Shadow Clone: I'm afraid my brain will overload and explode on the spot!

"Hagoromo-sensei, does this stuff really work?"

Looking at the exercises written in the physical training notes, Shikamaru felt a twinge of pain in his teeth.

There were all kinds of squats, weighted exercises, and running exercises.

None of those were a problem. The problem was the number of repetitions.

Five hundred per set, six sets each, and a complete circuit in one go.

"You don't think they'll work?" Hagoromo asked with a smile. Seeing his expression, Shikamaru nodded uncertainly.

"Naruto, come here for a moment."

Hagoromo called out to Naruto, who was nearby.

"Coming, sensei!" Hearing Hagoromo call, Naruto hurried over at a jog.

"How much weight are you carrying now?" Hagoromo patted Naruto's hair and pointed to the weights on his legs.

"Hmm—thirty jin on each leg now," Naruto said, hopping up and down to feel the weights.

"Sensei, I might need to change them. They're feeling a little light."

Hagoromo smiled and nodded, then pointed at Shikamaru. "Naruto, take off your weights, then go punch Shikamaru."

"Huh?!"

Naruto was a little stunned. Punch Shikamaru?

"No, sensei! Shikamaru's my friend!"

As he spoke, Naruto looked at Hagoromo with a serious expression.

Smack!

"I didn't mean for you to actually hit him. I wanted Shikamaru to experience your speed after you took the weights off."

Hagoromo smacked Naruto on the back of the head in exasperation. This kid really couldn't think things through.

Only then did Naruto hurry to bend down and remove his weights. He looked at Shikamaru and said hesitantly:

"Shikamaru, I'm really fast, so be careful."

Shikamaru nodded. Just as he was about to move to block—

Whoosh!

A figure came straight at him in an instant.

Damn! Is he trying to send me flying?!

No sooner had the thought crossed Shikamaru's mind than he felt the pain of a heavy blow against his blocking arms, and his entire body flew backward.

He hurriedly flipped in midair and used the momentum to land. His feet carved shallow grooves in the ground before he finally came to a stop.

He then looked in disbelief at Naruto, who wore a panicked expression.

"Shikamaru, are you okay?!"

Naruto hurried over, looking at Shikamaru anxiously.

"I'm fine. Just feels like my bones might be a little cracked."

Shikamaru waved him off, grimacing as he spoke.

Choji, who had come over, looked at Shikamaru's slightly trembling hands, took a jar of ointment and some bandages from his pack, and began bandaging him.

Hagoromo waited until Choji had finished bandaging him. Then a green light appeared around his hands, and he began using it to nourish Shikamaru's arms.

Feeling warmth spread through his arms, Shikamaru looked at Hagoromo in surprise.

"Sensei, you know Medical Ninjutsu?"

"No. I can only use Yang Release Chakra to nourish your arms and help Choji's ointment take effect faster."

Hagoromo shook his head. He really didn't know Medical Ninjutsu, after all.

"So? Do you believe me now?"

Once Hagoromo felt he had done enough, he withdrew his Chakra and looked at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru nodded. After all, Naruto had only been running with weights.

"Maybe there's more to it. Sensei must have done something to help Naruto, or..."

Shikamaru trailed off, then continued, "Running with weights alone would only make him faster at most. It couldn't increase his strength too."

"That's right. I often have Naruto use Chakra to nourish his muscles and bones in his spare time."

Hagoromo nodded approvingly at Shikamaru for hitting the point in one guess. But after looking at Choji and Shikamaru, he quickly added, "Of course, this method only works for Naruto."

"Not everyone has enough Chakra to use it like that."

It was no wonder Hagoromo felt the need to explain. After all, he had come up with the method himself: using Chakra to temper the body.

He had also tried it on himself first, though he had used Yang Release Chakra.

Not everyone belonged to the Raikage's lineage, able to use Lightning Release Nature Transformation to strengthen their bodies and even train in Nintaijutsu that way.

"No wonder you brought out that prescription, sensei. So that's what it was for."

Shikamaru shook his head. If they really trained as the notes instructed without nourishing their bodies, they might be fine for a short time.

But over time, once the hidden injuries in their bodies flared up, they wouldn't even be able to remain ninja.

"That's right. Your own Chakra would have the best effect, but it's just as I said earlier."

Hagoromo spread his hands, then turned to Choji. "Choji might have a chance, though he could only do it once every half month at most."

Judging by the physique of Choji's clan and the energy he usually consumed, that was the most he could manage.

Hearing this, Shikamaru looked at Choji with a little envy and wondered whether he should give it a try too.

But when he saw Choji's physique, twice as large as his own, he shook his head.

Forget it. He would probably eat himself to death before he got that big.

"Sensei, what are you and Shikamaru talking about?"

Naruto asked, resting his hands behind his head, somewhat confused.

Seeing Naruto like this, Shikamaru was puzzled too. How could Naruto use it and still not understand what he was talking about?

But thinking of Naruto's usual carefree personality and wildly imaginative mind, Shikamaru couldn't help muttering.

"That's some seriously good luck."

"Come on, I'll tell you about Chakra Nature Transformation. Clone, come watch Shikamaru and the others train."

The Shadow Clone waiting nearby immediately nodded when he heard Hagoromo.

"I've been wanting to say something for a while. Otherwise, I'm afraid my brain will overload and I'll explode on the spot."

With that, Hagoromo's Shadow Clone hurriedly took Shikamaru and Choji off to the side.

"You managed to scare sensei's Shadow Clone that badly? Naruto, what did you just do?"

Since he hadn't dispelled the technique yet, Hagoromo was a little baffled.

"Uh, I just asked clone-sensei: if Wind Release Nature Transformation is about sharpness and cutting, why are trees uprooted when a strong wind blows instead of being cut into blocks of wood?"

"And Wind Release Nature Transformation makes Chakra sharp, right? So wouldn't it be more convenient to use Wind Release to chop vegetables when I'm cooking?"

As Naruto spoke, he folded his arms and tilted his head, clearly starting to think about the answer again himself.

Caw, caw, caw—

The air suddenly fell silent, and the corners of Hagoromo's eyes kept twitching.

Silently pressing his fingers to his throbbing temples, he finally understood why the Shadow Clone had acted as though he would explode if he stayed another second.

Because of Hagoromo's orders, the Shadow Clone had to seriously consider Naruto's questions, no matter how nonsensical he found them.

"Naruto, if you keep thinking about boring things like that, I'll let you have a proper taste of the joy of copying homework first."

Hagoromo spoke in an exceedingly gentle tone, a smile on his face.