Open the Door, A-Rank Mission

"What the hell?"

Genye instantly transformed into an enraged child.

"So the Eight Inner Gates doesn't count as one skill, and you, you pit-trapping system, want me to replicate it eight times?!"

[Be content, Host. It's a mercy I didn't split the rewards into dozens of fragments and make you synthesize them slowly.]

Genye: (,#゜Д゜)

At this moment, he was reminded of the terror of being dominated by a certain game studio.

Genye obediently shut his mouth.

The system interface continued to scroll.

[Adjusted to the Host's personal traits, the system has deduced a new skill for the Host: "My Door Is Always Open"!]

"...Waiting for you with open arms?" Genye couldn't help but sing out.

Might Guy: [゜ω゜;≡]

Glancing at the bewildered Guy beside him, Genye coughed awkwardly twice and clicked on the skill description.

[My Door Is Always Open: The Host can maintain a weakened version of the First Gate as a passive state, increasing all attributes by 20%. It consumes very little stamina and places almost no burden on the body.]

"Holy crap, that's awesome!" Genye was instantly thrilled.

Although the effect was weaker than the actual Gate of Opening, being able to maintain a 20% boost as a passive state made this skill absolutely god-tier!

Genye got carried away: "System, give me another draw!"

[Ding, replication complete. The Host has obtained the new skill "Nunchaku Mastery"!]

Genye: "..."

Sure enough, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Genye sighed silently and looked at Guy beside him: "Guy, do you have any spare nunchaku at home? Can you give me one?"

Since he'd already drawn it, he couldn't just let it go to waste...

"Genye, you know how to use nunchaku too?!" Guy's eyes lit up again.

Genye rolled his eyes: "Of course. I'm a man of many talents and much wealth. I can even sing, dance, rap, and play ping-pong."

"Yosh, wait for me a moment!"

Guy dashed into the house, and before long, he ran back out carrying two nunchaku.

Guy shoved one of the nunchaku into Genye's hand and said with an excited expression:

"Genye, please have a duel with me where our sticks clash and every strike hits home!"

Genye: "???"

What kind of wild, suggestive talk is that, kid? Do you believe I'll beat you to death with these sticks?

Under Guy's strong insistence, Genye still went out with him to a small grove to spar.

After all, he also wanted to know what level the replicated stick technique was and whether it could be used in actual combat.

To be honest, it was ridiculous that the Hyuga Clan didn't teach its members weapons and only allowed them to use their fists in battle.

Up until now, Genye knew nothing but kunai; whenever he encountered someone with a sword or blade, he felt restricted and clumsy.

It was a damn miracle that the Hyuga Clan had managed to survive until now.

"Genye, I'm coming!" Guy spun his stick with a flourish and said impatiently.

"Come on then!" Genye tucked one end of the nunchaku under his arm and beckoned to Guy.

"Wataaa!"

Gripping his nunchaku, Guy flashed to Genye's side, the swinging stick instantly sweeping toward Genye's face.

Swish!

Genye dodged to the side and flicked his arm; the nunchaku in his hand struck out like a viper, aiming for Guy's wrist.

"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"

Guy countered by swinging his nunchaku to deflect Genye's attack, then turned and delivered a back-kick toward Genye.

"Receive-Neutralize-Release!"

Genye raised his arm to block the kick, turning his arm and the nunchaku into a whip, and countered with a Lightning Five-Chain Whip.

"Weary Bird Returns!"

Guy gripped the nunchaku with both hands, changed the direction of his attack twice in succession, and unexpectedly whipped it toward Genye's waist.

"Over Mountains and Ridges!"

Genye rotated his wrist, the stick in his hand tracing an arc in the air, and with a slight twist of the chain, he caught Guy's nunchaku.

"Leaf Rock-Breaking Rise!"

Guy remained calm; he pulled the nunchaku tight, used the leverage to close the distance, and slammed his elbow fiercely toward Genye's chest.

"Iron Mountain Lean!"

Genye quickly turned to the side, tensing his arm and tucking it against his body. With a twist of his waist and a drop of his shoulder, he met Might Guy head-on.

Bang!

Both were knocked back by the immense force. Though they winced in pain, they immediately charged at each other again.

"Meteor Chasing the Moon!"

"Snowflakes Covering the Peak!"

The iron nunchucks became blurs in their hands, relentlessly hacking, sweeping, striking, and whipping at one another, producing a series of dull, rhythmic thuds.

After a flurry of combat, Guy pulled back and looked at the nunchucks in his hand, speaking with a hint of confusion.

"Genye, why do I feel like the moves you're using are exactly the same as mine?"

Genye didn't know how to respond.

He had realized it too; since they were taught by the same master, neither could break the other's guard.

In the end, the sparring match concluded in a draw, and Genye spent an unforgettable night at the Might Household.

Damn it, what kind of family does a thousand handstand push-ups to digest a meal?!

Are you two not afraid of a prolapsed stomach?!

What Genye didn't know was that from this day on, Guy would regard him as a lifelong friend and rival.

A few months later, in the southeastern part of the Land of Fire, three figures darted through the forest like ghosts.

"This is the first time our squad has taken an A-rank mission since Hyuga Hizashi left," Asuma said with a grin.

The kid was incredibly bold and never knew the meaning of fear; he was currently brimming with excitement.

"This isn't necessarily a good thing," Genye shook his head. "The fact that they're starting to let Chunin handle A-rank missions means the village is running out of people."

Konoha was fighting a two-front war against the Cloud Village and the Rock Village, with their main forces tied up on the front lines, leaving the rear vulnerable.

The opportunistic Mist Village had keenly sensed this, tentatively dispatching nearly a hundred ninja into the Land of Fire to test whether Konoha still had the capacity to handle a large-scale war.

The mission Genye and his team received was to clear out this vanguard of Mist ninja and force the Mist Village to retreat.

Of course, they were only one of many squads, responsible for only a small sector.

"What kind of talk is that!" Asuma was immediately displeased upon hearing Genye's words.

"The village chose us, which means we have the strength for it. After we finish this mission, we might even be nominated for Special Jonin!"

Genye was speechless. "Don't get cocky, you guy. Who knows if there are any dangerous characters among these Mist ninja?"

"Asuma, Genye-kun is right. We should be cautious," Yuhi Kurenai added, her voice filled with concern.

"You two..."

"Shh, stop talking. Byakugan!"

Just as Asuma was about to say more, Genye raised a hand to interrupt him, pushing his Byakugan to its limit to scan the distance.

After a long moment, Genye slowly retracted his gaze and looked at his two teammates.

"I've found the enemy. Get ready for combat. It looks like a squad of Genin led by a Chunin."

When watching Naruto, it always felt like Chunin were everywhere and Jonin were as common as stray dogs.

But in reality, a Chunin was already a captain-level expert, one of the rare elites of a ninja village (as stated in The Book of Rin).

In battle, the most common enemies encountered were the primary combatants of each village: the Genin, who made up the bulk of their numbers.

"Genye, leave the Chunin to you. Kurenai and I will handle the remaining three Genin?" Asuma immediately shifted into combat mode and proposed.

"No problem. Let's move," Genye nodded.

The three of them took a detour and lay in ambush in a tree, waiting silently for the enemy's arrival.

The wall-hack is god-tier!

After a while, four figures moving silently appeared in the field of vision of Genye and his team.

It was the Mist squad from before.

Asuma leaped down from the tree, his cheeks puffed out, and he spat a massive cloud of gray smoke at the four of them.

"Watch out, enemy attack (second-hand smoke)!"