Training Methods Above the Intelligence Line (Part 1)

Hagoromo and Kushina's first meeting had, in fact, ended there.

Becoming Kushina's disciple carried an implicit meaning: if Kushina became a team leader, then it would be difficult for Hagoromo to ever reach the front lines. That was his own judgment.

Moreover, he had already learned that Kushina had only one disciple: him. There was no way to form the standard four-person combat team. Clearly, this was not an arrangement meant for the front lines.

Kushina Uzumaki was, after all, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If the Nine-Tails could be perfectly controlled by its Jinchuriki, it would undoubtedly become an immense fighting force. But Konoha's higher-ups could never send the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to the battlefield. The reasons were simple. First, although Kushina belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, the Nine-Tails was unlike the other tailed beasts, and she could not achieve perfect control over it. Second—and more importantly—Konoha could not bear the consequences of losing the Nine-Tails.

Once the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki appeared on the front lines, the enemy would surely stop at nothing to kill her. An enemy Jinchuriki was the kind of target that demanded only one conclusion: it had to be destroyed.

Things unfolded just as Hagoromo had predicted. While the other teams underwent minor adjustments before heading to the front, Kushina remained in the village without the slightest intention of leaving. Hagoromo did not even need to take on low-level missions. He had only three things to do: first, learn ninjutsu from Kushina; second, watch Kushina conduct all sorts of research; third, team up with Kushina to bully people around Konoha.

In fact, on the second day after Hagoromo became Kushina's disciple, before he even had to bring it up himself, Kushina was already eager to start teaching him ninjutsu.

She wanted Hagoromo to surpass Kakashi as soon as possible. If her disciple could surpass Minato's disciple, wouldn't that be the same as her surpassing Minato?

In that sense, Konoha had treated Hagoromo as Kushina's toy, while Kushina had unconsciously treated Hagoromo as one too. Hagoromo had indeed fulfilled the role a toy ought to play. He simply had not realized that he had become Kushina's stabilizer.

"So, what ninjutsu should I teach you first?" Kushina muttered to herself, somewhat troubled.

The Four Symbols Seal... Of course, that was only the answer Hagoromo had imagined in his mind. He could not possibly say it aloud. Never mind that it was a sealing technique on the level of an S-rank forbidden technique—if Kushina asked how he knew the name of such a technique, he would have no answer.

How could a student who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy know the exact name of the Uzumaki Clan's secret forbidden technique?

He had no answer, so he could not voice it.

Kushina naturally knew the Four Symbols Seal, but there was no way she would casually teach a forbidden technique to someone else. Besides, she did not believe Hagoromo could learn a top-tier sealing technique like the Four Symbols Seal at this stage. And she intended to teach Hagoromo ninjutsu. As for Sealing Technique... she had no plans to teach him that for the time being.

Sealing Technique was far more difficult to learn than ordinary ninjutsu, because its complexity required the learner to possess a profound understanding of the technique itself. Generally speaking, the difficulty of learning an A-rank sealing technique was roughly equal to—or even greater than—that of an S-rank ninjutsu. An S-rank technique like the Four Symbols Seal might remain forever beyond the reach of someone without talent, no matter how hard they tried.

"I've got it. Let's start with the extremely practical Shadow Clone Technique." Kushina's eyes immediately lit up as she thought of it.

Shadow Clone was a B-rank Ninjutsu. Based on Kushina's assessment of Hagoromo's current chakra reserves and control, learning this technique should not pose any problem.

After all, he had already created an A-rank ninjutsu on his own.

"The Shadow Clone Technique, then. I'll tell you the hand sign first..." With that, Kushina began forcefully teaching him without even asking for his opinion.

Of course, Hagoromo had no reason not to learn a ninjutsu as practical as the Shadow Clone Technique.

The Shadow Clone Technique required only the Boar Sign, one of the basic Twelve Signs. Any Ninja Academy graduate would know that, but Kushina still demonstrated the sign for Hagoromo first, then explained how chakra should flow while forming it.

She demonstrated it herself once, and two identical red-haired devils appeared before Hagoromo's eyes.

Hagoromo nodded to show that he understood, then immediately began trying it himself. The technique was not particularly difficult for a mind like his.

He did not rush to form the sign. Instead, following Kushina's instructions, he first circulated his chakra through the fixed meridians. Only after he had become familiar with the chakra pathways of the Shadow Clone Technique did he begin forming the sign.

Kushina nodded. She could tell what Hagoromo was doing, and she highly approved of it. Rather than practicing blindly, he had begun by familiarizing himself with the chakra flow. It fully demonstrated that her student was quite mature.

As he formed the sign, Hagoromo's chakra flowed in accordance with it. Then, this B-rank Ninjutsu, which was not especially difficult, succeeded on his first attempt.

Another identical version of himself appeared before him. Hagoromo felt the chakra within his body instantly drop to half its normal level—this was the one drawback of all clone techniques. They evenly divided the caster's chakra among every clone.

Hagoromo immediately released the Shadow Clone Technique, and the portion of chakra his Shadow Clone had not used promptly returned to his original body.

"Shadow Clone Technique, successful... Let's begin training in the next ninjutsu right away, Teacher Kushina."

"The next one already? You've only just learned the Shadow Clone Technique. Don't you need to practice it first?" Kushina was not surprised that Hagoromo had grasped the Shadow Clone Technique so quickly. What surprised her was that he wanted to begin learning another ninjutsu immediately.

Although she did have the thought of competing with Minato, Hagoromo's performance seemed a little too eager for quick results.

"Practice? I don't need it, Teacher Kushina. The moment I learned this ninjutsu, my proficiency was already maxed out." To prove that he was not lying, Hagoromo formed the sign again, and another clone appeared before him.

Kushina: "..."

This was the effect of talent. When it came to brain capacity and learning ability, never mind the people of the Naruto World—Hagoromo was not afraid of even Long Aotian or Zhao Ritian.

Kushina felt that something was off, but Hagoromo had indeed mastered this B-rank Ninjutsu. Thus, both gratified and somewhat shocked and helpless, she began teaching Hagoromo a new ninjutsu.

Although she had once said that she would compete with Minato in the election, by now she had actually given up on competing in that regard—or rather, she had admitted defeat.

First, Minato Namikaze was simply too outstanding.

Second, she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That was the greatest obstacle to becoming Hokage.

Yet a glimpse of the whole could be seen through a small part. Having witnessed Hagoromo's learning ability, she could finally be certain that her disciple surpassing Minato's disciple would not be a problem at all.

P.S. Why did my cover automatically turn into Uzumaki Naruto? Was that Qidian's doing?