Before dawn, Dai and Guy arrived at the waterfall on the mountain behind the village.
"Guy!"
Dai planted his hands on his hips, his teeth flashing.
"Twenty days is too short! Regular training won't be enough! Dad's putting you through special training!"
Guy nodded. "Okay."
Dai paused. "You're not going to ask what it is?"
"No."
Dai's eyes reddened again.
He pulled Guy into a hug. "That's my boy! Such passion!"
Guy's eyes rolled back under the pressure.
Dai let go, took a deep breath, and grew unusually serious.
"Guy, from now on, you'll do five thousand kicks every day!"
"Start with a thousand push-ups, then add two hundred each day!"
"Stand under the waterfall for an hour!"
"And..."
He paused and gave a thumbs-up.
"Dad's going to teach you an incredible move! Leaf Hurricane!"
Guy's eyes lit up.
Leaf Hurricane.
One of Might Guy's signature taijutsu moves.
The foundation for many of his later techniques, too.
"Watch closely!"
Dai stepped back, drew a deep breath, then sprinted forward.
He leaped.
His body spun through the air.
A beautiful spinning kick!
Whoosh!
The sharp sound of his kick cut through the air.
Dai landed and looked back, his teeth flashing. "How was that?"
Guy blinked.
For an instant, something seemed to click in his mind.
It wasn't a system notification.
It was a... feeling.
The way Dai generated force, the rhythm of the spin, the technique for shifting his balance in midair—
Guy felt as though he could do it.
"Dad, let me try."
Dai blinked. "Now? You've only seen it once—"
Guy was already running.
He leaped.
Turned.
And kicked!
Whoosh—
His form was crooked, and he nearly fell when he landed, but he had thrown the kick.
Dai's jaw dropped.
Might Guy steadied himself and looked back at him.
Dai's mouth was still open.
"...Guy."
"Yeah?"
"You... What you just did..."
Might Guy scratched his head. "I think I've got it. I'm just not very good at it yet."
Dai fell silent for three seconds.
Then his eyes reddened again.
"That's my boy!!! A genius!!! You're a taijutsu genius!!!"
He rushed over for a hug, but Guy was ready and took off running.
"Dad, calm down first!!"
"I can't!!!"
The two green figures, one big and one small, chased each other through the woods, startling a flock of birds into flight.
Training began in earnest.
Day one: five thousand kicks. One thousand one-finger push-ups. Twenty minutes standing beneath the waterfall.
Guy made it through.
Day two: five thousand five hundred kicks. One thousand two hundred one-finger push-ups. Thirty minutes beneath the waterfall.
He made it through again.
Day three.
Six thousand kicks. One thousand four hundred one-finger push-ups. Forty minutes beneath the waterfall.
That evening, he sat before a tree and looked at his hands.
Not one of his ten fingers was uninjured.
The skin over his knuckles had worn away, leaving them bloody and raw. In places, he could see white bone.
Blood ran down his fingers and dripped onto the fallen leaves.
He lifted a foot.
The top of it was torn up too. Bloody marks covered the tree trunk.
Why am I pushing myself this hard?
The question came out of nowhere.
In his previous life, he had been an orphan. No one had cared for him; staying alive had been enough.
But in this life, he had a dad, a system, and a chance to grow stronger...
He lowered his head and stared at his mangled fingers.
Footsteps sounded beside him.
Dai walked over. Without a word, he settled into a horse stance beside him.
Then he raised a fist.
Bang!
His fist slammed into the tree.
The trunk shook, and leaves rained down.
Bang!
Another punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Punch after punch.
Before long, the skin on his knuckles split, and blood seeped out.
Guy stared at him.
Dai said nothing.
He just kept punching.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Guy gritted his teeth.
He turned back.
Raised a finger.
And jabbed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
[Vajra Finger proficiency +1] [Vajra Leg proficiency +1]
Night fell.
Only the sounds of bang and thud remained in the woods, over and over, until late.
Day thirteen.
Three in the morning.
Guy woke up.
His fingers hurt.
The tops of his feet hurt.
His shoulders hurt.
Everything hurt.
He opened his eyes, intending to circulate the Yijin Jing to ease the pain.
Then he noticed Dai wasn't in bed.
He turned toward the door.
It stood slightly ajar.
Moonlight spilled through the gap.
Guy got up, crept over, and looked outside.
Dai sat on the doorstep, staring blankly at the moon.
The man who usually spoke the loudest and laughed the hardest sat there in silence.
From behind, he looked a little lonely.
Guy pushed the door open, walked over, and sat beside him.
Dai turned and grinned. "What woke you? The pain?"
"Yeah."
"Dad hurts too." Dai patted his head. "But pain is a good sign. It means you're getting stronger."
Guy was quiet for a while.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever regretted it?"
Dai paused.
"Training for twenty years and still being a Genin." Guy looked at the moon. "Do you regret it?"
Dai said nothing.
A long while passed before he spoke.
"Regret it?"
He shook his head.
"Guy, there's only one thing Dad regrets: not realizing something sooner."
Guy turned to him.
"Realizing what?"
Dai gazed at the moon, his eyes gentle.
"Protecting the people you want to protect matters more than becoming a Jonin."
He paused, then continued.
"Back when I went on missions with White Fang, I was the weakest on the team."
"I held everyone back. I couldn't help, and sometimes they even had to protect me."
"But White Fang never looked down on me."
He turned to Guy and grinned.
"He said everyone has their own way of living."
"Some rely on ninjutsu, some on genjutsu, and some on secret techniques passed down through their families. As for me—"
He gave a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
"My way is to burn with Youth through taijutsu, right to the end!"
Guy looked at him.
Moonlight shone on Dai's face, and his eyes blazed bright.
Though Dai said it with a smile, Guy could feel the weight behind his words.
This wasn't some hollow pep talk.
It was a man's conviction.
Guy took a deep breath.
"Dad."
"Hm?"
"I want to train harder tomorrow."
Dai froze for a moment.
Then his eyes reddened again.
"That's my boy!"
He pulled Guy into a hug, his booming voice ringing through the night.
Guy's eyes rolled back from the squeeze, but he was smiling.
On the afternoon of the seventeenth day.
In the woods behind the mountain.
Guy stood before a tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl.
Over the past fifteen days, he had practiced ten thousand kicks.
He had thrust his fingers forward more than ninety thousand times.
He had used two bottles of Golden Sore Medicine.
He had worn through two sets of training clothes.
He had ruined four pairs of shoes.
[Vajra Leg: Some Mastery 100/300] [Vajra Finger: First Glimpse 99/100]
His leg technique had reached the next stage first.
He took a deep breath.
He recalled the move Dai had demonstrated.
Run, leap, turn, kick.
He knew how to do it.
He had learned it long ago.
He broke into a run.
Leaped.
His body spun through the air—
"Leaf Hurricane!!!"
Whoosh—crack!!!
The bowl-thick trunk snapped with the blow.
The upper half of the tree crashed to the ground.
Leaves scattered everywhere.
Might Guy landed and found his footing.
He stared at the broken trunk, stunned.
Dai stood a short distance away, just as stunned.
Then Dai rushed over.
"Guy!!! You did it!!! You really did it!!!"
He swept Might Guy into a hug. Tears poured down his face, followed by snot.
"Waaaaah, Guy!!! Dad knew you could do it!!! I knew you could!!!"
Guy could barely breathe in his arms.
His face and clothes were smeared with tears and snot.
"Dad... let go... let go..."
"No!!! Dad's too happy!!! Too happy!!!"
Guy's eyes rolled back, his arms hanging limply at his sides.
But warmth filled his heart.
Oh well.
I'll wash my clothes when we get home.
[Vajra Leg has reached "Some Mastery." Main quest progress: 1/2.]
The setting sun shone through gaps in the leaves.
Two figures in green, one big and one small, held each other.
One bawled his eyes out.
The other rolled his eyes, looking utterly resigned.
The wind blew through the woods, carrying the faint smell of blood and sweat.
And something else he couldn't quite name.
Maybe it was Youth.