It was late evening when Gai finally called it a day, and I had to admit it was a decent workout for me.
" How are you still standing, Naruto-kun?"
Tenten asked me as she was sitting down against a tree, looking exhausted, and Neji was in the same state. Lee was forcing himself to stand up but barely as he supported himself by placing his hands on his knees. I smirked and told her.
" I'm just built differently, Tenten-chan."
" Alright, team, take note of Naruto-kun's brilliantly burning youth, as despite being a year younger than all of you, he is still standing. Nicely done, Naruto-kun!"
Gai exclaimed with a nice guy pose, and I decided to approach the topic I originally wanted to talk to him about.
" Can we talk in private, Gai-san?"
" Oh? Certainly! I am always eager to help those in their Springtime of Youth!"
I walked away from Gai's team and directly asked.
" Can you tell me about the Eight Inner Gates beyond the basic stuff?"
" How do you know about them?"
The green beast asked me, and I answered with a logical explanation that made more sense than having a past life.
" I unlocked three of the Eight Inner Gates when I was training with the Fox Summoning Clan, and they told me about it. I also heard you're THE expert in Taijutsu in Konoha, so I figured you could give me some insights on how to safely open the Gates when and if I need them. I already covered the basic stuff like their names, their positions in the body, and to not open the last Gate unless I am willing to die."
Gai gave me a long look before saying with a serious expression.
" To open three of the Eight Inner Gates is a testament to your hard work and effort, Naruto-kun, especially without any guidance. The only thing I can tell you is that you're on the right path to mastering and unlocking the other Inner Gates; just keep on increasing the intensity of your training when it starts to get easy, and the rest will follow."
The green beast said with a toothy smile. And it was already in line with what I had in mind, but I was disappointed at not learning anything new. Whatever, let's move on to the other topic I wanted to talk about.
" There is one other thing I want to talk about, Gai-san."
" Oh? What's on your mind?"
" Ever heard of Body Tempering Manuals?"
Gai narrowed his eyes and took on a more neutral expression as he asked.
" Where did you hear about that?"
" I came across the term during my research on how to increase my training difficulty."
Gai relaxed, and I was now curious about his reaction to Body Tempering. The green beast started explaining.
" For starters, those Body Tempering Manuals have fallen out of favor since the formation of the Hidden Villages from the Warring States Era. The reason for that is simple: the Shinobi Academies of all the Five Great Nations already have set up a safe but rigorous training program that is versatile enough to accommodate most. The only exceptions to this are Clans with unique Body Tempering Methods for Taijutsu and Ninjutsu.
Overall, Body Tempering isn't worth it as they use special methods to make the body stronger, but more often than not, it comes with side effects. Just stick to training as you have been, and you'll do fine, Naruto-kun."
" Thanks, Gai-san."
I thanked him but thought to myself.
" Unfortunately, that only works when you have the luxury of time, which I doubt I have. It looks like I need to use one of those Body Tempering Manuals, and I think I might just go with all three."
With my know-how in Medical Ninjutsu, I could probably set up all three to at least not conflict with one another. Getting Poison Rebirth to play nice with Chakra Beast Blood Cauldron is going to be hard enough, but throw Lightning Forged into the mix; all it would take is a single misstep, and I would die from anything. However, I already had a few ideas, but there was one problem: I couldn't do this within Konoha.
For Lightning Forged, I have to go to the Lightning Rod Mountains in the Land of Lightning to get enough natural lighting to temper my body. Then, there is tracking down all the exotic herbs and toxins that come from different parts of the world. Ultimately, this leads to one thing: I need to slip out of Konoha for several months at the very least. With Shadow Clones, it's possible, but I can't become anything like a Rogue Ninja yet because I am still too weak to survive on my own.
I have a lot of work ahead of me.
________________________________________
After Gai called it a day, his team and Naruto went their separate ways. The green beast then went to an izakaya to drink with his friend, his rival, Kakashi Hatake. As always, he saw the silver-haired Jonin rereading one of his favorite books from the Make-Out series by Jiraiya. An izakaya wasn't Kakashi's usual scene, but he lost to Gai in his last challenge and now had to treat him to a meal as punishment.
" Kakashi, you won't believe who I ran into today! It was Naruto-kun, and he joined in on training with my team and kept up easily! The fires of his Springtime of Youth shine brilliantly!"
The green beast told his rival, and after Kakashi turned a page in his book, he looked up and asked Gai.
" Sorry, you say something?"
" Kuh, your too-cool attitude really is annoying!"
The green beast retorted while clenching his fist in mild frustration because he knew that Kakashi was serious and not pulling his leg. The silver-haired Jonin returned to reading his book and said with a bored tone.
" Just pick out what you want to eat, Gai."
" You know, Kakashi, I honestly hoped you would have a Genin team this year. We could've had some joint exercises and even competed over who's the better sensei."
Gai looked through the menu and got some sake and agedashi tofu to start him off, while Kakashi didn't order anything as he was only interested in his book. The green beast then said to his rival.
" Come on, Kakashi, at least order something; it's not youthful to eat by myself with you here."
" I'm not hungry, Gai."
" It won't kill to at least have some edamame so you can drink with me."
Kakashi looked up from his book and calmly used an excuse.
" The three Shinobi probations exist for a reason, Gai."
" Oh, no, you don't, Kakashi; those are guidelines to follow during a mission, not on our time off! Also, the probations are about moderation, not complete denial!"
When the waitress came with Gai's appetizer he placed another order but for Kakashi.
" My friend here will have the mushroom tempura platter! With Land of Lightning Sake!"
" Gai."
The silver-haired Jonin complained, and the green beast naturally ignored him. Gai knew what Kakashi liked to eat as they had more than a few eating contests for their challenges. The green beast then said.
" Come on, Kakashi, live a little! You're still in the Springtime of your Youth!"
The silver-haired Jonin just sighed and gave up because he knew when his rival got like this, the path of least resistance was to just go with the flow. Kakashi puts away his book and asks.
" I heard you mention Naruto. What about him?"
" Now you're interested."
Gai grinned as he regaled his rival on how Naruto was in the Springtime of his Youth and kept with his training regiment for his Genin team. The silver-haired Jonin thought to himself.
" I heard Naruto took after Kushina-nee, but this is a bit too much."
Kakashi briefly shuddered remembering the few times his Sensei left him, Rin, and Obito to Kushina. At the same time, he was busy with other matters, and her training regiment was even more extreme than Gai's as she was a stamina monster through and through. The green beast then said something that captured his attention.
" Not only that, but Naruto-kun is also capable of opening three of the Eight Inner Gates!"
" What!?"
The silver-haired Jonin was naturally stunned by what he heard, as even he can only open the first two gates, and Naruto wasn't even a Genin yet. Gai smiled at his rival's surprise and repeated what he said.
" Naruto-kun can open three of the Eight Inner Gates. He didn't demonstrate them, but I could tell from his body that it is possible to at least open one of the gates. He has the requirements, and if he really pulled it off without guidance, then he has a genius of effort."
Kakashi's meal and sake reached him, but he was too lost in thought to pay it any mind. The silver-haired Jonin felt complicated at what he heard. On one hand, Naruto was training hard. However, on the other hand, Naruto was training hard enough to unlock the Eight Inner Gates, which was a Forbidden Jutsu for good reason.
Ultimately, Kakashi decided to just drink with Gai for now and make a report to the Hokage tomorrow.
________________________________________
" Alright, you know what to do?"
" Yeah, yeah, boss. Maintain the status quo and keep on skipping classes while disappearing to the Fox Clan like usual."
My Shadow Clone replied with a bored look as I honestly felt nervous. I was leaving Konoha on my own to go to the Land of Lightning to train at the Lightning Rod Mountains while quietly gathering the herbs and toxins I needed for the theoretical Body Tempering I was working on to combine Poison Rebirth, Chakra Beast Blood Cauldron, and Lightning Forged. Just about anything could go wrong, but a part of me was also excited.
I was seeing the world outside of this accursed village. My Shadow Clone turned off the lights of my apartment, and I slipped out with my backpack. I looked up at the full moon as I reached Hokage Rock, and I formed the Ram hand sign to use the Transformation Jutsu. I spent a lot of time researching birds whenever I had a moment because I had a hypothesis.
If my Transformation Jutsu was good enough and I came up with the right form, I could transform into a bird and fly vast distances. I took a moment to take a deep breath as this was a sink-or-swim moment. Either I figure out how to fly, I get the theory down, or I get a lot of broken bones. Walking to the Land of Lightning wasn't going to cut it; I needed the power of flight. Only by being able to fly can I have a chance of setting the foundations for my future growth that I desperately needed through Body Tempering.
I transformed into a giant hawk that could, in theory, allow me to fly despite my mass. I took a moment to inspect my Transformation. The feathers were the right shape, and all the portions were right. I spread my wings and started to run while flapping my wings. I jumped off Hokage Rock, and I didn't immediately plummet to the ground. I felt the subtle air currents through my Transformation and flapped my wings.
My heart was pounding as I started to, at the very least, glide. I looked down at the village from the air and felt elation at being literally above it. An evil thought crossed my mind.
" Should I try bombing them?"
I shook my head in denial as payback can come later. Strength and power come first. As I flew over Konoha's defensive walls, I felt a weight I didn't know I was carrying disappear and thought to myself as I quickly realized why.
" Ah, I felt trapped and suffocated in that village."
Leaving the village like this was different than Reverse Summoning to the Fox Clan. It was completely by my power, however little, alone. I flapped my wings to gain altitude as I saw the nighttime horizon stretch out who knows how far and felt a sense of freedom I hadn't felt before. You know I might just not come back, screw the consequences.