Taijutsu and Units of Measurement

Two weeks later.

Bang—

Toneri's body flew backward and slammed hard into a tree in the courtyard, making a dull thud.

But Toneri didn't collapse and stay down. Instead, he sprang back up with a kip-up, clenched his fists, and charged at the person who had just kicked him away in a fit of anger.

At the same time, he kept shouting, "Wahahaha! Shikaku, did you skip lunch? Why are you getting weaker?!"

Shikaku: "..."

Watching Toneri charge at him, laughing, as if Shikaku's kick had done nothing at all, Shikaku felt like dying.

This scene had been playing out on and off for more than a week!

Since Toneri had started training in Taijutsu, his physical improvement had been plain to see.

He knew his own body well enough to be sure he wasn't cheating, or the former doctor in him would have wanted to dissect himself.

In the end, he could only chalk it up to the Ninja World's generally formidable physiques, and the subtle way chakra—a strange kind of energy—transformed the body.

The stronger his body got, the more he felt the benefits of training.

But if he trained alone without knowing his actual level, he had no benchmark to measure his progress against.

So after a few days of training, Toneri set his sights on Nara Shikaku!

Shikaku and the others had graduated from the Ninja Academy early. Now, with the Second Shinobi World War nearing its end, many jonin were still in the Land of Rain, cleaning up the battlefield. Their instructors hadn't been assigned yet, so whoever was free would take them along on missions.

At long last, Shikashin had come back from the battlefield, and they could finally try some high-difficulty missions. Instead, they'd brought back this thing called Toneri.

As a result, Aunt Yoshimi had given Shikashin a thorough scolding, so Shikaku had been fairly free lately.

Toneri had seized his chance.

Wasn't this obviously a human punching bag?! No, a test subject?!

Shikaku was a bona fide ninja. He might have graduated from the Ninja Academy only recently, but that was no reason to underestimate him.

As one of the next generation's practically guaranteed Ino-Shika-Cho, he was undeniably talented!

The only reason he'd taken so long to get his graduation application approved was that the Third Hokage hadn't thought the Second Shinobi World War called for sending these kids—the future of Konoha—into battle.

So he'd rejected their applications again and again.

Only when the war was nearly over had he finally let them out.

Shikaku couldn't be treated like an ordinary Genin!

Raised in the Nara Clan, Shikaku was a precocious young genius, and he had plenty of talent in both Taijutsu and ninjutsu.

He'd also mastered the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique! His overall strength was definitely well above that of an ordinary Genin.

So Nara Shikaku was the perfect unit of measurement for Toneri. Once he reached Shikaku's level, he'd know he was making rapid progress.

And so, Toneri had set his sights on him!

Shikaku remembered that his father, Shikashin, had told him to help Toneri if he needed it, as best he could.

So Shikaku agreed to Toneri's request to spar in Taijutsu.

As far as he was concerned, Toneri was just a kid who'd only been learning about chakra for a few days. Even if he'd trained his body for two days, how much of a challenge could he pose to a ninja?

Just as Shikaku had expected, Toneri had been sent flying by a single kick more than a week ago—and he still was.

But!

Then came the part that drove Shikaku to despair!

Toneri was like a cockroach that just wouldn't die. Every time Shikaku knocked him down, he'd get back up as fast as he could and attack again, as if he hadn't been the one knocked down.

That would've been bad enough.

The worst part was that every time Toneri charged at Shikaku, he taunted him relentlessly.

Like he was doing right now.

Toneri charged at Shikaku again, his fist cutting through the air as it shot straight for his face.

Shikaku knocked Toneri's fist aside with his right palm while punching toward his face with his left.

At first, Shikaku had held back. But after a week, he could only think: To hell with holding back!

Bang—

Toneri reacted quickly. He blocked Shikaku's left hand with his own, ducked, then wrapped both arms around Shikaku's legs with the right hand that had only pretended to attack. "Take this! Great Tree Bind!"

Shikaku: "..."

He'd already fallen for this move once. He had no idea why Toneri gave all his Taijutsu moves such strange names, but he reacted immediately.

He kicked out hard with his right foot!

As if he'd known exactly what Shikaku would do, Toneri pushed off with one foot. His body spun a full 360 degrees, and he instantly appeared behind Shikaku, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Heh! You fell for it! Take this!"

He was about to throw Shikaku over his shoulder.

Bang!!

When the smoke cleared, Toneri realized he was hugging a log. Shikaku himself had appeared behind him and kicked him again!

That's right, Toneri had been sent flying once more.

As he flew through the air, he complained, "You're cheating, Shikaku! You used ninjutsu!"

At that, Shikaku, who'd kept a straight face until then, couldn't help blushing. He had cheated.

But honestly, even if it was cheating, he didn't want to take a hit from Toneri's Taijutsu move.

He had no idea why Toneri gave all his Taijutsu moves such strange names, but he was instinctively repelled by them!

After taking a hit once, he never wanted to try again!

Ahem!

Still, Shikaku had to admit he was astonished by how quickly Toneri had improved at Taijutsu in less than two weeks.

At first, Shikaku could send him flying with a casual kick. Now he had to use ninjutsu to beat him quickly.

It wasn't that Shikaku couldn't win with Taijutsu alone. But given his temperament, if he could do something the easy way, he wasn't about to make it complicated.

Watching Toneri get up with another kip-up, Shikaku felt a headache coming on.

Why had he ended up with a monster like this? Was Toneri really going to surpass in a few weeks what other kids took years of training at the Ninja Academy to achieve?

To Shikaku's surprise, Toneri didn't charge at him again.

He knew he had no chance against Shikaku if he used ninjutsu.

Besides, Shikaku looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Toneri didn't want to hand Shikashin and Aunt Yoshimi, who cooked incredibly well, another idiot son.

He brushed the dust off himself and silently mused, Just as I thought. If you want to stack the thickest armor, you first have to take the hardest hits. The ancients were right!

But Shikaku hasn't been much help lately. Then again, not everyone can keep this up for so many days like I can. Besides, he's just a kid who isn't particularly good at Taijutsu.

He's good enough as a unit of measurement, but if I want to keep improving my Taijutsu through him, my progress will definitely slow down.

Looks like I need to find another punching bag to help me stack more armor.

Seeing Toneri standing still and thinking for a change, Shikaku thought his use of ninjutsu had gotten to him.

After all, Toneri had only been learning about ninja for two weeks. He'd probably just managed to start refining chakra, let alone use it to perform ninjutsu.

Shikaku raised a hand, about to offer him a few words of comfort.

Toneri waved at him. "I'm off, Shikaku. I'm going to find a new punching bag... I mean, a new Taijutsu expert. You get back to whatever you were doing!

"Oh, right, you seem like you're always hungry lately. Listen, little Shikaku won't grow if you don't eat enough, so make sure you eat your meals!

"Okay, I'm out!"

Shikaku: "..."

If I ever try to comfort him again, may he be my son!!!

Heh heh, we've made it onto the featured list! Thanks for all your support. We're one step closer to release.

But honestly, your recommendation votes haven't been all that impressive. I even offered such a generous debt-repayment bonus! Don't complain later if I don't offer as much. After all, I was thinking... Ahem, never mind. Please vote!