"Kazekaze, as a ninja, you must remain calm and composed. This training lasts ten days—there's no need to rush."
Sarutobi Hiruzen kept his gaze ahead as he explained, "Exerting yourself unnecessarily will only waste energy."
His words brought relief to
everyone—except Kazekaze.
At their current pace, they could
maintain stability
while still staying alert to their surroundings. If they pushed themselves
too hard
, it would actually
be counterproductive.
However...
Everyone here was nearly twice Kazekaze's age.
They couldn't just
say the truth out loud!
Even if Kazekaze was
a prodigy
, they still had
their pride as "senior" ninja.
"You're right. I didn't think that through,"
Kazekaze replied, suddenly enlightened.
He had
only just acquired Hashirama's Chakra
and wasn't even a
Genin yet.
Naturally, he
lacked the proper mindset of a ninja.
His judgment and reasoning were still
based on his pre-transmigration knowledge.
And considering that
everyone here would become future Konoha leaders
, Kazekaze
had no reason to doubt them.
Simply put—
he was overestimating them and underestimating himself.
He assumed
he was surrounded by bigshots, unaware that he was actually the strongest one here.
Just as Kazekaze was mentally adjusting,
a deafening roar suddenly erupted
from ahead. Even Hiruzen
visibly flinched
before quickly signaling the group. Everyone except
Kazekaze
immediately scattered, leaping off branches and hiding behind tree trunks.
Kazekaze, however, stood there, utterly confused.
'Aren't these guys the future bigwigs of Konoha? Why are they scared of a wild animal?'
Sure, the roar was
louder and more dramatic
than the ones they had heard earlier, but during the
Chūnin Exams
, Sasuke
took down a two-meter-tall brown bear in one move!
Before Kazekaze could process things further,
Koharu suddenly jumped out, grabbed his arm, and pulled him behind a tree.
She pressed a
finger to her lips
, signaling for him
to stay silent.
The others
were also visibly tense.
"I didn't expect to run into something this troublesome so soon. Should we go around it?"
Uchiha Kagami signed with his hands.
Since
verbal communication wasn't always an option during missions
, they often used
hand signals instead.
"Wait first. It might not have noticed us,"
Hiruzen replied in sign language.
The training had
just begun
, so avoiding unnecessary fights was
the smart move.
Seeing how
cautious
these "bigshots" were,
Kazekaze frowned.
Naruto and Sasuke had
peaked in power at sixteen
, but that was because
they were protagonists with ridiculous power-ups.
Ordinary ninjas weren't that strong at that age. Still, he
couldn't understand why they were afraid of a mere beast.
But then—
he finally realized something.
His
perception was still stuck at the Chūnin Exam level.
As the
roaring creature approached
, the
ground began to tremble
with its every step. Kazekaze's eyes finally
locked onto the massive figure.
A
monstrous, one-horned rhinoceros
emerged, its
skin resembling solid rock.
It stood
six to seven meters tall
and easily weighed
tens of tons. It looked just like one of the summoned beasts Pain used during his invasion of Konoha!
'Why is something like this in the Forest of Death?!'
Seeing
Kazekaze's confusion
, Koharu
whispered in his ear,
"Lord Tobirama thought the survival training was too easy, so he personally released various giant beasts into the forest."
Because Kazekaze
didn't understand their hand signals,
she had to
explain directly.
"Kunai and shuriken can't even pierce its hide. Even Kagami's Fire Release can't deal any real damage. Unless absolutely necessary, fighting these things is unwise."
Hearing this,
Kazekaze didn't find the "Fire Release can't do damage" part surprising at all.
'Has Fire Release ever actually killed anyone in Naruto?'
Just as the group was about to
let the rhino pass
, The massive beast suddenly
roared again—this time toward Kazekaze's direction.
A powerful
shockwave
blasted through the area, sending
leaves flying
and causing
birds to flee in terror.
"It sensed me..."
Koharu instinctively
began signing
, but
before she could finish—
The
ground beneath Kazekaze and Koharu suddenly trembled violently and... rose.
It was as if the
earth itself was shifting beneath them.
Hiruzen and the others
turned pale
in shock. Because
Kazekaze and Koharu weren't standing on the ground at all.
At that moment,
the group finally understood.
The
rhinoceros
wasn't roaring
at them.
It was
warning another beast
that had entered its territory. Beneath Kazekaze and Koharu was
a massive, jet-black centipede
, nearly
ten meters long.
Its
exoskeleton gleamed like steel
, and its
upper body had begun to rise.
Koharu panicked
and shouted at Kazekaze
not to move
, immediately drawing a kunai. She
channeled chakra into her feet
, sticking herself to the centipede's back while grabbing Kazekaze's clothes with one hand— And with the other, she aimed for its
weaker joint areas
and
stabbed down with full force.
CLANG!
The moment her kunai struck, it
snapped in half
, sending the
sharpened tip flying back into her collarbone.
The
searing pain stunned her for an instant
, and the
centipede's violent thrashing
threw both her and Kazekaze
into the air.
Midair,
Kazekaze adjusted his body instantly.
He
grabbed Koharu's back with one hand
and
secured her legs with the other
Landing smoothly in a princess carry.
THUD.
The moment Kazekaze
steadied himself
, he
immediately dropped Koharu to the ground.
It wasn't because
he lacked the strength to hold her— But because—
Both the
rhinoceros and the centipede
had begun
charging at each other.
Their
massive bodies shook the earth
, sending
shockwaves
through the air. Neither of them
cared about Kazekaze and Koharu.
However...
Kazekaze and Koharu had landed directly in their collision path.
"Shit."
Hiruzen and the others' eyes
widened in horror
, their faces
turning pale.
No matter what—
Kazekaze was Hashirama's grandson!
If anything happened to him
here
, Not only would
Hashirama and Tobirama
be
furious
, But
they themselves
would carry
deep guilt for the rest of their lives.
The problem was—
they were too far away to help in time.
Meanwhile, at the
Forest of Death's entrance
— Tobirama was
staring intently at the crystal ball.
He had
never expected
Kazekaze's
first training exercise
to escalate into such a
dire situation.
'If anything happens to him... how will I face my brother?!'
For the
first time
, an image flashed through Tobirama's mind— The lifeless body of
his fallen younger brother, Kawarama.
His fists clenched.
He wasn't going to let history repeat itself.
"Flying Thunder God!"