Chapter 179 - Ino's And Haku's Training
It has been a few days since Zabuza left the village to help with the rebellion in Kirigakure, and right now, six people stood in front of a well-hidden secret room far below the main building of the Uzumaki compound and, while Yuna had a smug smile on her face, the other five people looked gobsmacked at what was going on inside the room. The first one to recover was Naruto.
"Err nee-san, why is there a snowstorm in our basement?"
"Well, where else was I supposed to put it? In the attic? That's just silly."
Naruto's eyelid twitched a little when he heard Yuna's answer, but decided not to bother arguing with her. The next person to start speaking was Hinata who was inspecting the snowstorm with her Byakugan.
"This snowstorm looks and feels very similar to the one you created while fighting Danzo, just a little weaker and this one doesn't seem to be expanding on its own, either."
"It is indeed the same snowstorm. It is weaker than the one you saw before because I used parts of it to create Kurama's physical body and it isn't expanding because I contained it in this room."
Despite having no clue how Yuna did something like that, she only nodded her head in understanding. The next person to ask a question was Haku.
"But why did you bring it here, Yuna?"
After Haku became Naruto's girlfriend, she stopped addressing Yuna with "sama", which Yuna didn't mind. Yuna smirked when she heard Haku's question and glanced at Haku and Ino.
"Well, it's for training, obviously. Or to be more precise, it's for you and Ino to train within."
"M-ME!?"
Ino had a rather strong reaction when she heard that she was supposed to train inside the room in front of her. As a Yamanaka, a clan that specializes in the mind arts, she was rather sensitive to intent, so she could somewhat tell that there was something off about the snowstorm. Rather than a normal snowstorm, she got the impression that she was looking at a dangerous monster.
Yuna, however, only nodded her head. She noticed that Ino felt some pressure from the snowstorm, but this was actually the reason why Yuna brought her here. The best way to stimulate someone's potential during training was by putting them under pressure. Ino's specialty was definitely her mind arts, so training while constantly feeling pressure from the intent Yuna left inside the snowstorm when she created it will help Ino get stronger.
"Hehe, that's right. I decided to teach you and Haku the same technique I taught to Hinata and Anko, but you are not ready for it, yet. Before you start cultivating, you should get a better grasp on what you want and where you want to go with your cultivation. From what I can tell, Haku should specialize in ice, while you, Ino, should specialize in the soul. That, however, is only a guess and I can't confirm anything, yet. By training inside the snowstorm for a while, you will get a better understanding of whether these two paths are compatible with you or not."
"Haku, just sit inside the snow and meditate. Get a feel for the snow and ice around you and try to understand it better. The further you go in, the easier it gets, but the danger increases as well, so be cautious. Ino, you will go through your normal training routine, but while doing so, you will have to constantly fend off the mental pressure you feel. Just like Haku, you should advance further inside the snowstorm with caution."
"Last but not least, I am not forcing you to go inside. This is simply a training method I suggest that you try out and if you don't want to, that is perfectly fine as well."
Silence engulfed Ino and Haku as they sank deep into thoughts. Both of them could tell that Yuna's training suggestion wasn't without danger, but they also understood that this would help them improve their strength at a rapid pace. After pondering for a while, the eyes of both of them landed on Naruto in an attempt to get an additional opinion. Naruto, however, only gave them a slight smile, indicating that he was fine with whatever they choose and that he would leave the decision to them.
Both of them pouted a little when they didn't get an answer from Naruto and after a few more moments of thinking, Ino and Haku answered at the same time.
""I want to do it.""
Both of them were surprised when their harem sister answered with the same words at the same time, and looking in each other's eyes, Ino and Haku gave each other a nod filled with determination. Both of them couldn't compare to Naruto's strength at all and they wanted to change that. Considering that Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the nine-tails, reaching his level of power seemed to be impossible at first. At the chunin exam, however, Hinata demonstrated that it was possible to fight side by side with Naruto despite not having a bijuu sealed inside them. Even if they couldn't surpass Naruto in strength, they, at least, wanted to be strong enough to fight side by side with him without being a burden.
So, with a fire of determination in their eyes, Ino and Haku stepped into the snowstorm and seconds later, could be seen no longer.
Yuna nodded in approval when she saw the determination in their eyes.
"Only by having a strong Dao Heart can one reach the apex."
The remaining three people, Hinata, Naruto, and Anko rolled their eyes at Yuna's gibberish. They were already used to Yuna occasionally saying something incomprehensible and although all three of them would occasionally feel like Yuna said something actually important that even allowed them to have a breakthrough in whatever they were doing at that time, they would never openly admit to it in front of Yuna, so Anko quickly changed the topic.
"Well, Dao Heart aside, I never did anything like this. You simply gave me a cultivation technique, no questions asked."
"That was because your circumstances were different. You are older than Ino and Haku and I could easily tell that you had already found your specialization. You are pretty compatible with snakes, which I still find slightly amusing, considering Orochimaru took you in as a disciple, while your main affinity was clearly fire."
"In case you are wondering why you never went through this kind of training either, Hinata, it is because I have spent a lot of time with you, so it was easy to determine what would fit you best."
"As for Naruto…I have some guesses but nothing concrete yet. You are clearly compatible with wind and seals, but my instincts are telling me that there is something else. Since you can't start cultivating before Kurama's problem is fixed anyway, there is no rush to find out either."
All three of them nodded their heads in understanding after Yuna finished her explanation. Truth be told, Naruto was a little annoyed that he couldn't start cultivating already, but considering how huge of an advantage Kurama's presence gave him, there really wasn't much room for complaints.
A short while later, the four people left the secret passage and were just about to eat dinner together, when a quiet buzzing could be heard from Yuna's wrist. Yuna looked at the small armband she was wearing on her wrist and a smile appeared on her face.
"Sorry everyone, seems like I have to go somewhere else. I should be back in a few days."
Hinata, Naruto, and Anko had an annoyed frown on their faces when they heard that Yuna had to leave, but there was nothing they could do about it. Yuna had already told them why she would be leaving soon, so all they could do was pout in annoyance.
Yuna chuckled a little and gave Hinata and Anko a goodbye kiss, while Naruto received a hug, and moments later, she vanished.
"Damn nee-san, hogging all the fun for herself."
Instead of answering, Hinata and Anko both gave Naruto's words a nod of approval. Yuna told them where she would be going and they couldn't help but be interested in leaving together with her, but Yuna cleanly shot all of their requests down.
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