Inside a mountain-stream cabin, the three sat together.
Tōka explained why he had come, yet he did not receive the answer he wanted.
Instead, the atmosphere became strangely silent.
Might Duy was not a stingy person. Tōka merely wanted to practice taijutsu with him.
Why did Might Duy seem to want to refuse him?
Tōka was highly perceptive. Might Duy's gaze told him that he seemed reluctant.
What was this supposed to mean?
Why wasn't this going according to the script?
Shouldn't they be excitedly embracing and shouting, "Look, this is youth!"?
"Tōka, have you really decided to train in taijutsu with me?" Might Duy asked solemnly.
"Yes. Please grant my request." Tōka nodded, determination showing in his eyes.
In his heart, only Might Duy and Might Guy possessed the strongest taijutsu in Konoha.
It did not matter whether he learned the Eight Inner Gates or not, but Tōka hoped to make his body stronger.
Might Duy remained silent. He could see the sincerity in Tōka's eyes.
It was just that...
This little guy was too "delicate."
When Might Duy had first seen Tōka, he had thought Tōka was a girl!
"Dad!!" Gai urged from the side, his face full of anxiety.
Not many of his classmates acknowledged him. It was rare for a new classmate on his very first day to want to train in taijutsu with him!
"Gai, you don't understand!" Might Duy sternly rebuked him.
Gai was his son and had endured inhuman, hellish training since childhood.
The hardship involved was difficult for ordinary people to understand or endure.
Might Duy was worried that Tōka would not be able to persevere, and besides...
As Might Duy lowered his head in silence, Tōka was the first to break it.
"I know all of your concerns."
"Hm? You know?"
"First, you're worried that I won't be able to keep going. You needn't worry about that."
Tōka raised one finger and shook his head. His current situation was fraught with danger; it could be said that he might invite a deadly disaster at any moment.
Especially now, with Konoha caught in an era of war, it was not much safer than anywhere else.
Although Tōka was somewhat lazy, he would still rather sweat than bleed.
"Second, you're worried that my body can't withstand high-intensity training and that it will leave lasting damage." Tōka raised a second finger and spoke calmly.
Gai had no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, so he had no choice but to force himself through overloaded taijutsu training.
He constantly pushed his physical limits, surpassing them again and again.
Doing so could easily leave hidden injuries in the body, which would become extremely obvious after one reached fifty or sixty.
However, in this era of war, the average ninja did not live past thirty.
Fifty or sixty seemed rather far away.
Might Duy could tell that Tōka was not some useless person incapable of ninjutsu and genjutsu.
He did not know why, but he could simply sense it.
"Since you already know, then please give up." Might Duy rarely said such things, but he believed it was for Tōka's own good.
Training in the Eight Inner Gates was less training than self-torture.
Self-torture to awaken the body's limits, self-torture to break through the body's limits.
Might Duy was not good with words and did not know how to persuade Tōka to abandon the idea.
The room fell silent once more.
Finally, Tōka slowly stood up.
"Tōka..." Gai wore an apologetic expression. He thought Tōka would be disappointed. He had to be disappointed, right?
"In that case, I'll take my leave." Tōka gave a slight nod and did not force Might Duy to teach him.
As soon as the words fell,
Tōka walked toward the door before the two could say anything else.
Gai puffed out his cheeks and looked unwillingly at Might Duy. "Dad, you..."
Creak!~
Tōka stepped out of the cabin, one hand resting on the wooden door as if to close it.
The wooden door gradually swung shut...
Until only Tōka's body remained visible, he suddenly turned around and looked at Gai.
"Gai, I'll come find you tomorrow so we can train together!"
As his voice rang out, Tōka curled his lips and revealed a gleaming white tooth.
Ding!!
A white cross-shaped sparkle lit up Gai's eyes.
"Okay!" Gai gave a thumbs-up, his upturned lips revealing an even whiter, more dazzling tooth.
Half a year later, in a forest somewhere on Konoha's back mountain.
Tōka sat cross-legged atop a stream. The water flowed beneath his body without wetting his pants.
Faintly, a layer of paper-thin energy separated him from it.
As a direct descendant of Kaguya Otsutsuki, Tōka's chakra control was terrifyingly precise.
For a Great Fireball of equal power, if an ordinary person needed ten units of chakra,
then Tōka only needed three units to produce the same result.
Over the past half year, aside from training taijutsu with Gai, Tōka had devoted himself to studying the secret technique, All-Killing Ash Bones.
Having many skills was not a burden, but this was the Ninja World.
It was a world where people killed people. There was no need for so many skills to show off.
The first priority here was survival. Rather than waste too much time and energy learning countless ninjutsu, it was better to focus on mastering one art.
And All-Killing Ash Bones was a Kekkei Mōra that stood above Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta.
Tōka believed that mastering All-Killing Ash Bones would be enough to sweep the world.
Crack, crack, crack!!
Tōka stretched out one hand, and a gray bone rod slowly extended from his palm.
Then his gaze sharpened, and force erupted from his hand.
The bone rod in his palm shot free like an arrow.
Bang!
The bone rod sank into a large tree on the other side of the river. In an instant, the tree collapsed and disintegrated into decayed scraps of paper, vanishing completely.
This was the result of Tōka's training over the past half year.
The bone rod, as thick as his little finger, could now be fired from his palm like a thrown kunai.
Its speed was acceptable. Within a hundred paces, it could pierce flesh and even two or three layers of wood.
"Huff!" Tōka exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly stood up.
"Not bad. I don't feel as weak as I did after using All-Killing Ash Bones for the first time."
Judging from his current stamina and chakra reserves, the consumption of such an attack was not yet negligible, but it no longer affected his movements.
It seemed that the physical training of the past half year had produced unexpected results.
Tōka looked at his hands with satisfaction. They were a faint yellowish color, the color of health.
Compared to the snow-white, smooth skin he had possessed half a year ago, Tōka preferred himself as he was now.
Yellow-skinned people should be this color!
He clenched his fists tightly, feeling his strength grow bit by bit.
But he was still not strong enough!!
"Tōka, Tōka!"
Suddenly, a loud shout rang through the forest.
Tōka's eye twitched. There was no need to guess—it had to be green-clad Gai.
Although they had trained together for half a year, Tōka still could not bear to look directly at that flamboyant green outfit.
After all, it was Gai-sama's battle uniform. It was only natural that ordinary people could not understand it.
"Gai, I'm over here!" Tōka leaped out of the river and landed steadily on the bank.
Whoosh, whoosh!!
Gai's figure flashed rapidly through the forest, appearing before Tōka moments later.
"He's faster than me even while carrying such terrifying weights!" Tōka's pupils contracted sharply as he marveled at Gai's taijutsu.
But he was not discouraged. After all, he had only trained for half a year.
Gai, on the other hand, had trained since childhood, working day after day, year after year, rain or shine.
This was the strength Gai deserved to possess!
"You're in such a hurry. What did you come to see me about?" Tōka asked.
"It's Teacher Daisuke..." Gai took a breath. A thin layer of sweat covered his face; it looked like he had run straight from the academy to the back mountain.
"Furuya Daisuke?" Tōka raised an eyebrow. Over the past half year, he had attended the academy so few times that they could be counted on ten fingers.
It was not that Furuya Daisuke did not want to discipline him, but that he was powerless to do so.
First, Tōka lived alone, and whenever Furuya Daisuke went to his home, he could never find him.
Second, even if he reported Tōka's "misdeeds" to the Third Hokage, they would be suppressed.
Over time, it seemed that the Elite Class of the Ninja Academy's sixth year had forgotten that Tōka even existed.
If Gai had not remembered him and often brought him important news, he would probably have been expelled long ago.
"I heard the war has broken out, so our graduation exam has been moved up." Gai spoke with a serious expression.
"Oh?" A glint flashed through Tōka's eyes. Even the village's genin had to prepare for war now?
The Third Shinobi War was the most brutal war in history.
Not only did the five great nations of Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, and Earth participate, but numerous smaller countries were involved as well.
"When is the exam scheduled for?" Tōka pressed.
"Gather at the main gate tomorrow morning at eight. We won't know the location until then, and we won't know the exam content until then either." Gai frowned, unable to understand why even the location was confidential.
"Is that so? Other than the time, they won't tell us anything?" Tōka had formed an idea.
He looked up at the sky. It was almost time for lunch.
In other words, he still had one afternoon to prepare.
Tōka did not intend to remain at the Ninja Academy for long. Even if he did, there was little point.
Because after this class graduated, until the Twelve Young Powerhouses were born,
only Itachi Uchiha in the Ninja Academy was worth paying attention to.
Tōka categorized everyone else as minor characters and had no interest in them at all.
"Thank you for coming to tell me, Gai." Tōka smiled faintly.
"We're friends and rivals for life!" Gai revealed a gleaming white tooth that flashed with blinding light.
The smile on Tōka's face stiffened. To avoid a scene of ocean waves and a setting sun,
he decided to divert Gai's attention!
"Come on, I'll treat you to a meal!" As an "orphan," Tōka received relief funds before becoming a ninja.
Most of the time, Tōka trained in the forest.
He got his food and drink from the woods, so he had barely used any of the relief money.
It was not much money, but it was enough to treat Gai to a bowl of ramen!
Gai was happy too, not because Tōka was treating him, but because he was eating with a friend.
"Okay, today I'm having a large miso ramen." Gai clenched his fist and let out a strange cry.
"I'll have soy sauce ramen." Tōka replied instinctively.
One was lively and active, the other calm and steady. The older and younger figures gradually disappeared into the depths of the forest.
In one corner of Konoha stood a plain little shop with a sign hanging above it—Ichiraku Ramen.
"Yo, it's Tōka and Gai!" Teuchi greeted them warmly with a smile.
Tōka liked this place, and so did Gai.
The ramen was good, but what they liked more was Teuchi's warmth.
His face seemed to never run out of smiles. They were neither forced smiles nor hypocritical fake ones.
They were smiles from the bottom of his heart as he warmly welcomed every customer.
"Teuchi, I want a large miso ramen!" Gai plopped onto a round stool, raised both hands, and shouted.
"Just a regular soy sauce ramen for me." Tōka spoke expressionlessly.
"One large miso ramen, one soy sauce ramen!" Teuchi called out loudly, then went off smiling as he prepared the ramen.
After glancing at Teuchi's busy figure, Gai turned back around.
"Tōka, you won't grow if you eat so little."
"Eating more doesn't mean you'll grow more." Tōka rolled his eyes.
"How could it not? Eat more, grow more!" Gai said as he rolled up his sleeve and flexed his bicep.
"If you eat more, you'll only poop more." Tōka curled his lips.
Everything should be done within one's limits. Too much was as bad as too little.
Tōka had always believed that no matter what one did, one needed to know where one's limits lay.
Charging ahead blindly in a burst of hot blood would likely leave him battered and bleeding.
So more often than not, Tōka chose to use his brain first, then rely on force.
Just then, Teuchi smiled as he carried over two bowls of ramen and set them before them.
"Here you go—Gai's extra-large miso ramen, and Tōka's soy sauce ramen."
The rich aroma wafted into their noses like little tempting hands, stirring the hunger in their bellies.
Smack!
Smack!
The two pressed their palms together, holding their chopsticks between their thumbs.
"Thanks for the meal!"
They spoke in unison.
After parting ways with Gai, Tōka headed to the shopping street alone.
For tomorrow's exam, he decided to make some preparations.
The genin exam during wartime definitely would not be limited to the basic Three Transformations and Clone Technique.
It was highly likely to involve actual combat training—perhaps even bloodshed...
Tōka did not need shuriken or kunai; his ash bones could completely replace them.
But Explosive Tags were indispensable. He had to keep a few on hand at all times.
Besides that, Tōka also needed suitable clothing.
Training clothes prioritized looseness and comfort, but clothes for real combat naturally could not be that baggy.
They had to fit properly, and a Ninja Vest would have been the most suitable.
However, Tōka did not think they looked very good. They were entirely green.
Besides, he was not a ninja yet, so there was no way he could obtain equipment like a Ninja Vest.
Tōka walked into a clothing store, and the proprietress immediately came over to greet him.
"Oh my, what a cute little brother. What would you like to buy?"
"Just a few well-fitting outfits." Tōka took a small step back.
Women are like tigers. Terrifying...
At the end, he added another sentence.
"Something casual. Something normal."
"Certainly, little brother. Please wait a moment." The proprietress pinched Tōka's cheek and walked into the store with a smile.
Tōka was utterly speechless, but the little worm had yet to grow up, so he had to endure it for now!
When the stormy night came, when the little worm transformed into a dragon, he would definitely let these women know...
Who the master was!!
Before long, the proprietress returned with two female assistants.
At a rough glance, each of them was carrying at least ten pieces of clothing.
Tōka's expression changed drastically. Why the hell are there even skirts? And lace-trimmed ones at that?!
This is no place to linger!
With quick eyes and hands, Tōka randomly grabbed a few wearable outfits, left the money behind, and vanished in a flash.
He was so fast that he rivaled Gai-sama with all Eight Gates open!
At the entrance, only three women remained, their mouths slightly agape.
They seemed unable to believe what they had just seen.
That little brother was so fast!~ (To be continued)
Before you continue