The days that followed fell back into their old routine.
But not entirely.
Every day, at daybreak: wake up, morning training.
Run ten kilometers to the back mountain, then practice kicks, finger techniques, and swordsmanship.
The difference was that the Eight Inner Gates had been added to his morning training.
"Guy! Watch your breathing!"
Dawn.
Dai stood nearby, his booming voice echoing through the woods.
"Gate of Opening isn't about holding your breath! It's about guiding the chakra! Feel it flowing through your body!"
Guy stood in a horse stance, his whole body flushed red.
The veins on his forehead throbbed.
But his breathing was steady.
"Open!"
Bang.
A wave of air exploded outward.
The Gate of Opening stayed firmly open.
Dai gave him a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
"Good! Hold it! Now try moving!"
Guy moved.
He lifted a leg and kicked.
Then he threw a punch.
He was more than twice as fast as usual.
After finishing the sequence, he settled into a stance and took a deep breath.
The moment he closed the gate, his body relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Dai walked over.
"How does it feel?"
Guy thought for a moment.
"Fast. But it takes a lot out of me, too."
Dai nodded.
"Right. The Eight Inner Gates aren't for ordinary combat. They're for when the moment comes and you have to fight for your life."
He paused.
"So when you train, practice until your body remembers. When you really need them, you shouldn't have to think. Your body should open the gates on its own."
Guy nodded.
Morning training ended, and it was time for school.
Classes, then dismissal.
After school, he went to Uchiha Forge.
"Guy! Watch the heat!"
Uchiha Tao Ye's voice rang out from the workshop.
"The hotter the fire, the better? Not at all! You have to judge by the quality of the iron!"
Guy crouched in front of the bellows, pumping them as he watched the flames.
The firelight flickered across his face.
He could already tell how hot the iron was just by looking at it.
When he finished with the bellows, he stood up and picked up the hammer.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A kunai's rough shape took form beneath his hands.
Faster than before.
More precise than before.
Uchiha Tao Ye watched from beside him without a word.
But his eyes showed approval.
By the time they finished a batch of work, night had fallen.
Guy rummaged through the scrap pile and found the short sword Uchiha Tao Ye had given him.
He walked to the backyard.
He stopped.
He gripped the sword.
"Precept-Breaking Blade, First Form!"
Whoosh—
A flash of steel cut through the air.
"Second Form!"
Whoosh—
"Third Form!"
One slash followed another.
Beneath the moonlight, they blurred together.
Guy darted around the backyard, every step perfectly timed.
After completing all forty-nine forms, he sheathed the sword.
He took a breath and looked down at the blade.
A faint white mark crossed its edge.
He'd made it during today's training.
He put the sword away and turned to leave.
The waterfall.
He took off his clothes and stepped beneath it.
Cold water poured over his head.
He drew a deep breath and raised his hand.
He faced the stone he'd been striking for three months.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A thousand times.
Two thousand times.
Five thousand times.
Ten thousand times.
The moon shifted from overhead toward the west.
Guy emerged from the waterfall and got dressed.
He went home.
When he opened the door, the house was lit.
Dai sat at the table, two bowls of rice and two plates of food laid out before him.
Seeing Guy come in, he looked up and grinned.
"You're back? You must be hungry. Let's eat!"
Guy sat down and picked up his bowl.
Father and son sat across from each other, eating noisily.
They didn't speak.
But it felt good.
After dinner, Guy lay down in bed.
He went over the day's training in his mind.
The Eight Inner Gates in the morning, classes before noon, smithing in the afternoon, the Precept-Breaking Blade in the evening, and the waterfall at midnight.
His day was packed from start to finish.
He closed his eyes.
Sleep.
The next day, the same routine.
The third day, the same routine.
The fourth day, the same routine.
And so the days went by.
Dull.
Boring.
But he grew stronger every day.
Two months later.
Morning.
The back mountain.
Guy stood in an open clearing.
Dai stood opposite him.
"Ready?"
Guy nodded.
"Let's go."
Dai took a deep breath.
"Eight Inner Gates, Third Gate, Gate of Life! Open!"
Bang!
Green steam burst from Dai's body.
He vanished.
The next instant, he appeared in front of Guy.
He brought a fist crashing down.
Guy dodged to the side.
Dai's leg was already sweeping toward him.
Guy raised an arm to block.
Bang!
They each staggered back three steps.
Dai grinned.
"Not bad! Your reflexes have gotten faster!"
Guy didn't answer. He charged forward.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
Whoosh—
Dai leaned back and dodged.
Guy landed, and before he could regain his footing, his other leg swept around.
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
This kick was even faster.
Dai's eyes lit up.
He braced one hand against the ground and flipped out of the way.
But the moment he landed, Guy was already on him.
"Front Lotus!"
Guy sprang into the air.
His body spun in midair.
He moved so fast that he kicked up a gust of wind.
Dai looked up at him, the corners of his mouth lifting.
He jumped, too.
They collided with a kick in midair.
Bang!
A wave of air exploded outward.
They landed five meters apart.
Dai stood up straight and brushed the dust off himself.
"I learned the Front Lotus."
Guy was panting, but he grinned.
"And there's still the Hidden Lotus."
Dai shook his head.
"You can't use that one yet. It puts too much strain on your body."
Guy nodded.
Two months.
He could open all three gates of the Eight Inner Gates and control them with ease.
He had mastered the Leaf Hurricane, the Konoha Great Whirlwind, the Front Lotus, and the Hidden Lotus.
He had fully mastered the Precept-Breaking Blade.
He had made some progress with the Golden Bell Shield.
His Yijin Jing was steadily improving.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
They were even rougher than they'd been two months ago.
The calluses were thicker.
His knuckles were bigger.
But when he made a fist, it felt firmer.
Dai came over and patted him on the shoulder.
"All right, that's enough for today. Go to school."
Guy nodded.
They headed out.
At the foot of the mountain, Dai suddenly stopped.
"Guy."
Guy turned around.
Dai looked at him, unusually serious.
"Remember, all this training is so you can stay alive."
"Only if you're alive can you have a future."
Guy nodded firmly.
"Got it."
Dai grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Good! Go on!"
Guy turned and ran toward the school.
At the school entrance.
There were far more people than usual today.
Faces they hadn't seen in two months had suddenly all turned up.
Asuma stood at the entrance, a matchstick between his teeth.
He still had that same cocky look, but he'd grown a lot more muscular.
Gekko Hayate leaned against a tree, looking even paler than before.
Uzuki Yugao stood beside him, her purple hair fluttering in the wind, a short sword at her waist.
Shiranui Genma had a toothpick in his mouth and both hands in his pockets. He wore an expression that said "I haven't trained at all," but his stance was noticeably steadier.
Kurenai wasn't there.
Guy glanced around.
Everyone had changed.
Not on the outside.
It was their presence.
Like blades freshly sharpened.
Obito pushed through the crowd and ran up to Guy.
"Guy!"
Guy looked at him.
Obito had changed over the past two months, too.
He was a little taller. His face was still the same, but his eyes kept blinking.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
He just couldn't stop blinking.
Guy stared at him.
"What's wrong with your eyes?"
Obito froze.
"Nothing?"
"Then why are you blinking?"
Obito blushed.
"I... I'm not blinking!"
Guy watched him.
Obito grew uncomfortable under his gaze and turned away.
"Come on, let's go inside. Class is about to start."
The two of them walked into the classroom.
Most of the class was already there.
Guy took a seat in the back row, by the window.
Obito sat in front of him.
The bell rang.
Ikkaku Umino walked in.
He stood at the front of the classroom and surveyed the students.
"Over the past two months, some of you trained at home, and some of you trained outside. No matter how you trained, you should all have made progress."
He paused.
"But you don't get to decide how much progress you've made."
He turned and wrote a few words on the blackboard.
[Random Teams · Live Combat Exercise]
"Starting today, you'll get an early taste of working in ninja squads."
He put down the chalk.
"You'll be assigned to three-person teams by random draw. Whoever you draw, that's your team."
"Once the teams are formed, your first mission—"
He glanced over the class.
"Take out a group of bandits."
The classroom fell silent for a second.
Then it erupted.
"Bandits?!"
"Are you serious?!"
"Where?!"
Ikkaku raised a hand and motioned for them to quiet down.
The room fell silent.
"Fifty miles northwest of Konoha, there's a group of bandits. Around thirty of them. They aren't ninja, but they've killed merchants passing through."
"Normally, this kind of mission would be for Genin."
He looked at the seven-year-old children.
"But this is wartime. The Genin are all at the front. So—"
He paused.
"You're going."
No one spoke.
Ikkaku continued.
"Of course, I'm not sending you in alone. I'll lead the team and keep an eye on you."
"But unless it's absolutely necessary, I won't step in."
He looked over all of them.
"This is your first real mission. Your first time seeing blood."
"If you're afraid, you can withdraw now."
No one moved.
No one spoke, either.
Guy sat in the back row, looking at the students' backs.
Those seven-year-old children.
Every one of them had a tense expression.
No one backed down.
This was the age of ninja.
They started school at six and went to war at seven.
It wasn't a story.
It was reality.
Ikkaku Umino waited a few seconds.
No one withdrew.
He nodded.
"Good."
He picked up the lottery container from the lectern.
"Now, draw your lots and form your teams!"