In the evening woods, the light began to fade.
Sato Fan stood in the clearing, slamming his hands onto the ground.
Chakra surged from his palms into the soil.
The ground trembled slightly, and a Mud Wall half a person’s height rose from beneath his feet.
The surface of the Mud Wall was rough, and the edges were uneven, but it was significantly thicker than it had been a month ago.
He walked around the Mud Wall, tapping the surface with his fingers, producing a dull thud.
It still wasn’t enough.
The standard written in Old Tanaka’s scroll was “capable of withstanding a Jonin-level attack,” but this wall of his could barely handle a kick from a Chunin.
He tried again.
This time, he adjusted his Chakra output, concentrating more of it into the center of the wall.
The Mud Wall rose slightly faster than before, and the surface was smoother.
However, the Chakra consumption was too high; a single wall drained nearly a third of his reserves.
Sato Fan stood in place, catching his breath, and began to calculate in his mind.
He had specifically bought Chakra testing paper, which revealed that he possessed both Earth and Lightning attributes.
Dual attributes.
It wasn’t rare, but it wasn’t common either.
Most ordinary Ninja only had one attribute, while a few had two.
Two meant more possibilities for combinations, but it also meant a longer training time—since each one had to be practiced from scratch.
Sato Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead and was about to try again when a rustling sound came from deep in the woods.
It wasn’t the wind blowing through the leaves; something was moving quickly.
He stopped his movements and listened.
The footsteps were heavy, not like a beast, but like a human—and the kind of person who trained Taijutsu very intensely.
A green shadow darted out from behind the bushes.
“I knew someone was training here!”
Rock Lee stood at the edge of the clearing, hands on his hips.
The eyes beneath his thick eyebrows shone like two lamps.
He wore a dark green bodysuit, his forehead protector tied around his waist, and white bandages wrapped around his legs.
Standing there, his whole being radiated an aura of “youth.”
Sato Fan was stunned for a moment.
Rock Lee?
Why was he here?
“I’ve been watching the signs of training here for a long time!” Little Lee took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the Mud Wall in the clearing, the fist marks on the tree trunks, and the footprints on the ground.
“The Kunai marks on the trees have been patched, but not thoroughly enough; one can still see the trajectory of repeated throws.
Although the footprints on the ground have been washed away by rain, new ones keep appearing.
And these traces of Mud Walls—someone is practicing Earth Release.”
He turned, clenched his fists, and bowed deeply to Sato Fan.
“My name is Rock Lee!
A Konoha Genin, and a disciple of Might Guy-sensei!
Seeing the training traces you left here, I am deeply moved!
That there is still someone willing to prove themselves with sweat—this is youth!”
Sato Fan opened his mouth, wanting to say, “I’m just practicing survival skills,” but upon meeting Little Lee’s burning eyes, the words died in his throat.
“My name is Sato Fan,” he said.
“Sato-kun!” Little Lee straightened up, tears welling in his eyes.
“I can tell from your training traces—you are not a genius!
You practiced this step by step!
Because mine are the same!
Every pit, every mark, is proof of sweat!”
He took a large step forward and cupped his fists.
“Please, spar with me!
I want to see what kind of battle a hardworking person can fight!”
Sato Fan looked at him, silent for a few seconds.
He knew Little Lee’s strength.
He was the top of his year in Taijutsu, doing thousands of push-ups, thousands of kicks, and running dozens of laps around Konoha every day.
A disciple of Might Guy, known as the “genius of hard work.” Fighting him meant losing.
But Sato Fan wanted to try.
He had practiced the Body Flicker Technique and Mud Wall for so long but had never used them in actual combat.
Fighting Little Lee—losing wouldn’t be shameful, and winning was impossible.
But at least he could test his training results.
“Alright,” he said.
Little Lee’s eyes shone even brighter.
He stepped back a few paces and assumed a standard starting stance: right foot forward, left foot back, fists guarding his chest.
“The rules are simple—fight until the other person admits defeat or cannot stand.
Of course, I will control my strength!”
Sato Fan also took a defensive stance. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
He took a deep breath and mobilized his Chakra.
“Start!”
Little Lee moved.
His speed was outrageously fast.
It wasn’t the teleportation-like Body Flicker Technique, but pure explosive Taijutsu power—the soles of his feet kicked off the ground, his calf muscles tensed, and he shot forward like a cannonball.
Sato Fan only had time to see a green blur before Little Lee’s fist was already in front of him.
Body Flicker Technique.
Sato Fan instinctively formed hand seals, Chakra exploding from the soles of his feet.
His body shifted two body-lengths to the right.
Little Lee’s fist grazed his ear, the sound of the wind whistling.
A few strands of hair were cut off by the wind pressure and drifted in the air.
He dodged it.
“Such a fast Body Flicker!” Excitement filled Little Lee’s voice, but his attack didn’t stop.
After one punch missed, he immediately turned, and a sweep with his other leg followed.
Just as Sato Fan landed and hadn’t yet steadied himself, his lower leg was swept.
He fell to the side, propped himself up with his palms, and rolled to create distance.
In the first round, he had almost fallen.
Sato Fan knelt on one knee and quickly formed hand seals.
Mud Wall—he slammed his hands on the ground, injecting Chakra into the soil.
A Mud Wall rose in front of him, blocking him from Little Lee.
The wall was thicker than what he usually practiced because he had pressed more Chakra into it.
“Earth Release!” Little Lee’s voice came from the other side of the wall.
“You even know Earth Release!
That’s amazing!”
Before the words faded, the Mud Wall was kicked to pieces with a boom.
Little Lee’s leg pierced through the shattered earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Sato Fan had already used the Body Flicker Technique to flash three meters away, but Little Lee’s pursuit was faster than he imagined.
Before the debris hit the ground, Little Lee had already appeared in front of him.
This time he didn’t use his fist.
With a turn, his right foot swept toward Sato Fan’s waist with the sound of wind.
Sato Fan crossed his arms to block, and with a dull thud, a massive force transmitted through his arms.
He was swept back several steps, his feet dragging two deep tracks in the ground.
His arms went numb, as if hit by an iron rod.
The gap in strength was too great.
Little Lee’s fists and legs weren’t ordinary attacks.
They were forged from hundreds of push-ups, thousands of kicks, and weighted running every day.
Each strike carried solid weight, and hitting his blocking arms made his bones ache.
Sato Fan shook his numbing arms and formed hand seals again.
Body Flicker Technique—this time it wasn’t to dodge, but to counter-attack.
He appeared on Little Lee’s left side and kicked at his waist.
Little Lee turned sideways, blocked the kick with his arm, and at the same time, his other hand grabbed Sato Fan’s ankle.
“Caught you!”
Sato Fan’s heart tightened.
He didn’t break free; instead, using the force of being grabbed, he kicked off the ground with his other foot, flipped his entire body into the air, and kicked at Little Lee’s face with his free foot.
This was something he had learned from Old Tanaka’s notes—don’t struggle hard when grabbed; borrow the force.
Little Lee let go and stepped back half a pace, dodging the kick.
Sato Fan landed, quickly retreated, and created distance again.
“Beautiful response!” Little Lee gave a thumbs up.
Sato Fan gasped for air, not answering.
That series of moves had consumed nearly half his Chakra—two Body Flicker Techniques, one Mud Wall, plus the borrowing-force kick.
His forehead was soaked in sweat, his breathing was rapid, and his arms were trembling.
Yet Little Lee wasn’t even panting, standing in place as if he were just warming up.
The gap was much larger than he had imagined.
“Again!” Little Lee rushed over again.
This time Sato Fan didn’t use Ninjutsu.
He dodged Little Lee’s first punch, blocked the second with his arm, retreated using the force, and then launched an attack—a punch toward Little Lee’s abdomen.
Little Lee caught his fist with his palm and pushed, sending Sato Fan stumbling back several steps.
In the third round, he was suppressed again.
Sato Fan gritted his teeth and formed hand seals one last time.
Body Flicker Technique—he appeared behind Little Lee and kicked at his lower back.
Little Lee, as if he had eyes on his back, leaned forward to dodge and simultaneously landed a back-kick on Sato Fan’s chest.
Immediately after, “Leaf Hurricane!”
The kick wasn’t heavy, but Sato Fan could no longer stand steady.
He took a few steps back, his knees went weak, and he knelt on one knee.
Little Lee immediately dropped his stance, ran over, squatted down, looking anxious.
“Are you okay?
Did I go too hard?”
“I’m fine,” Sato Fan waved his hand, panting heavily.
“You held back, I know.”
Little Lee had indeed held back.
If that last kick had been full force, he might already be lying on the ground unable to get up.
Even with held-back strength, his chest still ached faintly.
“Your Body Flicker Technique is practiced very well,” Little Lee said seriously, squatting beside him.
“The timing of the dodge is very precise, and the burst of Chakra is very stable.
Although the Mud Wall isn’t thick enough, being able to release it quickly in combat is already very impressive.
And being able to think of borrowing force to counter-attack when grabbed—that’s not something you can learn just from practicing; it’s combat awareness.”
“Are you comforting me?” Sato Fan smiled bitterly.
“It’s not comfort, it’s the truth.” Little Lee’s expression was very serious.
“Your Taijutsu foundation is more solid than I imagined; you just lack combat experience.
Your Chakra consumption is too fast; a few Body Flicker Techniques and you were empty.
This shows that your physical stamina and Chakra levels still need improvement.”
Sato Fan knew he was right.
Although his Chakra level was higher than ordinary civilian Ninja of his age, compared to someone like Little Lee who pushed himself to death every day, he was far behind.
Taijutsu was even more so—every punch and kick of Little Lee’s seemed to have been practiced ten thousand times, while he was still at the “muscle memory” stage.
“Do you practice here every day?” Little Lee asked.
“After five in the afternoon,” Sato Fan said.
“Me too!” Little Lee stood up, clenching his fists.
“I practice Taijutsu here every evening, but we’ve never met.
Teacher had something urgent today, so I came early and finally met you!”
He reached out his hand.
“Sato-kun, let’s train together!
Two people have more motivation than one!”
Sato Fan looked at his hand, silent for two seconds.
There was no mockery or pity in Little Lee’s eyes, only a pure respect for hard work.
He took that hand.
“Alright.”
Little Lee laughed, his smile as bright as the sun.
“Then it’s settled!
Starting tomorrow, we meet here at 5:20 every evening!
We can also spar and exchange pointers.
Your foundation is solid, but your combat experience is too little, and although your Body Flicker Technique is proficient, your actual combat application is quite stiff!”
“My Body Flicker Technique isn’t that bad, is it?” Sato Fan stood up and patted the dirt off his pants.
“It can be better!” Little Lee gave a thumbs up.
“The goal is—three Body Flickers in one second!”
“…That’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible!
Youth is infinite possibility!”
Sato Fan looked at Little Lee’s face, which was filled with the words “passionate youth,” and couldn’t help but smile.
This person was completely different from him.
Little Lee never hid, never covered up, and put all his hard work out in the open.
He wasn’t afraid of being seen, not afraid of being mocked, not afraid of failure.
He wanted to become an excellent Ninja and wanted to prove the value of hard work.
While Sato Fan had hidden for six years, turning himself into an inconspicuous warehouse keeper.
He didn’t dare let people see his Ninjutsu training, didn’t dare let people know he was getting stronger, and didn’t even dare to test his Chakra attributes at school.
But Old Tanaka was right: Konoha didn’t lack geniuses, nor did it lack hardworking people.
Before him was an extremely hardworking person, and in Little Lee’s eyes, everyone was “someone who can work hard together.”
“See you tomorrow.” Sato Fan packed up his things and kept the sealing scroll close to his body—it contained supplies worth eighty thousand ryo.
He never let it leave his side.
“See you tomorrow!” Little Lee waved vigorously.
When Sato Fan walked out of the woods, it was already getting dark.
He touched the sealing scroll on his chest; it was hard and pressed against his skin.
Eighty thousand ryo.
This was the fruit of over a month of his hard work, and also the first “insurance” he had saved for himself in this cruel world.
Behind him came the sound of Little Lee kicking a wooden stake, one after another, with a steady rhythm.
Sato Fan didn’t look back.
He couldn’t handle the training method of Little Lee and Might Guy, so he quickened his pace toward home.