Ren had known Might Duy for years.
It would have been difficult not to.
Duy ran dozens of laps through Konoha almost every day. When he was not training, he accepted the village's most ordinary D-rank missions—catching runaway cats, walking dogs, pulling weeds, carrying supplies, or helping residents repair their homes.
Anyone who regularly walked Konoha's streets would eventually encounter the green-clad Genin.
Most villagers considered Duy strange.
He possessed no prestigious bloodline, remained a Genin despite being well into adulthood, and trained with an intensity that appeared ridiculous to anyone unaware of what he was trying to accomplish.
Children laughed at his green jumpsuit.
Some shinobi mocked his rank.
Duy responded to all of them with the same shining smile.
Beneath that simple exterior, however, he was surprisingly approachable. Anyone willing to speak sincerely about training or taijutsu could easily draw him into a long and passionate conversation.
In theory, earning his guidance should have been easy.
Ren had already tried.
Several years ago, after realizing when he had been born, Ren began searching for every possible method of becoming stronger. The Eight Inner Gates naturally ranked near the top of that list.
He greeted Duy whenever they crossed paths, trained beside him several times, and asked careful questions about physical conditioning.
Duy had never refused him out of suspicion or selfishness.
The problem was Ren's body.
"The Eight Inner Gates aren't something you can force open through courage alone," Duy had once warned him. "Without a foundation strong enough to withstand the pressure, the technique won't make you stronger. It will destroy you."
According to Duy, anyone who wanted to begin training the Eight Gates needed to complete ten full laps around Konoha's outer circuit without stopping.
That was merely the entry requirement.
To open the first three Gates safely, a shinobi needed far greater endurance, muscle strength, and control. Every additional Gate placed exponentially more stress on the body.
Duy had spent more than twenty years forging himself into a vessel capable of enduring that power.
Even then, the process had not been gentle.
Improper recovery and relentless overtraining had left hidden injuries throughout his body. On cold days, his joints sometimes stiffened. Old muscle tears caused pain when he performed certain movements, though he rarely admitted it.
His knowledge of the Eight Gates' physical requirements had been paid for through decades of suffering.
Guy had already begun building the foundation necessary to enter that path. He had not revealed the technique during academy assessments, but Ren suspected Duy had taught him its earliest principles.
Ren had never met the minimum standard.
At eight years old, he still struggled to match the training intensity Guy had maintained at six. Asking Duy for the Eight Gates under those circumstances would have been like requesting a sword while lacking the strength to lift it.
Duy had encouraged him to continue training and try again in the future.
Now the future had changed.
The system had granted Ren five physical attribute points. His speed, power, stamina, recovery, and coordination had all improved dramatically. He had survived a direct exchange with Daichi's Gentle Fist and emerged with only minor discomfort.
He still could not complete ten laps around Konoha without stopping.
But for the first time, the requirement no longer felt impossible.
Once the assessment results were settled and he adjusted to his enhanced body, Ren intended to visit Duy again.
Even if he remained unqualified to learn the Eight Gates, witnessing one Gate being opened might be enough to trigger a system encounter.
The possibility alone was worth pursuing.
Ren finished speaking with Instructors Oki and Himura, collected his schoolbag, and left the academy building.
The sun had already begun sinking behind Konoha's rooftops. Long shadows stretched across the courtyard, and most students had returned home.
Ren expected the gate to be empty.
Instead, three familiar figures waited outside.
Rin stood beneath one of the trees, holding her schoolbag with both hands. Obito paced nearby while loudly explaining why his defeat against Guy did not count. Guy listened with complete seriousness, occasionally nodding as though Obito's excuses contained profound tactical insight.
Ren stopped.
"You're all still here?"
Rin noticed him first.
"There you are."
She smiled and walked toward him.
"We came to the academy together this morning, so I thought we should go home together. You were only inside for a few minutes."
"A few minutes?" Obito complained. "It felt like an hour."
Guy appeared directly in front of Ren.
"Ren!"
He raised one thumb.
"I have been waiting with unbearable anticipation! Now that your discussion has ended, allow me to challenge the magnificent youth you revealed today!"
Ren stared at him.
Only Guy could complete five hundred warm-up laps, fight Obito, run another two hundred apology laps, and still search for someone else to challenge before dinner.
"Guy, everyone is exhausted from the assessment."
"My youth remains strong!"
"I can see that."
"Then let us fight!"
Ren had no intention of exchanging punches with someone who treated physical exhaustion as a personal enemy.
An idea came to him.
"We can compete—but not through sparring."
Guy's eyes brightened. "What kind of contest?"
Ren pointed toward the commercial district.
"We'll go to Ichiraku Ramen, order one bowl each, and see who finishes first. The loser pays for both bowls."
Guy froze.
The proposal clearly did not fit his usual understanding of training.
"A ramen-eating contest?"
"Speed, focus, endurance, and determination," Ren said solemnly. "All essential qualities for a shinobi."
Guy considered this.
Then his expression became serious.
"You're right."
Ren almost felt guilty.
Guy clenched one fist.
"I accept!"
Rin exchanged an amused glance with Obito.
"Can we come too?" she asked. "I haven't eaten at Ichiraku in a while. I wonder whether Teuchi has added anything new."
The moment Rin expressed interest, Obito's position became inevitable.
"I was already planning to go."
"You were?" Rin asked.
"Of course."
Ren looked at Obito's empty hands and decided not to expose him.
The four children left the academy together.
Ichiraku Ramen occupied a small shop along one of Konoha's busier streets. A simple curtain hung above the entrance, and the smell of broth reached them before they arrived.
Ren had once imagined working there for the rest of his life.
That future had become considerably less likely since the system appeared, but stepping inside still filled him with a strange sense of comfort.
Teuchi greeted them from behind the counter.
"Four hungry academy students? Take any open seats."
The shop contained only a single row of stools, but there was more than enough room for them.
Ren ordered tonkotsu ramen.
Guy selected the largest chāshū ramen on the menu.
Rin chose miso ramen, while Obito ordered the same thing she did and then insisted the similarity was a coincidence.
Teuchi placed Ren's and Guy's bowls in front of them.
Steam rose between the two competitors.
Guy looked toward Ren.
Ren lifted his chopsticks.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Begin."
Ren had taken only two mouthfuls when Guy placed his empty bowl on the counter.
Not merely the noodles.
The broth was gone as well.
Guy wiped his mouth and raised a thumb.
"It appears I have won!"
Ren stared at the bowl.
The entire contest had lasted less than ten seconds.
"Congratulations."
He took out enough money to pay for Guy's ramen and slid it across the counter.
"This bowl is mine. If you order another, you're paying for it."
Guy nodded, completely satisfied.
Ren had deliberately proposed a speed contest rather than an eating contest. Given Guy's daily training volume, his appetite was probably as frightening as his stamina.
One bowl was an acceptable loss.
An unlimited competition could have bankrupted Ren before sunset.
The four remained at Ichiraku for another half hour, talking about the assessment while they ate. Obito repeatedly explained that he would have defeated Guy if he had completed the Great Fireball Technique.
Guy agreed enthusiastically and invited him to another match.
Obito immediately changed the subject.
By the time they left, evening had deepened into night.
Lantern light spread across the streets, and the cold air carried the distant sounds of closing shops.
Guy's home lay in another direction, so he separated from the group at the first major intersection.
"Tomorrow, we shall compete again!"
"Not before sunrise," Ren warned.
Guy grinned and ran away.
Obito's route also diverged from theirs.
He nevertheless insisted on accompanying Rin and Ren to their neighborhood.
"It's dark," he explained. "Someone should make sure you get home safely."
Ren looked around at the quiet civilian street.
They were inside the center of the most heavily defended hidden village in the Land of Fire. An entire force of shinobi protected the walls, and patrols crossed the rooftops regularly.
Rin accepted the excuse without argument.
The three eventually reached the neighboring gates of Ren's and Rin's homes.
Rin stopped and turned toward Obito.
"We're home now. You should leave before it gets too late. Your grandmother will worry."
Obito lingered.
"All right. I'll come by tomorrow."
Rin hesitated.
"Tomorrow might not work."
Obito's expression sharpened instantly.
"Why?"
Rin glanced toward Ren.
"Ren and I already have plans."
Obito went rigid.
"Plans?"
"At Konoha Hospital."
His alarm briefly overcame his jealousy.
"The hospital? Is one of you injured?"
"No," Rin assured him. "We're attending a lecture."
"A lecture?"
"Instructor Oki recommended us for the hospital's introductory medical training course. Classes begin tomorrow morning and continue every weekend."
The tension left Obito's shoulders.
Then a different concern replaced it.
"You and Ren are going together?"
"Yes."
"Every weekend?"
"That's the schedule."
Obito looked at Ren.
Ren looked back.
A silent struggle passed between them.
Obito raised his hand.
"I'm coming too."
Rin blinked. "You want to study medical ninjutsu?"
"Of course."
His answer arrived far too quickly.
Obito puffed out his chest.
"I'm going to become Hokage. A Hokage should know how to protect the injured and save lives. Medical ninjutsu is essential!"
Rin studied him with open surprise.
Obito continued before she could question his sudden passion.
"The class doesn't have a strict attendance limit, does it? Even if it does, I can stand in the back. I won't disturb anyone."
He turned toward Ren and began communicating through an increasingly desperate series of winks and facial expressions.
"Right, Ren?"
Ren watched him suffer for several seconds.
The medical course would be easier to navigate with someone from the Uchiha clan present. Obito's attendance might also cause the instructors to demonstrate more techniques, creating additional encounter opportunities for the system.
There was no reason to refuse.
"I don't mind."
Obito's face lit up.
Rin smiled.
"Then we'll meet here tomorrow morning."
A system chime sounded inside Ren's mind.
A pale-green notification unfolded before his eyes.
[Three academy students have chosen to enter Konoha Hospital's medical training program.]
[Multiple unknown chakra signatures have been detected along the route ahead.]
[New Encounter Opportunity: Medical Ninjutsu.]
[Potential targets: Unknown.]
Ren's gaze remained on the glowing words.
Tomorrow's class was no longer merely an opportunity to learn first aid.
Somewhere within Konoha Hospital, a new target was waiting to meet him.