[Once, during Kurotsuchi's training.]
[While Kurotsuchi wasn't paying attention, you took out a kunai from her nearby tool pouch.]
[Your action drew the Anbu's high alert, ready to appear and take the kunai from you at any moment.]
[You took a bite, but your teeth weren't good enough to bite through steel.]
[In pain, your hand shook, and the kunai dropped, its sharp point stabbing your foot.]
[But your skin wasn't pierced, and you didn't even feel pain.]
[In that instant, you finally understood what your talent was.]
[And this situation was immediately reported to Onoki.]
["It really is a Kekkei Genkai!" Onoki waved his hand forcefully. This was the possibility he had guessed.]
["But the young master's situation is unclear. We can't confirm if it's a Kekkei Genkai yet." A Medical-nin beside him expressed doubt.]
["Whether it is or not, this already indicates his talent." Onoki said excitedly.]
["From now on, try to satisfy whatever he wants to eat!" Soon, Onoki gave the order.]
'Onoki's reaction is quick.'
'But guessing it's a Kekkei Genkai seems plausible.'
'After all, there are so many Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi World. Compared to the Shikotsumyaku or the Sharingan, this isn't much.'
Takumi finally saw Onoki's guess.
His curiosity was satisfied, and he secretly agreed with Onoki's speculation.
After all, if he didn't know Little Takumi's talent, he would directly think of Kekkei Genkai.
[Understanding your own talent, you began to think about how to utilize it.]
['What would eating meat add? Muscle? That might make me very strong, but I'd lose agility. In Shinobi combat, agility is more important than strength. Can't put the cart before the horse." You ruled out the option of eating meat, at least not in large quantities.]
['Bones? Hyperostosis? Pity I don't have the Shikotsumyaku like Kimimaro, otherwise eating bones might be a good method.' You gave up another option.]
[Not many options remained.]
[The characteristics obtainable from eating things were limited.]
[After careful consideration, you quickly made a decision.]
["I'll just make myself hard. As hard as steel. Then I won't fear enemy attacks." You nodded seriously, determining the direction.]
[Then, you started looking for various hard objects.]
[First, metals were out of the question. With your current teeth, that wouldn't be strengthening yourself, but suicide.]
[Currently acceptable options with suitable hardness were only sand or soil and tree bark.]
[Fine sand or soil could be swallowed directly without needing to chew.]
[The hardness of tree bark depended on the specific type, and some kinds could even be harder than metal.]
'Increasing defense, huh?'
'That's indeed a good choice.'
'Paired with the Devour talent, Singular Resistance will definitely boost defense very quickly.'
Takumi nodded in agreement.
Specializing in increasing defense was also a good path, and it fit very well with Devour.
[After understanding your own talent.]
[You started eating soil and tree bark every day.]
[Simultaneously, you were also learning about the locations of some trees known as the hardest.]
[Those would eventually contribute to your growth.]
[Because you were still young and your teeth weren't fully grown, what you ate most was sand or soil and less sturdy tree bark.]
[Soil tasted like chocolate crumbs, and tree bark felt like chewing dried beef jerky.]
[The flavor was rich, and it was a great workout for your jaw.]
[A year later, your teeth grew in fully and became very sturdy.]
'Now the process should speed up, right?'
Takumi raised an eyebrow.
Having good teeth meant the weapon was ready for the Devour talent.
Next, it depended on Little Takumi's actions.
[Your daily meals all became tree bark.]
[After training with soil, your teeth were sturdier than an adult's. You could easily eat ordinary tree bark.]
[Kurotsuchi tried it once but immediately gave up and expressed her admiration for you.]
[She had learned about your talent from Onoki and immediately changed her focus, assisting you fully in enhancing your own talent to increase your strength.]
[With your family's full support, you quickly gnawed through all the trees around Iwagakure.]
[Tea trees, camphor trees, banyan trees, etc. From initially being unable to bite through, to slowly chewing like dried beef jerky, to finally eating it as easily as rice.]
[Soon, you had eaten all kinds of trees.]
[So you began to set your sights on the trees known as the hardest in the world.]
[Onoki monitored your situation throughout. Upon learning your request, he immediately found several types of hard wood in the global timber market.]
[After some comparison, Onoki placed the relatively less hard wood in front of you.]
[Patagonian Rosewood.]
'This thing... just the name sounds impressive.'
Takumi frowned.
'Holy crap? They even have this?'
Takumi had once seen a short dagger made from rosewood.
It could very easily cut open a soda can.
Its hardness was astonishing.
This thing had 'rosewood' in its name, indicating it wasn't an ordinary tree.
[Although it's called rosewood, it isn't the rosewood commonly referred to, nor is it even a type of redwood, but it is still a very precious hardwood.]
[This was a challenge for you, and you gladly accepted it.]
[The bark was carefully and laboriously separated by Onoki. During this process, you also understood how sturdy this thing was.]
[After mentally preparing yourself, you picked up a piece of the bark and tried to bite it.]
[Even though your teeth were quite good now, facing something for the first time, you were very cautious with your bite.]
[Otherwise, if the target was too hard and you bit too hard, it could seriously injure you.]
[As soon as you bit down, you immediately realized this wasn't something you could bite through yet.]
[The hardness of this thing was comparable to the kunai you tried to bite a year ago.]
[Perhaps slightly inferior, but not by much.]
[But you didn't feel discouraged, instead, your eyes shone with excitement.]
['If I eat this, how hard will my body become? Probably an adult stabbing me with a kunai at full force wouldn't hurt me, right?' You couldn't help but speculate, looking at the bark in your hand with intense desire.]
[From then on, you tried to gnaw on this tough piece of bark every day.]
[But each time you failed, and in the end, you could only go back to gnawing on other bark and soil to continue training your talent.]
[Until you could finally gnaw through this bark.]