(PROFESSOR UZUMAKI) NEW TRAINING FACILITY

Greg stared open-mouthed at the enormous building in front of him, struggling to take in everything from the glass frontage to the sleek metal framework running along the upper floors. The place looked like something straight out of a superhero movie, and he could only imagine what the training facilities inside looked like. This was where he and the other students chosen by Naruto-sensei would be training from now on.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed his moment of uncoolness, although that was probably because everyone else was staring just as much as he was.

It was so awesome.

Greg fought the urge to squeal and hurried toward the entrance, eager to see what the inside looked like. He was almost through the doors when he noticed two familiar figures standing guard on either side, both wearing the same orange outfit and sporting the same blond hair and wide grin.

He nodded at them as he passed, then stopped a few steps later.

Wait a minute.

Greg turned around and stared between the two men, trying to figure out why Naruto-sensei was standing on both sides of the entrance. They even had the same ridiculous grin.

The other students had noticed them too, and judging by their expressions, Greg wasn’t the only one struggling to make sense of it.

“Are those…?” someone began.

Greg barely heard the question as the answer finally clicked.

Naruto-sensei could make clones of himself.

Of course he could! The man had killed Leviathan, after all. Making a couple of copies to stand guard at a building hardly seemed that impressive by comparison.

Greg wondered how many other things Naruto-sensei could do that nobody knew about yet. If he could make clones that looked and acted like the original, what else was possible? Greg had a dozen questions about chakra already, and every time he thought he'd started to understand it, something else came along to remind him how much he still had to learn.

He had barely begun to wrap his head around the enigma that was his sensei when he stepped into the main hall and found himself looking around in amazement. The polished floors and wide corridors gave the place a distinctly professional feel, and there was enough room that he couldn’t imagine the entire group of students filling it, even if they all ran around at once.

His own superhero base.

Well, technically, it belonged to the organisation Naruto-sensei had created with the PRT’s backing, but Greg was going to be training here, so he felt he was entitled to a little ownership.

Besides, it wasn’t every day that someone created a Ward-like organisation for people who could use chakra. Greg had never imagined he’d get to be part of something like this, much less have Naruto-sensei at the head of it, and the fact that it had all come together in just a few weeks made the whole thing feel even more surreal.

Brockton Bay’s government had mandated two weeks of time off following Leviathan’s death, and schools and businesses had only recently reopened. The break had given everyone time to recover from the chaos surrounding the evacuation, and all that entailed. Greg had even managed to go on his date with Tammy during that time, and things had gone well enough that she’d agreed to a second one. They weren’t dating yet, but he was taking that as a good sign. 

Of course, the break had also meant that Greg and the other students had spent several weeks dealing with the attention that came with being associated with Naruto Uzumaki.

People wanted to know what they could do. Some wanted to know whether they had helped fight Leviathan, while others seemed convinced that being taught by Naruto meant they were already capable of performing the same sort of feats he could.

Greg had gotten used to it by now. He still found some of the questions and stares annoying, but he had more important things to worry about, such as whether they would get access to the training rooms today and what sort of equipment the building had. He’d assumed his sensei would give them a rundown of how everything worked, after which they’d have plenty of time to look around and get a feel for their new headquarters. It sounded like a pretty good way to spend the day, especially with so much to see.

And, of course, Sparky.

The guy had actually managed to unlock a chakra jutsu on his own.

Greg was still a little jealous, especially since he’d never even considered that something like that could happen, but hearing how his friend had done it made him proud of him too. Sparky had told him everything, including how he’d rushed to save a child from being hit by a car, and Greg couldn’t help wondering whether his own chakra control would have allowed him to move fast enough to do the same.

It was one thing to talk about being a hero, but Sparky had acted without giving himself time to think about the danger. Greg was glad his friend had managed to pull it off, and he wanted to know how he’d done it.

He’d have to ask Naruto-sensei about it later. Maybe there was some trick to unlocking a jutsu like Sparky had stumbled upon by accident, and if there was, Greg definitely wanted to know about it.

“Everyone, gather around!”

Greg turned at the familiar voice and found Naruto standing a short distance away, looking as though he had been there for a while. The sudden appearance startled him enough that he nearly jumped, and he hurried over with the others before he could miss anything important.

Their sensei waited until everyone had gathered before motioning for them to follow him.

“I’ll show you around, and then we can talk about how things are going to work from now on.”

Greg fell into step with the others, trying to pay attention as Naruto led them down the corridor, although he already had more questions than he knew what to do with. He was going to train here, learn more chakra jutsu, and maybe even get to help people on a much bigger scale alongside others who were learning to do the same.

Greg pressed his lips together as he followed their sensei toward the next part of the building, doing his best to keep his excitement under control.

He really, really wanted to squeal.

Unlike what Greg had expected, Naruto-sensei had them sparring with his clones almost as soon as they entered the enormous training area, and with a ferocity that caught the entire class off guard.

Their sensei had briefly explained how things would work from now on before splitting them into pairs. There would be no more hand holding or expecting him to go easy on them. If they made a mistake, they would have to figure out what went wrong themselves, with Naruto beating the necessary corrections into them if that was what it took.

Greg had been all for that. He’d come here eager to see the facilities, try out the equipment, and find out what his sensei had planned for them. More challenging training had sounded great, too, right up until he found himself on the receiving end of a clone who seemed determined to put Naruto’s words into practice.

His opponent drove him backward with a series of strikes, leaving Greg scrambling to defend himself before he could even think about counterattacking. He blocked one punch, barely managed to avoid the next, and stumbled when a third caught him off balance. By the time he managed to put some distance between them, his arms were aching and he was struggling to catch his breath.

So much for getting to spend the day admiring the building.

Thankfully, judging by the sounds coming from the rest of the training area, he wasn’t the only one having a rough time. Even Sophia, who was usually all too eager to spar, couldn’t keep a frown off her face as she weathered blows from her opponent.

Greg tried to remind himself that this was what he’d signed up for. Naruto had always pushed them to improve, and if anything, Greg should have been happy that their training was becoming more serious. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this than their sensei simply increasing the intensity.

The only explanation Greg could think of was the attention they’d been receiving since Leviathan’s death. Maybe his sensei was worried about what that attention might bring, or maybe he wanted them ready for the expectations that came with being associated with the man who had killed an Endbringer.

But was that really enough to warrant this?