(PROFESSOR UZUMAKI) NEW TRAINING FACILITIES II

Naruto watched one of his clones send Greg sprawling across the training floor.

The boy managed to catch himself before his face met the ground, though that was probably the only thing he had done right in the last thirty seconds. After giving him a moment to get back on his feet, the clone moved in again, forcing Greg to bring his arms up in a hurried guard. He lasted another few seconds before a strike to the ribs doubled him over.

“Again,” the clone said.

Greg stared at him as though he had just been personally betrayed, and Naruto almost smiled. Judging by the boy’s expression, he was beginning to regret how enthusiastically he had welcomed the prospect of more challenging training.

Across the training area, the other students were struggling too, with varying degrees of success. Taylor, for instance, had managed to keep her clone occupied for longer than most, using her improved reflexes to avoid the worst of the blows, but she was beginning to tire. Sophia was putting up a fight as well, relying on her athleticism and willingness to take risks. Her frustration was becoming increasingly obvious, however, whenever her opponent anticipated a move she thought would catch him off guard.

Several of the others were having an even harder time, particularly those who kept trying the same approaches despite getting countered each time. A few had started looking for openings that simply weren’t there, and when their first attempts failed, they responded by attacking with more force rather than stopping to consider what they might have done wrong.

Watching them, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, wondering whether he had been a little too eager to put the new training facilities to use.

He had warned them that things would be changing, of course, and there was a good reason for it. For months, he had focused on building their foundations, teaching them to control their chakra, improve their physical abilities, and understand the principles behind what they were learning. They had made good progress during that time, with some even surprising him with how quickly they adapted. Their training had largely taken place under controlled conditions, though, with Naruto there to correct their mistakes before those mistakes became habits.

That approach had served its purpose. Now, they needed to learn how to handle situations where things didn’t go according to plan.

Naruto had seen what happened when people were confronted with something they couldn’t understand, particularly when it moved faster than they could follow or hit harder than they could withstand. Some froze, while others panicked and made decisions that only put them in greater danger. Those who tried to fight through their fear without thinking things through could fare just as badly.

His students would eventually face situations where they had no time to consider every possible response. He wanted them to gain enough experience to act even when they couldn’t afford to stop and think, and today's session was meant to help them develop that instinct.

He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that getting beaten up by clones in a training room would prepare them for everything. There was a considerable difference between sparring with someone who was trying to teach you and fighting an enemy who genuinely wanted you dead, particularly when that enemy was stronger, faster, and more experienced.

Still, they had to start somewhere. Naruto would rather have them make those mistakes here, where he could step in before anyone got seriously hurt, than have them discover their shortcomings when someone else’s life depended on them.

“Keep your guard up, Greg!”

The boy jerked his arms into place just in time to block a punch, but the force still pushed him backward, and his clone immediately followed with another strike that sent Greg stumbling away with a groan.

Naruto winced in sympathy. Perhaps he could have made their first training session a little less unpleasant, especially since the students had been looking forward to exploring their new headquarters after the tour. There was plenty for them to see, and he could easily have given them some time to get acquainted with the facilities before putting them to work. However, he had changed his mind before they arrived, deciding that they needed to get used to a more demanding style of training sooner rather than later.

The attention they had been receiving since Leviathan’s death had played a part in that decision, but it was only one part of the problem. There was a much bigger reason for changing their training, one that had been weighing on his mind ever since his conversation with Rebecca Costa-Brown.

Scion.

Naruto’s expression hardened as he recalled what the woman had told him. According to her, the golden-haired man who had appeared in this world years ago was an alien, a member of a species that travelled across the universe in search of suitable planets. They had their reasons for doing so, and from what Rebecca had explained, those reasons had led to the destruction of countless worlds. Earth Bet, she believed, would eventually suffer the same fate.

It was an extraordinary claim, the kind that would have sounded absurd coming from almost anyone else. Naruto had initially wondered whether Rebecca was mistaken or exaggerating the threat to persuade him to cooperate. Yet the woman had been far too careful with her words, and the seriousness with which she approached the subject made it difficult to dismiss her outright. Besides, he had already seen enough of this world to know that it could produce horrors every bit as terrible as the ones he had encountered back home. The Endbringers alone were proof of that.

Even so, Rebecca’s explanation had left him with plenty of questions. She had shared enough information for him to understand why she was so determined to expand access to chakra, but her account had also made it clear that there were things she wasn’t telling him. He could hardly blame her for being cautious when speaking to a stranger who had arrived from another world and killed something they thought previously unkillable. If their positions had been reversed, he would have wanted to know exactly who he was dealing with before revealing everything he knew.

Understanding her reasons, however, didn’t mean he intended to accept whatever conditions she might eventually put forward.

He had agreed to work with the PRT because he wanted to help people, and giving his students the means to protect themselves was an important part of that. He wasn’t going to let an organization dictate what he could teach or decide who deserved to learn it, particularly when the abilities he was sharing could make such a difference to their chances of survival. Rebecca seemed to understand his position for now, and they had found enough common ground to work together, but he wasn’t naïve enough to assume their interests would always align.

After all, she wanted more people capable of defending Earth Bet, while Naruto wanted to give them the means to protect themselves and others without allowing those in power to turn their abilities into another means of control. Their goals overlapped enough to make cooperation worthwhile, and with the threat Rebecca had described hanging over the world, he had little interest in creating unnecessary conflict.

For the time being, they needed each other. How long that arrangement would last, though, depended on what happened next.

His gaze returned to the students.

A clone stepped back to let Taylor recover her footing. She was breathing heavily, and sweat had begun to darken the collar of her shirt, but she was still watching her opponent intently, trying to work out what she had done wrong. When the clone moved again, she reacted sooner this time, turning aside from a strike and managing to land a glancing blow against his shoulder.

It wasn’t much, but she had recognised an opening and acted on it.

Naruto nodded to himself. That was the sort of progress he wanted to see. They didn’t need to win every exchange, and they certainly weren’t going to defeat stronger, more experienced opponents simply by trying harder. What mattered was whether they could learn from their mistakes and make better decisions the next time around.

He had spent a long time helping them build their foundations, and now they needed more opportunities to discover what they could do when things went wrong. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of easing them into the next stage as gradually as he would have preferred.

Naruto glanced towards the far end of the training area, where another clone was correcting a student’s stance. The building was ready, the students had a proper place to train, and the PRT had begun laying the groundwork for the organization that would support them. Things were coming together rather well, yet the more he learned about this world, the less comfortable he became with how little time they might have.

He had faced enemies who threatened entire villages, and he had fought alongside people who believed the future could be changed through hard work and determination. He had also seen what happened when people with power decided their own goals mattered more than everyone else’s lives, and Scion’s alleged plans brought those experiences together in a way he didn’t like.

If Rebecca was telling the truth, then there might not be a second chance.

Naruto had no idea how much time they had before Scion acted, or even whether the man was aware of the threat he posed to the world. Either way, he wasn’t going to assume that killing an Endbringer meant he could handle everything this planet threw at him. There were limits to what he could do alone, which was why he needed the students to grow stronger.

He wasn’t about to throw them into a battle against an enemy they couldn’t hope to defeat. If they were going to help protect this world, though, they needed to learn how to fight. Their physical conditioning had improved, and they were learning to manipulate chakra with increasing precision, but knowing how to perform a technique was one thing; understanding when to use it was another.

He could spend another year polishing their foundations, and they would undoubtedly become more capable. Whether they would be ready when it mattered was a different question.

“Come on!” Greg protested as his clone caught him with another strike. “At least let me rest for a bit!”

“You can rest when we’re done,” the clone replied.

“Gah!”

Naruto shook his head, unable to stop a smile from tugging at his mouth. Greg was certainly learning to complain with more confidence.

He let the session continue a little longer, watching for signs that anyone was approaching their limits. There was no point in pushing them until they could barely stand, especially when he wanted them to remember what they had learned rather than spend the rest of the day nursing bruises. Even with chakra helping their bodies recover, they still needed time to rest.

Eventually, he raised a hand.

“That’s enough. Everyone, stop!”

The clones disengaged at once, giving the students a chance to recover. Several took advantage of the opportunity to collapse onto the floor, while others bent over with their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath. Greg dropped onto his backside and stared at the ceiling, whereas Sophia remained standing, looking thoroughly annoyed. Nearby, Taylor wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before glancing towards Naruto, apparently waiting for him to explain what that had been about.

“Get some water and take a few minutes to recover,” Naruto instructed. “We’ll talk before we finish for the day.”

The students responded with a few relieved murmurs before making their way towards the water bottles in the fridge at the side of the room. Once Naruto dismissed his remaining clones, he joined them and waited until most had settled down.

“I know that was harder than what you’re used to,” he began. “Some of you probably think I went too far, and you might be right. We’ll make adjustments as we go, but I need you to understand why we’re doing this.”

Greg raised a hand from where he was sitting on the floor.

“Is the reason that you hate us?”

A few students laughed, prompting Naruto to give him a flat look.

“Right. Sorry,” Greg said, lowering his hand.

Naruto shook his head before continuing. “You’ve all improved since we started training together. Your control is better, your bodies are stronger, and most of you can do things now that you couldn’t have imagined a year ago. However, there’s still a difference between training when you know you’re safe and having to react when someone is actually trying to hurt you.”

He glanced around the group.

“Today was about learning to respond when things go wrong. You won’t always have time to think through every move.”

Judging by their expressions, a few still weren’t convinced. 

“Does that mean we’re going to do this every time we come here?” Halle asked.

“Depends,” Naruto replied.

Several unhappy looks followed, so he added, “We’ll be working on other things as well. You won’t get much stronger if all you do is take hits.”

“That’s reassuring,” Sparky muttered.

Naruto let the comment pass. “Up until now, I’ve focused on helping you control your chakra and improve your physical abilities. You’ve learned to reinforce your bodies, move more efficiently, and keep going when you would normally be exhausted. Those skills will remain important, but you also need to learn how to use your chakra against an opponent.”

That got their attention, as he had expected.

“Does that mean jutsu?” Greg asked, sitting up straighter despite his exhaustion.

“That’s what it means.”

A few students exchanged excited looks, and Greg looked ready to start asking questions before Naruto had even finished explaining. Others seemed more cautious, perhaps remembering how difficult they had found it to keep up with his clones.

Naruto crossed his arms. “I’m going to start teaching you offensive techniques, but I won’t be handing out the strongest jutsu I know. You’ll begin with techniques suited to your current abilities, and we’ll work our way up from there. Just as importantly, you’ll learn when to use them, when to hold back, and what to do when an attack fails.”

“Being able to hit someone hard is useful,” he continued, “but you also need to understand why you’re attacking, what you’re trying to accomplish, and what happens if you miss.”

Taylor nodded thoughtfully, while Greg looked as though he was struggling to keep a dozen questions to himself. Naruto suspected that wouldn’t last long.

For now, he was satisfied with what he had accomplished. The students had a better idea of where they stood, and he had made it clear that their training would become more demanding from here on. He would give them the tools they needed and push them to improve, even if he couldn’t promise they would be ready for everything that lay ahead.

“Finish your water,” he told them. “We’ll go over the first techniques next time. In the meantime, think about what you learned today. If you can identify a mistake you made and figure out how to avoid repeating it, then this session was worth the trouble.”

Greg groaned and let himself fall backwards onto the floor, drawing another round of laughter from the others. They were exhausted, and several still looked less than pleased with the session, but the laughter was genuine enough that Naruto found himself smiling.

For the moment, he allowed himself to enjoy it. There was still a great deal of work ahead, and he knew far too little about the threat facing this world to be certain how much time they had. Nevertheless, he had a place to train his students and a group of people willing to learn, so he intended to make the most of both.

If Scion truly intended to destroy this world, Naruto would need every advantage he could get.