You'd Be Numb Too

The bowl-cut youth with thick eyebrows and large eyes ran with burning passion, his hopelessly unfashionable green spandex suit full of personality, drawing every gaze on the street and achieving a 100% head-turning rate.

Passersby cast sidelong glances, wearing strange expressions.

Guy, however, remained indifferent, shouting aloud: "Youth has no end! Another hundred laps!"

He carried out his grueling training as usual every day, without the slightest slack.

Ninjas who specialize in taijutsu often bloom late; after all, while the growth of technique can be accelerated by talent, physical constitution cannot defy the natural laws of growth and development. No matter how talented or hardworking a young child is, it is difficult to achieve explosive results in taijutsu.

But once Guy finished developing, he would inevitably advance by leaps and bounds, with a future that knew no limits.

As a "dead last" who had failed the entrance exam for the Ninja Academy, his ability to graduate early and even promote to Chunin in the same year as Asuma Sarutobi was proof enough of his talent.

His feat of kicking away half of Six Paths Madara's body was even more worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.

Konoha's "dead last" was truly something else.

Akashi was two years behind Might Guy, so logically they should have had no intersection, but as a transmigrator, how could one not befriend Guy? Being from the same village, it took less than three days to go from meeting to becoming familiar.

He had even taught Guy the two secret arts of the "Rising Sun" and "Era Calling" radio calisthenics.

Through such exchanges, the two had developed a friendship.

Akashi intended to win over Might Guy with a dual agenda: first, he did not want Guy to stand on the side of the Hokage when the Uchiha coup eventually occurred.

Secondly—

He had heard that all transmigrators must learn the Eight Inner Gates.

Was it really that good?

Yes, that was exactly what the Eight Inner Gates was...

Akashi's mind began to race.

Using Guy, who practiced the Eight Inner Gates, to test the technique of cell activation and physical regeneration—wouldn't he be the perfect subject?

Perhaps this technique could alleviate or even eliminate the burden the Eight Inner Gates placed on the body.

In his memory, there was a guy named Shinnō who had done exactly that!

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind. Akashi did not chase after Guy; instead, he strolled along slowly with Anko, waiting for him to run past on his next lap.

"Anko, go buy two ice creams." Akashi was in a good mood and waved his hand. "My treat."

"Huh? Aren't we going to spar? Why are we taking a break?"

"It's such a rare, beautiful day, let's soak up some sun. We'll train after we finish the ice cream."

"Hmph, then I want the most expensive one!" Anko said, hands on her hips.

"Fine, whatever you want! But you have to cooperate with me later." Akashi revealed an incredibly sunny smile.

He's definitely going to make me do work again!

Anko muttered to herself. She felt an inexplicable sense of unease whenever she saw that smile. However, the temptation of ice cream was hard to resist. Besides, Senior Akashi just had a lot of ideas—what kind of bad intentions could he possibly have?

She ran to the shop, quickly bought two ice creams loaded with toppings, and handed one to Akashi.

The two sat on a roadside bench and began to eat.

The soft sunlight felt like a light veil draped over their heads, and the gentle warmth arrived on a refreshing breeze, the air filled with a fresh scent.

It was so comfortable it made one want to fall asleep right there.

Before long, Guy ran past along the street again, his youthful sweat flying.

"What a pity, he's such an excellent ninja..."

"He was almost able to surpass Kakashi..."

"It's just that it was discovered in the late stages!"

Akashi deliberately lowered his voice and spoke loudly, appearing nonchalant but hitting the mark perfectly.

Even the focused Might Guy, upon hearing the words "surpass Kakashi," couldn't help but slow his pace. He turned his head to look at the two eating ice cream, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Eh? It's Akashi, what a coincidence!" Guy did high knees in place, greeting him enthusiastically.

"Long time no see, Senior Guy. Anko and I are out for a stroll, I didn't expect to run into you."

Having been through much, Akashi didn't even blush when he lied.

Guy asked in confusion: "Was that you talking just now?"

"I noticed a small problem. It's nothing, you don't need to worry about it, just a minor issue. I only happened to discover it by chance..."

Akashi spoke vaguely.

The more he did so, the more curious Guy became: "A problem? Does it have to do with me?"

Akashi feigned hesitation, nodded, and asked with concern: "Have you... felt anything wrong with your body lately?"

"My body? No!" Guy clenched his fists, his eyes bright.

He trained according to his routine, day after day. He felt pain and fatigue, but he had never linked it to a problem with his body. On the contrary, he felt himself growing stronger every day.

Akashi said, "You're sick."

"Sick?"

Guy was stunned, then retorted, "Impossible. My body has always been in great shape. I do so much high-intensity training every day and I'm perfectly fine."

Akashi didn't argue with him and continued, "If you aren't sick, walk a few steps."

"Walk... walk a few steps?"

"Like this. Come with me to the training ground; it's more spacious there." Akashi maintained his composure, though he felt a bit worried inside.

He couldn't guarantee whether Guy's intelligence was actually impaired.

Regardless, there was no harm in trying.

Akashi gave Anko a look, and they accompanied Guy as he walked toward the village training ground.

Upon arriving at the field, there were only two or three ninja academy students practicing ninjutsu, so it wouldn't be much of a distraction.

Akashi stopped in his tracks and leaned in with a serious expression: "Did you notice it?"

"No... notice what?"

"The source of your ailment. Do you feel any part of you getting tired, or slightly sore..."

Guy didn't react immediately, but seeing Akashi staring at his lower body, he tentatively asked, "My legs?!"

Akashi nodded affirmatively.

"No way, right?" Guy felt puzzled, his expression turning melancholy.

Under the constant psychological suggestion, he really did feel his legs sweating, but this was a normal reaction he had whenever he ran; after all, anyone would inevitably get tired after running hundreds of laps.

Akashi pressed his advantage: "Let's try another experiment. Lift your leg high and stomp it down hard. Do it ten times in a row."

With that, Akashi lightly demonstrated the movement.

Guy, half-doubting, followed suit, lifting his thigh sharply and slamming it down with immense force.

Ten consecutive stomps landed solidly on the ground.

Akashi asked, "Numb yet?"

Guy looked shocked: "It's numb."

At this moment, Anko, who had been giggling like she was watching a show, was also surprised. She leaned in and whispered, "Why is he numb?"

"Duh, if you stomp that hard, you'd be numb too."

Akashi pinched Anko's cheek: "Hurry up and eat your ice cream, don't interrupt."

"Mmph... then what should I do?"

"Wait for my signal. There will be a time for you to shine."

The two whispered back and forth, while on the other side, Guy began to doubt his life. He had never paid attention to this aspect before. Sometimes, when he trained too hard kicking tree trunks or stones, he would feel a tingling numbness. Was it a normal phenomenon, or did his body really have hidden injuries?

Seeing Akashi's confident demeanor, it didn't seem like he was just talking nonsense.

"What... what kind of sickness is this?"

"Actually, it's both a sickness and not a sickness." Akashi shook his head. "It's just that you frequently perform overload training, causing your body to exceed its limits. On the surface, there isn't much impact yet, but if you continue, it might get worse and worse. You might even end up in a vegetative state."

"What's a vegetative state?" Guy scratched his head.

"It means you won't be able to move at all, and the flames of your youth will never be able to burn again."

Akashi's simple explanation startled Guy, turning his face pale.

This was the effect he wanted. Seeing the timing was ripe, Akashi coughed and said, "It's not difficult to recover. I'm currently researching body repair techniques and can help you for free."

"That's great!"

Guy shouted in pleasant surprise and thanked him sincerely, "Akashi-kun, you really are a great guy!"

Akashi waved his hand with a smile: "No need to thank me, we're all old friends. But before the treatment, I need to understand the cause of your illness."

"The cause of my illness?" Guy was bewildered.

Anko, however, had an "I knew it" expression on her face.

One couldn't let an opportunity delivered to one's doorstep go to waste. Akashi quickly added, "I suspect you left behind sequelae from practicing some special taijutsu. How about this, let's find the root cause through a live sparring session."

Hearing "sparring," Guy immediately perked up: "Right here?"

"Right here." Akashi smiled and looked at Anko. "What do you think?"

Anko was eating her ice cream with some residue on her lips. Suddenly being called upon, she subconsciously replied, "I think that's fine."

"Then get ready to go."

Akashi patted her shoulder with an expression that said, "I'm leaving it to you."

"Wait... hold on! Why me?!" Anko realized what was happening, and the ice cream in her hand went "splat" onto the ground.

Akashi shrugged. If it wasn't you, was it supposed to be me?

The power of Guy's Eight Inner Gates was unknown; if he went all out, wouldn't he get beaten up? Besides, he still had to do the observation work, so he had to painfully pass up this training opportunity.

"Aren't you looking for a sparring partner? This is a great chance. Even though I'm on the sidelines, I'll still help you."

"How will you help me?"

"I'll cheer for you!"

Akashi stepped aside and shouted, "Guy-senpai, you do your best too."