I started a cult in Naruto Chapter 9

Chapter 10 - The sleepless Minato

In the following period of study and training, it was monotonous and repetitive. Every day, besides attending school, it involved morning exercises and additional training in the evening to push the limits of his talents with Minato.

As someone whose natural talent limits were merely 120 across the board, making him a barely qualified cannon fodder as a Genin, Sakamoto Tatsuma was highly focused on improving his talent limits.

After all, it had been a few years since the impression of the Second Great Ninja War, and Tatsuma didn't want to participate in the war, but he needed to be prepared in case he got dragged into it.

In the event of a conflict, he might very well be assigned to a ninja team. Rather than passively hoping for a lucky breakthrough during a crisis, he preferred to be proactive, preventing problems before they arose.

Therefore, Tatsuma became increasingly obsessed with challenges following praise. And the person he challenged the most was Namikaze Minato. Nearly every day, he challenged him again and again.

However, as Minato's own talents began to show, Tatsuma could no longer easily dominate him. The odds shifted from being heavily in Tatsuma's favor to a more balanced eight-two ratio.

This intensified Tatsuma's sense of crisis. He increased the frequency of their matches and expanded the range of challenges. Their contests went beyond training and battles, extending to every aspect of life, even mundane things like eating and drinking water.

After four months of relentless effort, Tatsuma's growth had been considerable. His personal stats had been updated to:

"Host: Sakamoto Tatsuma

Talents:

Strength: 118/456

Speed: 165/996

Stamina: 159/930

Wisdom: 205/320

Ninjutsu: 61/249

Illusion: 27/194

Chakra Control: 98/362

Seals: 171/373

Special Talents:

Space-Time: 25%

Ninjutsu Development: 15%

Ninja Tool Projection (Exclusive to Namikaze Minato): 30%"

Physically, even though he was just a first-year student, Tatsuma had already reached the level of a Genin. Thanks to Minato's influence, while his performance might not have matched Minato's, it wasn't far off.

However, his growth in chakra, ninjutsu, and illusion arts was slow. Chakra growth was hindered due to his body's development taking up significant energy, leaving less for chakra synthesis. Ninjutsu and illusion arts progress was hindered because Tatsuma had not formally studied them yet. Even basic techniques like the Clone Jutsu had only recently been introduced, though not as official lessons—only demonstrations and explanations.

His Wisdom(Intelligence)value grew the most consistently, as diligent listening and thoughtful consideration during classes each day allowed him to regularly earn rewards. Playing shogi with Nara Shikahisa also slightly elevated his Wisdom limits.

However, Tatsuma's main concern remained his speed talent. With his limit nearing 1000, his transition to Chunin level, he wanted to see if the improvement in speed would be faster once he reached the requirements for Chunin.

Otherwise, progressing one or two points a day, even considering the talent cap, it would take nearly thirty years to elevate a talent to Jonin level. Tatsuma wasn't willing to wait that long.

He doubted any ninja with Jonin-level talents needed twenty-seven years or more to achieve Jonin status. After all, even with single-minded devotion to practice, being a ninja would entail missions, assignments, and work that would consume significant practice time.

At one or two points of growth per day, he might only reach Jonin-level qualification by the time he was forty or fifty, which was completely unrealistic. According to Tatsuma, the daily potential for talent growth at each level was different.

With this in mind, Tatsuma found Minato, who had just finished dinner after school. Standing outside Minato's house, he shouted, "Minato! Minato! Are you still awake?"

With his hands in the foam, Minato, who was washing dishes, heard his friend's voice outside the door and understood his purpose. He responded, "The door's not locked, come in."

"Click~"

Upon hearing that Minato was awake, Tatsuma pushed open the door and entered. Looking at Minato washing dishes, he said, "Tomorrow is the end-of-term test, and I'm a bit nervous. Will you accompany me for a run?"

Hearing this, Minato wore an expression that indicated he had seen this coming. He didn't believe Tatsuma would be nervous; it was just an excuse to challenge him. Minato nodded and replied, "No problem, I'll join you once I'm done with chores."

"Of course! Minato, you're always so hygienic. Let me help you clean the stove. Let's see who's faster, you washing dishes or me cleaning the stove!"

Tatsuma said, rolling up his sleeves and walking over to Minato. He grabbed another cloth and started cleaning quickly. Minato, who knew it was futile to stop him, didn't refuse either.

"Haha, looks like I finished a bit faster after all!"

"Ding~ [Wisdom +1]"

When Tatsuma finished cleaning the stove, Minato had also finished washing the dishes. After rinsing his hands, Minato hung the two cloths on the tap and then said, "You're talking about a short sprint? How do we do it?"

During this time, as the situation was no longer one-sided, Minato occasionally achieved victories. Thus, he had begun to taste the joy of mutual competition during their matches, making him more willing to accept Tatsuma's challenges.

"400 meters each time, all the way to the Third Training Ground, and then run a lap around it. How about that?"

Tatsuma quickly shook his hands and checked his footwear. Once he was sure everything was fine, he looked at Minato. Minato was ready too and said, "Let's start downstairs."

"Yeah!"

They went downstairs and warmed up a bit. Minato retrieved a rusty kunai from his ninja tool pouch. He no longer used these rusty kunai, but they worked well as a signal.

With a flick of his fingertip, the kunai was tossed slightly into the air. Both of them got ready to start. Minato crouched down, hands behind him, while Tatsuma positioned himself with hands on the ground, forming a curved shape with his body.

"Ding~"

As the kunai touched the cement ground, both of them shot forward like arrows released from a bow. Minato took the lead initially, but after ten meters, Tatsuma, with a more scientifically designed starting stance, managed to overtake him.

Tatsuma had once advised Minato to adopt this running posture, but Minato felt it was unnecessary. After all, "ninja running" wasn't without reason. Ninja running was about getting from one place to another efficiently, adjusting distance from or to an enemy, not purely about racing. Hands behind the back made it easier to grab ninja tools from pouches, so the posture had been passed down through generations.

Tatsuma's running stance was designed for speed, maximizing body balance and allowing for the highest speed. But it wasn't well-suited for sudden changes in combat.

Since Minato's goal was to be a ninja, he naturally wouldn't randomly alter his body's muscle memory just to defeat Tatsuma in running. Especially since the benefits of changing the stance were quite limited, it was more of a finishing touch.

However, considering their current match, Tatsuma easily secured the victory for the first 400 meters.

"Ding~ [Speed +1]"

The route from Minato's house or Tatsuma's house to the Third Training Ground was extremely familiar to both of them. They could easily run it even blindfolded. Thus, with just a glance exchanged between them, they began the second 400-meter race.

"Oh! Didn't expect someone would be embracing youth at this hour! Allow me to join in the competition of youth as well!"

Just as they were running, a new voice joined in. While Tatsuma was trying to regulate his breathing, he glanced at the young ninja in the green skintight outfit with thick eyebrows and a flat top haircut. Tatsuma simply nodded and continued running with full concentration.

"Ding~"

"Ding~"