Chapter 129 - 6th Year Begins

'497… 498… 499… 500!'

Daichi was in a handstand position and completed his 500 push ups. At that moment the quest was updated and gave him the tasks that needed to be completed for the 6th year.

[Ongoing quest - 'Path to the strongest' updated.]

'Ok. What do I have to do this time?'

[Tasks to complete this year have been updated. Training clothes in your inventory have been modified. Wear them when completing the daily quests.]

[Conditions:]

[Complete 500 Push ups (Daily)]

[Complete 500 Squats (Daily)]

[Complete 500 Punches (Daily)

[Run 10 Kilometers (Daily)]

[Complete at least 1 Dungeon before the end of March next year.]

[Master at least 2 advanced Nature transformation skills.]

[Complete academic assignments before the final exam of this curriculum.]

[Reach level 50 before the end of next March.]

.

[Rewards:]

[Status Recovery (Daily)]

[Random Reward(Weekly)]

[+3 Stat Points (Weekly) ]

[+10,000 Exp clearing a Dungeon.]

[Reward for clearing additional dungeons.]

[+2 Levels increase in the skill Chakra Affinity for successfully learning 2 advanced Nature transformation skills.]

[New Title.]

[+35 stat points.]

'The daily and weekly rewards are still the same. +2 Levels to the 'Chakra Affinity' skill, huh! 35 stat points? That'll definitely come in handy… New title!? Wonder which one it'll be this time…'

[Failure:]

[Penalty Dungeon.]

[-100 Stat points. ]

[Death.]

'Wow the penalty this time is massive. Taking away 100 stat points… That's not good. Well it's not worse than death I suppose… I need to reach level 50 before next March. Looks like I might have to complete more than one dungeon this time.

[Accept] (Y/N)

Without wasting time Daichi accepted the quest.

[Weighted Training Clothes] [Rare Item: Rank C]

[...Consists of 2 leg warmers to be worn below the knee and 2 arm sleeves to be worn below the elbow. Each weighing exactly 30 KG.

Consists of 1 undershirt and 1 trouser to be worn under the clothes. Each weighing exactly 70 KG.]

'260 Kilos… It'll be easy if it was just for the workout but since I'm wearing them all day that's gonna be a drain on my stamina… Well… Since that's the only way I'd get to improve my physical stats, I have no choice. I gotta do what I gotta do.'

At that moment a new notification appeared. It seemed more like a system warning than anything else.

[Once the conditions for this year's quest are successfully cleared, You will be given the choice to graduate or wait one more year… Choose carefully.]

Daichi's eyes widened as he read that… 'Graduate at the end of this year? That means I'll be graduating with Lee's year group… I'll be a Genin ninja one year ahead of everyone else in my class… But should I take it… I'll make a decision at the end… Right now I need to focus on getting stronger and completing the tasks assigned to me…'

The month of April went by quickly as Daichi began training in his Wind Chakra nature. He was able to completely Max out the Leaf cutting skill in just 10 days. He also perfectly performed his tasks as a medic at the hospital. He learned almost everything from Tsunade regarding medical techniques.

He also challenged her to some form of gamble every week only to win and it made Daichi somewhat frustrated, which had Tsunade and Shizune confused.

As the month came to an end, Tsunade called Daichi over to her temporary home. She had two scrolls in her hands. A Green scroll and a slightly larger Red scroll.

Daichi had a serious look on his face as Tsunade handed him a green scroll. "I believe you are more than capable of mastering this…"

Daichi looked at the scroll and his eyes widened. He had an idea as to what it is. "Wait, is this what I think it is…?"

Tsunade smiled and nodded her head in confirmation.

"The Strength of the Hundred Seal. This is a jutsu I learned from information I read in one of my grandmother's journals. This scroll contains the information on how to store your chakra, maintain it in your body without loss and when completed use it without restriction. To use this jutsu one must have absolute control over their chakra. So this is perfect for you. But make sure you read everything in there before you get started."

Daichi held the scroll as if he was holding something precious. "Yeah…"

Tsunade continued. "With the Release of the chakra stored, you'll easily be able to use ninjutsu that would otherwise have been too taxing for your body."

"But that's not all, is it? You mastered this and used it as a parent jutsu for the Creation Rebirth technique…"

"Yes. I've watched my grandfather heal without even needing to weave hand seals. I wanted to reach that level. But during my early years I learned that it was impossible to reach that feat with just normal level jutsus. And after having witnessed the horrors of war, I created it with the purpose of protecting my comrades."

Tsunade had a sad smile as she remembered the faces of her lost friends and families. Two significant people stayed at the forefront of her mind. She sighed and looked at Daichi with a certain fondness.

Over the course of last year she had grown to like the boy. His determination, strength, abilities and personality made her smile. Daichi had a realistic yet optimistic view of the world which fascinated her. He was the first person aside from Shizune she felt close to in a long time. She didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"Daichi! Make sure to learn the Creation Rebirth jutsu. That should be your first priority once you've mastered the Strength of the Hundred Seal."

"I will."

Tsunade then asked Daichi a question he was half expecting.

"I'm sure you know that I hold a summoning contract. I'm the summoner of the Slug Katsuyu from the Shikkotsu Forest. If you sign a summoning contract with Katsuyu you'll be able to symbiotically link your seal to Katsuyu and have her use healing chakra… There are also other benefits but I'm sure you can learn them when the time comes… So what do you say? Do you want to sign the summoner contract with her…"

Daichi was somewhat dreading this question. He already promised Kensei that he would sign a contract with the Tiger clan.

'I already gave my word to the old man that I would make a pact with the Tiger clan… And he told me they won't like it if I sign a contract with another creature. Then again I have to pass some test to become their summoner, so…'

Tsunade could see that Daichi was having trouble answering her question. It only took a few moments to figure out the reason.

"Don't tell me… You already signed a contract with the Tiger clan?" She asked the boy.

"No. But before I came to the capital, he had me meet one of them. He said I would be allowed to take the test and become a summoner. Told me not to sign any other contracts." Daichi replied with an awkward smile.

A tick mark formed on Tsunade's forehead. "That sneaky old geezer." She mumbled to herself. She looked at Daichi and then sighed.

"What do you want to do Daichi?" Tsunade asked calmly.

Daichi thought about it for a few more seconds and gave his answer. "I already made a promise to him. I can't break it."

The slug sannin let out a sigh. "Are you sure? You won't get this offer again?"

"I'm sure. I know it would be great to have Katsuyu as my summoner but I feel that I belong with the Tiger clan."

"Since you've made up your mind, I'm not gonna force you… BUT that doesn't mean I'm happy about it…" With those words she punched a nearby table, crushing it to small pieces.

[You have sensed killing intent.]

Seeing Tsunade mad, Daichi immediately took the contingency he had prepared. "Oh, look what I have sensei…!"

With those words Daichi took a bottle from his sleeve and shook it in front of the angry woman. Tsunade's eyes followed the bottle in Daichi's hand.

"This is the finest sake from the mountains of the lightning country. I remembered you saying that it was great and wanted to try it… So I got it for you…"

Daichi bought the bottle at the Fire Capital's Auction house at a great price for just such an occasion. And at this moment, he felt that it was worth every Ryo.

Tsunade took the bottle from Daichi's hand in an instant and smelled the sake inside… She smiled as soon as she got a whiff of that fine aged alcohol. She laughed and looked at the kid.

"Hmm! You're a great student Daichi. I'm glad I taught you." With those words she took a swig from the bottle and then sighed happily.

Seeing his teacher appeased, Daichi let out a sigh of relief. 'Crisis averted.'

At that moment he noticed the Red scroll in her other hand. 'What is that? Another medical ninjutsu technique?'

"Umm… What's in that scroll, sensei?"

Tsunade looked at the Red scroll when she heard Daichi's questions. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, she replied.

"This is a Taijutsu style developed by my grandfather and granduncle."

Daichi was shocked when he heard that. 'A Taijutsu style created by the First and Second Hokages? Holy shit! That must have some incredible techniques… The knowledge in that… That thing must be worth a fortune.'

"Wow!" Daichi was amazed that the two Hokages created a martial arts style together. "It must be powerful if it was created by the first two Kage's."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes... My grandfather had the ability to be one with nature. He observed every aspect of nature to achieve his pinnacle strength."

Daichi slightly narrowed his eyes. 'She must be talking about sage mode.'

Tsunade continued. "He observed all the elements and all the different creatures that roamed the world. It took several years but he finally understood their essence. The problem was that he couldn't properly create the martial arts style he wanted based on the essence of nature on his own. That's where my granduncle comes in. With his intelligence and technical skills he helped grandfather create the ultimate Taijutsu style. They called it the pinnacle of Martial arts. But before he could learn and master it, he passed away… And Uncle Tobirama didn't have the time to learn it as well."

"Wait. If it's so powerful then why haven't you learned it?"

"There are several things a person must understand before they learn this Taijutsu style. What they created is something more than just punches and kicks. Before you try and even learn it, you need knowledge. You need to understand the world. Or more precisely understand nature… I couldn't do it because I wasn't talented enough. And I was more focused on improving my medical skills. So I didn't bother with it… This Taijutsu style is special. Even if a person were to get a hold of this scroll, they wouldn't be able to utilize it at all. Without proper knowledge the techniques in this scroll are useless…"

Daichi was somewhat confused. 'Did Hashirama learn this after becoming a sage? Is that what she means when she says understand nature? If that's the case then that must also be why the second Hokage Tobirama Senju didn't try and learn it… Damn. Does that mean I have to be a sage if I want to learn that style? I can't exactly ask her that since information on Sage jutsu and nature chakra are so secretive that most people don't even know about it.'

"I'm giving this to you… I believe you're talented enough and have the time to learn and master this style." With those words Tsunade handed him the scroll. A quest popped up at that moment but he ignored it for the time. His eyes were on the scroll.

Daichi looked at the Red scroll in his hand. It had a label on the top.

'Flowing Fist of the Natural Order'

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Author's Note:

Any of you care to take a guess as to who I took inspiration from for the new Taijutsu?