An hour passed just like that, and Might Guy was already panting heavily, collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion.
Training to open the Eight Inner Gates was far more tiring than regular training, primarily due to the consumption of chakra required to impact the Sixth Gate.
Chakra, being the combination of physical and spiritual energy, was continuously consumed as the impacts were made in relentless succession.
Now, not only was his body fatigued, but his spirit was also somewhat withered.
At this moment, however, he felt a powerful aura.
Shaken internally, he couldn't help but look in Ryōsuke's direction.
He saw that the steam rising from Ryōsuke's body had completely turned blue.
The aura emitting from him was astonishing.
Even more astonishing than before.
'Has he already broken through to the Sixth Gate?'
However, the momentum bursting from Ryōsuke quickly dropped.
He disengaged from the Eight Inner Gates state.
At this moment, Uchiha Ryōsuke knelt on one knee, a look of pain on his face.
Might Guy propped up his exhausted body and approached Ryōsuke to ask, "Ryōsuke, are you alright?"
Ryōsuke waited a good while before speaking.
"That was close. I almost had a problem."
He had been too impatient. He originally thought that relying on the toughness of his body would allow him to force open the Sixth Gate. He hadn't expected that while he managed to open the gate, a fierce pain would explode instantaneously, subjecting his body to immense suffering in a split second.
'Sure enough, I can't be too hasty. I must maintain a sense of reverence for the Eight Inner Gates.'
Guy naturally understood why Ryōsuke had suddenly paused.
It was clearly because he had forcibly charged the Sixth Gate, leading to his current pain.
"Ryōsuke, you should cultivate more slowly. Don't be too impatient."
Ryōsuke nodded in agreement. "I will."
This impulse had nearly caused damage to his body, specifically to the spine. If he had injured that, he might have ended up paralyzed. He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear; he had taken things for granted.
It was better to be steady. If he hurt his spine, even with his powerful physical abilities, he didn't know if he could recover.
Guy then suggested, "Today's training ends here. I don't have the energy to continue."
Ryōsuke agreed. His body was still throbbing with faint pain; the consequences would be unimaginable if he tried again.
Since it wouldn't take much longer to open the Sixth Gate safely and stably anyway, there was no need to take risks and rush, potentially causing bodily harm. That would be bad.
After saying goodbye to Might Guy, Ryōsuke planned to eat a bowl of ramen to properly nourish his body.
Since he was eating ramen in the Leaf Village, naturally, he would go to Ichiraku Ramen; the nutrition there was quite decent.
He touched his aching waist to soothe it, then stretched and bent left and right. After confirming there was no major issue, he set off.
At this moment, inside Ichiraku Ramen.
A child with yellow hair was eating ramen with great relish.
He, too, was treating this ramen as his dinner.
And for him, eating this ramen cost no money, because a kind-hearted brother had already prepaid for him.
He felt very grateful to this person in his heart, so he never refused the gesture.
More importantly, not only did this person treat him to ramen, but most crucially, he did not look at him with hatred or treat him as a Demon Fox.
Even more importantly, that person had once told him that he was not an orphan—that he had parents, and that his parents were heroes.
In contrast, the old man who usually helped him wasn't as good. Although that old man gave him a lot of money, he was very unwilling to tell him who his parents actually were.
Although he was sensible and didn't press for answers about his background, his heart was full of doubts. 'Is this some unspeakable secret?'
He quickly finished a bowl of noodles, but feeling that his stomach wasn't quite full yet, he looked at the owner.
"Boss, another bowl."
Hearing this, the Ichiraku Owner looked surprised.
Although he was happy that Naruto liked his noodles—proving that the ramen he made was indeed good—he couldn't help but caution him.
"Naruto, if you eat another bowl, won't you burst? Even if it's delicious, don't eat until you're sick."
Naruto shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm fine, I can still eat more. I don't feel full enough."
The Ichiraku Owner didn't try to dissuade him further and could only make another portion for him.
Naturally, the portion size this time had fewer noodles and more toppings. Although Naruto had said he was fine, the owner wondered how a small child's stomach could hold two large bowls of ramen.
Naruto felt a burst of joy seeing the extra toppings. It seemed the boss was looking out for him too, so he started eating.
The ramen was good, and the toppings were quite delicious; his small face overflowed with happiness.
He quickly finished the second bowl, drinking a large mouthful of the soup before walking out of the ramen shop in satisfaction, ready to go home and rest.
Not long after he walked out of the ramen shop.
A stone hit him on the body, causing instant pain.
He turned to check the direction the stone came from. On the opposite street stood three children older than him; one of them was even a head taller.
Naruto couldn't help but touch the sore spot on his body and demanded, "Why are you guys throwing stones at me?"
Seeing Naruto in pain, the children felt satisfied inside.
"We're beating you, you monster."
"You monster, yet you live better than us. You get to eat such delicious food every day. You deserve a beating."
They usually ate at home, but how could the taste of home cooking compare to Ichiraku Ramen?
After eating it once, they had been captivated.
But their families were not wealthy. Begging their parents was useless; even if they could eat it occasionally, it was only a few times a week, not regularly.
Yet this monster, whom everyone in the village loathed, could eat it every day. It made them feel very unbalanced inside.
Why should a monster live better than them?
The more they thought about it, the angrier they got.
The three of them picked up stones and smashed them toward Naruto.
Naruto naturally showed no weakness. He dodged their stone attacks, quickly picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it back, violently hitting one of the shorter children.
The child cried out in pain; he hadn't expected Naruto would dare to fight back and hadn't dodged in time.
The other two were even more furious that he dared to counterattack.
The small child immediately picked up some gravel and threw it right then and there.
Naruto chose to evade.
At this moment, the big kid saw a large rock on the ground. An idea instantly formed in his mind: if he threw that, it would definitely seriously insult Naruto and leave him unable to fight back.
He took action immediately, picking up the huge rock and smashing it ruthlessly toward Naruto.
Seeing such a large rock, Naruto was instantly started.
He wanted to dodge, but it still smashed into his forehead. Blood flowed instantly, and he fell to the ground wailing in pain, his voice very loud.