Strength

The affairs of the Hyuga Clan came to an end, leaving only pain and sorrow for Yuko and her son, Neji. Afterward, Mika brought Ito Makoto to visit them several times, attempting to soothe the grief in their hearts through companionship. Yet, outsiders remain outsiders; no matter how much one does, the sorrow of losing a loved one cannot be mended.

The death of Hizashi Hyuga was the first major event in the world of Naruto that Ito Makoto experienced firsthand. It was precisely because he lived through it that his feelings regarding the matter were all the more profound.

In this Konoha, the fates of all people are entirely controlled by those in power; one cannot even grasp their own life and death. Everything about a small fry is out of their own hands—if those in power want you to do something, you must do it; if they want you to die, you must die.

Despite committing the despicable act of forcing someone to their death, the Third Hokage remained a wise leader. If the original trajectory held true, that man would continue to be beloved by all the villagers of Konoha, and countless people would mourn his passing when he died.

In this world of ninjas, the principle that might makes right is manifested to the fullest extent.

In this world, justice is weak and powerless, and the truth is inconsequential. The only things that truly matter are power and influence.

To break free from the control of those big shots, to master one's own destiny, and to no longer be a small fry sacrificed like Hizashi Hyuga, there is only one method: strengthen one's own power.

Throughout the thousand-year history of ninja conflict, there were only two people who never cared for the constraints of power.

The First Hokage and Uchiha Madara.

To these two, power was merely a tool used by the weak and powerless to protect themselves. A single jutsu from either of them could force those conspirators who pointed fingers at them to shut their mouths.

If Hizashi Hyuga had possessed the strength of the First Hokage, who would have dared to carve the Caged Bird Seal onto him? Who would have dared to make him a sacrifice?

I fear that the moment the main branch issued the order, the entire Konoha Hidden Village would have been reduced to nothing but dust by Wood Release.

In the eyes of ordinary people, power is more important than strength; even a powerhouse like the White Fang of the Leaf could be forced to commit suicide by conspiracies.

But in the eyes of those who "cheat," power is merely weeds—if it's an eyesore, one simply clears it away.

Fortunately, Ito Makoto possesses the potential to cheat; as long as he works hard, he can become one of those who cheat. The existence of the Rinnegan allows him to become the kind of powerhouse who views all things as mere grass.

Coincidentally, having completed the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, Ito Makoto has fundamentally resolved the danger of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation. At this moment, he can finally devote all his energy to the improvement of his strength.

"What? You want to train with me?" Might Guy looked at the child before him with suspicion.

He knew this young child was the son of Doctor Ito, named Ito Makoto, and he had previously taught this boy the Summoning Jutsu.

"But when I invited you before, you clearly refused me to my face. Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

"Because I have deeply realized the importance of training for the sake of youth. Being in the prime of my youth, I do not want to waste any more time. Only by following in the footsteps of Teacher Guy can my youth burn to the extreme."

Ito Makoto spouted nonsense.

In reality, following Might Guy to train in taijutsu was a result of Ito Makoto's calm deliberation.

Although the Rinnegan is powerful, it is not without weaknesses. Taijutsu is one of the weaknesses of the Rinnegan—not that taijutsu can defeat the Rinnegan, of course, but that taijutsu can cause the Rinnegan user to be injured.

If he could possess powerful taijutsu, then at the very least, future opponents would be unable to target him through taijutsu.

Furthermore, the peak power of the ninja world, aside from the Rinnegan, includes Yin-Yang Release.

Yin Release represents the power of the spirit, and Yin Release jutsu can create form out of nothing; Yang Release represents the power of the body, and Yang Release jutsu can infuse life into form. The combination of the two is Yin-Yang Release.

This is a type of ninjutsu that creates all things from nothing and bestows life upon them.

In the original work, those who mastered Yin-Yang Release included Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Mastering Yin-Yang Release allows for physical regeneration and the ability to create flesh and blood at will. Moreover, it can render ninjutsu other than Sage Jutsu ineffective. It is one of the hallmarks of a Six Paths Level powerhouse.

Setting aside Yin Release for the moment, regarding Yang Release, one can see from the fact that it represents the power of the body that it has an inseparable relationship with the physical form.

Although Ito Makoto does not yet understand this high-level power, he believes in being prepared; perhaps in the future, he will have the opportunity to truly master it.

And currently, in Konoha, no one is more professional than Might Guy when it comes to methods for training the body and taijutsu. After all, he is the character in the original work who kicked Six Paths Madara into a state of critical injury using only taijutsu.

Because of this, Ito Makoto decided to cast aside his shame. Even if it meant wearing a green spandex suit and being mocked by everyone, he would learn taijutsu from Might Guy and learn the Eight Inner Gates. Strength is more important than face.

"I am so moved! This is youth!" Might Guy's eyes instantly welled up with tears. "Young man, I am moved by your burning spirit! From today on, we shall undergo the training of youth together."

"Come, put on this spandex suit." Might Guy pulled a green spandex suit, roughly the same height as Ito Makoto, from out of nowhere.

"Teacher Guy, where did you get this suit? And how is it almost my size?" Ito Makoto bit the bullet and took the clothing.

"Actually, before I went to teach you ninjutsu last time, I had already prepared it specifically for you. It's a pity you refused at the time, so I didn't bring it out." Might Guy laughed heartily. "As expected, my decision was correct. You have indeed returned to the path of youth."

Damn it, so he had a premeditated plan. Ito Makoto looked at Might Guy with resentment. Why was he so sharp-witted when it came to things like this?

Holding the spandex suit in his hand, he made a firm resolution. He found a secluded spot and changed into the clothes.

Ito Makoto's face turned bright red as he put on the spandex; this outfit was truly humiliating.

"Young man, not bad! It fits quite well." Might Guy gave him a thumbs up.

Ito Makoto did not want this kind of praise from Might Guy at all.

"Now that your equipment is ready, it is time to begin training." Might Guy got to the point. "It is impossible for you to catch up to me in intensity at the moment. However, I can formulate a new training schedule for you based on my own training plan from when I was a child."

Mentioning the main topic, Ito Makoto felt a surge of energy. This was exactly what he wanted: the training experience of a taijutsu powerhouse.

Might Guy led Ito Makoto to the center of the village. The Ninja Academy was built here, very close to the Hokage Office.

This was also proof of how much the First Hokage valued the education of the next generation.

Might Guy pointed at the Ninja Academy and said, "When I was five years old, my goal was to run 500 consecutive laps around the Ninja Academy's track. The track at the Ninja Academy is about 400 meters per lap; 500 laps is 200,000 meters—200 kilometers."

Ito Makoto felt a toothache just listening to this. Is it the children of the ninja world who are abnormal, or is Might Guy the abnormal one? Running over a hundred kilometers at the drop of a hat.

"However, you aren't even four years old yet, so there's naturally no need to set such a high goal right away," Might Guy added. "Besides, you and I are different. You are a genius at ninjutsu; it's impossible to pour all your energy into taijutsu. If I forced you to study it, I would only be ruining you. That being said, I suppose a distance of 100 laps around the track is more suitable for you right now."

100 laps around the track—that was 40,000 meters, or 40 kilometers. Ito Makoto offered a bitter smile. In his past life, even as a soldier, his cross-country runs were only 5 kilometers. He was only three years old, and he was being asked to do 40 kilometers right out of the gate, even if it was a weakened version. Taijutsu was truly not meant for normal people. If he were on his own, there was no way he could have steeled his resolve to set such a high target.

"Can I use the Body Flicker Technique?" Ito Makoto asked. The Body Flicker Technique, which involved using a burst of chakra to move instantaneously, was the standard method for ninjas to travel long distances.

"Of course not!" Might Guy patted Ito Makoto on the head. "Our goal is to train the physical body. If we had the help of chakra, how could we possibly train our bodies?"

"Don't worry. A body activated by chakra is not something an ordinary child can compare to. Even if the intensity is high, it won't damage your body."

Swallowing hard, Ito Makoto nodded.

"However, we can't go into the Ninja Academy and disturb the students during class. Let's just run outside. We can determine the distance by counting our steps."

Might Guy raised his fist. "Burn, my youth!"

With that, he took the lead and sprinted off into the distance.

Ito Makoto followed closely behind.

After sprinting outside with Might Guy for the entire morning, Ito Makoto finally returned home. The Senju bloodline was truly powerful, especially his atavistic version; not only was his chakra volume abundant, but his physical stamina was also far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Even though he had never trained before, Ito Makoto managed to persist through sheer willpower. Every time his stamina reached its limit, new strength would surge from his body.

He had completed his goal on his very first run, which even left Might Guy shocked. He shouted and hollered about adding more training before heading off to practice on his own.

This was normal; no matter what, Ito Makoto could never keep up with Might Guy's current training pace. Even while running, it was often the case that Might Guy would run an unknown distance ahead, only to return to check on how far Ito Makoto had made it, before running off again and returning once more.

Throughout the morning, although the two practiced together, Might Guy's training volume far exceeded Ito Makoto's.

Back home, Ito Makoto took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and went to the house next door to guide Sakura in her chakra refinement.

So far, Sakura's chakra training had been going smoothly. Although she couldn't compare to him, she would certainly be able to finish before next year's Ninja Academy entrance exam.

This allowed Ito Makoto to breathe a sigh of relief. He didn't want his influence to cause Sakura to fail the entrance exam for the Ninja Academy.

While accompanying Sakura in her chakra training, Ito Makoto would also complete his own homework.

Since he had a method for physical training, mental training was also essential.

The power of the Sharingan was the power of Yin Release. Since Yin Release represented the spirit, the improvement of his eyes was closely linked to the cultivation of his spirit.

However, mental cultivation was much more troublesome than physical training. There were many methods for training the tangible body, but there was almost no guidance for the intangible spirit.

Whether it was Might Guy or his mother, they only said that mental cultivation would automatically improve with age, experience, and the acquisition of knowledge.

In other words, when it came to the mental aspect of ninja training, there was only the path of natural growth; there were no special methods.

However, imitating his physical training, Ito Makoto still found a method that wasn't quite a method.

Just as one consumed physical strength to train, the body improved through tempering. Could the spirit also be improved through consumption?

Ito Makoto made a bold hypothesis. Following the method of physical training, he decided to constantly use genjutsu every day to consume mental energy in order to temper his spirit.

To this end, he specifically learned a genjutsu from his mother: Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (D-rank). Although it was only a D-rank ninjutsu, it was enough to consume his mental energy.

Ito Makoto prepared a white mouse as the target for his genjutsu. Every day, while accompanying Sakura in refining chakra, he would continuously cast the Hell Viewing Technique on the mouse to temper his mental energy.

Unexpectedly, this method actually worked. After his depleted mental energy recovered, it had indeed improved. The proof was that the number of times he could cast genjutsu in a row had increased.

Once he confirmed that this method was effective, genjutsu training became a mandatory course for Ito Makoto. Of course, the feeling of excessively consuming mental energy was not pleasant; it felt like a hangover, leaving his head dizzy and muddled. Fortunately, his body was capable; after finishing his training, he only needed to rest for an hour to alleviate most of the pain.