Chapter 432: Fear of Death
BOOM!
A massive wave slammed down, instantly submerging Metal Lee.
Despite his exceptional talent for taijutsu and precise bodily control, having never practiced surfing before offered him zero advantage against the raw force of the water.
He was swallowed whole beneath the crashing surf.
Behind him, Boruto—who had just ridden up the crest of a wave—witnessed Metal Lee getting pulverized and vanishing without a trace. His pupils dilated in shock.
"He disappeared..."
Boruto was thoroughly startled, but since he was already caught on the crest, all he could do was fight to balance his weight.
He had to prevent himself from getting slammed down into the deep sea like the green-jumpsuit kid before him.
He didn't... die, did he?
Straining to control his board, Boruto felt the raw energy surging beneath his feet. Keeping his chakra control rock-steady, he learned to yield to the wave's power and guide it. Before long, Boruto had the surfboard completely under control.
He stabilized his stance with smooth precision.
Surging up beside him, Mitsuki offered a gentle smile. "Not bad at all. To master the surfboard on your very first try without falling off is pretty impressive."
Training at this level presented zero difficulty for Mitsuki.
He had more than enough breath left to chat.
Suddenly, Mitsuki's sharp perception picked up on something subtle. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of Boruto's eye—for a split second, it turned completely blank.
An enigmatic, unusual light radiated from that single eye.
However, the phenomenon vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Boruto's eye returned to normal as he turned to Mitsuki. "Did that guy just die?"
He couldn't bring himself to believe that a simple freshman orientation ceremony could actually end in death.
He had always heard how brutal a shinobi's life was, but this was his very first time witnessing it firsthand.
Rationally, he knew his father would never let freshmen die in a place like this. Yet emotionally, he had watched the kid get dragged into the abyss with his own eyes.
Against a raging sea like this, survival seemed impossible.
This was the raw, unbridled power of nature.
Wait... what happened just a moment ago?
Right before he stabilized, the sheer force of the ocean and the sight of Metal Lee vanishing had made Boruto's knees go weak. But in an instant, his control over his chakra and body had spiked unnaturally. He had suddenly glimpsed strange, visible trajectories—and by riding along those lines, he had seamlessly harnessed the wave's momentum and regained his footing.
Mitsuki chuckled gently, "No, of course not. How could anyone die in a setup like this? Shinobi life isn't nearly as brutal as it used to be. Besides, no matter how harsh things get, if there's a chance to save someone, they will always step in. Shinobi brutality only applies to uncontrollable situations. With so many Konoha Jonin standing right over there, how could anything go wrong?"
Furthermore, Mitsuki's keen senses confirmed the boy was still alive.
His perception had been extraordinary since birth. Ever since he was born, he shared a deep attunement with nature; he could feel the agitation of the ocean, and he could feel Metal Lee's vital signs still pulsing beneath the waves.
"I see... That's a relief! But honestly, this isn't half bad once you get used to it!" Riding his surfboard among the wave crests, Boruto peered down into the deep, dark abyss below, suddenly filled with a thrilling sense of conquering nature.
"Once you're familiar with it, it really is quite easy. Anyone with a solid foundation in chakra control can pull it off as long as they overcome their fear—except for those who are genuinely weak, of course," Mitsuki stated candidly.
...
"Gosh... Metal Lee..."
Metal Lee's sudden drop instantly extinguished the courage that the remaining kids had managed to scrape together.
Those who had been planning to follow Mitsuki and Boruto's lead froze dead in their tracks.
"People can actually die out here..." Chocho Akimichi took several steps backward in retreat.
Inojin Yamanaka glanced over at the two boys still gliding effortlessly across the ocean, then looked at Lord Hokage and the teachers, who remained completely unfazed.
He turned to Shikadai and asked, "They won't actually die, right? Lord Hokage and the others look way too calm."
Shikadai pondered for a moment before replying, "It's fine. Let's go. We're the next generation of the Ninja Academy—there's no way they'd let us die. The Hokage's goal is just to make us overcome our fear. Even though it's a pain and feels awful, we're definitely not going to die."
His rational mind assured him that was the truth.
Human beings, however, aren't governed by logic alone.
Clutching his surfboard, Shikadai broke into a cold sweat as he trudged toward the water's edge.
Seeing this, Inojin chose to trust Shikadai's judgment—after all, Shikadai had been sharp since they were toddlers.
He charged out right behind him.
"Wait for me...!" Chocho Akimichi quickly crammed the rest of her snacks into her mouth. Seeing her two teammates charge ahead, she mustered every ounce of her bravery and bolted out after them.
"I won't be left behind either!"
Since they had stepped up, several other brave students found the courage to follow suit—they were simply a second slower on the draw.
Before long, like dumplings dropping into water, they plunged one after another into the ocean.
Shikadai was no exception.
Their physical coordination and chakra control simply weren't advanced enough to tame the ocean yet.
To put it simply, they lacked familiarity with the sea and couldn't ride its energy.
Compounded by the ocean's violent thrashing, their ability to tread water showed its severe limits.
Seeing everyone get wiped out, the hesitant students remaining on the platform lost what little courage they had left—some even burst into hysterical tears.
Yet Naruto and the instructors remained completely indifferent.
Shino Aburame stepped forward and addressed the crying children, "You should all give it a try. Otherwise, us teachers will have to help you down ourselves."
A swarm of insects suddenly buzzed out from beneath his clothes, clearly intent on scaring the students into action.
Thud! Thud!
Terrified by the fear of death and overwhelmed by Shino's creepy bugs, several students fainted dead on the spot.
Shino scratched his head in confusion—how could these kids be this timid?
"W-Who are you?! Where did you come from?!" another terrified student stuttered.
"I am your teacher, Shino Aburame. I will be your instructor moving forward. If you don't jump down on your own, we teachers will throw you down."
"Don't throw us! My dad will beat you up!"
"Yeah! My mom will beat you up too!"
Hearing his threat, the freshmen panicked and immediately brought up their parents.
Naruto chuckled, "I don't think so. They can't beat us—we're the ones who do the beating."
Watching Boruto's smooth maneuvers, followed by the impressive initiative of the other kids, Naruto felt a wave of quiet pride.
However, facing the exceptionally fearful ones before him, he knew he had to step in and forge their resolve.
Aside from innate bravery, courage could be tempered through trial—just like the grueling training he had undergone under Uncle Tonbo and Master Jiraiya back in the day.
"Ahhh...!"
Just as the terrified students were squirming in dread, a massive shape surfaced from beneath the water in the distance—a colossal whale!
With a massive geyser of water, the whale spouted the fallen students out of its blowhole one by one.
Drenched from head to toe, the kids landed on the platform with dizzy, swirling eyes.
Among them was Metal Lee, who had been slammed underwater at the very start.
"Ah! They're not dead?!"
The remaining students gasped as they saw the kids land safely.
"That's right. This exercise is meant to teach you how to face your fears head-on. Mitsuki and Boruto executed it brilliantly. And while the rest didn't match their performance, they still completed the ritual experience. Now, it's your turn. Don't tell me you're still too scared to go?
If that's the case, I suggest you drop out of the Ninja Academy altogether—because drills like this will be a regular part of your first-year curriculum," Naruto declared firmly.
Every single freshman turned ghost-white at his words.
Even if it wasn't fatal, this ocean was still horrifyingly intimidating.
However, spurred on by his ultimatum, several more students grabbed surfboards and charged out onto the waves.
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