Minato held up the four bells, allowing them to chime softly in the morning breeze.
Unlike their first survival exercise, there was no hidden lesson about teamwork this time. The bells were simply tools meant to sharpen their speed, reactions, coordination, and awareness.
The real training plan was far more brutal.
Minato crouched and spread a large map across the grass. Several routes had been marked through the forests and training grounds surrounding Konoha, with different symbols indicating obstacles, climbing sections, rivers, and combat zones.
"The first part of your training will focus on basic physical conditioning," he explained. "You'll complete obstacle courses, climb cliffs, cross unstable terrain, practise throwing weapons at moving targets, and engage in short sparring sessions between each section."
Obito looked at the map, his earlier confidence beginning to waver.
Minato continued before anyone could interrupt him.
"The second part will focus on chakra control and balance. You'll run across rivers, spar on suspension bridges, climb waterfalls, and fight while maintaining your footing on moving or unstable surfaces."
Rin carefully studied the marked routes.
"That sounds similar to the balance training you mentioned before."
"It is," Minato confirmed. "Maintaining your balance while standing still is easy. Maintaining it while dodging kunai, performing hand seals, and defending yourself against an opponent is much harder. On a battlefield, losing your footing for even a second can get you killed."
Ren immediately understood Minato's intention.
The jōnin had previously mentioned a training method designed to improve balance, coordination, and chakra control. Instead of teaching that separately, he had incorporated it into the team's wartime training schedule.
Minato intended to kill two birds with one stone.
However, the plan was not identical for all four of them.
"I assessed each of you during our previous missions," Minato said. "Your bodies, chakra reserves, specialties, and current limitations are different. Because of that, your training loads will also be different."
He pointed toward Rin and Obito.
"Rin, your initial focus will be chakra control, endurance, and evasive movement. Obito, yours will be physical conditioning, reaction speed, and maintaining accuracy while exhausted."
His finger then moved toward Kakashi and Ren.
"Kakashi and Ren will begin with heavier physical loads. Both of you will also undergo additional perception training."
Kakashi's visible eye sharpened.
"Perception training?"
"I'll explain the details when we reach that stage," Minato replied.
Ren glanced at him but said nothing.
He already suspected the reason.
Exceptional sensory perception was one of the foundations required to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Possessing strong perception did not guarantee that a shinobi could master the technique. The Flying Thunder God demanded extraordinary reflexes, precise chakra control, spatial awareness, and the ability to recognize and respond to marked locations in an instant.
However, a person with weak perception would have no chance at all.
Innate talent played an enormous role. Like reaction speed, sensory ability could be improved through training, but only within certain limits. Some people were simply born capable of noticing details that others could never detect.
Ren had no idea whether he possessed that kind of talent.
But there was only one way to find out.
Obito, meanwhile, was focused on a completely different issue.
He raised his hand with an offended expression.
"Minato-sensei, why is my training load lighter than Ren's and Kakashi's?" he demanded. "Are you saying I'm not as strong as they are?"
Minato fell silent.
The honest answer was yes.
Aside from his unusually large chakra reserves and impressive stamina, Obito currently lagged behind Ren and Kakashi in nearly every category. His taijutsu lacked refinement, his shurikenjutsu was inconsistent, and even Fire Release, supposedly his greatest strength as an Uchiha, could not compare with Ren's.
Of course, that did not mean Obito was weak.
The true problem was that Ren was progressing far too quickly.
Despite having graduated only a few months ago, Ren could already unleash a Great Fireball comparable to one produced by a jōnin. His medical ninjutsu had earned Tsunade's attention, and his swordsmanship was improving at a pace that would make many adult shinobi question their life choices.
Even Kakashi's achievements appeared less overwhelming beside him.
Kakashi had graduated from the Academy at five and become a chūnin at six, accomplishments that had once made him Konoha's most famous young prodigy. Yet Ren was steadily closing the gap despite entering the shinobi system much later.
Minato himself was a genius among geniuses, so Ren's progress did not leave him completely stunned.
It did, however, make him uneasy.
A great tree standing above the rest of the forest would always attract the fiercest winds. During peacetime, an extraordinarily talented young shinobi would be praised, protected, and carefully developed.
During a war, that same child could be turned into a weapon.
Ren's strength might draw the attention of Konoha's leadership, enemy villages, or far more dangerous people hiding in the shadows. Talent did not protect a child from war. Sometimes, it merely ensured that the child would be sent into danger sooner.
Minato did not know how far the conflict with Sunagakure would spread. He only knew that if the situation deteriorated, none of his students would remain untouched forever.
That was why he had spoken with Hiruzen Sarutobi and arranged this period of intensive training.
Minato was trying to buy his students time—time to grow before the war demanded their lives.
Naturally, he could not explain all of that to Obito.
He carefully chose his words.
"The training plans aren't fixed," Minato said. "They're progressive. Once you adapt to your current level, I'll increase the intensity. Your starting load may be lower than Ren's or Kakashi's, but that doesn't mean it will remain that way."
Obito's frustration vanished instantly.
"Oh! I understand now!" He clenched his fist, flames of motivation practically burning in his eyes. "I'll finish my current training, move to the next level, and then surpass both of them!"
Kakashi gave him a sidelong glance.
"You should focus on surviving the first level."
"What did you say, Kakashi?"
"You heard me."
Obito pointed at him dramatically.
"Just wait! By the end of today, you'll be begging me to slow down!"
His determination lasted less than half a day.
Approximately ninety minutes later, Obito lay sprawled across a flat rock beside the river, his arms and legs spread wide. His chest rose and fell as he gasped for air like a fish thrown onto dry land.
"I'm dying," he groaned. "Minato-sensei is trying to kill me."
Rin sat on the grass nearby, breathing heavily as she drank small sips of water. Sweat had soaked through the back of her shirt, and several strands of hair clung to her flushed face.
Ren and Kakashi were in better condition, but only barely. Both leaned against the trunk of a large tree, attempting to steady their breathing while recovering their chakra.
The obstacle course Minato had designed passed through three separate training grounds on Konoha's outskirts. It crossed dense forests, steep hills, shallow rivers, muddy swamps, and sections filled with wooden traps.
The total distance was not excessive. However, they had been forced to climb, jump, crawl, balance, and fight their way through the entire route while remaining within Minato's strict time limit.
The moving-target section had been especially cruel.
Minato had released dozens of small wooden discs through the trees while the four genin were already exhausted. Missing more than three targets meant repeating the entire section.
Obito had missed seven.
Kakashi had nearly strangled him.
Minato stood beside the river, only a thin layer of sweat visible on his forehead. He had completed the entire course alongside them while casually correcting their mistakes.
"If you're exhausted, rest," he instructed. "Once your breathing settles, begin refining chakra. Learning to recover efficiently is part of the training."
Obito lifted his head weakly.
"Can I take a soldier pill?"
"No."
"Just half of one?"
"No."
"A quarter?"
Minato's smile remained gentle, but his refusal was absolute.
"Soldier pills place a burden on the body and temporarily force out energy you haven't naturally recovered. They're valuable during emergencies, but relying on them during ordinary training will damage your physical development."
Obito collapsed against the rock again.
"Then I'll just die here."
"You can rest for another five minutes."
"Five minutes? That's not rest. That's torture with a break!"
Minato ignored his complaints and looked toward the distant forest.
"I used this same route when I was a genin," he said. "There's a more difficult path that passes through the Forest of Death, but it contains dangerous animals, poisonous plants, and several unstable areas. Once all of you possess reliable chūnin-level combat ability, we can attempt it."
For ordinary genin, the Forest of Death was genuinely dangerous.
Even experienced shinobi could encounter trouble there if they entered while injured or exhausted. Its oversized predators were strong enough to kill an inattentive ninja, and some sections were deliberately left untamed for use during survival exercises.
Obito slowly raised his face from the stone.
"Did you say this was the easy route?"
"Yes."
His head dropped again.
"I've changed my mind. I don't want to surpass Kakashi today."
Kakashi closed his eye.
"That might be the smartest decision you've ever made."
After resting, the team resumed the course.
Two hours later, Rin and Obito had exhausted their chakra for the second time. Obito could barely lift his arms, while Rin's legs trembled whenever she stopped moving.
Ren and Kakashi remained standing, but their clothes were soaked with sweat and their movements had visibly slowed. Even Ren's precise breathing had become rough, while Kakashi's silver hair clung damply to his forehead.
Seeing the sun lowering toward the horizon, Minato finally clapped his hands.
"That's enough for today. Return home, eat properly, and rest. Once your bodies adapt to this training load, I'll increase it."
Four exhausted faces turned toward him.
"Increase it?" Obito whispered.
Minato smiled.
"Yes."
No one possessed enough energy to argue.
"Understood," they answered, their voices so lifeless that they sounded like four ghosts responding from beyond the grave.
They began walking back toward the residential district. The slow journey remained quiet until Obito, apparently incapable of remaining silent for long, remembered something important.
"Minato-sensei," he began, a mischievous spark returning to his eyes, "Senior Tsume told us you have a very beautiful girlfriend. Is that true?"
Minato nearly stumbled.
Kakashi opened his eye. Rin's exhaustion briefly disappeared, and even Ren turned his attention toward their teacher.
Obito grinned.
"When are you going to introduce her to us?"
Minato recovered quickly, though a trace of embarrassment crossed his face.
"You mean Kushina."
"So it's true!" Obito exclaimed. "You really have a girlfriend!"
Minato scratched his cheek and gave them a helpless smile.
"She is very beautiful, especially her long red hair. She also has a remarkably gentle personality."
Ren stared at him.
Gentle?
Was Minato describing Kushina Uzumaki or some entirely different red-haired woman?
The Kushina he knew from the original story had once beaten several children half senseless for mocking her hair. She had possessed a fiery temper from childhood and later earned a rather terrifying reputation.
Perhaps she restrained herself around Minato.
Love truly was powerful. It could apparently distort even an elite jōnin's perception of reality.
"Kushina's circumstances are unusual," Minato continued. "She can't move around the village as freely as most people. But when the opportunity comes, I'll introduce you."
His tone remained casual, but Ren noticed the careful wording.
Minato had not said that Kushina was busy.
He had said that her movements were restricted.
As Konoha's jinchūriki, Kushina's freedom had always been limited by the village. Even if most civilians did not know her identity, Konoha's leadership would never allow the Nine-Tails' vessel to wander wherever she pleased.
Obito, unaware of the deeper meaning, nodded eagerly.
"You have to keep your promise! I want to see what kind of woman could make Minato-sensei look that embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed."
"You definitely are."
Kakashi glanced at Minato's faintly red ears.
"He is."
Rin covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
By the time they reached the entrance to the residential district, even Minato appeared eager to escape.
The group separated there. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin returned to their homes, while Ren went to the hospital to visit Tajima.
That exhausting routine continued for several weeks.
Every morning, Ren and Rin attended medical lectures at Konoha Hospital. Once their lessons ended, they hurried to the training ground and joined Kakashi and Obito for Minato's special training.
They ran through obstacle courses, climbed cliffs, crossed rivers, fought on narrow suspension bridges, and refined chakra while their muscles screamed from exhaustion. By the time they returned home each evening, there was barely enough time to eat, bathe, and collapse into bed.
Their days became painfully repetitive.
Yet their improvement was undeniable.
Rin's stamina increased, and she became more confident at evading attacks without disrupting her medical focus. Obito's accuracy while exhausted improved dramatically, though he continued complaining at every opportunity.
Kakashi became faster and more efficient.
Ren, meanwhile, began adapting to the heavier training load with alarming speed.
The only drawback was that he could no longer spend hours repeatedly practising ninjutsu to increase their favorability. He had to use every spare moment he could find, sometimes completing only a few repetitions before exhaustion forced him to stop.
Still, Minato's personal instruction was an opportunity that most genin could only dream of receiving. Temporarily slowing his system-based training was a reasonable price.
Besides, certain abilities could be trained alongside Minato's exercises.
The Eight Gates was one of them.
After another brutal cross-country course, Ren collapsed beneath a tree and silently opened the system interface.
Since Minato's training involved high-intensity physical conditioning, it should qualify as practice for the Eight Gates. Surely he did not need to run endless laps around Konoha under Might Duy's supervision for every session to count.
Crossing forests, scaling cliffs, and sprinting through swamps while competing against Kakashi had to embody the passion of youth.
A familiar response appeared before his eyes.
[Eight Gates: Hmm… This isn't quite the training I imagined. It still doesn't feel intense enough!]
Ren's eye twitched.
He had nearly fallen off a waterfall that afternoon.
Another message appeared.
[Eight Gates: But since you've worked so hard these past few days, Big Brother, I'll reluctantly acknowledge your burning youthful passion! Keep working tomorrow!]
[Eight Gates favorability +1. Current favorability: 14/100—Stranger]
Ren stared at the number.
"As stingy as ever."
The Eight Gates had remained on his conquest list for a long time, yet its favorability continued rising at an infuriatingly slow pace.
By comparison, Hatake Swordsmanship had already surpassed it. Even Phoenix Sage Fire had reached approximately twenty-five favorability.
He had yet to properly practise the Water Formation Wall obtained during their previous mission, but there was no need to rush everything at once.
At his current pace, Hatake Swordsmanship would probably reveal its first special characteristic soon. Phoenix Sage Fire should follow close behind.
Ren closed the interface and looked toward Konoha's distant walls, where another unit of shinobi was preparing to leave for the border.
His training was progressing.
His techniques were changing.
And every day, the war drew closer.
The only question was whether Ren would complete his preparations before the battlefield came looking for him.