Shizune slowly pushed open the door and saw Lady Tsunade sitting at her desk, brow furrowed in deep concentration.
She carefully placed the cup of coffee in front of her and said softly,
"Lady Tsunade, you've been overworking yourself again. That Martial Arts System isn't something you can just master overnight."
Shizune had also studied the Martial Arts System, but she had never practiced it herself.
To be honest, her talent wasn't exceptional. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been overtaken by Sakura later on.
If she hadn't been able to fully master Medical Ninjutsu, how could she hope to succeed at anything else?
Tsunade, on the other hand, had already pushed her abilities to their limits. Unless she could master Sage Mode from Shikkotsu Forest, there was little room left for her to grow.
Yet her mindset had always been a barrier, making it difficult for her to achieve it. Ironically, it was Jiraiya—the so-called "dead last" of the Sannin—who managed to learn Sage Mode, raising his strength above the other two.
And now, this new path of Martial Arts had captured Tsunade's interest.
Unlike ninjutsu, Martial Arts cultivation wasn't as bound by talent.
Almost anyone could begin training in it, though how far they progressed depended on their potential. Chakra, on the other hand, was heavily tied to innate talent—without it, many shinobi never advanced beyond the rank of Genin or Chūnin.
By contrast, Martial Arts could be practiced by everyone. The drawback was its immense consumption of food and resources.
As the saying went: "poor in literature, rich in martial arts." Wealthy clans could provide their children with medicinal supplements and training resources from an early age, laying down strong foundations.
"Shizune, you don't understand," Tsunade said, her eyes bright with excitement.
"The deeper I research this system, the more potential I see. This could revolutionize the entire shinobi world."
Her study of Martial Arts had even deepened her understanding of medicine and the human body. She realized the human body held mysteries far beyond her imagination—and perhaps, by exploring them, she could refine her medical techniques even further.
Lately, Tsunade had even begun experimenting with merging her Strength of a Hundred and Monstrous Strength taijutsu with the Martial Arts System. Since Martial Arts cultivated vital energy rather than chakra, she needed to adapt her techniques to work with this new power source.
Unlike Naruto, who had the extraordinary ability of "Heaven Rewards Diligence," Tsunade's progress wasn't as swift or instinctive.
But with her medical knowledge and her taijutsu foundation, especially referencing the Strong Fist style, she had already made significant progress.
She had quickly passed through the Body Strengthening Stage and was nearly finished with Organ Refinement. If she hadn't taken extra time to refine her foundations, she might already be in the next realm.
The Body Strengthening Stage was vital—it purified vital energy, strengthened the body, and laid the groundwork for all future cultivation. A shinobi's progress at this stage depended entirely on their talent and accumulated training.
The system wasn't about dramatic breakthroughs like in fantasy tales. Instead, once the body was refined and enough vital energy accumulated, it could be guided to temper the bones.
Bone tempering usually began with the limbs, then the torso, and finally the skull. One didn't need to temper every single bone to advance—achieving around half was enough to step into the next stage. But those who cut corners would pay the price later, their growth forever capped.
After bone tempering came tendon refinement, creating the state known as "steel tendons and iron bones." At this point, the body became extremely resilient, and vital energy could be condensed into forms powerful enough to clash with ninjutsu.
Their defense against ninjutsu would also skyrocket. Just like the Raikage—most techniques that hit him were little more than tickles.
The Yotsuki clan, to which the Raikage belonged, were naturally suited for body-focused techniques. If they cultivated Martial Arts, they would undoubtedly become fearsome warriors.
After tempering the internal organs, the human body becomes almost fully refined—like a living weapon. At this stage, one can even achieve internal respiration, breathing not only through the lungs but through the very pores of the skin.
Beyond that, further progress requires drawing upon the power of nature itself—Natural Energy—and fusing it with one's own vital energy to form something akin to Senjutsu Chakra.
At that level, splitting mountains and parting seas would no longer be impossible feats.
Such a realm would be comparable to the likes of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara.
Once vital energy is completely transformed, the practitioner could rival the peak of the Super Kage tier—the level of Hashirama in his prime, or Madara before awakening the Rinnegan.
And beyond even that lies the path of the Six Paths.
Naruto had already glimpsed the way toward the Six Paths through Chakra. But for Martial Arts to reach that same height, Naruto would first need to raise Martial Arts itself to the Super Kage level—not just his Chakra.
In Naruto's vision, once Martial Arts reached Super Kage, it should awaken a certain attribute, granting effects similar to Ninjutsu.
At that point, Martial Arts would evolve into something like Martial Divine Power, eventually converging with the world's greater forces—leading back to the Six Paths. But whether it would surpass or fall short of traditional Shinobi power would ultimately depend on the individual.
At present, however, the method for absorbing Natural Energy through Martial Arts had yet to be revealed. If Tsunade were to learn of it now, she would be utterly stunned.
Even as it was, Martial Arts already pointed directly to the Kage level, which in the current Shinobi World was considered the pinnacle. Only a few techniques, such as Sage Mode, could push one even further—and those were vanishingly rare.
What made Martial Arts truly revolutionary was that its path to the Super Kage level was open to almost everyone. As long as one completed Organ Refinement and fully tempered the body, it became possible to withstand the baptism of Natural Energy and undergo the transformation of vital energy.
Yet reaching this step was anything but simple. Unless the earlier stages—bone tempering and organ refinement—were polished to an extremely high degree, most would never survive the erosion of Natural Energy, let alone transform it.
In these days, Tsunade had been tirelessly researching how to adapt her Monstrous Strength techniques to Martial Arts.
"Monstrous Strength relies on explosive bursts," she muttered, brows knitted in frustration. "It works seamlessly with Chakra, so why does the effect weaken when converted to Martial Arts?"
She paused, her expression tightening as a thought struck her.
"No… no, something is wrong. Monstrous Strength doesn't simply rely on raw output—it lies in precise condensation of power at a single point!"
Her eyes widened, and she slapped her hand against the table, sparks of inspiration flooding her mind.
So far, she had only managed a crude transformation of Monstrous Strength into Martial Arts. It allowed her to channel vital energy, but without true compression, the strikes felt hollow and lacked weight.
"It seems there's still so much more to learn about manipulating vital energy," Tsunade whispered to herself. Vital energy was not the same as Chakra—it was not simply a matter of channeling. The methods of using it were vastly different, and she had only scratched the surface.
Over the past few days, she had revised her adaptation several times, each version bringing her closer to true refinement.
Now, standing before a massive stone outcrop, a hill-sized boulder tens of meters tall, she prepared to test her latest attempt.
"Monstrous Strength Fist!"
Her punch shot forward, and the force exploded outward like a cannon blast. The hilltop erupted, stone shattering into fragments as the shockwave carved a crater into the earth beneath her feet.
Tsunade's lips curled into a rare smile. She hadn't even used her full power, and already her strength had grown by nearly thirty percent. What's more, her enhanced physique meant her body could endure this power without strain.
Strength was reciprocal: the stronger the body, the more force it could unleash without tearing itself apart. And Tsunade was only beginning to unlock Martial Arts' true potential.
...
TN:
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