After breakfast the next day, the much-anticipated showdown that Haruki had been looking forward to was about to take place.
Mikoto Uchiha vs. Minato Namikaze.
However, to his disappointment, Mikoto didn't use the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Haruki glanced at Kushina Uzumaki, who was cheering for someone he didn't know.
He suspected that Kushina had said something to Mikoto last night. Otherwise, Mikoto, who should have been furious, had completely returned to her usual self.
Otherwise, how could the atmosphere be so harmonious?
But what was the point if Mikoto didn't beat Minato up as he had imagined?
Haruki sighed.
He was already bored with the normal sparring between the two of them.
Even though Mikoto's Chakra had been greatly enhanced because of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique was just too overpowered.
The Fire Release jutsu and ninja tool throwing techniques the Uchiha clan excels at couldn't pose any threat to him at all.
As a result, it was similar to yesterday's battle between Chikū and Minato.
Even though Minato would likely be defeated with a single blow, they simply couldn't land a hit on him.
Instead, with his combat ability, he took advantage of the gaps when they were forming Hand Seals and releasing jutsu to form a Rasengan, which was hard to defend against.
The sparring ended when Minato's Chakra was completely exhausted.
Haruki wasn't very surprised.
A ninja's peak strength should be around the age of twenty.
At this time, whether it was the physical functions, the reserve of Chakra, or the combat experience and Ninjutsu, they were all at their peak.
And Minato was still far from this age.
"Minato, how do you feel?"
Haruki looked at the out-of-breath Minato and then at Mikoto, who looked calm.
"My movements were completely exposed in front of her Sharingan."
Minato recalled the previous battle scene and said with lingering fear.
Although Mikoto could keep up with his speed before, it wasn't as exaggerated as today.
If it weren't for the Flying Thunder God Technique, his attacks might not have been very effective.
Haruki nodded slightly.
The Sharingan was just so unfair.
It's not without reason that the Naruto series is known for its 'Eye Ninjas'.
"Let's go. Let's go to the military camp."
Haruki casually formed Hand Seals, and the light green Medical Ninjutsu landed on Minato, relieving his fatigue.
"Thanks, Teacher."
Minato let out a sigh of relief and patted the dust off his clothes.
Then he realized that Haruki was the one who was responsible for today's sparring.
Humph, why should he say thanks.
Haruki didn't know what his apprentice was thinking.
He randomly found a guard in the palace to lead them to the outskirts of the Metropolis.
There was a huge military camp surrounded by tall wooden fences.
According to the Daimyo, he had recruited ten thousand civilians.
However, when Haruki saw them, he was a little disappointed.
Their clothes were more or less intact, but their physical fitness varied greatly.
There were all sorts of people, tall and short, fat and thin.
Of course, there were more thin people due to malnutrition.
Haruki knew that the standing Army of the Land of Fire wasn't very large, as it was very costly.
Most of the Army was made up of semi - civilian soldiers who farmed in peacetime and were conscripted during wars, given basic equipment, and used as cannon fodder.
When it came to forming the new army, the Daimyo naturally wasn't willing to give Minato the well-trained standing Army.
Haruki had anticipated this and quickly gathered his composure.
An army of the people naturally comes from the people.
Haruki scanned them, and most of them looked panicked.
In the feudal era, military service often meant an uncertain fate. One might not be able to return home for years or even decades.
Haruki didn't give a pep - talk. It wasn't necessary, and they wouldn't understand it anyway.
It was likely that none of the ten thousand people in front of him had received a formal education. Being able to read was already a rarity.
"Minato."
Haruki stepped back a few steps and let Minato handle the situation.
These people finally realized that Minato was their instructor, or rather, their commander, and a commotion broke out involuntarily.
Because Minato was really young. In their eyes, he was just a child.
But Minato said nothing and directly demonstrated blowing a Giant Fireball and creating a Great Storm with his hands.
So the square fell silent again, and no one objected.
Minato remembered what Haruki had said and started his first task: organization.
He divided everyone into different units. First, ten people formed a squad. Then, thirty people made up a platoon. A company consisted of one hundred people, a battalion had three hundred, a regiment had one thousand, a brigade had three thousand, and a division was made up of ten thousand people.
Just this task took two days. The main difficulty was selecting officers.
Thankfully, Mikoto helped a great deal. Her Sharingan could directly control people and expose all the deepest thoughts in their hearts.
In the end, they barely managed to select some guys with suitable personalities.
The second task was formation training and standing at attention.
Faced with this strange training they had never experienced before, the enthusiasm of the crowd was not high.
Minato's strategy was simple. Those who successfully completed the training would have better food rations.
For civilians who usually had a hard time getting enough to eat, this strategy was quite effective.
It must be said that formation training was really effective in teaching obedience.
In just one week, they already looked decent. It was just like the military training in Haruki's previous life at university.
Thinking of this, Haruki ordered them to hold cultural and entertainment activities at night, teaching them to sing and dance to cultivate the bond between teammates.
Although most of them performed poorly, their spirits were completely different. They had hope.
Seeing that the training of the new army was on the right track, Haruki prepared to leave.
Before leaving, he told Minato one last thing.
He asked him to select a group of people as users of the Heavenly Fire. There was only one criterion: having a certain red - related ideology.
As for how to teach them, it would depend on Minato's ability.
After that, Haruki and Mikoto returned to Konoha.
Kushina stayed in the Metropolis of the Land of Fire, giving the reason that she wanted to have more fun.
Hearing this, Minato patted his chest and promised to safely send Kushina back.
Haruki could only say that youth was wonderful.
Anyway, Kushina had the diamond Kunai he left on her. It would trigger once she was in life - threatening danger.
"I want to spar with Fugaku again." At the cross - street in Konoha, Mikoto stopped Haruki who was about to leave and said, "Teacher, stay."
"You gonna use the Mangekyo Sharingan, huh?"
Haruki halted in his steps, intrigued.
"Well, since Fugaku hasn't been overly influenced by the radical clan members, I'm planning to have him study the Teacher's theories more in - depth," Mikoto said with a serious expression. She'd wanted to do this for ages, but unfortunately, she wasn't powerful enough to convince Fugaku.
"Good idea," Haruki replied. He recalled that she'd said using her ability was a huge burden. Coincidentally, he could find out exactly what the side - effects were.
If they were too severe, he definitely had to restrict her use of it.
By the way, he could transplant Hashirama Senju's cells to her.
But that could only slow down the process of her going blind.
To solve this problem once and for all, only the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan would do.
However, in the original plot, only two people had these eyes.
Madara Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.
Their evolution paths were the same: transplanting their brothers' Mangekyo Sharingan.
But Mikoto didn't have any siblings.
Suddenly, Haruki thought of Fugaku Uchiha. Could it work between husband and wife?