Live Combat Training, Bandit Suppression!

The days that followed returned to their original track.

But they were not entirely the same.

Every day at dawn, wake up, morning training.

Run ten kilometers to the back mountain, practice leg techniques, practice finger techniques, practice with the blade.

The difference was that the content of the morning training now included the Eight Inner Gates.

"Guy! Watch your breathing!"

Early morning.

Dai stood to the side, his booming voice echoing through the woods.

"The Space Gate isn't about holding your breath! It's about guidance! Feel the flow of chakra within your body!"

Guy held a horse stance, his entire body flushed red.

The veins on his forehead pulsed rhythmically.

Yet, his breathing remained steady.

"Open!"

Bang.

A wave of air exploded outward.

The Space Gate remained steadily open.

Dai gave a thumbs-up, his teeth flashing.

"Good! Keep it up! Now try to move!"

Guy moved.

He lifted his leg and kicked.

He threw a punch and smashed.

His speed was more than twice as fast as usual.

After finishing the set of movements, he pulled back 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 the consumption is also great."

Dai nodded.

"Correct. The Eight Inner Gates is not for conventional combat. It is for critical moments, for risking your life."

He paused.

"That is why you must practice it until your body remembers. When the time comes to truly use it, you won't need to think; your body will open it on its own."

Guy nodded.

Morning training ended, time for school.

Classes started, classes ended.

After school, he went to Uchiha Tao Ye.

"Guy! The heat!"

Uchiha Tao Ye's voice drifted out from the shed.

"The furnace fire isn't better just because it's hotter! You have to look at the quality of the iron!"

Guy crouched in front of the bellows, pulling them while keeping his eyes on the furnace fire.

The firelight danced on his face, flickering between light and shadow.

He could already judge the temperature of the iron just by looking at it.

After finishing with the bellows, he stood up and grabbed the hammer.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The rough shape of a Kunai took form under his hands.

Faster than before.

More precise than before.

Uchiha Tao Ye stood to the side watching, saying nothing.

But in his eyes, there was satisfaction.

After finishing a batch of work, the sky turned dark.

Guy rummaged through the scrap pile and pulled out the short blade gifted by Uchiha Tao Ye.

He walked to the backyard.

He stood still.

He gripped the blade.

"Precept-Breaking Blade, First Form!"

Whoosh—

The blade flashed.

"Second Form!"

Whoosh—

"Third Form!"

The blade flashes followed one after another.

They merged into a single sheet under the moonlight.

Guy's figure darted across the backyard, every step landing perfectly on the beat.

Forty-nine forms completed.

He sheathed the blade.

He caught his breath and looked down at the weapon.

There was a faint white mark on the edge.

It was from today's practice.

He put the blade away and turned to walk outside.

The waterfall.

He stripped off his clothes and stepped inside.

The cold water poured down from above.

He took a deep breath and raised his hand.

He faced the rock he had been striking for three months.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

One thousand strikes.

Two thousand strikes.

Five thousand strikes.

Ten thousand strikes.

The moonlight shifted from overhead to the west.

Guy walked out of the waterfall and put on his clothes.

He headed home.

He pushed open the door; the lights were on inside.

Dai sat at the table with two bowls of rice and two dishes set before him.

Seeing Guy enter, he looked up and grinned.

"You're back? You must be hungry? Let's eat!"

Guy sat down and picked up his bowl.

The father and son sat opposite each other, slurping down their meal.

Neither spoke.

But the feeling was good.

After finishing dinner, Guy lay down on his bed.

He ran through everything he had practiced today in his mind.

The Eight Inner Gates from morning training, the morning classes, the afternoon smithing, the evening Precept-Breaking Blade, and the midnight waterfall.

His day was packed full.

He closed his eyes.

Sleep.

The next day, repeat.

The third day, repeat.

The fourth day, repeat.

Days passed just like that.

Monotonous.

Dull.

But every single day, he was growing stronger.

Two months later.

Early morning.

The mountain behind the village.

Guy stood in a clearing.

Dai stood opposite him.

"Ready?"

Guy nodded.

"Come on."

Dai took a deep breath.

"Eight Inner Gates! Third Gate! Gate of Life! Open!"

Bang!

Green steam exploded from Dai's body.

He vanished.

The next second, he appeared in front of Guy.

He threw a punch downward.

Guy dodged to the side.

Dai's leg was already sweeping in.

Guy raised his arms to block.

Bang!

Both of them retreated three steps.

Dai grinned.

"Not bad! Your reaction is faster!"

Guy didn't speak; he rushed forward.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Whoosh—

Dai leaned back to dodge.

Guy landed, and before he could steady himself, his other leg was already sweeping across.

"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"

This kick was even faster.

Dai's eyes lit up.

He braced one hand on the ground and flipped over to dodge.

But the moment he landed, Guy was already right in front of him.

"Front Lotus!"

Guy leaped into the air.

His body spun in mid-air.

The speed was so fast it whipped up a gust of wind.

Dai looked up at that silhouette, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

He jumped up as well.

The two traded a kick in mid-air.

Bang!

A shockwave erupted.

Both landed, five meters apart.

Dai stood up straight and brushed the dust off his body.

"Front Lotus, I've mastered it."

Guy was panting, but he grinned.

"What about Hidden Lotus?"

Dai shook his head.

"You can't use that yet. The burden on your body is too great."

Guy nodded.

Two months.

Eight Inner Gates, three gates fully opened, controlled with ease.

Leaf Hurricane, Konoha Great Whirlwind, Front Lotus, Hidden Lotus, all mastered by heart.

Precept-Breaking Blade, thoroughly understood.

Golden Bell Shield, achieved minor success.

Yijin Jing, growing steadily.

He looked down at his hands.

These hands were a size thicker than they had been two months ago.

The calluses were thicker.

The knuckles were broader.

But when he clenched his fists, they felt more solid.

Dai walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"That's enough for today. Go to school."

Guy nodded.

The two of them walked out.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Dai suddenly stopped.

"Guy."

Guy turned back.

Dai looked at him, uncharacteristically serious.

"Remember, everything you've trained for is to stay alive."

"Only by living can there be a future."

Guy nodded heavily.

"I understand."

Dai grinned and gave a thumbs up.

"Good! Go on!"

Guy turned and ran toward the school.

At the school gate.

There were an unusual number of people today.

Faces he hadn't seen in two months had all suddenly appeared.

Asuma stood at the entrance with a matchstick hanging from his mouth.

He still looked as cocky as ever, but he had bulked up significantly.

Gekko Hayate leaned against a tree, his complexion looking even paler than before.

Beside him stood Uzuki Yugao, her purple hair fluttering in the wind, a short blade tucked at her waist.

Shiranui Genma chewed on a toothpick, hands in his pockets, wearing an expression that said "I didn't train at all," but his stance was noticeably more stable.

Kurenai hadn't come.

Guy scanned the crowd.

Everyone had changed.

That change wasn't just on the surface.

It was in their aura.

Like a blade that had been sharpened.

Obito pushed his way through the crowd and ran up to Guy.

"Guy!"

Guy watched him.

Two months had passed, and Obito had changed.

He was a little taller, his face the same, but his eyes blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

They wouldn't stop blinking.

Guy stared at him.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

Obito froze.

"Nothing's wrong?"

"Then why are you blinking?"

Obito's face flushed red.

"I... I wasn't blinking!"

Guy watched him.

Obito grew uncomfortable under his gaze and turned his head away.

"Alright, alright, let's go in, class is about to start."

The two walked into the classroom.

Most of the students were already there.

Guy sat in the back row, by the window.

Obito sat in front of him.

The class bell rang.

Ikkaku Umino walked in.

He stood at the front of the class and scanned the students.

"Over these past two months, some of you have trained at home, some outside. Regardless of how you trained, you should have all made progress."

He paused.

"But how much progress you've made isn't for you to say."

He turned and wrote a few words on the blackboard.

[Random Squads · Combat Practice]

"Starting today, we'll begin adapting to the ninja squad system early."

He put down the chalk.

"Three people per group, drawn by lot. Whoever you draw is who you're with."

"Once the teams are formed, the first mission—"

He glanced at the students.

"Exterminate mountain bandits."

The classroom fell silent for a second.

Then it erupted.

"Mountain bandits?!"

"No way?!"

"Where?!"

Ikkaku Umino raised his hand and gestured for quiet.

They quieted down.

"About fifty miles northwest of Konoha, there's a group of mountain bandits. Around thirty in number, no ninja among them, but they've killed passing merchants."

"Normally, this kind of mission would be for genin."

He looked at the seven-year-old children.

"But these are wartime. The genin are all on the front lines. So—"

He paused.

"You're going."

No one spoke.

Ikkaku Umino continued.

"Of course, I'm not sending you straight into the fray. I will lead the team and keep an eye on you."

"But unless it is an absolute last resort, I will not intervene."

He swept his gaze across everyone.

"This is your first live combat. Your first time seeing blood."

"If you're afraid, you can quit now."

No one moved.

No one spoke, either.

Guy sat in the back row, watching the backs of those in front of him.

Those seven-year-old children.

Each and every one of them had a tense face.

No one backed down.

This was the era of the ninja.

Start school at six, hit the battlefield at seven.

It wasn't a story.

It was reality.

Ikkaku Umino waited a few seconds.

No one quit.

He nodded.

"Good."

He picked up the bamboo cylinder from the podium.

"Now, draw lots and form your teams!"