'It's really that hard. Even after eating so much sand and bark, he still can't bite through this Patagonian Rosewood bark.'
Takumi couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
Watching others eat delicious food, while Little Takumi's every meal was either sand mixed with leaves or cold tossed tree bark…
If he didn't know that Little Takumi could taste different flavors, Takumi would definitely think Little Takumi was being severely abused.
But even so, watching a child not eat normal food but instead consume things difficult for ordinary people to accept wasn't that easy to accept either.
Fortunately, this was the Shinobi World, where many people did strange things for the sake of power.
So Little Takumi's behavior wasn't misunderstood. Instead, he received support from Onoki and Kurotsuchi.
[When you were four years old.]
[After spending a full year, gnawing on soil and other bark for a whole year, you finally felt that you seemed able to bite through it.]
[However, even so, it took you a full three days to eat your first piece of Patagonian Rosewood bark.]
[After finishing it, you felt your entire jaw had gone numb.]
[But you felt it was all worth it, for the sake of gaining an impenetrable body.]
'It took a whole year to finally see some improvement.'
Takumi's eyes were full of sympathy.
He had witnessed Little Takumi's changes throughout the entire year.
In the simulation footage, Little Takumi was either eating dirt or on his way to eat dirt.
[Although you could now eat Patagonian Rosewood bark, it still required a lot of time.]
[It took a full month before you could barely eat one piece of bark in the time of one meal.]
[And the result was that your father, using full force, could not pierce your skin with a kunai.]
[Feeling inspired and encouraged, you started eating even more desperately.]
[Another month passed, and you could now eat Patagonian Rosewood bark very easily.]
[The hardness of your body had also reached a very high level.]
[Although in the eyes of those who didn't know the truth, you eating tree bark every day seemed like a freak.]
[But you paid no attention to those strange looks in the village.]
[Because you knew what you wanted. Everything you did was to become stronger, to become a powerful figure in this world.]
'Finally, there's some harvest.'
Takumi nodded secretly.
He had seen Little Takumi's efforts over the past year plus.
If he couldn't tangibly feel his body becoming sturdier, Little Takumi might not have been able to persist.
Even Takumi himself, if he didn't know the effect of the talent beforehand, he probably couldn't have persisted either.
Fortunately, the obvious changes from the talent filled Little Takumi's heart with anticipation.
And after such a long period of laying the foundation, it finally yielded results for him.
Even Kitsuchi, a Jonin, using a kunai at full force couldn't leave a mark on Little Takumi's skin.
Little Takumi now had no fear against weapon attacks.
But this was only against Ninja Tools.
It was still uncertain how much harm Ninjutsu could do to Little Takumi's body.
[Your body's sturdiness filled you with confidence. Simultaneously, to confirm the damage Ninjutsu could do to you, you asked Kurotsuchi to attack you with Ninjutsu.]
[Kurotsuchi had personally witnessed Kitsuchi's attack having no effect on you, so she felt reassured and used her full power.]
[Then, you were severely injured.]
[It proved that Ninjutsu's power was greater than that of Ninja Tools.]
[You felt this was because you hadn't eaten enough.]
[You needed to find more, harder things.]
[At this time, Onoki placed another extremely hard wood in front of you.]
[It was a tree called Black Ironwood, very slender but extremely sturdy.]
[After a simple attempt, you immediately understood this was the next challenge after Patagonian Rosewood.]
[When you could eat this Black Ironwood like candy, your body's sturdiness would surely rise another level.]
[You believed this firmly and started carrying a piece of Black Ironwood with you every day, never leaving it behind.]
[Whether when going out to play or strolling around the village, no matter what looks people gave you, you didn't care at all.]
[You even secretly looked down on those who understood nothing.]
['I'm going to become the hardest man in the world.' You thought to yourself, while vigorously biting the almost unyielding ironwood with your mouth.]
'That's the spirit!'
Takumi raised his hand in encouragement.
'Only with this spirit can you truly reach the peak!'
'Keep it up!'
Of course.
All he could do was talk.
After all, he couldn't interfere with the simulation process.
No matter the outcome, he could only accept it in the end.
But with the precedents of the previous two times, presumably, the result this time would also be a good one.
After all, Singular Resistance had never let him down before.
[Month after month, a full three months passed.]
[The originally extremely tough ironwood finally became something you could chew as easily as candy in your mouth.]
["Sometimes watching you eat this stuff is really scary." Kurotsuchi couldn't help but say, watching you easily chew the hard ironwood.]
[Kurotsuchi still liked to keep you by her side, not just because she liked having you near.]
[More because she couldn't stand the strange looks others gave you and the gossip they spread behind your back.]
[Every now and then, Kurotsuchi would get reported by villagers for beating up other children, but no matter how Onoki tried to persuade her, Kurotsuchi remained the same.]
'She really is a gentle older sister.'
A hint of softness flashed in Takumi's eyes.
Having an older sister who would stand up for you like this, even if it meant being disliked by others without regret, was truly a great happiness.
[You were very grateful for this, and you would always sneak out at night to beat up those children.]
[You were very discreet. Apart from the Anbu who routinely watched over you, no one discovered it.]
[The Anbu also didn't interfere in such disputes between children, so for a while, strange rumors spread in the village.]
[At night, those children would shiver while hiding under their blankets.]
[After learning about these things, you felt secretly pleased, but didn't show any trace of it on the surface.]
[Although you were grateful for Kurotsuchi's care, you didn't want to be scolded by Onoki like Kurotsuchi was.]