Several late-blooming cherry trees at the edge of the training ground trembled in the warm afternoon breeze, scattering a few pale pink petals that stubbornly refused to wither. Far more students than usual had gathered around the field. Their whispers and discussions blended into a low, relentless hum, and the air buzzed with anticipation of a good show.
"Next match, Kushina Uzumaki versus Choza Akimichi!"
The referee's voice cut clearly through the noise, sending a small stir through the stands. Curious, appraising, and even faintly dismissive gazes swung toward the figure on the field-Kushina Uzumaki, the transfer student from the Land of Whirlpools with her conspicuously red hair, whom some people mockingly called "Tomato" behind her back.
"The Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique, huh? That's a true power-based ninjutsu. This should be worth watching."
"That redheaded girl from another village apparently has freakish strength. Someone from Class A said she broke the strength tester during the last physical assessment..."
"Hmph. No matter how strong she is, can she compete with the Akimichi Clan's secret techniques? Choza's from the clan's main line in this generation. I don't like her chances."
Choza Akimichi had already taken his position on the field. He wore his signature loose orange jacket, his round face carrying the gentle, easygoing expression so common among the Akimichi Clan.
Completely at odds with the mounting tension around him, he carefully opened a freshly produced bag of potato chips as though no one else were there. He crunched away with obvious relish, his cheeks bulging, as if he were about to enjoy a relaxed afternoon picnic rather than a combat match that would affect his final evaluation.
His opponent, Kushina Uzumaki, presented an entirely different picture. Her sharply defined lips were pressed tight, and beneath the blazing sunlight, her fiery red hair seemed to flow and burn. Deep within her jade-green eyes shone a rock-solid stubbornness that refused to concede defeat.
Her fists were clenched at her sides, her knuckles whitening slightly from the pressure. Her feet were planted at the opposite end of the field as though rooted to the earth. She stood straight as a young pine growing stubbornly through wind and rain, her whole body radiating a fierce challenge: come at me.
"Let's have a good match." Choza finally swallowed his last chip, brushed the lingering crumbs from his fingers with a hint of reluctance, and looked up at Kushina with the Akimichi Clan's trademark guileless, friendly smile.
Kushina did not return his smile. She merely gave an almost imperceptible nod, her gaze sharp as a drawn blade and fixed firmly on Choza.
"Begin!"
The referee had barely finished speaking before Choza's seemingly fat, clumsy body exploded into motion with astonishing speed that utterly belied his build!
He shot forward like an orange cannonball, the force of his push-off stamping a shallow crater into the ground! As he charged, chakra poured rapidly into his right fist, making it swell as though being inflated!
Muscles knotted and skin stretched taut. In an instant, his fist grew to three or four times its normal size and came crashing down toward Kushina's slender figure like a battering ram, accompanied by a terrifying rush of wind!
"Partial Multi-Size Technique: Fist!"
The enormous shadow engulfed Kushina in an instant, and the fierce wind pressure sent her red hair streaming wildly backward. Several sharp gasps rose from the stands, as though the spectators could already see the brutal scene that would follow.
Yet faced with a fist powerful enough to shatter stone, Kushina did something that stunned everyone-she did not use her speed to dodge or retreat to absorb the force. Instead, she bent her knees slightly and lowered her center of gravity, her slender waist tensing like a drawn bowstring. She clenched her right fist, the muscles in her arm tightening, and punched straight into the attack without dodging at all!
"Is she crazy?! She's taking the Multi-Size Technique head-on?!" The gasps from the stands turned into incredulous shouts.
BOOM!!!
The two fists, one huge and one small, their difference in size almost ridiculous, collided violently in the middle of the field! A deep, thunderous crash burst out like the beating of an enormous drum. A visible ring of air blasted outward from the point of impact, sweeping up dust and grass clippings. Students near the edge of the field could barely keep their eyes open, their clothes snapping in the wind.
To everyone's astonishment, the expected sight of Kushina being sent flying never came! Her seemingly slender fist held firm like a steel pillar welded in midair, stopping Choza's enlarged fist through sheer force!
The tremendous impact drove her feet into the hard surface of the training ground. Spiderweb cracks spread outward from her ankles, but her upright figure remained like a spear nailed into the earth. She did not retreat a single step!
For the first time, unmistakable surprise flashed through Choza's eyes. He could clearly feel the concentrated, immense force reverberating through his fist, matching the power of his enlargement.
Without hesitation, he used the recoil of their clash to spring backward several times, his heavy body displaying astonishing agility as he opened up the distance. His right hand returned to normal, but his fingers trembled almost imperceptibly. Clearly, that straightforward contest of strength had not been as effortless as it appeared.
"She's so strong... like a monster..." he muttered. The relaxed look finally vanished from his face, replaced by genuine seriousness.
Kushina slowly shook out her right wrist, which tingled with numbness and pain. Yet the corners of her lips curled into a confident smile, mingling pain with intense excitement. Her fiery red hair looked even more dazzling in the sunlight, as though her soaring fighting spirit had truly set it ablaze.
"So that's the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique?" Her clear voice carried a trace of breathlessness, but it was full of challenge. "The strength's pretty good, but if you think that's enough to beat me, you've got a long way to go!"
Choza did not answer. He knew words were meaningless now. His hands rapidly formed several simple, forceful seals in front of his chest.
A moment later, an even greater surge of chakra poured from his body. His entire upper body-from chest to arms-began swelling rapidly like rising dough. Muscles piled up in thick masses, veins twisting across them like coiling dragons. Within a breath, his bulk had more than doubled! Standing there, he resembled a small giant, his shadow covering nearly half the field.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique: Torso!"
With a low roar, he advanced on Kushina again like a moving mountain of flesh, radiating pressure. His heavy footsteps made the ground tremble slightly. His enormous, door-sized palms spread to either side, then swept inward toward Kushina like a Venus flytrap, howling through the air as he tried to seize her and pin her down through overwhelming strength.
Kushina's gaze sharpened. She knew she could not let that strength catch her. Just as the giant palms were about to close, she bent sharply backward at the waist, bringing her body almost parallel to the ground and narrowly slipping past his grasping fingertips.
At the same time, her legs drove off as though spring-loaded. In one clean backflip, she planted both feet precisely against Choza's enlarged, pillar-thick arm and pushed off lightly. Not only did she escape the remaining momentum of his grasp, she used it to launch herself into the air like a nimble swift!
While airborne, her hands flashed across the ninja tool pouch at her thigh. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Several black shuriken sliced through the air with piercing whistles, flying as precisely as though they had eyes toward Choza's now-enlarged face-one of the few vulnerable areas not protected by additional muscle and chakra hardening in his enlarged state, especially his eyes!
Choza had no choice but to raise his other swollen arm like a shield over his head and face. Clink, clang! The shuriken struck his hardened forearm muscles with sharp metallic sounds and bounced away, leaving several white marks.
In the split second when Choza's own arm blocked his vision, Kushina landed lightly and pushed off. She slid rapidly sideways like the wind, circling into an opening at the flank of his massive, slightly cumbersome body. Gathering all her strength, she lashed out with a fierce side kick that struck beneath the ribs of his enlarged torso like a whip!
Thump! Another dull impact rang out, as though she had kicked a thick rubber tire. The force concentrated at that single point made Choza's massive body sway, and he stumbled half a step, but he neither fell nor suffered injury as an ordinary person would have.
The Multi-Size Technique granted not only strength, but astonishing physical defense to match. Ordinary taijutsu attacks could hardly penetrate that dense protection of chakra and muscle.
"It's no use," Choza said, his low voice carrying a resonant buzz from his enlargement. He lowered the arm shielding his face and looked at the slightly breathless Kushina. "You can't break through my defense in this state with taijutsu alone."
Kushina pressed her lips together without answering. Her green eyes flickered as her mind raced.
She began moving at high speed around Choza's enormous body, her red hair tracing fiery afterimages as she rapidly changed direction.
She no longer tried to clash with him head-on. Instead, she used her relatively small frame and outstanding agility to dart around him like a nimble hummingbird, probing and searching for tiny flaws in his seemingly perfect defense. Every so often, she launched one or two lightning-fast attacks at vulnerable points such as his eyes and joints.