With Tsunade and Naruto's bet in place, Kiyosuke and Jiraiya focused all their attention on training Naruto.
As long as this kid could learn how to use the Rasengan, they could bring Tsunade back to Konoha to become the Fifth Hokage.
Neither Kiyosuke nor Jiraiya wanted the job themselves, which was why they were going to all this trouble. Tsunade still had hemophobia. Without Orochimaru showing up to fight them, she had no external trigger to force her to overcome it. But they believed she'd break through it sooner or later.
As Hokage, Tsunade would be shouldering the entire village's future. She wouldn't allow herself to have a fatal weakness like hemophobia—even if only a few people knew about it.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto formed the Rasengan with both hands and slammed it into the tree.
The chakra spun violently, drilling into the trunk and leaving behind a small spiral crater.
"Again. The Rasengan is meant to be used with one hand. Using both is incomplete," Jiraiya commented.
Kiyosuke was busy sparring with Sasuke. Sasuke had taken off his training weights. His movements were nimble, and his two-tomoe Sharingan stared intently at Kiyosuke's every motion. But in taijutsu, he was being completely suppressed—even though Kiyosuke was holding back.
Even with the Sharingan, Sasuke couldn't track Kiyosuke's speed. That put him at a huge disadvantage. The Sharingan's biggest strength had just been nullified. Kiyosuke used this method to push Sasuke to his limits, hoping to trigger an evolution in his Sharingan.
He didn't care whether Sasuke could keep up or not. This kid was the reincarnation of Indra—he had plenty of potential and could take the pressure. So Kiyosuke didn't go easy on him. If Sasuke got hurt, so be it—he'd already borrowed Shizune for medical backup.
Of course, he paid her salary. Otherwise, Tsunade wouldn't have let her go.
Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be competing with each other, which was a good thing—healthy rivalry. But the second brat's tsundere personality made him extremely competitive. They had to control the intensity. His pride was too strong—just seeing Naruto surpass him could irritate him to the point of anger, and that kind of emotion could easily drive him to extremes.
The Uchiha clan were emotionally fragile and prone to obsessive thinking—and then you added the Sharingan, a power-up that made going off the deep end even easier.
Bang!
Kiyosuke kicked Sasuke away and said:
"Learn how to take a hit before you think about hitting others. You're not the same as Naruto. He's got Uzumaki blood, tons of chakra, and he's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. He recovers quickly. You, on the other hand, need to minimize damage in every fight."
Uchiha could go all-out, sure—but only after they unlocked Susanoo.
Once you had Susanoo, unless you were fighting Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, or Kiyosuke himself, who could stop you?
You could steamroll everyone!
But before you had that kind of ultra-level defense, your priority had to be survival.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Sasuke panted heavily, his body covered in bruises. He reset his stance and said:
"Again!"
"Alright!"
Kiyosuke didn't hesitate. In a blink, he reappeared in front of Sasuke, grabbed his arm, and—
Seeing his arm caught, Sasuke instantly responded by raising his leg to go for the groin.
That was something Kiyosuke had taught him—maximize damage with minimum effort. And this move? Against a man, it multiplied the pain exponentially.
Kiyosuke clamped his legs around Sasuke's, blocking the kick.
"Good one. You're learning to improvise," he said. "But did I teach you what to do if your leg gets caught?"
Using Kiyosuke as a pivot, Sasuke lifted his remaining leg and kicked at Kiyosuke's chin.
Bang!
Flames burst out. Kiyosuke's head turned into fire, and he let go of Sasuke. His head reformed as he said:
"Not bad. Now it's time for evasion training. As a shinobi, you need to learn how to maneuver in combat."
"Maneuver?" Sasuke frowned.
Kiyosuke picked up a handful of pebbles.
"Dodge these—fast. If you get hit, it's going to hurt."
"I got it!"
Whoosh!
A stone whizzed past his head, slicing through his hair and leaving a sharp gust of wind in his ear. It embedded itself deep into the tree behind him. Sasuke's face changed—this could actually kill someone!
"Here comes the attack. Use your Sharingan to track them!"
Kiyosuke launched the pebbles. Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan and tried to dodge them all, but one still struck his shoulder.
He lifted his shirt. The skin was already red, and a sharp pain throbbed from the spot.
"That was just the beginning."
In Sasuke's eyes, Kiyosuke's smile looked like the grin of a devil.
And the next wave of attacks came crashing in!
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Sasuke couldn't get back up!
"Hey, hey, aren't you going a bit too far? You're gonna train this kid to death," Jiraiya said, speechless as he looked at the unconscious Sasuke. "Don't tell me this is how you usually train your subordinates?"
"Not really. My disciples all get personalized training," Kiyosuke replied. "This one's getting a crash course, so it has to be brutal. Once he adapts, his progress will skyrocket."
"And if he doesn't adapt, he's done for."
"Trust me—he'll make it."
Kiyosuke grinned confidently. He had high hopes for Sasuke.
He asked, "How's Naruto doing?"
"At this pace? I don't think he's gonna make it." Jiraiya sighed. "Mastering the Rasengan in just a week? That's incredibly difficult. I think it'll take at least two."
"In that case, let's cut the time."
"Cut the time? Wait—you mean..."
"Exactly. Naruto, come here. I'll teach you a cheating trick."
Naruto paused in his training and looked over, confused.
"Kiyosuke-san, what kind of cheating trick? I'm not the kind of guy who likes cheating!"
Then why did you come over?!
"It's not really cheating. It's just a way to speed up your training."
"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up. "What is it?"
"Shadow clones."
"Shadow clones?" Naruto blinked. "A shadow clone is just a shadow clone. I'm still me. How does that help me train?"
Kiyosuke explained:
"Shadow clones can accumulate experience. When they disappear, all the memories and pain they experienced get transferred back to the original. If your clones all train at the same time, your learning speed increases dramatically. But this method only works if you have a ton of chakra and a sturdy body."
This was a trick tailor-made for a cheat-code kid like Naruto.
Shadow clones consumed a huge amount of chakra. When they popped, everything—memories, pain, fatigue—came rushing back. Most people couldn't handle it.
But Naruto had the Nine-Tails. His recovery rate was ridiculous, and his chakra reserves were massive. This kind of "cheating" method was perfect for him. Even if he didn't learn it now, Kakashi would teach it to him eventually.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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