Tsunade's Favor

To Nochi Yoshino, the smile on Takizawa Dan's face was terrifying to the extreme!

"Help! Mama, I want to go home!!!"

In an instant, Nochi Yoshino was scared out of his wits, desperate to escape by any means necessary.

Takizawa Dan, however, leaned over slightly and let out a loud shout:

"Hah!"

Following Takizawa Dan's roar, Nochi Yoshino, who looked like a giant meatball, was actually lifted entirely off the ground by him!

The entire audience of examinees was instantly stunned!

Are you kidding me? Nochi Yoshino's blubber had to weigh at least 140 or 150 pounds!

With their current physical condition at thirteen or fourteen years old, it would be a struggle for them to lift such a fat guy with all their might, let alone hoist him up with just one hand!?

Yet, Takizawa Dan had done it!

However, the shock Takizawa Dan gave the crowd was far from over!

They watched as he suddenly raised his arm and swung it to his side!

In an instant, Nochi Yoshino's body, like a giant sandbag, was whipped back and forth over Takizawa Dan's head, much like...

The magic of love, spinning around!

Finally, Takizawa Dan abruptly let go:

Whoosh—

Nochi Yoshino was sent flying fiercely, soaring a full thirty or forty meters like a kite with a broken string, before finally slamming into a wall behind him with a thunderous "boom."

Most of his body was completely embedded into the wall!

Everyone in the exam hall felt the ground beneath their feet tremble violently, as if from an earthquake.

One could see just how terrifying the force of that strike was!

The entire arena was shocked!!!

"Medical... medical team! Hurry, go save him!"

The referee stood stunned for a moment before letting out a roar.

Immediately, two medical ninjas in white coats rushed over, carrying a stretcher.

These medical ninjas hadn't stepped onto the field before because, although the previous battles were relatively intense, not a single person had suffered injuries severe enough to require being carried off.

To put it bluntly, everyone was from the same ninja village, and many were friends in daily life. It would be hard to justify going for the kill on stage.

Who would have thought that Takizawa Dan's match would be the first time these medical ninjas made an appearance!

Up in the stands.

"This kid... doesn't he have absolutely no chakra? Why was he able to grab Nochi Yoshino so firmly? He even threw him away!"

The Konoha high-ranking official named Saga, seeing all this, asked in suspicion and disbelief.

Chakra was essential for ninjas not just because it was used to release ninjutsu, but because it was the fundamental power for everything a ninja did!

With chakra, ninjas could walk on water, run on trees, and even strengthen their bodies to lift heavy objects...

Even Rock Lee had sufficient chakra in his body to perform ninjutsu like the "Front Lotus." It was just that he lacked talent in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and the like.

Including in the anime, the way ninjas could teleport and run or jump freely among the branches in the forest was inseparable from the way chakra assisted the body!

If Takizawa Dan were a ninja with chakra, then being able to grab Nochi Yoshino and throw him away would be acceptable.

But... he had no chakra at all. How on earth did he do it!?

"No, Saga-kun, Takizawa Dan did not use chakra."

Tsunade had been watching this match from beginning to end. Hearing Saga's question, she shook her head and said.

Although she didn't have the Sharingan like Sasuke to see the flow of chakra, she was a top-tier medical ninja herself; she only needed one look to understand the distribution of chakra on someone.

And Takizawa Dan, from start to finish, stood there like an ordinary person, without the slightest sign of chakra surging in his body.

"No... no chakra used!?" Saga was completely stunned. Although Tsunade was young, her strength was well-established, so he trusted her words quite a bit. "Then... then how did he defeat Nochi Yoshino?"

"It's simple. Strength... pure strength!"

Tsunade took a deep breath and said slowly.

She looked at Takizawa Dan in the arena, a hint of excitement appearing in her expression!

If that was the case, then his defeat of Hyuga Niuda and Hyuga Niuer could be explained.

Perhaps this Takizawa Dan had, for some unknown reason, improved his congenitally weak physical condition and become naturally gifted with immense strength. His power alone far exceeded his peers, even surpassing ninjas of the same level who possessed chakra, allowing him to defeat them!

If that was truly the case, this Takizawa Dan could become her disciple! He could inherit her style of super-strength combat!

She had decided: this disciple was hers!

Takizawa Dan naturally had no idea that Tsunade had already set her sights on him, marking him as her sole disciple.

He simply looked down at his palms, a surge of intense excitement welling up in his heart.

The physical strength he possessed now far exceeded his wildest imagination.

The system had truly not deceived him; the benefits brought by improving his frail body and bestowing upon him top-tier ninja talent were simply immense.

Even without a drop of chakra, his physical condition alone was enough to crush all his peers.

Not to mention, he also possessed the ability to pick up attributes from everything!

In this era, in this world—

Takizawa Dan had absolute confidence that he would become the strongest ninja.

At this moment, the medical ninjas had used a great deal of effort to finally pull most of Nochi Yoshino's body out from the wall.

Nochi Yoshino was battered and bleeding, having fallen into a deep coma. It looked like he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

"Referee, can you announce my victory now?"

Takizawa Dan looked toward the referee on the side and spoke calmly.

The situation was already clear; Nochi Yoshino was completely unconscious and had no strength left to fight.

This was only the Chunin Exams; had this been a real life-or-death struggle, he would have been dead long ago.

"This match, Taki... Takizawa Dan wins!"

The referee said, his voice dry.

Following the referee's announcement, the arena fell into a dead silence.

Every examinee, and even some of the higher-ups, looked at the young man standing in the center of the arena with incredibly complex expressions.

Who could have imagined this outcome?

Konoha Village's notorious number-one dead-last, Takizawa Dan, had actually come to participate in the Chunin Exams and defeated his opponent in a single move in the very first match!

This was undoubtedly the biggest news since the founding of Konoha, and the most dramatic reversal in history.

Takizawa Dan, however, paid no mind to the opinions of those around him. He nodded and prepared to leave the arena.

In this battle, he had actually been very careful not to use any ninjutsu, giving the impression that he had won solely through physical strength.

For the sake of his future growth, he dared not reveal all his trump cards just yet.

However, at this moment, a furious shout suddenly rang out from the stands:

"Takizawa Dan! Why are you so ruthless at such a young age, beating my son into this state! Do you have any humanity left at all? Do you have any sense of camaraderie for your fellow Konoha ninjas?"

As he finished speaking, a figure leaped down with a "swish," landing in front of Takizawa Dan and blocking his path.

Up in the stands, Tsunade's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, I didn't account for this.

The person blocking Takizawa Dan was a middle-aged male ninja wearing a tactical vest.

His name was Noji Daishi, and he was one of the jonin responsible for maintaining order at the venue.

After all, for an exam like this, specialized ninjas had to be dispatched to supervise and provide security to prevent any accidents. It wouldn't do for the Hokage or the various high-ranking officials to handle such things personally, would it?

Noji Daishi was one of those assigned to this protection detail.

However, he held another identity: he was Nochi Yoshino's father!

As a father, watching his son lose on stage was one thing, but to see him thrown away by Takizawa Dan in a single strike and left unconscious on a stretcher—how could Noji Daishi swallow this anger?

Therefore, he had stepped out without hesitation to berate Takizawa Dan.

He was going to stand up for his son!