Good times never last long.
The seven-day break granted to Tsunade and the others passed in a flash. Starting today, they were officially entering a full year of closed training.
The six of them met for breakfast, then headed together to the Hokage Residence. After a quick briefing with Sarutobi Hiruzen, they were handed off to Mitokado Homura and Akimichi Torifu.
The group traveled silently, following the two elders down winding paths that took them far from the main roads of the Hidden Leaf. Eventually, they arrived at a place designated as their "exclusive training field."
Strangely, Hoshiyomi felt a chill of unease creeping up his spine along the way. It had something to do with the sly, knowing smirks on Homura and Torifu's faces.
And sure enough—when they arrived at the so-called "exclusive training site," he finally understood where that dread had come from.
Before them stood a vast forest enclosed by barbed-wire fencing. As Hoshiyomi gazed into the dense greenery, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu—but couldn't quite place it at first.
Then a roar echoed from deep inside the woods—loud enough to jolt Lobo awake—and suddenly, everything clicked.
This place… wasn't it the same area used for the second stage of the Chūnin Exams in the original story?
The infamous Forest of Death—Training Ground 44.
At that moment, Homura's voice rang out:
"This will be your training ground for the next year. The village recently designated it as Training Ground 44.
Before it became official, this place was better known by a more colorful name—the Forest of Death."
With the roars still echoing faintly from within, the color drained from everyone's faces.
As brilliant as they were, these kids were still just kids. The oldest among them, Shinku, was only eleven.
The idea of living in this nightmare forest for an entire year? Yeah, no one looked happy.
Jiraiya forced a grin that was uglier than crying and joked weakly:
"Heh… so we're just here for a few days, right? To practice survival skills or something, and then we move to a different location?"
Homura glanced at him, clearly enjoying himself, and replied with a sadistic smile:
"Sorry to disappoint. You'll be living in this forest for the entire year.
Unless there's an emergency, each of you will only be allowed to leave once every two months, and only for one day."
Tsunade looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"Wait—does that mean… I only get to bathe once every two months!?"
Homura answered calmly:
"Of course not. We care about hygiene."
Tsunade's face visibly relaxed—until Homura added:
"There's a river in the forest. You can bathe in that."
CRACK!
Tsunade, unable to contain her fury, punched the nearest tree. With her natural monstrous strength, the trunk—about the width of a bowl—snapped in half instantly. Everyone, including Hoshiyomi, swallowed hard.
Pointing at her own face, Tsunade glared at Homura, on the verge of a meltdown:
"Are you out of your mind?! I'm a girl! I'm already stuck living with these guys for a year—
But now you want me to bathe in the river with them too?!
Where's Grandma Mito?! I need to talk to her! Who came up with this insane idea?!"
Homura remained calm, clearly expecting this outburst. He raised a hand to stop her.
"There's no point talking to Lady Mito. She's the one who suggested this in the first place.
And that brings us to point number two.
Torifu, if you will."
Torifu took over seamlessly:
"The setup is intentional—and it's part of what makes this special training so effective.
The Forest of Death isn't entirely wild. At its center is a central tower.
You'll be spending your days in the area around that tower, attending our scheduled classes:
White Sessions and Black Sessions.
White Sessions run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., during which we'll conduct structured training in ninjutsu and taijutsu.
During that time, we'll also provide toothbrushes, meals, and basic care.
From 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., it's Black Session time.
That's when you're responsible for your own dinner, your own shelter—and you must return to the central tower before morning.
If you're late?
You'll run 5,000 meters for every minute you miss.
In the Black Sessions, your main mission is survival—and finding scrolls.
Six scrolls, numbered 1 to 6, will be hidden randomly by the ANBU across the forest.
You might find one underwater.
You might have to crawl into a cave.
Or maybe, if luck's on your side, you'll just stumble across one lying on the road.
If you find all six scrolls, you'll be rewarded.
That reward is a three-day privilege period at the central tower.
For those three days, you'll be exempt from all Black Sessions.
The tower will have hot water, food, clean clothes, ninja tools, and even jutsu scrolls available 24/7.
You can do whatever you want for those three days.
But only three.
After that, you start again from zero—and resume the cycle.
Of course, if you prefer eating plain meat without seasoning and enjoy bathing in a cold river, feel free to skip the scrolls. Totally up to you.
Any questions?"
The six young shinobi looked at each other, then shook their heads. Torifu had made things perfectly clear.
In essence, this wasn't too different from regular training—just with one extra challenge. And that challenge came with a pretty decent reward.
Even Tsunade, who'd just been furious a moment ago, was now fired up. She clenched her tiny fists and declared:
"We're finding those scrolls.
Anyone who slacks off—
will end up like that tree."
She even made a mock punching motion, which, despite her scowl, made her look strangely adorable.
Torifu and Homura exchanged glances, both of them visibly pleased.
"Good.
In that case, let the special training begin!"
"We'll now head to the central tower and start today's White Session.
Last one there does 100 extra push-ups before class."
Without another word, the two elders shot off like arrows.
The six rookies blinked—then bolted after them in a panic.
At the very back, poor Shinku wore a tragic expression.
"Why the hell was I daydreaming just now?!"