Two and a half hours later, when Sasuke and Naruto arrived in front of Lu Yu, panting as they carried a huge barrel of mountain spring water, Lu Yu nodded with satisfaction.
"Not bad. You're one minute and thirteen seconds faster than yesterday. Looks like you've been working hard every day."
Naruto happily thumped his chest at that.
"Of course! I give it my all every day."
Sasuke shot Naruto a disdainful look, as if to say, So what if you give it your all? You're still a step behind me.
"Damn it, Sasuke! What's with that look? You wanna fight?"
"Idiot."
"Why, you—!"
Seeing that the two jokers still had enough energy to argue, Lu Yu immediately felt a little less guilty about the "training" he was about to put them through.
He gave a light cough and said:
"Alright, alright. It's getting late. Let's make lunch. Oh, and make extra. Ino and Hinata are eating with us today."
"Got it, Boss Lu Yu. Just watch!"
Naruto eagerly took charge. He glanced at Sasuke and said:
"Damn it, Sasuke, go gather firewood. I'll take care of the fish."
But Sasuke ignored him completely. He hurried to the lakeside, killed the fish Lu Yu had caught, and got straight to work.
Naruto glared resentfully at Sasuke, then reluctantly ran back up the mountain...
Half an hour later, Lu Yu, Hinata, Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke gathered around a table for a lavish lunch.
After years of Lu Yu's training, Naruto and Sasuke had practically become the ultimate errand boys.
Just looking at the table full of delicious, beautifully prepared dishes was enough to whet anyone's appetite.
Steamed crab, shrimp fried rice, stewed soft-shelled turtle, grilled fish, sizzling squid, and three or four vegetable dishes.
At the sight of the tempting meal before them, all three boys' stomachs growled in unison. Then they entered the familiar mode of whoever could manage to eat their fill would do so, while the rest went hungry.
Everyone was equal at the dinner table. They fought over the food based on their own abilities. The only difference was that Naruto and Sasuke, seated across from each other, kept shooting sparks from their eyes.
They competed even while eating, their chopsticks clashing as they fought to outdo each other.
By contrast, Hinata and Ino sat quietly on either side of Lu Yu, thoughtfully serving him rice and peeling meat for him.
When the two girls saw Lu Yu eating too quickly, they gently gave him water to drink. When he choked, they carefully patted his back.
The meal put Lu Yu in a wonderful mood. To be honest, he didn't know what Ino and Hinata's relationship was really like, but he had never seen them fight.
After lunch came two hours for a nap.
Hinata rested for just one hour before heading back into the woods to continue training. She wanted to master the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms completely.
As for Naruto and Sasuke, they rested for only half an hour before returning to their midday training.
When Lu Yu woke up, he gently patted Ino, who was curled up asleep on his shoulder like a kitten, and said softly:
"Ino, wake up. Don't sleep anymore. How about I take you for a ride?"
Half-asleep, Ino heard Lu Yu's voice and instinctively snuggled into his arms, mumbling:
"Lu Yu, don't bother me... Let... let me sleep a little longer..."
Lu Yu sighed helplessly. He had completely turned Ino into a slacker.
But there was no denying that someone with her talent had every right to take it easy. She had already mastered all the basic ninjutsu of the Yamanaka Clan.
Ten minutes later, Lu Yu finally woke Ino up. Then he waved to Naruto and Sasuke, who were nearby, engaged in a real-life fight.
Once the two of them came over, Lu Yu smiled at them and said:
"First of all, congratulations to you both. You've made especially great progress this year. A lot of your previous training isn't suitable for you anymore."
"Really, Boss Lu Yu? Am I already that strong?"
Naruto stared at Lu Yu with shining eyes. He still remembered just how powerful his boss was.
Naruto was thrilled to receive Lu Yu's approval.
Sasuke's expression also shifted slightly. He knew just how powerful Lu Yu was, and now that Lu Yu had recognized him too, he couldn't help letting the corners of his mouth lift.
Lu Yu nodded at Naruto.
"That's right. But training is like rowing upstream: if you don't advance, you fall behind. And once the teams are assigned, I won't be able to train you anymore. So, to help you take your strength to the next level, I'm going to tell you about your next training exercise."
With his hands behind his back, Lu Yu walked toward the five-meter-long boat. The three of them followed, curious.
Soon, the four of them stood in front of the boat. Lu Yu looked cheerfully at Naruto and Sasuke.
"Starting today, you'll begin your next training exercise. It's called Nine Deaths One Life."
"Nine Deaths One Life?"
The two of them looked utterly confused. They had no idea what Lu Yu meant.
But hearing those four words gave them both a bad feeling.
Lu Yu took a Sealing Scroll from his clothes and pulled out a large pork leg stored inside. He casually threw it into the lake, fifty meters away.
The three stared blankly at what Lu Yu had done. The only thing they found strange was that the pork hadn't sunk. As for what Lu Yu was really getting at, none of them had a clue.
Two seconds later, a huge, gaping maw suddenly appeared. It swallowed the pork leg in one bite and disappeared.
Lu Yu smiled at Naruto and Sasuke, whose faces had turned a little pale.
"Starting today, the two of you will pull this little boat and swim around the lake for an hour. If you can't last that long, you'll be punished."
Naruto swallowed nervously and looked at Lu Yu, uncertain.
"Boss, pulling a little boat while swimming sounds easy, but what was that thing just now? Is it going to eat me?"
"Don't be afraid, Naruto. It's just a lake monster. It's pretty clumsy, relatively speaking. As long as you swim fast, you'll be fine..."
Ten minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke glanced back at the lake monster charging toward them with its huge mouth wide open. They swam for their lives...
Meanwhile, Lu Yu and Ino were lying comfortably on the deck chairs in the little boat, enjoying the cool breeze against their cheeks.
Perhaps this was what life was all about...
Before you continue