Naruto, What's the point of being Hokage without you!

Just looking at the bowl-cut boy before him, Naruto felt his face turn deathly pale at the sight of such desperate, life-risking training.

Upon hearing the system's words—"You only need to work a little bit harder than him"—he felt as if he were staring death in the face!

"Are, are you kidding me!"

"That guy is literally throwing his life away!"

[Please begin taijutsu training immediately, and ensure you work a little bit harder than Rock Lee.]

[Warning: Countdown to the Baptism of Lightning Release, 5...]

Ten thousand alpacas stampeded through Naruto's mind in an instant.

Helpless, he pushed aside the bushes and stepped out, greeting Rock Lee, who was busy training for his life.

"H, hello..."

It was rare for anyone to take the initiative to speak to Rock Lee.

He paused his grueling training, turned his head, and his eyes suddenly ignited with a fierce, burning light!

"Oh! It's Naruto!"

Naruto didn't ask how the other boy knew him.

Strangely enough, even though no one liked him, it seemed like everyone knew who he was...

He scratched his head and gave a dry laugh: "Aha, that's me."

"What is your name?"

"Rock Lee!"

"I knew it..."

Rock Lee's lips suddenly curled upward as he gave Naruto a thumbs-up.

"Naruto! I saw it, you know!"

"What?"

"Your cool, heroic figure while training so desperately, of course!"

"C, cool, heroic figure?"

"Exactly! Whether you're heading to school or coming home, you're always doing weighted frog jumps or one-handed handstands; you're constantly training hard. You are truly a role model for us all!"

Naruto was stunned, but a hint of pride and satisfaction welled up within him.

"Aha, that? It's nothing, just a small matter!"

Rock Lee was instantly fired up.

"Oh! Well said, Naruto!"

"Indeed, the training on the way to and from school is just a small matter; the real training has only just begun!"

"How about it? Do you want to join me and burn with the fire of youth?!"

Naruto didn't want to join.

But did he have a choice?

"...Oh, this? It's exactly what I had in mind!"

"Lee, I will never lose to you!"

Rock Lee laughed heartily: "That's the spirit!"

"Come on, Naruto!"

Naruto gave a guilty, dry laugh and stood side-by-side with Rock Lee.

"So, what are we training?"

Rock Lee clenched his fists.

"It's simple!"

"Three thousand consecutive kicks to the wooden stake!"

"Then four thousand strikes to the wooden stake!"

"Followed by three thousand jump ropes!"

"Three thousand push-ups!"

"If you can't do it, then do thirty laps around Konoha walking on your hands!"

Naruto's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"D, don't you think that's a bit too extreme?!"

Rock Lee smiled with absolute confidence.

"What are you saying, Naruto! This is only just the beginning!"

"You and I are both people with dreams. We want others to acknowledge us and prove our own worth. Since that's the case, this training is nothing at all!"

"It is! It absolutely is, okay!"

Rock Lee gave a brilliant smile, revealing his sparkling teeth.

"Come on, Naruto!"

"Burn your youth along with me!"

Rock Lee stopped talking nonsense and immediately threw himself back into his exaggerated, terrifying special training.

Bang—

Bang, bang, bang!

His left leg lashed out, delivering a fierce side kick that slammed into the hard wooden stake.

Without a moment's pause, his right leg followed with a rapid-fire series of kicks, striking the other side with equal ferocity!

Instantly, the wooden stake couldn't help but send splinters flying.

Naruto wore a mournful expression, his eyes filled with helplessness.

"What else can I even say..."

He took a deep breath and then similarly kicked hard at another wooden stake.

Bang! Bang! Bang—

The two hot-blooded dead-last students began their devilish special training and hellish cultivation under the summer sun.

"1263!"

"1264!"

"1265!"

This was the first time Rock Lee had encountered someone to train with, and he felt both moved and a strange, newfound sense of competition.

He trained even harder than he usually did.

Naruto, who had never undergone this level of grueling training, was far inferior to Rock Lee in terms of explosive power.

However, he had his own advantages.

Great endurance, tenacious vitality, and formidable recovery!

Therefore, even though he was already exhausted to the point of misery, Naruto gritted his teeth and managed to keep going.

"2110!"

"2111!"

"2112!"

"Keep it up, Naruto! Hope is right before our eyes!"

Naruto: "...I don't believe a word you say!"

"Isn't finishing the stake kicking just the beginning?!"

Rock Lee laughed heartily: "That's true, too!"

Naruto: "..."

He was panting heavily, lacking the strength to bicker with Rock Lee, and could only persist with all his might.

Sweat poured down like rain, dripping onto the earth of the Konoha Training Ground, where it quickly vanished.

"2997!"

"2998!"

"2999..."

Naruto looked like a dog, his tongue lolling out as he gasped for air in great gulps.

But just as Rock Lee had said, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel...

"3000!"

Naruto gritted his teeth one last time and kicked the wooden stake; with a poof, wood chips flew everywhere.

"Fi, finally finished..."

He instantly collapsed completely onto the ground, crawling like a reptile.

Rock Lee finished at the same time, panting and wiping the sweat from his face.

"Naruto, this is only the beginning, cheer up!"

Naruto waved his hand weakly: "No... I can't..."

"I need to rest for a while..."

[Host detected to have not completed the taijutsu training goal; Baptism of Lightning Release is imminent.]

[Warning, countdown 5...]

Naruto: "Huh?!"

"But I clearly finished it!"

[Host, please note: your training goal is to work just a little harder than Rock Lee. As of now, you have only completed the same amount of training as him.]

Naruto: "...Damn it!"

"Are you really trying to kill me?!"

[Countdown 4...]

"Alright, alright! I get it!"

Naruto struggled to his feet, swaying as the wooden stake before him began to blur into double images.

But to avoid being struck by lightning, he could only grit his teeth and lash out another kick at the stake.

"3001!"

"Fi, finished..."

Who would have known.

Seeing this scene, Rock Lee couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Oh! I understand!"

He slammed his fist into his palm, his eyes igniting with blazing flames.

"You mean that one cannot indulge in the past, that one must surpass oneself and set even tougher, more rigorous training!"

"I understand, Naruto. You are trying to motivate me in this way!"

Rock Lee was instantly fired up; he dropped into a lunge and then fiercely kicked out once more.