Special Training Time (2)

A month was enough time for many things to happen in the world of shinobi.

Within Konoha, two young men were each giving it everything they had.

Jiraiya took Naruto out of the village and threw him into the depths of the mountains and forests. During the first week, Jiraiya taught Naruto nothing. He only made him hold a horse stance beneath a waterfall every day, calling it "tempering his will."

A week later, Jiraiya pressed a hand against Naruto's abdomen.

"Five Elements Seal... Orochimaru did something unnecessary."

Undoing the seal was no easy process. Naruto writhed on the ground in agony as the Nine-Tails' chakra poured from the cracks in the seal like scorching magma, searing his chakra pathways. But once the pain passed, he felt a strength inside him that he had never felt before—a red, violent power that somehow made him uneasy.

"This is... the special chakra inside me?"

"Only a small part of it." Jiraiya's expression was unusually serious. "Don't rely on it. It will consume you."

Next came the Summoning Jutsu. Naruto bit his finger and pressed a bloody handprint onto the contract scroll. The first thing he summoned was a tadpole, the second was still a tadpole, and the third was a frog only slightly bigger than a tadpole. Jiraiya laughed so hard that he rolled around on the ground, and Naruto angrily threw the frog into his face.

But Naruto did not give up. He performed the Summoning Jutsu dozens of times every day. When his chakra ran out, he rested; once it recovered, he continued training.

Finally, at dusk during the second week, some red chakra leaked out, and smoke exploded—

Gamabunta.

The enormous toad crouched before Naruto, taller than a house, a pipe hanging from his mouth as he looked down at the blond brat beneath his feet.

"You're the one who summoned me?"

Naruto looked up, his mouth wide enough to fit a fist inside.

Bunta had little interest in the brat, but Jiraiya said something from the side, and Bunta's gaze changed. He said nothing more, only agreeing to help in a crisis—but that was all.

"My chakra isn't free, brat." With that, Bunta vanished.

Naruto collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. That summoning had nearly drained all his chakra. But his hands were trembling—not from exhaustion, but from excitement.

Summoning a toad was something he had never even dared to dream of before.

He had grown stronger.

But it was not enough. He had to become even stronger.

Sasuke Uchiha's special training had a completely different feel.

Kakashi Hatake brought Sasuke to a training ground outside Konoha, its surroundings covered in seals reading "No Entry."

"Your Curse Mark needs to be suppressed." Kakashi took out a sealing talisman. "I'll add another layer of sealing to your Curse Mark and limit its spread. But that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. You need to learn to control it with your own will."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and let Kakashi press the sealing talisman onto his neck.

The instant the talisman touched the Curse Mark, Sasuke felt as though he had been electrocuted. His entire body jerked upright, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. It felt as if someone were driving a red-hot iron rod into his neck.

"Endure it."

Sasuke did not cry out. He only clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as blood seeped through his fingers.

Once the seal was complete, the black markings of the Curse Mark retreated to the base of his neck and stopped spreading.

"Next, taijutsu."

Kakashi's training method was—actual combat.

Not wooden posts, not targets, but genuine taijutsu sparring where every punch landed with solid force. Kakashi suppressed his speed to a level close to Sasuke's, then had his Sharingan meet Sasuke's Sharingan.

"Your Sharingan can see through movements, but your body can't keep up. That is the gap between you and Orochimaru," Kakashi said. "There's only one way to close that gap—train until your body can keep up with your eyes."

During the third week, Kakashi began teaching him a new technique.

"This is a ninjutsu I developed myself—Lightning Cutter. You can call it something else." Blinding lightning gathered in Kakashi's right hand. "Concentrate Lightning Release chakra in your palm, then combine it with a high-speed charge and thrust. Its power is enough to pierce most defenses."

Sasuke stared at the mass of lightning, white flashes reflected in his eyes.

He had to learn it.

Insane, life-threatening training, day after day. Lightning Release chakra went out of control in his palm, blasting his arm and scorching his skin. He did not stop.

In the fourth week, Chidori—Sasuke called it Chidori—finally took shape. Though it was still unstable and could only be maintained for a short time, that instant of lightning and chirping was already enough to make Kakashi nod.

"That's enough," Kakashi said. "The rest will be tempered in actual combat."

Sasuke dispelled Chidori and looked into the distance.

The road to revenge.

I'm coming.

At Orochimaru's temporary base outside Konoha.

Yunju's training continued, but Orochimaru no longer needed to watch over him every day.

After mastering Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Yunju began focusing on other areas. He looked through the ninjutsu scrolls he had brought from Orochimaru's base and selected a basic Earth Release technique.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."

It was a defensive ninjutsu that raised a stone wall before the user to block physical attacks. The principle was not complicated, but it required great precision in chakra control—the height, thickness, and curvature of the earth wall all had to be calculated precisely by the caster.

After three days of practice, Yunju could steadily raise a curved stone wall two meters high and half a meter thick. Its hardness still could not compare to that of a true defensive specialist, but it was more than enough as an emergency measure.

Orochimaru would occasionally pass by the training ground and stop to watch for a few minutes.

Then he would leave without saying anything more.

One day, Yunju was practicing fine chakra control.

Orochimaru stood in the distance and watched for a long time.

Finally, he walked over to Yunju.

"Yunju-kun."

Yunju raised his head, and the fine threads of chakra did not break.

"Your strength has already reached the level of an elite chunin."

Yunju's movements paused slightly.

Elite chunin.

That meant his overall strength had surpassed that of an ordinary chunin and was nearing the threshold of a jonin. His combat experience might still be lacking, but his chakra reserves, ninjutsu proficiency, and combat intelligence had all reached the standard.

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru." Yunju lowered his head.

"It was your own effort." Orochimaru turned around. "There is nothing interesting about practicing the fundamentals. I no longer need to watch over you. You know what you should do."

Yunju nodded.

From that day onward, Orochimaru no longer appeared at the training ground every day.

He was busy with other matters.

Over the next half month, Yunju rarely saw Orochimaru.

Strange shinobi often came and went from the base—not dressed like Sound Ninja, nor like Orochimaru's usual subordinates. They wore conical hats that concealed their faces and spoke with Orochimaru in a secret chamber for hours at a time.

Kabuto accompanied them throughout.

Whenever those people came, Kabuto cleared the area in advance. Everyone unrelated—including Yunju—was ordered to remain in their rooms and forbidden from going outside.

Yunju did not know which village those people came from, nor what they were discussing.

But he noticed Kabuto's attitude.

Kabuto still wore that gentle smile when speaking with them, but he was exceedingly careful with his words. He said what needed to be said and did not let a single unnecessary word slip out. After those people left, Kabuto immediately reported to Orochimaru, and the two would confer in secret for even longer than Orochimaru had spoken with the visitors.

Orochimaru was frequently dealing with some organization.

Yunju did not ask.

Asking about things he was not supposed to know would only bring trouble.

He simply trained methodically each day, consolidating the ninjutsu he had learned and honing his taijutsu and chakra control. Occasionally, he thought of Dosu and the way that bandaged young man had walked into the forest so confidently.

Dosu had never returned.

Yunju had not asked anyone about him.

He did not need to ask. The answer was obvious.

Five days before the third exam.

Early morning.

Orochimaru appeared in the base's main hall, with Kabuto and Yunju behind him.

No—not just the two of them.

There was one more person.

White hair, green eyes, and a cold, chilling aura surrounding his entire body.

Kimimaro.

Yunju had not seen him for a long time. Kimimaro looked even thinner than before, but the light in his eyes had not weakened in the slightest—it was absolute loyalty to Orochimaru.

"Today, you will follow me."

Orochimaru did not waste words. He turned and walked outside. The three followed behind him, and no one asked where they were going.

They passed through the forest and crossed hills, arriving at a concealed valley.

Towering cliffs stood on both sides of the valley, with a dry riverbed in the middle. The field of view was broad, suitable for both ambushes and retreat.

Orochimaru stopped, turned around, and faced the three of them.

"Now, I will tell you what we are going to do."

His gaze swept across Kabuto, Kimimaro, and Yunju.

"The assassination target—the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa."

Yunju's breathing stopped for a moment.

The Kazekage.

One of the Kage of the Five Great Nations.

His first mission with Orochimaru was going to be the assassination of a Kage?

Yunju's expression did not change, but cold sweat had already seeped down his back. He quickly recalled the intelligence on Rasa—Magnet Release: Gold Dust, allowing him to control high-density Gold Dust for attack and defense. Gold Dust was far denser than ordinary sand, with extremely powerful offensive and defensive capabilities. It could also be used to create traps, restrict enemy movement, and control the battlefield with exceptional effectiveness.

An opponent who combined offense, defense, and battlefield control.

Orochimaru observed the reactions of the three and continued.

"The Kazekage will not have many guards with him. I have analyzed his route—there will only be two jonin-level guards."

Yunju listened to that number and calculated rapidly.

Four jonin, eight chunin and genin.

There were four of them.

Orochimaru, Kimimaro, Kabuto, and Yunju.

"Kimimaro." Orochimaru looked at the white-haired youth. "You and Kabuto will handle the jonin."

Kimimaro nodded slightly without asking why. To him, Orochimaru's orders were everything.

"Kabuto. Coordinate with Kimimaro. Do not underestimate them."

"Understood." Kabuto adjusted his glasses.

"Yunju-kun." Finally, Orochimaru looked at Yunju. "Your task is to eliminate any environmental or natural factors in the surrounding area and ensure they do not interfere with the battle between the Kazekage and me."

Yunju drew a deep breath.

"Understood."

Orochimaru seemed quite satisfied with that answer. He raised his head and looked toward the distant horizon.

"I have already grasped the Kazekage's route. He will pass through this valley in three days."

The valley was so quiet that only the sound of wind remained.

Yunju stood between Kimimaro and Kabuto, sensing the different auras emanating from them—Kimimaro's cold, sharp killing intent and Kabuto's calm, unfathomable calculation.

And his own heart was beating much faster than usual.

Not because he was afraid.

But because he had never done anything this big before.

Assassinating the Kazekage.