125. Obsessed With Training

"Well then~~ Let's begin."

Hinata took a deep breath, relaxing her body. Shikamaru, standing five meters away, gave a reluctant snort. "Tch. I've never heard of anyone brute-forcing their way out of Kagemane no Jutsu(Shadow Imitation), but hey—you asked for it."

"Bring it on."

Hinata couldn't help but feel a little excited. Compared to other ninjutsu in this world, most could be seamlessly slotted into the 'magic' category. But shadow-style techniques like Shikamaru's felt authentically ninja. She was genuinely curious to experience it.

"Here it comes! Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)!"

Without another word, Shikamaru crouched and swiftly formed a hand seal. His pineapple-shaped shadow twitched like a living thing, shooting across the ground like a rope to link with Hinata's shadow.

"Ugh… This feeling…"

As soon as she was caught, Hinata felt like her entire body had been encased in a shell of stone. It was as if her surface was sealed off by an invisible layer. Though she could still exert strength, her physical force seemed to dissolve the moment it reached her outer shell.

"See? Told you. This jutsu might be annoying, but it's solid when it counts~"

Seeing Hinata frozen, Shikamaru relaxed and even cracked a smile. "It's a hassle, but sometimes a fight just has to be fought, yeah?"

"As long as you get that. Also... this jutsu only restrains the body's outer movements. That means it can't affect internal muscle activity—or the flow of chakra."

As the veins at the corners of her eyes bulged, Hinata activated her Byakugan. Since this required a focused surge of chakra, it clearly proved her point: Kagemane no Jutsu only impacted surface-level motion, not what was going on inside.

In other words, it couldn't restrict chakra flow!

"Looks like Hinata's already started over there. Let's get going too!"

In other words, chakra movement can't be restricted at all!!

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"Mm, looks like Hinata's side has already started. In that case, let's get going too!"

Naruto excitedly rolled his wrists, then formed the hand seal for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique). With a burst of smoke, eight clones appeared around him — without a doubt, these were meant for today's training.

"Tch, seriously, fighting your clones? That's kinda boring."

Kiba licked the corner of his mouth with a bloodthirsty grin, then patted the head of Akamaru atop his head. "You're not the only one who can summon helpers. You sure you wanna do this?"

"Of course! My clones are more than enough to handle you~~"

Naruto folded his arms with a smug hum, immediately lighting Kiba's temper on fire.

"You damn bastard!! Just watch — your clones will all be gone before you're even halfway through fighting Chōji!"

"Heh~ Naruto, I'll say this first — I can't really hold back when I use Nikudan Sensha (Human Boulder). If you get hurt, don't blame me."

Chōji cheerfully popped the last potato chip from his bag into his mouth. It was clear this time, he and Kiba were teaming up to fight Naruto.

The sparring rules were as follows: Naruto's real body needed to use Shinsaraban (Divine Sandstorm Barrage) to strike Chōji while he was in Human Boulder state and successfully send him rolling back. Meanwhile, the clones would face off against Kiba and Akamaru to get familiar with the attack patterns of Yamata no Orochi.

From the look of it, even Naruto couldn't say there was no pressure. After all, Kiba and Chōji were definitely among the top-tier genin at this stage. Chōji might be slow, but his strength and defense were solid, and Human Boulder was both offensive and defensive. In the original, even a direct hit from an Oto-nin's Zankūha (Decapitating Shock Wave) didn't leave a scratch.

Kiba, on the other hand, was fierce and fast in taijutsu. Combined with Akamaru's support via Jūjin Ninpō (Beast Human Clone Techniques), and their special secret technique Gatsūga (Fang Over Fang), they were a deadly combo. In the original, they had Naruto completely overwhelmed. If Naruto hadn't used a transformation trick to trick Kiba into knocking out Akamaru — and if fate hadn't blessed him with a fart that stunned Kiba — the winner would've been obvious.

"Alright then, Naruto!! We might not have any big flashy Nanto-style moves, but I'll let you see the secret taijutsu passed down in the Inuzuka clan!!"

Kiba tossed a soldier pill into both his and Akamaru's mouths, full of fighting spirit. With a low growl, he activated Jūjin Ninpō(Beast Human Clone). Akamaru instantly transformed into a perfect clone of Kiba — the two of them now indistinguishable, their savage eyes like wild predators ready to pounce!

"This guy's no joke. Alright boys, remember the attack range of Yamata no Orochi. Let's go!"

The shadow clone acting as squad leader narrowed his eyes with caution. But before he could issue any more commands, a blur rushed in — a vicious claw strike sent him flying into the air, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Ha!! Naruto, you're real slow, huh~! You call yourself a successor of Nantō Fūjunken (Nanto Wind Sacrificing Fist)? Wind is supposed to be fast, you know!! Or is your wind just completely still?"

With that one high-speed move taking out a clone, Kiba's confidence skyrocketed. Clearly, even though Naruto had gone through a rough grind thanks to Hinata and Sasuke, his real battle experience was still lacking. And opponents like Kiba — speed-type ninja — weren't easy for him to handle.

"Don't get cocky! If you end up crying later, don't come blaming us!"

The remaining seven Naruto clones roared and charged in. Since the goal was to learn Yamata no Orochi in close-quarters combat, the use of tools or Onsoku Shuto (Supersonic Hand Blade) was banned. They had to slowly accumulate taijutsu experience through direct, physical fighting.

"Damn… didn't think Kiba actually had some skill."

Watching from the side while facing off against Chōji, Naruto couldn't help but be surprised. In the blink of an eye, several clones had been wiped out by Kiba and Akamaru. The feedback from their destruction hit Naruto as well, and that inflated ego of his quickly deflated a notch.

"Alright, Naruto — I'm coming! If you can't take it, I suggest you dodge!"

Chōji rolled his wrists, then formed the seals: Baika no Jutsu (Partial Expansion Jutsu)!

Boom!

With a dull thud, Chōji suddenly swelled up like a giant ball, limbs and head retracting into his massive frame. He looked just like a huge inflated balloon, backed by his formidable chakra. In this form, he could easily shrug off physical blows that lacked piercing power — and deal serious damage in return.

"Bring it on!! I'm gonna blast you into the sky with Shinsaraban(Divine SandStorm Barrage)!"

Naruto took a deep breath. But now, he could feel at peace. The people gathered here — they were the same ones who pulled him back last time, when he almost lost control. With them here, what was there to fear? Even if that monster attacked again… they'd definitely bring him back.

…Though, maybe with a little roughness.

"Hmm, rare to see them this fired up."

On the other side, the last team stood watching. Ino couldn't help but sigh a little. "Feels like… it's been a long time since I saw them working so hard together."

"Of course~~ Hey, hey~ Sasuke-kun~ What should we do?"

Clinging to Sasuke's left arm, Sakura's face was flushed red. This was her chance! That tyrant dragon Hinata was finally gone — the apex predator had left the field. If she didn't take the opportunity now, the heavens would surely smite her!

"Ahhh!! Forehead girl!! Don't think you can sneak in!! Sasuke-kun's training with me is more than enough! Move it!!"

With a fiery shout, Ino wrapped herself around Sasuke's right arm, and with a devious grin, pressed her egg-fried chest up against him.

"Hey~ Sasuke-kun, you only need one training partner, right?"

"In that case!! You pig, go sunbathe on your own! Sasuke-kun is training with me!"

The argument nearby was beginning to wear on Sasuke's nerves. The black-haired boy suppressed his irritation and spoke up slightly, "Enough. Stop arguing. It's too noisy."

"Ah~ Sorry, Sasuke-kun~"

Sakura and Ino immediately went quiet, but the sparks flying between their eyes made it clear they hadn't given up on their rivalry.

"This device requires three people to use it. So, each of you take a position and input chakra together with me."

In front of Sasuke was a device that resembled a blowpipe box. It was primarily made from a large glass tube that branched at the bottom into three thinner glass tubes—each designed to channel chakra inward.

At the base where the large tube branched out, there was a small steel ball. In other words, chakra needed to be injected into the tube to push the steel ball up to the top.

However, since chakra was being input from three different directions, the chakra flow from all three had to be exactly the same. If one side was too strong, the steel ball would spin in place, unable to rise. If one side was too weak, the steel ball would tip and fall in that direction.

Only if the chakra input from all three directions was perfectly balanced could the steel ball rise smoothly, propelled equally from all sides.

This small device was similar to a steel ball toy, but in truth, it was an incredibly difficult chakra control training instrument.

After all, most chakra control exercises were designed for individual training—like tree-walking or water-walking—where all that mattered was the steadiness of one's own chakra flow.

But this steel ball device required coordination and balance between three different people's chakra flows. It massively amplified the difficulty, not in a simple threefold increase, but in a geometric progression like 3×3×3. Both the instability and strength control of chakra were pushed to an extreme.

Without a doubt, this would be an unparalleled challenge and training tool for Sasuke's control over raiton (Lightning Release), and for Sakura and Ino's precision in iryō ninjutsu ( Medical Ninjutsu).

Standing on top of a nearby earthen mound, Shino commanded his kikaichū ( Parasitic Insects) to surveil the entire training ground closely. As per Hinata's instructions, he needed to monitor everyone's chakra levels. Hinata hadn't said it outright, but Shino, being smart, knew their main concern was Naruto's unstable chakra.

Unquestionably, monitoring multiple people at once was a major burden, especially when they were all engaged in chakra-heavy activities like combat and training.

But precisely because of this, the training effect could be significantly enhanced.

"Mm, I've decided. I'll nominate my three students for this year's Chūnin Exams."

Observing the scene on the training field, Kakashi nodded and spoke in a calm tone. "What about you two?"

"Heh~"

Asuma and Kurenai exchanged a glance, and in that look was an unusual spark of rivalry. Though they were indeed lovers, they were also proud teachers—proud of their students.

"Do you even have to ask?"

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Author Notes:

(PS1): Hmm~ o(￣▽￣)o~~ Honestly, this kind of interaction with the original characters really is a lot of fun~~ What do you all think?)

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