In the office, Zhengyi was furious.

"The human body cannot be overtrained, because it needs time to repair its muscles."

"We ninjas are different from ordinary people; our muscular endurance is stronger, but we still need rest days."

Zhengyi was getting closer and closer to the genin Might Duy, whom he had recently befriended.

The two shared a common hobby: physical conditioning!

Can you believe that Zhengyi was actually teaching knowledge to Duy, a man who had been training his entire life?

Yet, what he said was indeed correct.

From the very beginning, Might Duy and Might Guy had been using the Eight Inner Gates incorrectly.

To explain it scientifically: running can improve cardiovascular function and endurance, but running is an aerobic exercise, and doing only aerobic exercise for a long time will cause the body to lose muscle mass.

That is why the father and son, who had trained their whole lives, did not look particularly muscular, and opening the Seventh Gate still placed a heavy burden on them—because their muscles were trained only for endurance.

Zhengyi could only say that Liu Suolong, from next door, really knew how to train.

Heavy-weight anaerobic iron-pumping, followed by eating meat and sleeping to let the body repair its muscles; with long-term training like that, how could the explosive power behind a single slash not be strong?

"What did you say? You and Guy just tighten your belts and sleep when you're hungry?"

Might Duy had only just learned that Zhengyi was Guy's classmate.

"There's no helping it, Zhengyi-kun. On my salary... it's difficult enough to feed myself. Youth also has its unspeakable obstacles." Might Duy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

It sounds absurd.

Konoha's supplies in the past were mostly things like military rations pills, which seemed to replenish chakra but were actually not very nutritious.

It was only after Orochimaru brought in Yeast Protein Powder and started sending Zhengyi a cow every few days that he was able to fill his stomach and experience the charm of being full for the first time.

He wondered if his son, who had been assigned to the front lines of Kirigakure, was going hungry.

That is how ninjas are; being short on money is the norm.

Even jōnin lived in poverty, because just eating enough food consumed a massive amount of money.

After chatting with Zhengyi for a while, Might Duy went off to do the heavy-weight anaerobic exercise Zhengyi had recommended—which was, essentially, lifting trees.

Train one day, rest one day, to give the muscles a day to recover?

Duy did not know if Zhengyi's scientific fitness method would be effective.

Zhengyi, meanwhile, prayed in his heart that his teacher's bid for Hokage would be successful.

Minato was excellent, and he was quite capable at handling administrative affairs.

But Minato did not possess the core technology.

Speaking of which, could the teacher manage to invent a mobile phone?

When he had nothing to do, he really had nothing to do.

Uh.

Had he actually succeeded in his training?

"Zhengyi-kun, why does this protein powder get lower with every scoop I take?" Might Duy returned to find Zhengyi, clutching his Yeast Protein Powder.

Hm, anyone in the camp who spoke such nonsense had clearly trained their muscles until their brain had crashed—commonly known as "having succeeded in training."

In the blink of an eye, the day arrived for Orochimaru and Zhengyi to return to Konoha for rest and rotation.

Kumogakure was currently locked in a bitter struggle with Iwagakure, which gave Konoha a temporary window to catch its breath.

"Mmm~~"

Zhengyi lay on his bed in his dormitory; his soft, squishy bed was still the most comfortable.

But he hadn't been lying there for long before he was summoned to the Hokage's office.

"You're here?"

You couldn't see a hint of anger on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face over the death of Sarutobi Hayate; he watched Zhengyi walk in with a kindly expression.

At this moment, Jiraiya and Team Minato, who had also returned for rest, were in the office.

Orochimaru was there as well.

Jiraiya and Minato looked at Zhengyi with curiosity.

Minato had been hearing about Zhengyi from Obito constantly. How should he put it? If he went by what Obito said, he would be extremely repulsed.

Because Obito treated him like a brother.

Yet he...

It would be a miracle to hear anything good about Zhengyi from Obito's mouth.

"Long time no see."

"Obito, Kakashi." Zhengyi hesitated for a moment before greeting Rin as well, "And Rin."

"Long time no see, Zhengyi." Rin smiled sweetly; Zhengyi had grown taller.

Kakashi gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Hmph." If not for the fear of damaging the Hokage's office—the place where he would work in the future—Obito would have truly considered beating Zhengyi up. Seeing you just makes me angry.

Minato smiled warmly at Zhengyi, acknowledging the introduction.

Zhengyi returned a gentle smile as well.

What a coincidence; the two of them had "collided" in style, both walking the path of the warm little sunshine.

With that smile, Minato knew they were rivals. He might not be able to outcompete Orochimaru for the Fourth Hokage, so Zhengyi was a rival for the Fifth.

Don't think Minato didn't have hopes for himself.

In fact, his students didn't think he had a chance either.

But Zhengyi, who knew the plot well, saw clearly from Hiruzen Sarutobi's subsequent transfer orders and the smile on his face exactly who he hoped would be the Fourth Hokage.

"Team Minato will serve as a mobile unit, weaving through various battlefields to provide support..."

Outsiders might not understand the deeper meaning—even Orochimaru couldn't see it, thinking it was just a mission distribution—but Zhengyi knew the subtext of this sentence was to have Team Minato show their faces everywhere.

"Understood!" Minato nodded in agreement. Obito was brimming with excitement. Yosh! Let the ninja world be filled with the great name of Lord Obito! Even though his usual missions were just escorting logistics.

"Orochimaru and Zhengyi, stay in Konoha and help me handle the paperwork."

"I'm getting on in years, and with a desk piled high with documents every day, hehe, it seems I've reached retirement age."

If anyone else heard this, they would probably assume he was grooming Orochimaru to be the Hokage. But Zhengyi knew—what "helping with paperwork"? This was just holding the teacher back, preventing him from going to the battlefield to earn merit.

The backbone of the entire village was out fighting.

With only a few decrepit high-ranking officials left in the village, what use was it to let them know that Orochimaru was good at handling paperwork?

They walked out of the Hokage's office.

Rin even suggested that she and Zhengyi go out for a meal, bringing Anko along as well.

But looking at Zhengyi's expression, she wondered if the Third Hokage had said something just now.

"Rin! Zhengyi is no good; you need to stay away from him." Seeing Rin constantly watching Zhengyi's departing back with concern, Obito grew jealous.

"Heh, and you're 'good'?" Kakashi shrugged as he walked past Obito.

"You bastard!!"

"Youth is truly a wonderful thing, Minato." Jiraiya's expression was also unsightly. The old man had actually lied to him. What happened to him favoring Minato?

You can let Orochimaru be Hokage!

But you cannot lie to me, painting a big picture and making me think Minato could become Hokage, causing me to fight enemies tooth and nail.

"Minato, you are younger than Orochimaru. Youth is your greatest asset."

"What do you mean, Master Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya patted Minato on the shoulder without explaining. If he told Minato that this was a competition for the Hokage position, Minato, no matter how moral he was, would more or less develop a sense of utilitarianism. And in the eyes of the old man, one must not have a utilitarian heart.