“Guy! The sun hasn’t fully risen yet, but our youth has already begun to burn!”
“Yes! Father! I will definitely use my feet to catch up with youth!”
Haruto paused in his steps.
Here they came.
Two green figures rushed out from the intersection.
It was the familiar bowl cuts, thick eyebrows, and impossible-to-ignore green tight bodysuits.
Might Duy ran in the front, and Might Guy closely followed behind.
As the two ran, they gave thumbs-up, their teeth shining as if they could reflect light.
Guy spotted Haruto at a glance and immediately waved excitedly.
“Haruto!”
With a push of his feet, he rushed straight over.
“You came for a morning run today too! That’s great! Your youth really hasn’t stopped!”
Haruto stopped and nodded with a smile.
“Morning, Guy. Senior Duy.”
Might Duy also stopped, placed his hands on his hips, and nodded heavily.
“Young Haruto! When I saw you yesterday, I already felt the fire in your heart!”
“I didn’t expect you to really appear here again early this morning!”
“This perseverance is precisely the most beautiful proof of youth!”
Haruto’s mouth twitched slightly; this praise was a bit too intense.
It was only his second day of morning running, yet coming from the mouths of the Might father and son, he was almost becoming the representative of youth.
Guy also wore a completely earnest expression.
“Haruto, you said yesterday that we should take things step by step, and I thought about it for a long time!”
“Father is right. Recognizing one’s own limits and then breaking through them step by step is also youth!”
Haruto nodded.
“I’m very glad you can think this way.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, Might Duy’s expression suddenly turned serious.
He took a step back, as if about to announce something important.
Haruto’s heart skipped a beat; this expression didn’t look right.
Might Duy took a deep breath and suddenly reached his hand into the small pouch behind him.
“Young Haruto!”
“In order to acknowledge this passionate youth of yours, I’ve decided to give you a gift!”
A gift?
Haruto instinctively felt a bit cautious.
The next second, Might Duy pulled a piece of clothing out of the pouch, green…
tight…
bodysuit…
the style was identical to the ones on Might Duy and Might Guy.
It was even thoughtfully folded neatly.
The smile on Haruto’s face almost cracked.
You’ve got to be kidding me?
They were actually doing this?
Guy beside him was so excited that both of his fists were tightly clenched.
“Haruto! This is a special physical training outfit specially prepared by Father!”
“After putting it on, you’ll be able to burn with youth alongside us!”
Might Duy held that green bodysuit high up, his tone as solemn as if he were handing over some supreme treasure of the Ninja World.
“That’s right!”
“This is a special physical training outfit identical to the ones Guy and I wear!”
“It’s lightweight, form-fitting, and suitable for running, jumping, push-ups, handstand walking, and any passionate taijutsu training!”
“Young Haruto, I acknowledge your youth!”
“Accept it!”
Looking at that piece of clothing, only one thought remained in Haruto’s mind.
Reject it, he must reject it.
He could practice taijutsu, go for morning runs, ask the Might father and son for advice, and even learn the Eight Gates if he really had the chance in the future.
But this outfit was absolutely out of the question.
This wasn’t clothing; this was a Konoha art-style modifier.
If he put it on and walked around the Ninja Academy in the future, how would Kurenai Yuhi look at him?
How would Rin Nohara look at him?
How would Kakashi look at him?
And how would those two troublemakers, Asuma and Obito, laugh at him?
Most importantly, Haruto’s face had just relied on sheer looks to stun Obito the day before yesterday.
If he changed into this green bodysuit today, wouldn’t that be instantly ruining his own brand?
But the problem was that Might Duy was full of sincerity, and Guy was full of expectation.
This father and son genuinely treated this as a treasure.
If he directly said “It’s too ugly, I don’t want it,” that wouldn’t be rejecting a gift, but rather stabbing a knife into someone’s heart.
Haruto’s brain spun rapidly; he couldn’t offend them, couldn’t accept it, and yet had to make it sound pleasant to them.
Ideally, after the rejection, not only would the other party not get angry, but they would even feel that he understood them deeply.
A breath later, Haruto’s expression changed.
He neither stepped back nor showed disgust; instead, he took a step forward, gazing solemnly at the green bodysuit.
Might Duy and Guy were both momentarily stunned.
Haruto slowly spoke up.
“Senior Duy, I cannot accept this clothing.”
Might Guy immediately grew anxious.
“Why? Haruto, do you not like youth?”
Might Duy was also somewhat surprised.
“Young Haruto, could it be that you aren’t ready to burn with youth yet?”
Haruto shook his head.
“No.”
He raised his hand to point at the green bodysuit, his tone incomparably earnest.
“Precisely because I respect youth, I cannot casually accept it.”
Guy was also dumbfounded.
Haruto continued, “This is not an ordinary piece of clothing.”
“It represents the glory of a taijutsu practitioner.”
“It represents day-after-day sweat, the perseverance to stand back up after falling, and the conviction to break through limits with hard effort rather than being bound by natural talent.”
Might Duy’s hand trembled slightly.
Guy’s mouth opened wider and wider.
The more Haruto spoke, the steadier he became.
“Senior Duy, you and Guy wear it because you deserve it.”
“You persist in training every day, unafraid of others’ mockery or misunderstanding.”
“You prove through your actions that taijutsu can similarly burn with the most dazzling youth.”
“And what about me?”
Haruto raised his hand and pressed it against his own chest.
“I’ve only been doing morning exercises for two days.”
“I haven’t even trained my basic stamina yet, let alone touched the true threshold of taijutsu.”
“If someone like me were to put it on right now, it wouldn’t be glory, but desecration.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to accept it, but that I’m not yet qualified to accept it.”
Might Duy froze completely in place.
Guy’s eye sockets also began to redden.
Haruto looked at them, his tone even more solemn.
“Senior Duy, this piece of clothing should be given to someone who is truly qualified to wear it.”
“Until one day, my taijutsu training reaches a standard that I myself approve of.”
“Until I can straighten my back and say that I haven’t let down my own sweat.”
“By that time, if you are still willing to give it to me, I will definitely receive it with both hands.”
“But right now, I cannot ruin this glory out of a momentary impulse.”
As his voice fell, the surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Might Duy lowered his head to look at the green bodysuit in his hands, his lips trembling slightly.
The next second, tears gushed straight out of his eyes.
“Young Haruto!”
He abruptly raised his head, tears streaming wildly from beneath his thick eyebrows.
“You were actually able to understand to this extent!”
“That’s right! This is not ordinary clothing! This is the battle robe of youth!”
“I originally only felt your passion, but I didn’t expect you to have already seen through its true meaning!”
Guy also broke down in tears along with him.
“Haruto! You are too amazing!”
“In the past, I only felt that this clothing was very suitable for training, but I never expected there to be such deep youth within it!”
Haruto let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Nailed it.