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Liu Chen hadn't wasted the past year and a half either. While training Hinata, he also engaged in arduous self-training, as he too needed to grow. However, due to Liu Chen's current immense power, making his strength grow and progress was dozens of thousands of times more difficult than for Hinata. But in recent times, he had noticed a strange phenomenon: whenever Hinata's strength surged, he also faintly felt his own strength slowly increasing, as if it were synchronized. Connecting this with his current status as Hinata's Guardian Spirit, was it because of the Guardian Spirit aspect?! If Hinata became strong enough... could he also become stronger by simply lying around?
Liu Chen frowned in thought. He couldn't come up with anything concrete; he would only know for sure in a few days. It seemed he had to pause his own training for a while. If Hinata's strength continued to increase, and he could also grow stronger without training, then his own strength's growth was indeed related to Hinata. Was this his cheat?! Liu Chen's lips twitched slightly: "I've already transmigrated to a second world, and only now do I have a cheat, which I'm not even sure is a cheat? Isn't this a bit absurd? It feels like something like this couldn't possibly happen." A huge complaint got stuck in his throat; he didn't know how to express it. He didn't know what words to use to vent.
But if his strength did indeed mysteriously increase from time to time, and it truly was because of Hinata, then Liu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. He scrutinized Hinata's delicate little face, muttering, "If that's really the case, then I have to protect her life even more. To be able to make me strong enough to rival the Six Paths, I didn't expect this most crucial point... would actually be this little girl." Liu Chen felt a bit fortunate that he had taken her as a disciple and promised to help her get stronger. Otherwise, this hidden "setting" would probably only be discovered years later, or perhaps never at all. This day was indeed a bit beyond Liu Chen's expectations, but for now, it was merely speculation. The exact truth would require some time to prove.
A gentle breeze lightly brushed Hinata's face, her slightly longer hair swaying softly. The lingering hint of blood in the air, and the distant, massive crater... proved that someone had definitely died here!! And not just one person!!
...
Not long after Hinata left, someone, or rather two people, arrived at this spot. One was a tall woman, the other a young girl.
"The commotion just now came from over there... That must have been thunder, right?!" The woman looked at the enormous crater before her. Her pupils involuntarily constricted slightly. "Is this an S-rank forbidden jutsu?!" The colossal crater on the ground looked at least ten meters deep. The surface of the crater was charred black, and a faint smell of roasted meat permeated the air. Although the scent was very, very subtle, she could still detect it. The woman turned her head and looked in one direction. That direction was Konoha Village.
"Let's go... Shizune, you go into Konoha Village and notify my sensei. Such a powerful individual has appeared near Konoha Village, and it's unknown if they harbor hostility towards Konoha. It seems Sensei will have a headache."
"Of course, it's also possible this is a Konoha ninja... that's not out of the question either."
"..." The girl named Shizune, hearing this, pouted and said discontentedly, "You clearly want to return to Konoha Village, so why am I the only one going back?! What are you going to do? Don't tell me you're going gambling again?!" Tsunade's expression stiffened slightly. She laughed awkwardly, "Ahahaha... After all, when the gambling addiction strikes, I can't stop it even if I try."
Shizune: "..." One of these two individuals was none other than Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, and also the Fifth Hokage after the Third Hokage's death! Among the many ninja, Tsunade's strength was exceptionally formidable. Otherwise, she wouldn't be known as one of the Legendary Sannin, an existence on par with Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Of course, she leaned more towards medical Ninjutsu + Taijutsu. This meant Tsunade was, in essence, a tanky healer... one could roughly think of it that way! In the Naruto world, not many people possessed terrifying physical strength. Aside from those few bowl-cut-haired individuals who trained the Eight Gates, Tsunade was also a Taijutsu master. In close combat, one punch from her could literally knock someone's brains out. Of course, her Taijutsu was powerful mostly due to Chakra enhancement. Like her monstrous strength, it required Chakra enhancement.
Ever since the Fourth Great Ninja War, when she witnessed her younger brother and lover die before her eyes, Tsunade had developed hemophobia. And in her despair, she left Konoha, wandering through various countries. It could be said she drifted aimlessly. Of course, after all these years, besides her hemophobia, her emotional scars had also healed. She was now no different from a salted fish... either gambling or drinking every day. Completely unlike one of the Legendary Sannin. Sometimes she would even be chased by people because of gambling debts. But she had grown accustomed to this life and even found a certain joy in it.
Looking at Tsunade, who was scratching her head, chuckling, and clearly in the throes of gambling addiction, Shizune could only say helplessly, "Alright... alright... I'll go back to Konoha Village and tell the Third Hokage-sama! Oh, and... you shouldn't go too far, otherwise, I'll have to search for you for days again."
"No problem! Hahaha, oh, right... Shizune, that... that... you know." Tsunade rubbed her two fair, smooth, slender fingers together. Her meaning was perfectly clear... Shizune sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead. She could only take out some money and hand it to Tsunade, reminding her, "Don't gamble it all away, or tonight, we'll have to sleep outdoors."