Naruto: Snow Cold

[Sora's POV]

It is still not enough.

I've been exhausting my chakra to the absolute limit and overexerting my coils, along with pushing my body to its limit. Not to the point of death, though.

If I remember right, shinobi die if they don't have even an ounce of chakra.

Doing this forced them to grow and adapt with more urgency, causing my reserves to shoot up during the break, surpassing Amai's by a whopping 50%. I believe this is around low Chūnin level?

Not bad, but not good either.

Shadow Clone has been learnt, and I no longer needed any seals to use the Torch, Cinder Strike, Fireball jutsus. Lightning Pulse still needed one seal, and I currently was making decent progress with the Great Fireball jutsu, along with a new fighting style that I'd be combining with my mastery of the Substitution technique.

Something had disappointed me, though. During the last three weeks before our break was over, Amai decided to stop training. Granted, she still kept up with physical conditioning, but still stopped nonetheless.

In her words, breaks are supposed to be for resting, and training every single day was getting monotonous.

I get that sentiment, but I can't afford to slack off. I need to stand at the top of the world!

Perhaps, I need—

"How have you been during the break, class? I know I have been well."

Right. The break is over, and we're back in the academy. The way I see it, this is a complete waste of time, and I should probably start sending clones to class. Amai must be thinking the same thing as me.

I glanced around the class, observing my classmates as Kenjiro-sensei spoke. Eager voices, a certain Nara being half asleep, some of them nervous, but probably out of excitement rather than fear for what's to come this year.

"Alright, listen up!" Kenjiro-sensei raised his voice, "I know that almost all of you have been training, that we should evaluate you to assess how far you've gotten during these three months, but we'll do something different instead."

His declaration left us dumbfounded—me and Amai included. What is he suggesting we do?

"Most of you, my students, have grown quite a lot. For that reason, we'll be having... a field trip! Specifically to one of Konoha's industrial plants."

What the fuck? Why? You can't be serious.

Wait, could he be referring to...?

"We aren't heading there to mess around, though. There, you'll all learn about soldier pills." Kenjiro-sensei continued, sensing the tension in the room. "That's right, by this point these pills shouldn't do anything to affect your growth, so you're all getting to the age where you'll be able to start using them.

You'll understand exactly what these pills are, how they're made, and most importantly, the risks of intake."

Hah.

I couldn't help but let my lips curve into a smile. This will surely increase the efficiency of my training.

No weak shit like the raw fruit. The actual processed pills should be much stronger, and provide a longer lasting effect. Should come with actual side-effects, though, which I'm definitely not looking forward to.

Hyuuga Itsuki raised his hand, his expression neutral, "Sensei, aren't these pills supposed to be dangerous if used too often?"

No shit sherlock.

"Naturally, they are. What do you guys think the drawbacks are?"

A few hands went up, but Kenjiro-sensei pointed towards Aburame Jiro.

"You can get addicted to it." he answered, plain and simple.

...Why is drug addiction the first thing you can think of?

Kenjiro-sensei waved his finger around, "Not wrong, but it's not the first thing people usually worry about. These pills aren't narcotics, but over-reliance on them will lead to dependency on them in battle. Your body and mind will get used to the boost, making it way harder to fight without them. Anyone care to give me any other of the drawbacks?"

"Ooh, ooh! Me, sensei, me!" shouted Inuzuka Kaito, his hand raised in the air and his dog on his shoulder. I want one.

Kenjiro pointed at him, "Inuzuka Kaito! Go on."

Kaito grinned, his sharp canines visible. "They mess with your appetite or something like that, right? I heard from my dad that they suppress hunger, so that you can have optimal performance while fighting."

Sensei shot him a thumbs-up, "Correct! Why do you think this is a drawback?"

"Uh... It causes you to forget when to eat, and weakens your body?"

"Bingo," Kenjiro-sensei snapped his fingers, "They might keep you going, but your body still needs proper nutrition and fuel to keep pushing. Rely on them too much, and you might just have to deal with long-term suffering. Malnourishment, weakened muscles, slower recovery—you name it!"

Whoa, scary. Not only can you get addicted to it like some drug, but it also slowly wrecks your body over time?

"Sounds like it sucks. I'd rather eat actual food." Akimichi Souma's voice rang out from the back of the room, earning a few agreeing murmurs. Only a few.

"It isn't all bad, though," Kenjiro-sensei continued, rubbing the back of his neck. "We don't want you to consume these just for the drawbacks. In fact, they're safe to use for training as long as you don't overdo it. Just as there is drawbacks, there's also benefits to intaking these pills."

"Like what, sensei?" Amai asked, her hand in the air. What? Is she... actually participating for once, despite knowing the answer?

Kenjiro-sensei was taken aback, and he lightly coughed to compose himself. I'd be surprised, too. "Good question. They contain various nutrients en masse, and stimulants, such as caffeine that varies depending on the tier of soldier pill. They help bring out every drop of chakra in your cells, replenish your stamina and allow you to use more chakra than you normally would."

"And that's the reason behind all of those drawbacks, right? The burnout, the internal strain, and the long-term damage."

"Exactly. There's around five tiers of soldier pills. Low-grade, medium-grade, medium-high-grade, high-grade, and elite-grade. The one you'll be sampling is the low-grade pill, which is the most common and the one that most genin would use. It's a good starting point, but still something that can push your body if used too frequently."

Flabbergasted. I've never seen Amai openly participate like this before! Wait, no. Aren't these pills just drugs?

Oh well, it's a drug that will greatly aid me in training, so it's not like I can care about morality and question the fact that they're giving drugs to children.

Kenjiro-sensei continued, blissfully unaware of my thoughts, "The higher the tier, the more potent the effects, but also the more significant the drawbacks. If a Genin uses something meant for a Jonin, they might end up collapsing from overexertion, or worse, seriously damaging their chakra network."

That certainly seemed pleasant. I thought they'd just give you a quick boost for some short-term exhaustion, not damage to the fucking chakra pathways!

"Of course, that's only if you have half a braincell and know to use only what you are qualified for, and obviously, don't overdose." He added, chuckling to himself.

Sarutobi Shohei raised his hand.

"Yes, Shohei-kun?"

"Where will we be heading exactly?"

"To industrial plant #5, of course. It's where most of the low-grade pills are manufactured, along with other medical supplies. It's not far from here, but the place is massive, so don't wander off on our way there. I'm pretty sure everyone here is mature enough to know that they have to stay with the group, yeah?" Kenjiro-sensei continued,

"I imagine everyone is physically fit enough to keep up, too."

Most of the class answered "Yes, sensei!" at that, while others stayed silent.

"Excellent! In about ten minutes, we shall get going, so pack up whatever you have into your bags and then we're off."

Part of the class began to talk among themselves while storing their notebooks and supplies, while others took the chance to stretch or rest their heads on their desks. A few were already by the door, clearly eager to leave.

Me? I took my time doing it. No need to rush, after all.

I looked over at Amai, who had already stored everything that was hers.

"Hey, aren't you curious about what exactly they use to make these things? It wasn't ever shown on the se- I mean, well, you know." She said to me, catching herself mid-sentence as she rested her head on the desk.

"You mean in the books from the library?"

Amai mhm'd at me, "Yeah, they don't really say what stuff is being put into these pills. Some medicinal herbs, certain ingredients, and some other filler things. I know a bit about them since I've been taught about basic herbology last year, but not much."

"Perhaps it's classified? For medical ninjas and manufacturers. Or maybe they just don't want illegal production that could potentially poison people if not made properly," I suggested, resting my head on my hand.

"Maybe."

Before I could say anything else, Kenjiro-sensei shouted into the classroom, "Okay, that's enough chatter from my students! We are heading outside, so pack up and move it! I don't want to hear any complaints about being left behind."

Finally.

Can't wait to fall into a drug addiction, I thought with a grimace as I got up from my seat.

Not that I'd actually use them enough to damage my body.

Probably.

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(A/N: Guess who's not dead and back to uploading? Also, kind of late but... Happy Valentine's day! Not that I've had anyone to spend it with, haha. Cheers!)