The battlefield is a harsh and cruel environment. Especially in a world like
Naruto
, where ninja battles are often
battles of intelligence
. But no one can always
preemptively obtain information
. Take, for example,
Hidan
from the Akatsuki in
Shippuden
. If his abilities were known in advance, a few Jonin could simply
kite him to death
with ranged jutsu.
The same logic applies to the battlefield—without
long-range communication devices
, ninjas have no way of knowing
when
reinforcements will arrive. During the
Second Great Ninja War
, Orochimaru nearly killed Jiraiya—
proving this fact
. Ninjas cannot
predict enemy movements
, nor can they determine whether
traps have been set in advance
.
But... The current ninja world is mostly at peace. Tobirama had no way to
train his students through real war
. So, he came up with the idea of using a
survival training exercise
to simulate warfare. This way, his students could
develop the necessary skills for surviving a real battle
.
The Three Key Training Goals :
- First:
Energy Replenishment
Life cannot exist without
water
. All living beings rely on
food and water
to maintain their strength. Though ninjas carry
rations and water supplies
, there are times when they get
stranded
or when
supply chains
fail due to prolonged warfare. In those moments,
knowing survival techniques
becomes a crucial advantage.
- Second:
Observation Skills
In the wild,
the key to survival
is
keen observation
. The natural world and humans may not
communicate
through words, but they are
deeply interconnected
. For example, when
Kakashi led Team 7 to escort Tazuna
, he deduced there was an ambush
just by noticing water puddles on the ground
.
Why? Because
it hadn't rained recently
—so
those puddles shouldn't exist
. Another example is
snow hares
—their fur color depends on their
natural habitat
. By analyzing it, one can determine whether the hare is
wild
or
domestically raised
. If it's the latter, it means
there are scouts nearby
. Some
ninja reconnaissance squads
use hares to
mislead enemy forces
.
- Third and Most Important:
Crisis Management
The
Forest of Death
is filled with
aggressive creatures
whose combat prowess
rivals that of regular ninjas
. Panicking, wasting time on
self-pity
, or mentally
breaking down
will only cause a ninja to
lose their ability to analyze and react
. But with
proper training and knowledge
, a ninja gains
confidence
, allowing them to overcome
fear, despair, and exhaustion
. This was
Tobirama's true goal
behind the survival training.
And yet, here they were— Kazekaze had
adapted
to the environment in
less than an hour
! His
sharp senses
were on par with a
professional hunter
. His
observational skills
seemed
innate
. But the most terrifying thing? Faced with
two monstrous beasts
, all he did was release a
burst of chakra
, and—
They died instantly.
Those creatures were
among the deadliest threats in the entire Forest of Death
.
And yet—
Kazekaze wiped them out in seconds.
So now...
What danger did this forest even pose to him?
Without danger, there is
no crisis management
.
If there's no crisis to manage... the whole exercise is pointless!
Tobirama sighed.
"Kid, do you really think this survival training can help you improve? The purpose of
crisis management
is to force you to
activate your hidden potential
in life-or-death situations... so that the next time you face danger, you remain
calm and rational
. If you panic, you'll
never
come up with the
best possible solution
." Tobirama paused and turned his gaze toward
Koharu
.
She
lowered her head in shame
. At this moment, she was clearly being
used as an example of what
not
to do
. It was
her panic and hesitation
that made her
miss the chance
to escape the danger zone— And as a result,
both she and Kazekaze
nearly got killed by the two beasts.
"This is
critical
for a ninja! Even more important than
observation skills
or
energy replenishment
!" Tobirama's voice was
loud and commanding
, as if engraving these lessons into their minds.
Seeing that everyone was taking his words
seriously
, He suddenly
changed the topic
.
"But for
someone like you
, who can freely unleash
monstrous strength
, this forest
poses no danger at all
. Even the most
powerful creatures
here were
effortlessly defeated by your strength
—so what's left that could
threaten you
?"
"For someone like you, who has
completely mastered monstrous strength
, this 'survival training'... is basically just
a camping trip
. With
your power
, you can
walk through this forest as if it were a backyard garden
."
Tobirama's
implication was clear
— Even if
Kazekaze wanted to continue
, it would
just be a waste of time
.
"As much as I hate to admit it... with
your abilities
, this survival exercise is completely meaningless now."
Tobirama
really didn't want to admit it
! Who would want to acknowledge that the
10-day-long
survival training they planned— Had been
completely invalidated within an hour
? And by
a seven-year-old child
, no less! Especially in
front of his own students
... This was
a little embarrassing
. But at the same time... Tobirama felt
an overwhelming sense of pride
.
Kazekaze wasn't just
any child
. He was the grandson of
Senju Hashirama
! Which meant—
He was also Tobirama's grandson!
The
future hope of the Senju Clan
! A
seven-year-old
who had
completely mastered monstrous strength
— Who had
single-handedly invalidated an entire survival exercise
— Who else in the
entire ninja world
could compare? Who else could
replicate this feat
?
No one!
Even
Hashirama himself
, when he was seven, wasn't
this absurdly powerful
! There wasn't a
single shinobi alive
who could match this level of talent.
Sarutobi took a deep breath.
"To be honest, as long as Young Master Kazekaze is here, none of us even
need to do anything
. As long as we
move slowly
, help him conserve energy, and make sure he stays hydrated and fed... we'd be fine. If we ran into an actual threat, all he'd have to do is
burst his chakra
, and the problem would be
solved instantly
."
"So this so-called 'survival training'...It's basically
a sightseeing trip now
."
After experiencing all of this,
None of them had any motivation to continue training.
They had spent
three months anticipating this exercise
,
Two months preparing for it
,
One month simulating different scenarios
, And
carefully designing their strategies
. And yet— In
less than an hour
, Kazekaze
rendered it all meaningless
.
And he didn't even train beforehand.
He had
no prior knowledge of the training plan
. No
strategies prepared in advance
. Yet still— He
annihilated the challenge effortlessly
. In comparison, Sarutobi and the others felt like...
Useless trash.
No— It wasn't that they were trash. It was that
Kazekaze was simply beyond human standards
. This wasn't just
"genius-level"
talent. This was
something else entirely
A monster wearing human skin.
Meanwhile, Tobirama had
already moved on to another thought
.
"Big Brother... you would
not
believe how terrifying this kid is."
He imagined
telling Hashirama about today's events
— And he could already
picture the dumbfounded look
on his brother's face.