Chapter 46: Comprehensive Enhancement

By the riverside forest, Sasuke finished another grueling training session, panting heavily. He felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction because he still hadn't mastered the instantaneous chakra transformation.

Although his teacher Aoba had emphasized that even many Jōnin struggled to complete such training in this time frame, Sasuke felt frustrated. He couldn't shake the feeling that if it were that person, they would have already accomplished it.

Yes, despite his intense hatred for Itachi, Sasuke had to admit that Uchiha Itachi was a terrifying enemy. From a young age, he had observed Itachi's development and knew firsthand how formidable his older brother was.

Reflecting on it now, Itachi had already developed in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu to an exceptional level at a very young age. If it had been him, he would surely have completed this training faster.

Sasuke looked at his trembling right hand, once again cursing his own incompetence. He desperately wanted to learn the technique known as the Lightning Bolt.

Aoba had demonstrated the technique's effect for him. Its extreme speed and penetrating power made it an unparalleled and powerful jutsu.

Once executed, Sasuke believed that this jutsu was nearly impossible to evade. The incomprehensible high-speed trajectory of the attack gave him hope of defeating Uchiha Itachi.

Yet, the technique was incredibly difficult. He hadn't even managed to get the basics down.

"Hey, Sasuke, still training here? Tomorrow is the weekend, and I've invited Shikamaru and the others for grilled fish by the river. We'll catch the fish ourselves."

Naruto's voice was as energetic as ever.

In this timeline, Aoba had taught Naruto some basic ninja techniques in advance, significantly improving his combat abilities.

Not to mention, Naruto's physical capabilities were astonishing. His chakra could be described in tons. As long as he learned to utilize this, it would be very difficult for the other kids at school to defeat him in combat.

However, Naruto was still a poor student in theoretical classes and ninjutsu. He struggled with the Clone Technique.

Konoha's ninja school graduation exam focused on the Clone Technique. The absurdity was that Naruto was unfamiliar with all three forms of this technique.

According to the plot, the initial scene of Naruto becoming Hokage was likely unavoidable.

Honestly, Konoha's decision to teach Naruto the Shadow Clone Technique was a brilliant move.

No one was more suited for this jutsu than Naruto. With his large chakra reserves, he could maintain more clones. His thick-skinned nature allowed him to endure more mental feedback.

Undoubtedly, the Shadow Clone Technique was the result of research by Konoha's higher-ups. This indicated their significant interest in Naruto.

This was also why he had minimal contact with Naruto. Interacting with Sasuke was still manageable, but interacting with Naruto could trigger the nerves of those old-timers.

After a few attempts, he, who had no intention of falling out with Konoha, chose to take a step back. He focused solely on training Sasuke.

In truth, his initial goal was always Sasuke. After all, Naruto's style was entirely incompatible with his own. Naruto couldn't possibly learn Aoba's methods.

At Aoba's laboratory, five months after the transplant of Hashirama's cells:

"Initiating the forty-first test."

Aoba conducted a comprehensive check on his body once again.

Since the transplant of Hashirama's cells, due to the exceptionally slow fusion process, he had been vigilant, frequently conducting thorough checks on his body.

The feedback was consistently positive. His body was undergoing comprehensive enhancement.

Muscle strength, cell vitality, and chakra capacity—all attributes were rapidly increasing. Hashirama's cells, as the official enhancement of the Hokage, had an immediate effect.

Yumi and Kakashi, who had worked together to perform a detailed examination, reached a conclusion.

"Aoba, according to these results, your body has completely integrated with Hashirama's cells. There is no sign of adverse rejection or any abnormal mutations. This is a perfect fusion process. How do you feel?"

"Very good."

Aoba extended his right hand, and a ball of lightning gathered there. This was the precursor to releasing the Lightning Bolt technique. Based on his previous chakra capacity, he could use this technique a maximum of three times in succession.

By pushing himself hard, he could manage around five times.

Now, he felt he could use it approximately... one hundred times. In other words, his chakra volume had increased more than twenty-fold.

This was merely the test right after the fusion. In reality, with continued practice and extraction, his total chakra volume was expected to increase further. It might eventually stabilize at around forty to fifty times his original capacity.

In practical terms, this amount of chakra was more than sufficient for standard ninja combat and even wars.

However, for him, this was barely adequate. Indeed, it was only just sufficient. He was still far from achieving the level of chakra akin to a Tailed Beast.

But this was only the first step of his plan, and it had been successfully accomplished.

Moreover, aside from chakra, the most significant change was in his physical condition.

It was no exaggeration to say that he now possessed a physique comparable to the Uzumaki clan. He didn't say Senju because, apart from Hashirama, the rest of the Senju clan couldn't compare.

He could feel that his sheer physical strength had doubled, and his stamina had more than tripled. This was a hallmark of the Uzumaki clan's unique physique.

The comprehensive enhancement of physical strength and chakra, combined with the acceleration effect of his Wind Release, made his speed soar.

To put it directly, if he encountered the Raikage now, he wouldn't need to enter Sage Mode to match his speed. Moreover, he would no longer need to rush for a quick victory as he did before.

His abundant chakra and stamina allowed him to engage with the Raikage for extended periods. Under these conditions, if he entered Sage Mode, he was even seventy percent confident of defeating or even killing the Raikage head-on.

Unquestionably, after this surgery, he had genuinely achieved an elite level of power.

The only regret he had was that although he had completed the integration of Hashirama's cells, he had not yet discovered the potential for Wood Release.

Fortunately, he hadn't had a particular desire for Wood Release, so he wasn't too concerned. Kakashi, on the other hand, seemed somewhat disappointed.

As a native of Konoha, Kakashi clearly had a stronger emotional attachment to Wood Release than Aoba.

However, Aoba soon noticed another change in himself, one that was even more important to him than Wood Release.

He discovered that after the fusion of Hashirama's cells, his new body's attributes had been nearly fully completed.

Indeed, Aoba now possessed the five basic elemental attributes—Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Lightning—along with the Yang attribute. The only attribute missing was the Yin attribute.

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