At first, Kazekaze's movements were indeed
a bit clumsy.
With the
body of a seven-year-old
and
no prior training
, the sudden intense physical exertion caused his
heart rate to skyrocket to 160 BPM.
But as soon as he started
channeling Hashirama's Chakra,
his
rapid heartbeat stabilized
and his
labored breathing became steady.
It only took
ten minutes
for him to fully
adapt
to Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others' pace. Not only that, but
he no longer needed to focus entirely on running
—he started scanning his surroundings.
Kazekaze couldn't shake the feeling that
the Forest of Death seemed much larger
than it was during the Chūnin Exams. The wild beasts also appeared
far more aggressive.
'If I'm not mistaken, it's probably due to population differences,'
Kazekaze speculated.
Since
Konoha's population was still small at this time
, the forest naturally
covered a larger area.
As the village expanded over time, the forest's
size shrank accordingly.
This also
explained
why Tobirama had given them
ten days
to reach the central tower. The distance
was longer than it had been during the Chūnin Exams
, and the wild beasts
were more dangerous.
Even for Hiruzen and the others, this survival training was
no easy task.
What Kazekaze didn't realize was...
This wasn't just "difficult." It was brutally hard.
Hiruzen frequently glanced back at Kazekaze,
utterly stunned
by his performance.
How could a seven-year-old adapt in just ten minutes?!
Hiruzen clearly remembered
his first time entering the Forest of Death.
He was
twelve years old
at the time, excelling in
taijutsu, ninjutsu, and adaptability.
Even
Uchiha Kagami was slightly inferior to him.
Yet, when he trained under
Tobirama
, he had to
run for his life just to keep up.
Within
five minutes, he had completely exhausted himself and even threw up.
Fearing that Kazekaze would
end up like his younger self,
Hiruzen deliberately
slowed his pace.
But once he saw Kazekaze gradually adapting, he
started increasing his speed.
By the
five-minute mark
, he was already running
faster than he had in his training with Tobirama.
Right now, he was
at his absolute limit.
And yet,
Kazekaze was still keeping up effortlessly
—his
breathing smooth, his footsteps steady, his movements graceful.
Most importantly— Tobirama had
clearly stated
that this was
Kazekaze's first-ever training session!
'This kid's adaptability is beyond ridiculous...Is this the power of Lord Hashirama's grandson?'
Even if someone
boasted endlessly
about it, Hiruzen
still wouldn't believe it. It was simply impossible!
Yet, watching Kazekaze in action... Hiruzen suddenly felt
a crushing sense of inferiority.
It was as if Kazekaze's talent was
a towering mountain
—one so high he
couldn't even see the peak.
Much less
surpass it.
'I've spent over ten years training relentlessly to reach this level. Yet Kazekaze caught up in just ten minutes?! This level of innate talent is terrifying...'
A
heavy stone dropped into Hiruzen's heart
, sending
ripples of doubt through his once unwavering confidence.
For
years
, he had believed that
as long as he worked hard enough
, He could
someday
catch up to
Tobirama.
The strength of that belief had
always been absolute.
And now... His
confidence had taken a devastating blow.
Shimura Danzo felt
almost the same way.
At the start of the exercise, he had
intended to protect Kazekaze.
After all, he was the
First Hokage's grandson.
If he could
earn Tobirama's favor
, that would be a huge
political advantage.
But
who would've thought...
Kazekaze needed no protection whatsoever?!
His talent was
absolutely monstrous.
The results that
Danzo had spent nearly ten years grinding for...
Kazekaze had
achieved in mere minutes!
It made him
question if he had wasted his years of effort.
His gaze toward Kazekaze was no longer just
shocked
— It was
utterly blank.
Danzo had
never believed in "genius."
He had spent his life surrounded by
prodigies
Hiruzen from the
Sarutobi Clan
,
Kagami from the
Uchiha Clan
,
Torifu from the
Akimichi Clan
,
Shirakawa from the
Hyūga Clan
.
But even among them, he had
never felt inferior.
He had always
believed
that these so-called "geniuses" weren't special. Through
sheer effort and cunning
, He could
defeat them all
and
become the Third Hokage.
But now, Kazekaze's existence was like
a sledgehammer to his face.
It was as if the world itself was
telling him that true geniuses exist.
Geniuses who were simply
born different.
Geniuses who were
beyond reach.
"Kazekaze... I can call you that, right?"
Uchiha Kagami, who had been silent until now,
finally spoke up.
"I have to ask...
Did you really never train before coming here?
"
Good question!
At this moment,
Kagami had asked what everyone was thinking.
Everyone was
desperately hoping
to hear Kazekaze say— "Oh no, I've been training every day for years!"
But...
"Mm, this is my first time. I hope I'm not slowing you all down,"
Kazekaze replied.
Right now,
he only had enormous chakra reserves
but had
no idea how strong Hiruzen and the others truly were.
After all, these were
Konoha's future elites! The future leaders of the village!
From Kazekaze's perspective, they were
probably just going easy on him.
After all—
he was the ultimate nepotism protagonist, right?
But the reality was...
Slowing them down? We feel like we're the ones slowing you down!
If you weren't
only seven years old,
you'd probably be
leaving us all in the dust!
Especially for
Uchiha Kagami.
He had already
awakened his Sharingan.
Without exaggeration, he was
the Uchiha Clan's most talented prodigy.
One day, he was destined to
surpass even Madara.
The Senju and Uchiha had been
rivals for generations.
Yet now, seeing
Kazekaze casually outclass him
, Kagami felt like he had
eaten something rotten.
It was
beyond frustrating.
'Is the Uchiha Clan destined to always be overshadowed by the Senju?!'
Despite their internal struggles,
none of them voiced their thoughts.
After running for
half an hour
, and
fending off some wild beasts and giant insects
, Kazekaze
began to realize
that the Forest of Death was
far more dangerous than he had imagined.
The sun
was setting
, yet they
still hadn't found a water source.
As a transmigrator, Kazekaze had
watched countless survival shows.
In the wilderness,
water was the key to survival.
His voice
immediately caught the group's attention.
"Guys, you don't need to slow down for me. I can keep up with you."
The group: ???
Are we... the ones holding him back?!