In the open wilderness, jagged rocks were scattered everywhere.
Boom!
An incredibly dull, heavy explosion suddenly erupted!
Dust billowed as a hard boulder, as tall as two people, shattered with a bang, turning into countless fragments of various sizes that came crashing down with a clatter.
As the dust gradually cleared, the figure of the culprit was revealed—Higashino Shinichi.
Maintaining his punching stance, he slowly retracted his arm. There was no halo of overflowing Chakra on his fist, nor even any visible swelling; only his sleeve fluttered slightly from the previous movement.
That destructive power had been perfectly restrained before the impact, only erupting with a bang at the moment of contact.
"Hmm, not bad." On a flat boulder not far away, Tsunade lay lazily on her side, picking up a piece of spicy jerky and tossing it into her mouth, chewing with a loud crunch.
She glanced at the pile of rubble and remarked casually:
"The speed of Chakra condensation and the control of the impact point... you've finally gotten the hang of it. You can barely manage to keep the power focused on the surface of your fist without wasting too much. But still, compared to when I first started training, you're still a bit lacking. Your strike isn't crisp enough, and your recovery is a bit sluggish."
Although her verbal critique was nonchalant, a flash of undeniable astonishment flickered deep within her bright brown eyes.
This kid! Isn't his mastery speed a bit too fast?!
The core of the Monster Strength Fist lies in compressing and refining massive, violent Chakra to the extreme, precisely infusing it into a specific point on the body, and then letting it explode completely at the moment of impact. This requires the user's Chakra control to be refined to a perverse degree.
For an ordinary Ninja, just understanding the cycle of 'compression-restraint-instant explosion' might take months or even longer, let alone the countless instances of Chakra disorder, muscle strains, or even backlash caused by unstable control during actual practice.
A few days ago, on a whim and for the sake of the mapo tofu, she had given him a few pointers. She thought that even with this brat's talent, it would take at least a month of slow grinding to initially master the striking techniques of the Monster Strength Fist.
But how many days has it been?
This kid is already able to throw a proper, standard Monster Strength Fist, stably compressing Chakra at the knuckles to shatter a giant rock while barely feeling any noticeable recoil himself!
This speed of comprehending power and control can no longer be described as merely being a Genius; it's almost as if... his body already had an underlying framework suitable for running this kind of power, and it's now just being activated and adapted to a new technique.
Shinichi flexed his wrist, feeling the subtle rhythm of muscles and Chakra working in synergy during that strike, and calmly accepted Tsunade's critique:
"Yes, Lady Tsunade, you're right. I still need more practice to optimize it."
Shinichi knew Tsunade was actually being insincere; his progress was actually exceptionally fast, thanks to the foundation of efficient learning and application provided by entries like [Genius], [Taijutsu Specialization], and [Chunin].
He also had [Endless Life] and [Gourmet] providing powerful physical recovery to endure high-intensity training.
It was also inseparable from his long-term physical tempering, his minute control over his own strength, and his profound understanding of Chakra's form and nature transformation developed while creating Yamibarai.
Certain principles of the Monster Strength Fist shared a commonality with the path of the Fire Release Ninja Body Technique he was exploring, particularly in terms of precise control and power condensation.
"As long as you know your shortcomings." Tsunade sat up from the boulder, brushed the food crumbs off her hands, and jumped down.
At this moment, besides teaching Shinichi the Monster Strength, she had also created two Shadow Clones. One was nearby, guiding Shizune in more exquisite Medical Chakra manipulation and trauma treatment techniques.
The other was with Kurenai Yuhi, conducting special training on the fine Chakra control needed for Genjutsu and the coordination between Chakra and muscles during swordsmanship strikes. For Kurenai, who specialized in Genjutsu and swordsmanship, this top-tier guidance on Chakra control was of extraordinary value.
Tsunade walked up to Shinichi, crossed her arms, and sized him up. Eventually, she couldn't help but snort, "Still, brat, you didn't do too poorly. At least you didn't waste my breath."
"It's because Lady Tsunade is a good teacher," Shinichi said with a smile.
"By the way," Tsunade said, raising an eyebrow as if suddenly remembering something. "I heard the Old Man mention before that you were tinkering with some Fire Release Ninja Body Technique? Not bad, kid. You've certainly got ambition."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shinichi nodded. "Speaking of which, after initially mastering the striking techniques of the Monster Strength Fist you taught me, I've had some new ideas regarding that direction."
"More new ideas? Why do you have so many ideas all day long? Is there no end to them?" Tsunade's eyes widened slightly, her tone of disdain becoming more apparent, though she was even more astonished internally.
Is this kid's talent and creativity a bit too ridiculous?
It was one thing to master the Monster Strength Fist with startling speed, but to immediately connect it to his own development project and come up with new ideas the moment he got the hang of it?
This speed of drawing inferences and integrating knowledge, along with that seemingly inexhaustible creativity that sparked from clashing different fields of expertise, was simply staggering.
"Let's hear it."
Tsunade suppressed the turmoil in her heart, crossed her arms, and struck a pose of being all ears.
Shinichi thought for a moment and said, "The core goal of the Fire Release Ninja Body Technique I'm trying to develop is to achieve a stable, efficient, and seamless Fusion of Fire Release Chakra with Taijutsu movements. My initial direction was to create stable, easily shaped, and detachable Flame Shuriken—much like Yamibarai—and then try to attach them to my limbs for attacks, forming Moves like Flame Fist and Flame Kick."
He raised his right hand, and a small, highly condensed, stable ball of crimson flame quietly emerged, burning steadily.
"But before, I was struggling with how to quickly and stably condense Chakra—especially such a violent energy as the fire attribute—into striking areas like the arms and legs, while ensuring maximum power upon impact without harming myself." Shinichi's gaze fell on the flame in his palm as he spoke intently. "After learning your Monster Strength, Lady Tsunade, I seem to have found a new approach."
"The essence of the Monster Strength Fist lies in compressing massive Chakra to the extreme, focusing it on a single point, and exploding it upon contact. This made me wonder: could I combine this concept of extreme compression, perfect restraint, and instant explosion with the Flame Fist and Flame Kick I've envisioned?"
He demonstrated as he spoke.
He suddenly clenched his fist, and the stable crimson flame in his palm vanished instantly, as if absorbed into his body.
Immediately after, beneath the skin of his entire right arm—from shoulder to fingertips—a layer of scorching crimson light flashed for an instant, like lava surging through his veins for a split second. Then, the light quickly receded and vanished, his arm returning to normal as if the phenomenon just now had been a mere illusion.
Tsunade's gaze sharpened instantly. She clearly perceived that in that moment, Shinichi had used the technique of the Monster Strength Fist, and it wasn't with ordinary Chakra, but with highly active and violent Fire Release Chakra!
He had forcibly restrained and compressed it within the striking meridians and muscle groups of his arm, without the slightest leakage.