Chapter 76: Monstrous Strength, Preparations, and the Kusanagi Sword
Looking at the small pits in the ground before her, Genichi felt a little helpless. Shizune stood to the side, her face flushed red with shame, not daring to look at him.
"Um... maybe I'm not suited for Monstrous Strength (Kairiki). Genichi, should we just forget it?" Shizune said in a small voice.
Genichi reached out and patted her head, smiling. "It should be a problem with explosive power."
"Your fine chakra control is not an issue, but you're lacking the explosive burst."
"The two key elements of Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) are, one, fine control of chakra, and two, an instantaneous explosion. Only then can you unleash its incomparable power."
Shizune nodded, then looked up. "But how do I 'explode' it?"
"I don't think I can find that feeling." Shizune couldn't quite explain it.
Genichi pondered.
The feeling of an explosion? How to explode it? The explosion of chakra was very difficult to describe intuitively. The importance of talent was made clear in moments like this. A person with talent in this area would understand with a single word. Those without, like Shizune, couldn't grasp the key point and would be unable to get the hang of it, making it difficult to even get started.
After thinking for a moment, Genichi sent out a shadow clone, then pulled Shizune to sit down under a tree. "Let's rest for a bit first."
Shizune obediently sat down.
Genichi asked, "Shizune, you should be more talented with poisons, right?"
Shizune nodded. "Lady Tsunade says so too."
"I am indeed more interested in various poisons. Different potent poisons can be combined to be neutralized, or they can be turned into even more complex poisons. They aren't necessarily stronger, but they are much harder to counteract."
...
When it came to the topic of poisons, Shizune was endlessly talkative. However, Genichi felt that playing with poison was a dangerous business. Fortunately, Tsunade was an expert in antidotes, so Shizune wouldn't run into any problems following her.
So... he would try a little harder. If Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) didn't work out, then she could switch to another track. Genichi knew the importance of talent better than anyone. Since she had a talent for poisons, then she should walk that path first.
A moment later, Genichi's shadow clone returned, carrying a small bag of balloons.
Sitting cross-legged under the tree, Genichi blew up a balloon and said, "Shizune, you see this balloon?"
"Right now, it's full of air. You can think of this air as the chakra you accumulate when you use Monstrous Strength (Kairiki)."
Shizune nodded repeatedly, her eyes fixed on the balloon in Genichi's hands.
Genichi began to squeeze the balloon. "See? The air inside the balloon is constantly being squeezed and compressed, and the internal pressure is constantly building."
Shizune nodded. "So, chakra is like this too?"
Genichi nodded. "That's right. You have to put pressure on the chakra."
The next moment, the balloon was squeezed to its limit, and then it burst with a pop.
Shizune was slightly startled.
Genichi smiled. "See? Just like the balloon just now. When the pressure reaches a limit, the chakra will explode out, just like the balloon bursting and the air inside spraying out."
Shizune nodded again and again.
Genichi didn't rush. He took out another balloon, blew it up, and handed it to Shizune. "Here, you try."
Shizune nodded, took the balloon, and began to squeeze it bit by bit with both hands.
Pop!
The balloon burst. Shizune's eyes lit up, and she leaped to her feet. "I'm going to go try it!"
Genichi smiled and nodded. "Okay!"
Shizune immediately bounded away like a small deer.
After moving a certain distance away, she began to try again.
Chakra was gathered in her fist. It needed to be distributed very finely throughout the fist, not just crudely wrapped around it, but combined with every cell of the fist itself. Especially at the beginning, the chakra itself originated from the cells in the fist, which also served as a form of protection for it.
After that, the chakra was continuously accumulated and gathered. Theoretically, the more chakra that was gathered and accumulated, the more terrifying the power that would be released in that instant. That was why, for both Tsunade and Sakura, after they had the Yin Seal (In'fūin) and the Strength of a Hundred Seal (Byakugō no Jutsu), the power of their Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) surged. First, the Yin Seal provided a massive amount of chakra. Second, the Strength of a Hundred Seal (Byakugō no Jutsu) itself could finely control chakra.
Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) required fine chakra control as its foundation, but the larger the amount of chakra, the harder it was to control finely. The Strength of a Hundred Seal (Byakugō no Jutsu) was a perfect aid for this. So, Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) was not something you could learn just because you wanted to. Proficiency in chakra control was a mandatory foundation. The stronger your control, the stronger your Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) would be.
In terms of strength, Tsunade surpassed the Fourth Raikage. The Fourth Raikage's great strength came from the lightning activation of his cells via the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Chakra continuously gathered in her fist. Shizune gritted her teeth, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. The more chakra there was, the harder it was to control. This was different from the balloon.
However, as the chakra was continuously compressed, Shizune finally felt that feeling of it being about to erupt. She was just a little bit short. But if she continued to accumulate chakra, she would lose control.
Just then, Genichi's voice sounded. "Remember squeezing the balloon just now? Squeezing the balloon can be considered an external force."
"Now, throw your punch. The moment of impact is equivalent to an external force acting inwards."
Shizune, her face tense with concentration, nodded. She then shouted and threw a punch at the ground.
Boom!
The ground exploded. Rubble flew through the air, and cracks spread out in all directions. A crater five or six meters in diameter appeared.
Shizune couldn't help but cheer. "Genichi, I did it!"
Genichi smiled and nodded. "Nicely done!"
"Just like that!"
Although it wasn't as good as his or Tsunade's, the power of this punch from Shizune was more than ten times stronger than the small pits she had made before. And most ninja wouldn't be able to withstand such power.
Shizune was greatly encouraged. "It's because you're a good teacher, Genichi."
"I'll try again."
Genichi nodded and continued to guide her from the side.
For the next three days, Genichi accompanied Shizune in her training, while he himself sent out a shadow clone to handle his own. Tsunade, on the other hand, had completely abandoned her duties, instead focusing on nurturing medical ninja at the Konoha Hospital.
And in three days, Shizune had gradually mastered Monstrous Strength (Kairiki) and was able to use it well. But she still couldn't freely increase or decrease its power; she could only maintain it at that one level. This was a matter of talent. But Genichi felt it was good enough.
By mastering Monstrous Strength (Kairiki), not only did Shizune's offensive power greatly increase, but her Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) could also be improved by a large margin. This was because the chakra explosion of the Body Flicker and Monstrous Strength were remarkably similar, though the chakra control for the former was far less precise.
After finishing his guidance of Shizune, Genichi began to prepare for his journey.
First, to custom-order two good swords. Still one long and one short. This time, Genichi wanted chakra blades, which were made with special metals that had good chakra conductivity. This would not only reduce chakra consumption but also allow him to control the blades from a distance to release ninjutsu. Like Sarutobi Asuma's Flying Swallow (Hien).
And Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword (Kusanagi no Tsurugi).
If possible, on this trip, Genichi also wanted to try and see if he could find a Kusanagi Sword. The Sword of Totsuka (Totsuka no Tsurugi) was also still out there in the wild.
So Genichi had also been collecting some fragmented legends and information about the Kusanagi Sword.
(End of Chapter)
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