Chapter 75 – Breaking the Limits 第75章 – 极限突破

A few days later, Shikamaru stood alone in front of Asuma's grave. The breeze ruffled his forehead hair. His eyes showed new maturity and toughness. He murmured in a low voice, "Asuma, I finally understand what you meant by 'the jade general'."

He slowly squatted down, inserted a cigarette in front of the tombstone, and said softly, "The jade general isn't just a chess piece on the board. It represents our younger generation who will shoulder the future of Konoha. Your child is about to be born... Don't worry. I will protect Kurenai and your child. I swear that no matter what happens, I will safeguard their future."

Shikamaru stood up and looked at the tombstone firmly, like he was promising Asuma something for life.

On the other side, Lin Yuan had just finished his daily training in Fire Release ninjutsu. He was leaning against a wooden stake, gasping for breath when Teacher Anko suddenly found him.

Anko smiled at him and said, "Lin Yuan, I have some good news for you. The Hokage intends to promote you from a Chunin to a Special Jonin."

As soon as Lin Yuan heard this, his eyes immediately lit up. But then, he heard Anko add, "However, there's a condition."

"What condition?" Lin Yuan felt a faint sense of unease.

Anko smiled casually and said, "Lady Tsunade wants you to master the Eight Gates of Dunjia. You must fight for at least a minute when the sixth 'Gate of View' is open."

Lin Yuan's eyes widened, "The... Eight Gates of Dunjia? Are you sure there's no mistake? Isn't this something only a monster like Might Guy trains in?"

Anko shrugged, "You can refuse, but then the promotion is off the table."

Lin Yuan immediately suspected that this was the doing of the Jiuchong Ring. After all, the Jiuchong Ring had been nagging about his weakness in taijutsu recently. But at this moment, the Jiuchong Ring remained silent. Since Lin Yuan had no evidence, he could only grit his teeth and accept the challenge.

Four months passed in a flash, and Lin Yuan spent every day in taijutsu training. He followed Team 3, under the guidance of Teacher Might Guy, to learn the basic knowledge of the Eight Gates of Dunjia. However, he soon found that just opening the first two gates, the Opening Gate and the Rest Gate, took a lot of his energy.

While training, Lin Yuan couldn't help but complain in his heart, "If this continues, I won't even be able to master the first few gates by the time of the Great Ninja War!"

One day, when Might Guy was training with Lin Yuan, he shared that Tsunade had assigned a mission related to the Three - Tails to Shizune, Ino, Rock Lee, and Ten Ten. As Lin Yuan was doing one - handed push - ups, he recalled the plot related to the Three - Tails, Beni, and Deidara. He felt an even greater sense of the urgency of time.

At night, Lin Yuan sat in his room, hands on his head. He gritted his teeth and said to Jiuchong Ring, "Jiuchong Ring, stop it! Can you help me get better at the Eight Gates of Dunjia fast? I can't keep going like this!"

Finally, Jiuchong Ring spoke, with a hint of mockery in its tone, "You should have said so earlier, host. Actually, I have a training space where the time flow rate is one ten - thousandth of the outside world... almost one ten - thousandth. In there, one week is only equivalent to one minute in the Naruto world."

Lin Yuan was taken aback, then his eyes widened, "There's such a great thing? Why didn't you bring it out earlier!"

Jiuchong Ring went on, "But this space is only for training a set target. Each time you go in, you have to use some chakra as activation energy. You can leave halfway, but I'll decide the target."

Jiuchong Ring added, "The target, training the Eight Gates of Dunjia to the sixth gate, the 'Gate of View', has been set for you."

Lin Yuan smiled bitterly, "Great, so it was you. Wait... If I train in there for ten or twenty years, will I come out as an old man?"

The voice of Jiuchong Ring, filled with a hint of disdain, rang in Lin Yuan's mind, "An old man? Only someone with strange ideas like you would come up with such a question."

It stopped for a moment and then teased, "Your soul may seem a bit world-weary, but your body and looks won't change. Don't worry. I'm not useless. I'll put the training results into your body myself. Your efforts won't go to waste."

Jiuchong Ring seemed a bit impatient as it added, "Anyway, if you do become an old man, it's your own fault. Why aren't you training seriously enough? Buck up, Lin Yuan! Don't hold me back!"

Lin Yuan rolled his eyes and sighed, "So, I'm here struggling to train, and you're just here to talk big?"

"Talk big?" Jiuchong Ring sneered, "Don't forget who brought you from being a half - baked ninja to where you are now. And who else can let you train for decades and still look young and handsome in the end? That's right, it's me, Lord Jiuchong Ring!"

Lin Yuan twitched his mouth. "Fine. Thanks. Well, let's start."

In an instant, the scene around Lin Yuan changed dramatically. He found himself on a vast plain, with the distant mountains, grasslands, and lakes in a state of tranquility. The air here seemed to be filled with a rich aura of chakra.

Feeling the ease and comfort of his body, Lin Yuan was so excited that he almost jumped up, "Oh my god, this is like a fairyland! Jiuchong Ring, you finally did something reliable!"

Jiuchong Ring said lazily, "Don't be too excited. Time here is slow, but training is still hard. To open the sixth gate, you'll have to push your body to the limit many times. Are you ready?"

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, and a determined look shone in his eyes, "I will do it! Otherwise... I might not even be able to survive the upcoming 'Accept pain. Know pain! One who does not know pain cannot possibly understand true peace...'."

From then on, Lin Yuan started day-after-day training. In this space with a strange time flow, he took on the challenges of the Eight Gates of Dunjia. Each training tested the limits of his body and will.

====================

几天后,鹿丸独自站在阿斯玛的墓前,微风吹拂着他的额发,他的眼神多了一份成熟和坚韧.他低声喃喃:"阿斯玛,我终于明白你当初所说的 '玉将' 是什么意思了."

他缓缓蹲下,将一支烟插在墓碑前,轻声道:"玉将,不只是棋盘上的一颗棋子,它代表着我们这些要肩负木叶未来的年轻一代.你的孩子快要出生了...别担心,我会保护红,还有你的孩子.我发誓,无论发生什么,我都会守护他们的未来."

鹿丸站起身,目光坚定地看着墓碑,像是对阿斯玛许下了一生的承诺.

另一边,林远刚刚结束了对火遁忍术的日常训练,正靠在木桩旁喘着气时,红豆老师忽然找到他.

红豆笑着对他说:"林远,告诉你个好消息,火影大人打算把你从中忍提升为特别上忍."

林远一听,眼睛顿时亮了起来,但紧接着,他就听到红豆补充道:"不过,有个条件."

"什么条件?" 林远隐隐有些不安.

红豆淡然一笑:"纲手大人要求你必须掌握八门遁甲,并能够在第六门 '景门' 开启的状态下战斗至少一分钟."

林远瞪大了眼睛:"八... 八门遁甲?你确定不是搞错了?这东西不是迈特凯那种怪物才练的吗?"

红豆耸了耸肩:"你可以拒绝,但升迁也就没戏了."

林远瞬间怀疑起这是九重戒暗中搞的鬼,毕竟九重戒最近总在唠叨他的体术弱点.但九重戒此刻却一声不吭,林远只是怀疑没有证据,只能咬牙接受了这个挑战.

四个月的时间匆匆而过,林远每天都在体术训练中度过.他跟随第三班,迈特凯老师,学习八门遁甲的基础知识.然而,他很快发现,仅仅是入门的开门和休门,就已经让他消耗了大量精力.

林远一边训练,一边心里忍不住抱怨:"这样下去,我到忍界大战都学不了前几门啊!"

某一天,迈特凯和林远训练时分享了纲手指派静音,井野,小李与天天接到一项与三尾尾兽有关的任务.林远一边做着单手俯卧撑,一边回想一下三尾,红莲,迪达拉他们的剧情,心中愈发感到时间的紧迫.

夜里,林远坐在房间里,双手抱头,对九重戒咬牙说道:"九重戒,你就别装死了!你到底有没有办法帮我快速提升八门遁甲的实力?我真撑不下去了!"

九重戒终于开口,语气中带着一丝戏谑:"早说啊,宿主.其实我这里有一个训练空间,时间流速是外界的万分之一... 差不多万分之一.在那里面,一个星期,只等于火影世界的一分钟."

林远一愣,随即瞪大了眼睛:"还有这种好东西?早拿出来啊!"

九重戒继续说道:"不过这个空间只能用来训练一个指定目标,而且每次进入都要支付一定的查克拉作为启动能量.中途可以退出,然而目标,由我确认."

九重戒:"目标,训练八门遁甲到第六门 '景门' 已为宿主设定好了."

林远苦笑道:"很好,就是你搞的鬼.等等... 我进去修练个十几二十年,出来会不会变成个老头?"

九重戒的声音带着一丝不屑在林远的脑海中响起:"变老头?也就你这种脑袋里装满奇怪想法的家伙才会想出这种问题吧."

它顿了顿,语气中多了一丝戏谑:"灵魂嘛,可能会有点 '沧桑感',但你的这副身躯和外观不会受到任何影响,放心吧.我可不是吃白饭的,你修炼的成果,我会亲自替你融合进这具身体里,不会浪费你一分一毫的努力."

九重戒似乎有些不耐烦地补充道:"不过话说回来,如果你真的成了老头,那也是你活该,谁让你修炼不够认真?给我加把劲,别拖后腿啊,林远!"

林远翻了个白眼,叹了口气:"合着我拼死拼活修炼,你在旁边负责嘴炮是吧?"

"嘴炮?" 九重戒冷笑了一声,"别忘了,是谁把你从一个半吊子忍者带到现在这个地步的?还有谁能让你在这修炼几十年,最后还能保持年轻貌美的模样?没错,就是我,九重戒大人!"

林远嘴角抽了抽:"好吧好吧,我谢谢你了行了吧?唉... 那就开始吧."

瞬间,林远的周围场景发生了翻天覆地的变化.他出现在一个广袤的平原上,远处的山脉,草地和湖泊一片静谧.这里的空气中似乎充满了浓郁的查克拉气息.

林远感受着身体的轻松与舒适,激动得差点跳起来:"天啊,这简直是神仙空间啊!九重戒,你总算做了件靠谱的事!"

九重戒懒洋洋地说道:"别高兴太早了,这里的时间虽然流速慢,但你的训练难度可没有减少.要开启第六门,你需要经过无数次的身体极限突破,你做好心理准备了吗?"

林远咬紧牙关,眼神中透露出一股坚定:"我会做到的!不然... 可能连接下来的 "一袋米扛几楼" 都没办法挺过去."

从此,林远开始了日复一日的训练,在这个时间流速不同的空间中,他迎接着八门遁甲的挑战,每一次训练都是对身体与意志的极限突破.