After Sensei laid out our brutal training schedule, I couldn't help but feel a sense of determination swell within me. I reminded myself that this was necessary—I had to get stronger if I wanted to survive in this world. Survival wasn't guaranteed, even in the relative safety of the village. Sure, Naruto would protect the village, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. I realized that my family or I could easily be one of the unlucky few who slip through the cracks.
I couldn't expect him to protect every single one. He was human too, after all. So, if I didn't do everything in my power to make the situation better, both for myself and for him, what was I even doing? I had to make sure I was strong enough to defend myself—and maybe even help him one day.
These thoughts reignited a fire inside me, pushing away the earlier exhaustion. I was ready to give everything I had in training, to throw myself into it completely.
But then Sensei's next words came like a punch to the gut: "And on the days we're not doing missions, we'll train from morning till night."
There was dead silence. I glanced at Baskin and Nora, both of them staring at Sensei like he'd just said something outrageous.
Nora's jaw dropped. "Did... did he just say morning till night?" he whispered, his voice shaky with disbelief. "That's like... all day."
Baskin's face was a picture of pure horror. "Does he want us to die?" he muttered under his breath, wiping his brow as if he were already sweating from the mere thought.
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, knowing they were probably panicking. Sure, it's going to be tough, but this is what we need, I thought. But watching their faces was priceless—if I'd had a camera, I definitely would've snapped a picture to capture that moment forever.
Just as Baskin looked like he was about to say something, Sensei vanished in a flicker, leaving behind only a final warning: "We'll meet tomorrow at 7 a.m., and anyone who's late will have to train double the amount of time they were late."
Nora visibly shuddered. "Double training?" he repeated, almost choking on the words.
Baskin's shoulders slumped. "I'm not going to survive this..."
The next morning, I arrived a little before 7 a.m., eager to get started. Unsurprisingly, both Baskin and Nora were already there, looking like they'd barely slept. There was no way anyone was risking being late after that threat.
Sensei arrived five minutes before 7 a.m., handing each of us a sheet of paper. "These are your training routines. Follow them exactly," he said.
I looked at my plan. Nora skimmed his, looking disheartened. "Why does mine have so many chakra control exercises?" he groaned, flipping through the details. "I'm bad at this stuff!"
Baskin glanced over his plan and frowned. "Of course I get the heaviest physical training. It's like Sensei's trying to break me."
I chuckled. "Well, you did say you wanted to get stronger, right?"
"Not this much stronger," Baskin replied, rubbing his eyes. "I'm going to die before I even hit Chunin at this rate."
Mine was focused on Ninjutsu Practice, both Baskin and Nora was jealous.
Nora said. "Of course you get the coolest part". Baskin agreeing with him.
After going over our training plans, Sensei also mentioned something crucial—chakra nature. He explained that we'd need chakra paper to discover ours. "If you can't afford it," Sensei added, "I'll provide the paper, but I'll deduct the cost from your future mission earnings."
Nora perked up immediately, puffing out his chest. "I already know mine. It's wind!" he announced, clearly proud of his heritage.
I couldn't help but think, Typical Sensei. He was always serious when it came to financial matters. None of us were surprised.
chakra paper for determining chakra nature isn't cheap, and it's not the same as the kind used for fuinjutsu,
For fuinjutsu, the quality of the paper is key. I'd read in some scrolls that high-quality chakra paper, used for making B-rank seals, could cost as much as 20,000 ryo. But the one used for D rank were far cheaper starting from 2000 ryo. Thankfully, I wasn't dealing with B-rank seals yet, so I didn't need to worry about that—at least for now. But the chakra paper for determining chakra nature costs around 10,000 ryo. I'd wanted to test mine earlier, but I didn't have the money on hand at the time. And besides, with everything else I was training in, discovering my chakra nature wasn't an urgent priority.
Baskin raised his hand. "Well, I want to find out mine, so I an buying" he said eagerly. "Who knows, maybe I'll be a fire user or something cool."
After a quick thinking, I bought one too. When I tested my chakra, the paper became wet —water nature. I smiled, satisfied with the result.
Baskin's paper burned to ash almost instantly. "Fire!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Guess I'm not too different from the Uchiha after all!"
Nora scoffed, arms crossed. "Yeah, sure. Now let's see if you can actually use that fire."
"Hey, I bet I'll master it before you get control of your wind nature," Baskin shot back, playfully shoving him.
As the banter continued, I couldn't help but feel excitement for the challenges ahead. With our chakra natures discovered, training intensified, and we had a clearer path toward what we needed to work on. Sensei's strictness might have been daunting, but I could tell we were on the right track.
"I'm ready for whatever comes next," I said with a grin, already bracing myself for the intensity of the next training session. Baskin sighed dramatically while Nora gave me a look of disbelief, but I was sure—this was just the beginning.