A Taijutsu Match with Might Guy

"What's wrong? Are you still a crybaby?"

"Don't you want to become a genius ninja like your brother? Are you really willing to settle for being an ordinary ninja?"

Uchiha Gin said, looking as if he were about to give Sasuke a motivational speech. He also held Itachi up as an example to follow.

Sure enough, when Sasuke heard he was supposed to keep up with Itachi, his expression immediately turned resolute. He often heard his brother being praised at home, and he felt he ought to be just as capable.

The competition between brothers began when they were young and lasted until one of them gave up.

"I'm going to become as strong as my brother!"

Sasuke said earnestly, though he looked far too cute.

He didn't look earnest at all.

"Then let's go!"

"Itachi, come pick up Sasuke at noon."

Uchiha Gin said.

Then he turned and left.

"Big brother, remember to come get me at noon!"

Sasuke said to Itachi. He was still a little scared.

Itachi raised his hand and poked Sasuke on the forehead with his index finger. Then, looking somewhat pleased, he said,

"Of course. Remember to listen to Captain Gin."

He felt that Sasuke agreeing so readily made it seem as though the boy had grown up.

Even though he was still a child himself!

"Okay!"

Sasuke covered his forehead and pouted, but he still agreed. Then he hurried after Uchiha Gin with his short little legs.

Uchiha Gin took Sasuke to the edge of the Uchiha Clan's land, near the forest, where there was a pond.

"Today, we'll start by learning how to extract chakra..."

Everything began with the basics. Sasuke hadn't started training yet; he'd only played with Kunai and Shuriken at home.

So they started with chakra extraction, followed by Water Walking and tree climbing. After that, they would move straight on to practicing ninjutsu. There was no need to waste time practicing Shurikenjutsu—once Sasuke awakened his Sharingan, he could copy it and master it quickly.

Sasuke listened to Uchiha Gin, scratching his head in confusion because he didn't understand many of the terms. Uchiha Gin had to guide him patiently.

At the same time, he used his ocular technique to control Sasuke's senses with his Mangekyo technique, letting the boy feel the presence of chakra. He was basically cheating to help Sasuke train.

With the help of the ocular technique, Sasuke soon began trying to extract chakra. Uchiha Gin also started strengthening his body. He created a Shadow Clone to watch Sasuke while his real body continued doing repetitive physical training.

About an hour later, Sasuke opened his eyes excitedly.

"Captain Gin, I extracted chakra!"

Sasuke told Uchiha Gin, overjoyed.

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone used the Sharingan to observe him and saw that the chakra flowing through Sasuke's body had indeed increased.

Everyone in this world had chakra, but most people couldn't control or use it. Once they learned to extract and refine it themselves, their chakra would increase.

"Nicely done!"

"Now we can move on to the next step. Extracting chakra requires both spiritual and physical energy. Spiritual energy is slow to increase, but physical energy can be improved through body training."

Uchiha Gin explained to Sasuke.

Sasuke's chakra was still too low, which would make Water Walking and tree climbing difficult. They would do some basic training first. But Sasuke's arms and legs were so small that weight training was out of the question, so simple exercises would do.

"Okay!"

Having made progress, Sasuke felt confident, as if he'd just seen his progress in a game walkthrough.

But it didn't take long for Sasuke to feel tired. Uchiha Gin had him jog for exercise, then do pull-ups. He was too young for weight training; it might stunt his growth.

"Captain Gin, how long do I have to train?"

Sasuke looked like he was about to cry.

"Until you can't run anymore."

Uchiha Gin replied without mercy.

In the original story, Sasuke had wasted too much time on the boring lessons at the Ninja Academy.

Sasuke's talent was top-tier. After two and a half years with Orochimaru, he'd been strong enough to defeat Deidara, reaching the level of an elite Jonin.

So in this life, Uchiha Gin wouldn't let Sasuke waste his talent.

"But I'm really tired!"

Tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes, but he held them back.

"The Blue Beast of Konoha makes his entrance!!"

But a passionate shout suddenly rang out, startling Sasuke so badly that his tears disappeared. He stared blankly at a cloud of dust speeding toward them.

Before long, Sasuke saw someone sprinting toward them on his hands, legs in the air.

"Gin, I came as you invited!"

"When do we start our blood-pumping match?"

Might Guy asked Uchiha Gin with a hearty laugh.

He could hardly wait!

Chapter 49: A Taijutsu Match with Might Guy

"We can start right now."

Uchiha Gin said to Might Guy.

They got along well. After all, he'd been here for three years and knew who was worth getting to know and who he could ignore.

Besides, he and Might Guy were in the same graduating class, so they knew each other and had become friends easily. They had no ulterior motives; they simply exchanged tips on Taijutsu training and sometimes sparred.

Might Guy had been away on missions recently, so they hadn't had a chance to meet. Now that he was back on leave, Uchiha Gin had invited him to spar.

"Sasuke, that's enough for today. Next, you can watch Guy and me have a Taijutsu match."

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone said to Sasuke.

Sasuke had no objections. He'd only realized how tiring training was after trying it himself.

Uchiha Gin's real body stopped training and took four Kunai out of his ninja pouch. Steel wire was wrapped around them.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

Uchiha Gin flung the Kunai, sending them into four tree trunks.

The steel wire tied to them formed a rectangular area of about five hundred square meters, with each side more than twenty meters long.

It covered the pond, along with some of the surrounding grass.

"Whoever gets forced out of this area first or gets knocked down loses."

"No ninja tools. Taijutsu only."

Uchiha Gin explained the rules to Might Guy.

"Okay!"

As he spoke, Might Guy took off the weights he was wearing.

He didn't underestimate Uchiha Gin. When Uchiha Gin didn't activate his Sharingan, Guy could keep him on the back foot and usually won. He'd only lost once, by accident.

But once Uchiha Gin activated his Sharingan, their win rate was about nine to one in Gin's favor. However, Guy could keep up with him by opening the Eight Inner Gates.

Of course, that was when Guy didn't use the Eight Inner Gates. Uchiha Gin hadn't really wanted to activate his Sharingan, since his main goal was to improve his Taijutsu, and taking hits would help more. But Might Guy believed that without the Sharingan, he couldn't put Gin under real pressure. He urged Gin to activate it and copy his Taijutsu so they could spar, giving Guy a chance to hone his skills.

After all, his true rival, Kakashi, also had the Sharingan. Guy was eager to fight an opponent with one so that he could defeat Kakashi.

Both of them benefited from the arrangement; it wasn't just one-sided coaching.

They'd both already expended some energy before the fight, but neither seemed to mind.

"Sasuke, you can call out when to start."

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone led Sasuke outside the wire boundary.

Once the two were ready, it spoke to Sasuke.

"Okay!"

"Then, begin!"

Sasuke wasn't nervous. He wanted to see what a real fight looked like, since he'd never seen one before. He'd only played with Kunai and Shuriken at home.

"Bang!"

Uchiha Gin and Might Guy collided in an instant.

Both of them clenched their right fists and punched forward, while their opponent caught the blow with his left palm.

After they struggled against each other for a moment, Uchiha Gin fell behind.

He hadn't slacked off on his training, but Might Guy was still stronger.

Seeing this, Uchiha Gin kicked at Might Guy's left leg with his right foot. But Might Guy reacted in time, grabbed Gin's right hand, and hoisted him into the air, leaving Gin's kick with nothing to hit.

Uchiha Gin twisted at the waist in midair and pulled Might Guy up with him. Both of them left the ground at the same time and were flung apart.

"That's amazing!"

Sasuke stared at the scene, eyes wide with shock.

Uchiha Gin was flung toward the pond. He landed first, skimming across the water as he rushed toward the spot where Might Guy was about to land.

As Might Guy touched down, Uchiha Gin swung a roundhouse kick at him. Might Guy abruptly bent backward into a bridge, dodging the kick, then braced himself on the ground with both hands and kicked toward Uchiha Gin's right side. Gin blocked with his right arm, but the blow sent him flying.

Then Might Guy launched an attack, closing in on Uchiha Gin as they traded fast strikes and counters.

Sasuke's little eyes could barely follow their movements. He could only think how amazing they were.

Might Guy used Strong Fist, attacking with broad, powerful movements. Uchiha Gin had copied Guy's Taijutsu, but his physical strength couldn't match Guy's, so he could only defend and counter with more technical moves.

Uchiha Gin also tried to recreate some of the martial arts techniques he remembered from his previous life, drawing out their essence to create moves such as Inch Punch, Iron Mountain Lean, and Crushing Fist.

"Use your Sharingan! This still isn't enough pressure!"

Might Guy was fired up, his blood racing now that the fight had begun.

Recently, he'd felt that Uchiha Gin had improved again. Even without the Sharingan, Gin could already put him under plenty of pressure.

"Then you'd better open the Eight Inner Gates too. But only up to the fifth gate!"

Uchiha Gin didn't hold back. His pupils transformed into the Sharingan, and he spoke to Might Guy.

Last time, Might Guy had been caught off guard by Gin's trick. He'd opened the fifth gate, but before he could react, he instinctively opened the sixth and sent Gin flying.

"Of course!"

Might Guy immediately opened the fourth gate, the Gate of Pain. The veins on his fist stood out prominently.

The two moved much faster now. To an ordinary person, they were only blurs when they collided.

Sasuke could barely make out their movements, but soon he was rubbing his eyes because they were tired.

"You can't manage it yet. Once you awaken the Sharingan, you'll be able to follow some of their movements."

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone told Sasuke.

Even without activating the Sharingan, members of the Uchiha Clan had much better eyesight and sharper reflexes than ordinary people. But to truly make the most of those abilities, they needed to activate the Sharingan.

Sasuke felt frustrated, but there was nothing he could do.

"The fifth gate, Gate of Limit: Open!"

Might Guy opened the next gate of the Eight Inner Gates.

Every time Uchiha Gin took one of Might Guy's punches, he bared his teeth in pain. Guy was incredibly strong. The Sharingan let Gin follow his movements and react, but Gin's physical abilities still fell far short of Might Guy's with the Eight Inner Gates open.

One full-power Strong Fist punch sent Uchiha Gin stumbling backward.