A month later, deep within the back mountain training grounds behind Konoha, the sound of chopping wind suddenly exploded through the forest.
"Precept-Breaking Blade, Thirty-Sixth Form!"
"Falling Mortal World!"
A green figure flashed rapidly between the trees as a wooden sword tore through the air with astonishing force before slamming heavily into the trunk of a giant tree.
Crackβ
The sharp sound of splintering wood echoed throughout the clearing.
Might Guy looked down at the wooden sword in his hand and sighed helplessly.
The blade had broken cleanly in half again.
"Ah... it broke again."
He casually tossed the broken section aside before dropping onto the grass with a tired expression.
This was already the twelfth wooden sword destroyed this month.
At first, he had simply used crude tree branches as substitutes.
Later, after realizing ordinary branches shattered too easily, he personally carved several proper wooden swords himself.
After those also failed miserably, he even spent extra money asking a village carpenter to reinforce several training swords specifically for him.
In the end, every single one of them still broke apart after only a few rounds of training.
Not a single wooden sword could survive more than three complete cycles of the Precept-Breaking Blade.
Might Guy glanced toward the floating System panel before rubbing his forehead with a headache.
[Precept-Breaking Blade (Medium Grade): 12 (Initial Mastery)]
This was the newest Martial Skill he had obtained from the Random Martial Skill Gift Pack after Great Vajra Leg reached the Perfection Realm.
At this point, Might Guy had already figured out the pattern behind obtaining Shaolin Martial Skills.
Every time he cultivated one Martial Skill to Perfection, the System rewarded him with another Martial Skill Gift Pack.
Then the process repeated itself endlessly.
The new Martial Skill, Precept-Breaking Blade, contained a total of forty-nine forms.
Or more accurately, forty-nine consecutive slashes.
Only after successfully executing all forty-nine slashes in one uninterrupted sequence would his proficiency increase by one point.
The biggest problem was that after completing one full sequence, his entire body became exhausted to the point where even lifting his arm felt difficult.
Fortunately, thanks to the terrifying recovery speed granted by the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, he could still barely practice it three times a day.
Once in the morning.
Once at noon.
Once at night.
That meant three proficiency points per day while still leaving enough energy for his other training routines.
Under normal circumstances, it would not take too long to raise the skill to Perfection.
Yet after an entire month had passed, his proficiency had only reached twelve points.
The reason was extremely simple.
He had no proper weapon to train with.
Ordinary wooden swords simply could not endure the terrifying force generated by the Precept-Breaking Blade.
Even reinforced wooden swords were practically disposable consumables.
Over this single month alone, he had already spent hundreds of Ryo just replacing broken training swords.
As for real ninja blades?
Even the cheapest decent sword would cost at least ten thousand Ryo.
"So poor..."
Might Guy lay flat on the grass while staring helplessly at the sky above.
A month ago, after selling the captured Ninja Bear cub, each of them had received fifty thousand Ryo.
At that time, he genuinely believed himself rich.
Now?
Not a single coin remained.
Every last bit was gone.
Where had the money gone?
Surprisingly, not toward weapons.
The true reason could be summarized in a single word.
Food.
Ever since the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic entered the Mastery Realm, his body's appetite had become absolutely terrifying.
Every morning after waking up, he felt hungry enough to chew through the bed itself.
One bowl of rice?
Not enough.
Two bowls?
Barely qualified as a snack.
Three bowls?
Only enough to stop the hunger temporarily.
If his training intensity increased even slightly, he could easily consume the entire family's food reserves for several days in one sitting.
A few days ago, Might Duy had stared at the completely empty rice jar with reddened eyes while speaking in a trembling voice.
"Might Guy... Dad can no longer afford to feed you..."
At that moment, Might Guy himself had fallen silent.
What exactly could he say in response?
Could he seriously tell Duy, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll just go kick another Ninja Bear unconscious and sell it again"?
The problem was that giant bears did not conveniently appear every day.
During this single month, the entire fifty thousand Ryo had practically disappeared straight into his stomach.
Might Guy silently reached into his pocket before pulling out the remaining coins.
He carefully counted them one by one.
"Forty-three Ryo..."
After putting the coins away again, he collapsed backward onto the grass.
Sunlight filtered through the forest leaves and shone directly onto his face, making him squint slightly.
Then, suddenly, two words appeared inside his mind.
Part-time job.
Might Guy abruptly sat upright.
His eyes instantly lit up.
That's right!
A blacksmith shop!
If he worked at a blacksmith shop, whether swinging hammers or pulling bellows, all of it counted as physical labor training.
Swinging a hammer could strengthen his arms.
Pulling bellows could improve his endurance.
And on top of that, he could earn money.
Maybe he could even obtain discarded defective ninja blades for training.
Perfect!
Might Guy suddenly slapped his thigh excitedly.
"Youth! This is youth!"
He immediately jumped to his feet full of motivation.
However, after standing up, he suddenly froze again.
There was still one major problem.
Where exactly could he find a blacksmith shop?
Although he was already familiar with Konoha Village, the only routes he truly knew well were the paths between home, the Academy, the training grounds, and the back mountain.
He had never specifically paid attention to places like weapon shops before.
Right at that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded nearby.
Uchiha Obito burst through the trees while panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face after completing several laps around the back mountain.
The moment Might Guy saw him, his eyes immediately brightened again.
The Uchiha Clan.
One of Konoha's most famous clans.
Although most people only associated them with the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan was also one of the village's top blacksmithing families.
Many of Konoha's finest ninja tools originated from the Uchiha Clan's workshops.
Even if Obito himself was a dead last, he was still an Uchiha.
"Obito."
"Hmm?"
"Do you know anyone who works at a blacksmith shop?"
Obito froze slightly before straightening proudly.
"Of course. My second uncle works in the clan's forge. Why?"
Might Guy answered honestly without hesitation.
"I want to work part-time."
"Work part-time?!"
Obito's mouth instantly dropped open.
"You? Working part-time?"
"Yeah."
"Wait... are you seriously short on money already?"
"Yes."
Obito paused briefly before suddenly remembering something important.
"Oh right, didn't you receive fifty thousand Ryo from selling the Ninja Bear last month?"
He stared at Guy in disbelief.
"You spent all of it already?!"
Might Guy nodded calmly.
"Spent it all."
Obito's eyes widened even further.
"Fifty thousand Ryo in a single month?! What exactly did you spend it on?!"
Might Guy thought seriously for several seconds before answering truthfully.
"I ate it."
...
Obito completely fell silent.
He slowly looked Might Guy up and down several times.
Still the same thick eyebrows.
Still the same green outfit.
Still the same energetic face.
Yet somehow, his gaze toward Guy gradually became stranger and stranger.
It was almost as though he were observing some kind of terrifying mythical beast.
"You... ate fifty thousand Ryo worth of food in one month?"
Might Guy corrected him seriously.
"Not one month."
"Twenty-three days."
Obito: "..."
At that moment, he suddenly understood why Might Duy constantly accepted endless missions without rest.
Raising a son like this truly required risking one's life.
"Fine..." Obito scratched his head helplessly. "I'll go ask my second uncle for you. But his personality is pretty strange, so he might not agree."
Might Guy nodded immediately.
"Then let's go now."
Obito blinked blankly.
"Now?"
"Yeah." Might Guy grinned brightly before giving another thumbs-up. "Training one day earlier or later doesn't matter much anyway. Youth must never be wasted!"
Obito looked at Guy's shining teeth before his mouth twitched helplessly.
"Your version of youth really is terrifying..."
The two quickly packed up their belongings before walking out of the back mountain together.
After walking several steps, Obito suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, Kakashi sent us a letter a few days ago."
Might Guy's footsteps paused slightly.
"What did he say?"
Obito curled his lips.
"He said he got assigned to Minato Namikaze's team and gets worked half to death every single day. Oh, and he also said..."
Obito pointed toward himself and Guy with an annoyed expression.
"...that the two of us dead lasts are probably still slacking off at the Academy."
Might Guy immediately laughed.
"Then next time we meet him, let's show him how powerful dead lasts can become."
Obito also grinned proudly.
"Exactly! Let's shock that arrogant guy to death!"
The two boys continued walking side by side toward the direction of the Uchiha Clan compound.