Chapter 24

Chapter: "Claws, Kicks, and Cheek Kisses"

If I had a won for every time two beautiful martial artists almost tried to murder each other over me—yeah, I'd probably only have one won. But still, that's one more than most guys, and I wasn't exactly bragging.

Okay… maybe a little.

Dal Dal was still stuck to my side like I was a limited-time plushie and she was a kid in a toy store, when Moon Young showed up, eyes narrowed like she'd just walked into a soap opera she wasn't invited to.

"Hey, get away from my man," she said, her voice calm in that 'volcano-right-before-eruption' kind of way.

Dal Dal huffed and clung tighter. "Hmph! You had your date. Now it's my turn."

Oh no.

See, normal girls might have subtle rivalries. These two? They're professional-grade chaos. Their version of affection involved joint locks and trash talk.

"You hit your head this morning or just always this delusional?" Moon shot back, grabbing Dal Dal's arm like she was about to drag her to detention.

"No, but yours definitely got fried from all that smugness!" Dal Dal actually kicked toward Moon's head. Like, full-speed knee to the skull. In the hallway.

Moon ducked under the kick like a ninja, her fist flying up toward Dal Dal's stomach—except, I was suddenly in between them.

Yup. That was me. Human shield. Welcome to my life.

"Whoa! We're all friends here, remember?" I said, blocking Dal Dal's knee with one hand and gently pushing Moon away with the other. "This is school, not Girls Gone Gladiator."

Dal Dal immediately switched gears and gave me her best innocent pout, like she hadn't just tried to knee my girlfriend in the face. Her inner actor deserved an award.

I turned to Moon and gently took her hand—part calming gesture, part "please don't suplex her through a wall."

"Moon, chill. You know me. I'm just hanging out with a friend."

She gave me a look. The kind of look that said I know what 'just a friend' turns into. Then she crossed her arms, unimpressed.

"Fine. I'll stop. But you actually believe that girly girl has anything interesting to offer? She'll bore you to death."

Dal Dal shot her a smug smile like she'd been waiting all week for this roast battle. "At least I'm not a tomboy who couldn't spell elegance if her life depended on it."

Here we go again.

"Enough!" I raised my hands like a referee at the start of a title match. "We'll settle this the proper way."

They blinked.

"Sparring time."

The tension dropped instantly.

Fighting, they could agree on.

I gave Moon a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek—something that surprised both her and me. She blinked like someone had just unplugged her anger. Then I gave Queen a nod as we headed to the mats.

No time for love triangles, awkward feelings, or deadly catfights.

We had thirty minutes. And four girls.

And I was about to fight them all at once.

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If you ever want to know what it feels like to barely survive a stampede of four martial art warriors, try fighting them all at once during a spar. I had just lived through that experience—barely—and now I was on the floor, eating snacks with the squad like nothing happened.

You know. Just a normal school break.

"Hey, pass the milk bread," I said, wiping sweat off my forehead while my muscles reminded me that yes, five-on-one was exactly as suicidal as it sounded.

The girls were mostly chill again—mostly. Moon Young and Dal Dal kept giving each other side-eyes like they were trying to decide whether a food fight would violate school rules. Queen sat calmly, like royalty at a picnic. And me? I was trying not to cramp while eating a rice ball.

But the real story started after lunch.

Underground training facility. Chakra meditation. Serious face mode: ON.

I'd been working on my chakra control and sparring with Lee Na, who had taken on the terrifying role of mentor-sensei-who-can-also-end-you-in-a-second. One moment I was struggling to gather Ki, and the next…

BOOM.

Okay, not a literal boom. More like an inner explosion. Like someone inside me went, "Hey, you've suffered enough. Level up, dude."

I felt it. The shift. The surge.

I had just reached Level Two in Ki cultivation.

Which, in this world, basically meant I stopped being a weakling and finally entered the fighting league for real. My chakra surged—like, actually surged. If chakra were a drink, mine went from "tap water" to "low-budget sports drink." Not quite Ninja World level, but good enough to punch a hole in someone's ego.

Lee Na stopped mid-spar. Her eyes widened, which was impressive considering she usually looked like she was judging humanity.

"I thought I had seen everything," she muttered. "Three days. Three. Days. To hit level two? Most people need a year. Are you… a dragon in disguise?"

"Nah," I said, grinning. "Just a guy who doesn't like losing."

(Okay, I might have had some hidden power from my old world, but hey—nobody likes a bragger.)

She crossed her arms and gave me a once-over. "Your control is on my level. And I've been doing this for a decade. Honestly, it's kind of terrifying."

"Thanks, I think?"

"Don't let it get to your head. You still need to stabilize your body with meditation. Then, starting tomorrow, you'll learn techniques."

My eyes lit up like it was Christmas. "Techniques? Like energy blasts and punches that break walls?"

"Yes, but with control. And remember—December is the tournament. It's September now. You have three months to hit level three. If you do, you might actually win. Even at your current level, you're near True Master tier. But don't let that fool you—there might be others like you, hiding their strength."

"Got it," I said, mentally firing up every motivational speech Naruto ever gave.

"Oh, and Jaegu?"

"Yeah?"

"After you're done meditating…" She hesitated. "Want something sweet to celebrate?"

Wait—Lee Na just offered to treat me?

I blinked. Was this… real? Was the cold, flawless, deadly Lee Na actually giving me a reward?

Usually she'd just nod and walk off like a ninja ghost. But not today.

"Sure," I said with a smile. "Thanks. I'll find you once I'm done."

She nodded, gave me a light pat on the shoulder, and walked off.

And me? I headed to the meditation room, trying really hard to not think about how crazy beautiful she looked in that moment. Cold, collected, and somehow… just a little warm when she smiled.

Not love, though. Definitely not love.

Just… interest.

Curiosity.

Maybe a sweet craving of my own.

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You know that feeling when your whole body buzzes like it just drank twelve cups of espresso and then got hit by lightning?

Yeah, that's what it felt like when I let the new chakra reserves flow through me for the first time.

I was in the underground training facility—alone, focused, and trying really, really hard not to explode. I sat cross-legged in the center of the sparring platform, shirt drenched in sweat, breath slow and controlled. The breakthrough to Ki Level Two had supercharged my body, but there was more.

It was time to open the First Gate.

In my old world, I could open up to six of the Eight Gates. Each one was a door to overwhelming power… and horrifying self-destruction if you weren't careful. Now, I was back to square one. My body was different. The rules of chakra were different.

But the principle was the same.

Limiters off. Power on. Pain expected.

I placed two fingers on the side of my neck—just below the jawline—and visualized the inner pathways of my chakra. I had mapped this route thousands of times before. The Gate of Opening, located in the brain, was the first. The simplest. The safest.

Well, "safe" was relative. Safe-ish.

"Open," I whispered.

My heart jolted like someone had kickstarted it with jumper cables. Heat flooded my limbs. Muscles bulged slightly, just enough to make my shirt stretch. Veins lit up faintly with blue light as the chakra gushed through the open gate.

My fists clenched.

I moved.

A straight punch. A spin-kick. A flipping strike with the heel. Fluid, smooth, precise—and most importantly, fast. My speed was almost back to my prime level, and the extra chakra made it feel like I was gliding with each movement.

The floor cracked beneath my feet from a single stomp.

I grinned.

"Still got it."

But even with the thrill of power, I could feel the burn building in my muscles. My joints ached. My lungs felt just a bit tighter than before. The Gate took its toll—and this was just the first.

I exhaled and powered down.

The chakra stopped surging like a raging river and settled into a steady flow, like a calm stream under my skin.

My body trembled slightly, but I could handle it. I was no rookie.

The best part? This training facility had top-tier healers and medicine. After every brutal session, I had people ready to patch me up with herbs, Ki treatments, and weird glowing needles that I didn't question because they worked.

That meant I could push harder, recover faster, and get back to the Six Gates—sooner or later.

Not just to reclaim what I lost, but to go beyond it.

I was no longer the boy from the old world.

I was Jae Gu, the warrior reborn—with chakra, Ki, and a goal.

Next stop: Gate Two.

But first? A long soak, a healing pill, and maybe—just maybe—a sweet treat with Lee Na.

Because hey, even future champions need sugar sometimes.