Chapter 184: Excellence and Fragility
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed the scene involving Sakura Haruno.
He turned to Kakashi and said, "This child has excellent grades, but her psychological state is a bit problematic. You'll need to guide her more in the future."
He sighed inwardly. Having been the Academy principal for so long, why hadn't he thought of this? This was the perfect ninjutsu for training ninjas! However, the difficulty of mastering it was top-tier, which he found a pity.
The mental state of several students was now laid bare before his eyes. Sakura Haruno was a prime example.
"Understood. There is indeed some lack there," Kakashi replied. "But Lord Third, whether these three 'problem children' can even pass my test is still an open question!"
Kakashi didn't select students based purely on combat power. For the past several years, no student had managed to pass his test. This time, Tonbo Tobitake's ninjutsu allowed him to see much deeper into his students, which would serve as his new benchmark.
Swish! Swish!
"Akamaru, find him!"
Inuzuka Kiba had faltered once at the start due to lack of familiarity, but he quickly found his rhythm. He had been a bit dazed by the sudden onset of battle, but years of training and his natural ninja instincts allowed him to transition into combat mode rapidly.
Woof!
Akamaru cooperated perfectly. After a few sniffs, he immediately pinpointed the enemy's direction.
Swoosh!
Man and dog charged at the enemy. The enemy, realizing he was exposed, immediately wove signs to cast a ninjutsu. As Kiba rushed in, a rain of senbon needles poured down. Kiba and Akamaru, relying on their superior sense of smell, instantly sensed the trap from above and used Body Flicker Jutsu to dodge.
Whiz!
Kiba quickly wove signs and cast his own technique; two miniature tornadoes ripped through. The enemy ninja was instantly torn in half.
Woof! Woof!
After a warp in space, a desert environment appeared with a different enemy. Despite his excellent nose, Kiba only smelled danger without locating the source before he and Akamaru were pulled under the sand and torn apart.
"A very realistic genjutsu."
Shino appeared in a forest. He immediately analyzed that he was in an illusion. After attempting to dispel it and failing, he realized it wasn't that simple.
As he expected, several hidden shuriken flew from the shadows of the trees while he was deep in thought.
Poof!
He transformed into an Insect Clone and vanished. The enemy looked at the spot where Shino had been, completely bewildered.
Gah!
Suddenly, the enemy's face turned purple, and he collapsed.
"Genjutsu, rewards, suddenly appearing in another location, Lord Third, Captain Tonbo... so this is a genjutsu used for training ninjas to build combat experience. Then, there should be other enemies coming."
Shino emerged from behind him. After checking the body, he noticed the enemy didn't vanish immediately. Based on the previous data, he quickly analyzed the situation. His insects began to spread through the jungle bit by bit.
Whiz! Whiz!
Sure enough, a ninja squad appeared in the distance. After using traps to wipe them out, more varied enemies appeared, and their tactics became increasingly specialized. Not until his chakra was completely exhausted was Shino finally stabbed to death with a kunai.
When he regained consciousness, his chakra had been restored. Shino pushed up his sunglasses.
"As I thought. This is a training exercise."
"Where is this?"
Hinata looked timidly at her surroundings. The area was in ruins. In the distance, she saw what looked like the Academy, its sign lying in the dust. The sky and the ground in the distance seemed to be in the middle of a massive battle.
She seemed to be on a battlefield with Konoha at its center.
"Hinata! What are you doing there? The enemy is coming!"
Naruto appeared in the distance. Seeing the dazed Hinata, he shouted while running toward her. Several figures were chasing him.
"Naruto-kun..."
Seeing Naruto getting closer, Hinata's face turned bright red. Only when she saw the enemies behind him trying to kill him did she realize something was wrong. And the environment...
"Naruto-kun, what happened to Konoha?" Hinata asked.
"Konoha has been attacked by the Hidden Stone! Everyone is fighting right now. We have to go!" Naruto reached her and extended his hand to take hers.
Hinata looked at the approaching hand. Her mind raced with thoughts, and her face flared with heat.
Splat!
"Idiot, I'm not Naruto." 'Naruto' suddenly transformed into a Stone ninja, and the kunai in his hand pierced her chest.
Blood spilled from Hinata's lips. Then, the environment shifted.
"This is..."
The scene began to repeat.
"Byakugan: ACTIVATE!"
Hinata opened her eyes. Looking at the Naruto rushing toward her, she saw that he didn't possess Naruto's unique chakra signature. Rage flared in her eyes.
"You aren't Naruto-kun! Gentle Fist: Sixteen Palms!"
As the enemy approached to take her hand, she unleashed her Gentle Fist, striking sixteen points on his body.
Bam!
The enemy fell to the ground, kicking up dust.
"Hinata, what are you doing? Why did you kill Naruto?!"
Just then, Neji appeared in the distance. Seeing that Hinata had "killed" Naruto, he shouted in a fury.
"Neji-niisan, I didn't... it's an enemy..." Hinata looked panicked, trying to explain.
Stab!
"Fool." Neji suddenly grinned maliciously. An earth spike erupted from his hand and pierced through her chest.
Thud!
He then reverted to the appearance of a Stone ninja. Hinata felt like her brain's CPU was fried. Why was Neji-niisan also...
The cycle began again.
"The Shino and Kiba from my team are quite suitable for leadership! However, Hinata... her mindset seems a bit problematic," Kurenai Yuhi observed as she watched the three who were about to become her disciples.
She was very satisfied with how Shino and Kiba handled combat. They only showed obvious weaknesses when facing very unconventional fighting styles. Only Hinata struggled here; she was too quick to trust the enemy's disguises. Despite having the Byakugan, she was repeatedly ambushed by enemies masquerading as her allies. For a sensory ninja, this was a failure.
"They are indeed excellent, good prospects." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, pleased with Shino and Kiba.
The more he watched Tonbo Tobitake's ninjutsu, the more he desired it. If this could be implemented village-wide, it would be a "powerhouse incubator." It could rapidly restore military strength after a war. He decided he couldn't let Tonbo spread this jutsu elsewhere; it had to remain a Konoha secret. He even planned to have gifted ninjas specifically study this technique to form a new department.
Of course, he could see the resource consumption wasn't small. On the field, several ninjas were following Tonbo's arrangements, feeding a special medicine to each training graduate. These were custom-made Soldier Pills. To popularize this, the resources required wouldn't be a small amount.
He would need to negotiate with the Land of Fire for increased investment... Furthermore, the production of medicinal herbs from the Akimichi and Nara clans was largely fixed each year. They would need to source supplies from elsewhere. There was much to consider.
But in Hiruzen's heart, this project had to be established.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!