Vajra Finger Breakthrough, New Ultimate Skill, Golden Bell Shield!

Life went on just like that.

Dull, tedious, yet fulfilling.

Waking up at dawn every day, running ten kilometers to the mountain behind the village.

Attending school, listening to lectures, finishing class.

Heading to Uchiha Forge after school, hammering iron until dark.

Eating dinner after nightfall.

Practicing the blade after eating.

Then heading to the waterfall, standing under the torrent for two hours, and poking the rock while at it.

Finally returning home, collapsing, and falling straight to sleep.

Day after day.

Month after month.

Another two months passed.

Today was a holiday at the Ninja Academy.

Guy did not go to the smithy.

Early in the morning, he slipped into the mountain behind the village and headed toward the waterfall.

In two months, this was his first time taking leave.

It wasn't because he was tired.

It was because he felt—

It was close.

Just a little bit more.

Vajra Finger had been stuck at 999 proficiency points for nearly three months.

Ever since that night he kicked the Ninja Bear away, he knew that this finger technique didn't need more training volume.

It needed that final breakthrough.

Yet, he had been trying to pierce through that barrier for three months, and he simply couldn't break it.

Guy took off his shirt and walked into the waterfall.

With autumn setting in, the water was already a bit chilly.

But to him, this bit of cold was nothing.

He walked directly under the waterfall, standing in front of the rock that had been poked countless times.

That rock no longer looked like a rock.

Its surface was densely covered in holes—deep and shallow, new and old, large and small.

Some holes could fit a finger, while others were just tiny dots.

The deepest one was the one he had poked last night.

With a single strike, his entire finger had sunk inside.

Guy took a deep breath.

He raised his hand.

He began to poke.

One.

Two.

Three.

The waterfall water smashed down from above, making his shoulders ache.

But over these past few months, he had long since grown used to it.

Two thousand strikes.

Three thousand strikes.

Five thousand strikes.

His fingers had long since gone numb.

But the warm current of Yijin Jing kept circulating, suppressing the numbness and replenishing his strength.

He continued to poke.

Seven thousand strikes.

Eight thousand strikes.

Ten thousand strikes.

The sun climbed to the zenith.

Then slowly slanted toward the west.

Guy had long since lost count of how many times he had thrust.

His mind grew increasingly vacant.

Only the sound of the waterfall remained.

Guy suddenly recalled a sentence Uchiha Tao Ye had once said.

"There is no secret to forging. It is just hammering over and over again. Hammer until that piece of iron remembers you, and you remember that piece of iron."

He lowered his head to look at the stone.

The stone remembered him.

And he remembered the stone.

Then...

What about his fingers?

Guy raised his hand.

He looked at his index and middle fingers.

Three months ago, these two fingers had been swollen like carrots.

They were no longer swollen now.

But the knuckles were a full circle thicker than they had been three months ago.

The pads of his fingers were covered in calluses, thick as tree bark.

His fingernails could never be cleaned; they were always filled with rust and stone dust.

This was his hand.

The hand of a six-year-old child, looking as if it had done twenty years of hard labor.

Guy stared at those two fingers.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Forging is hammering.

Stabbing the stone is thrusting.

Then...

What if he used the force of a hammer when he thrust?

He raised his hand.

He faced the stone.

He didn't exert force.

He just slowly reached out.

The moment his finger touched the stone.

A "hum" echoed in his mind.

Every hammer blow, every thrust, every drop of sweat, every gasp for breath from the past three months.

It all surged up.

"Pfft."

A very light sound.

His finger sank into the stone.

It was like poking into a block of tofu.

Guy was stunned.

Then, that surge of power flowed out along his finger.

He couldn't hold it back.

He didn't want to, either.

Guy turned abruptly, pointing behind him.

A golden light exploded from his fingertip.

The phantom of his finger suddenly magnified.

Ten times.

Twenty times.

Thirty times.

A massive golden finger appeared within the waterfall, moving in perfect synchronization with his thrust.

The golden light was blinding.

The waterfall.

It broke.

In that instant.

The torrent of water crashing down from above was forcibly halted by that finger.

It held for a full second.

Then, the golden light dissipated.

The water came crashing down once more.

Guy slowly retracted his finger.

He looked down.

Two fingers, still the same two fingers.

But the feeling was different.

It felt heavier.

And yet, it felt lighter.

[Vajra Finger--Mastery of Perfection]

The system prompt rang in his mind.

Guy stood stunned for two seconds.

"I broke through!!!!"

He roared it out.

The roar echoed through the entire mountain forest, startling a flock of birds.

"Finally broke through!!!"

He raised his hands toward the waterfall, toward the sky, toward the setting sun in the west.

"Three months!!! Three whole months!!!!"

He finished his roar.

He stood in the water, panting.

The water poured down from overhead, ice-cold.

But his entire body was burning hot.

Three months.

Three whole months.

No battles, no opponents, no moment of sudden enlightenment.

Just poking every day, practicing every day, repeating the same thing every day.

Finally.

He had broken through.

[Congratulations to the host for reaching the perfection realm of the Low-Grade Unique Skill: Vajra Finger]

[Obtained a Random Martial Arts Gift Pack]

[Open it?]

"Open!"

Golden light exploded.

An ancient-looking manual appeared in his consciousness.

Three large characters were on the cover.

[Golden Bell Shield]

[Low-Grade Unique Skill]

[Defensive martial art. After cultivation, one can condense true energy to protect the body and withstand attacks.]

Guy blinked.

"Golden Bell Shield?"

He scratched his head.

"It's only a Low-Grade?"

He was a bit taken aback.

Among the seventy-two unique skills of Shaolin, the reputation of the Golden Bell Shield was no small matter.

Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Shield, the hallmarks of hard-body cultivation.

Yet, according to the system, they were merely low-grade?

But upon second thought.

Yijin Jing was high-grade.

Precept-Breaking Blade was mid-grade.

So, Golden Bell Shield being low-grade seemed reasonable enough.

Besides, low-grade was fine.

This was a defensive technique!

It was exactly what he lacked most!

Guy's eyes lit up.

For the past few months, he had been pondering a question.

His offense was sufficient.

With Vajra Leg at perfection, he could kick a Ninja Bear ten meters into the air.

Vajra Finger would reach perfection soon as well.

He was also practicing Precept-Breaking Blade.

But what about defense?

What if he encountered someone fast one day and couldn't dodge?

What if he was surrounded by a group one day and couldn't block?

Now, it was settled.

Golden Bell Shield.

Although it was only low-grade, it was at least a proper defensive art.

"How do I train it?"

He tapped on the detailed description of Golden Bell Shield.

[Golden Bell Shield: Manifests a phantom golden bell with true qi to protect the body. The stronger the true qi, the stronger the defense.]

[Training Method: Endure strikes daily while guiding true qi to circulate across the skin. The more attacks endured, the faster the proficiency increases.]

After reading it, Guy grinned.

He could train just by getting beaten up?

This was perfect for him.

He had been worried about getting bored of poking stones every day.

Now, it was perfect. He could just have someone hit him after he finished poking stones.

Perfect.

He was just about to head ashore to test how to train this Golden Bell Shield.

Suddenly.

"Guy!!!"

A voice came from the edge of the woods.

It sounded urgent.

Guy turned his head.

Kurenai ran out from the forest, panting heavily, her face flushed red.

Her black curly hair clung to her forehead, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.

She saw Guy standing in the waterfall and froze for a moment.

Then, ignoring everything else, she shouted directly:

"Guy! Hurry! The school is calling for an assembly!"

Guy was stunned.

"An assembly? Today is a day off."

"I know!"

Kurenai ran over and stood by the water's edge.

"Umino sensei had people go door-to-door to notify everyone! All students must go! Immediately!"

Guy walked out of the waterfall and picked up his clothes.

"What's so urgent?"

Kurenai shook her head.

"I don't know. But the messenger said we have to go; there's no choice."

Guy wiped himself dry and pulled on his clothes.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Today is the weekend.

School is out.

An emergency assembly.

All students must attend.

This...

Could it be that matter?

He looked at Kurenai.

Kurenai was looking back at him, worry in her eyes.

"Guy, do you know what this is about?"

Guy was silent for two seconds.

Then he shook his head.

"I don't know."

He tied his shoelaces and stood up.

"Let's go."

The two of them dashed out of the woods.

They ran toward the school.