Studying Strength Enhancement

PS: Finally figured out where to read the comments. So happy!

"Hiruzen, the Uchiha Clan has gone too far!"

The door to the Hokage's office burst open with a bang. The one-eyed man stormed in, his anger seemingly at its peak, paying no heed to Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi or the Anbu concealed around the room.

"Danzo, what are you doing?"

"The Uchiha Clan has set its sights on the Senju Clan. They're even coveting the Senju Clan's inherited secret technique. Are you really going to do nothing about it?!"

"You're making too much of this!" Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head, looking somewhat tired. "I already know what happened. It was just a child talking nonsense."

"What do you mean, a child talking nonsense? Have you considered that the Uchiha may have stolen the method for training in the Strength of a Hundred long ago, and are simply using this incident to wield it openly?"

"...!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze sharpened. It wasn't impossible.

The Strength of a Hundred was a secret technique of the Senju Clan. Generally speaking, even if the Uchiha Clan got their hands on it, they couldn't use it openly. If they did, they would face opposition from every ninja clan, making their position in Konoha even more difficult. A secret technique they couldn't openly employ wouldn't do much to improve the Uchiha Clan as a whole.

But if they used this opportunity to demonstrate the Strength of a Hundred through Suifeng, then there could be a second time, and a third. Once the Senju Clan's influence and reputation in the village had faded completely, wouldn't the Strength of a Hundred become a secret technique of the Uchiha Clan?

"Hiruzen, you see it too, don't you? The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan can copy ninjutsu. What about secret techniques? If they can use other clans' secret techniques openly, then they'll—"

"Then they'll become enemies of the entire Ninja World!" Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off. "The Uchiha Clan wouldn't be so foolish. But Tsunade was mistaken about the Strength of a Hundred. I'll remind her."

"Remind her? What good will that do? Once the Strength of a Hundred has been used by that Uchiha Suifeng, it won't be an inherited secret technique of the Senju Clan anymore."

"You're overthinking it, Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to recall something, and his tense expression relaxed. "You've read the Strength of a Hundred scroll, and so have I. But did either of us master it? We both know how to release chakra in a burst, but only Tsunade can truly control it and make it her own technique. This technique requires far too much chakra control. Let's assume the Uchiha Clan got their hands on it long ago. Even then, over all these years, only this Uchiha Suifeng would be suited to training in it and might actually succeed. That's probably why we're seeing this today!"

"Don't forget that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan gives them a unique advantage in controlling chakra."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him and spoke slowly. "It's not the same. The Sharingan can't control chakra with that kind of precision."

"But...!"

"Danzo, you've been making too many moves lately!" Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off. "Even if Uchiha Suifeng is a genius, he's still just one person. He can't turn the village upside down."

"Don't forget that man from back then...!"

"There was only one Madara Uchiha. I don't believe the Uchiha Clan could produce another Madara Uchiha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident. The Uchiha Clan had existed for a thousand years, yet produced only one Madara Uchiha, just as the Senju Clan had produced only one Hashirama. People like them couldn't be described as mere geniuses. They were far too rare.

Every year, Konoha had so-called geniuses, but how many of them actually lived up to the hype? Most were just talked up.

Once they grew up, they turned out to be nothing special!

Even Kakashi, who shone so brightly now—Hiruzen couldn't be sure how he'd turn out in the future. Thinking of Kakashi reminded him of Sakumo.

"Danzo, rumors have been spreading through the village lately. That was your doing, wasn't it?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Danzo knew he couldn't fool the Third Hokage, but he wouldn't admit it to his face. He denied it without hesitation. "He botched the mission this time. It's only natural for people to talk about it. Are you saying we're not allowed to criticize someone for making a mistake?!"

"Put your little schemes away. Sakumo is one of us, and he's already been punished. Let this matter end here!"

"Hmph!" Danzo was furious. He turned and left.

Let it end here? How could he? Sakumo had such a high standing in the village that these rumors alone weren't enough to shake his position or destroy his reputation. If Danzo didn't use this opportunity to thoroughly undermine Sakumo, how could he ever compete with him for the Hokage Position?

Wouldn't it be better for a ninja to obediently serve as a tool? Why chase such a high reputation?

Thinking it over, he silently resolved, This isn't enough. Not nearly enough. I need to hit him harder, until he has no chance of inheriting the Hokage Position!

"The Strength of a Hundred really is troublesome. It demands far too much control over chakra!"

In the Uchiha Clan Compound, Suifeng slowly lowered the scroll in his hand, a thoughtful look passing through his eyes.

Releasing chakra in a burst wasn't some secret trick. Almost every jonin could do it, and they could all manage it once or twice, but that was about it. It was only useful in an emergency, not as a regular technique.

To do what Tsunade could, there had to be some special techniques involved, and the Uchiha Clan didn't know them. As for Suifeng, he had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan while at Konoha Hospital. He'd barely managed to make out some differences in the chakra's movement, but that was all.

When the Uchiha Clan used the Sharingan to copy ninjutsu, what they were really doing was using its extraordinary ability to track movement and capture images to memorize hand seals and the flow of chakra.

For ordinary ninjutsu, hand seals were the key to directing chakra. Once you could see the seals and observe how the chakra flowed, a few more attempts were usually enough to copy the technique.

But the Strength of a Hundred was a form of Nintaijutsu that required no Hand Seals. It wasn't traditional ninjutsu, and the chakra burst happened in an instant. Copying it with the Sharingan was nearly impossible. He could only study it slowly, piecing together the clues.

Fortunately, the Uchiha and Senju Clans had been bitter rivals for a thousand years. The Uchiha naturally knew far more about their old enemies' inherited secret techniques than ordinary people did.

A large amount of material had been sent over, including plenty of supplemental research on chakra release. It greatly reduced the difficulty of developing the technique.

"Now these guys really think I'm a genius at developing ninjutsu!"

The bar for being called a genius in the Ninja World was too low. Developing a Body Technique like Iron Body at his age had already cemented his reputation as a genius. Next, he just had to build on it.

He raised his right hand, curled his thumb and index finger, and sensed the flow of chakra within him. A red glow flashed in his eyes.

Pop!!

The air cracked with a bang, and the surrounding air burst outward, faintly forming a shockwave.

"That was the weakest kind of burst." Suifeng was a little disappointed.