The Body Is the Capital for All Revolutions

"Third Hokage!"

An Anbu Ninja suddenly barged in, giving Hiruzen Sarutobi quite a fright. He hurriedly stretched out both hands to cover the Crystal Ball on the desk.

That was close!

His subordinate had almost found out that he was peeping on the women's bathhouse!

Hiruzen Sarutobi steadied his racing heart, his old face calm as ever. Looking at the rash Anbu Ninja, he said, "No rush. Take your time."

The Anbu Ninja looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with admiration. As expected of the Third Hokage—this composure, this bearing, were not things a small fry like him could ever cultivate.

Thinking this, he said, "Third Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki has been staying on the Back Mountain these past few days, doing some strange things."

"Oh, strange things?" A trace of interest appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face. "Go back out. Don't alert him. Continue observing."

"Yes!"

After the Anbu Ninja left, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face finally reddened. He removed his hands from the Crystal Ball, whose surface was covered in mosaics.

Reluctantly wiping the Crystal Ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi switched its image to the Back Mountain. Inside the Crystal Ball, a five-year-old boy stood bare-armed, his face flushed red as he did push-ups.

It was Naruto Uzumaki!

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently watched Naruto doing push-ups.

"Taijutsu?"

His feelings toward Naruto Uzumaki were complicated—indescribable, incomprehensible, something even he had never fully understood.

It was just a child playing around.

That was what Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of Naruto suddenly taking up residence on the Back Mountain and doing push-ups.

Besides, with the Crystal Ball in his hands, every movement in Konoha was within his sight.

Oh no, how had he accidentally wasted so much time? The bathhouse floor was so slippery—what if one of the women bathing inside slipped and fell?

Wouldn't that mean he had neglected his duty and failed the title of Third Hokage?!

Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly wiped the Crystal Ball again, immediately switching the image back to the women's bathhouse.

After taking a look, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief, his face reddening. Thankfully, no one had fallen.

Back Mountain.

Naruto was doing push-ups while silently counting in his heart, "Three hundred ten, three hundred eleven, three hundred twelve... three hundred twelve..."

This was the first exercise.

According to the system, his body was simply far too weak.

He had to train it properly.

Naruto was speechless. He was only five years old—wasn't it normal for him to be weak?

The system understood his thoughts and immediately showed him an image.

In the image, beneath a willow tree with only three green shoots, a Little Dot was training with grunts. The Little Dot possessed the strength of a hundred thousand jin and could lift a massive stone cauldron in one go.

Naruto was instantly convinced. There truly were always greater people beyond people, greater heavens beyond heavens.

He immediately began training himself seriously, without another word.

"Five hundred!"

After silently reciting that number, Naruto stood up and stretched his aching arms.

If he sat or collapsed onto the ground after exercising, the system would definitely scold him. The system said that he could not sit or lie down immediately after intense exercise, as that could easily cause him to faint.

After moving around for a while,

Naruto began the second part of his physical training.

Running.

A three-thousand-meter long-distance run.

According to the system, he would eventually have to run with weights, and the distance would be far more than three thousand meters.

Naruto was not afraid of hardship or exhaustion. What he feared most was having no friends. Therefore, though this amount of exercise was difficult for his small body, he still gritted his teeth and persevered.

After three thousand meters, Naruto was soaked all over.

His whole body was filled with the scent of a little man.

At that moment, Naruto wanted to plunge into the river for a bath, but the system stopped him, saying something about rheumatism and bone pain that Naruto could not understand.

Still, Naruto was willing to listen to the system.

Because, strictly speaking, the system was the first "person" to speak with him as an equal.

When he thought about it carefully, Naruto truly was a pitiful child.

But when he thought that he would have many friends before long, the hardships of the present no longer seemed so sad. With the system by his side, the two of them working hand in hand, things became much easier to endure.

"Crackle, crackle!"

The flames spat tiny sparks as Naruto held a roasted rabbit and gnawed at it furiously.

A huge amount of exercise meant a huge appetite. For the past two days, Naruto could not even drink expired milk or eat his favorite ramen. He could only eat meat.

Only meat could quickly replenish the vitality he had expended.

A true powerhouse could Consume one dragon a day.

And for a Body Tempering Master, Consume three bulls a day was nothing difficult.

Consume three bulls a day?

That must cost a lot of money, right?

Poor Naruto. At an age when he should not have needed to worry about money, he had already cruelly realized just how poor he was.

After lunch,

Naruto rested for half an hour before beginning his physical training again.

Push-ups, running, pull-ups, high jumps, sit-ups...

These exercises alone were enough to fill his entire day.

The body is the capital for all revolutions.

That was another profound saying from the system.

As the sky gradually darkened, Naruto finished his day's training. Walking home, he felt sore all over and truly wanted to lie down right on the ground!

No, this was not merely tempering his body. It was tempering his will as well.

Naruto gritted his teeth and returned home.

After eating and taking a bath, the exhausted Naruto lay down on his bed.

"System, when can I learn a Tempering Method?"

Naruto thought of that young man in his mind—crossing the void with his fleshly body, regenerating from a drop of blood, smashing apart stars with One Punch. Naruto wanted to possess such peerless splendor too.

"No rush. With your current physical condition, learning those overbearing Tempering Methods will only damage your body."

"What is Hardening? It is taking the body as the foundation. It is vitality and blood. It is cells."

"A true Transcendent Body Refiner possesses vitality as vast as the universe. Every cell is like a god or demon, and even a single strand of hair can sever the sun, moon, and stars."

The system patiently explained.

"Snore, snore~"

Unfortunately, Naruto did not hear any of that explanation. He was too tired. The moment he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, just as the sky began to lighten.

Naruto got up and went to the Back Mountain to train.

Day after day,

Month after month,

Year... after...

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

This year, Naruto turned six!

"Huff... inhale... huff... inhale..."

That day, on a mountain path, a slightly dark-skinned boy with sandbags tied to his legs was running with weights while using a strange breathing technique.

Over the past year, Naruto could clearly feel that he had gained a great deal.

Because he no longer drank expired milk and ate meat every day, six-year-old Naruto had already grown to one meter fifty.

He was much taller than ordinary children.

Most importantly, with such a fulfilling life, Naruto rarely had time to think about the villagers' coldness toward him.

Everything was developing in a better direction.