Planning

After enjoying a warm dinner at Minato's home and sampling the couple's cooking, Asami Ri took his leave with a polite smile.

He stepped out of the warm glow of the lights, and the streetlamps on either side stretched his shadow long.

Instead of going home, he turned toward another small courtyard—Rin Nohara's home.

"Ri? Is something urgent? It's so late."

Rin Nohara's eyes were slightly red when she opened the door. Clearly, she had yet to recover from her grief.

Looking a little puzzled, she welcomed Asami Ri inside and poured him a cup of warm water.

"Rin, there's something I'd like to ask of you." Asami Ri set down his cup, his expression unusually solemn.

"Go ahead. If it's something I can do, I'll help."

"What happened at Kannabi Bridge... really shook me." Asami Ri lowered his eyes, his voice heavy. "I realized that a shinobi trained solely for combat has far too few options when something unexpected happens. If I'd known Medical Ninjutsu back then, perhaps things would have turned out differently."

He raised his head and looked earnestly at Rin Nohara. "I want to learn Medical Ninjutsu from you. Please."

Rin Nohara paused, looking hesitant. "But I'm still figuring things out myself. If you really want to learn, wouldn't it be better to enroll in a structured training program at Konoha Hospital?"

"No. Of everyone in Konoha, you're the most talented Medical Ninja I've ever met."

Asami Ri looked straight into her eyes, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "You can count on one hand the Medical Ninjas who mastered the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique at twelve. In my eyes, you're the person most likely to carry on Lady Tsunade's legacy. I trust you more than those instructors at the hospital who only follow the prescribed steps."

Those words struck right at Rin Nohara's heart, bringing a faint blush to her face.

Princess Tsunade was not merely the idol of every female shinobi in Konoha, but the goal she strove toward.

Hearing such high praise from her teammate, Rin Nohara finally broke into a smile, her cheeks flushed.

"If you believe in me that much... then I'll do it, Ri."

Rin Nohara turned and entered her study. Before long, she struggled back out with a large stack of thick books and dropped them onto the coffee table with a thud, stirring up a faint cloud of dust.

"This covers the fundamentals of Pharmacology, this is the Human Meridian Chart, and this one is the Case Catalog from previous years."

Rin Nohara looked at Asami Ri, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"The first hurdle in learning Medical Ninjutsu is memorization. Ri, I'll check your progress regularly. If you don't pass, I can be very strict."

Asami Ri looked at the specialized books, stacked nearly half as tall as a person. The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly before he managed a stiff, emphatic nod.

"...Understood."

Leaving Rin Nohara's home, Asami Ri walked beneath the moonlight with that heavy stack of knowledge in his arms.

He needed medical knowledge not to treat illnesses or save lives, but to dissect that mass of White Zetsu Tissue and analyze the blood containing the Uchiha's power.

It would also lay the groundwork for the future path he had planned.

And Rin Nohara was the most aboveboard and reliable source of knowledge he currently had access to.

For a month, Asami Ri maintained a highly regular routine.

In the mornings, as dawn's first light emerged, the air still held the cool dampness unique to grass and trees.

When Asami Ri stepped onto the training grounds, Might Guy's spirited roars had already shattered the morning quiet.

He seemed to have thrown more than a thousand punches already, visible waves of heat rising from his body.

"Oh! Ri, my dear friend! You're finally here!" Guy stopped, flashed his gleaming white teeth, and thrust his thumb high, as though phantom waves were surging behind him. "Can you feel it? The rhythm of the rising sun! Let our sweat fuel the blazing fire of youth, starting right now!"

Asami Ri nodded slightly and wasted no words, settling into a fighting stance. "Come on, Guy."

The fight erupted in an instant.

"Eight Gates Formation—Fourth Gate of Pain, open!"

With Guy's thunderous shout, the Chakra inside him broke free of its restraints, and dark green vapor burst from his body.

Guy's skin turned dark red as his capillaries dilated. Beneath his feet, the earth could not withstand the explosive pressure and cracked like a spiderweb.

Fast—too fast for the naked eye to follow!

Guy became a blurred afterimage, the muscles in his arms bulging, every punch carrying an explosive crack that tore through the air.

It was absolute violence born of pure speed and strength combined. The shock waves from each strike were enough to snap a tree too thick to wrap one's arms around.

Bang!

Asami Ri crossed his arms before his chest to block, yet the tremendous force still blasted him backward. His feet plowed two deep furrows through the ground, and he barely steadied himself after sliding more than ten meters.

The violent tremors coursing through his arms left them almost numb.

Without Celestial Pivot, that single punch would have ended the fight.

At that moment, the world took on a strange digital form in Asami Ri's vision.

[Target strength increased by 300%. Attack frequency continuing to rise.]

[Building dynamics model... detecting signs of muscle contraction... calculating strike trajectories...]

Countless spectral blue prediction lines flickered wildly deep within Asami Ri's pupils, precisely marking the coordinates where Guy would strike next.

He turned sideways, ducked, and shifted in tiny steps. Each dodge was like a waltz on a knife's edge, narrowly avoiding punches powerful enough to kill him.

This pressure from sheer strength... Asami Ri suppressed the blood surging in his chest. Bloodlines, forbidden techniques, talent... without Celestial Pivot's help, ordinary people wouldn't even have a chance to see these monsters clearly.

In Guy's eyes, however, Asami Ri was like a drifting feather. No matter how heavy his punches were, he could never quite catch his opponent's solid form.

"That's the feeling! Ri! Finding a way to survive in the face of despair—that's the true meaning of youth!" Guy's blood boiled anew, and his attacks grew even more ferocious.

Only after Asami Ri finished his morning training with Guy did Kakashi appear at the edge of the training grounds, walking somewhat sluggishly through the scattered sunlight.

Since the battle at Kannabi Bridge, the cold young prodigy he had once been seemed to have vanished.

Though Obito's dying request had untied the knot that had long troubled his heart, it had also left a heavy mark on him.

He had begun to grow somewhat lax, weariness occasionally showing in his eyes, and had become a little like Obito.

"Hey, Ri. Sorry, I got a little lost on the road of life." Kakashi raised a hand in a languid greeting. Even his voice had lost its former sharpness.

"I've recovered most of my stamina. We can start whenever you're ready." Asami Ri calmed his breathing after the intense training, his expression composed.

"Then let's continue yesterday's exchange."

The moment Kakashi finished speaking, his gaze changed.

He leaned forward slightly and brought the fingers of his right hand together. Deep blue Lightning Release Chakra gathered furiously in his palm.

In an instant, a piercing cry echoed across the training grounds, as though a thousand birds were calling at once.

"Destructive power isn't the only essence of Chidori," Kakashi explained quietly as he maintained the lightning in his palm. "The key is using high-frequency electrical currents to stimulate the muscles and nervous system throughout the body. That overloaded activation pushes your speed beyond its original limits, giving this technique an unavoidable piercing strike."

He lunged forward, his body becoming a streak of azure lightning. The electricity in his palm traced a straight white line through the air.

Facing him, Asami Ri chose not to meet the attack head-on.

He rapidly formed hand seals, guiding the Lightning Release Chakra through his body with precision.

The Lightning Ball, originally condensed into a sphere, began to stretch under Asami Ri's control.

Crackle!

The rounded mass of lightning instantly broke apart. Then, with a sweep of Asami Ri's hand, it extended into a lightning whip several meters long, flashing with dazzling white light.

He had completely abandoned Lightning Release's most basic spherical structure, completing the Shape Transformation from a "point" to a "line."

The Lightning Whip swept out, tracing an elegant arc through the air. It was no longer a rigid current, but carried a hint of water's fluid grace.

Kakashi darted aside, avoiding the lash. Surprise flashed through his previously languid eyes. "You've advanced your Shape Transformation already? Ri, your control... is nothing like an ordinary Chunin's."

"It's still not enough."

Asami Ri felt the numbness in his fingertips, the flickering lightning reflected in his pupils.

This whip was something he had gained while studying Storm Release.

Only when Water Release Chakra and Lightning Release Chakra blended perfectly would that wondrous, laser-like power truly belong to him.

"Kakashi, again. Let me see how far Chidori can go."

The Lightning Whip lashed a scorched black mark into the ground. With the light at his back, Asami Ri took the offensive.