"Edo Tensei no Jutsu!"
Naruto pressed his hands together and slammed them down onto the ground. With a heavy rumble, two coffins slowly rose up from beneath the earth.
As the lids creaked open, two Edo Tensei-revived figures stepped out.
"Again, brat? This is already the third time this week," one of them—a tall, powerfully built man—grumbled irritably. "Don't you ever quit?"
It was none other than the Third Raikage, A, father of the Fourth Raikage.
"Save the chatter." Naruto cut him off and turned to the other revived shinobi. "Alright then, same as always."
The second man, completely wrapped in bandages so that not a trace of his real face could be seen, replied calmly:
"You're the first one to ever use this jutsu for training."
He was Mu, the Second Tsuchikage.
These two were spoils from Naruto's… less-than-dignified "tomb-raiding" in Cloud and Stone. Unlike Kabuto, Naruto hadn't summoned them to wage war or strengthen his forces. His purpose was much simpler—training.
At present, Naruto was already an opponent with almost no equals in the entire shinobi world. To put it bluntly, the Five Kage were little more than paper tigers before him, and even multiple tailed beasts together could only push him a little.
But… did that mean Naruto was already truly invincible?
Unfortunately, no.
Because the ones who stood at the true pinnacle of the shinobi world had not yet appeared. Those were the real monsters of this era. Next to them, the current Kage were as fragile as infants.
It was like in Saint Seiya—the true powerhouses were never the Silver Saints, but the Gold Saints. The shinobi world was the same: the Five Kage were only surface-level leaders, not the true top.
That was why Naruto had to push himself harder.
And who could serve as better sparring partners than the Kage of past generations?
If only he could find Madara's remains, Naruto would have loved to summon him too. After all, Madara was one of the two great gatekeepers right below Sage of Six Paths level—perfect for measuring one's true strength.
As for Hashirama… Naruto wasn't ready to summon him just yet. Best not to bite off more than he could chew.
"Earth Style: Added-Weight Rock Jutsu!"
Mu extended his hands toward Naruto. At once, Naruto felt his body grow oppressively heavy. Each step he took left a deep footprint in the ground. He clenched his fists, stretched his shoulders, then moved a little.
His body was sluggish, his movements dulled—exactly what he wanted.
The Added-Weight Rock Jutsu could petrify an enemy or increase their personal gravity to hinder movement. It could also be applied to oneself or allies, multiplying strength through increased weight. Combined with its counterpart, the Light-Weight Rock Jutsu, the two could essentially control gravity to a degree.
This was one of the signature techniques of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. But Mu, as his teacher, naturally could use it too.
Others viewed the jutsu only as an attack. Naruto, however, saw it as the perfect training tool.
That's right—Naruto's current regimen was none other than the gravity training that Goku, Piccolo, and others had undergone on King Kai's planet in the early Dragon Ball Z arc.
The only issue was that even Mu's full power couldn't reach ten times gravity—at most three to four times.
Naruto wasn't a Saiyan; his body wasn't that monstrous. His recovery and physical adaptability far surpassed normal humans, but he wasn't about to endure ten times Earth's gravity straight away. Three to four times was already the perfect level to start.
After all, in the shinobi world, talking about "Vegeta-level ten times gravity" would just be absurd.
Besides, even Mu could only sustain this jutsu indefinitely because of Edo Tensei's infinite chakra.
There was also a stronger variant, the Super Added-Weight Rock Jutsu, which could reach eight to ten times gravity. But under that kind of debuff, Naruto wouldn't even be able to train—he'd just collapse.
Naruto warmed up first: spinning in place with his eyes closed, leaping and flipping through several 360-degree midair spins, even a few flashy gymnastics-like routines. Then a set of exaggerated "aerobics" moves, pumping up his muscles until his whole body was fully engaged.
Finally, he was ready.
"Lightning Release: Chakra Mode!"
The Third Raikage's body burst into arcs of lightning, his entire frame cloaked in chakra. Just like his son, the Fourth, he used Lightning Release to stimulate his cells, ramping up activity until his speed reached its absolute peak.
Fast as lightning itself—that was the Third Raikage. In fact, he was even stronger than his son in both strength and speed.
"Brat," the Raikage rumbled, glaring at Naruto. "Even without that weight technique on you, you could never keep up with me. My speed is beyond your imagination."
Naruto's response was a simple, flat:
"Run."
Before the Raikage could protest, his body moved against his will, vanishing in a blur as Edo Tensei compelled him to obey.
"Damn brat!" His curse echoed only after he had already disappeared.
In Dragon Ball Z, King Kai's second stage of training had required Goku and the others to chase down his pet monkey, Bubbles—a creature that could move freely even under ten times gravity.
Naruto had decided to replicate that method.
Of course, there were no "Bubbles" in the shinobi world. So he needed a substitute—something fast, agile, and hard to catch.
That substitute was the Third Raikage.
If the Raikage knew Naruto had reduced him to a replacement monkey, his lungs would probably burst from rage.
As the Raikage bolted, Naruto moved as well. His feet slammed into the ground, leaving a crater-like footprint as he launched forward.
Even under multiplied gravity, his speed was still astonishing.
But compared to the Raikage? He was still far behind.
The Third Raikage might not have been the outright fastest shinobi ever, but only a rare few could match his speed. For Naruto to catch him—especially while weighed down—was no simple feat.
But that was the point. If this were easy, it wouldn't be training.
And so, Naruto's grueling new regimen officially began.