Chapter 25: Running Training

Upon hearing this, Minato's face was full of anticipation.

What exactly was this so-called basic training?

"Let's go, the training ground for the morning isn't here," Jiraiya said as he started walking slowly.

Minato followed without hesitation, and the two once again found themselves on the streets of Konoha.

Jiraiya raised his arm and extended one finger, saying, "First, run forty laps around the Hidden Leaf Village, and you must complete them before noon. If not, the afternoon training is canceled. After that, run sixty more laps. Also, you're not allowed to use chakra."

Minato was slightly taken aback, as he never expected that the basic training would simply be running.

"Start now," Jiraiya reminded him from the side, and Minato realized that there were less than six hours left until noon.

"Oh no!" Minato exclaimed, and then he started running.

His speed was extremely fast, and he disappeared from the end of the street in just a few seconds. Jiraiya smiled slightly on the spot before vanishing with a flicker.

There weren't many people on the streets of Konoha in the early morning, so Minato, who was running at high speed, didn't encounter any obstacles.

As he swiftly passed through one street after another, he calculated the difficulty of this training in his mind.

At his current speed, if he maintained an average pace, he would just be able to complete forty laps around Konoha before noon.

However, that was just the average speed. Even as a ninja, his stamina was limited, and it would gradually decrease as he kept running.

If he could use chakra to recover his strength, it would be better. However, Jiraiya had forbidden the use of chakra.

As he calculated, he also pondered the effects of this training. Apart from enhancing his physical strength to some extent, it seemed unrelated to what his teacher had mentioned about body speed, reflexes, and so on.

Even Minato couldn't figure out the underlying principle at first, but he was certain that his teacher had his reasons for arranging this training.

His eyes gradually became more focused as he dedicated himself to this "training."

He completed the first lap in less than eight minutes, a speed even faster than an ordinary genin.

However, his pace slowed down slightly with each subsequent lap, and by the tenth lap, beads of sweat had already appeared on Minato's forehead.

Nevertheless, his breathing remained stable, as he was accustomed to maintaining this state through his frequent self-training.

Therefore, the basic training at the ninja academy couldn't make him feel fatigued.

"At this pace, I should be able to complete it," Minato thought to himself, continuing to run.

The people on the streets looked at him with a strange expression, as he was only a seven or eight-year-old child.

Minato didn't have the energy to pay attention to these looks because any distraction could consume his strength.

This might lead to his inability to complete the morning training, resulting in having to continue running in the afternoon.

It wasn't that he was afraid of the hard work, but he was really curious about what the next step of training arranged by his teacher would be.

"Curiosity, huh?" Jiraiya sat in a small pub in Konoha, just as he had expected. No matter how meticulous Minato's thoughts were, he was still just a child.

For a child, encouragement and threats were not as effective as piquing their curiosity to motivate them.

The weather became hotter, and Minato's strength gradually declined. However, he tried his best to maintain his speed, and he had already completed nearly thirty laps around Konoha.

For some genin, this would have been the limit of their stamina.

Even Minato, who frequently engaged in intense self-training, felt his legs growing heavier and found it slightly difficult to take long strides. However, whenever this feeling of fatigue intensified, his body seemed to respond.

His strength was rapidly recovering, alleviating his weariness.

This kind of extraordinary strength recovery had occurred to Minato before during his training sessions.

Without having time to ponder the reason, his speed slowed down slightly but remained steady. At this rate, he would be able to complete the forty laps around Konoha before noon.

On a certain rooftop in Konoha that Minato had to pass by, Jiraiya observed everything with slight surprise.

He naturally hadn't expected this kid to have such strong stamina, capable of enduring an intensity that even a chunin might not be able to adapt to immediately.

Jiraiya now even doubted the Third Hokage's intelligence report. Was Minato Namikaze, a child from an ordinary family, really just a regular kid?

How could he achieve this without any special lineage?

"I originally planned to let you try this in a few days, but it seems I'll have to move it up," Jiraiya said with a wry smile before vanishing again.

Minato maintained that state, having already completed thirty-five laps. As noon approached, the sun grew increasingly scorching, and many pedestrians sought shade to cool off.

Therefore, Minato, who was running under the sunlight, became especially noticeable.

The light reflecting off his golden hair shone brilliantly into people's eyes, as dazzling as golden rays.

Sweat trickled down his soft, delicate face, but his clothes were not yet soaked.

Just as Minato thought he was about to complete the morning training, a black shadow suddenly appeared in front of him.

Whoosh!

The shadow moved at an extreme speed, and Minato, in his fatigued state, didn't fully react in time. However, he still made an evasive move, and the shadow grazed past his sideburns, cutting off a few strands of hair.

"Kunai!" Minato's heart skipped a beat. What had just attacked him was undoubtedly a kunai.

Moreover, he could tell that the person who threw the kunai had even higher skills than Uchiha Homura, but there was no intention to harm him.

Aside from Jiraiya, his teacher, there shouldn't be anyone else who would interact with him like this.

He then looked in the direction from where the kunai had come but saw no one.

His brow furrowed as he realized that Jiraiya would never want to harm him. The purpose of throwing the kunai must have been...

To prevent him from completing the remaining training!

As he thought about this and became slightly distracted, another gust of wind came from behind him. This time, Minato was on guard and dodged it.

It was two more kunai.

"I can't afford to waste any more time!" Minato thought. Although he didn't know his teacher's purpose for doing this, he was certain that it was also a form of training.

And the goal was only one: to make him stronger!

Minato then resumed running, his speed seemingly even faster than before!

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(End of chapter)