Chapter 24 - It’s Only Been a Few Days, You’ve Leveled Up Again?!

Kyōhiko punched, dodged, and trained relentlessly, using dozens of hanging sandbags to hone his body’s instincts—his way of mitigating the backlash from moving too fast.

After a long session, he finally sat down to rest and released his Shadow Clone. In an instant, a flood of knowledge surged into his brain. His mind buzzed, ears ringing from the mental strain.

This—was the limit of an ordinary human body.

Maintaining a shadow clone for too long was dangerous. The feedback could be overwhelming… even fatal.

Kyōhiko rubbed his temples, trying to process and absorb it all—when something dropped in front of him.

A pouch.

“Eat up.”

“…What?”

Kyōhiko looked up, slightly dazed.

Jiraiya grinned.

“Special ration pills from the hospital. With how you’re training, there’s no way you’re holding out without these.”

“Thanks, sensei.”

Kyōhiko was starving—his vision was already spotting.

If Jiraiya hadn’t brought the pills, he would’ve dragged himself to get food after catching his breath.

This was his first time trying a ration pill.

…It tasted awful.

But—

It was fast. Much faster than regular food. His hunger eased quickly, and the feeling of weakness faded.

“Well?” Jiraiya asked.

“No wonder they’re the go-to for shinobi nutrition. Incredible!”

Kyōhiko was impressed.

Jiraiya handed him the rest of the pouch, then grew more serious.

“Ration pills restore your body’s energy—but not your mental energy. If your mind’s exhausted, you’ll still die.”

“I understand, sensei.”

Kyōhiko nodded.

He valued his life too much to train himself to death.

Only then did Jiraiya relax a little.

“Got a letter from the Matsuyama family. They might arrive in the village tomorrow. Don’t overdo it. Better get those bruises checked at Konoha Hospital.”

With that, Jiraiya left—never mentioning the council meeting.

Kyōhiko didn’t ask either.

He figured it probably hadn’t gone well. Tsunade likely smashed a table or two—

With her temperament, that wasn’t far-fetched at all.

By evening, Tsunade showed up again—her scent a mix of bath soap and alcohol.

She was carrying a small bag, and true to form, just hopped over the wall without bothering with the front door.

All three of the Sannin are equally shameless, Kyōhiko thought wryly.

He stood to greet her.

“Lady Tsunade.”

“How’s the reading going?” she asked.

Kyōhiko replied honestly:

“Even though it’s mostly foundational stuff, I’ve gained a lot of insight.”

“Already seeing results in this short time?” Tsunade sounded skeptical.

After all, understanding a theory and being able to apply it in practice were two very different things.

She glanced at his remaining shadow clone, worried Kyōhiko was pushing himself too hard, too fast.

“You can test me if you’d like,” Kyōhiko said confidently.

Some things, after all, had immediate effects.

For example—

[Suiton: Water Formation Wall – Mastery Level]

A key defensive Water Style jutsu. After studying Tobirama’s notes—and thanks to the chakra control boost from leveling up Monster Strength—Kyōhiko had refined it to a Mastery level after just a few test runs.

At this level, the Water Wall’s chakra flow, scope, and strength could be adjusted at will.

His next goal? Condensing it down to just two hand seals—but that would take even deeper understanding and experimentation.

For now—

Kyōhiko formed the hand seals.

Thanks to all his daily training, his fingers moved swiftly and precisely.

Water Style: Water Formation Wall!

Water surged from his mouth, rising into a broad defensive wall five paces in radius.

Though Tsunade wasn’t a Water-style user herself, she’d seen enough skilled water-nin to know—this was impressive.

At Kyōhiko’s current level, this jutsu alone already placed him above average.

From her last visit to now…

It had only been a few days.

Yet his progress was massive.

Tsunade’s expression grew serious.

At first, she’d just wanted to help a promising young boy—someone distantly from her clan.

But now…

She couldn’t help seeing glimpses of her late brother, Nawaki, in him.

If Nawaki had even half of Kyōhiko’s strength… he might still be alive.

Her eyes dimmed with grief.

“Lady Tsunade, I heard from Sensei that the meeting didn’t go well. But I think you shouldn’t take it to heart. Any kind of reform—”

“Kid, that’s not your concern,” Tsunade cut him off, regaining her composure. “I was just… thinking of something else.”

She turned away, tossing a scroll over to him.

“Read this. But don’t go trying stupid things.”

“…What is it?”

Kyōhiko opened it.

There was no title—just neatly written content. The ink was still fresh, like it had been written that very afternoon.

The topic?

Monster Strength Jutsu.

“This… is the Monster Strength technique?”

“Monster Strength, huh? That name works, I suppose,” Tsunade said. “It’s not far off from what you imagined—rapid chakra refinement, accumulation, and explosive release. Sounds easy, but very few can actually do it.”

Her face grew stern.

“Now tell me. You know what your problem is?”

“After reading Lord Tobirama’s notes, I realized something—chakra and speed are similar. If it moves too fast, you lose control. And when that happens, it rebounds back on the user.”

“Exactly.”

She was impressed.

This kid's comprehension is insane.

But she kept a neutral expression.

“Identifying a problem is easy. Do you have a solution?”

“Slowing down the refinement, easing up on the output. But in critical situations, I think it’s acceptable to risk injury for greater power. I don’t believe I should always hold back.”

Kyōhiko answered smoothly.

He had a ready plan—the insights gained from leveling up the technique.

Still…

“Slowing down” was relative.

For most ninja, even Proficient-level Monster Strength demanded extreme chakra control and physical resilience.

Tsunade smiled.

“Nice theory. But can you actually do it?”

“I haven’t dared to try full power yet—I don’t want to injure myself. But I think I can.”

Before, Kyōhiko had been below the required standard.

Now?

His chakra control was no longer an issue.

Such was the power of “Skill Level +1.”

Still, Tsunade had warned him many times not to test it recklessly—so he didn’t claim too much.

“Try it.”

“…You’re letting me?”

“I don’t need to see it to heal it.”

Tsunade replied calmly.

Kyōhiko nodded.

“Alright!”

He stood, recalling the key steps.

Then, he began refining chakra, slowly and deliberately.

Moments later—

Boom!

The ground cracked and caved inward, forming a crater the size of a washbasin.

Kyōhiko checked his arm carefully.

“Lady Tsunade, no injuries.”

“Let me see.”

Tsunade walked over and examined his arm, using her chakra to sense for damage.

She gave a light nod—but inside, she was stunned.

He really did it.

This kid…

Is a genius!

She didn’t know exactly how talented Tobirama was as a child—but she figured it couldn’t be much more than this.

In truth, even Tsunade hadn’t gone through what Kyōhiko had.

She’d always possessed strong chakra control. For her, Monster Strength came naturally. Her limits were based on chakra reserves and physical maturity.

But problems like "insufficient chakra control"?

She’d never experienced that.

She’d never needed to deconstruct and simplify the jutsu.

That was the burden of geniuses.

And now—Kyōhiko had done it.

And made it work.

“Try using a bit more chakra.”

“Got it.”

Kyōhiko tried again.

This time—

He increased the speed of refinement, gathering, and compression by around 10 to 20 percent.

Then—

Boom!!

One punch.

The ground exploded—dirt and stone flying apart.

The power was far greater than before—definitely more than a 20% increase.

“Did you notice?”

“Even small increases in chakra make a huge difference in output. But… I think this is my current limit. Any more and I’ll start hurting myself.”

Kyōhiko shared his thoughts candidly.

"You’re not compressing fast enough. That’s why it’s hard to push further.