On the first morning of the break, Guy jolted awake.
It had not exactly been a nightmare, but in the dream, Ren had challenged him to a fight.
The challenge itself was not the frightening part.
Losing was.
Guy could not even imagine what kind of brutal trash talk Ren would unleash afterward.
He pulled on his green bodysuit and headed out for his morning training.
“First, ten laps around Konoha!
That should be a perfect warm-up!” He was halfway through his second lap when another set of footsteps appeared behind him.
Guy’s heart sank.
So much for dreams being meaningless.
Ren had caught up to him!
“What do you want, Uchiha Ren?!” Guy shouted.
“Stay away from me!” “Weren’t you the one yelling about training all winter and defeating me on the first day of the next semester?” Ren asked as he matched Guy’s pace.
“I came to see what all that confidence was about.” Guy’s blood pressure shot through the roof.
Every part of his body screamed that he wanted nothing to do with this.
He immediately sped up, determined to leave Ren behind.
Ren accelerated with him.
During the final exam, Ren had gained a physical breakthrough from both Ebisu and Asuma.
His muscles had become so much stronger so quickly that his entire body felt restless and uncomfortable.
The only way to settle them down was to push himself hard enough to use all that new strength.
High-intensity training was the obvious answer.
Training alone was boring, though, and sparring with his shadow clones was somehow even worse.
Ren still had enough shame to keep certain insults to himself.
His clones had no such restraint.
Once they started insulting him, even Ren wanted to punch himself.
So he had decided to use Guy as a training partner while he adjusted to his new physical abilities.
Who could possibly be better suited for taijutsu training than Might Guy?
“Guy!
Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of tough guy?” Ren shouted.
“Why are your legs moving like someone filled them with sleeping medicine?” Guy looked over and found Ren running beside him without any sign of strain.
“You can’t use ninjutsu, you can barely perform the Three Basic Techniques, and now you’re telling me your taijutsu is terrible too?” Ren gave him an incredulous look.
“Tell me something—are you at least good at eating?
Or do you only know how to waste your father’s food?” Guy immediately bristled.
Taijutsu was his pride!
It was what his father had taught him most, and their training sessions were the happiest moments they shared.
How dare Ren claim he was bad at it?
His family was poor.
His father was only a genin who survived by taking whatever minor D-rank missions he could find.
Every grain of rice in their home mattered.
Guy would never waste food his father had worked so hard to earn!
“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF MY YOUTH!” Guy’s pace increased again.
The laps around Konoha had originally been nothing more than a warm-up, but he was now running so fast and burning so much energy that the warm-up had become the entire workout.
Ren finally became interested.
This was the kind of speed his new body needed.
Every time he lifted his legs, he could feel his thigh muscles screaming.
Every breath made his chest pound.
By pushing his muscles to their limit, Ren could learn how to control his stronger body.
Abilities gained from the system still had to be practiced until they truly became his own.
Otherwise, his movements would remain slightly awkward.
After ten high-speed laps around Konoha, Guy collapsed onto the ground.
His chest rose and fell like a pair of bellows as he fought for air.
Ren desperately wanted to lie down beside him, but he had an image to maintain.
He could not let Guy know he was exhausted too.
“Is that your limit, Guy?
What a disappointment.
“I thought ninjutsu simply wasn’t your thing, and you kept insisting a taijutsu specialist could still have a future.” Ren looked down at him.
“But if even your precious taijutsu is this pathetic, I don’t want to imagine how awful your ninjutsu and genjutsu must be.” “Your future looks bleak.
Go home, take a shower, and submit a withdrawal form.
I’m sure the Academy instructors have been waiting years for it.” “You—Uchiha Ren!” Guy struggled to sit up.
“My youth has only begun to burn!
I will never abandon my dream of becoming a shinobi!
One day, I’ll become a chūnin!” “A chūnin?” Ren raised an eyebrow.
“That’s a surprisingly modest dream.
Even a failure like Obito has shouted about becoming Hokage.” Then he pretended to remember something.
“Your father is Might Duy, right?
The genin nobody wants to take outside the village?” Guy’s expression stiffened.
“Give it up.
You and your father should both accept reality.
He can submit his retirement papers, and you can submit your withdrawal form.” Ren spread his hands.
“Then the two of you can stay in the village and do manual labor together.
A nice, simple family business.” “I’m a generous person, though.
Once I become a chūnin and start earning real mission money, I’ll hire both of you to clean my yard.” Guy’s lips trembled as he fought not to cry in front of Ren.
His father’s speeches about youth and passion had moved him to tears countless times before.
He had never imagined Ren would be the one who nearly made him cry by insulting both him and his father!
But Guy refused to surrender.
“I trained hard for an entire month to prepare for the final exam!
I only ran slowly today because I haven’t recovered from all that fatigue!” He forced himself to his feet.
“Just wait!
My youth is capable of far more speed than this!” Ren’s breathing had finally returned to normal.
He turned and walked away.
“I’ll meet you here again tomorrow, Noodle-Legs.” Guy was always overflowing with determination.
One bad morning would never be enough to break him.
He was going to be difficult to farm.
Guy watched Ren disappear down the road, seething with frustration.
His kicks were powerful enough to send Obito flying with one blow, yet Ren had reduced him to Noodle-Legs.
He had been mocked in the one area where he took the most pride.
…
Ren returned home and treated himself to a long nap, sleeping until noon.
After eating, he headed back outside and wandered through the training fields scattered near Konoha’s outer wall, searching for familiar faces who might benefit from some emotional damage.
It did not take long for him to spot Kurenai.
She was nearly finished with her morning training when a voice suddenly called out behind her.
“Kurenai, I knew you’d be waiting for me at our usual place.
Sorry I’m late.” Kurenai flinched and spun around.
Ren stood behind her with a perfectly sincere expression.
“I wasn’t waiting for you!” she protested.
“And since when is this our usual place?” “Kurenai, there’s no need to be shy.
I understand.” Ren nodded sympathetically.
“You were too embarrassed to invite me directly, so you arranged for us to accidentally meet here.
That must have taken a lot of planning.” Kurenai’s face turned red with anger.
Ren jumped down beside her.
“Come on.
Let’s spar.” “Between Ebisu and Asuma constantly interrupting us this semester, we never got the chance to train properly.” He smiled.
“Let me teach you personally.
By the start of next semester, you’ll feel like a completely different person.” Kurenai was annoyed, but after considering Ren’s strength, she decided to endure him.
Opportunities to train with the top-ranked student in their year did not come often.
…
After their spar, Ren offered to buy her ramen.
Kurenai hesitated for a long time before finally accepting.
Ren celebrated inwardly.
Showing a girl affection was nothing special.
What mattered was making her feel like she was the only one who received it.
Who could resist being treated as someone’s exception?
Ren insulted the entire world, yet when he faced Kurenai, he offered her the last scraps of gentleness he possessed.
No matter how obnoxious he was to everyone else, it was obvious that he treated her differently.
And so the holiday settled into a routine.
Every morning, Ren pushed himself through brutal training while insulting Guy.
He slept through most of the late morning.
At noon and throughout the afternoon, he gave Kurenai private training.
Then in the evening, he met Guy again for another round of intense exercise and nonstop verbal abuse.
His training had everything: physical intensity, reliable companionship, and enough emotional damage to keep everyone motivated.