Training in Ninjutsu

Kakashi had graduated early and begun his career as a ninja, while the rest of the class had welcomed their vacation.

Vacation was much freer than school life. The Ninja Academy assigned no homework for the break, so the time belonged entirely to the students.

But Toru's vacation was no different from his school life.

He had no intention of relaxing or going sightseeing during the break. Instead, he continued training hard.

This world wasn't much different from the one he'd lived in before. Toru believed that strength was the foundation for making a place for oneself, no matter the world.

And the vacation gave him even more time to train freely, since he no longer had to attend those pointless academic classes at school.

Toru had ample resources for training. Besides the keepsakes his father had left him, Fugaku and Yuhi Shinku had also given him a great deal of help.

On top of that, Toru had the Chakra Six Eyes, which let him see how ninjutsu worked and copy other people's techniques.

That gave him plenty of places to focus his training, so he packed his vacation schedule full.

He trained in ninjutsu, Taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninja tools, giving them all equal attention.

Apart from leaving home every day to have dinner with Yuhi Kurenai, he spent nearly all his time training in the open space beside his house.

One day at dinner, Kurenai took the initiative and asked to train with Toru. "Toru, let's train together tomorrow. I want to start practicing the genjutsu my father taught me."

Truthfully, Toru wanted to refuse. Kurenai's strength was far below his, and their training would progress at different rates.

But Yuhi Shinku was there that day, and he happily patted Toru on the shoulder. "Of course! You two should train together."

"Kurenai, spend your vacation training with Toru. His talent for genjutsu is even greater than yours, so make sure you learn from him."

Hearing that, Toru had no reason to refuse. He could only obediently tell Yuhi Shinku and Kurenai, "No problem. Kurenai and I will train together from now on."

And so the two of them made plans to train together at Konoha's Training Ground every afternoon.

The next day, Toru went to Kurenai's house to meet her. Then the two of them set off for Konoha Training Ground 3.

On the way, they ran into two classmates: Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy.

Might Guy was dragging Kakashi, who wore his usual dead-fish eyes, along the road. "I'm going to help you make up with Obito! The best way for men to make up is to train together. That's youth, Kakashi!"

"I'm busy," Kakashi said unwillingly.

Might Guy looked unconvinced. "You're not even wearing your Forehead Protector today, so you definitely don't have a mission. You were hiding in a bookstore reading those weird books. How can you be as busy as you say?"

With his secret exposed, Kakashi looked embarrassed and could only agree to Guy's request.

Guy was delighted. "I've already arranged to meet Obito. He must want to make up with you too."

Guy chatted with Kakashi as they walked. Just then, Toru and Kurenai passed by. Since all four of them were headed in the same direction, they greeted one another and continued on together.

As they passed through the center of the village, Toru's Six Eyes spotted something unusual.

It was a huge, circular barrier, seemingly suppressing some kind of tremendous power.

A beautiful red-haired woman stood near the inside edge of the barrier. Behind her stood two mysterious figures in cloaks and masks, clearly people of some importance.

Facing her was a handsome young man with blond hair. A group of people seemed to be waiting for him behind him.

The two were talking, and their conversation caught Toru's attention.

From what the Six Eyes revealed, the blond man was powerful—even stronger than Yuhi Shinku and Uchiha Fugaku.

But what shocked Toru even more was the terrifying power contained within the woman. It was a force he had never encountered before, filled with a savage, overwhelming aura.

The entire barrier was probably there to suppress that power.

Kurenai noticed Toru watching the pair as they spoke and helpfully introduced them. "The red-haired woman is Uzumaki Kushina, our village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The man facing her is the genius Jonin Namikaze Minato. He's Lord Jiraiya's student."

As the only daughter of Konoha Jonin Yuhi Shinku, Kurenai knew more about the village than Toru did.

Tailed Beasts, Jinchūriki, and Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin—Toru had heard of all of them, even though he'd been in Konoha for less than a year.

Kurenai's explanation gave Toru a rough idea of the pair's standing. They could both be considered part of Konoha's leadership.

As the group drew closer, Kakashi and Guy spotted Obito waiting inside the barrier.

Guy happily raised a hand to greet him. Kakashi and Obito waved back, and their relationship seemed less strained than before.

The three of them went to train in Taijutsu. Led by Guy, they took off running through the village.

But clearly, only Guy was enjoying himself. Kakashi and Obito both found this kind of training exasperating.

Meanwhile, Toru was listening closely to Minato and Kushina's conversation.

Minato looked apologetic. "Sorry, Kushina... I came to tell you... I have to go train in ninjutsu somewhere else today..."

Kushina put her hands on her hips and demanded crossly, "Somewhere else?!"

"...Training Ground 3." Minato sensed her mood and spread his hands to explain. "It's not that... It's just that the technique isn't finished yet, and it's extremely dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt."

Kushina grew so angry that her red hair seemed to fly around her head. She pointed at Minato, furious. "If you hate being with me, just say so!"

"I've never thought that!!" Minato hurried to explain.

The companions behind Minato urged him to hurry to the Hokage's office to report on their mission.

With no choice, Minato turned and left, saying, "Sorry... I have to go. See you later!"

Kushina instinctively tried to follow him, but the two masked men behind her stopped her.

Toru and Kurenai had witnessed it all.

Kurenai seemed to sympathize with Kushina and said, "Those two are Anbu assigned to protect the Jinchuriki. But she can't even go out with the person she loves. It's so sad."

Kurenai pitied the Jinchuriki's situation. When she said "the person she loves," she glanced at Toru, deeply immersed in the moment, as if putting herself in Kushina's shoes.

Toru, however, was focused on something entirely different.

"I can't reach the power of the Tailed Beast yet. But I could try out that new technique Namikaze Minato just said he was developing."

"If even someone that powerful thinks the technique is dangerous, it must be formidable." Toru grew curious about the new technique Minato had mentioned.

So Toru said to Kurenai, "Let's go to Training Ground 3."