The energy I expend every day is quite high. It's even more so after practicing the Taotie Technique."

Tsunade didn't doubt him and laughed boisterously. "Come on, kid. Let's have a spar."

"Right now?" Akimichi Denji looked up in confusion; he hadn't even learned many moves yet.

"Taijutsu is best practiced through actual combat."

Tsunade squinted at him with a smile, but given the flush on her face, it was hard for Akimichi Denji not to suspect she was already drunk.

But actual combat was exactly what he wanted.

Under the moonlight, two bodies intertwined in battle, emitting loud, thumping sounds.

A wild smile appeared on Akimichi Denji's face, his mood elated.

This was the kind of battle he truly wanted.

He held nothing back, unleashing his maximum multiplier Strength of a Hundred, his punches roaring through the air.

Surprise flickered in Tsunade's eyes; it was hard to imagine that a six-year-old like Akimichi Denji could possess such destructive power.

A look of joy appeared in her eyes. She wanted to see just where Denji's limits lay.

"Too slow!"

"Drop your hips, keep your stance steady."

"Didn't you just eat? Why are you so soft?"

"Put some force into it!"

"Faster, throw your punches faster!"

Her words never ceased.

Akimichi Denji's punches landed solidly, and he had no need to worry about hurting Tsunade; even if he did, she could heal herself with medical ninjutsu.

This is great, this is great, this is exactly the feeling.

Akimichi Denji punched violently, and the Senju Style Taijutsu on his panel changed quietly.

[Skill: Senju Style Taijutsu (Not yet initiated) -> (Initiated)]

A long while later, Akimichi Denji lay on the ground, sweat beading on his face, a satisfied smile plastered across it.

Refreshing!

Looking at the notification on his panel that his Senju Style Taijutsu had been initiated, he felt he actually had quite a bit of talent for taijutsu.

Tsunade looked at Akimichi Denji with astonishment; this kid felt even more monstrous than she did, and she possessed the Strength of a Hundred.

Others had to train for the Strength of a Hundred, but Tsunade had possessed it since childhood. This was likely an inheritance of Senju Hashirama's special constitution.

But the Akimichi clan was not like that. Although their clan's physique was much stronger than the average person's, she had never heard of the Akimichi clan's strength being this terrifying; at most, they were just durable.

She nodded. "Although your taijutsu talent isn't as good as your ninjutsu talent, it is still quite commendable."

Akimichi Denji did not answer.

"Are we going to spar like this again tomorrow?"

Massaging the injury inflicted by Denji's Strength of a Hundred—the brat hadn't held back in the slightest—Tsunade replied with a huff, "Depends on my mood."

As he returned to his room, staring at Tsunade's retreating back, Akimichi Denji pondered: Tsunade had only agreed to mentor him today because she'd been drinking. What if he were to get his hands on a bottle of fine liquor for her?

The alcohol in the ninja world was all Japanese sake; he had noticed it was low in proof and rather one-dimensional in flavor.

He could easily take a page from his predecessors in other worlds and try his hand at making distilled spirits.

If he could get Tsunade tipsy before she mentored him, the results might be even better.