Devil Training

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Hyuga Yukina, Uchiha Hirohiko, and Chiba fell from the air again, sprawling onto the ground.

Then, with three puffs, Kushina Uzumaki dispelled her Shadow Clone Jutsu. Clapping her hands, she said, "All right, all right! You can start extracting chakra now."

The three of them wore miserable expressions as they struggled into sitting positions and formed hand seals to extract chakra.

After becoming Genin, they no longer had to attend classes, but they still had to gather routinely every day. Konoha's higher-ups also assigned missions daily, and completing them earned a certain amount of payment.

However, Kushina Uzumaki seemed completely uninterested in missions. From the day she took over the task of teaching Chiba and the others, she had trained them harshly. For three straight days, Chiba did not even know how he had gotten home. Once home, he practically collapsed into bed. When he woke up, it was time to gather, train, and then become so exhausted that he did not know how he got home again...

"Mm... Two more hours. Once you're done extracting chakra, we'll eat." Kushina Uzumaki looked at the three of them and could not help but nod inwardly.

They gathered at eight in the morning, then sparred with her. Once every last bit of their strength had been drained, they extracted chakra, ate afterward, and freely decided their afternoon training. By the end of the day, every shred of their stamina would definitely be wrung dry.

That was her daily training regimen. It could be called devil training, yet these three prodigies had never uttered a single complaint and obediently completed their training.

Kushina Uzumaki sincerely believed it.

These three children would definitely become renowned heroes one day! At the same time, they would be the three disciples she was proudest of! Chiba slightly furrowed his brow as he laboriously extracted chakra from within his body. Chakra, formed from a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, was exceptionally difficult to extract when he lacked stamina, and the amount he extracted was pitifully small.

Still, these past three days of devil training had produced excellent results. The effects had been immediate.

His chakra reserves had now reached the Genin level. Although the chakra amount in Gate of Life Mode had not changed, its duration had increased greatly. If this continued, Chiba was confident that once he opened the Fourth Gate, the Gate of Life could become a standard mode.

Moreover, sparring with Kushina every day had greatly improved both his combat experience and taijutsu. With taijutsu alone, fighting a Chunin was no longer a problem for him.

However, he had also learned of Hyuga Yukyō's situation from Yukina and Kushina. Hyuga Yukyō was certainly thinking of how to get rid of him now. Chiba understood that clearly.

Therefore, to avoid being eliminated by Hyuga Yukyō, Chiba paid close attention to his situation.

Hyuga Yukyō was called the Hyuga Clan's greatest genius in a century. His strength had faintly approached Jonin level, and he was at least an Elite Chunin. Moreover, according to Yukina, Hyuga Yukyō was the descendant of another main family member and had mastered more of the Gentle Fist than Yukina.

To eliminate Hyuga Yukyō as a threat, Chiba had to train diligently and increase his strength.

"All right! One hour is up. Release the chakra you extracted, no matter how you do it," Kushina Uzumaki said, glancing at the sun.

The three opened their eyes and formed hand seals at the same time, each making the exact same three seals.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Three clones appeared beside Chiba and the others simultaneously. About ten seconds later, they turned into white mist with a puff.

"Very good. Continue extracting chakra," Kushina Uzumaki said again.

Yesterday was nine seconds, and today is ten... Progress!

As Chiba extracted chakra, he felt completely fulfilled.

Another hour passed, and Kushina Uzumaki once again had them release the chakra they had just extracted.

"Whew!" Chiba let out a long breath and fell onto his back.

I finally made it to mealtime! Looking at Uchiha Hirohiko and Hyuga Yukina, Hirohiko was lying face-down on the ground, equally exhausted, while Yukina could still barely remain seated.

"All right, time to eat!" Kushina Uzumaki took out three bento boxes. She gave the pink one to Hyuga Yukina and the blue one to Uchiha Hirohiko.

The largest black three-tier bento box went to Chiba.

At the sight of food, Chiba sat up almost instantly. He eagerly opened the bento box, which was filled with all kinds of delicious food in generous portions—enough to fill all three tiers.

This was the happiest moment of the day!

After taking a look, Chiba began wolfing it down. He had been starving for ages.

Kushina Uzumaki smiled. She had naturally made all three bento boxes herself. Seeing the three children eat so happily made all her hard work each night worthwhile.

Chiba really had an enormous appetite. He ate almost five times as much as Yukina and three times as much as Hirohiko. If he did not stay so lean, I would think he belonged to the Akimichi Clan.

After a bout of ravenous eating, Chiba, despite having the largest portion, finished first. Hirohiko and Yukina finished soon after.

"Rest for twenty minutes," Kushina Uzumaki said, then began packing up the bento boxes. Hyuga Yukina seemed to want to help, but there was still training afterward, and she needed to conserve her strength. In the end, she gave up on the idea.

Twenty minutes passed quickly. Kushina Uzumaki said punctually, "Now, free training. Train yourselves according to your own plans."

Upon hearing Kushina Uzumaki's words, the three stood up consciously. Regardless of whether they were still tired, they walked to the edge of the dense forest and began their own training.

Chiba's afternoon training generally consisted of taijutsu. He did his daily routine during this period: five hundred straight punches, five hundred side kicks, five hundred squats, five hundred push-ups... Then he ran ten kilometers around the forest. After completing all that, he charged into the woods and sprinted at top speed.

The trees in the forest grew densely in some places and sparsely in others, with thorny brambles and vines scattered chaotically throughout. This trained Chiba's instantaneous reactions and evasive ability.

Uchiha Hirohiko's training was more comprehensive. He practiced Shurikenjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and managed his time quite well.

As for Hyuga Yukina, she practiced the Gentle Fist and Shurikenjutsu. For members of the Hyuga Clan, the Gentle Fist was the most suitable taijutsu, so she had no need to practice too many other styles. Shurikenjutsu, meanwhile, made up somewhat for the Gentle Fist's weakness in long-range combat.

The entire afternoon was basically spent on independent practice. Even if they rested the whole afternoon and did nothing, Kushina Uzumaki would not reprimand them, but Chiba and the others had never slacked off.

This greatly pleased Kushina Uzumaki. As ninja, the self-control and discipline Chiba and the others displayed satisfied her immensely.

As for Kushina Uzumaki, she generally watched their training for only an hour or two before leaving. What she did afterward, the three did not know.

The lingering glow of the setting sun spilled across the earth. Having exhausted their final traces of strength, the three each found a place to sit and rest.

"Hirohiko, Yukina, let's begin. Two hours of chakra extraction," Chiba said.

Uchiha Hirohiko and Hyuga Yukina nodded, then closed their eyes, formed hand seals, and began refining chakra.

This was the extra training the three of them did. Their independent afternoon training usually ended around four o'clock, and if Kushina was not around, they could dismiss themselves.

However, at Chiba's suggestion, Uchiha Hirohiko and Hyuga Yukina had readily agreed to add another two hours of chakra extraction.

Thus, for the past three days, they had drained their stamina refining chakra in the morning, trained on their own in the afternoon, then drained their stamina again refining chakra.

It was precisely this extra training that had rapidly increased their chakra reserves.