Zhengyi's Gym

It was easy to spot Hiruzen Sarutobi's unfairness in the little things.

Something big had happened in Konoha recently: at just twelve years old, Kakashi had become the youngest jōnin in Konoha's history. The newspapers were filled with coverage of the young genius.

They also made sure to praise Kakashi's teacher, the outstanding jōnin of Konoha's younger generation, Minato Namikaze.

But Zhengyi, who had made great contributions to Konoha's northeastern front, was left out in the cold.

The newspapers rarely mentioned his great achievements.

Though Orochimaru was sitting in his office and had a bit of a disagreement with his student,

he still felt it was unreasonable that his student had made such a huge contribution and hadn't even received a commendation. So he went to see Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In response, Hiruzen stood by the window and explained earnestly, "Orochimaru, your teacher has his own considerations."

"Zhengyi is still too young. Publicizing his talents so extensively would only put him at risk."

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen established by Kirigakure were tasked first and foremost with assassinating young geniuses from the various ninja villages. The leaders of the other villages are narrow-minded, too. You remember the incident when Cloud Ninja tried to kidnap Kushina, don't you?"

"If Minato hadn't spotted them and followed them, then..."

"That's why only a genius who survives the growth period is a true genius."

"Is that so?" Orochimaru felt his teacher's words made a lot of sense.

Still, something about it felt wrong.

But the logic was sound.

Orochimaru didn't want his student assassinated, either.

Not after seeing Nawaki die for nothing by stumbling into an enemy trap.

How fragile life was.

Zhengyi liked working out, didn't he?

Orochimaru personally rewarded him with a whole gym. He was always generous with rewards for people he valued.

All the equipment had been designed by Orochimaru based on human biomechanics.

The Lat Pulldown Machine worked the back, the Pec Deck Machine worked the chest, the Smith Machine...

The equipment could thoroughly train every part of the body.

But the most impressive thing was the Gravity Chamber Orochimaru had invented for Zhengyi. It had 1.2 times Earth's gravity inside, already the limit of current technology in the Shinobi World.

At the time, Orochimaru firmly believed that good deeds deserved rewards.

On the day the gym opened, ahem, Zhengyi also started a little side business. He put up posters all over Konoha, encouraging the ninja to sign up for memberships.

498 ryō a month, with showers included.

The whole idea was to keep it affordable and earn a little extra on the side.

Orochimaru didn't interfere. When he saw that showering at the gym was a hassle, he even set aside two hours to make a Water Heater.

In Konoha, people had to heat bathwater themselves with firewood or Fire Release.

The Water Heater he made could heat water as long as someone fed chakra into it or plugged it in.

Zhengyi's Gym made life more convenient for everyone, too.

Most villagers weren't interested in working out, and they couldn't handle the heavy equipment the ninja used. Most of them just bought a monthly pass so they could use the showers. At 498 ryō a month, it was a real bargain.

Zhengyi's was the only gym in all of Konoha, so its foot traffic was easy to imagine.

Ever since Zhengyi had gotten under his skin that day, Obito had been working harder and harder. He fought bravely on the battlefield and trained relentlessly in his spare time.

He'd heard that a gym had opened in Konoha where he could build muscle, so the day he got back from the battlefield, he hurried over to work out.

He'd sneaked in without telling anyone, and was even planning to buy an annual pass.

But the gym's owner...

"Why are you the one running this place?" Obito turned to leave as soon as he stepped inside.

"Hey, hey, don't go." Zhengyi quickly went out and pulled him back.

"Obito, be honest. How have I treated you?" Zhengyi was ready to have a heart-to-heart with him.

"You?" Obito gave him a disdainful look, then seemed a little aggrieved. "All I remember is telling you Rin liked collecting seashells, and someone gave her a whole bucket of them."

"Yeah, yeah." Zhengyi felt a little ashamed. Obito had been so foolish before turning dark, and Zhengyi had picked on him, too.

Madara had picked on him, and Black Zetsu had picked on him as well.

From Obito's brother's perspective, this poor fool really had been deceived his whole life.

"Obito." Zhengyi solemnly patted Obito on the shoulder.

"Don't be weird." Obito felt goosebumps rising all over.

"Well..." Zhengyi didn't know what else to say. The plan for Obito had been devised by Lord Madara. How could a mere Chunin like him possibly stand up to that man?

"Take care of yourself."

Zhengyi gave Obito a weekly pass.

Strictly speaking, Obito belonged to Minato's faction. They were political rivals, so giving him a pass amounted to helping the enemy.

But...

Maybe Zhengyi just felt guilty.

He was simply that kind.

A week later, Obito realized he couldn't stay away from the gym and bought an annual pass.

Minato didn't bring Obito along every time he went out on a mission.

He didn't even take Kakashi.

Seeing both his students spending all their time at the gym, he grew curious about what made it so irresistible.

But the war needed him everywhere.

Minato was like a firefighter, rushing from one battlefield to another. He never had time to stop by and see for himself.

Today, Konoha had been faring poorly in its battle against Iwagakure, and only four members of the squad remained.

After Minato arrived, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to kill fifty ninja in one go, including Higashishinin, a jōnin from Iwagakure.

His feat shook Iwagakure! The village's leaders discussed withdrawing to avoid his锋芒.

Ōnoki was naturally unwilling to give up their gains, but... wary of the return of the one who wielded the Flying Thunder God Formula, he issued an order: anyone who encountered the Yellow Flash could abandon their mission and flee immediately, with no repercussions from the village.

It was clear that this strike had truly shown Konoha's mettle.

"Flying Thunder God Technique? What kind of technique is that? Did Jōnin Minato invent it?"

"It must have been him! Apart from Jōnin Minato, I don't think anyone else in Konoha is that skilled with the Flying Thunder God."

"Shikouyi! The Yellow Flash?!"

For a time, all of Konoha was buzzing.

People in every corner of the village were discussing the famous Minato Namikaze, whose name had filled the newspapers.

Before, people had known Minato was strong and talented, but they hadn't known he could kill fifty Rock Ninja in one go.

And according to the newspapers, he had only killed fifty Rock Ninja because there had been just fifty of them on the battlefield that day. Taking out fifty at once was nowhere near Minato's limit.

"What's all the noise outside about?"

Inside the gym, Zhengyi and Obito were lifting weights. Obito was getting annoyed because the noise was throwing off his concentration.

Kakashi had claimed a machine and was reading a book. Yes, he'd gotten a membership just to use the showers.

Business at the gym was booming. Whenever the male ninja came back from the battlefield and had time to spare, they'd come to "torture" themselves, chasing the rush of dopamine. The equipment was hard to get.

A crowd glared at Kakashi, as if they could kill him with their eyes.

But Kakashi was as unruffled as ever. He was close friends with the gym's owner. That was what connections got you, and none of them could compete.

"So it's started?" Zhengyi set down the equipment in his hands. From the moment Minato had been promoted as the Yellow Flash, the gears of fate had begun to turn.

This was where Teacher Orochimaru would gradually fall behind, until in the end, he met his doom.