Nohara Rin: "Obito, Yu and I already made plans"

Mikami Yu and Might Duy had actually known each other for a long time.

After all, the latter ran dozens of laps around Konoha every day. He also often took missions like catching cats and dogs, appearing randomly throughout Konoha's streets and alleys. As long as someone did not stay cooped up at home all the time, they were bound to run into him.

Might Duy was the sort of person who was rather thick-skinned yet desperately lacked recognition. In theory, as long as Yu chatted with him more often to raise his favorability, occasionally gave him gifts... no, trained with him and showed passion for Taijutsu, he might receive Duy's guidance and learn the Eight Gates from him.

Mikami Yu had indeed tried that before.

But...

He had ultimately failed.

It was not that Might Duy refused to teach him.

It was that the Eight Gates had an absurdly high hidden threshold. According to Might Duy, to even get started with this forbidden technique, one had to be able to run ten laps around Konoha in a single breath. To advance further and open more than three gates, the standard was even higher.

Might Duy himself had trained doggedly for twenty or thirty years to achieve what he had today. And because he had not cared for himself properly, his body was riddled with old injuries that caused him discomfort from time to time.

Still, his assessment of the physical requirements needed to open each gate of the Eight Gates should have been completely accurate.

Might Guy had already gotten started with the Eight Gates, though he had yet to use it in the Ninja Academy's practical exams.

As for Mikami Yu,

He was already eight years old, yet he could not even match the daily training intensity Guy had maintained at six. That was why he had never had the chance to learn the Eight Gates.

But now that he had the Gala System, things were different. Once he finished dealing with the next couple of busy days, Yu planned to visit Might Duy again and see whether he now qualified to train in the Eight Gates.

After saying goodbye to the two teachers, Mikami Yu left the teaching building and prepared to head home. However, he spotted several familiar figures at the school gate.

"Eh, Rin? You're all still here?"

Mikami Yu stopped.

There were three people waiting at the gate. One was Nohara Rin, while the other two noisy figures hopping around beside her were clearly Obito and Might Guy.

Obito seemed dissatisfied with losing to Might Guy in the arena and was challenging Guy to another match.

"Yu, you're out?"

Nohara Rin spotted Mikami Yu as well and smiled faintly. "Everyone came here together this morning, so of course we should go home together too. We're only a few minutes late, anyway. As for Guy..."

"Yu! You came out too late! I've been waiting so long I'm starving! Hurry and let me witness your youth!"

Might Guy immediately jumped out, gave him a thumbs-up, and flashed his gleaming teeth.

Huh?

Shouldn't you be challenging Kakashi? Why were you looking for me?

Was this another one of those things?

Mikami Yu felt a little helpless. "Guy, it's too late today, and everyone is already tired after the test. It's not suitable for another fight... How about we compete in something else?"

"What do you mean?"

Might Guy looked confused.

"How about this? Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen. Everyone orders a bowl, and we compete to see who finishes first. The loser pays. How does that sound?"

"Eh?"

Might Guy froze for a moment, then nodded. This contest sounded a little strange, but it seemed workable?

Nohara Rin and Obito exchanged a glance. The former spoke softly, "Can I come too? I haven't had Ichiraku Ramen in a long time. I wonder if Uncle Teuchi has come up with any new flavors."

Since Rin was going, Obito naturally had no objections. Being a "guardian of flowers" was his specialty.

Thus,

Mikami Yu could only bring along three tagalongs to the place he had once dreamed of working at—Ichiraku Ramen.

As Konoha's most famous ramen shop, Ichiraku Ramen was actually quite small, with only a single long row of seats. Still, it was more than enough to accommodate four eight- or nine-year-old children.

Mikami Yu ordered a bowl of tonkotsu ramen, while Might Guy ordered a special chashu ramen.

Then...

Yu had barely taken two bites when Might Guy drained the last bit of broth from his bowl and gave him a thumbs-up. "Yu, looks like I won this time!"

"Congratulations, congratulations."

Mikami Yu pulled out a banknote and pushed it over. "This bowl is on me. If you order more, you pay for it yourself."

—Though Yu did not know whether Might Guy's appetite could compare to that of the big-eater Hinata, he knew that with Guy's level of exercise, he definitely ate more than Yu did. That was why he had only competed over speed, not quantity. This way, at worst, he would only lose the price of one bowl of ramen.

Guy was simply too careless to notice anything wrong with that.

About half an hour later,

The four of them, now full, got up and headed home.

Might Guy's home was not in the same direction as Mikami Yu's and the others', so they parted ways halfway there.

Obito's home was not in that direction either.

But using "it's unsafe to walk at night" as an excuse, he insisted on playing the guardian of flowers and escorted Mikami Yu and Nohara Rin all the way to their doorstep, still reluctant to leave.

"Alright, Obito. Yu and I are home now. It's getting late, so you should head back too. Don't make Grandma Kyoka worry."

Nohara Rin advised him.

"Alright, then I'll come find you again tomorrow..."

Obito was reluctant to go.

"Tomorrow might not work."

"Hm?"

Faced with Obito's puzzled gaze,

Nohara Rin glanced at Mikami Yu and explained, "Yu and I already made plans for tomorrow. We're going to Konoha Hospital together..."

"?!"

The moment Obito heard that, he perked up. His eyes widened like bells as he stared in disbelief. "What plans? Where are you going? The hospital... Why are you going to the hospital? Could it be..."

For some reason, Obito secretly glanced at Rin's stomach.

"?"

Mikami Yu froze. Kids in the Shinobi World couldn't be maturing this early, could they?

Nohara Rin, on the other hand, did not think much of it and continued gently, "We're not going to see a doctor. We're going to attend classes. Yu and I signed up for Konoha Hospital's Medical Training Class through Teacher Oki. Starting this week, we have to go every weekend, so I won't be able to play with you."

"So it's a training class. I thought it was..."

Obito breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately raised his hand. "Then I want to go too!"

"Hm?"

"Rin, don't let appearances fool you. I'm actually very interested in Medical Ninjutsu too! After all, I'm going to become Hokage someday. How could I not understand how to save lives? That training class probably doesn't have a limit on the number of attendees, right? Even if it does, it's fine. I can stand in the back and listen...

"Right, Yu?"

Obito puffed out his chest and slapped it hard, then shot Mikami Yu a meaningful look.

Nohara Rin also turned an inquisitive gaze toward him.

Mikami Yu shrugged. "I don't mind."