Land of Lightning

A month quickly passed by after Tatsuo woke up. During this time, his injuries were no longer, and he learned much about this world.

He read about the prominent Senju and Uchiha clans, which were widely considered the strongest. Thankfully, they weren't close-by, both of them being in the far-off Land of Fire.

Tatsuo was in the Land of Lightning, located in the north-east and led by the Lightning Daimyō.

In the centre of the country were vast mountain ranges, whose many thunderstorms were said to give the country its name. From these mountain ranges, many rivers flowed to sea, creating a very crooked coastline that displayed an impressive oceanic beauty.

There were many clans in the Land of Lightning, but the only note-worthy ones he read about were the Raigeki, Inazuma, Kumori and Chinoike.

The Raigeki and Inazuma were known rivals. They were both proficient in lightning jutsu, with the former concentrating on power while the latter focused on speed.

The Kumori were less prominent, but still powerful. They also used lightning techniques, but theirs differed completely from the other two. Apparently it was some kind of bloodline ability that combined lightning and water.

Not much was known about it.

The last of the bunch was the Chinoike clan. Shrouded in mystery, these people were known to possess peculiar techniques.

Tatsuo didn't just use his time to study. In fact, he started training after a few days of rest, which made Atsushi and Aiko worry for his health.

By following the same training regime as he did in his previous life, Tatsuo's body grew stronger at a frightening pace. It strengthened so fast that even he, the ex-strongest man in the world, couldn't help but gasp.

It was just a theory, but Tatsuo felt like his respiration technique had something to do with all of this. It was as if though it slowly purified his body.

He asked Atsushi about it, but got nothing from the man. He also found Tatsuo's growth speed abnormal.

Instead of growing in size, his muscle's quality increased. His body was changing, and it showed on the surface. Although not by much, he had definitely gotten better looking. His hair gained some kind of natural luster that even Aiko was jealous of.

Tatsuo paid no mind to this, as he wasn't interested in his own looks. What really mattered was his strength. As long as he grew stronger, the rest would naturally follow.

Sighing, Tatsuo got into his pitch-black kimono and slid open the door that led to the house's veranda. It was early in the morning, and the first rays of sunlight illuminated the garden before him

Atsushi was a Samurai, so his property was huge. This garden was only a small section of the residence, yet it had a small pond and even a Sakura tree.

Tatsuo approached the tree, which had a dent on it, as if something had dug into it.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and got into a stance. After a while, he opened them and threw a rapid punch at the tree.

The punch was so fast that a normal person would have only seen a blur.

The tree started shaking violently, and the birds resting on it immediately scattered. With his punch the dent on the tree doubled in size.

This strength was unheard of for a kid his age back in his world, which made Tatsuo smirk.

"Haah... My progress is as fast as ever... Ah! Today is the day!"

As if though he remembered something important, Tatsuo ran back into his room and put on his slippers before getting out of the house, leaving the maids whispering amongst themselves.

"The young master is as handsome as ever... Sigh, if only he fancied my poor little self..."

"Yeah, the lord's daughter is so lucky, to spend time with him..."

"Shh! If they hear you you'll get in trouble!"

They had inadvertently started calling him young master, since he spent so much time in the house.

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Tatsuo ran down Atsushi's hill and quickly made it to the village. It was a farming village, with most of the population tending to the fields.

Every time someone saw him, they bowed slightly, and made way for him. He had become a local legend, defeating a ninja to save their lord's daughter.

Tatsuo did not care about fame, and he paid no mind to these things. All he wanted was to get stronger and enjoy himself while doing it.

It wasn't long before he made it to a certain shop. It had a small sign that had it's name engraved on it: 'Courteous Shirō's Smithy'

Tatsuo could already hear the clanging of metal, and he felt a wave of heat coming from the inside. Smiling, he slid the door open and entered.

"Shirō-san! Did you finish them?"

Inside the shop was a skinny man. His whole body covered in dust, and his clothes mostly burned. He sat by a fire, hammering a sword.

Hearing Tatsuo's voice, the man stopped his hammer and smiled at the boy.

"Yes, they're finished. Look."

Saying this, Shirō got up and led Tatsuo to the counter. Once there, he pulled a box from underneath it, visibly struggling.

"Let me help."

Seeing this, Tatsuo picked up the box and placed it on the counter. Even he, with his strength, struggled.

"Phew... You sure are a masochist. I would never wish this upon my enemies."

Removing the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief, Shirō opened the box, Making Tatsuo's eyes shine with excitement.

Inside the massive box were sixteen metallic objects. Twelve of them were made of pure gold while the other four were a metallic grey.

The golden objects were circular weights, to be locked around one's arms and legs, while the grey ones were also weights, just smaller and lighter.

They all seemed to have the kanji for Shirō and Courtesy engraved on them.

"Great! These are perfect."

Tatsuo picked one up and weighed it, visibly satisfied with the results.

"Are you really going to strap these to your limbs as you train? Actually, I have no interest, so please don't tell me. This has been my weirdest request so far, but I got a lot out of it."

"Thank you very much, Shirō-san. Farewell!"

Tatsuo picked the box up and started running back to Atsushi's place, scaring the living crap out of Shirō.

"What a monster... Anyway, back to work!"

After that, he resumed The beating of the sword as if nothing had happened.