After that,
Minato laid out the special training plan.
The content of this training was very similar to the "balance training method" Minato had previously described to Mikami Yuu. Clearly, for efficiency's sake, he planned to kill two birds with one stone—
First came basic physical training: obstacle running, rock climbing, moving-target throwing, shuriken drills…
Then there was water-walking on rivers, fighting on suspension bridges, climbing waterfalls…
Based on his evaluation of Mikami Yuu and the others' physical conditions, Minato broke the training volume down individually. Rin and Obito started with lighter loads, while Mikami Yuu and Kakashi received more—and on top of that, they needed extra sensory training.
—Minato didn't explain the reason for that last part in detail, but Mikami Yuu knew that sensory ability was a core requirement for Flying Thunder God. Strong sensing didn't guarantee you could learn Flying Thunder God, but weak sensing guaranteed that you couldn't. And like reflex speed, it depended heavily on innate talent. Improving it later was very hard.
Still, hard or not, he had to train it. Who knew? Maybe he did have the talent.
Obito, however, was dissatisfied with the plan:
"Minato-sensei! Why is my training volume lower than Yuu's and Kakashi's? Are you saying I'm not as good as them?"
"…"
Minato looked like he wanted to say something and stopped himself.
The truth was… yes, Obito wasn't as good.
Aside from having a larger chakra pool, Obito really couldn't compare to Mikami Yuu and Kakashi in most areas. Even in his best field—Fire Style—he was still at the level of carrying Mikami Yuu's shoes.
But saying that directly would've hurt him too much.
And strictly speaking, it wasn't that Obito was weak. It was that Mikami Yuu was strong in a way that was almost excessive. The boy had only been a genin for a few months, yet he could already unleash a Great Fireball on par with a jōnin's, and his swordsmanship was improving at breakneck speed. Compared to that, even five-year-old graduate, six-year-old chūnin Kakashi looked a little slow.
But,
Minato himself was a genius among geniuses, so he wasn't shocked so much as worried. As the saying went: the tree that stands above the forest is the first to be broken by the wind. In wartime, a very young ninja showing too much brilliance was often not a blessing but a sign of coming disaster.
As their teacher, Minato had no idea how the state of the ninja world would develop, but he wanted to buy Mikami Yuu and the others as much time as possible to grow normally.
That was why, after discussing it with Hiruzen, he had initiated this round of special training.
Now,
Minato carefully chose his words and explained more gently:
"The training program I made for you isn't fixed. It's progressive. Once you adapt to one level, you move to the next. At this stage, Obito, your workload is a bit lighter, but later on…"
"Oh! I get it! I'll catch up to that level right away and surpass both of them!"
Obito was overflowing with motivation.
That state lasted less than half a day.
"…Whoa, I'm so tired!"
About an hour and a half later,
Obito was completely exhausted, sprawled out on a rock by the stream like a stranded fish.
Rin sat on the grass, breathing hard and sipping little mouthfuls of water.
Mikami Yuu and Kakashi were in better shape, but both had sweated through their clothes and were now leaning against tree trunks, regulating their breathing and restoring chakra and stamina.
The obstacle-course route had been specially chosen by Minato, crossing through three training grounds on the outskirts of Konoha. Along the way were forests, marshes, hills, and all kinds of terrain.
In pure distance it wasn't that long, but the climbing and uneven ground made it far more exhausting than simple flat running, and there were speed requirements on top of that. Even Kakashi, who had already been a chūnin for years, was feeling it by now.
Minato had run alongside them the whole time. At this point, he was only lightly sweating.
"If you're tired, stop and rest for a bit. Once your stamina recovers a little, try refining chakra again. Don't use soldier pills or anything like that. They have side effects and should only be used during wartime."
"This route is one I ran myself back when I was still a genin. There's another route too, one that passes through the Forest of Death. That one is much more dangerous. Once all of you have chūnin-level strength, you can try it."
For genin, the Forest of Death really was dangerous.
After all, even Mitarashi Anko, already a tokubetsu jōnin, had nearly died there and become tiger food when exhausted after her encounter with Orochimaru.
After resting a while,
the group set off again.
A little over two more hours later, Obito and Rin exhausted their chakra for a second time, and even Mikami Yuu and Kakashi were clearly showing fatigue.
Seeing that the sky was getting late,
Minato clapped his hands.
"That's enough for today. Go home and rest well. Once you adapt to this level of training, then we'll increase it."
"…Okay."
This time, the response sounded weak and drained.
On the way back to the residential district,
Obito suddenly asked curiously, "By the way, Minato-sensei, that Inuzuka Tsume-senpai said before that you have a really beautiful girlfriend? When are you going to let us meet her too?"
"Hm?"
Minato froze for a moment, then smiled helplessly. "You mean Kushina. She really is very beautiful—especially that long red hair of hers. Her personality is very gentle too… But her identity is a bit special, so she isn't that free to move around the village. If there's a chance, I'll take you to meet her."
"…?"
Mikami Yuu glanced up at him.
No, seriously—
where exactly was the "gentle" part?
Well, maybe she toned it down a little when she was alone with Minato…
…
That night,
Mikami Yuu and the others split at the residential entrance. Mikami Yuu went to the hospital to visit his father, while the others each went home in different directions.
After that, for quite a while,
Mikami Yuu and Rin would go to Konoha Hospital every morning for Tsunade's classes, then rush over to Minato's side to take part in special training with Obito and Kakashi. By the time training ended, the sun was usually setting. They'd go home, eat, wash up, and then it was basically time to sleep.
Their lives were packed full.
Under that kind of training intensity, Mikami Yuu couldn't max out his jutsu proficiency every day the way he used to. He could only squeeze in bits of practice whenever he found the chance.
Still,
the special training itself was also for increasing strength. And with a jōnin like Minato there to guide them, the opportunity was rare. So setting the galgame system aside for a while wasn't too big a problem.
Of course, some things could be trained together with the special training.
Like Eight Gates.
Mikami Yuu tried treating Minato's special training as [Practice] for Eight Gates. After all, it was all intense conditioning aimed at raising physique. It wasn't like the only valid option was running laps around Konoha, right? Couldn't off-road speed endurance and sweating like this count as "youth" too?
[Eight Gates: Hm… this isn't really the training I imagined. It doesn't feel intense enough!]
[Eight Gates: But, seeing how hard you've really been pushing yourself these past few days, I'll reluctantly acknowledge your spirit of burning youth and hot blood! Keep it up tomorrow too~]
[Eight Gates Affection +1. Current affection: 14/100 (Stranger)]
"So stingy, just like always…"
If you looked at it, Eight Gates had actually entered Mikami Yuu's romance list pretty early. And yet, aside from Water Encampment Wall, which he had only gotten from the mission and hadn't really had time to work on yet, even Hatake Swordsmanship already had higher affection than Eight Gates.
Most likely, Hatake Swordsmanship's trait would unlock first.
And Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu was already hovering around 25 affection too.
Mikami Yuu was honestly pretty excited about both of them.
~~~
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