After being knocked into the air five times, Ryosuke's whole body was aching.
But he felt great.
Hearing the system's voice awarding attribute points in his head—pure joy.
Each boost came with a warm current flowing through his body.
It eased some of the pain, though not all of it.
If his body could hold out, he wouldn't be leaving today.
Still, there'd be other days to farm this buff—couldn't be too greedy all at once.
He slowly got up.
Facing Might Guy, he offered his thanks.
"Thanks for sparring with me today."
Seeing Ryosuke's bruised and battered face, Guy couldn't help but feel respect.
That hunger in his eyes during battle—he hadn't held back at all.
That unbreakable spirit earned Guy's admiration.
"No problem."
Just then, a few Konoha flak-vest-wearing ninjas stepped out from the crowd.
They'd been on patrol when they noticed the gathering and came to check.
What they saw stunned them.
Might Guy—a guy who couldn't even use basic ninjutsu—had beaten the Grand Elder's grandson, Uchiha Ryosuke, to a pulp.
They were furious.
Sure, Ryosuke wasn't the strongest, but his parents had died for the clan.
How could they let an outsider humiliate one of their own?
To them, Guy beating Ryosuke this badly was an insult to the whole Uchiha clan.
One of them immediately stepped forward.
"How dare you, Might Guy! You assaulted an Uchiha—come with us to the Police Force for punishment!"
The crowd knew the truth but didn't dare speak up. No one wanted to get dragged off by the Uchiha Police.
Even though Ryosuke had asked for the spar, Guy had hurt him—and badly.
Guy grew anxious and quickly explained.
"It was a friendly spar! Not a fight!"
But the Uchiha enforcer didn't care. Guy had injured a clan member—agreement or not, someone had to take the fall to save face.
They started closing in on Guy.
Guy didn't know what to do.
Hurting a Uchiha... Maybe he really would be punished for this.
Just then, Ryosuke snapped.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"This was a spar I agreed to with Guy."
The Uchiha officers paused in shock.
"Ryosuke, this isn't just about you anymore."
"He beat you. That's a disgrace to our clan."
"If we don't arrest him, what face does the Uchiha clan have left?"
That made Ryosuke even angrier.
"What a joke. If this is what the Uchiha clan calls pride, it's way too cheap."
"Face is something you earn—not something the Uchiha Police Force flashes around."
"This ends here."
The officers looked like they wanted to argue more but backed down after seeing Ryosuke's glare.
"We'll report this to the captain."
Ryosuke didn't care.
Let them tell Uchiha Fugaku—so what?
This kind of police force inspired no respect.
They should act by the rules.
And as far as he knew, there was no rule saying sparring injuries were a punishable offense.
After shooing them off, Ryosuke turned back to Guy with an apologetic look.
"Sorry you had to see that from my clan."
But Guy just waved it off.
"No worries."
He'd been mocked for not knowing ninjutsu since he was a kid.
His mental defense stat was maxed out by now.
And honestly, he hadn't lost anything today.
Sure, he beat Ryosuke up, but it made sense that the Police Force misunderstood.
Looking at him, Guy repeated the name those Uchiha enforcers had used.
"Uchiha Ryosuke—mind if I call you that?"
"Of course not," Ryosuke said, waving his hand.
Actually, he wanted them to be closer.
"Just call me Ryosuke from now on."
Building this bond meant he might eventually learn the Eight Gates.
If they didn't get along, why would Guy ever teach him?
"Then Ryosuke it is. And call me Guy—we're about the same age, right? My friends call me that."
Guy grinned.
"Sure," Ryosuke nodded.
That "friend" was probably Kakashi.
Guy had no ninjutsu talent, so most peers mocked or ignored him.
But for some reason, he and Kakashi became friends.
Maybe his only friend.
And Kakashi's Eight Gates definitely came from Guy.
Kakashi didn't know it originally.
So if he got close to Guy, he could learn it too.
But it wasn't just about the Eight Gates—Ryosuke really admired the guy.
A Konoha civilian ninja—no main character plot armor, no kekkei genkai, no ninjutsu talent—but still made it to the top.
Sure, the full Eight Gates burned like a matchstick—short-lived but glorious.
After parting with Guy, Ryosuke went straight back to the Uchiha compound.
No way was he strolling around with a body this busted.
Time to rub on some ointment, heal up faster, and get back to getting beaten up for attribute boosts.
The stronger his body, the more effective the Eight Gates would be later.
The tougher his constitution, the less damage Eight Gates would do.
Unlocking the early gates gave only small boosts and mild strain.
But Gate Six—or Seven—that was different. Big power, big risk.
Could even shorten his lifespan.
And as a transmigrator with dual systems, including the Blessed-with-Many-Children System, no way was he losing years.
He had to live long and reproduce even longer.
So boosting his constitution was absolutely essential.
He figured—if his physical stats got high enough, maybe unlocking Seven Gates would make him as strong as Red Guy from the original timeline.
The only question was—how high did his body stats need to be to unlock the seventh gate?