It was noon. Warm sunlight filtered through the small forest behind the Ninja Academy, where three young children sat together, eating their lunch.
"Mikoto, this bento is really delicious!" Yoru said with a smile as he ate.
"My mother made it," Mikoto replied gently.
"Haha, then it must have become this delicious after passing through Mikoto's hands!"
"Cough—!" Minato nearly choked on his rice ball upon hearing that.
" Yoru… you seem really good at talking to girls," Minato said with a wry smile. He couldn't help but feel that dragging Yoru away earlier might have been a mistake—this guy clearly wasn't shy at all!
"Haha! Minato, you still need more training in that area!" Yoru laughed loudly, patting Minato heavily on the shoulder.
Serves you right for dragging me away from my VIP seat earlier, Yoru thought.
" Yoru-kun…" Mikoto, who had grown up in the Naruto world, had never heard such bold words before. Her face flushed slightly as she spoke.
That's great… she thought softly. At least Yoru-kun hasn't been crushed by the misfortune of losing his parents.
After a bit of casual chatting, the three of them began discussing ninja-related knowledge.
Calling it a "discussion" was giving Yoru too much credit.
In reality, it was mostly Mikoto and Minato talking—
And Yoru listening.
As the daughter of an important figure in the Uchiha clan, Mikoto had received elite ninja education from a young age. The level of knowledge she could access was far beyond that of ordinary people.
As for Minato—
His fundamentals were so solid it was almost terrifying.
Yoru absorbed everything he could.
After all, in just a few years, the Second Great Ninja War would break out. Only by becoming stronger as quickly as possible could he survive what was to come.
The weak—
Didn't even get to choose how they died.
Before long, afternoon classes began. The three of them packed up and headed back to the classroom together.
The lessons were still basic theory. Yoru listened attentively, occasionally leaning toward Mikoto to ask questions.
There's always something special about gentle (and beautiful) girls… Yoru thought.
"Alright, that's it for today. Tomorrow and the day after are rest days. Everyone, stay safe!"
"Ohhh!"
As soon as Nakamura Hino finished speaking, the classroom erupted with excitement.
The students quickly packed their things and rushed out.
"Mikoto, want to walk home together?"
After finishing packing, Mikoto heard Yoru's voice.
"Um… my mother is coming to pick me up today," she replied softly, her face slightly red as she lowered her head.
"Ah, it's fine. Then I'll head back on my own."
Hearing the faint disappointment in his voice, Mikoto spoke almost instinctively:
"Then… next time, let's go home together. My mother won't come next time."
"Ah! That's great! It's a deal, Mikoto," Yoru said happily.
"Mm."
…
"Want to go together, Yoru?"
Just as Mikoto stood there shyly, Minato walked over with a smile.
…
"This is my house," Yoru said after arriving.
"Are we really this close?" he added.
"Ah, yeah… well, I'll head back now. See you next week, Yoru," Minato said quickly, as if afraid of being discovered, before turning and leaving.
Yoru watched him walk back in the direction they had come from, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes.
As expected of the future little sun…
Returning to his small house, Yoru retrieved the two books from a hidden spot.
The Marine Six Styles aren't very useful right now, he thought.
After all, those techniques were meant for superhumans. Anyone capable of mastering all six styles was a monster among monsters.
Yoru focused on the Body Limit Training Method.
After carefully reading through it, he realized—
This book, which appeared alongside the Six Styles, was anything but ordinary.
If he had to choose, its importance even surpassed that of the Six Styles.
The World Government had existed for 800 years.
This book—
Was the culmination of 800 years of physical training!
From foundational exercises all the way to methods for breaking through human limits and reaching superhuman levels—
Everything was recorded within.
"This must be the highest-level body tempering method of the Marines…"
In the final sections, it even detailed Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
After studying it thoroughly, Yoru came to a realization:
Becoming strong wasn't complicated.
It required money.
Since ancient times, scholars could be poor—but martial paths demanded wealth.
The enormous appetites of powerful figures in the One Piece world weren't without reason.
To break through the limits of the body, grueling training alone wasn't enough—
You also needed an immense supply of nutrition!
If you only trained without eating enough—
Before becoming strong, you'd turn into a dried corpse.
Efficient nutrient absorption.
Specialized strength-training methods.
Techniques for breaking physical bottlenecks.
These—
Were the core essence of this book.
"And this… can also help with Chakra extraction…"
Yoru realized.
Chakra was a fusion of physical and spiritual energy.
As the body broke through its limits, the mind would also be strengthened.
And naturally—
The amount of Chakra one could extract would increase as well.