On the training field, the students were running.
This was Masashi's requirement. Although the students didn't understand why the first part of their outdoor activity was running, they obediently followed the instruction.
He stood in the middle of the field, observing the students.
According to his instructions, the students were allowed to use chakra while running.
So, he simply watched from the side.
At first, the students ran with ease, as their previous training had required them to run without using chakra.
But soon, some of them started slowing down. However, Masashi had already made it clear—until he called their names, they had to keep running. Even the most mischievous students dared not disobey.
Otherwise, they'd be in big trouble when they got home.
Finally, he started calling names.
The students whose names were called didn't seem to have reached their physical limits. On the contrary, they still had some energy left, but they showed signs of fatigue.
However, once they heard their names, they obediently left the running group and stood beside Masashi.
"Wait here and make sure you remember how you're feeling right now," Masashi instructed before turning his attention back to the runners.
Soon, more and more names were called, and the number of runners kept decreasing.
After about half an hour, only eight students remained running.
Based on their stamina, ranked from strongest to weakest, they were: Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Konohamaru, Karin, Lee, Haku, and Kiba.
"Alright, you guys can stop too. Come over here," Masashi clapped his hands.
By now, he had assessed everyone's physical abilities.
Once the eight returned to the group, Masashi had everyone stand in formation and then asked, "Other than the last eight I called, do the rest of you remember how you felt when you stopped running?"
"Yes!" The students responded loudly.
"Good. You're all still kids, and your bodies are growing. That means your stamina will keep increasing, and your chakra reserves will expand as well. But that feeling you had earlier—that was when your chakra hit the safety threshold. You must remember that sensation. Now, you may ask questions."
"Teacher." Lee raised his hand. Though he was a bit disappointed that his performance hadn't been specifically praised, he didn't hesitate to ask what he didn't understand. "What is the chakra safety threshold?"
"It's the amount of chakra you need to have left to ensure you can retreat on the battlefield," Masashi explained. "Since chakra varies from person to person and can't be precisely measured, your body will react when you reach that limit. When that happens, you must decide whether to retreat or take a gamble."
"Teacher…" Lee looked anxious. "What about us?"
"You guys have above-average stamina for your age, so you didn't reach that limit," Masashi replied. "That's a good thing because what I just explained applies to those with normal stamina."
After a brief pause, he continued, "As for you eight, because of your exceptional stamina, you have greater potential for growth. That means you need to be more mindful of your combat rhythm, reduce unnecessary chakra consumption, and extend your battle duration. You should focus on wearing down the enemy's chakra effectively."
He clapped his hands again to regain everyone's attention.
"In short, you are ninjas. You rely on chakra to fight. If you ever step onto the battlefield, chakra is more important than anything else. Wasting chakra is the same as asking for death."
"But we can use kunai too!" someone said.
"On the surface, that seems reasonable, but in reality, it's just self-comfort," Masashi chuckled. He then pulled out a kunai and activated the Iron Skin on his other hand.
Under the students' astonished gazes, he stabbed the kunai into his hand, which was enhanced by the jutsu.
His hand remained unscathed, but the tip of the kunai chipped off.
"This demonstration may not be the most representative example, but you should understand the point—whether or not you have chakra makes a world of difference in terms of defense against an enemy."
"That was defense. Now, let's talk about offense."
Tossing aside the damaged kunai, Masashi took out two new ones and threw them.
One was thrown with pure physical strength, while the other was infused with wind chakra.
The results were completely different.
The kunai thrown with pure strength simply pierced the wooden training dummy's chest.
The one enhanced with wind chakra, however, blasted a large hole through the dummy's chest and even lodged itself into a tree behind it.
"Your bodies are nowhere near as tough as that wooden dummy. Trust me—if you run out of chakra and take a chakra-enhanced attack from an enemy, you won't survive."
"This brings us to today's second lesson. Don't underestimate the basic jutsu you're learning now—Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Transformation Jutsu, as well as taijutsu. After you graduate, you will be genin. Taijutsu and these fundamental techniques will save your lives. Those flashy, high-level jutsu that consume massive amounts of chakra? They won't necessarily help you in a real fight."
In the crowd, Haku looked slightly dazed.
Among all the students present, he was the only one who had truly experienced a battlefield.
On the night the Yuki clan was exterminated, he had witnessed the Fourth Mizukage in combat.
Most of the time, Yagura had simply beaten enemy ninjas to death with taijutsu alone. He hadn't even relied on his monstrous power—just straightforward, ordinary taijutsu.
His opponents never even got the chance to use their jutsu.
Since their taijutsu skills were far inferior to his, they were slaughtered in an instant.
"Teacher."
Someone raised their hand.
Masashi looked over—it was Sakura Haruno.
"What's your question?"
"Ninjutsu has immense destructive power and can cover a wide area. If we only focus on taijutsu, wouldn't we be defeated before we even get close to the enemy?"
"Of course not," Masashi replied. "So-called powerful attacks are only effective if you can actually land them and are willing to use them. If your taijutsu surpasses your opponent's by a significant margin, then the moment they see you, they're already dead."
Lee's eyes lit up in the crowd.
Masashi figured it was time to educate him on the true meaning of taijutsu.
"Taijutsu is the foundation of a ninja because it is efficient and practical. When you enhance your body's strength and defense with chakra, that's called nintaijutsu—like how I just blocked a kunai using nintaijutsu."
He walked to the center of the field, creating some distance from the students.
"Konoha's most famous nintaijutsu is the Gentle Fist of the Hyūga clan. I don't practice it, but I do know another style."
With that, he activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
A surge of lightning erupted from his body in an instant. Blinding light and sharp crackling sounds filled the place, overwhelming the their senses.
Unconsciously, Neji activated his Byakugan.
He was stunned to see that Masashi was releasing chakra in a manner similar to the Hyūga clan's techniques.
But just as quickly as it appeared, Masashi deactivated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and walked back.
"What you just saw was the Lightning Release Chakra Mode of Kumo—a high-level form of nintaijutsu. Compared to the Gentle Fist of the Hyūga clan, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. However…"
Noticing the disappointment on Lee's face, Masashi continued, "Taijutsu isn't just about nintaijutsu. Even if you're not skilled at manipulating chakra, with enough training, you can still develop taijutsu as strong as the Gentle Fist or Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Chakra is just chakra—there are flexible ways to use it, but there are also ways to make up for inflexibility. If someone can push their taijutsu to that level, no matter how many jutsu their enemy has, it won't make much difference."
He clenched his fist and swung it playfully.
"In the end, it all comes down to a punch. If one punch doesn't work, just throw another one."
Honestly, if he had to fight someone who had opened all Eight Gates, it didn't matter whether their physique had reached Guy's insane Fourth Great Ninja War level—he'd just use the Flying Thunder God to stay far away.
Why fight at all? Wouldn't it be easier to just wait until the buff wore off?
"Teacher!"
Lee suddenly spoke loudly. "So you're saying that even without any ninjutsu, I can still become a great ninja through taijutsu alone!?"
After asking, he anxiously watched Masashi, his eyes filled with nervous anticipation.
He had always believed in this and worked hard for it, but he wanted to hear confirmation from this powerful ninja standing before him.
"You really can," Masashi answered immediately, without any hesitation.
"Huh!?"
Most of the students let out shocked exclamations.
This completely shattered their understanding of the ninja world.
"There aren't many ninjas like that, but there are still quite a few. The nintaijutsu I just demonstrated comes from the Raikage. And in Konoha, we once had a hero who, using the Eight Gates Formation, single-handedly crippled the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. These are people who stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world."
While the rest of the students were still processing this revelation, Lee clenched his fists tightly.
"Lee, I've seen your records." Masashi looked at him. "I know exactly what you're thinking. So let me tell you—your belief is not wrong. But whether you can achieve it depends on you. After you graduate, I will recommend to the Hokage that Guy become your mentor. He is the son of the hero I just mentioned, and he himself has reached the peak through taijutsu."
To be fair, Guy wasn't quite at that legendary level yet, but Masashi had saw the series—he knew it was only a matter of time.
Right now, Guy's strength was probably on par with Duy's.
"Alright, that's the end of the warm-up," Masashi announced to the class. "I told you today would be an outdoor lesson, right? To give you all a clearer understanding of your future, we're now heading to Konoha Prison."
The students were stunned.
Why were they going to prison? Wasn't that a place for criminals?
"Don't just stand there. Haku, you lead the group. Make sure everyone follows."
"Yes, Teacher."
---
Taking a group of students on a prison tour was definitely something that required prior notice.
That morning, Masashi had gone to the Hokage Building to handle this matter.
The procedures at the Police Force, on the other hand, were much simpler.
Although the formalities had to be followed, when he went to complete them, the process was incredibly fast.
This was mainly because many of the students' parents worked at the Police Force.
When they heard that he had chosen Neji and Kiba for private lessons, their parents were overjoyed. They felt that Masashi genuinely considered the Hyūga and Inuzuka as part of his own people.
As for the Aburame clan, they had no objections either. After all…
They were well aware of just how "unique" their children were.
Only an Aburame could teach an Aburame. So, for Masashi to take time out of his day to teach students in an open class, they were nothing but grateful.
That kind of favor was significant.
A Kage-level ninja willing to put aside everything to personally teach a group of Academy students—that wasn't something that could be explained by mere benefits or transactions. It simply meant that Masashi was someone who truly valued relationships.
As for whether it was dangerous for the children to visit the prison?
Everyone had the same reaction: a hearty laugh.
What kind of joke was that? Putting aside the fact that Masashi alone could annihilate an entire ninja squad—were the four great ninja clans' people in the prison just for show?
With a mix of Sharingan, Byakugan, ninken casually patrolling, and insects crawling everywhere, any criminal capable of stirring up trouble in such an environment wouldn't even make it to Konoha Prison.
They would have already been dissected on an autopsy table.
If the village couldn't contain them, what were they supposed to do—keep them around for the holidays?
Nowadays, the ANBU had fully shifted its focus outward, while the Police Force had completely reclaimed its original internal functions. The military aspect had been restored to its full capacity.
At present, the Police Force was a semi-public institution. The administrative division was open for public recruitment, while the four great clans had concentrated all their personnel in the military division—the Security Forces. The department now had six squads, and as their numbers expanded, their patrol area extended beyond just the village to cover the entire Konoha Forest.
This structure fully capitalized on the strengths of the four major clans, making it impossible for any third party to challenge them.
Masashi led the group of students from the north side of the village to the south, entering the premises of Konoha Prison.
The Security Forces had already been notified in advance. To ensure the students' safety, they had arranged for seven elite squads to provide protection.
An "elite squad" meant that each team had at least one member from the Uchiha, Hyūga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans, with the minimum rank being chunin.
On the battlefield, these squads could function as elite reconnaissance units.
The students, however, were oblivious to all this. They simply thought Masashi was taking them on a fun field trip, and they followed him to the prison entrance, excited and cheerful.
---
At the gate, two Aburame clan ninja were already waiting. When they saw Masashi approaching with the students, they stepped forward to greet him.
"Masashi-sama."
"Everything set?"
"Yes, everything is in place. The prisoners plan to attempt an escape tonight."
"What lovely people," Masashi sighed. "Don't be too cruel. Let them see the night sky outside the prison one last time before their death sentence. Consider it an act of humanitarian kindness."
"Understood, Masashi-sama."
The two Aburame ninja nodded in agreement.
Among the students, Shino recognized them as two particularly famous special jonin from his clan.
But right now, the students weren't paying attention to that.
"Teacher?" One student hesitantly raised a hand.
"What's up? You need to use the restroom?"
"No way! That's not it... Did you just say there are prisoners trying to escape?" the student asked.
"Of course. What prisoner wouldn't want to escape?" Masashi replied casually. "A prisoner who doesn't want to escape isn't a real prisoner."
"Oh…" The student looked slightly disappointed. "So, does that mean we won't get to tour the prison today?"
"Who said that? This is exactly why you're here." Masashi glanced at the astonished students. "In fact, these prisoners are quite thoughtful. I was wondering how to give you all a practical look at real ninja combat. Remember, kind people like them are common in the real world."
The students had mixed reactions.
Some were excited, while others hesitated.
After all, they loved to brag at school, but deep down, they knew they were still weak.
Most of them still struggled with the basic Transformation and Substitution Jutsu.
"Hmm? You look nervous," Masashi said, patting the student who had asked the question. "Don't worry. With me here, you'll all be completely safe."
The student's face immediately turned red.
"I'm not scared at all!"
Teenagers valued their pride more than anything. You could say whatever you wanted—but never imply they were scared.
That was the essence of youth.
Masashi had no intention of mocking or teasing them. Instead, he found it touching. After all, in his past lives, he had always started out timid.
This kid was already braver than he had ever been.
"Not bad, you're doing great. You get a front-row seat," Masashi praised, giving a thumbs-up before turning to the two Aburame ninjas. "Stick to the original plan. Make sure the students have the best viewing spot."
"Understood."
The two Aburame ninja turned and opened the heavy prison gates. The dark entrance loomed like an abyss, making several students hesitate.
Still, they were nearing the end of their Academy training. They had enough courage to follow Masashi inside.
After walking through a dimly lit corridor, he led them into a large, tiered seating area.
Before them was a massive floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a circular courtyard.
"This courtyard is the only route prisoners must take if they want to escape. It was designed to allow the Security Forces to eliminate escapees efficiently. It also serves as an execution site. This room, in turn, is the observation chamber for those executions."
Masashi explained this calmly, then continued, "Today is just a field trip. I won't be teaching you anything specific. But keep in mind, most of you will become real ninjas in the future. Right now, you aren't ready for actual combat. But today, you'll get to see how the Security Forces handle real escape attempts. Both sides are ninjas, so this will give you a realistic view of ninja combat."
After finishing, Masashi found a seat and sat down.
"For students at your level, this is a rare opportunity. Make sure you cherish it. Because… the next time you see something like this, you might be the ones participating."
With that, he stopped talking, instead thinking about what he should buy for his kids after class.
Weapons are out of the question—too dangerous for kids. Hmm… snacks. Those two little gluttons will love that.