Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

Chapter 22: Minato Namikaze’s Special Training!

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Minato Namikaze’s Special Training!

The barbecue lunch was thoroughly enjoyable, though it did eat up the mission reward Minato Namikaze had just received.

There was no helping it—Minato didn't say anything, but Sh?ichi Hoshita and the other two were all big eaters.

After lunch, the four of them arrived at a forest on the outskirts of Konoha Village.

"Rest for an hour," Minato said before disappearing into the forest.

Watching Minato vanish into the trees, Sany? Kurama grinned, "Sh?ichi, how about a taijutsu match?"

Sh?ichi Hoshita readily agreed, "No problem!"

Uchiha Shisui took on the role of referee. At his signal, Sh?ichi and Sany? clashed.

As Shisui observed silently, he quickly noticed, "Sany?'s moves are being completely read by Sh?ichi. This kind of ability..."

The first thought that came to his mind was the dynamic vision of the Sharingan.

Although Sany? Kurama was two years older than Sh?ichi, their hand-to-hand combat skills were surprisingly similar.

Soon, Sany? began using kunai, and Sh?ichi responded in kind. The sound of metal clashing filled the air.

But the flow of the battle didn't change much.

After about five minutes, Sh?ichi and Sany? stopped.

"Impressive!" Sany? gave Sh?ichi a thumbs-up, genuinely impressed, despite taijutsu not being his strong suit.

At this point, Shisui stepped forward, pointing out the flaws in both Sh?ichi's and Sany?'s techniques, giving them a detailed analysis of their fight.

As Sh?ichi listened, he quickly realized that Shisui's combat intelligence was on a much higher level.

After the review, Sh?ichi immediately took the opportunity to ask Shisui for tips on using short swords.

Before they knew it, an hour had passed. Minato reappeared and looked at the three, saying, "The next training exercise is to follow a designated route through this forest."

"The direction is straight behind me—go straight through."

After saying this, Minato vanished once more.

Sany? immediately turned to Shisui, "Shisui, what should we do?"

Sh?ichi also looked to Shisui. Among the three of them, he was the strongest and most experienced.

Shisui responded, "I'll take the lead. Sany?, you stay in the middle, and Sh?ichi, you take the rear. We'll advance in a single line formation."

Both Sh?ichi and Sany? nodded in agreement.

With Shisui leading the way, the three of them dashed into the forest.

The moment they entered, Shisui activated his Sharingan.

At the back of the formation, Sh?ichi immediately entered a state of 100% focus.

As for the 10x concentration boost from his [Scholar] tag, he didn't dare to use it lightly due to the significant drain on his stamina.

From his hidden vantage point in the forest, Minato watched the three as they moved.

Suddenly, he used a kunai to cut a thin wire.

In the next moment, a pre-set trap was triggered, sending a barrage of kunai and shuriken flying toward the three of them from the side.

More specifically, Sany? in the middle was the primary target, with the most kunai and shuriken aimed at him.

"Watch out!" Shisui reacted first, stopping in his tracks and shouting a warning as he hurled a kunai forward.

Sparks flew in the forest, accompanied by the sharp clanging of metal. Shisui's single kunai deflected four or five of the incoming weapons aimed at Sany?.

Sh?ichi wasn't far behind, reacting a split second later. But he was better prepared, launching two kunai with both hands, intercepting two shuriken headed their way.

Sh?ichi Hoshita and Uchiha Shisui quickly moved closer to Sany? Kurama, both drawing their blades. At the same time, Sany? held a kunai in each hand.

In the next moment, a barrage of projectiles rained down on them. The three of them swung their weapons, deflecting the incoming attacks amidst a chorus of clashing metal.

Sany? inwardly chuckled bitterly—had he become the weak point of the team?

After clearing the first hurdle, the trio continued forward.

Not long after, Shisui's ears twitched as he shouted, "Sh?ichi!"

Sh?ichi immediately heard the whistling of projectiles behind him, stopping in his tracks and turning around to see a dense volley of weapons headed their way.

This time, instead of drawing his sword, he quickly retrieved two kunai while biting down on a senbon needle.

Activating 200% focus, he spun his arms like windmills, using the kunai to deflect the barrage of weapons.

Behind him, Shisui and Sany? also had their hands full as projectiles came at them from both the front and the sides.

The three of them formed a back-to-back formation, working together to fend off the assault.

When the attack finally ended, a variety of projectiles lay scattered in front of each of them.

Sh?ichi's kunai were chipped, and the senbon he had been holding in his mouth had been spat out at the last second to block a shuriken.

The intensity of this training was worlds apart from their time at the ninja academy—a single mistake could lead to serious injury.

Shisui and Sany? weren't much better off; Sany? even had two cuts on his arm.

Sh?ichi quickly checked the wounds and smiled, "Just scratches."

Covering the wounds with his hands, he used the simplest healing technique, and within a minute, the wounds were healed.

The three of them resumed their journey, this time adopting a triangular formation.

They encountered explosive tag traps and ambushes from Minato's shadow clones before finally making it through the forest to the other side.

Once they stopped, all three were breathing heavily.

Sh?ichi was still shaken.

They hadn't noticed the explosive tag trap until it was nearly too late, reminding him of how Nawaki had died in an explosion trap.

The ninja world was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

He also realized more clearly that the hierarchy among ninjas wasn't just about strength; there were deeper reasons at play.

"You all did very well," Minato said, appearing with a smile. "Rest for an hour."

The three of them immediately sat down, pulling out water and food from their packs to replenish their strength.

An hour later, Minato created three shadow clones and said to them, "Each of you will face one of my clones in a fight. Treat it as if it were an enemy you need to kill."

"Yes, Minato-sensei," they responded in unison before each took on a clone, attacking with full force.

Minato stood a short distance away, observing.

He had been watching his three students closely since their mission that morning.

This afternoon's training was also a way for him to gauge their abilities.

"Shisui is the strongest—he has a keen mind, the powerful insight and genjutsu of the Sharingan, and excellent skills in the Body Flicker Technique and swordsmanship. He also has the most experience and is fully capable of becoming a Ch?nin."

"Sany? excels in genjutsu. His taijutsu and experience are lacking, but he has the potential to become a Ch?nin."

"As for Sh?ichi... his Fire Release hand seals were so fast that even I couldn't see them. Is it a concealed seal, or perhaps no seals at all?"

"What an astonishing talent for Fire Release!"

"And his reaction speed is extraordinary—Lord Third wasn't exaggerating at all."

Minato analyzed quietly, planning how best to teach each of them according to their strengths.

In terms of technique, there wasn't much he could teach Shisui. The Sharingan had its own unique system, so his role would be to help Shisui gain more combat and mission experience.

For Sany?, aside from improving his taijutsu, the focus would also be on gaining combat and mission experience.

The Kurama clan had an impressive heritage in genjutsu.

As for Sh?ichi...

(End of Chapter)

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