Konoha: I Have a Gravity Training Room

In the original story, he had only taught Rock Lee, but he must have taught Neji and Tenten as well.

It was just that Neji had his family's techniques, while Tenten was too physically weak to learn it. The Eight Gates were not easy to master either; even a genius like Kakashi had only learned the First Gate with great difficulty.

But since Might Guy had agreed to teach him, Xia Mu learning the Eight Gates was settled.

Tenten was delighted, already looking forward to going back and having Xia Mu praise and kiss her.

"Might Guy, I want to learn too!" Rock Lee hurriedly raised his hand.

"Hahaha! As long as you're willing to learn, I'll teach you. But learning the Eight Gates is very tough!"

"I'm not afraid of hardship!"

"Excellent! Such spirit! Then let me first see how strong you all are!"

Afterward, Might Guy brought the three of them to the training ground and began one-on-one sparring. He wanted to gauge the level of his three students before deciding how best to teach them.

Rock Lee went first and was defeated in just a few moves.

Neji went second. The Byakugan combined with the Hyuga Gentle Fist was indeed formidable; he probably had the strength of a Chunin.

Tenten was last.

Tenten took a deep breath and tightened her forehead protector. This was her first time fighting a real ninja, and her opponent was an elite Jonin. The pressure was immense, but she had confidence in herself. Xia Mu and Shino had helped her so much, and she had grown much stronger. Even if she lost, she certainly would not lose too badly.

"Come on, Tenten. Give it everything you've got!" Might Guy took his stance.

Tenten immediately pulled out two scrolls, then frantically summoned ninja tools. Dense kunai and shuriken rained down on Might Guy.

Might Guy was startled and hurriedly got serious. He dodged and blocked, suffering no injury whatsoever.

Still, he had no choice but to take Tenten seriously.

She had just graduated, yet she could use the Summoning Jutsu so skillfully and summon such a large number of ninja tools. That barrage alone could probably wipe out a group of ordinary Genin.

What a pleasant surprise. He had not expected this class to contain such a hidden gem.

Rock Lee broke out in a cold sweat. Tenten had never used this move at school, so he had thought she was only average. He had not expected her to be this terrifying.

Neji, meanwhile, was considering how he would deal with that move. He would probably have to use Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven; dodging would not be easy.

Tenten was not surprised to see that Might Guy was unharmed. With a flick of her wrist, she threw a special shuriken.

Might Guy suspected nothing and blocked it with a kunai. To his surprise, the shuriken suddenly exploded, and mist instantly enveloped him. He noticed something wrong after taking only a slight breath and immediately held his breath.

"Shuriken like this too? They're truly impossible to guard against!"

The next second, several more shuriken fell, landing around him and embedding themselves deeply into the ground. Then came a series of clicks as hooked steel wires suddenly sprang from the shuriken, catching on his bodysuit and making it difficult for him to break free for a moment.

This was exactly what Tenten had been waiting for. She took out another scroll, formed hand seals at high speed, and summoned.

"Take this! Giant Rock Drop!"

A boulder the size of a house suddenly appeared above Guy's head. Startled, Guy scrambled to tear free of the steel wires, but there was no time to run.

He threw a fierce upward punch and actually shattered the boulder.

Tenten was still not surprised. Holding a kunai, she charged straight at him. Her kunai collided with Guy's, and the two locked in a stalemate. Then four steel wires suddenly shot from her gloves toward Guy's forehead.

"Damn! Another sneak attack!"

Guy hurriedly bent backward into a bridge to evade the wires, but Tenten seized the chance to kick him in the stomach, sending him rolling away.

Rock Lee was already dumbfounded, and Neji had grown serious as well. Tenten's performance had far exceeded their expectations.

Guy looked battered, but he had not actually suffered much damage. Rising to his feet, he gave Tenten a thumbs-up. "Tenten, you probably have Chunin-level strength already. Well done!"

Tenten did not get smug. "Might Guy, how much of your strength did you use?"

Guy merely grinned and refused to answer. "Well, I didn't use my full strength, anyway. But I can guarantee that you're definitely Chunin-level. As for Jonin... you probably can't beat one, but you might be able to escape."

"Is that so? I'm still far from strong enough."

Tenten was not satisfied.

Fortunately, she was not discouraged either, because she had not yet revealed her trump card. She had already reached Chunin-level just by using a few tricks. If she brought out her trump card, she would definitely be Jonin-level. Once she grew a little more, she would absolutely become an elite Jonin.

Guy was extremely satisfied with his students' performances. "You're all excellent! It's getting late today, so as your teacher, I'll treat you to Grilled Meat. Tomorrow, we start taking missions!"

Neji looked at Tenten with a solemn expression. He felt that she was definitely a formidable opponent. He would find a chance to spar with her someday.

Chapter 46: Hokage Cards

When the upperclassmen graduated, the other grades happened to be on break.

Xia Mu was currently by the river playing Ninja Kill with his friends, but he was somewhat distracted.

Over the years, he had never found an opportunity to get acquainted with Might Guy. Either they had not crossed paths, or the timing had been wrong when they did, so it had kept getting delayed.

Tenten had always been the key to Xia Mu getting to know Might Guy.

Of course, he was sincere about Tenten. But because of his appearance, Tenten had changed. She was very strong now, and it might affect the original plot.

If Tenten did not end up on Might Guy's Team, Xia Mu would be in serious trouble.

"Xia Mu, are you worried about Tenten?"

Ino spoke from beside him. "You know Tenten's strength best. What's there to worry about? Focus on the cards."

Her best friend Sakura tugged at Ino. "Ino, don't say that. Xia Mu and Tenten have been together for so many years. Now that Tenten has become a ninja, it's only natural that Xia Mu would worry."

Thanks to Ino taking the initiative back then, the two best friends had finally buried the hatchet and were now very close again.

Still, they occasionally insulted each other over trivial things. Sakura called Ino Pig, while Ino called Sakura Forehead. Fortunately, it did not affect their friendship; it just made things a little noisy.

Hearing that, Xia Mu used Dam Who Repair Ha several times in a row, directly killing the enemy ninja, Rogue Ninja, usurper, spy, and even his own allies. Only his Shadow remained alive, and the battle ended with the Shadow's victory.

Naruto immediately exploded. "Xia Mu, who plays cards like that? You killed your own allies too, dattebayo!"

Shikamaru said, "Even so, it was still a win."

That was indeed how the card game worked. Even if everyone else died and only the Shadow remained, it still counted as a victory in the village defense battle. Clearly, however, Naruto could not accept that kind of outcome.

But Naruto had no right to lecture him.

Xia Mu looked Naruto directly in the eye. "Naruto, when you play as the Shadow, you misfire on your allies all the time. Why are you yelling at me now?"

Naruto choked, immediately looking guilty. He had no way to take the moral high ground and lecture Xia Mu.

Shino was the one who spoke fairly. "Naruto, this is only a game. Any means are acceptable for victory. But in reality, Xia Mu treasures his companions deeply and would never do such a thing. You're the one who's become too obsessed with the game and can no longer distinguish it from reality."

With that one sentence, everyone's eyes turned to Naruto.

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. He really had become too obsessed with Ninja Kill, especially with the feeling of being the Shadow in the game.

A simple analysis of Naruto's mindset made it understandable. He was the Dead Last, and the Nine-Tails' Chakra disrupted him from time to time, making it difficult for him even to control his Chakra. Forget becoming Hokage in the future—he might not even be able to graduate from the academy. At a time like this, he needed somewhere to escape. There had been no such place in the original story, but now there was Ninja Kill.

As long as he hid in the game, Naruto Uzumaki had a chance to become Hokage!

Now that Shino had pointed it out so bluntly, Naruto felt rather embarrassed.

Xia Mu directly gathered up the cards. "Naruto's symptoms are a little serious. From now on, nobody should play cards with Naruto for the time being. We'll see how things are after a while."

Naturally, everyone agreed.

Ninja Kill was fun, but no one else was overly obsessed with it. At the very least, they could not neglect their studies and training, and their parents kept an eye on them, so the game did not affect them too deeply.

Naruto's circumstances were special, which was why he had become addicted. That could not continue; he needed to quit for a while.

"How can you do this?!" Naruto immediately panicked.

But everyone really did stop playing cards. Instead, they began having fun by the river—fishing, grilling fish, lying around somewhere, or skipping stones. In short, anything but playing cards.

Even gentle Hinata shyly spoke up. "Na-Naruto, I think being too addicted to cards is bad too..."

Naruto scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Hinata, I look pretty lame like this, huh? I know everyone is doing this for my own good, dattebayo. Don't worry. I can control myself."

He said that, but his eyes kept drifting toward the cards placed nearby.

His symptoms were rather serious.

Xia Mu was helpless. If this savior was ruined because of the card game he had invented, then no one would be around to fight Lady Kaguya in the future, and that would be a problem. Although Xia Mu was confident that he could defeat the Otsutsuki someday, it would still be better to let the savior grow up properly. Better safe than sorry.

So he took out a character card and waved it in front of Naruto. "Naruto, look at this."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "It's Old Man Third's character card! Xia Mu, you actually have one!"

The others pricked up their ears and immediately crowded around. Ninja Kill cards had been out for years, yet there had never been any Hokage characters. Although players had repeatedly suggested them, the creators had always refused. The pirated Hokage character cards on the market were not recognized either. Now that Xia Mu had suddenly taken out a Third Hokage character card, everyone was naturally interested.

Xia Mu explained, "The Hokage is the symbol of our Konoha Village. Without the Third Hokage's approval, he could not be made into a card. But not long ago, the Third Hokage allowed me to create a character card based on him. The updated character cards will be announced soon, and everyone will be able to buy them then. This one was just designed and has not gone on sale yet."

Hearing this, everyone stared eagerly at the card in Xia Mu's hand.

After all, it was currently the only Hokage character card!

The Third Hokage was not some handsome man or stunning beauty, but he was the Hokage. He was someone admired by countless people. Who would not want his card?

Although Xia Mu said it would be sold soon, everyone wanted to get their hands on it first and show it off.

Naruto hurriedly moved closer to Xia Mu. "Xia Mu, Xia Mu, can you give me that card?"

Xia Mu pulled the card back. "It's not impossible, but you're too addicted to the game. Giving you this Third Hokage card now would only harm you..."

"Xia Mu, I promise I won't get addicted anymore. Please give me Old Man Third's card!" Naruto pleaded.

"Naruto, you've got some nerve. We want it too, you know!" the others chimed in.

"Alright, alright. Don't rush."

Xia Mu persuaded them, "Naruto's symptoms are rather serious right now, so I'll use this card to keep him in check. One month. As long as Naruto goes one month without playing cards, I'll give him this Hokage card as a reward. But if he can't do it, then sorry—this card will go to someone else."

At that, all his friends wore malicious expressions.

Even Hinata hesitated. Even in the face of her beloved Naruto, she did not want to give up the Hokage card.

Chapter 47: Teaching Tree Climbing and Water Walking Early

"Hehe, Naruto, let's play cards." Kiba Inuzuka suggested sinisterly.

"Yeah, yeah. Since you're so addicted, we'll keep playing with you." Ino and Sakura smiled even more deviously.

"No! I won't play cards at all this month! Don't even think about tempting me, dattebayo! I'll definitely go one month without playing Ninja Kill and make Xia Mu give me Old Man Third's character card, dattebayo!"

Naruto loudly declared his resolve, then covered his ears to keep everyone from influencing him.

There was nothing they could do, so they all looked at Xia Mu.

Xia Mu gave them a reassuring look, pulled them aside, and whispered, "The Hokage has already agreed to let the Third Hokage character card be sold in a month, so you'll all be able to buy one then. Naruto is too addicted to the game right now, and that's not a good thing. So let him stew for a month and clear his head."

Everyone knew it was for Naruto's own good, so they nodded.

Besides, once Naruto received the Hokage character card in a month and discovered that it was already being sold everywhere, it would definitely be amusing.

Shikamaru was curious about the Hokage character card's abilities, so he leaned over to take a look. He discovered that it had been designed around the Third Hokage's title as the Professor of Ninjutsu. In other words, the Third Hokage could activate any of the Five Elemental Ninjutsu using just one arbitrary card. It was even more outrageous than the Uchiha Sharingan and the Hyuga Byakugan.

But it was a Hokage card, so being overpowered was normal.

If the Hokage was not strong, who would serve as the village's pillar?

Shikamaru even thought that the Third Hokage had allowed Xia Mu to create Hokage cards to promote the Hokage's strength. After all, Ninja Kill had truly become incredibly popular over the years.

Shikamaru had guessed correctly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had indeed seen the promotional value of the cards, which was why he had advocated having Xia Mu add a Hokage card. Moreover, he only allowed the Third Hokage card to be added, since the Third Hokage was currently in power. The other Hokage cards had naturally been made as well, but only one of each, and they were currently in Hiruzen Sarutobi's possession.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally overseen the Third Hokage character card's design. He had personally added the Five Elemental mastery ability as well. The reason it was so overpowered was entirely because Hiruzen Sarutobi was narcissistic; it had nothing to do with Xia Mu.

Xia Mu did not even know that Danzo had heard about the Third Hokage card and cursed Hiruzen Sarutobi to his face for being shameless.

It was truly regrettable that no one got to witness that dramatic exchange over the Hokage card.

Besides that, the card characters needed updating to spark another buying frenzy among players.

This time, it was not just the Hokage character card being added. Other heroic figures had also been turned into cards, all waiting for the update in a month. They would definitely sell like crazy again then.

This game really was extremely profitable. Xia Mu's father-in-law was making a fortune just from producing cards.

However, the introduction of Hokage character cards would inevitably lead to power creep, which was not a good thing. Fortunately, only one Hokage card had been added, and players all acknowledged the Hokage's strength, so there would be no problem for now.

Once the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Hokage were added someday, people would probably argue endlessly.

By then, which Hokage was stronger would become a hot topic.

That was getting off topic.