Natsuki had only dared to push himself so far because in that special space, he couldn't be harmed. But he had overestimated his own willpower—or perhaps underestimated the pain of opening the seventh gate. Either way, he had literally passed out from the pain alone. The cost of gaining great power was very real.
Considering Natsuki's physical and mental strength, the level of pain needed to knock him out was unimaginable.
Fortunately, he hadn't tried to open the eighth gate. If he had… he might've literally died from the pain.
Tenten finally let out a sigh of relief, then immediately grabbed Natsuki's ear and twisted hard. "You reckless idiot! Do you want me to become a widow before I even get married? Are you gonna keep doing stupid things like this?!"
"Ow ow ow! I won't do it again! Easy there, wife!"
"Wife your face!"
Tenten blushed fiercely and snapped at him, but seeing him act all dramatic actually made her feel better. Earlier, she had been genuinely terrified.
Shino, meanwhile, quietly endured the incoming wave of lovey-dovey dog food. He was already used to it.
Then he asked, "Natsuki, is the Eight Gates really that powerful?"
Natsuki answered seriously, "Very powerful! When I opened the seventh gate, I felt like even defeating the Hokage wouldn't be too hard. But with my current body, the sixth gate is my limit. I'll need to intensify my training—I want to one day be strong enough that the seventh gate can kick the Sage of Six Paths to the curb!"
Kick the Sage of Six Paths?
That's one hell of a goal!
But Shino didn't doubt him. His friend had always been mysterious.
A person who could enter a special dream realm on the first night of every month and train with no risk, infinite stamina, and unlimited chakra—how could he not become insanely strong?
Shino immediately felt a sense of pressure. His friend would definitely be ridiculously powerful in the future—if he didn't grow stronger too, how could he be trusted to watch his friend's back?
Just then, Shino's expression changed slightly. "Someone's coming."
Natsuki and Tenten instantly stopped messing around. Moments later, the door opened—Shikamaru, Chōji, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba came in. Even Sasuke was standing just outside in the hallway.
All their friends had come.
Ino grinned and teased, "We heard someone calling his wife from outside the hospital room. Who was it? So shameless, even calling her 'wife'!"
Natsuki and Tenten both blushed hard. They didn't care if Shino heard their flirting—but having the whole class hear it? That was embarrassing.
"Ah! Tenten's blushing!"
Ino and Sakura giggled uncontrollably.
"And so is Natsuki. Look at that thick skin turning red."
Everyone laughed as they set down a fruit basket. Seeing that Natsuki was fine, they all relaxed.
Shikamaru asked, "So what happened? We heard you passed out from the pain—but you don't look injured."
Natsuki explained, "I was training a secret technique last night. The pain was so bad that I just blacked out."
Everyone was stunned. For a technique to cause Natsuki to pass out from pain without leaving any physical injuries—it had to be something extraordinary.
They hadn't realized Natsuki was pushing himself so hard.
It seemed graduation was looming, and even Natsuki was starting to feel the pressure.
Everyone else began to feel the same urgency. Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba—all from noble families—started wondering if it was time to learn their clan's secret techniques. Ino and Hinata revealed that they had already been training theirs—just hadn't shown it off.
Naruto, meanwhile, could only envy them all.
He wasn't just jealous of Natsuki's secret technique—he was also jealous of his girlfriend.
Damn it! We're the same age! How the hell did Natsuki already land a cute girlfriend like Tenten? And she even lets him call her 'wife'?!
This world is unfair!
Sasuke's eyes gleamed with focus. The pressure on him was even greater.
He had just barely learned how to tree-walk and water-walk over the past few days. Compared to Natsuki, he was already miles behind. Now Natsuki was training powerful secret techniques? At this rate, he'd never catch up.
Not that he had any obsession with defeating Natsuki—but if he couldn't even surpass someone his own age, how could he possibly defeat that man—his brother?
"You're okay. Good."
Sasuke muttered, then turned and left without another word. He had no time to waste.
The others didn't linger either. After checking in and making sure Natsuki was alright, they all said their goodbyes and headed out. Even Shino left, giving the couple some space.
Natsuki, however, had no intention of staying in the hospital. After getting checked by a doctor and confirmed to be fine, he left with Tenten and returned home.
Just in time to bump into her dad, who was holding a lunch box and about to head out.
The shop owner blinked in surprise when he saw Natsuki. Reflexively, he hid the lunch box behind his back. "Didn't they say you fainted? Why are you out of the hospital?"
Natsuki grinned. "Sorry to worry you, pops. It was just a side effect from training a secret technique. The doctor said I'm fine—just need to rest at home. You were coming to check on me? What's in the lunch box? Let me see!"
Before the shop owner could respond, Natsuki had already snatched the box from his hands.
The man's shoulders relaxed—but he scowled. "That was for the cat!"
Natsuki was already eating. "Mmm—yes, yes, I'm the cat. Your cooking's great, pops!"
The old man huffed and turned away, but there was a smile on his lips.
Tenten saw it all and couldn't help smiling too. But deep down, a desire began to grow stronger.
I really want to grow up quickly… and marry him…
—
For the next few days, Natsuki behaved himself and rested.
The memory of the pain from opening the Gate of Wonder haunted him. He needed a few days to recover and revise his training plan.
Currently, he had increased the gravity in the Gravity Training Room to eight times normal. His next goal was to raise it to ten.
Don't underestimate ten times gravity. Those online explanations claiming it's just like carrying ten times your weight are completely wrong. Gravity and weight training are two entirely different things.
Weight training just loads certain parts of the body. Gravity, however, affects everything.
Your blood, your bones, your internal organs—even your brain—are all under constant strain. It's not the same as simply lifting heavy stuff.
When people ride elevators or roller coasters, even slight increases in gravity can cause dizziness. And that's just minor shifts.
Simple math shows that the average person can only withstand two or three times gravity. At five times, most people pass out.
Astronauts are more resilient, and they can momentarily withstand ten times gravity—usually only during a rocket launch.
Even in Dragon Ball, Goku found ten times gravity incredibly difficult when he first arrived at King Kai's planet. That was after he already had power strong enough to destroy the Earth, and it still took him time to adapt to that level.
As for one hundred times gravity—he only achieved that on his way to Namek, and even then it pushed him to the brink. Afterward, he single-handedly crushed the Ginyu Force. Their captain could move at nearly the speed of light and still wasn't a match.
That's going off topic a bit, but the point remains—
Gravity training is insanely effective—but only if you do it within your limits.
(End of Chapter)
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