Chapter 958: After Seven Months
Training Fields, Konohagakure, Land of Fire
SMASH!
With a loud sound, the wooden stake was hit by a spinning ball of Chakra. Upon impact, it exploded, causing the sawdust and wooden chips to fly everywhere.
“Did it… HaahHaah Did it work this time?” muttered Naruto between his pants as he collapsed on the ground. At the same time, the Shadow Clone beside him also exploded with a poof, and the white smoke disappeared along with the wind.
After taking a few breaths and recovering his strength, Naruto quickly got up and looked around the training field.
Initially, there were two hundred wooden stakes in the training field when he started. Now, only one hundred twenty are left to be destroyed, and in front of each wooden stake, there are three Shadow Clones of Naruto working hard to complete the task.
“Baka… you do it like this… not like that!”
“Here… kochi kochi!”
“I am going to be the best, believe it!”
“It’s going to be completed soon, dattebayo!”Yes, the entire training field is filled with Naruto. Each of them is continuously shouting, and the current situation is no different from a fish market. But even with such noise, Kuroto was calmly resting with a peaceful smile on his face.
After seven months of careful guidance under Kuroto, Naruto has made significant progress. Not only has he mastered the Rasengan, as well as the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, but he has also mastered Chakra Control, Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and the basic three body techniques.
The only problem is that, similar to his canonical counterpart, Naruto is still not capable enough to use Rasengan without the help of Shadow Clones. He does need some assistance to rotate the chakra and contain it while forming the Rasengan.
Since Naruto possesses the physique of the Uzumaki Clan as well as the Chakra of the Nine-Tails, therefore, no matter how many Shadow Clones he creates, there is no problem.
…
Standing atop a distant tree, three people were looking at Naruto’s training. These three people are none other than Elder Sarutobi Hiruzen, Elder Senju Tsunade-hime, and the Toad Sannin Jiraiya.
Looking at Naruto practicing the Rasengan Jutsu, Jiraiya couldn’t help but feel a little worried, “Isn’t Kuroto going a bit too far with Naruto’s training?”
It’s not wrong to say that the Shadow Clones can indeed speed up training because after they disappear, the Chakra, memories, and insights will not disappear and return to the creator, but along with these things, there is also fatigue.
Too much fatigue at the same time can be dangerous. For this reason, very few people use such a method of training. If they are not careful, then they would accumulate excessive fatigue, and that can even turn a person vegetative and life-threatening in the worst-case scenario and other severe backlashes otherwise.
This is one of the two reasons why the ‘Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu’ is listed among the Forbidden Jutsus by the village.
Elder Hiruzen’s worries resonated with Jiraiya’s; however, he was also surprised by the extent of progress Naruto had made in just seven months.
Never did he expect that under Kuroto’s guidance, Naruto’s strength would improve to such an extent. Moreover, there was not once a sign of Nine-Tails making trouble throughout the training, which greatly relieved him.
If Naruto was an ordinary Genin until seven months ago, then at this time, he is undoubtedly reaching the level of a Special Jonin. Special Jonin because to be a Jonin, a lot of field expertise as well as mastery of various forms of combat and multiple Chakra Natures is required. Nonetheless, reaching the level of Special Jonin within a short period of seven months is nothing short of miraculous in his eyes.
Moreover, there’s still the Sennin Mode that Naruto has already learned, although the boy is not that proficient in the Sage Art. If Garaga helps him, he can immediately enter the Sennin Mode. If that is included, Naruto’s strength undoubtedly reaches the level of a Jonin!
“It is dangerous; indeed, however, the results are also clearly visible. What’s admirable is that Naruto has stuck through such spartan training,” muttered Tsunade-hime and added with a fond smile, “Even I am impressed by his dedication!”
Considering her three-quarter Senju and quarter Uzumaki descent, Tsunade knows that she too can create hundreds and thousands of clones for the purpose of training, but she also knows that no matter how good her physique and Chakra reserves, she wouldn’t be able to stick to it for nearly seven months. The fatigue will continue to build up, driving her insane with each passing day.
Therefore, the fact that Naruto has been able to stick to such a training program at such a young age is nothing short of admirable.
Elder Hiruzen nodded, “Well, I suppose Kuroto’s vision is really keen. To be able to formulate such a targeted training method for Naruto that only he can stick to and teach him everything from the very basics to the point that even a monkey can understand, is incredible too. I knew for a fact that he had great aptitude when it came to teaching; however, never once did I imagine that it would be this good.”
After a long silence, Jiraiya also nodded. It takes a lot of effort and dedication to teach a boy who is at the bottom of the barrel and raise him to such a level in such a short time. Kuroto’s method of teaching might be a bit dangerous, but the results speak for themselves. None of them expected that Naruto’s progress would be this fast; it’s a little beyond their imagination.
At this time, Elder Hiruzen suddenly asked Jiraiya, “How is Uchiha Sasuke’s progress?”
At the mention of Sasuke, Jiraiya’s lips arched in a proud smirk as he boasted, “That boy’s dedication and effort are no less than Naruto’s. What’s amazing is that his comprehension ability is far superior to Naruto’s; therefore, his progress is extremely fast under Kakashi’s tutelage. While ‘genius’ might not be the right word to describe Uchiha Sasuke, considering there are people like Kakashi and Shisui in Konoha, but boy, that boy is incredible! Except for a little gloomy and cold temperament, that boy is impeccable.”
In the span of seven months, Naruto wasn’t the only one whose strength progressed rapidly. Sasuke’s progress is no less than that of Naruto’s. Under the constant emotional stimulation of his family and daily training under Kakashi, Sasuke has picked up and developed several Ninja Arts and skills that he had almost no contact with. Apart from Genjutsu and Fire Style Jutsus that Sasuke learns from Shinichi, Kakashi has taught him Kenjutsu, Lightning Style Jutsus that include several Jutsu like Chidori, Raikiri, and Lightning Chakra Clone.
One of the most important skills that Sasuke has picked up from Kakashi is nerve stimulation with Lightning Chakra to enhance reaction speed as well as strengthen the body’s offense and defense. All these skills coupled with his three tomoe Sharingan have undoubtedly pushed his strength closer to that of a full-fledged Jonin.
Sasuke’s strength has reached such a level that sometimes even Kakashi is caught off-guard.
Tsunade-hime said with a frown, “Just a few days ago, I happened to have observed their training, and that Uchiha boy’s chakra even made me want to avoid him. It was incredibly cold and gloomy!”
As a descendant of the Senju Clan, Tsunade-hime naturally feels uncomfortable in the presence of extremely strong Yin-chakra. She could sense extremely potent Yin-Chakra in Sasuke’s body, and that made her want to avoid him as much as possible. Compared to the gloomy and edgy Sasuke, she prefers the sunny and bratty Naruto.
Jiraiya sighed, “That is one aspect I need to pay attention to; his heart is filled with the desire for revenge, and this may not be good for his overall holistic development.”
Elder Hiruzen said, “Consult with Kuroto and Kakashi and start with Sasuke’s ideological education as well; it is extremely important and must not be relaxed!”
Jiraiya nodded, “Yes, I understand.”
At this time, Tsunade-hime suddenly remembered something and asked Elder Hiruzen, “Sarutobi Sensei, did you read the proposal sent by Iwagakure?”
Elder Hiruzen nodded, “I did.”
Jiraiya asked, “Are we going to agree to it?”
After pondering for a while, he said, “Well, let’s wait and watch for a while. Let’s see how the other villages are going to respond to Ōnoki’s proposal.