Before dawn, Duy and Guy arrived at the waterfall at the back mountain.
“Guy!” Duy stood with his hands on his hips, teeth gleaming.
“Twenty days is too short!
Regular training won’t cut it!
Dad is going to give you special training!” Guy nodded: “Okay.” Duy blinked: “You’re not going to ask what it is?” “No.” Duy’s eyes reddened again.
He wrapped his arms around Guy: “Good son!
So passionate!” Guy was nearly choked breathless.
Duy let go, took a deep breath, and his expression turned unusually serious.
“Guy, here is what you will do.
Five thousand kicks every day.” “Push-ups start at one thousand, increase by two hundred each day.” “Stand under the waterfall for one hour.” “And…” He paused, then gave a thumbs-up.
“Dad is going to teach you a special move.
Leaf Hurricane!” Guy’s eyes lit up.
Leaf Hurricane.
One of Might Guy’s signature taijutsu techniques.
And the foundation for many of his later techniques.
“Watch closely!” Duy stepped back a few paces, took a deep breath, and suddenly sprinted forward.
He launched into the air.
His body spun mid-air.
A beautiful roundhouse kick!
Whoosh!
The sound of air being split was sharp and piercing.
He landed, turned around, and flashed his teeth: “How was that!” Guy blinked.
In that instant, something seemed to light up in his mind.
It was not a system notification.
It was a…
feeling.
That way of generating power, that rhythm of spinning, that technique of adjusting his center of gravity in mid-air…
He felt like he already knew it.
“Dad, let me try.” Duy froze: “Now?
You only saw it once—” Guy was already sprinting.
He launched into the air.
Turned.
Kicked!
Whoosh— The motion was a little off.
He nearly stumbled on landing.
But the kick had landed.
Duy’s jaw dropped.
Might Guy steadied himself and turned to look at him.
Duy’s mouth was still hanging open.
“…Guy.” “Yeah?” “You…
just now…” Might Guy scratched his head: “I think I got it.
But it’s not smooth yet.” Duy was silent for three seconds.
Then his eyes reddened again.
“That’s my boy!!!
A genius!!!
You are absolutely a taijutsu genius!!!” He charged forward for a hug, but Guy was ready.
He turned and ran.
“Dad, calm down first!!” “I CAN’T CALM DOWN!!!” One big green figure and one small green figure chased each other through the forest, sending a flock of birds scattering into the sky.
… Training officially began.
Day one: five thousand kicks.
One thousand one-finger push-ups.
Twenty minutes standing under the waterfall.
Guy pushed through.
Day two: fifty-five hundred kicks.
Twelve hundred one-finger push-ups.
Thirty minutes under the waterfall.
He pushed through again.
Day three.
Six thousand kicks.
Fourteen hundred one-finger push-ups.
Forty minutes under the waterfall.
That evening, he sat in front of a tree and looked at his hands.
All ten fingers were wrecked.
His knuckles were raw and bloody.
In some places, white bone was visible.
Blood dripped from his fingers onto the fallen leaves.
He lifted his foot.
The top of his foot was also torn open.
The tree trunk was covered in bloody marks.
“Why am I pushing so hard?” The question suddenly surfaced in his mind.
In his past life, he was an orphan.
No one cared about him.
Just surviving was enough.
But in this life, he had a father.
He had a system.
He had a chance to become stronger…
He hung his head, staring at his bloodied fingers.
Footsteps approached from beside him.
Duy walked over without a word.
He dropped into a horse stance next to Guy.
Then he raised his fist.
Bam!
His fist slammed into the tree.
The trunk shook, and leaves rained down.
Bam!
Another punch.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Punch after punch.
Soon, his own knuckles were torn open, blood seeping through.
Guy stared at him, frozen.
Duy said nothing.
He just kept punching.
One.
Two.
Three.
Guy gritted his teeth.
He turned back.
He raised his fingers.
And jabbed.
One.
Two.
Three.
[Vajra Finger Proficiency +1] [Vajra Leg Proficiency +1] Night fell.
The forest was filled with nothing but the sounds of bam and thump, one after another, until very late.
Day thirteen.
Three in the morning.
Guy woke up.
His fingers hurt.
The tops of his feet hurt.
His shoulders hurt.
His whole body hurt.
He opened his eyes, trying to circulate the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic to ease the pain.
Then he noticed Duy was not in his bed.
He turned his head toward the door.
The door was cracked open.
Moonlight streamed in.
Guy got up, crept over quietly, and looked outside.
Duy was sitting on the doorstep, staring blankly at the moon.
That man, who was always the loudest and laughed the most, sat there quietly.
His silhouette looked a little lonely.
Guy pushed the door open, walked over, and sat down beside him.
Duy turned to look at him and grinned: “You’re awake?
Does it hurt?” “Yeah.” “Dad hurts too.” Duy patted his head.
“But that’s good.
Pain means you’re getting stronger.” Guy was silent for a moment.
“Dad.” “Yeah?” “Do you ever regret it?” Duy blinked.
“Training for twenty years and still being a genin.” Guy looked at the moon.
“Do you ever regret it?” Duy was quiet for a long time before he spoke.
“Regret?” He shook his head.
“Guy, the only thing Dad regrets is not figuring this out sooner.” Guy turned to look at him.
“Figure out what?” Duy looked at the moon, his gaze gentle.
“Protecting the people you want to protect is more important than becoming a jonin.” He paused, then continued.
“Back when I was on a team with the White Fang, Dad was the weakest one.” “Holding everyone back, never able to help, sometimes needing to be protected myself.” “But the White Fang never looked down on me.” He turned to look at Guy and grinned.
“He said everyone has their own way of living.” “Some rely on ninjutsu, some on genjutsu, some on secret clan techniques.
And me—” He raised his thumb, his teeth glinting in the moonlight.
“My way is to burn my youth to the very end through taijutsu!” Guy looked at this man.
Moonlight fell across his face, his eyes blazing with intensity.
He was smiling as he said it, but Guy could feel the weight behind those words.
This was not empty encouragement.
This was a man’s conviction.
Guy took a deep breath.
“Dad.” “Yeah?” “Tomorrow, I want to train more.” Duy blinked.
Then his eyes reddened again.
“That’s my boy!” He wrapped his arms around Guy, his booming voice echoing through the night.
Guy was nearly choked breathless, but the corners of his mouth were turned up.
Day seventeen.
Afternoon.
The back mountain forest.
Guy stood in front of a tree as thick as a bowl.
Over these fifteen days, he had kicked over one hundred thousand times.
He had jabbed his fingers over ninety thousand times.
He had used two bottles of Golden Wound Medicine.
He had worn through two sets of training clothes.
He had destroyed four pairs of shoes.
[Vajra Leg: Moderate Proficiency 100/300] [Vajra Finger: Beginner 99/100] His legs had reached the goal first.
He took a deep breath.
In his mind, he recalled the move Duy had demonstrated.
Sprint, launch, spin, kick.
He had it.
He had learned it long ago.
He sprinted.
He launched into the air.
His body spun mid-air— “LEAF HURRICANE!!!” Whoosh—BAM!!!
The bowl-thick tree trunk snapped clean in two.
The upper half of the tree came crashing down.
Leaves scattered everywhere.
Might Guy landed, steady on his feet.
He stared at the broken tree trunk, frozen.
Duy stood not far away, equally frozen.
Then Duy charged over.
“Guy!!!
You did it!!!
You actually did it!!!” He wrapped his arms around Might Guy, tears streaming down his face, snot running from his nose.
“WAAAAH GUY!!!
Dad knew you could do it!!!
Always knew you could do it!!!” Guy could barely breathe from the crushing hug.
His face and clothes were smeared with tears and snot.
“Dad…
let go…
let go…” “NO!!!
Dad is too happy!!!
TOO HAPPY!!!” Guy’s eyes rolled back, his arms hanging limp.
But his heart was warm.
“Whatever.” “I’ll wash the clothes when we get home.” [Vajra Leg has reached “Moderate Proficiency.” Main Quest progress: 1/2.] Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves.
One big green figure and one small green figure embraced.
One was crying uncontrollably.
One was staring blankly into space with rolled-back eyes.
The wind blew through the forest, carrying the faint scent of blood and sweat.
And something else.
Something that could only be called youth.
End of Chapter 5