Naruto: The Teaching System - 231

Chapter 231: You Hit Me? I'll Hit You Back—With an Army!

When Naruto said this, Sawada just chuckled softly. If only it were that easy to achieve. Moreover, Naruto's natural affinity was only for Wind Release.

"I'm not saying this to make you overconfident," he said, patting Naruto's head gently. "Everyone has their own strengths. For example, you possess enormous chakra reserves, and your fighting style leans more toward overwhelming burst damage. Although Earth Release can achieve similar effects, Wind Release is the most suitable for you. Having you practice other attributes now is just to prevent your fighting style from becoming too one-dimensional, while also ensuring you can effectively adapt to various combat situations."

"I understand, Sensei," Naruto said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Alright, keep it up. Don't rush about chakra nature transformation—that's something you'll cultivate gradually over time." Sawada looked between Sasuke and Naruto. "I'll teach you summoning jutsu soon, but I still need to make some preparations."

"No problem, Sensei!" Both boys responded in unison, their faces lit with excitement as they exchanged eager glances.

Meanwhile, at another training ground, Sawada scratched his head in frustration while spinning a specially made kunai on his index finger. He'd originally thought that in Chakra Mode, he could use space-time ninjutsu similar to Flying Thunder God, but unexpectedly, even in his normal state, he couldn't even perform a simple spatial displacement.

Sawada had been training whenever he had free time these past few days, but the results were discouraging. Despite this feeling of progress being within reach, every attempt made him genuinely realize that this hurdle was as difficult as scaling a mountain.

Even Minato had warned him that unless one possessed natural talent for Flying Thunder God, he wouldn't recommend Sawada practice it. After all, even Minato's former guard squad, though all civilians, shared one thing in common—a natural affinity for space-time manipulation, albeit weaker than Minato's own.

"Forget it. If it doesn't work, I won't force it," Sawada murmured, gracefully spinning once before tucking the kunai back into his ninja tool pouch. It wasn't that he had to learn this technique—there was just a lingering hope in his heart. Having Flying Thunder God as an alternative to Chakra Mode would be ideal, but it wasn't essential.

Next, he needed to continue practicing sealing jutsu and strengthen other aspects of his power, especially since ninja hawks had been flying with increasing frequency recently, bringing urgent messages from the Hokage's office.

"A storm is coming," Sawada muttered, shaking his head as he stood and prepared to return to the Academy. The ninja world's fragile peace would probably be shattered soon, so it was best to raise his strength as quickly as possible.

The system notification appeared in his mind: [Completed one teaching session. Teaching evaluation: A+. Reward: Earth Release: Earth Flow Clone Technique (Proficient), Water Release: Water Mirror Technique (Proficient)]

Sawada's eyes widened in surprise. Water Mirror Technique? Wasn't that the signature ninjutsu used by the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura? It could create a mirror made of water that would display someone identical to the enemy, and moreover, it could replicate the same ninjutsu as the opponent with equal power. However, it was also extremely chakra-intensive.

Still, not bad at all. At least now he had another method to deal with difficult situations. Team up against me? No problem—I'll team up against you with your own techniques!

As he walked through the Academy grounds, a familiar figure appeared beside him. Sawada turned his head and saw Iruka with a worried expression etched across his face, which made him curious.

"What's wrong, Iruka?"

Iruka glanced left and right nervously and only relaxed after confirming no one was within earshot. He looked at Sawada with uncertainty clouding his eyes. "Sawada, I heard there's going to be a war?"

Sawada was momentarily stunned—he hadn't expected even Iruka at the Academy to sense something abnormal in the village's atmosphere. But thinking about the recent tension permeating Konoha, it wasn't surprising.

"Not certain, just preventive measures," Sawada said, shaking his head. "If war were truly imminent, there would definitely be a jonin meeting, but so far I haven't received any official notice. At most, the Hokage is just making preparations."

Hearing this, Iruka's expression darkened further. After all, preventive measures meant the threat was real, lurking just beyond the horizon.

"What's bothering you? You don't usually pay attention to village politics," Sawada observed, knowing Iruka well enough to sense something deeper troubling him.

"I'm thinking about the children who are about to graduate," Iruka said quietly, his voice heavy with concern. Once war erupted, it meant these soon-to-graduate students would also have to face the battlefield's horrors.

Sawada patted Iruka's shoulder sympathetically, but said nothing more. This was unavoidable, and even he wasn't certain whether Konoha would send these young students into combat. After all, past wars had lasted several brutal years, and the Second and Third Wars were triggered within devastatingly short timeframes, leading to severe ninja shortages.

How could there be no casualties on the battlefield? This was also why after the Third War, all the great nations could recuperate and maintain peace for so long. After all, their foundations had been nearly exhausted, their villages bled dry of warriors.

War was fought for profit—what benefit existed in completely draining a nation's resources?

"Don't worry too much. This is something everyone must eventually experience," Sawada said gently, though he offered no false comfort. This harsh reality couldn't be avoided just by wishing it away.

At the training ground, Hinata called out with determination, "Neji-nii, do your best!"

Across from her, Neji raised his hand and gathered his chakra, veins bulging prominently around his eyes in the distinctive pattern of the Hyuga clan.

"Byakugan!"

Neji's figure vanished in a blur of motion, flying toward Hinata's position with practiced precision.

Hinata took a deep breath, then activated her own Byakugan, her hands moving gracefully around her body in fluid, circular motions.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

As Hinata's hands moved with blinding speed, chakra condensed in her palms, refined once more into needle-thin points. Her mastery of chakra shape transformation was formidable, strengthening her strikes into precise, devastating attacks.

The air crackled with each collision as Neji's offensive strikes were deflected, the impact force from their clashing chakra exploding outward in visible ripples.

"Amazing!" Naruto watched from the sidelines, his voice filled with genuine awe and admiration.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, the tomoe spinning as he observed the exchange of techniques carefully. After a moment of analysis, he nodded appreciatively. "Not bad—an absolute defense worthy of the name."

After all, this was merely sparring. Using Neji as her opponent allowed Hinata to use her Byakugan to see through attacks and avoid harm while perfecting her defensive technique.

"Absolute defense?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Yes. Each time Hinata strikes, she uses needle-shaped chakra to shatter nearby objects or incoming techniques, forming a spherical barrier around her body that prevents anyone from advancing—it's an absolute defense," Sasuke explained, his analytical mind breaking down the technique's mechanics.

"Really? Then Hinata is truly amazing!" Naruto said enthusiastically, looking happily at Hinata on the training platform.

With Hinata's current strength, how could anyone still call her weak? Even if Naruto, Sasuke, or Neji himself had methods to breach this defense, they would all need to use overwhelming force to break through it. After all, not one of them was weak—each had grown into a formidable shinobi under Sawada's guidance.