Special Training

Shinnosuke lay on the rooftop with a cigarette in his mouth, enjoying his free time... Then the rooftop door suddenly opened, and Ryu and his group walked in. Ryu stepped forward and spoke to Shinnosuke.

"Boss Nohara, Sugihara from the second year has been looking for you lately."

"I told you not to call me boss... Besides, I don't even know this Sugihara guy. What does he want with me?"

Ryu paused, then looked Shinnosuke in the eye and said,

"Because word that you beat us has spread throughout the whole school... Maybe he thinks your presence is a threat to him..."

Shinnosuke thought about the mission he had yet to complete... It was true that his presence was a serious threat to some people. No one would let a dangerous guy run around unchecked right under their nose.

Shinnosuke stretched and said indifferently,

"Well, whatever... Even if he doesn't come looking for me, I'll go looking for him."

Inoue Ryushi froze at his words and stared at Shinnosuke with wide eyes, thinking in shock,

I can't figure out what he's thinking, but this guy is definitely ambitious!

"All right, all right, go do whatever you need to do. Don't bother me..."

Shinnosuke turned onto his side and waved them away without looking back, speaking with an impatient expression.

Ryu pressed his lips together and silently led the others off the rooftop...

After returning home, Shinnosuke made short work of dinner, went upstairs to change into workout clothes, and ran out under Misae's puzzled gaze.

"What's gotten into that boy lately... He's been acting so strange."

After that fight with Ryu's group, Shinnosuke had come to a serious realization about his own shortcomings. In his current state, even with the system's help, he was still nowhere near strong enough to dominate Seito High School!

Many more difficulties awaited him, and he absolutely couldn't sit around waiting for them!

Shinnosuke took a rope from home and tied it around his waist, fastening the other end to a discarded tire he had found in a pile of garbage, and began his weighted training.

It felt fairly easy at first. With six points added to his physique, Shinnosuke was much stronger than an ordinary person. He only began to feel tired after running two or three kilometers, even while dragging a weight behind him. (Don't underestimate those two or three kilometers. If you haven't exercised in years, you'll be lying on the ground gasping for breath if you manage to finish three kilometers. Don't ask me how I know.)

Before gaining those four physique points, he had needed to use a cheat just to exchange a dozen or so blows with Inoue Ryushi. Now he could wipe the floor with him without cheating! Getting stronger really did feel good.

Shinnosuke ran to an open area by the river and untied the rope from his waist, calming his racing heart. He was about to take a break when he noticed a guy in a white training uniform, who was also dragging an old tire behind him, crouching on the ground and panting.

The guy noticed Shinnosuke too and took the initiative to walk over and strike up a conversation.

"Hello... Are you doing special training too?"

Shinnosuke paused, scratched his head, and said,

"Ah... Yeah."

The guy scratched the bandage under his eye and said with a silly grin,

"Then let's both do our best!"

Shinnosuke nodded to him, tied the rope back on, and resumed running, dragging the heavy tire behind him.

Kōetsuji Akisame walked over to the boy in the training uniform with two bottles of water.

"Thanks for your hard work, Kenichi. Was that a friend just now?"

He shook his head and said as he watched Shinnosuke's retreating figure,

"No, I met someone else who was doing special training."

Kōetsuji Akisame stroked the little mustache by his lips and said,

"There aren't many hardworking young men like that these days..."

Then he sat down on the tire behind Shirahama Kenichi, picked up a whip, and snapped it against his back with a crack!

"Aah!!!!"

"All right, Kenichi, break time's over! We can't lose either!"

Shirahama Kenichi answered loudly, tears streaming down his face.

"Yes, Master Akisame!!!"

It was already evening by the time Shinnosuke got home. He dragged his exhausted body along, took off his clothes, and walked into the bathroom, where he came face-to-face with Hiroshi, who had just finished his bath.

Hiroshi patted Shinnosuke on the head and thought,

Before I knew it, this guy had gotten almost as tall as me...

Then he saw how tired Shinnosuke looked. His heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked,

"Shin-chan... What happened to you? Are you sick? Are you feeling unwell anywhere...?"

Hiroshi cupped Shinnosuke's face and examined it from side to side, then felt his forehead, afraid his son was sick.

"Dad... I went out to exercise this afternoon... I'm really tired right now. Can you let me take a bath first...?"

Hiroshi looked puzzled.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden... What made you decide to exercise?"

Shinnosuke walked into the bathroom, took off his clothes, and spoke to Hiroshi without looking back.

"It's good for your health. Exercise more while you're young, and you'll get sick less when you're old..."

A vein bulged on Hiroshi's forehead, and he shouted at Shinnosuke,

"Hey! Are you an old man or something?!"