Hyūga Akira smiled warmly as he looked at the three of them, then flipped backward and landed some distance away.
"Training starts now!"
The moment his voice fell—
Minato and Kushina vanished from where they stood, instantly darting into the surrounding trees and disappearing into the undergrowth.
"Straight into concealment, huh?"
Akira swept his gaze across the area.
Without activating the Byakugan, he couldn't immediately find either of them.
"A very smart choice."
When facing an opponent far stronger than yourself, the correct response is to hide, observe, and gather information.
That was proper shinobi behavior.
As for Nawaki—
Akira stared at the boy standing in the distance, completely unmoving.
His eyelid twitched.
Don't tell me… he's planning to charge straight in.
"BIG BRO!! I'M COMING!!!"
The ground cracked beneath Nawaki's feet as he launched forward like a cannonball, charging straight at Akira.
"…Of course."
Akira sighed.
"No wonder he gets blown up by explosive tags later. Honestly, that death wasn't even unfair."
That said, frontal-charging ninja weren't rare.
But among named characters, the only one reckless enough to die to explosive tags—
Was Nawaki.
Which meant Akira's goal today was simple:
Fix this habit.
Nawaki barreled toward him at full speed.
Akira remained standing casually, showing no sign of defense.
Seeing no danger, Nawaki's face lit up.
"I got him!"
One more step—
Chakra surged into his fist.
Monster Strength.
The Senju clan's signature ability.
The technique that made Tsunade famous.
While Nawaki couldn't compare to her, his punch was still terrifying.
Just as he prepared to strike—
He suddenly froze.
His gaze dropped.
At his feet—
An explosive tag.
It was already glowing faintly.
The smile on his face froze solid.
"…Huh?"
"Boom!"
The explosion wasn't fiery—just a violent blast of air that hurled Nawaki backward.
Akira yawned lazily.
"Defective explosive tags. They only launch people—can't actually kill anyone."
Cheap shop rejects.
They still exploded, just with weak force.
He'd buried them here yesterday.
This location hadn't been chosen randomly.
"I've set up plenty of traps around here," Akira said lightly, teeth flashing in a cold grin.
"One wrong step…"
"You die."
Nawaki staggered to his feet, covered in dirt, and immediately charged again—without thinking.
Akira rubbed his forehead.
"Even knowing there are traps, you're still charging straight in?"
Nawaki grinned innocently.
"Big bro! If the trap already went off, that means there aren't any left here!"
He accelerated again, closing the distance.
"You think I'm stupid, but I'm actually really smart!"
"Monster Strength Punch!"
His fist swung down toward Akira—
Akira hopped back lightly.
Nawaki landed where Akira had been and pushed off the ground—
Then the earth vanished beneath his feet.
"(ºДº*)"
What looked like solid ground was just cloth.
He plunged straight down into a pit.
The only solid footing had been a narrow wooden plank—exactly where Akira had stood.
Akira peered down at the pit, clicking his tongue.
"I literally told you there were traps. Did you really think there'd only be one?"
At that moment—
Two figures burst from the trees, attacking from left and right.
Akira leapt upward effortlessly.
Minato and Kushina saw the attack fail and immediately retreated, vanishing back into the forest without hesitation.
"They even swapped positions mid-attack," Akira muttered.
Nawaki climbed toward the pit's edge, gripping the rim—
Then his hand touched something papery.
He looked up.
Akira grinned brightly.
"Hey."
"B–Big bro…" Nawaki tried to plead.
Too late.
"Boom!"
The pit exploded.
Even with reduced power, an explosion was still an explosion.
There was a sharp crack.
Nawaki groaned and fell back into the pit.
"Looks like a fractured arm," Akira said calmly.
He didn't move to help.
Instead, he leapt backward and vanished into the forest.
Minato and Kushina completely lost track of him.
After a long moment with no sign of Akira, the two finally dropped from the trees.
"Wait," Minato said, stopping Kushina.
He tossed several stones into the pit.
Only after confirming nothing detonated did he nod.
They approached the edge.
"Nawaki-niisan, are you okay?" Minato called down.
Nawaki clutched his arm, eyes watery.
"…My arm's broken."
"I'm coming down!" Kushina shouted and jumped in immediately.
Minato scratched his cheek helplessly.
Shouldn't we confirm where Akira-senpai is first…?
In reality—
Akira had already abandoned them entirely and headed deeper into the Forest of Death.
The area around them was filled with traps.
They'd be busy for a while.
If Nawaki still didn't learn after this—
Akira would increase the difficulty once they returned from the front lines.
The Forest of Death wasn't chosen just for training.
Akira had his own goals.
He moved swiftly through the trees.
This was Konoha's restricted zone.
Even genin could die here.
Wild beasts were common—
And wild chakra beasts even more so.
Soon, a cave appeared faintly ahead.
Akira knew he was close.
He was a regular here.
Most of his killing intent—and a good chunk of his early levels—had come from this forest.
No killing, no killing aura.
Those bandits had merely been his first humanoid targets.
He stopped on a branch and rapidly formed hand seals.
Snake—Goat—Tiger.
Chakra began to drain.
"Let's say hello."
He flicked a shuriken toward the cave.
Mid-flight, it ignited, turning into a small fireball that slammed inside.
Flames burst outward.
A massive shadow shifted within.
"ROAR!!"
The ground shook as a ferocious beast charged out.
Akira swung his right hand.
A bronze blade appeared in his grip.
"Pulling the boss."
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