"Too slow."
The wooden knife struck Naruto's flank hard with a breaking sound. Without Nine-Tails Chakra's buffer, it hit the flesh firmly. Naruto groaned and rolled twice on the grass. Before he could get up, the cold tip of the knife was already pressed against his throat.
Sasuke looked at him condescendingly, that one eye was so calm that it made people angry. "Dead."
Naruto was lying on the ground in a large shape, his chest heaving violently, and his lungs felt like a handful of hot sand had been stuffed into his lungs. Sweat dripped down the tip of his nose into the soil, and he didn't even have the strength to raise his hand to wipe it.
"I said Sasuke..." Naruto gasped and his voice was hoarse, "Are you... avenging a public vendetta? Absolutely."
"When facing Ōtsutsuki Clan, no one will wait for you to catch your breath before taking action." Sasuke took back the wooden knife and held a sword flower in his hand. "Your body still remembers the rhythm of the past. At that moment, you instinctively wanted to resist the damage in order to gain an opportunity to attack. In the past, you had Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak, and this blood exchange tactic was very effective. But now, it is suicide."
Naruto stood up with his knees supported, his legs still shaking. In the past, this level of training was just a warm-up for him, but now it was like running a marathon. His body was as heavy as lead, and every joint was protesting.
"This kind of thing... I know it in my head, but my body can't react." Naruto smiled bitterly.
"Then practice until your body remembers it."
"Oh! Is this the limit of youth!"
Accompanied by the harsh sound of the wheelchair's tires scraping against the ground, Might Guy rushed into Training Ground like an out-of-control chariot. Rock Lee followed closely behind, pushing the wheelchair as fast as it could.
"Teacher Kai, slow down! There is a pit ahead!"
"The pit is also part of spiritual practice! Leap, my wheelchair!"
There was a bang. The wheelchair got stuck on a raised tree root. Kai flew out, completed a perfect 720-degree turn in the air, and then landed firmly on the ground with his hands.
"Full marks!" Rock Lee applauded with tears in his eyes.
Sasuke took a step to the side expressionlessly, as if he didn't want to be affected by the heat wave. Naruto covered his face helplessly.
"Naruto!" Kai stood upside down and looked at Naruto, his white teeth sparkling in the sun, "I heard Kakashi say that you are re-training Taijutsu? That's great! Ninjutsu and other things are just fancy embellishments. Only muscles watered by sweat will not betray you!"
"Teacher Kai, it's hard for me to even stand now..."
"That means the "load" is not in place yet!" Kai turned over and jumped back into the wheelchair, "Li, take that out!"
Rock Lee quickly took out a green tights from the backpack, with dense weight-bearing blocks hanging on it. "This is a specially made "Hokage limited edition" training tights! It is breathable and sweat-absorbent, and can automatically adjust the weight according to the Chakra amount!"
Naruto looked at the suffocating green jersey and subconsciously took two steps back. "Well, I have Sasuke special training..."
"Put it on." Sasuke suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"Although your Chakra power is huge, your control is too poor. In the past, Nine-Tails helped you adjust it, but now you need more precise control." Sasuke rarely stood on the same front as Kai, "The weight can force you to use every ounce of your physical strength carefully."
Under the watchful eyes of the two devil instructors, Seventh Hokage put on the green tights with tears in her eyes.
The next two hours were hell.
Kai didn't teach any advanced moves, but just asked Naruto to repeat the most basic movements: straight punches, side kicks, and dodges. But each movement required to be performed to the ultimate standard. Without the assistance of Chakra, relying solely on muscle power to drive this tired body, Naruto felt like his bones were falling apart.
"Use your waist! Not your legs!" Kai sat in a wheelchair and waved a pointer, "Think about Rock Lee back then! Think about you back then! What did you have back then? Only the energy to refuse to admit defeat!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and punched the wooden stake.
Bang!
Sawdust flying.
"The two thousandth time!" Rock Lee shouted.
Naruto finally couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed to the ground. This time, he didn't even have the strength to move a finger.
Sasuke came over and threw him a bottle of water.
"Ten minutes of rest."
Naruto struggled to unscrew the bottle cap and took a sip. The water flowed from the corner of his mouth into his neck, bringing a slight chill.
"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto looked at the flowing clouds in the sky, "Tell me, if that kid Boruto saw me in such a mess, would he laugh to death?"
"Yes." Sasuke sat down next to him and wiped Kusanagi Sword, "But he will also remember it."
"Remember what?"
"Remember that even though his father lost his strongest strength, he was still rolling in the mud just to stand in front of them." Sasuke's voice was very soft, half blown away by the wind, "Although that boy said something harsh, he was actually watching."
Naruto was stunned for a moment, then grinned, causing the wound at the corner of his mouth to hurt, and he grimaced in pain.
"You guys are still so good at talking."
At this moment, a Ninja Hawk circled down and landed on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke took off the mailbox, opened it and glanced at it, and his originally gentle expression suddenly solidified.
"What's wrong?" Naruto noticed the change in the atmosphere.
"That 'container' has accelerated." Sasuke stood up and crumpled the letter into a ball. "It did not take the main road, but went directly through the forest. All the beasts along the way were sucked out of their life force. At this speed, we will arrive at Kikyo Castle at the Land of Fire border tonight."
Naruto sat up suddenly, the pain in his body was instantly forgotten. "Kikyo Castle? That's an ancient town where civilians live!"
"Shikamaru has mobilized the nearby Anbu, but I'm afraid it can't be stopped." Sasuke looked at Naruto, "That thing is extremely hungry for Chakra. Ordinary ninjas always deliver food wherever they go."
Naruto ripped off the weight-bearing block on his body. Under the green tights, the blue eyes no longer looked tired as before, replaced by the sharpness that belonged to Hokage.
"Then let's go."
"Can you still move?"
"Nonsense." Naruto moved his neck and made a crisp sound, "It was just a warm-up. The real battle begins now."
Hokage's Office turned into a mess.
Shikamaru held an unlit cigarette in his mouth and roared into the communicator, "Let the third team withdraw! That is suicide! Evacuate the people and vacate that area!"
The door was pushed open, and Naruto and Sasuke walked in. Naruto hadn't had time to change out of his training clothes that were covered in mud, so he just put on Sacred Robe.
"How is the situation?" Naruto asked.
"It's very bad." Shikamaru pointed at the red dot on the map, "This thing is smart. It avoids our fortified strongholds and specifically chooses civilian areas where Chakra's response is weak. It is "eating"."