One month later.
Back hill.
“Broken Precept Blade, Thirty-Sixth Form!” “Falling into the Mortal World!” A green blur flashed past.
The wooden sword struck the tree trunk.
CRACK— The sound of wood breaking was especially crisp.
Guy looked at the wooden sword in his hand—now only half remaining—and sighed.
“Ah, broke again.” He tossed the broken half aside and plopped down onto the grass.
This was the twelfth wooden sword he’d broken this month.
From rough tree branches at the start, to properly carved wooden swords he’d shaped himself, to the reinforced version he’d specially asked the village carpenter to make yesterday.
All broken.
Not a single one could last through three rounds of the Broken Precept Blade forms.
Guy looked at the number on his system panel and felt a twinge of frustration.
[Broken Precept Blade (Mid-Grade): 12 (Beginner)] This was the new technique he’d gotten from the Random Technique Gift Pack!
Guy now knew how to continue acquiring more of the Shaolin 72 Arts.
Master one technique to completion, and you’d receive a new technique gift pack.
Complete that one, and get another.
And so on, in a cycle.
The new technique, Broken Precept Blade, had a total of 49 forms.
To be precise, 49 strikes.
If he could complete all 49 strikes in one smooth flow, his proficiency would increase by one point.
Though after a full round, Guy himself would be completely wiped out for a while.
But given his body’s recovery speed, doing it three times a day—morning, noon, and night—wasn’t too much of a problem.
That was three proficiency points per day, without interfering too much with his other training.
He should be able to max it out in no time.
But a month had passed, and he only had twelve points of proficiency.
The reason?
No sword!
Ordinary wooden swords simply couldn’t withstand the power of the Broken Precept Blade.
Even the reinforced versions were pretty much destroyed after one round.
He’d already spent several hundred ryo just on wooden swords alone.
And to buy a decent real sword would cost at least ten thousand ryo!
“I’m so poor.” Guy lay back, staring up at the sky, looking utterly hopeless.
A month ago, after selling the ninja bear, he’d received fifty thousand ryo.
At the time, it felt like a fortune.
Now— It was gone.
All of it.
Where did it go?
Not on swords.
The main reason was one word: food.
After the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic had broken through to Refined Mastery, his body had become like a bottomless pit.
Every morning when he woke up, he was so hungry he could’ve chewed through his bedboard.
One bowl of rice?
Not enough.
Two bowls?
Barely a snack.
Three bowls?
Barely took the edge off.
If his training intensity was higher, he could eat through three days’ worth of his family’s food supply in one sitting.
Duy had stared at the empty rice jar, his eyes red-rimmed—but this time, not from emotion.
“Guy…
is Dad not able to afford to feed you anymore…” Guy had fallen silent at that.
What could he say?
“Dad, don’t worry, I’ll go kick another bear and sell it”?
The problem was, bears didn’t show up every day.
This past month, fifty thousand ryo had all gone into his stomach.
How much was left?
He fished out the last few coins from his pocket.
Counted them.
“Forty-three ryo.” He stuffed the coins back into his pocket and lay down on the grass.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on his face.
A little blinding.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes.
Then two words popped into his head.
Get a job!
Guy sat up abruptly.
His eyes lit up.
Right!
A blacksmith shop!
Go work at a blacksmith shop!
Whether it was swinging a hammer or pulling the bellows, those were just physical labor, right?
Swinging a hammer—builds arm strength.
Pulling the bellows—builds endurance.
And he’d be making money too!
Maybe he could even score a defective reject ninja sword!
Perfect!
Guy slapped his thigh.
“Youth!
This is youth!” He sprang to his feet, full of energy.
But as soon as he stood up, he froze.
The problem was…
Where could he find a blacksmith shop?
He knew Konoha well enough, but his routes were all training grounds, back hills, home, and school.
A blacksmith shop wasn’t something he’d ever paid attention to.
Just as he was thinking, footsteps sounded from the distance.
Obito came charging out of the forest, running out of breath, his face covered in sweat.
He’d just run a lap around the back hill.
Guy looked at him, and an idea struck him.
The Uchiha clan.
One of the most famous clans in Naruto.
Known for their Sharingan, but they were also one of Konoha’s premier forging clans.
The Uchiha clan’s ancestral ninja tools were renowned throughout the shinobi world.
Obito might be a dead last, but he was still an Uchiha.
“Obito.” “Yeah?” “Do you know anyone at a blacksmith shop?” Obito blinked, straightening up.
“Blacksmith shop?
Yeah, my uncle works at the clan’s smithy.
Why do you ask?” Guy didn’t hold back.
“I want to get a job.” “A job?!” Obito’s jaw dropped as he stared at Guy in disbelief.
“You?
Working?” “Yeah.” “You’re short on money?” “Yeah.” Obito blinked, suddenly remembering something.
“Wait, didn’t you just get fifty thousand ryo last month?
You blew through it that fast?” Guy nodded.
“All gone.” Obito’s eyes went even wider.
“Fifty thousand ryo!
In one month!
What did you even do?” Guy thought for a moment and answered honestly.
“Ate it.” “…” Obito fell silent.
He looked Guy up and down, from head to toe.
Same green clothes.
Same bushy brows.
Same everything.
But his expression slowly changed.
Like he was looking at some kind of mythical creature.
“You…
you ate fifty thousand ryo in a month?” Guy corrected him: “Not a month.
Twenty-three days.” Obito: “…” He was suddenly starting to understand why Might Duy worked so hard on missions.
With a son like this, you’d have no choice but to work your butt off.
“Fine.” Obito scratched his head.
“I’ll go ask for you when I get back.
But my uncle’s got a bit of a temper.
He might not agree.” Guy nodded.
“Let’s go now?” Obito blinked: “Now?” “Yeah.” Guy grinned, giving a thumbs-up.
“We’re training today anyway.
One day earlier or later doesn’t matter.
Youth can’t be wasted!” Obito looked at those gleaming white teeth and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Your ‘youth’ really knows how to make trouble.” They packed up their things and headed out of the back hill.
After a few steps, Obito suddenly remembered something.
“Oh yeah, Kakashi sent a letter a few days ago.” Guy’s steps slowed.
“What did he say?” “He got assigned to Minato Namikaze’s team.
Says he’s being trained till he’s dead on his feet.
And also…” Obito curled his lip.
“He said us two dead lasts are probably still slacking off.” Guy smiled.
“Then when we see him next, we’ll show him what the dead lasts can do.” Obito grinned too.
“Yeah!
Let’s show him!” The two of them walked out of the back hill and headed toward the Uchiha compound.
End of Chapter 18