Do You Want to Be My Disciple?

"Whew... Hah..."

On a standard training ground, the red-haired boy sweated profusely as he diligently practiced striking. Every punch sent a string of glistening sweat droplets flying from his forehead.

A closer look revealed that this was not merely strike training. He was training his muscles, with pitch-black lead weights strapped to his forearms. His muscles trembled faintly with every punch and withdrawal...

The exposed skin of his forearms was covered in purplish-red marks. Up close, one could see swollen capillaries. Excessive training had torn his muscle fibers and ruptured those capillaries, forming patches of purple-red and crimson bruising.

Yet he still gritted his teeth and persisted. Pain and soreness were nothing compared to the punch that scar-faced Mist Ninja had landed squarely in his face.

He still had a long way to go.

Besides, the Uzumaki Clan's training methods were this insane. They trained beyond their limits to unearth their potential. Only the Uzumaki Clan's cockroach-like vitality could withstand such methods. Anyone else would have trained themselves to death long ago.

And compared to ordinary Uzumaki Clan members, Katsuki went even harder.

What he did could no longer be called training. It was practically self-torture.

Long-distance running, frog jumps, sit-ups, pull-ups, handstand walking, and striking practice—after completing the entire regimen, he was on the verge of passing out. Honestly, even an Uzumaki Clan member would probably have suffered a physical collapse from training like this.

But Katsuki had eaten the Human-Human Fruit. At first, he had been disappointed to learn that the fruit he ate was the Human-Human Fruit. Fortunately, after that battle with the Mist Ninja, he discovered that the Human-Human Fruit did not seem so useless after all. For the first time, he had clearly and directly experienced its power.

It was precisely because the Human-Human Fruit complemented the Uzumaki Clan bloodline that Katsuki dared to torture himself so recklessly.

It had been a week since he arrived in Konoha, and Katsuki had stayed in the backyard training ground without stepping outside.

Katsuki and his sister now had a house of their own, a gift from Great-Grandmother Mito. To the wealthy Senju Clan, what was one house? Back then, half of Konoha's land had belonged to the Senju. Even now, the Senju still owned vast holdings.

It was a two-story house, with a flower bed in front and a standard-sized training ground that the previous owner had built in the backyard. A ring of cherry trees had also been planted around the yard. Unfortunately, cherry blossom season had already passed; otherwise, the scenery would have been quite lovely.

But the owner's name had now been changed to Uzumaki, so they could look forward to that view next year.

"Have you always trained this crazily?"

Hatake Sakumo crouched atop the wall, dressed in casual clothes.

"Uncle Sakumo."

Katsuki cried out in surprise, though his fists did not stop moving as he spoke.

"What brings you here?"

Katsuki had gotten it wrong. He assumed that a powerful ninja like Sakumo would constantly be busy taking missions for the village. But that was the mindset of peacetime. With war liable to break out at any moment, how could a strategic weapon like Sakumo be allowed to roam around freely? He was kept in the village in case of an emergency.

"I had nothing to do today, so I came to see you two. The Great Elder asked me to look after you little ones." Sakumo smiled warmly and jumped down from the wall. Standing beneath a cherry tree beside the training ground with his hands behind his back, his expression turned serious. "Training beyond your limits like this can easily leave lasting damage. You are only six years old. There is no need to be so harsh on yourself."

"It's fine. My recovery is very strong, and... I want to become stronger. Last time, you saved my sister and me. But what if we run into danger again? We will not always be lucky enough for someone to come save us. I want to protect my sister and myself with my own strength."

As he spoke, Katsuki completed his final set of strikes. He slowly withdrew his fists, clasped his hands behind his head, and began doing frog jumps around the edge of the training ground. The shapes of the lead weights bulged beneath his taut pant legs...

Sweat fell onto the hard yellow earth, leaving behind a trail of dark marks. His breathing was low and labored, and white vapor burst from his nostrils. Sakumo remained silent as he watched Katsuki make lap after lap in frog jumps, unable to suppress the astonishment in his eyes.

"Katsuki... You have already extracted chakra, haven't you?"

"Whew... Y-yes... Whew, whew!" Speaking while doing frog jumps was even more exhausting. Katsuki felt as if his lungs were about to burst, and every breath cut like a blade.

"What are your chakra affinities? Have you tested them?" Sakumo's breathing grew slightly heavier.

By now, Katsuki's head was throbbing from the workout. He was relying entirely on willpower to keep going and did not notice that Sakumo's questions seemed somewhat off...

"Earth... Earth Release and... Lightning... Lightning Release." Katsuki answered Sakumo's questions instinctively, completely unaware of how delighted Sakumo was upon hearing his response.

Being born with Dual Element Ninjutsu was nothing unusual within the Uzumaki Clan. Kushina, for instance, had also been born with Dual Element Ninjutsu—Wind Release and Water Release—which happened to counter Katsuki's affinities. Wind countered lightning, and earth countered water. It was rather interesting.

"Lightning Release, Earth Release... Lightning and earth..." Sakumo muttered to himself, his brows rising high as his hands clenched into fists. "Katsuki, stop for a moment. I have something to tell you."

"Whew... Whew..." Katsuki stopped, panting, and looked up at Sakumo beneath the cherry tree, unable to process it for a moment.

"Come here. I have something important to tell you." Sakumo took a deep breath, his face returning to its usual calm as he beckoned to Katsuki.

Katsuki dragged his heavy steps over and looked at Sakumo blankly, wondering what important matter Konoha's White Fang could possibly have to discuss with him.

"Do you want to be my disciple?"

What?

Katsuki instinctively thought he had misheard. His eyes widened as he tilted his head up to meet Sakumo's gaze. Looking at the solemn expression on White Fang's face, it did not seem like a joke. His body trembled, and his heart began pounding wildly, nearly leaping out of his throat.

"Why... why me? If Konoha's White Fang wanted to take on a disciple, I imagine countless people would trample down your front door. And there are so many geniuses in Konoha..."

Even Katsuki thought he was being stupid. Konoha's White Fang wanted to accept him as a disciple, yet instead of immediately shouting, "Master, please accept your disciple's bow," he was standing here making excuses and hesitating. How pathetic! But... he still did it. There was no such thing as a free lunch, and the reason mattered—at least, it mattered to him.

"Because, like me, you were born with Dual Element Ninjutsu—lightning and earth. And... I think we get along well. That is all." Sakumo's voice was gentle, yet it carried a radiance that could not be ignored.

But this simple, straightforward reason was exactly to Katsuki's liking!