"Guh!"
A sharp, piercing pain exploded inside Ren's head.
It felt as though someone had driven a red-hot iron spike through the top of his skull. The compressed chakra struck the invisible barrier of the Gate of Opening and burst apart, scattering violently through the pathways surrounding his brain.
The backlash made both temples throb.
Dizziness swept over him, and his seated body swayed dangerously to one side. Before he could fall, Duy caught him by the shoulder and held him steady.
Ren's concentration shattered.
The first attempt had failed.
He opened his eyes and found Duy watching him closely. The usual blazing enthusiasm remained in the man's gaze, but it was restrained by genuine concern.
"How did it feel?" Duy asked. "Did your chakra disperse the moment it touched the barrier?"
Ren pressed one hand against his temple.
"Yes. It felt like I hit something solid, and then everything burst backward."
Duy nodded as though Ren had given the correct answer.
"That is normal. It means you successfully located the Gate of Opening. Most people fail to even sense the barrier during their first attempt."
Guy immediately crouched beside them.
"The same thing happened to me!" he said. "I pushed with everything I had, but my chakra scattered in every direction."
Duy raised one finger.
"The key is compression. If your chakra spreads across the entire barrier, the force will be dispersed. Gather it into a single point before striking."
Guy clenched one fist to illustrate.
"Imagine twisting several thin cords into one thick rope. The tighter they become, the harder they are to break."
"Then narrow the tip," Duy added. "Do not strike the gate like a hammer. Pierce it like a needle."
Guy nodded eagerly.
"And don't panic when it hurts. The pain means your body has recognized that you're pushing against its limit!"
Duy's eyes lit up.
"Exactly! That pain is the sound of youth knocking upon the door!"
Ren stared at him.
If youth was knocking, it needed to stop using a battering ram.
He kept that thought to himself.
Despite their unusual descriptions, Ren understood the principle. His first attempt had failed because the chakra cone was too broad and unstable. When it struck the barrier, the force spread outward instead of concentrating on one point.
The next attempt required greater precision.
Ren waited for the dizziness to subside before reaching for another soldier pill. Duy stopped him long enough to check his pulse and chakra flow, then allowed him to continue once he confirmed there was no obvious damage.
The bitter pill cracked between Ren's teeth.
He swallowed it with water and remained still as a thin warmth spread from his stomach. It did not erase his exhaustion, but it restored enough chakra for one more controlled attempt.
Duy sat directly in front of him.
"If the backlash becomes too strong, stop," he warned. "Opening the gate today is not worth damaging your chakra pathways."
Ren nodded and closed his eyes.
The world around him gradually faded.
He ignored the lingering pain in his muscles, the sweat cooling against his skin, and even the crimson-haired woman watching through the system interface.
His awareness turned inward.
Chakra moved through his pathways in thin, exhausted streams. Ren gathered those streams one at a time, drawing every fragment he could safely control toward the region Duy had described.
The invisible barrier appeared again.
This time, Ren did not attack immediately.
He compressed his chakra.
The mass became smaller and denser. He twisted it inward, layer after layer, preventing even the smallest thread from escaping his control.
A blunt mass became a wedge.
The wedge narrowed into a cone.
Finally, its tip became as fine as a needle.
Ren held it there.
Sweat rolled down his face as the pressure strained his control. The chakra cone trembled, threatening to unravel, but he forced it to remain together.
Duy's earlier instruction echoed through his mind.
The body is the vessel. The will is the key.
Ren focused on the barrier.
Then he struck.
Boom!
Pain far greater than before detonated inside his skull.
Ren's entire body convulsed. Every muscle tightened at once, and sweat erupted from his skin, soaking the clothes that had only begun to dry after the hundred-lap run.
The chakra cone struck the barrier and stopped.
It did not scatter.
Ren gritted his teeth and pushed.
The pressure inside his head became unbearable. White light flashed behind his closed eyelids, while the sounds of the forest stretched into a distant, distorted hum.
His arms trembled.
His fingers dug into his knees hard enough to leave marks.
The barrier refused to move.
For several terrifying seconds, Ren felt as though he were pushing against a mountain with his bare hands.
He wanted to release the technique.
His instincts screamed at him to stop before something inside his skull broke permanently. Even the disciplined part of his mind began calculating the danger of continuing.
Then another voice cut through the pain.
[Eight Gates: Don't pull back now! You found the door, so open it!]
The crimson-haired woman appeared within the darkness of his consciousness. She planted both hands against the invisible barrier beside his chakra cone and grinned at him.
[Eight Gates: You said you wanted power. You said you were willing to endure. Show me that you meant it!]
Ren dragged together the last remnants of his chakra.
The cone sharpened.
He drove it upward with everything he had.
The struggle lasted only a dozen seconds.
To Ren, it felt like an entire lifetime.
Just as his consciousness began slipping away, a quiet sound echoed through his mind.
Pop.
It resembled a tightly sealed cork being pulled free.
The resistance vanished.
Ren's chakra surged through the opened pathway.
A tiny spark ignited somewhere within him. It was no larger than a candle flame, yet it possessed a fierce and stubborn vitality.
The pain did not disappear.
Instead, it changed.
The crushing pressure inside his skull gave way to an overwhelming sense of release. Strength poured through his exhausted muscles as the restraints imposed by his brain were removed.
His eyes snapped open.
The First Gate—the Gate of Opening—had opened.
Chakra erupted around his body.
The exhaustion left behind by the hundred-lap run no longer seemed capable of restraining him. His muscles tightened with frightening power, and every sensation became sharper.
Ren slowly rose.
The movement felt effortless.
Minutes earlier, he had barely possessed enough strength to sit upright. Now his body seemed lighter than air.
Guy stared at him, eyes shining.
"He did it!"
Duy's face broke into a proud smile, though he remained alert.
"Control your breathing, Ren. Do not let the power carry you away."
Ren flexed one hand.
The movement produced a faint crack in his knuckles.
At that moment, he genuinely felt capable of smashing through anything placed in front of him. The sensation was intoxicating—not simply strength, but liberation from limits he had never consciously noticed.
He bent his knees and jumped.
The ground cracked faintly beneath his feet.
Ren rose several meters higher than expected and nearly lost his balance upon landing. He corrected himself, turned, and focused on a wooden training post near the edge of the clearing.
"Ren," Duy cautioned, "do not maintain the gate for too long."
"I only want to test one strike."
He stepped forward.
The distance disappeared in an instant.
Ren planted his foot, twisted his waist, and punched.
His fist crashed into the center of the post.
Crack!
Splinters exploded outward. The thick wooden target broke in half, its upper section spinning through the air before striking the dirt several meters away.
Ren stared at his fist.
Without the Gate of Opening, that strike might have cracked the post. With the gate open, he had shattered it completely.
The technique's power was undeniable.
So was its cost.
The instant the excitement faded, Ren felt his chakra draining at an alarming rate. The Gate of Opening forced his muscles beyond their ordinary restraints, consuming energy and stamina every second it remained active.
"Close it," Duy ordered.
Ren obeyed.
He guided his chakra away from the gate and allowed the restraint to settle back into place.
The power vanished.
His knees buckled.
Duy moved forward and caught him before he struck the ground.
Exhaustion surged through every part of Ren's body, far worse than before. It felt as though each muscle had been individually beaten, wrung dry, and filled with lead.
The hundred-lap run had already pushed him beyond his normal endurance. Opening the First Gate immediately afterward had forced an exhausted body to produce strength it did not possess.
Even the soldier pills could not erase that debt.
Duy carefully lowered him onto the grass.
"That is enough," he said. "You opened the gate successfully, but do not attempt it again today."
Guy knelt beside Ren, his expression caught between admiration and envy.
"You opened it on your second attempt," he said. "That was incredible!"
Ren would have answered, but speaking seemed like an unreasonable amount of effort.
The person responsible for his condition had no such difficulty.
The system interface appeared again.
[Eight Gates: See? I told you it would feel incredible!]
The crimson-haired woman slapped Ren's shoulder hard enough that he could almost feel the impact despite her existing only within the system.
[Eight Gates: Pain and exhaustion are merely snacks on the road to greater strength. You opened the first gate after only two attempts—that fighting spirit is worthy of carrying my power!]
She placed both hands on her hips.
[Eight Gates: I would love to test your limits again, but your body has reached its end for today. Rest well. I'll come find you tomorrow morning!]
A final notification appeared.
[Eight Gates favorability +1]
[Eight Gates has been added to the Affinity List.]
The crimson-haired woman disappeared.
Ren closed his eyes and exhaled weakly.
Finally.
She was gone.
His relief lasted less than a second.
A soft green light appeared within the darkness of his mind.
[Healing Technique: Oh, Ren… You truly are too reckless.]
A woman dressed in pale green stepped forward. Her expression was gentle, but concern filled her eyes as she knelt beside him.
[Healing Technique: Who pushes an already exhausted body through another dangerous training method? If these injuries are not treated immediately, some of them may become permanent.]
She raised both hands and placed them over his chest.
Pale-green chakra flowed from her palms.
Warmth spread through Ren's body.
His eyes opened in surprise.
The effect was not imaginary.
A gentle current moved through his muscles, easing spasms, reducing inflammation, and soothing the strain left by the Gate of Opening. The pain did not vanish completely, but the crushing exhaustion began to loosen its grip.
More importantly, Ren had not activated the technique.
He had not formed seals.
He had not supplied chakra.
For the first time, one of the techniques on his Affinity List had acted autonomously to protect him.
The healing chakra felt purer than when Ren performed the technique himself. It flowed precisely into the most damaged muscles and pathways without wasting even the smallest amount of energy.
Ren's shock deepened.
This was possible?
Why had it never happened before?
Perhaps he had never suffered enough damage to trigger Healing Technique's intervention. It was also possible that her favorability had previously been too low.
Before he could investigate, several more voices entered his mind.
[Transformation Technique: Thank you, Healing Technique. Ren, training is important, but you must learn to respect your limits. Chasing immediate strength at the cost of your future will only harm you.]
[Clone Technique: I knew this would happen. He already has us, but the moment we stop watching, he follows some unfamiliar training fanatic into the forest and nearly destroys himself.]
[Substitution Jutsu: Sister Clone Technique is right! That woman is terrifying.]
[Clone Technique: And what is it with Ren attracting redheads? If he wanted another loud, hot-tempered technique, he already had one.]
A brief silence followed.
Then another voice erupted.
[Great Fireball Jutsu: Wait. Are you talking about me?]
[Clone Technique: Who else would I mean?]
[Great Fireball Jutsu: Hmph! A mere Clone Technique dares to mock me? Show some respect!]
[Clone Technique: "Mere Clone Technique"? I am the noble Water Clone Technique now. I possess physical form, independent combat ability, and an elemental advantage over you.]
[Clone Technique: Ren personally gave me this upgraded form. Has everyone here received an upgrade from him? Surely no one is still waiting.]
The smugness in her voice was almost tangible.
Transformation Technique and Healing Technique fell suspiciously silent.
Great Fireball Jutsu exploded.
[Great Fireball Jutsu: You want to test that elemental advantage right now? Come forward! I'll reduce you to steam!]
[Clone Technique: How frightening. Unfortunately, shouting does not change the fact that Water Release counters Fire Release.]
[Substitution Jutsu: Sister Clone Technique is winning!]
Ren pressed one hand against his forehead.
"Please," he muttered. "All of you, be quiet."
Duy misunderstood and leaned closer.
"Are you experiencing another headache?"
"No," Ren said. "This problem is much harder to explain."
The techniques continued arguing inside his mind.
Ren did his best to ignore them, though one detail remained strangely distracting. Clone Technique had spoken as though the inhabitants of the Affinity List possessed knowledge and personalities far beyond their stated functions.
How much could they see?
What did they do while he was not using them?
The system had promised additional interactions as favorability increased, yet many of those features remained unexplained. Transformation Technique had crossed an important threshold some time ago, but Ren had still not seen any corresponding memory scene or special encounter.
Perhaps the feature required a different trigger.
Ren abandoned that question for now.
The answer could wait until his internal collection of ninjutsu stopped threatening to drown and incinerate one another.
What mattered was Healing Technique.
She had acted without his command, consumed none of his chakra, and produced an effect stronger than Ren could currently achieve himself.
That changed his understanding of the entire system.
If Healing Technique could independently protect him when his body was in danger, what abilities might the others gain as their favorability increased?
Ren looked at the fading green light surrounding his hands.
The Eight Gates had opened the first barrier within his body.
But Healing Technique had just revealed that the system itself contained another door—and Ren had no idea how deep it went.