The days continued passing in an almost mechanical rhythm that felt dull, tedious, and repetitive, yet strangely fulfilling at the same time. Every morning before sunrise, Might Guy would wake up and run ten kilometers toward the back mountain training grounds before rushing back to attend classes at the Ninja Academy. After school ended, he would immediately head toward the Uchiha Forge, where the blazing furnace flames and constant sounds of hammering iron accompanied him until nightfall. Only after dark would he finally sit down to eat dinner before continuing with blade practice, and once blade practice ended, he would head toward the waterfall to stand beneath the freezing torrent while endlessly poking at rocks for another two hours. By the time he returned home every night, it was already long past midnight, and he would collapse into sleep almost instantly the moment his body touched the bed.
Day after day, month after month, the same exhausting cycle repeated endlessly. Before he even realized it, two more months quietly passed.
...
Today happened to be a holiday at the Ninja Academy, and for the first time in two whole months, Guy did not go to the blacksmith shop. Before dawn had fully broken, he quietly slipped into the back mountain alone and headed straight toward the waterfall. It was not because he was tired, nor because he wanted rest. Instead, he could vaguely feel something approaching. He was close. Very close. There was only one final layer left.
The Great Vajra Finger had remained stuck at 999 proficiency points for nearly three full months already. Ever since the night he kicked away the giant Ninja Bear and comprehended the perfection realm of the Great Vajra Leg, he had gradually realized something important. The Great Vajra Finger no longer required additional training volume. What it needed now was enlightenment. It needed comprehension. It needed that final layer of understanding capable of breaking through the paper-thin barrier standing before him. Yet despite poking rocks every single day for nearly three months straight, that final barrier simply refused to shatter.
Guy slowly removed his shirt before stepping beneath the waterfall. Autumn had already arrived, and the mountain water carried an icy chill capable of making ordinary people shiver uncontrollably. However, this degree of cold no longer affected him at all. He walked directly beneath the crashing torrent and stopped before the massive rock he had poked thousands upon thousands of times over the past months.
At this point, the thing barely resembled a rock anymore.
Its surface was filled with countless holes of varying depths and sizes. Some holes were deep enough to fit an entire finger inside, while others were only tiny puncture marks no larger than grains of rice. The deepest hole of all was created last night, when one thrust from his finger had pierced completely into the stone.
Guy slowly inhaled before raising his hand once more and beginning his training again.
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
The waterfall crashed heavily against his shoulders and head with enough force to make ordinary people collapse from exhaustion, yet after these months of training, his body had long since adapted to the pressure. Thousands of strikes passed continuously. Two thousand. Three thousand. Five thousand. His fingers had already gone numb long ago, but the warm currents of the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic continuously circulated throughout his body, suppressing the numbness while endlessly generating fresh strength.
So he continued.
Seven thousand strikes.
Eight thousand strikes.
Ten thousand strikes.
The sun gradually rose high overhead before slowly beginning its descent westward once more. At some point, Guy completely lost track of how many times he had poked forward. His mind gradually became emptier and emptier until eventually the only remaining sound inside his world was the endless roar of the waterfall itself.
Then suddenly, he remembered something Uchiha Taoye once said while forging iron.
"There are no shortcuts in blacksmithing. You strike the iron over and over until the iron remembers you, and you remember the iron."
Guy slowly lowered his gaze toward the rock before him.
The rock remembered him.
And he remembered the rock.
Then what about his fingers?
Guy slowly raised his hand and stared at his own index and middle fingers. Three months ago, those two fingers had swollen so badly they resembled carrots, but now the swelling had completely disappeared. However, the knuckles had become nearly twice as thick as before, and the fingertips were covered with callouses as rough and hard as tree bark. Even the fingernails could never truly be cleaned anymore, permanently stained with rust and stone dust.
These were the hands of a six-year-old child.
Yet they resembled the hands of someone who had spent twenty years performing hard labor.
Guy quietly stared at those fingers for a long time before a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
Blacksmithing involved striking.
Rock poking involved piercing.
Then what if, during the act of piercing, he also incorporated the force of striking?
Guy slowly raised his hand again toward the rock. This time, he did not exert strength immediately. Instead, he slowly extended his fingers forward. The moment his fingertips touched the rock, a loud buzzing sound exploded inside his mind. Every hammer strike, every finger thrust, every drop of sweat, and every exhausted breath from the past three months surged upward simultaneously.
Thenβ
Puff.
A soft sound quietly echoed out beneath the waterfall.
Guy's fingers sank directly into the rock.
Not like piercing stone.
More like piercing tofu.
Guy froze briefly, but before he could react further, an overwhelming force suddenly surged outward from his fingertips. He could not suppress it, nor did he want to suppress it. Almost instinctively, Guy suddenly turned around and thrust a finger behind him.
Boom!!!
Golden light violently exploded from his fingertips as a massive phantom finger materialized within the waterfall before rapidly expanding outward. It grew ten times larger, then twenty times larger, then thirty times larger, until an enormous golden finger appeared within the torrent itself while perfectly mirroring Guy's thrusting motion.
The dazzling radiance illuminated the entire waterfall area.
Then the waterfall stopped.
For one single instant, the crashing torrent descending from above was forcibly split apart by the gigantic golden finger phantom. The flowing water was completely severed for an entire second before the golden light slowly dissipated and the waterfall crashed downward once more.
Guy slowly withdrew his fingers before lowering his head to stare at them again.
Still the same two fingers.
Yet somehow, they felt completely different now.
They seemed heavier.
Yet lighter at the same time.
Then the System's voice finally echoed inside his mind.
[Great Vajra Finger: Perfection Realm Achieved]
Guy remained frozen for two entire seconds before suddenly roaring toward the sky.
"I BROKE THROUGH!!!"
His voice exploded across the mountain forest, startling countless birds into flight.
"I FINALLY BROKE THROUGH!!!"
Guy raised both arms toward the sky, the waterfall, and the setting sun while shouting loudly.
"THREE MONTHS!!! A FULL THREE MONTHS!!!"
After shouting, he stood beneath the waterfall while breathing heavily. The freezing water continuously poured down from above, yet his entire body felt burning hot. Three whole months had passed without battles, opponents, or sudden opportunities for enlightenment. There had only been endless repetition every single day. Poking rocks. Training. Repeating the same movements over and over again.
And finally...
He succeeded.
[Congratulations to the Host for reaching the Perfection Realm in the Low Grade Supreme Technique: Great Vajra Finger]
[Reward Obtained: Random Martial Skill Gift Pack]
[Open immediately?]
"Open it."
Golden light instantly exploded inside his consciousness as an ancient martial arts manual slowly appeared before him. Three large golden characters were written across the cover.
[Golden Bell Shield]
[Low Grade Supreme Technique]
[Defensive Martial Skill: Uses True Qi to condense defensive energy around the body and withstand incoming attacks]
Guy blinked twice in surprise.
"Golden Bell Shield?"
He subconsciously scratched his head.
"Gold level is only Low Grade?"
He genuinely felt somewhat surprised. Among Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques, the Golden Bell Shield possessed an enormous reputation. Together with Iron Cloth Shirt, it represented one of the iconic hard-body martial arts techniques. Yet within the System, it was merely categorized as Low Grade.
However, after thinking carefully about it, the classification suddenly made more sense.
The Muscle-Tendon Change Classic was High Grade.
The Precept-Breaking Blade was Medium Grade.
Compared to those techniques, Golden Bell Shield being classified as Low Grade actually seemed reasonable.
Besides, Low Grade or not, this was still a defensive martial skill, and defense happened to be exactly what he lacked most right now.
Guy's eyes immediately brightened.
Over the past few months, he had continuously been thinking about one major weakness. His offensive strength was already extremely powerful. The Great Vajra Leg had reached perfection, allowing one kick to send a ten-meter-tall Ninja Bear flying dozens of meters away. Now even the Great Vajra Finger had reached perfection, and he was still training the Precept-Breaking Blade as well.
But what about defense?
What if one day he encountered an opponent too fast to dodge?
What if he became surrounded?
What if attacks landed directly on him?
Now things were different.
Golden Bell Shield.
Even if it was only Low Grade, it was still a genuine defensive technique.
"How exactly do I train this thing?"
Guy immediately opened the detailed description.
[Golden Bell Shield: Uses True Qi to condense a golden bell phantom around the body for defense. The stronger the True Qi, the stronger the defense]
[Cultivation Method: Endure physical strikes daily while circulating True Qi along the body's surface. The more attacks endured, the faster proficiency increases]
After reading the description, Guy suddenly grinned.
"So I can train it by getting beaten?"
This was simply too suitable for him.
He had already begun worrying that poking rocks every day was becoming boring, but now things were perfect. He could poke rocks and then let people hit him afterward.
Simple.
Guy was just about to leave the waterfall and experiment with cultivating the Golden Bell Shield when an urgent voice suddenly echoed from the forest nearby.
"GUY!!!"
Guy immediately turned his head.
Kurenai burst out from the woods while panting heavily, her cheeks flushed red from running. Her black curly hair stuck tightly against her forehead from sweat, and even her clothes were damp. The moment she saw Guy standing beneath the waterfall, she froze briefly before hurriedly shouting again.
"Guy! Hurry! The Academy is calling everyone back for an emergency gathering!"
Guy froze slightly.
"Gathering? But today is a holiday."
"I know!" Kurenai quickly ran toward the water's edge while breathing heavily. "Teacher Iruka personally sent people door-to-door notifying everyone! Every student has to return immediately! Nobody is allowed to skip it!"
Guy immediately walked out from beneath the waterfall before grabbing his clothes.
"What's going on?"
Kurenai anxiously shook her head.
"I don't know. But the person who came to notify us said it's urgent."
Guy quickly dried himself and began putting on his clothes. Then suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
Today was the weekend.
The Academy was closed.
Yet every student was suddenly being summoned back urgently.
Could it be that incident?
Guy subconsciously looked toward Kurenai, and Kurenai looked back toward him with obvious worry visible in her eyes.
"Guy... do you know what's happening?"
Guy remained silent for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"I don't know."
After tying his shoelaces tightly, he stood upright once more.
"Let's go."
The two immediately rushed out from the forest together while running straight toward the Ninja Academy.