57 - 57 - More Training

The next day, their training continued with Jiraiya putting the kids through two hellish training regimens that pushed each kid to their max. Then they sparred, allowing each to practice their taijutsu for Minato and Hinoka, and kenjutsu for Izuna, as well as their ninjutsu. Jiraiya even helped Izuna out with his genjutsu, but Izuna noticed that he actually wasn't as helpful as his parents, which, once he thought about it, wasn't too surprising.

After that, they went on to train their ninjutsu with Jiraiya constantly keeping watch and giving tips and advice when he felt they needed it.

After the day was over, Jiraiya had a little meeting with the kids and said, "I forgot to bring this up yesterday, but since you failed to get the bells, you guys will be on probation. Basically, what this means is that you will not be able to join the war until I think you are ready. You will still be able to go on missions, but they will be of my choosing and will not be involved in the current war in any way."

Izuna was disappointed and wanted to argue, but he knew there would be no point; he would not be able to change Jiraiya's mind, so he just kept his mouth shut. He would just have to continue to improve.

The training sessions continued in this manner. Their morning workouts remained the same and as rigorous as ever.

Izuna began to see drastic improvements in his kenjutsu, thanks to his constant sparring with Jiraiya.

Jiraiya also began to teach the kids chakra flow, which Izuna knew, but he still went through with the exercises, which helped him tremendously.

Jiraiya was surprised at how fast the group improved, especially Izuna and Minato. He thought to himself, 'Sensei said these two were prodigies, but he really didn't do them justice.'

The kids continued to learn, and before long, Minato and Hinoka had also mastered all the C-rank jutsus they could and started to perfect them with Jiraiya's help, quickly reducing the hand signs down to one. Minato quickly surpassed Jiraiya's expectations, learning what he expected to take him days in just hours.

They also started to make improvements in their morning workouts, and Jiraiya had them start to increase their gravity seals slightly.

Jiraiya had also started to train them in teamwork and combination attacks. The squad very quickly improved as a team. Within the first week, they had learned all the basic four-man and three-man formations that Jiraiya drilled into them. After that, Jiraiya began to work on their combination attacks. A lot of exercises and spars were used to improve this as well as their teamwork.

For combination attacks, the group worked on combining fire and wind, with both Izuna and Hinoka being proficient in fire, and Minato, even without having a fire affinity, slowly beginning to master it, and Izuna and Minato having mastered wind release.

The group didn't take long to become very proficient in the use of combination attacks, with the two jutsus more than doubling in size, and their power being around four times the power of both jutsus when used individually.

When using the wind dragon mixed with a fire jutsu, the wind dragon would not only increase in size, but it could also shoot wind explosion jutsu that were made of extremely hot winds from its mouth.

During their practice, they created a lot of fires in the forest, but luckily, Jiraiya was always close by with his water release to put out the fires.

One day, Izuna asked Jiraiya, "Sensei, is it possible to perform a combination jutsu by yourself without the use of clones?"

Jiraiya's voice held a note of seriousness as he explained, "Yes, it is possible. You have to, of course, be able to use both nature transformations and then at the same time use them together. One way to do this is by doing the hand signs for one nature with one hand and the other nature with the other hand. But this isn't something you should worry about for now. It is too complex and advanced for you right now." He then proceeded to show them how to do it, using both 'Wind Release: Wind Dragon Jutsu' mixed with 'Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu' to create a massive wind dragon made of fire.

Hinoka's curiosity broke the silence, her voice tinged with a mixture of awe and skepticism, "Sensei, wouldn't using two natures at the same time be a Kekkei Genkai? How could you use it without being able to use a Kekkei Genkai?"

Jiraiya paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his features, "No, this isn't a Kekkei Genkai. It is simply using two elements at the same time. To use a Kekkei Genkai, like Izuna, you have to be able to meld two natures together, while I am simply using two natures simultaneously. They are very different things. What I am doing is a quantitative change, while a Kekkei Genkai is a qualitative change."

With a thoughtful expression, Minato interjected, seeking guidance from the one he respected the most, "Sensei, when do you think we will be ready to use this?"

Jiraiya thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry about this right now. It is very hard and complicated to do, and it isn't as helpful as you would think. You could always just create a clone to help you use a combination jutsu, and until you become a jounin, your chakra control skills will need to improve a lot before you can begin to practice this. And other than Izuna, your chakra reserves will need to increase a lot before you can start spamming combination attacks."

The training ground that was once bustling with sounds of combat and determination was now silent as the evening approached. Jiraiya, standing tall amidst the forest and the shadows of the setting sun, surveyed his students with a critical but satisfied gaze. they had pushed their boundaries, showing promising signs of growth and resilience. Recognizing that the day was over, he finally said, "Alright, that's enough for today." the kids, their spirits high and bodies weary, acknowledged his command with respectful nods, each carrying with them the day's lessons as they headed home.

Izuna, not one to call it a day, went to his own personal training ground where he summoned Sugi, and then they both went for further training in Aurora Valley.