ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ ᴜᴢᴜᴍᴀᴋɪ ɴᴀᴍɪᴋᴀᴢᴇ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘᴜᴅᴇɴ (on Hold)

Chapter 43

Outskirts of Lighting Country

Nii Yugito, her blonde hair trailing behind her, darted through the dank, grimy sewers. She halted abruptly, spinning just in time to evade a three-bladed scythe with a nimble backflip.

She had been on a border patrol when two robed figures ambushed her. Their unprovoked attack had turned her routine patrol into a life-or-death struggle.

One of her attackers, his voice laced with madness, taunted her, demanding that she fight. He spoke of a sacrifice for Lord Jashin. The other, his voice deeper, emerged from the shadows, expressing a grudging admiration for Yugito's agility. He complained about his lack of skill, his frustration evident.

At the mention of 'Akatsuki,' Yugito flinched involuntarily but quickly composed herself. She assumed a defensive stance, her eyes narrowing at her attackers. She acknowledged their affiliation with Akatsuki, her voice steady.

One of her attackers, Kakazu, warned his companion, Hidan, not to underestimate her as she was the jinchuriki of the Nibi. Hidan, however, dismissed the warning with a shout, claiming Yugito as his target.

Yugito smirked, confidently declaring that she had them trapped, not the other way around. With a swift hand sign, she triggered a series of paper bomb explosions, causing rocks to block the entrance they had come from.

Kakazu seemed unimpressed, likening the situation to a game of cat and mouse. On the other hand, Hidan appeared to relish the prospect of the hunt, his voice taking on a homicidal edge as he called out to Yugito.

In response, Yugito's eyes twitched furiously before transforming into her Two-tailed cat form, ready to face her adversaries.

With a roar of defiance, Yugito lashed out at the Akatsuki duo, her enlarged cat paws slicing through the air. Her voice echoed through the cavernous sewer, warning her not to underestimate her.

Hidan, however, seemed unfazed by her transformation. He retreated behind a rock wall, his eyes never leaving Yugito's gigantic cat form. A predatory grin spread across his face as he licked his lips, relishing the challenge ahead. "Well, this will be fun," he murmured, his voice filled with anticipation.

Konoha

Later that afternoon, at Training Ground 7, the Konohamaru Corps arrived to find their boss, Naruto, waiting for them. He lay there calmly, indicating he had been there for a while.

"Hey guys," Naruto greeted them as they approached.

"Heya Boss!" The trio responded in unison, their voices filled with enthusiasm and eagerness to learn under Naruto's guidance.

Naruto rose to his feet and walked over to the group. He admitted that he had never been a sensei before but was willing to try it. He had a plan for each of them.

For Konohamaru, the group's fighter, Naruto would teach him taijutsu and tactical skills for fighting enemies. Udon would receive training in shurikenjutsu and fuinjutsu, which Naruto believed would suit him perfectly. As for Moegi, Naruto confessed that he couldn't personally help her with the areas he was recommending for her - medical and genjutsu - but he could provide her with some scrolls on the subjects and ask Karin for assistance.

Naruto's determination was evident as he declared, "I will turn you into chunin material by the time I am done with you; believe it." The fire in his eyes was so intense that it made the young genin take a few steps back. The training under Naruto's tutelage was about to begin.

"Hai, Naruto-sensei!" The genin saluted in response, their voices echoing with determination and respect.

Naruto, their newly appointed sensei, outlined the first part of their training regimen. "Good, now, first of all, we need to work on your speed and reaction times when you're dodging objects," he declared, producing weights and balls from his bag. The sight of these training tools drained the color from the faces of the three young shinobi.

"We're supposed to run around with those while dodging balls?" Udon groaned, his voice filled with dread. Naruto confirmed this with a chirpy "Yep!" He further explained that they would continue this exercise all week until they could last twenty minutes without being hit by him or his clones.

Naruto then urged them to put on the weights quickly, his voice taking on a sadistic edge as he added, "You wouldn't want to meet Tora again...would you?" The mere mention of the demon cat Tora was enough to send the trio scrambling to put on the weights.

The first hour of training was nothing short of torture for the team. Naruto showered them with rubber balls like a relentless rainstorm, pushing them to their limits. Despite their exhaustion, Naruto continued to taunt them, challenging them to tap into the energy they had shown earlier. "I know you three can do better than this. Where was all that energy from an hour ago," he called out, his words echoing through the training ground.

Konohamaru's complaint echoed through the training ground, his frustration evident. "How the hell can we? We have these massive weights on our legs to where we can barely even move at a civilian pace," he whined. His teammates, Udon and Moegi, nodded in agreement, their faces mirroring his exasperation.

In response, Naruto threw balls at their faces. "OW!" they yelled in unison, the impact of the balls stinging their faces. Naruto explained his method, "By forcing your body to move faster, you'll go faster. You'll start to dodge my attacks in no time, but we need to build up your stamina for now." He continued to throw more balls at them, pushing them to their limits.

The grueling training session lasted several more hours before Naruto finally decided to call it a day. "All right, you three! You've worked hard enough; come back here at the same time tomorrow, and don't be late...you'll seriously regret it." With a final eye smile, he disappeared, leaving the exhausted Konohamaru Corps on the training grounds.

Moegi broke the silence, her voice filled with doubt. "Konohamaru...," she began, "I'm starting to think it was a horrible idea to ask Naruto-Nissan to train us." She stared off into the distance, her mind filled with apprehension.

Udon chimed in, his voice filled with concern. "Yeah, I suppose you're right, but if we can't dodge his attacks, how the hell do we stand a chance in the chunin exams?" he asked, voicing the question on their minds.

Konohamaru groaned as he tried to get up, his body protesting after the intense training. "We're just going to have to tough it out and hope we survive the next week," he said, bracing himself for the rigorous training that awaited them. The path to becoming chunin was proving more challenging than they had imagined.

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The Chunin exams are going to start.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.