Strength Training

In the ninja world, although improving one's strength through hard training was certainly important—it was the foundation of becoming stronger—how to use that strength was just as important.

If someone had nothing but brute force and no idea how to use it, then in a fight, they could only end up as a punching bag for their opponent.

Tsunade's monstrous strength was actually an incredibly powerful technique for generating force, allowing her to make full use of her muscles.

Ordinary ninja could use, at most, twenty to thirty percent of their muscles' strength. That was already considered respectable. But with Tsunade's technique, someone could unleash one hundred percent of their muscles' strength for a short time!

In other words, with the same physical capabilities, Takizawa Dan could fight someone with five times their strength! This level of overwhelming power could only be described as a cheat!

Of course, such monstrous strength came with serious drawbacks. This kind of explosive power completely unleashed the body's potential, but could only be maintained for a very short time. He had to end the fight quickly. If it dragged on, he would run out of strength and lose!

But battles between masters could change in an instant. Forget minutes—even a few seconds could be the deciding factor.

That was why Takizawa Dan had made up his mind to learn Tsunade's technique for generating force, so he could gain the upper hand in battle!

An ordinary person without a strong physique or any formal training in similar combat techniques definitely couldn't master it overnight.

But Takizawa Dan was different. Although he'd had no chakra before and couldn't become a ninja, he'd never given up training his body over the years. As a result, he was much sturdier than his peers. He might not look like much on the outside, but underneath his clothes, he was covered in solid muscle!

Even Tsunade had clicked her tongue in admiration when she saw his physique. She said it was remarkable for a thirteen-year-old to be so strong, and that not training to build his strength would be a terrible waste of his potential!

As for combat techniques, Takizawa Dan had never studied them formally. But in his previous life, he'd practiced martial arts for several years. Since he'd once been a shut-in and wasn't particularly strong, the hard-hitting Shaolin Sect style hadn't suited him. Instead, he'd learned Wudang techniques, which used softness to overcome force and a small amount of strength to defeat a greater one!

This had given Takizawa Dan his own unique understanding of martial arts. Besides, even though he hadn't been particularly strong in his previous life, he'd still been able to use tai chi to deal with a few thugs in the street. So what could he do now, with his strong physique?

Thanks to his experience from his previous life, Takizawa Dan learned incredibly quickly. In just one afternoon, he'd already mastered most of the technique Tsunade had personally taught him!

He still couldn't use his muscles with the full, monstrous efficiency Tsunade could, but he could manage seventy or eighty percent. That was equivalent to four times the strength of someone his age!

It was fair to say that if it came down to pure strength, Takizawa Dan could now hold his own in a fistfight against even an adult jonin!

That was how overpowered Tsunade's technique for generating force was!

"Ha!"

On the training ground, Takizawa Dan wrapped his fists in cloth, swung his right fist with all his might, and slammed it into a large rock in front of him.

Rumble!

With a thunderous crash, the hard, moss-covered rock split down the middle with a huge crack.

The force surged through it, shattering the entire rock and reducing it to a pile of dust!

"What terrifying strength... No wonder Sakura managed to knock the Progenitor of Chakra, Princess Kaguya, senseless with one punch in the final battle!"

Takizawa Dan stared at the destruction he'd caused and sucked in a sharp breath. He couldn't help thinking to himself.

When he'd read the manga back then, he'd always thought the original author was exaggerating. No matter how strong someone was, how could their strength compare to a god's?

But now, it seemed that it really was possible!

Still, no matter how shocked Takizawa Dan was, Tsunade was even more astonished as she watched from the sidelines.

What had she just witnessed?

One afternoon—just one measly afternoon!

Takizawa Dan had already more or less mastered her technique for generating force!

The reason he couldn't bring out the remaining twenty percent of his strength wasn't that he was slacking off or lacked talent. It was simply a matter of practice.

It was like a master swordsman who had spent his whole life swinging a sword. Every attacking movement had become part of his body, etched deep into his muscles.

That was why, in battle, his body could swing the sword before his mind had even reacted!

That was called a conditioned reflex, an instinctive response of the body. It couldn't be matched by mere comprehension!

Even Tsunade had needed countless battles and hundreds of life-or-death trials to push her potential to its limit and learn to use one hundred percent of her body's strength.

But Takizawa Dan could bring out seventy or eighty percent of his strength through sheer talent... This...

Tsunade couldn't help giving a wry smile. She'd always been proud of her own talent, but next to Takizawa Dan, she felt like nothing!

"Tsunade, is there any way I can improve my technique? I feel like I'm still not generating force completely."

After throwing that punch, Takizawa Dan stayed where he was and spent a few seconds thinking it over. He carefully recalled how it had felt to generate the force, then suddenly turned to Tsunade and asked.

He had a feeling that maximizing the body's potential couldn't mean merely unleashing one hundred percent of the muscles' strength.

There had to be a way to go beyond one's limits!

Otherwise, how could there be stories from his previous life about a mother protecting her child by flipping an entire car with one hand? Takizawa Dan didn't believe that could be achieved through muscle strength alone.

The mother's arm had been so slender. Forget five times her strength—even ten times wouldn't have been enough!

"Is there? It's easy to understand. You're only on your first day of learning, and you've already done incredibly well. All you're missing is the remaining twenty percent of muscle memory. Keep practicing and you'll definitely get the hang of it."

Tsunade smiled cheerfully, not suspecting a thing.

She hadn't thought as far ahead as Takizawa Dan. Naturally, she assumed he wasn't satisfied with the technique's current eighty percent power and wanted to reach one hundred percent.

To keep him from getting too proud, she deliberately softened her wording.