Chapter 246: Pre-Tournament Training
To... prepare for the Chunin Exams? Even Naruto felt this reason didn't quite hold up. He clearly perceived his current power composition: Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Flying Thunder God Technique, Nine-Faced Beast Summoning, Adamantine Sealing Chains, various forms of rasengans , and two substitute abilities that were practically bugs in actual combat.
Looking across the current ninja world—Nagato was still half-paralyzed, Obito had only one Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama hadn't been reanimated yet—Naruto could practically declare himself near-unbeatable in the ninja world.
However, being familiar with the "Naruto" world view, Naruto clearly understood that such "unbeatable" status was often the calm before the storm. The first part's conclusion was "unbeatable," while the second part was "enemies from beyond."
His greatest enemies would always be those so-called Otsutsuki aliens.
Therefore, Naruto showed no complacency whatsoever. The following days, he regularly alternated between training and daily life—daytime high-intensity training with Jiraiya, evening punctually picking up Satsuki after her training to go home, nights preparing bentos for his companions and the newly-joined Jiraiya, maintaining that precious routine.
Simultaneously, he noticed Konoha Village's atmosphere quietly becoming tense. Patrol ninja on the streets had at least doubled in number.
Most villagers might assume this was for Chunin Exam security, but this was Konoha's higher-ups taking preventive measures after receiving warnings, preparing for possible attacks from Orochimaru and his associates.
Where could Orochimaru be now?
Naruto privately wondered if, following the original trajectory, he should be in the Land of Wind by now... but if the butterfly effect's influence was large enough, would things deviate from the planned course? Though Orochimaru's power was no longer sufficient to threaten him, Naruto must prevent him from targeting those around him.
Besides routine training and developing various Rasengan property variants, Naruto devoted considerable energy to adapting real combat techniques under Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Only, he faced a slightly awkward situation—he could only practice-spar with his shadow clones. For even Jiraiya reluctantly discovered that without using Sage Mode, he apparently couldn't defeat this future disciple.
Summoning jutsu training encountered trouble again. Once, after entering Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and conducting a simulated melee with shadow clones, consuming massive chakra and feeling fatigue, Naruto again attempted summoning. The result... as smoke dispersed, he and the dazed Great Toad Sage faced each other once more.
After this incident, Jiraiya completely dared not let Naruto freely practice summoning anymore. Thus, summoning training was temporarily halted, focusing energy elsewhere instead.
On Satsuki's side, the situation was somewhat complicated. Though following Kakashi's Lightning Release training brought her substantial benefits, the "environmental cost" of acquiring this power seemed somewhat excessive?
Why did that excessive-energy pair of masters also have to squeeze into this training ground?!
Might Guy and Rock Lee seemed to have perpetual motors installed in their bodies. From dawn to dusk, those two voices hollering "youth" and "hot blood" never ceased.
The massive noise even made Satsuki feel her eyes aching from the noise pollution.
Continuing this trend, Satsuki would definitely lodge serious protests—until one time, Might Guy guided her taijutsu movements.
Never judge by appearance—Satsuki deeply experienced this saying's true worth for the first time. If merely competing in taijutsu without using her Sharingan for visual enhancement, she couldn't even clearly see this green-bodysuit man's movement trajectory?! His speed, strength, and technique all reached an inconceivable realm.
Out of respect for strong individuals inherent to the Uchiha clan, plus Guy genuinely providing her practical guidance in taijutsu, Satsuki forced herself to suppress that dissatisfaction. And Guy cheerfully said that once Satsuki's Chidori training reached a certain point, he would teach her a "super——amazing!" taijutsu secret.
This so-called "super amazing technique's" training, Guy surprisingly sought out Naruto, who punctually delivered Satsuki's bento daily...
In summary, Naruto's current training projects became extraordinarily rich—deeply mastering Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, developing various property ball jutsu, receiving Might Guy's taijutsu special training, and... beginning introductory Eight Gates training.
Jiraiya, watching Naruto's terrifying training schedule, half-jokingly said, "Hey, Naruto, you wouldn't be planning to participate in the Chunin Exam using that golden-glowing form, would you? I'm warning you, even using minimal power, you might accidentally 'kill' other contestants."
Naruto explained, "No need to worry, Jiraiya-san. I won't use that mode. I'm planning to use the Flying Thunder God Technique for the tournament. Anyway, not many people know I can use this technique now. I'm planning to give everyone a 'surprise' in the official matches—you have to keep this secret for me."
The moment he finished speaking, Naruto saw Jiraiya's expression instantly freeze, his mouth dropping open, his jaw seemingly about to hit the ground.
Only then did he remember—he apparently... had never found the opportunity to tell Jiraiya that he'd already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
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