Might Duy

When school let out that day, Uchiha Mai was once again intercepted by Might Guy. Honestly, he was quite surprised that Might Guy hadn't been pestering him with challenges for the past few days.

"Mai, let's have a duel!"

Dressed in his eccentric outfit, Might Guy raised his thick eyebrows and pointed a thumb at himself, exclaiming excitedly, "I actually wanted to challenge you a few days ago.

But it's rare for my dad to be home and resting instead of out on a mission, so I've been training with him for the past few days.

When my dad heard that a young genius from the Uchiha clan also values Nintaijutsu training, he was just as encouraged as I was."

Might Guy's dad?

Wouldn't that be Might Duy, the man who kicked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen into the Lucky Trio?

Uchiha Mai immediately became interested and asked, "Is your father still in the village?"

"He is, why do you ask?" Might Guy scratched his head, looking confused.

"Nothing, it's just that I've encountered some problems with my Nintaijutsu training recently and wanted to ask an expert in the field for some guidance," Uchiha Mai replied.

The boxing techniques he had acquired from Mayweather consisted mostly of punching power, striking mechanics, and psychological tactics, while his jujutsu was primarily focused on grappling.

There is a saying that an arm cannot twist a thigh; the power in one's legs is far greater than that of fists and palms.

However, modern boxing is governed by a point-scoring system, and in close-quarters combat, lifting one's legs too high risks losing balance, so there weren't many techniques involving kicks.

In the ninja world, however, due to the extraordinary agility of ninjas, there is little need to worry about losing one's balance. The Nintaijutsu popular in the major villages is primarily based on kicks.

Whether it is the Strong Fist of Konoha or the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure, this holds true for all of them.

Uchiha Mai urgently needed to learn the trendiest and most powerful kicking techniques in the ninja world to compensate for the shortcomings in his own striking system.

Don't ask why a boxer would need to learn kicks; isn't the Konoha Strong Fist style just a long list of kicking techniques?

Upon hearing that Uchiha Mai wanted to seek out his father to learn Nintaijutsu, Might Guy became even more excited and shed tears of joy once again.

"If my dad knew that a genius from the Uchiha clan wanted to learn Nintaijutsu from him, he would be so happy.

I'll take you to see my dad right now. My dad is the strongest Nintaijutsu ninja in Konoha, and in the entire ninja world! You'll definitely learn a lot!"

With that, Might Guy ignored the challenge and dragged Uchiha Mai toward his home.

Mai was slightly taken aback, realizing he had still underestimated the influence of the Uchiha surname.

In this era where the fires of war had not yet fully extinguished, the Uchiha name possessed a deterrent power that reigned supreme across the ninja world, rivaled only by the Senju.

Not to mention the Three Tomoe, every Uchiha ninja who awakened their Sharingan could generally reach the Two Tomoe level after reaching adulthood.

After gaining some experience and seniority, paired with the Sharingan, they would essentially become a Jonin.

A Jonin is already the backbone of a village; even at the height of Konoha's power, the number of Jonin would not exceed 300.

As far as Uchiha Mai knew, there were at least 40 ninjas within the Uchiha clan who had awakened their Two or Three Tomoe Sharingan—that represented 30 to 40 potential Jonin.

The vast majority of these dozens of Jonin did not even have official ninja registration numbers.

Only ninjas who graduated from the ninja academy received registration numbers. This is why Konoha's registration numbers only reached a little over ten thousand, and why the five major villages could still scrape together a 70,000-strong Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

30 to 40 Jonin accounted for more than a tenth of Konoha's total. In Sunagakure, a weaker village among the five, the number of Jonin was estimated to be just over a hundred.

This was the foundation of the clan that once stood alongside the Senju as the strongest in the ninja world.

The Uchiha were the nobility of the ninja world—so noble that even though Second Pillar showed very average talent in the early stages of Shippuden, he could still become the focal point of the Chunin Exams.

In the ninja world, the Uchiha clan's ping-pong paddle crest was more effective than any imperial status symbol.

After the Uchiha, consider Might Guy and Might Duy.

Because they were almost incapable of using ninjutsu and had to train bitterly in Nintaijutsu, they never received recognition from other ninjas in the village and were met with cold stares.

Living at the bottom of Konoha's hierarchy, they desperately hoped for recognition from their peers.

If a young man from the prestigious Uchiha clan heard that Might Duy's Nintaijutsu was incredible and wanted to ask a mere Genin for advice, would that count as recognition?

It would count more than anything!

The Uchiha had their own Nintaijutsu, otherwise, how did Uchiha Madara earn the title of Rose of the Battlefield?

Might Guy dragged Mai along, running home without a moment's rest. He pushed the door open with a palm and shouted, "Dad, I'm home."

In the somewhat dilapidated courtyard, Might Duy, who looked almost identical to Might Guy but many years older, was sitting on a small stool under the shade of a tree, head bowed as he stitched weighted leg guards for his son.

Hearing his son's voice, he set down his Nuibari and looked up abruptly, asking, "Why are you back so early? Didn't you say you were going to challenge your classmate today?

Uh, who is this?"

Why did he bring someone back?

Might Duy squinted, then suddenly noticed the ping-pong paddle crest on Uchiha Mai's clothes, his pupils constricting.

"Greetings, Mr. Duy. I am Guy's classmate, Uchiha Mai," Mai said with a polite bow.

Might Duy was even more shocked. Since when were the Uchiha so polite? Was this a fake Uchiha?

The Uchiha he saw every day walked with their noses in the air, looking down at everyone with their chins held high.

After all, since he was the one asking for a favor, he had to be polite.

Might Guy pulled Mai to his father's side and introduced him, "Dad, this is the Uchiha Mai I told you about—the one who is very interested in Nintaijutsu and is actually quite skilled at it."

He said that he had encountered some problems with his taijutsu training recently and wanted to seek advice from a ninja who had mastered the art.

"But... but I'm only a genin..." Might Duy suddenly lost his confidence, hesitating as he spoke; the Uchiha name was still quite intimidating.

Mai smiled, spinning a lie without a second thought: "I have heard of you from the elders in my clan."

"They said that although Mr. Duy is only a genin, your strength is formidable, and your understanding and attainments in taijutsu, in particular, are among the very best in Konoha."

"If it weren't for the fact that you couldn't master the Three Body Technique, you would surely have been promoted to chunin by now."

Wait, what... An Uchiha ninja actually thinks so highly of me?

Might Duy was slightly stunned, then suddenly burst into tears, embracing his own son as they wept together. He choked out, "My taijutsu... my taijutsu has finally been recognized by the village."

"I, Might Duy, am not a failure; I am also a powerful ninja."

"Of course Dad is a powerful ninja, and taijutsu isn't a technique practiced only by failures..."

The father and son completely ignored Uchiha Mai's presence, clinging to each other as they poured out the bitterness and hardships of these past years.

Uchiha Mai: "..."

Could it be that the trait of Might Guy's lineage—bursting into tears and wearing their emotions on their sleeves at the drop of a hat—had already manifested in his father's generation?

He must make sure not to be infected by them. Otherwise, if he learned the trendiest and most hardcore leg techniques only to become a laughingstock and lose the ability to harvest Style Points, it would be a net loss.