Chapter 409: Eight Great Tremor
Ha! He! Ha! He!
Within the vast, expansive dimension, countless shinobi were rigorously training their taijutsu. Among them, only an old man and Tobitake Tonbo remained standing idly without participating.
Onoki was sidelined due to his chronic back pain. Even while merely standing in this space, he had to constantly maintain his Light-Weight Rock Technique to support himself; otherwise, his frail lower back would have collapsed entirely under the localized pressure. Tonbo, on the other hand, had completely adapted to the gravity, standing perfectly at ease without any issues.
Meanwhile, the other Kage, their bodyguards, and various elite ninja had promptly joined the training after reviewing the technical data on the Eight Great Tremor. Not a single one wanted to be left out.
"Tell me, does that taijutsu style truly possess such devastating power?" Onoki asked, his voice laced with lingering disbelief. "You claim that if someone fully masters it, they can use pure taijutsu to force a woman of Kaguya's caliber to suffer a crushing defeat?"
In the data compiled by Tonbo, Onoki had seen the true purpose behind the taijutsu scrolls Tonbo had been collecting from across the world. Tonbo had meticulously synthesized them into a comprehensive series of training methodologies. Combined with his newly developed environmental system, it was collectively known as the Eight Great Tremors—a system that pushed physical boundaries from cellular conditioning and chakra utilization to advanced body recovery techniques.
The sheer brutality of the training methods outlined in the scrolls had left even a seasoned, widely experienced Tsuchikage like Onoki completely dumbfounded. To think such an absurdly intense regimen could exist; it required a user to train year after year inside environments akin to natural disasters.
"Of course. Didn't you review the analytical data yourself?" Tonbo replied smoothly, looking down at the crowd performing their exercises.
The very first stage of the training required the user to fully adapt to this dimension's crushing gravity and achieve a physical output ten times greater than their maximum capacity in the outside world. Only then would the baseline stage be considered complete.
"The likelihood of anyone actually completing it seems minuscule," Onoki countered, shaking his head. "Just overcoming the gravitational threshold alone is enough to claim an old man's life."
Tonbo chuckled. "Naturally. What accomplishment in this world is easily achieved? Even ninjutsu requires a user to first master nature transformation, use that as a foundation to develop a specific jutsu formula, and then practice relentlessly until it is perfected."
A shinobi's training was never meant to be easy. Every breakthrough demanded years of grueling, accumulated effort. If it were easy, elite Jonin wouldn't be such a rare commodity across the nations.
"True enough. If someone manages to master even a single tier of this system, they would likely stand completely peerless in terms of taijutsu within the Shinobi World," Onoki mused, deeply admiring Tonbo's grand vision.
He felt incredibly fortunate that he hadn't let his usual stubborn streak get the better of him when Tonbo initially requested Iwagakure's taijutsu archives. Had he refused, the Hidden Stone would have missed out on a revolutionary opportunity, leaving them lagging miles behind the other villages.
Thinking up to this point, Onoki glanced sideways at Tonbo, wondering what the man was truly plotting. Given Konoha's absolute dominance, Tonbo could have easily kept this training system exclusive to his own village. Even if the results were slightly less optimal without foreign data, it would still be an overwhelmingly powerful asset. Why share it so freely with the rest of the world? Was it truly for the sake of peace?
That felt highly unlikely. Although the Shinobi Alliance had maintained a steady era of peace since its inception, effectively halting major conflicts, Tonbo himself had once quoted a famous idiom: "Born in peace and prosperity, one dies in adversity and peril." None of the hidden villages would ever fully expose their deepest secrets; they inherently hoarded their finest techniques.
"It's a necessary step," Tonbo explained calmly. "In the future, I intend to integrate this system into the Chunin Exams. Candidates may have to survive this exact trial before they are permitted to promote."
Tonbo had already charted out the long-term utility of this facility. Once the elites down below finished testing the prototype, he would implement their data to perfect the system. Afterward, he would introduce the Gravity Dimension trial as a mandatory hurdle for the Chunin Exams, effectively elevating the baseline power floor of the entire global shinobi population. Of course, they would only need to pass the basic gravity trial; there was no need to enforce excessive standards on a standard Chunin rank.
Down on the training grounds, a few individuals were proving to be absolute scene-stealers.
Orochimaru's body was shifting fluidly, stretching and compressing under the heavy gravitational strain in a manner that scarcely looked human. "How fascinating," the Sannin thought, a thin smile playing on his lips. Tonbo's conceptualization was brilliantly eccentric. If taijutsu ninja trained systematically under this methodology, their collective physical might would reach an unprecedented zenith. Should someone like Uchiha Madara be resurrected once more, he would likely be beaten to a pulp by this upcoming generation of brawlers.
However, Orochimaru wondered if this would be enough to halt the Otsutsuki should they descend in greater numbers. It would likely still be an uphill battle. The sheer weight of Shinjutsu (Divine Arts) was terrifyingly absolute—particularly their space-time variations. If an enemy simply chose to conceal themselves across dimensions, even taijutsu capable of bending space would find no target. From a pragmatic standpoint, Orochimaru felt it might be more beneficial to spend time researching countermeasures against future sight and other conceptual abilities; that would offer a slightly better margin of victory.
"Leaf Rising Rock!"
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Two bright green streaks blurred across the gravity field, clashing violently in mid-air. It appeared as though the crushing atmospheric weight failed to hinder their movements in the slightest.
Boom!
Their forearms collided with roaring force, their eyes blazing with a shared, overwhelming passion.
"Lee! Can you feel it?! Our youth is roaring!" Might Guy bellowed.
"Guy-sensei, I feel it! Our youth isn't just roaring—it is cheering for us!" Rock Lee cried out in response.
"Lee! You've truly grown! Your comprehension of youth has reached a whole new plateau!"
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!"
Sniffle... Tears streaming down their faces, the duo continued to clash with renewed vigor.
"Having reviewed the training methods for the Eight Great Tremors just now, what insights have you gathered, Lee?" Guy asked amidst their exchange.
Lee grimaced slightly. "It's exceptionally difficult, Sensei. It feels even harder than the academic curriculum back at the Ninja Academy. I've grasped a few concepts, but not many."
"Even if it eludes us right now, we must absolute master it in the future! That is the ultimate esoteric secret of taijutsu!"
"Right! Even without ninjutsu or genjutsu, we will still prove ourselves as outstanding shinobi!"
Though the technical jargon in the documents gave both of them a slight headache, the scrolls were undeniably packed with invaluable physical insights. They couldn't afford to ignore them, lest they face an early retirement.
"Those two green fellows aren't half bad," the Raikage remarked from a short distance away. He was currently practicing Kumogakure's signature close-quarters combat routines alongside Killer Bee, his muscles flaring to life under the oppressive gravity. The sensation brought back fond memories of the brutal training pressures from his younger years.
Bang! Bang!
"Brother!"
"Bee!"
The legendary duo collided in a burst of raw physical power. They had absolutely no intention of being outshone by the eccentric leaf duo. Furthermore, their theoretical foundation was far more mature than Guy and Lee's; they could easily decipher the complex equations in Tonbo's data, and both secretly desired to become the very first man to conquer the entire training regimen.
Meanwhile, practicing independently off to the side, Darui couldn't shake a lingering sense of foreboding. He genuinely appreciated this training system—it was a routine forged for real men. However, the Raikage had dropped subtle hints about handing the mantle of being kage over to him by next year.
Maybe I should concoct an excuse to reject the promotion? Darui thought listlessly. No... Kumogakure still needs me, and the Raikage is undeniably getting older. At worst, I'll just recruit a few more secretaries to handle the administrative paperwork for the village, allowing me to clear up plenty of free time to train here. After all, strength remains the ultimate law in our world.
The entire pocket dimension quickly devolved into a bustling, high-octane arena.
Whenever a ninja trained to the point of physical exhaustion or muscular micro-tearing, they would promptly retreat into the designated medical facility. There, utilizing the specialized medicinal baths and advanced technology Tonbo had prepared, their bodies underwent rapid, deep-tissue regeneration. Concurrently, the system systematically logged their localized physical training metrics.
High above the training fields, a highly advanced piece of chakra technology floated silently, recording every single training sequence and physical movement performed by the participants. These were all intricate layers of Tonbo's master design. After all, a facility was merely a shell; he required vast, diverse pools of data from top-tier combatants to finalize the ultimate iteration of the Eight Great Tremors.
In Tonbo's estimation, if a human being could actually survive and conquer every single tier of this extreme regimen, they would possess the physical prowess to level someone like Kaguya with a single punch—provided she didn't choose to run away first.
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