This place could truly be called a training ground.
One big figure and three smaller ones were there.
Though the "smaller" ones weren't really that small—at most they were just a head shorter.
Right now, they were having a picnic.
Minato Namikaze, who had been given the nickname "Little Sun" by Kushina, was diligently massaging Jiraiya's shoulders.
"Jiraiya-sensei, is it really true? Is the capital of the Land of Fire really that prosperous?"
"Of course it is. Let me tell you—the capital of the Land of Fire… it's big and white, long and slender. Truly a paradise for men."
"Jiraiya-sensei, your nose is bleeding."
Hyūga Hiyasu, who was grilling meat nearby, said calmly.
"Ah!"
Jiraiya hurriedly touched his nose. He absolutely couldn't let the kids in his team see him looking like this.
The great image of the mighty Toad Sage Jiraiya couldn't be ruined.
Didn't that blond kid just look at him with so much admiration a moment ago?
"Huh? There's nothing."
Jiraiya wiped his nose again and again but didn't find any blood.
"Hahaha! Jiraiya-sensei, my cousin tricked you."
With the Caged Bird seal already carved onto his forehead—having officially become a proud member of the Hyūga branch family—Hyūga Hizashi burst out laughing.
"You're already lying to people at such a young age? What an annoying brat."
"Jiraiya-sensei, Hiyasu and Hizashi were just joking. A lot of our friends usually play around like that. They definitely didn't mean to deceive you on purpose."
Minato Namikaze quickly explained, worried that Jiraiya might misunderstand.
Oh, so this is how they usually joke around.
I was wondering—how could there be a student bold enough to provoke their teacher the moment they meet?
Sigh.
Wait a minute…
If you guys and your friends joke like this all the time, why do you feel so… pure?
Jiraiya carefully examined Minato Namikaze.
He didn't look like he was pretending.
As the saying goes:
Birds of a feather flock together.
Just like Sarutobi-sensei and the three of us.
Because Sarutobi-sensei is like that…
So the three of us—well, cough, let's not talk about that.
But among a group of people who love joking around this much, how did someone who looks this innocent appear? No matter how you look at it, it just doesn't make sense.
"Jiraiya-sensei, why are you staring at Minato like that? Let me tell you—Minato is already taken."
Hyūga Hiyasu said with a mischievous smile.
"Ah, Hiyasu, Jiraiya-sensei just wanted to take a good look at me, that's all. He didn't mean anything else. And besides, Kushina and I really aren't anything like that."
Minato Namikaze explained quickly, his face turning increasingly red.
See? Exactly.
It's just not reasonable.
How could that guy who clearly looks like he's full of scheming thoughts be best friends with this pure and innocent fellow? How on earth did those two end up together?
No matter how hard Jiraiya thought about it, he couldn't imagine the two of them normally playing around harmoniously.
Minato Namikaze: Let me just say… has it ever occurred to anyone that I'm the one everyone usually messes with? Everyone else's "harmonious fun" is built on me being the target. Ding! Now I finally understand why I'm Number One. Looking at it this way, my contribution is simply enormous.
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Time for the test. See the two bells at my waist? If you manage to take them, you pass."
"Start!"
"Jiraiya-sensei, I got it."
Minato Namikaze said with a smile.
Jiraiya looked down.
One of the bells was really gone.
His eyes widened in shock as he asked blankly:
"How did you do that?"
"Accelerate, take the bell, come back. That's it."
Why is it that I understand every word you said individually, but once you put them together I don't understand anything?
...
The final training ground.
No—this place was practically about to turn into a battlefield.
Tsunade stood on the training field, heroic and imposing.
Facing the people in front of her—
Hm?
"You three brats… how did you grow this tall?!"
Tsunade stared at Senju Hideki, who was over two meters tall; Inuzuka Ryoha, who was about 1.9 meters; and Inuzuka Rinko, who was just over 1.7 meters.
Her teeth were almost grinding to dust.
Why are you all so tall?!
Aren't you only ten years old?!
What am I supposed to do with my 163 centimeters?!
Especially you, Senju Hideki.
How are you half a head taller than me?!
Yesterday when I saw you from far away I didn't notice.
But seeing you up close today… the pressure is overwhelming.
Damn it.
Am I leading you guys, or are you leading me?
"Uh, Tsunade-sama… eat well, drink well, sleep a lot, and exercise regularly. Doesn't height just naturally increase like that?"
Senju Hideki said.
That's exactly how he grew taller.
Bastard. If that method worked, I'd have grown all the way to the moon by now.
"You, kid from the Inuzuka clan—do you have any secret? You're the only tall one in your family."
Inuzuka Ryoha grinned.
"Fight. Break your bones. Let them heal. Break them again. Let them heal again. Slowly, you grow taller."
That… actually sounded a bit reasonable.
Break bones, let them heal…
Honestly, it sounded more promising than just eating well and sleeping well.
Sigh.
Wait.
Tsunade turned to look at Inuzuka Rinko, the somewhat timid little girl hiding behind Ryoha.
"You grew taller the same way?"
"Mhm."
The Inuzuka clan truly doesn't raise weaklings—only ruthless people.
But why hadn't she noticed that before?
The other members of the Inuzuka clan would probably say: Isn't it possible that Ryoha's method… isn't actually a good one?
Of course, while Tsunade was envying other people's height…
Someone else was envying her.
Inuzuka Rinko's face turned red as her eyes secretly stared at Tsunade's chest.
How on earth did she do that? How can they be that big?
Since she's our team leader now… could Tsunade-sama teach me?
Ryoha probably likes big ones, right? They say all men like big ones.
While Rinko's thoughts ran wild…
Tsunade had already moved on to the next step.
"Bell test. Two bells. If you take them, you graduate. If you fail, you go back to the Academy and repeat. No objections, right?"
Tsunade rubbed her hands together viciously.
I'm definitely going to teach you brats a proper lesson.
What's the point of growing this tall anyway?
Trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with the moon?
Inuzuka Ryoha and Senju Hideki exchanged a glance.
You go first, or me?
You go. You won't die anyway—and you can't kill her either. Sparring like this is priceless.
Alright.
"Eimaru."
Eimaru, beside Ryoha's feet, understood his master's intention.
He immediately circulated chakra.
In an instant, he transformed into a giant dog two meters long and over one meter tall.
"Inuzuka Style: Human-Beast Combined Transformation—Two-Headed Wolf."
Now even bigger.
With a ferocious roar, it charged straight toward Tsunade.
Human-beast fusion, huh? An Inuzuka secret technique I've never seen before. As expected of a ninja clan—they really do have their own tricks.
"Come."
Bang! Bang!
"You brat! Do you have no brain? That was dangerous—why didn't you dodge?!"
Tsunade clutched the claw wound on her arm. She hadn't expected Inuzuka Ryoha to willingly take one of her monstrous-strength punches just to land a claw strike on her.
At that moment, one of the two heads of the wolf spoke:
"It won't kill me, so there's no need to dodge. If it can't kill you, then fight like you're trying to. Tsunade-sensei… don't tell me you're scared?"
"Scared? Today I'll show you what a medical ninja can really do."
After using a healing technique to repair the wound…
Tsunade erupted with chakra and charged forward.
This kid… I like him.
...
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