Chapter 19: Chapter 19 – Training
Ninja Academy.
"Renya-kun, did you hear?" Nara Motoha leaned in close to Renya, looking emotional.
"Uchiha Retsufū got beat up yesterday—pretty badly too!"
How could Renya not know about that?
He knew all too well!
But he had to pretend he didn't.
A flash of just-right curiosity passed through Renya's eyes as he asked, "Seriously?"
"Of course it's true," Nara Motoha said firmly.
"Haha! The heavens have eyes!" Renya couldn't help but laugh. "That guy totally had it coming!"
Nara Motoha carefully observed Renya's reaction.
Seeing his look of surprise tinged with gloating, Motoha began to have second thoughts.
Could it really not have been Renya-kun?
But yesterday, Uchiha Retsufū had just picked a fight with Renya in the morning, and by noon he'd been ambushed and beaten up in a sack.
The timing was just too perfect—it was hard not to suspect him.
Noticing the look, Renya raised an eyebrow and exclaimed,
"You're not thinking I did it, are you?"
Nara Motoha stayed silent, but his expression practically screamed
[Who else could it be?]
"That guy's offended so many people. Getting sacked and beaten is pretty normal for him…"
While speaking, Renya casually glanced toward Hyūga Muki in the distance.
Nara Motoha followed Renya's gaze and fell into thought.
Uchiha Retsufū was indeed arrogant and overbearing. Renya wasn't the only one he'd offended.
Now that he thought about it, Hyūga Muki could've also done it out of revenge...
Hyūga Muki, sitting in his seat, suddenly felt like someone was whispering behind his back. He shifted uncomfortably.
He had no idea that someone had already marked him as the scapegoat and was about to dump the blame on him.
"I think Uchiha Kagami might be a suspect too," Renya said quietly.
"Uchiha Kagami?" Nara Motoha looked over with a puzzled expression at Kagami, who was cheerfully chatting with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
Noticing Motoha's gaze, Uchiha Kagami offered a warm smile and even nodded politely.
"Renya-kun, are you kidding me?" Motoha looked incredulous.
Uchiha Kagami was so gentle—how could he do something like that?
Renya seemed to read his thoughts and explained,
"You've got to understand, the quiet ones are often the scariest… Nothing seems wrong when you mess with them at first, but if you push too far, they might just snap and do something terrifying."
"I see, I've learned something today." Nara Motoha nodded seriously. He found Renya's logic quite convincing.
He knew that Uchiha Retsufū and the others had been excluding Kagami on purpose. If Kagami snapped and beat him up, it'd be pretty reasonable.
"Retsufū's made so many enemies. Getting beaten up is just karma. Don't always pin it on me. Do I seem like the type to attack people from the shadows?"
"You don't, actually."
"Exactly!"
"But I still think you're the most suspicious, Renya-kun…"
Renya: "…"
Seriously? After all that logical analysis, you still suspect me?
Nara Motoha looked uncertain. Was it really not Renya-kun?
Had he misunderstood?
Thinking that, Motoha said, "Renya-kun, I believe you!"
"Haha, now that's more like it. I'm not that kind of person."
Thanks to his superb acting skills, Renya finally managed to fool Motoha.
Any more and even he might've started believing his own story.
Just as Renya finished dealing with Motoha, their homeroom teacher Senju Takuzen walked into the classroom.
"Everyone, gather on the training field!"
...
Training field.
The group murmured noisily, unsure of what the teacher had in store.
"This morning's lesson is simple: endurance training, strength training, and balance training!" Senju Takuzen announced.
"Ugh, training again? So annoying..." Motoha muttered under his breath.
Renya had no particular thoughts. He was already used to high-intensity training. In fact, if he didn't train for a day, he'd feel off.
After all, there were no shortcuts to becoming stronger. Only relentless training could bring true growth.
"Start with 100 laps for warm-up!"
As the whistle blew, Class A students started jogging along the track.
One hundred laps was manageable for the students of Class A.
Most of them came from shinobi clans and had been training since childhood.
Though only six or seven years old, they'd already been practicing for a year or two.
Back when Konoha was first founded, shinobi were far stronger than those in later generations.
It was an era of constant war. One wrong move meant death. Weakness led to early graves. To survive, one had to constantly grow stronger.
After the 100 laps, everyone was panting for breath.
Senju Takuzen didn't give them any rest and immediately moved on to strength training.
Special training equipment was set up. Students partnered up to perform weighted squats, push-ups, and other exercises.
After the strength training, everyone collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
"I'm done, Renya-kun. I'm dying," Motoha gasped, pale-faced as he lay on the ground.
Renya didn't look too good either. His lips were pale.
Even he was struggling with such intense training.
He had thought the Academy would go easier on them. But clearly, the training here was even stricter!
"Ten-minute break. After that, balance training."
The moment he said that, groans of misery erupted.
Noticing the students' resentful looks, Takuzen looked a bit helpless.
He agreed the training was tough—but this was the plan set by Tōbirama-sama. He had no choice but to follow it.
In Tōbirama's words: [Class A is full of elite seedlings. They must be trained hard.]
History had many geniuses, but only a few ever made a name for themselves.
That's because only those who survive and grow can truly be called geniuses.
The rest—those who die halfway—don't count...
Senju Takuzen understood that Tōbirama-sama wanted these kids to grow up fast and become true prodigies.
That's why the training plan was so strict.
Of course, this all depended on the kids having talent.
Without talent, they wouldn't be placed in Class A to begin with.
You could say that the kids standing here were all future pillars of the village—if they survived and grew strong.
Break time ended.
Next came a series of advanced stretching and balance drills.
Students had to run swiftly across narrow balance beams while striking various poses. One misstep meant falling.
Fall once—run 10 laps. Fall twice—20 laps. And so on.
Renya controlled his breathing and focused all his attention. He successfully crossed the balance beam.
Motoha wasn't so lucky. His foot slipped and he fell, earning himself 10 laps.
Already dead tired, the extra laps were a cruel blow. He was practically falling apart.
As expected, he slipped again and hit the ground hard—this time earning 20 laps.
Motoha looked at the long track ahead and felt his vision blur. He was on the verge of collapse.
Of course, he wasn't the only unlucky one.
Renya looked around. By rough count, only ten students had cleared the balance beam so far.
The ones he recognized were Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, Uchiha Kagami, and Hyūga Muki. The rest he didn't know.
"Danzō, you got this!" Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted at the top of his lungs.
Shimura Danzō was currently inching forward with intense focus, eyes fixed on the beam. Sweat dripped from his forehead—he was about to make it.
But Hiruzen's sudden yell startled him.
He lost balance and dropped.
"Hiruzen, you bastard!"
Danzō's face turned red with rage as he roared.
"Haha, sorry, Danzō."
Hiruzen scratched his head with an awkward grin.
Renya twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Why did it feel like that guy did it on purpose?
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