"Kurenai left before sunset," Ren explained. "I spent the rest of the evening training alone. Lord Third announced those graduation rewards today, and I'm interested in claiming one. I can't afford to waste the winter break."
"Oh… I see."
Rin nodded, and the faint tension around her eyes disappeared. Her smile became noticeably warmer.
"You really are hardworking, Ren-kun. No wonder you've improved so quickly." She glanced toward the spot where she had been practising the Transformation Technique. "Don't forget what you promised. Tomorrow, you're helping me too."
"I remember," Ren assured her. "We'll start after breakfast."
"Good. It's already late, so you should go inside before your dinner gets cold. See you tomorrow!"
Rin waved and ran back toward her house with noticeably lighter steps.
"See you tomorrow."
Ren watched her disappear through the neighboring doorway before pushing open his own courtyard gate. The rich aroma of stew immediately greeted him, accompanied by the sound of his mother, Aoi, moving between the stove and the kitchen table.
He touched the one-thousand-ryō note in his pocket and felt the lingering soreness left by the day's training. His body was exhausted, yet a satisfying sense of strength pulsed beneath that fatigue.
He had earned his first tutoring fee, improved his Water Release, and discovered an entirely new use for his personified techniques.
The beginning of winter break was looking better than expected.
Over the next two weeks, Ren's days settled into a demanding but productive rhythm.
He went to bed at eleven each night and woke at seven every morning. After washing and eating a light breakfast, he began the day by running several laps around Konoha.
He frequently encountered Might Duy and Guy during those morning runs. The father and son could usually be seen racing along the road while performing some unreasonable variation of physical training—running on their hands, carrying heavy stones, or wearing weighted packs large enough to crush an ordinary Academy student.
Duy never failed to greet Ren.
"Another beautiful morning of youth!" he would shout from a hundred metres away. "How many laps will you conquer today, Ren?"
"Not ten yet," Ren always replied.
Although Ren had agreed to complete ten laps around Konoha for ten consecutive days, he had not officially begun Duy's challenge.
With his current Physique, he could force himself through ten laps if he ignored the consequences. The problem was that doing so would leave him completely exhausted. He would need most of the day to recover, drastically reducing the time available for ninjutsu and medical training.
There was no reason to rush into the challenge before his body was ready.
A shinobi needed determination, but determination without planning was merely recklessness.
Ren intended to increase his Physique first. Once ten laps became manageable, he could complete Duy's requirement without sacrificing the rest of his training schedule.
After his morning run, he went to a secluded training ground and began working through his system tasks. The Three Basic Techniques received priority, followed by the Great Fireball Technique and Water Release: Wild Water Wave.
He spent roughly half an hour on each technique, alternating practice with short recovery periods. During those breaks, he sat beneath a tree and refined his chakra control.
The routine was repetitive, but it was never truly dull.
Transformation Technique patiently corrected the smallest imperfections in his chakra shaping. Clone Technique complained whenever he failed to make sufficient progress, yet became visibly pleased whenever he used her Water Clone variation. Substitution Technique offered concise advice before returning to sleep, while Great Fireball remained proud, demanding, and easily offended.
Wild Water Wave treated every successful water jet as a work of art and every failed attempt as a personal insult to the natural beauty of water.
Ren also fulfilled his promise to Rin.
The next morning, he examined her Transformation and Clone Techniques using the same method he had employed with Kurenai. Rin's foundation was already stronger, so she needed fewer corrections. By the end of their lesson, her clones had become noticeably more natural, and her transformations could maintain stable proportions while moving.
Unlike Kurenai, Rin refused to treat the session as paid tutoring.
Instead, Aoi and Misae settled the matter by making both children eat lunch together, leaving Ren with no room to negotiate.
His medical-ninjutsu classes also continued throughout the winter break. Since the Academy was closed, the hospital increased the training schedule to two half-days per week.
After each lesson, Ren, Rin, and Obito travelled to a quiet stretch of the Naka River. They used simple nets to catch fish, which served as practice subjects for sensing vitality and controlling healing chakra.
The fish were treated and released whenever possible.
Obito, unfortunately, showed no talent for the Healing Technique.
He could summon Yang-natured chakra into his hands, but maintaining the required balance was another matter. His energy fluctuated between too weak to have any effect and so unstable that Rin refused to let him touch another fish.
After yet another failed attempt, Obito stared at the unmoving fish in his hands and broke into a nervous sweat.
"Th-this is normal!" he insisted. "Didn't Teacher Matsumoto say medical shinobi learn through failure? The more fish you accidentally kill, the better your medical skills become!"
Rin slowly covered her face with one hand.
"First, his name is Matsushita, not Matsumoto. Second, he isn't a teacher. He's an apprentice like us. Third, Instructor Hebiji scolded him for wasting training materials immediately after he said that."
Obito blinked. "Really?"
"You were standing beside me."
"I must have been concentrating on something else."
Rin's eyes narrowed. "Were you concentrating on the lesson?"
Obito's face reddened. "O-of course!"
Ren turned away before the laughter escaped him.
Konoha Hospital truly seemed to attract unusual people. Every apprentice possessed enough confidence to make ridiculous statements sound profound, and Obito somehow remembered only the worst possible advice.
Even so, Obito had paid one-third of the cost of the fishing net and did most of the work whenever they needed to catch new practice subjects. Ren therefore allowed him to remain, even if his progress in medical ninjutsu was nonexistent.
Ren knelt near the riverbank and placed his fingers above an injured fish. A faint emerald glow gathered around his fingertips before flowing into the damaged tissue.
The injury closed slowly.
His control was still rough, and the process took much longer than it would for an experienced medical-nin. Nevertheless, the fish's movements gradually strengthened.
A familiar message appeared before him.
[Healing Technique: Your progress is slow, but your concentration is acceptable. At least your hands finally resemble those of a medical trainee.]
[Healing Technique favorability +2]
Ren ignored the faintly condescending praise and gently returned the fish to the river. It remained still for a moment before flicking its tail and disappearing beneath the surface.
Beside him, Rin successfully healed another fish.
Obito looked down at his own patient.
"Mine isn't moving."
"Please stop touching it," Rin said.
Apart from medical training, Ren's private lessons with Kurenai became the most profitable part of his winter break.
They completed four sessions over two weeks. Ren taught her the taijutsu principles he had learned from Duy and Hizashi, while the Three Basic Techniques helped him diagnose problems in her chakra control.
Kurenai's improvement was steady.
Her footwork became more stable, her attacks stopped relying entirely on arm strength, and her transformations gained increasingly convincing mannerisms. Her clones could now breathe, react, and imitate her movements well enough to fool another Academy student at a glance.
In exchange, Ren earned ten thousand ryō in tutoring fees.
After their fourth lesson, Kurenai stood near the edge of the training field with her hands clasped before her. She appeared unusually hesitant.
"Thank you for everything you've taught me," she began. "Are you free this afternoon?"
Ren picked up his water bottle. "I still have my own training. Why?"
"I wanted to treat you to a meal at Yakiniku Q." Kurenai looked away, visibly embarrassed. "The lessons helped me far more than I expected. Even though I paid you, it feels as though I received too much."
"Next time," Ren replied with a smile. "You paid the amount we agreed upon, so you didn't take advantage of me. Wait until your examination results improve before thanking me."
Kurenai considered his answer before nodding.
"Then it's a promise. If my practical score improves, I'll treat you."
"That sounds fair."
She took several steps toward the path before pausing.
"If I encounter another problem, can I still ask you for advice?" Kurenai asked. "I'll continue paying for the lessons, of course."
"Anytime."
Kurenai's face brightened. She waved goodbye and departed, leaving Ren alone at the training ground.
If organizing the sessions were not so troublesome, he would have considered accepting several students at once. Teaching a group would allow him to collect multiple payments while repeating the same instructions.
For now, Kurenai was an ideal student. She arrived on time, listened carefully, paid generously, and never created unnecessary trouble.
Their arrangement was mutually beneficial.
After her departure, Ren spent the remaining afternoon completing his daily system training. The sun had begun descending by the time the final practice session ended.
Then, just as he prepared to close the interface, golden light spread across the translucent screen.
A clear chime echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Transformation Technique favorability has reached the maximum value.]
[Relationship stage advanced: Heart-to-Heart Connection.]
Ren froze.
The Transformation Technique's avatar emerged within the golden light. Her usual gentle expression remained, but something about her presence had changed. She no longer appeared separated from him by the interface. Instead, Ren could feel her chakra moving in harmony with his own, as though the boundary between technique and user had grown impossibly thin.
She smiled.
[Transformation Technique: We have finally reached this point, Ren. From now on, whatever form you choose will no longer be a simple disguise. Your body will become that form in every meaningful sense.]
A final notification appeared.
[Trait evolution complete: Perfect Form → Lifelike]
Ren immediately opened the updated status panel.
[Current Targets]
[Transformation Technique]
[Favorability: 100/100—Heart-to-Heart Connection]
[Stage rewards obtained: Four]
[Physique +4]
[Trait: Lifelike]
[Your Transformation Technique has reached a transcendent level. You may completely rewrite your physical form and perfectly reproduce the target's physiological characteristics, including physique, ordinary senses, voice, mannerisms, and chakra signature.]
[You may imitate and use abilities belonging to the transformation target, provided those abilities are not kekkei genkai.]
[Restriction: You must possess sufficient familiarity with the target. Greater knowledge and understanding will produce a more accurate transformation.]
Ren read the description twice.
Then he read it a third time.
The previous trait, Perfect Form, had already allowed him to perform transformations that could pass physical inspection. Lifelike went far beyond improving the disguise.
It allowed him to reproduce the target's physical capabilities and use their non-bloodline abilities.
That was terrifying.
Theoretically, Ren could transform into members of the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, or Inuzuka clans and imitate their secret techniques. Those abilities were protected clan arts, but they were not kekkei genkai inherited through blood.
Knowledge and familiarity remained important limitations. Simply seeing someone from a distance would not grant Ren complete access to everything they knew. He would need to study their bodies, chakra, movements, and techniques before reproducing them properly.
Even with that restriction, the possibilities were staggering.
His attention shifted toward the remaining entries on the interface.
[Water Clone Technique—Clone Technique]
[Favorability: 83/100—Attachment]
[Stage rewards obtained: Three]
[Physique +3]
[Trait: Audio-Visual Sharing]
[Your clones possess functional vision and hearing. By concentrating, the original body may connect its senses with up to three clones and share everything they see and hear.]
The trait had initially supported only two clones. After the latest stage increase, the limit had risen to three.
In reconnaissance, infiltration, or chaotic battles, the ability to observe several locations simultaneously could provide an enormous tactical advantage.
Ren continued downward.
[Substitution Technique]
[Favorability: 85/100—Attachment]
[Stage rewards obtained: Three]
[Physique +3]
[Trait: Instant, Seal-less Activation]
[The Substitution Technique requires no hand seals or advance preparation. Within a range of forty-five metres, you may exchange positions with a suitable medium through a single mental command. Activation time: 0.2 seconds.]
The original range had been only fifteen metres. Now it had tripled.
Combined with Water Clones and shared vision, Ren could confuse an opponent, observe the battlefield through multiple perspectives, and replace himself with a prepared object almost instantly.
Yet even those abilities seemed ordinary compared with Lifelike.
Ren looked back at the Transformation Technique's new description.
Physique. Senses. Chakra signature. Non-bloodline abilities.
A thought surfaced in his mind.
It was so dangerous that his pulse immediately quickened.
Earlier that morning, he had once again seen Might Duy training outside the village. Ren had spent enough time observing his stance, movements, breathing, and physical conditioning to possess a basic familiarity with him.
The Eight Gates were not a kekkei genkai.
They were a forbidden taijutsu technique that depended upon the condition of the user's body.
If Ren transformed into Duy and perfectly reproduced that terrifying physique…
Would the transformed body be capable of opening the Eight Gates?
Golden light continued to shimmer around the Transformation Technique's smiling avatar.
For the first time, Ren understood that reaching maximum favorability had not merely strengthened an Academy technique.
It might have placed an entirely new path to power in his hands.