I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 127 Your Childhood and My Childhood Seem Different

"Tatsuma is changing; he's starting to think during battle."

Everyone else viewed the duel between Tatsuma and Minato as a diversion during their journey, and Orochimaru initially thought so too. However, after watching for a while, he suddenly noticed something amiss.

No, it's not that it's wrong, it's that it's too right! Orochimaru may have thought Tatsuma's previous choices of moves were brilliant, but he would never praise them because Tatsuma was too aggressive.

Even during the battle against Iwagakure three days ago, Tatsuma hadn't corrected this flaw. But today was different; Tatsuma's choice of attack almost perfectly matched the scenario Orochimaru had envisioned in his mind.

"That's how you have to play! It makes sense."

Teacher Dahe couldn't help but praise, because in the past few rounds, whether it was Tatsuma's choice or Minato's response, it was exactly the same as what Orochimaru had rehearsed in his mind, which made Orochimaru extremely comfortable to watch.

This feeling is like having some bizarre and fantastical scenes in your mind that are hard to describe and impossible to see in reality.

But one day, a special effects artist created such a scene, which was beautiful, stunning, and perfectly matched his aesthetic and imagination.

Orochimaru's explanation also attracted the attention of Tsunade and Jiraiya, who watched the two students' sparring with admiration in their eyes.

A fight between two people in an alley is not very entertaining, but a fight between two martial arts instructors is definitely a feast for the eyes. The fight between Tatsuma and Minato in the past was like a fight between an alley master and a martial arts instructor.

Minato's ingenious designs are all overshadowed by Tatsuma's aggressive style, making the ingenuity completely invisible. However, Tatsuma has now become a martial arts instructor, and their fights are like well-designed cinematic language.

Tsunade suddenly looked at Orochimaru with displeasure and said, "Why didn't you warn that brat Tatsuma sooner?! If he had been more alert earlier, he might not have been so aggressive."

Orochimaru: ? ? ? !!!

Orochimaru looked at Tsunade's face as if he were examining an abstract work of art. He wanted to point at Tsunade's face and shout, "Big sister, that's your student! Didn't you remind me before I did?!"

Fortunately, Jiraiya spoke up at this moment, saying, "Tatsuma is too competitive. He hasn't suffered any losses before, so he wouldn't listen to reminders. It's only now that he's been injured more and has started to be wary that he's willing to listen."

All three of them felt that Tatsuma's change was due to Orochimaru's previous reminder. After all, given the level Tatsuma had demonstrated over the years, no one would consider him mediocre.

Even though Tsunade had previously thought Tatsuma was mediocre, she had long forgotten her initial judgment. Now that Tatsuma was a genius, it was still absurd that he had figured this out in three days, but it seemed much easier to accept.

"What other problems do they have? You should go and remind them; maybe they'll make progress."

Tsunade nudged Orochimaru's arm with the back of her hand, watching their duel. Orochimaru's face fell, but he still said, "The remaining problems are beyond their ability to solve at their age."

Jiraiya nodded and said, "Orochimaru is right. These two kids are only nine or ten years old. They haven't even entered puberty yet. Their physical growth is too slow, and their chakra reserves can't increase rapidly either."

"Does it have anything to do with age? I remember when I was ten, I already had a lot of strength and chakra, much better than these two kids."

Tsunade had some doubts about Jiraiya's judgment, and upon hearing her words, the other two twitched their lips.

"Minato, this victory is mine."

At this moment, Tatsuma and Minato also finished their fight. Tatsuma used his left hand to hold down Minato's hands, while Tatsuma's fist was pressed against Minato's clothes on his abdomen, without striking him.

For the first time, Minato felt utterly defeated. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

In his previous battles with Tatsuma, although he had both wins and losses, because the two had different styles, Minato sometimes chose a more conservative fighting style, so he didn't feel that the gap between him and Tatsuma was that big.

But today, Tatsuma defeated him using his most proficient method, leaving Minato somewhat bewildered. However, seeing the smile on Tatsuma's face, Minato finally smiled nonchalantly and said:

"You're still as amazing as ever, but I'll work hard to catch up."

Tatsuma smiled and released his grip, turning around to stand still. He formed a reconciliation seal with Minato, who also stood at attention. He then reached out and formed a seal, joining Tatsuma's reconciliation seal with his own.

"Ding~ [Strength +3], [Constitution +3], [Spirit +2], pick up?"

"Pick it up".

Although the gains from this kind of friendly competition are much less than those from the battlefield, it is beneficial because it is a steady and sustainable process, and Chenma will not be picky.

Although he was just a hair's breadth away from a breakthrough, Tatsuma wasn't in a hurry; it would just take a few more days.

"Alright, let's keep going."

By this time, the team had rested enough. Tsunade got up to greet them, and Tatsuma nodded. He didn't agree to another match with Minato, since with Jiraiya heavily injured, their speed wasn't fast to begin with, so there was no point in comparing them.

On the way, Tatsuma and Minato kept reviewing their previous match, each analyzing the other's shortcomings from the opponent's perspective. Given their relationship, they didn't care whether telling the truth would hurt anyone.

When Jiraiya couldn't take it anymore and needed to rest, the two would continue sparring, which can be said to be a true embodiment of the unity of knowledge and action. Sometimes the two would also exchange ninjutsu or sensory perception.

After entering the Land of Fire, Minato's previously learned sensory techniques finally came into play. Although he couldn't use the water and earth-related techniques yet, he gained a lot from his sensory techniques enhanced by wind release.

This is thanks to the climate of the Land of Fire. Although the climate of the Land of Fire is not as dry as that of the Land of Wind, and there is plenty of moisture in the air, it does not have the humid feeling of the Land of Rain, nor does it hinder the spread of Minato's chakra.

Three more days passed, and the group finally returned to the village. They heard that the Land of Rain hadn't overturned the table yet, but Danzo and Chiyo had both chosen to stop and were making a show of negotiating properly, so they might be able to stall for time.

After several days of continuous battles with Minato, Tatsuma finally pushed the upper limit of his [Strength] and [Spirit] talents to 10000 points, and as Tatsuma had expected, he also unlocked additional boosts.

"Refinement: 4107/10043 [Additional Amplification (To be Unlocked)]"

Additional amplification direction options are available:

【Massive Capacity】: When activated, it additionally increases the body's chakra capacity, gradually increasing as the talent progresses, but does not change the chakra refining speed.

[Rejuvenation]: When activated, it provides an additional boost to chakra extraction speed and physical endurance, gradually increasing as the talent progresses, but does not change the overall chakra capacity.

One option offers a larger capacity, while the other increases the refining speed and allows the body to extract more chakra. Without hesitation, Tatsuma chose the [massive capacity] option.

Based on his battlefield energy over the past year, he would rarely need to refine and restore chakra during battle, or rather, he wouldn't dare to do so, since distraction on the battlefield is fatal.

Therefore, he was very careful with his chakra allocation, always reserving enough chakra for a Rasengan and for using the Body Flicker Technique to escape. He wasn't too concerned about chakra recovery.

Directly increasing his chakra reserves would allow him to use more ninjutsu in each battle without having to be stingy. As for the speed of chakra refining, Tatsuma didn't think he was slow, and he just needed to prepare before the battle.

Moreover, the name "Rejuvenation" always easily distracted Tatsuma, since during the time he trained with Jiraiya, he was often taken to stroll around the streets where the "Rejuvenation" massage parlor was located.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya, unlike Tsunade who was a gambling addict, knew not to pass on his bad habits to his juniors. Therefore, it was always Jiraiya who went to the clinic for treatment, while he and Minato could only wait at a nearby beverage shop.

Choosing the additional amplification path of [Refinement], Chenma looked at another talent.

"Strength: 4378/10001 [Additional Boost (To be unlocked)]"

Additional amplification direction options are available:

[Strongman]: When activated, it provides an additional boost to the strength of the entire body, which gradually increases as the talent is realized, and also provides a corresponding boost to normal strength and physical strength.

[Monstrous Strength]: When activated, it provides an additional boost to instantaneous burst power, gradually increasing as the talent is realized. It also provides a corresponding boost to instantaneous muscle activation and chakra bursts.

The explanation is quite clear: the former increases normal strength and also enhances physical fitness. In short, it shortens the time it takes for Tatsuma to train his physique. The characters referenced are probably Might Guy or the Fourth Raikage, A.

The latter is explosive power, and as its name suggests, it allows the body to unleash greater power in a short period of time, and can also achieve the same effect as Tobirama Senju in the later stages, where he unleashed his chakra to intimidate Orochimaru.

The reference figures, besides a few members of the Senju clan, are similar to Naruto's use of the Five-Tails Kokuo, which uses the Boiling Point: Super Strength, to increase instantaneous power through physical activation, chakra bursts, or a combination of both.

Tatsuma initially wanted to choose the [Warrior] class, since training one's body is an extremely long process, and for his body, which is not yet in puberty, the [Warrior] class would be quite beneficial.

However, Tatsuma suddenly realized that his [Body] talent was also approaching its limit. Although the eight items on the system panel were very similar to the eight ninja abilities in the Naruto official guidebook he had read in his previous life, there were still some differences.

For example, "body" is not just about the level of proficiency and skill in taijutsu, but also about the integration of many aspects such as physical strength and physical recovery ability. "Wisdom" is not just about IQ, but more about the level of mastery of ninja common sense, knowledge and information.

Therefore, instead of using the extra boost from [Strength] to enhance physical strength, it would be better to wait for the more specialized [Body] to compensate. After some deliberation, Tatsuma chose [Super Strength].

After all, his teacher was one of the representatives of superhuman strength, so it's reasonable for his student to also possess superhuman strength, right?

Of the four physical talents, three have reached the requirements for Jonin, only the physique is still a bit lacking. However, if he focuses on training every day, it will only take one or two months, and it will be even faster on the battlefield.

The additional boosts that unlocked after reaching the Jonin level in terms of talent allowed Tatsuma to experience what it truly felt like to be a genius. No wonder some geniuses seemed to find learning and doing things so easy and effortless.

Tatsuma's progress not only made him happy, but also made Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who had watched Tatsuma's rapid progress over the past few days, feel like they had been slapped in the face.

After all, they had just said that because of his age, Tatsuma couldn't make much progress.

Even Tsunade, who hoped her disciple would grow up quickly, sensed something was amiss. Upon returning to the village, Tsunade said to Tatsuma:

"Come to my house and wait for me. After I finish my work report, I need to give you a physical examination. I suspect there's something wrong with your health."

(End of this chapter)