Burning Youth

Once the holiday began, Jiogan trained with Might Duy four days a week. The remaining three days were devoted to targeted rest and medicinal baths to prevent hidden injuries from lingering in his body.

In the original timeline, Might Guy would casually do handstands around Konoha or ten thousand push-ups. Without the corresponding secret techniques and medicinal bath formulas, his body would have broken down long ago. He could never have achieved the heights of the Might Guy Emperor.

The medicine itself did not require any particularly rare ingredients. They could be bought at the Nara Clan's pharmacy or even Konoha Hospital, and the price was reasonable—not excessively expensive. Of course, that was also because Jiogan's Home ran a shop and had a decent income.

But for Might Duy, it took a long time to scrape together enough money for one medicinal bath. So his current training volume and difficulty had not yet reached the level of the original timeline, when he trained Might Guy. Only after becoming a ninja did Might Duy gradually save up enough through missions to support his daily training and reach the threshold for truly cultivating the Eight Inner Gates Technique. He had truly started from nothing.

Training four days a week was the result of an exchange between Jiogan and Might Duy. Might Duy provided the cultivation method for the Eight Inner Gates and the daily training, while Jiogan covered the cost of medicinal bath ingredients. It was a win-win arrangement for both sides. Jiogan needed no explanation, while Might Duy gained cultivation resources ahead of time and no longer had to wait until becoming a Genin in the original timeline before formally cultivating the Eight Inner Gates. By the time they graduated, Might Duy would definitely be far stronger than he had been in the original timeline, shocking everyone.

The weather was slightly chilly, but Konoha's trees remained lush and flourishing. At Training Ground 10, a boy's voice rang out.

"Jiogan-kun, hang in there! You're almost at 3,000 push-ups! Only 200 left! If you can't make it, you'll have to do 3,000 side kicks!"

"2,820... 2,830... 2,840... 2,910... 2,916... 29..."

With a thud, Jiogan collapsed facedown on the ground, stopping at 2,916 push-ups.

"Brother Duy, I'm sorry. I couldn't do it." Jiogan struggled to raise his head.

"It doesn't matter. Failure isn't frightening. What's frightening is shrinking back in the face of failure. Rest for ten minutes. After ten minutes, we'll start 3,000 side kicks. Come on, raise your spirits! Youth should burn freely!" Might Duy's teeth gleamed.

"Alright! Let's do this! Give it hell!" Jiogan knew this was the necessary path toward becoming strong. He had to—and could only—keep going.

"One side kick... two side kicks... 846 side kicks..."

At last, dusk arrived. After a full day of training, Jiogan was so exhausted that he could not move at all. Might Duy truly deserved his maxed-out Taijutsu talent. Though he too was utterly worn out after the day, he could still support Jiogan and bring him back to his home.

Jiogan had already informed his mother that he would be staying at Might Duy's home during training. Aside from keeping the medicinal bath formula secret, he also did not want his mother to see the miserable state he was in after training and worry.

That night, Jiogan and Might Duy soaked in separate medicinal bath tubs and chatted.

"Brother Duy, this medicinal bath formula is incredible. I can feel my body absorbing the medicine. Some of my stamina has returned, and my muscles don't feel as sore and weak." Jiogan was so comfortable he nearly moaned.

"This medicinal bath formula was specially developed by my ancestors for cultivating the Eight Inner Gates Technique. Unfortunately, none of my predecessors ever cultivated it to the peak eighth gate. Reaching the Fifth Gate was already considered top-tier, and the side effects were severe. After using it, they needed a long time to recover." Might Duy said.

"Even I have only soaked in this kind of medicinal bath three times in my entire life, and each time, I had to save up for a long time." Might Duy sighed.

"Brother Duy, I think your Taijutsu talent is extremely strong. You will definitely surpass your predecessors, reach the realm where you can open all Eight Inner Gates, and show the Ninja World unparalleled power!" Jiogan said earnestly.

"Oh, right. Aside from me covering the medicinal bath expenses during the holiday, my family's fruit shop offers home delivery. Brother Guy can work part-time as a delivery boy and earn service fees. Delivering goods is also a form of cultivation. That way, it won't interfere with training, and you can save up money for medicinal bath ingredients faster." Jiogan suggested.

"I see. Jiogan-kun, you're truly a genius to think of such a method. Thank you very much." Might Duy said gratefully.

"We'll soak in the medicinal bath pool all night, then sleep properly in bed tomorrow during the day. We're still too young. Even with medicinal baths, we can't endure excessively intense training yet. We need to balance work and rest, or we'll leave behind hidden injuries that could affect our future." Might Duy said seriously.

"Mm, Brother Duy, I'll listen to you!"

After a night had passed, neither Jiogan nor Might Duy slept for long. After all, they could not sleep comfortably in the tubs. By dawn, the liquid in the medicinal bath tubs had become nearly transparent, and the medicinal ingredients had mostly been absorbed.

The two of them made beds on the floor in separate corners of the room. There was no other choice—Might Duy was too poor, and there was only one room where they could sleep.

By evening, both were full of energy, their bodies having returned to normal. Jiogan could not help marveling at the medicinal bath's miraculous effects again.

During the first half of the night, the two refined Chakra on their respective bedding. Jiogan could clearly feel that his Chakra had increased somewhat. This was only after one day of cultivation, and he could not help looking forward to how much he would improve over the entire holiday.

During the latter half of the night, both of them went to sleep, conserving their energy for the next day's training.

And so, Jiogan and Might Duy repeatedly trained, took medicinal baths, rested, delivered takeout, and refined Chakra. The entire holiday was extremely fulfilling. Just as Might Duy often said, Youth should burn freely.

Of course, Jiogan personally handled the deliveries to the Kurama Clan several times, because he had promised Kurama Feiyun that he would. Moreover, every time he saw Feiyun, he would remain happy for a long while. In some ways, seeing Feiyun once was even more effective than soaking in a medicinal bath.

At last, the holiday was about to end, and the first stage of training was complete. Might Duy could already open the First Gate, and he had made progress with the Second Gate as well. Jiogan's talent could not compare with Might Duy's, and he had only just touched the threshold of the First Gate. However, his Chakra Amount had increased noticeably—by a full forty percent compared to before the two-month holiday. His sweat and hard work had not been in vain.

Although he had not yet reached the threshold of the First Gate, Jiogan was already content. He knew his own talent. Being able to cultivate to the Third Gate would be his absolute limit, and the side effects would not be minor. His first goal was to befriend Might Duy, and his second was to open the Second Gate with minimal side effects, using it as a means to turn the tide or save his life at a critical moment.

The Second Semester was about to begin. Students who had failed to refine Chakra had all dropped out, and everyone left in the class was a prospective ninja who had refined Chakra. Next, their instructor would teach them the Three Body Techniques. Though they were only D-Rank Ninjutsu, they were genuine Ninjutsu.

Jiogan had read the Ninjutsu Scroll his father left him. They were all Water Release Ninjutsu, so his father had undoubtedly possessed a single Water Release Chakra nature. Thinking of how his ancestors had fished along the coast of the Land of Fire for generations, being born with Water Release Chakra was nothing unusual.

Jiogan expected that he also possessed Water Release Chakra. After testing himself with Chakra Paper, it turned out just as expected—he too had a single Water Release Chakra nature.

His next goals were to open the First Gate, master the Three Body Techniques, and learn the C-Rank Water Release Ninjutsu his father had left behind: Water Wave.