An Almost Perfect Three-Person Team

After a round of brainwashing... pfft, ideological education, Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo gave up on the idea of rushing their growth and heading to the battlefield early to kill enemies.

War was something adults should take part in.

Unless the nation was on the brink of destruction, children should never be sent to the battlefield.

Having corrected Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade's way of thinking, they resumed training.

They continued with yesterday's training method. Chishima Chiba and Tsunade each created a Shadow Clone and continued training their Chakra control.

This time, neither of them had their Shadow Clones practice Tree Climbing or Water Walking. Instead, just like their originals, they began playing with Fingertip Spinners.

However...

"Heavenly King Covers Earthly Tiger!" Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone immediately gave the code phrase.

"I'm not her." Tsunade's Shadow Clone turned to look at her original, her eyes full of questions.

Tsunade froze on the spot, unsure how to handle this. She could only blink helplessly and seek help from Chishima Chiba beside her.

"Train properly. Don't think about all that nonsense. It'll distract you."

Chishima Chiba glared at his Shadow Clone. The clone glared right back without backing down, but still obediently sat cross-legged and picked up a paper spinner from the ground to begin training.

Likewise, Tsunade's Shadow Clone sat cross-legged as well. She was highly focused during training and rarely spoke to Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone.

Seeing the two Shadow Clones enter their training state, Chishima Chiba sighed in relief. However, Tsunade, sitting beside him, spoke in a faint voice.

"What exactly do you mean by nonsense?"

Chishima Chiba looked at Tsunade in surprise and paused for an instant, but quickly picked up the thread. "Anything that makes you unhappy or puts you in a difficult position is nonsense."

"Hmph!"

Tsunade lifted her chin slightly and gave Chishima Chiba a look from above before huffing and ignoring him. She focused on the fragile paper spinner at her fingertips.

Having barely passed the test, Chishima Chiba let out a breath inwardly, refocused, and turned his attention to the paper spinner on his fingertip.

Chakra flowed gently through his body, using his entire network of meridians as channels before passing through his fingertips into the fragile paper spinner. Like a light breeze, it made the spinner whirl rapidly atop his finger.

Tsunade's movements were almost perfectly synchronized with Chishima Chiba's. When the paper spinners on their fingertips reached maximum speed, the Chakra flowing from their fingertips abruptly changed direction. The resulting counterforce gradually slowed the spinning paper spinners.

In the end, the paper spinners changed direction and continued whirling. Once they reached a certain speed, they would be slowed again before changing rotational direction and continuing to spin.

After repeating this process more than ten times, a tiny fluctuation appeared in their finely controlled Chakra, causing the fragile paper spinners to instantly burst into scraps that scattered everywhere.

Yet Chishima Chiba and Tsunade were quite satisfied. Their control over Chakra had improved somewhat compared to yesterday.

Encouraged by such pleasing progress, they became even more motivated. They replaced the paper spinners and resumed the interrupted training.

Their Shadow Clones made roughly the same progress. Once the two dispelled their Shadow Clones after a while, the results of today's training would practically double.

Hatake Sakumo, practicing his family swordsmanship nearby, felt a slight bitterness in his heart. Because of his constitution, no matter how hard he worked, he could only watch Chishima Chiba and Tsunade gradually pull ahead of him.

Gritting his teeth, Hatake Sakumo cast aside his distracting thoughts and focused on the training before him.

"Sakumo, time's up," Chishima Chiba reminded him half an hour later.

"I know."

Hatake Sakumo was a little reluctant, but he understood the importance of restraint. The instant Chishima Chiba finished speaking, he dispelled his Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Puff.

With the sound of smoke bursting, Hatake Sakumo's Shadow Clone vanished. At the same time, a flood of experience and memories instantly poured into his mind.

The sudden impact left Hatake Sakumo dazed. His body swayed, and he staggered back several steps before barely regaining his balance.

"Huff..."

Hatake Sakumo let out a breath, his face slightly pale. "Dispelling a Shadow Clone really does feel awful in that instant..."

"It's fine, Sakumo. Once your body develops further and your mental strength grows stronger, you should be able to handle the Shadow Clone training method easily."

"Hopefully."

After saying that, Hatake Sakumo sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and carefully absorbed the experience and memories his Shadow Clone had passed to his original body. His strength improved somewhat as well.

Hatake Sakumo rested nearby, while Chishima Chiba and Tsunade continued training with their heads down. Their bodies were their greatest assets.

But no matter how far their Physical Constitution surpassed that of their peers, as long as it was not limitless, there would still be a threshold to their endurance.

Thanks to yesterday's experience, Chishima Chiba kept a tight grip on that threshold. The moment time was up, he immediately dispelled his Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Likewise, the second Chishima Chiba moved, Tsunade dispelled her own Shadow Clone as well.

The two swayed one after the other, both unable to stop themselves from closing their eyes and rubbing their foreheads. Their mouths twitched as they wore expressions of pain.

It felt awful!

Still, the price was not unacceptable. After resting for a while, Chishima Chiba and Tsunade no longer sat cross-legged. They simply fell backward and sprawled on the ground.

Hatake Sakumo joined them as well. The three lay with their heads together, looking exactly like a flower from above.

"I'm exhausted," Hatake Sakumo could not help remarking.

"Who told you to add extra training after learning Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Chishima Chiba crossed one leg over the other. "I'm telling you, show some restraint. Don't wreck your body because you're too eager to improve."

"I know my limits," Hatake Sakumo said stubbornly.

"You? I don't believe it." Chishima Chiba shook his head. "Another day, I'll go see Grandma Mito and ask whether I can learn some more Medical Ninjutsu from her."

"What do you want to learn Medical Ninjutsu for?" Tsunade asked.

"Obviously, for the two of you. If either of you suffers any physical injuries, then if I know Medical Ninjutsu, I can naturally treat you."

"Look—"

Before Chishima Chiba could finish, Tsunade interrupted him. "What are you looking at? I'm going to learn Medical Ninjutsu too, okay?"

"You?" Chishima Chiba chuckled inwardly. "You have talent for Medical Ninjutsu?"

"Stop looking down on me!" Tsunade raised her hand and smacked Chishima Chiba on the forehead. "Grandma said my personality isn't suited for Sealing Jutsu, but Medical Ninjutsu suits me very well."

"Violently ripping out ribs?" Chishima Chiba continued joking.

"Bullshit. If anyone's ribs are getting ripped out, yours will be first. Besides, Medical Ninjutsu isn't that simple. It demands extremely high Chakra control."

"But you completely meet those requirements, Tsunade," Hatake Sakumo chimed in. "Medical Ninjutsu is very powerful, whether used on others or yourself."

"Exactly!" A smile appeared on Tsunade's face, and her bright eyes gleamed.

"If that's the case, then our group's division of duties needs to change." Chishima Chiba raised an arm and pointed at himself. "I'm the captain. I'll suppress enemies with firepower, defend against enemy Ninjutsu attacks, and use Sealing Jutsu to subdue them when necessary."

Without lowering his arm, Chishima Chiba rotated his wrist and adjusted the direction of his finger toward Hatake Sakumo beside him.

"Sakumo, you'll infiltrate and assassinate. Prioritize enemy support-type ninja and other high-value targets. At the same time, you'll provide support and guard my flanks."

"Lastly, Tsunade will defend against close-range ambushes and provide medical support for our team."

"See? With offense, defense, surprise attacks, and survival all covered, the three of us make the strongest team!"

"It is strong..." Hatake Sakumo's eyes filled with longing, though he still had a question. "But why are you the captain?"

"Ahem." Chishima Chiba cleared his throat. "My ambush skills aren't as good as yours, Sakumo, and my physical strength and Medical Ninjutsu aren't as good as Tsunade's, but... I can do everything you two can. And I also know Sealing Jutsu and multiple Ninjutsu from all four elemental attributes..."

"Put all that together, and I'm a true all-rounder. Individually, I may not be the strongest in every field, but when it comes to overall ability, if I claim second place, who would dare claim first?"

Chishima Chiba looked immensely proud, yet neither Hatake Sakumo nor Tsunade could find anything wrong with his reasoning.

A three-person team centered around Chishima Chiba was gradually taking shape. Other than lacking scouting ability, it was nearly flawless.

Still, Chishima Chiba was not entirely satisfied. Why had those two, Orochimaru and Jiraiya, not shown up yet?

It would actually be nice to drag both of them aboard, though Jiraiya would need a few more lessons.