In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 441 Association Selection
The documents that Ebizo produced seemed numerous, but in reality...

There are indeed many.

Even though Shimizu created more than twenty shadow clones on the spot, it still took him a whole morning to roughly finish dealing with these things.

If it were a normal office job, it would take more than a week to resolve.

Ordinary ninjas could never play like him. Firstly, they don't have that much chakra, and secondly, their mental strength can't withstand it.

The memories, fatigue, and pain of the shadow clones are all transmitted to the original body when the clones are released. The more shadow clones created, the greater the burden on the original body.

Therefore, even a monster like Hashirama Senju, whose chakra reserves were equivalent to most of the Nine-Tails, would not do this for an extended period.

Of course, that's because Lord Hashirama has a smart little brother as an external brain.

A typical counterexample is Naruto at thirty years old. He sends a bunch of shadow clones out to do work. Even if he is very energetic, he might be able to keep it up for a few days, but he can't maintain it in the long run.

At sixteen, Naruto, under the guidance of Kakashi, Yamato, and Asuma, was able to master the basic transformation of Wind Release chakra nature in just a few days by using a large number of shadow clones. However, sixteen years later, at the age of thirty-two, Naruto suffered from middle-aged kidney deficiency due to the long-term overuse of shadow clones, even using them to do things as simple as a cat climbing a tree. The shadow clones collapsed at his daughter's birthday party.

However, Shimizu should be better than these two.

His recovery ability is stronger than the other two, and his mental strength is also more vigorous and powerful. As long as he is restrained and doesn't do everything himself like that fool Naruto, and pays attention to recuperating afterward, he can still achieve the effect of one person being equivalent to dozens or even hundreds of people.

After that, Shimizu did not intend to put his energy into such matters again.

Even after becoming the Kazekage, he would still delegate most of his official duties to Ebizo and the Third Kazekage.

His time and energy shouldn't be wasted on things that others can do as well.

For example, the transplantation of tailed beasts; in Chiyo's absence, only he possessed the sealing techniques to seal tailed beasts, and the teaching of mental training methods to jinchūriki.

After completing the tailed beast transplant, Shimizu plans to dedicate only a portion of his energy to follow-up training.

Because what truly deserves his greatest effort is advancing in the field of science and technology.

After a short rest at noon, Shimizu created another shadow clone and sent it to the temple where Monk Bunfuku lived to check on his and One-Tail's condition. Then, he plunged into the puppet army's laboratory.

……

……

One punch the world.

In a gym in City D.

"One hundred and ninety-seven, one hundred and ninety-eight, one hundred and ninety-nine... two hundred!"

Qingshui exhaled a shallow breath of white air, jumped off the horizontal bar, and panted heavily.

Lately, besides using the materials he bought to create puppets and learn about various aspects of this world, his main task has been to train and strive to improve his physical fitness.

Thanks to the breathing technique, he not only gained more physical strength and power, but also improved the effectiveness of his training, and even his digestive ability was enhanced.

With the added healing aids of medical ninjutsu and ample nutritional supplements, his physical condition now far surpasses that of special forces soldiers. His lung capacity is also sufficient to support the normal breathing technique. Relying solely on taijutsu and swordsmanship, he can achieve combat strength approaching that of a Pillar.

The speed at which his physical abilities improved truly surprised Shimizu.

Because whether it's the Marvel universe or the incarnation in the One-Man universe, the body is actually being strengthened according to this process, but at a much slower pace.

Moreover, in theory, once a human body reaches this level of physical training, it will have reached its limit without any other special training methods or opportunities. However, Shimizu felt that his physical fitness could be improved by a large margin.

The upper limit of normal human beings in this world seems to be very high.

"Wow, impressive! Handsome guy, two hundred pull-ups! You're no ordinary person."

A sexy girl in a white yoga outfit, showing off her abs, stepped off the treadmill next to her and handed Qingshui a bottle of mineral water.

Being hit on?

"Thank you, but no need, I brought my own water."

Shimizu refused, took a thermos from the backpack on the shelf next to her, opened it, and started drinking it down.

The subtle herbal aroma flowed into my throat, replenishing my fluids and energy.

This is a recovery drink that he made himself by buying medicine from a pharmacy. It tastes alright and can quickly relieve fatigue, nourish the body, and repair muscles.

However, for the average person, this might be too much of a supplement, causing nosebleeds after just a few bites.

"What, are you worried I'll drug you?"

The girl smiled slightly, put away the mineral water bottle, and looked at the man in front of her with a somewhat hungry gaze in her beautiful eyes.

He was of medium to high height, with a fairly handsome face. He was probably in his early thirties, not too old but not too young either. He was dressed simply, wearing only a sports vest that looked like an old man's shirt, but the backpack he was carrying was not cheap.

He must come from a fairly well-off family, and he's also quite strong.

Through the sweat, you can clearly see two strong but not bulky pectoral muscles, and a few abdominal muscles that are faintly visible below.

Most importantly, this girl personally witnessed Shimizu doing over two hundred weighted squats while exercising her lower body that morning!

This physical condition, this core strength, is absolutely one in a million super pile driver!

In the normal world, if someone could do two hundred weighted squats in one go, followed by two hundred pull-ups, they would probably be so scared that they would be sent to a laboratory for biopsy.

But in the world of One-Punch Man, while it is very rare, it is not something earth-shattering.

After all, there are martial artists who can fight against peak Dragon-level monsters with their fists and feet. Shimizu's kind of people are just above the peak of ordinary humans, but they don't have a huge gap. They can't be said to be particularly common, but there are indeed quite a few.

At least within the Hero Association, many physical-type B and C-class heroes can do the same thing, or even surpass it.

"Yes, that's right, there are many people who lust after my body."

He tightened the cap on the thermos, put it back in his backpack, and glanced at the woman in front of him.

She has a great figure, wears light makeup, and is quite pretty, scoring over 80 overall. She's probably a few years younger than me, around 27 or 28.

A young woman who is definitely working out, possibly a fitness enthusiast.

This was the first impression the young woman left on Shimizu.

"Never opened a lid before? Be careful, handsome. My name is Lingzi, I'm twenty-eight. What about you?"

Reiko opened the mineral water bottle, took a sip, swallowed, and then rinsed it with water to show the bottle.

"Just call me Shimizu, I'm six years older than you." "At this age, even if you're not married, you should have a girlfriend, right?"

"No, I've been busy with work, and I only recently had some time."

Reiko was smart enough not to ask why she was so busy with work before, but now she doesn't have time.

"You look very professional when you practice your legs, could you give me some pointers?"

There are fitness instructors nearby, so why not ask one to come to you instead of asking him? His intentions are obvious.

As Shimizu picked up his backpack, he said:

"I'm busy today, I have to leave soon, but we can exchange contact information. If you have any questions in the future, I can help you."

Yeah, I'm getting the hang of it.

“Great! I exercise here every weekend from nine in the morning until noon, and sometimes I come here in the evening too.”

"Okay, see you tomorrow morning."

Shimizu nodded to Reiko, and after they exchanged contact information, he walked out alone.

He doesn't really mind developing potential casual sex partners, as long as the other person is relatively healthy and doesn't have any weird ailments.

Both parties are simply looking for someone they find acceptable to satisfy their physical needs; there's no need to take it too seriously.

How do you say that?

Good girls shouldn't be let down, and bad girls shouldn't be wasted either.

After leaving the gym, I went back to take a hot shower and had lunch. Then, I rested for a while, counting down the days, and checked the puppets I had been building over the past few days.

[Puppet Name]: Black Knight

[Comprehensive Specifications]:
Height: 158 cm
Weight: 65.21kg
Materials: Lightweight alloys, high-quality steel, lightweight composite materials...

Energy: High-energy batteries

Operation method: Chakra threads

[Puppet Rating]: A (A+)

[Overall Evaluation]: This half-body armored puppet was created due to a shortage of materials, and can only cover the area below the neck. However, due to the maker's superb craftsmanship, it has excellent performance and leaves room for improvement.

Shimizu was not entirely satisfied with the newly created puppet.

However, due to the fact that this avatar's social status in this world has not yet risen, it is unable to access the channels for purchasing truly rare and high-quality materials, and its own funds are not particularly abundant.

Having saved enough money for several years of normal living, this Black Warrior set, which Shimizu considers to be only half-finished, is already the limit for the current stage.

There is insufficient time for the development of magical artifacts, and a lack of sufficient equipment for nanotechnology. The Ark Reactor is also impossible to manufacture because it cannot be made into nanorobots, which are used as a restraining technology, and there is no particle accelerator capable of synthesizing palladium and ruthenium isotopes.

However, considering the recent monster attacks seen on television news, and the strength displayed by the various monsters and heroes of the Hero Association, Shimizu felt that Black Warrior should be sufficient.

At least when facing high-level disasters, as long as you are careful enough, escaping and saving your life should not be a problem.

Meanwhile, as Shimizu learns more about this world, she discovers even more surprises.

While both are modern urban worlds, the development of technology here is indeed different from that of Marvel, DC, and the One-Man universe, and the differences are quite significant.

Perhaps because of the lack of large-scale wars in modern history, but the occasional appearance of strange beings causing large-scale disasters in human society, the technology here tends to focus on enhancing individual combat power, while the civilian sector is similar to that of normal, relatively developed and peaceful countries.

At least when Shimizu was researching what would be suitable for creating the Black Warrior, he discovered that there were significant differences between this world and other worlds in the fields of materials science and energy.

A variety of new materials, including alloys, plastics, and glass, have been developed, many of which possess excellent properties. Scientists in this world have also made many innovations in fields such as batteries and fuels, just like the high-energy battery that he has now installed on the Black Knight.

This is just a mid-range product; there are also products with higher energy densities.

With lightweight, high-strength metals and high-energy-density energy technologies, it's no wonder that this world can produce a bunch of cyborgs and robots.

After inspecting the Black Warrior, Shimizu took out several documents that had already been stamped from the drawer, went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed to the Hero Association branch in D City.

He was going to participate in the Hero Association's biannual selection process.

When Shimizu first descended into this incarnation, after learning the specifics, she planned to start with the Hero Association's hero selection process, transforming herself into a high-level hero in order to open up channels for acquiring luck, accessing various high-tech technologies, and improving her strength.

Since there was still a week left before registration closed, Shimizu decided to register as well.

It's not that there are no other ways to reach a high position, but after thinking it over, Shimizu really couldn't think of a more effortless and simpler method.

S-class heroes are a symbol of strength and status; having this status makes many things much easier.

Shimizu wouldn't dare say that with his current strength he could definitely climb directly to S-rank, but A-rank shouldn't be a problem.

A-level heroes are already among the best in the hero industry. Although they can't compare to S-level heroes, they still earn a considerable income. With this status, it will be much easier for them to do many things, allowing them to access some technologies and acquire some resources. At that time, they should be able to advance to S-level at a relatively fast pace.

The taxi slowly came to a stop in front of the branch square of the Hero Association in D City.

Shimizu stepped out of the car with the driver's blessing and looked around at the scene before her.

The queue in the square was much shorter than it had been two days earlier, and candidates with various expressions walked out of the venue, most of them looking dejected.

Because there are many people who dream of becoming heroes, every time there is a selection, those who consider themselves to have some ability will come to try. Thousands of people will participate in the hero selection at various branch venues in the 26 major cities of the supercontinent.

The Hero Association selection in City D was held over three days. Shimizu registered relatively late, so he participated in the selection on the last day.

Fortunately, it was the last day, and most of the candidates had already finished their tests, so Shimizu didn't have to wait in line for too long.

After submitting the materials, Shimizu waited for about ten minutes before hearing her name and name announced over the loudspeaker and walking into the venue.

"Excuse me, I have some special equipment; can I use it together during testing?"

Before the test even started, while waiting in the waiting area, Shimizu approached a staff member and asked...

"The special equipment you're referring to is..."

The staff member in the blue overalls looked at the unarmed Shimizu and asked in bewilderment.

Shimizu smiled slightly and showed off a modified wristwatch on his left wrist.

(End of this chapter)