Two months later.
Back Mountain Training Ground.
"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven! Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight! Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine!!"
"Ten thousand!"
Thud!
His final kick struck the tree. The trunk shuddered, and leaves fluttered down.
Might Guy lowered his leg and caught his breath.
Ten thousand side kicks, yet no system notification announced an increase in proficiency.
Guy glanced at the system panel.
[ V ajra Leg: 999 ]
[ V ajra Finger: 999 ]
[Yijin Jing: 758]
As early as ten days ago, progress in both low-grade secret techniques had slowed.
But that last point just wouldn't budge, no matter what he did.
The system said he needed an epiphany or 100 Monk Points to break through.
In other words, a bottleneck.
It wasn't as if Guy had 100 Monk Points.
Even if he did, he wouldn't use them.
If he couldn't even reach an epiphany with low-grade secret techniques, he'd be letting this body down.
Though his proficiency wouldn't increase, he still didn't give up his daily training.
Plop!
Nearby, Obito collapsed onto the ground, sprawled on his back, his chest heaving.
He was drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through, and damp strands of hair clung to his forehead.
"You can't handle just fifty laps?" Guy turned to look at him.
"Fifty laps?!" Obito gaped. "That's fifty laps around the entire mountain! What, you think everyone's a monster like you?"
Guy grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Youth means burning bright! The hotter, the better!"
"Yeah, yeah, burn your own head..." Obito rolled his eyes.
A short distance away, Kakashi leaned against a tree, a kunai in hand, repeatedly stabbing it into the trunk.
His movements were light, but every strike landed in the exact same spot.
The bark was already riddled with holes.
He said nothing, but glanced over at them.
Farther away, Rin sat on a rock, watching them with a smile.
She held a water jug, with neatly folded towels beside her.
"Obito, go get a drink." She stood and walked over.
Obito's eyes lit up, and he sprang to his feet.
"Rin! You brought that all this way just for me—"
Before he could finish, Rin walked right past him and stopped in front of Guy, offering him the jug.
"Guy, have some water."
Guy took it and gulped down a big mouthful.
"Thanks!"
Obito's outstretched hand froze in midair.
He stood there like a statue for two seconds.
Then he turned around, looking utterly heartbroken.
"Rin!! I'm thirsty too!!"
Rin looked back and smiled.
"There's still water in the jug. Pour yourself some."
Obito: "..."
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
He didn't laugh out loud, but his shoulders shook.
Just then, footsteps sounded along the forest path.
Kurenai Yuhi came jogging over with a cloth bundle.
Her curly black hair bounced as she ran, and her cheeks were faintly flushed.
"I... I'm late."
She went up to Guy and held out the bundle.
"My mom made too much..."
Guy took it and opened it.
As always, there were rice balls, pickled radishes, and a small box of dumplings.
He picked up a rice ball and took a big bite.
"Mm, delicious."
Kurenai stood beside him, smiling, her eyes bright.
Obito came over. "Give me one."
"If you want some, go home and get it yourself."
"You!"
Same old routine, same old taste.
Obito was grinding his teeth in frustration.
Rin laughed beside them.
Kurenai laughed too, her cheeks turning even redder.
After the laughter died down, she suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, don't come train in the mountains for a while."
Guy chewed on his rice ball and asked indistinctly, "Why?"
Kurenai lowered her voice.
"There's a bear."
Obito froze.
"A bear?"
"A Ninja Bear," Kurenai explained. "Someone spotted it deep in the mountains a few days ago. It's huge, several times bigger than an ordinary bear. The village sent a lot of ninja to look for it, but they couldn't find it."
Rin nodded.
"My dad said the same thing. He told me not to go too deep into the mountains for now."
Obito swallowed.
"Th-then should we train somewhere else?"
Guy said nothing.
He turned to look at Kakashi.
Kakashi said nothing either.
Their eyes met.
Then, at the same time—
Their eyes lit up.
Seeing those two looks, Obito's heart sank.
"Hey... you two..."
Guy grinned.
"A Ninja Bear?"
Kakashi pulled his kunai out of the tree.
"They haven't found it?"
"Then wouldn't it be..."
"A rare chance to test ourselves in a real fight!"
They said it in unison.
Guy was genuinely excited.
Over the past few days, he'd begun to figure some things out.
Training alone wasn't enough to reach an epiphany.
He needed to fight for real.
The Ninja Bear was the perfect opponent!
Obito went pale.
"Have you lost your minds?! It's a bear!! A Ninja Bear!!"
Guy stood up and brushed the dirt off his backside.
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Kakashi put his kunai away in his ninja tool pouch.
"Perfect chance to test what we've accomplished over these two months."
Obito's eyes widened as he looked from Guy to Kakashi.
"You two... You're both completely insane!"
Rin was stunned too.
"Kakashi, are you really going?"
Kakashi didn't answer.
But his expression said it all.
Kurenai panicked.
She grabbed Guy by the sleeve.
"No! It's too dangerous!"
Guy looked down at her.
Kurenai's eyes were already red, and she gripped his sleeve tightly.
"You're only six! It's a bear! You could die!"
Guy scratched his head and grinned.
"It's fine. I have Youth."
"What good is Youth going to do?!"
"Youth is meant to burn!"
Kurenai was left speechless.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Seeing her like that, Guy started to panic.
"Hey, don't cry..."
Kurenai bit her lip and said nothing.
But she still held on to his sleeve.
Then Kakashi spoke.
"We'll go tonight."
He glanced at Guy.
"There are too many people around right now."
Guy nodded.
"Okay."
At the word "tonight," tears spilled straight down Kurenai's cheeks.
"You guys..."
She let go and wiped her eyes.
Then she took a deep breath.
"Then I... I'm going too!"
Guy was taken aback.
"What are you going for?"
Kurenai looked up at him, eyes still red but her expression utterly serious.
"To keep an eye on you."
"If... if you can't beat it, I'll run back and get help!"
Guy opened his mouth.
He wanted to say something, but when he looked at her red-rimmed eyes, he swallowed the words.
Obito shook his head frantically beside them.
"I'm not going! You couldn't drag me there if you killed me!"
Rin stood up and went over to Obito.
"Obito."
Obito turned to look at her.
Rin smiled.
"If you're not going, then Kurenai and I will go with them."
Obito froze.
"Y-You're going too?!"
Rin nodded.
"Mm."
Obito looked at Rin, then at Kurenai, and then at Guy and Kakashi.
His face turned red, then pale.
Finally—
"I'M GOING!!!"
He yelled it.
"I absolutely can't let you two girls go by yourselves! It's too dangerous!"
Rin smiled even more brightly.
"Then let's go together."
Obito gritted his teeth.
He felt like he'd been tricked.