Resonance of the Underdog

One month later.

Ninja Academy training ground.

Today is the squad combat lesson.

Ikkaku Umino stands on the sidelines, notebook in hand.

More than twenty students are divided into groups, taking turns demonstrating the Body Replacement, Transformation, and Clone techniques learned over the past month.

"Next, Kakashi Hatake."

Kakashi walks forward.

He stands firm and forms the hand seals.

Poof!

As the smoke clears, three identical Kakashis stand side by side.

Their movements are identical, their expressions are identical, and even the angle of their spiked hair is identical.

"Oh!!!"

"That's amazing!"

"Three clones! Perfect!"

The students erupt in a frenzy.

Asuma curls his lip, but his eyes remain fixed on the scene. Kurenai covers her mouth and lets out a soft gasp. Ebisu adjusts his sunglasses, looking unconvinced, but says nothing.

Kakashi dispels the clones and walks back to the line.

His face remains expressionless, as if he had just done something completely ordinary.

"Very good." Ikkaku Umino jots a few notes in his book. "Next group, Obito Uchiha."

Obito takes a deep breath and strides forward.

"Watch me!"

He forms the hand seals with exaggerated movements, muttering under his breath.

"Boone-shin, no jutsu!"

Poof!

The smoke clears.

Two clones appear beside him.

One has a crooked neck.

One has crossed eyes.

Both stand wobbly, as if they were drunk.

"Pfft—"

Someone bursts out laughing.

"What is that..."

"Can you even call those clones when they're leaning like that?"

Obito's face turns bright red, and he bites his lip.

Ikkaku Umino, seemingly having anticipated this result, says in a calm voice:

"Next, Might Guy."

Might Guy walks up with a blank expression.

He stands firm and forms the hand seals.

The chakra within his body stirs, and then—

Nothing happens.

There isn't even a poof.

"..."

Might Guy's mouth twitches twice.

The air falls silent for two brief seconds.

"Pfft, hahahahaha!!!"

"Zero clones! Even worse than Obito!"

"Can he even be called a ninja?"

The laughter is even louder than before.

Might Guy looks at his hands and sighs helplessly.

"I suppose it really isn't working..."

The Yijin Jing had indeed improved his physique, and his chakra reserves were significantly higher than when he had first arrived.

But talent for ninjutsu, it seemed, truly had nothing to do with this body of his.

For a month, he had tried countless times.

Every time the chakra reached his fingertips, it would dissipate; no matter what, he couldn't gather it.

At first, Might Guy had tried to salvage the situation, but eventually, he gave up.

Rather than spending a massive amount of time and chakra on a field he wasn't suited for, yielding half the results for double the effort, it was better to commit to one path and see it through to the end.

As for what others thought?

Let them think what they wanted.

Might Guy walked back to the group as if nothing had happened.

Passing by Obito, he saw the boy with his head down, his fists clenched tight.

"Ring-a-ling..."

The school bell rang.

Students walked out in twos and threes.

"Kakashi is so amazing!"

"He really is a genius."

"That thing with Obito was just too funny..."

"And Might Guy, zero clones, haha..."

The voices faded into the distance.

Might Guy acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, packing his belongings to head to the back mountain for extra training.

Just as he stood up, a hand slapped onto his shoulder.

"Hey! Bushy Brows!"

Obito stood before him, his eyes wide.

"How are you not even a little bit angry?"

Might Guy blinked. "Angry about what?"

"They're laughing at us!" Obito pointed toward the door. "Calling us dead-lasts! Saying we aren't as good as Kakashi!"

Might Guy looked at him.

"Oh."

Obito grew agitated. "That's all you have to say? 'Oh'? Doesn't it bother you?"

Might Guy thought about it.

Did it bother him?

A little, at first.

After all, no one likes being the butt of a joke.

But later, he came to terms with it.

If he couldn't do ninjutsu, he couldn't do it; no matter how much it bothered him, he wouldn't be able to conjure a clone.

Rather than wasting time feeling bad, he might as well go kick five thousand more times.

"It's fine," he said. "I'm used to it."

Obito froze.

"Used to it? How can you be used to it?"

Might Guy looked at him and suddenly asked, "Do you know why Kakashi is so strong?"

Obito curled his lip. "Because he's a genius, obviously."

Might Guy shook his head.

"Because he's working hard every single day, we just don't see it."

Obito opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but for a moment, he was speechless.

This was the first time anyone had explained a genius to him in such a way.

Might Guy slung his bag over his shoulder. "So, I'm going for extra training. You want to come?"

Obito stared at him, stunned.

"Extra training?"

"Yeah."

Might Guy walked toward the exit.

"If your ninjutsu isn't working, train in something else. Taijutsu, Shuriken, tactics—there's always something you can master. It's better than sitting here fuming."

He reached the door and glanced back.

Obito was still standing where he was.

Might Guy gave a thumbs-up, revealing his White Fang.

"Youth is meant to burn! How else are you supposed to get stronger without burning?"

With that, he pushed the door open and left.

Obito watched that verdant green back, suddenly recalling what his grandmother used to say.

"A true powerhouse isn't someone who never cries, but someone who keeps running even after they've finished crying."

After a long moment, he grinned.

"This guy..."

He ran to catch up.

"Hey! Wait for me! I'm coming too!"

Back Mountain Training Ground.

"First, run a hundred laps to warm up!"

Hearing this, Obito instinctively swallowed hard.

But thinking about how he couldn't embarrass himself in front of Might Guy, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Fine!"

Two small figures wove through the woods.

Half an hour later.

Obito was panting heavily, but he gritted his teeth and kept pace behind Might Guy.

"Do you... do you train like this... every day after school?"

"Hm? Of course not."

Obito let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the answer, "I knew it..."

"This is just the warm-up."

Might Guy interrupted him, then began counting on his fingers.

"Next, there's five thousand side kicks, three thousand one-finger push-ups... oh right, and I have to stand under the waterfall for an hour tonight."

"You're insane!"

Might Guy turned back and chuckled.

"Youth is meant to burn!"

Obito looked at Might Guy's expression and suddenly fell silent.

But soon, he smiled.

His youthful face regained its fearless, indomitable look.

"Train then! Who's afraid of who!"

On the Back Mountain Training Ground, two small figures initiated their training mode.

However, Obito's stamina was far too weak.

After training for only an hour, before the sun had even set, he collapsed onto the ground.

Might Guy was currently performing one-finger push-ups.

His face was slightly flushed, but his breathing remained steady.

The warm current of the Yijin Jing circulated within his body, allowing his stamina to recover rapidly.

Obito tilted his head to watch Might Guy, feeling as if something were lodged in his throat.

So this guy has been working this hard all along...

He forced his body to stand up.

The gaze he directed at Might Guy became resolute.

"I am the man who will become Hokage! How can I fall in a place like this!"

"If Bushy Brows can do it, I definitely can too!"

[Bond Triggered: Resonance of the Underdog]

[Reward: Monk Points +30]

"Hm?"

Might Guy felt a stir in his heart.

Glancing at Obito, whose legs were shaking like leaves, Guy silently added 30 Monk Points to the Yijin Jing.

[Yijin Jing (Mastery) → (Perfected)]

A breakthrough!

A surge of heat erupted from his lower abdomen, instantly flooding his limbs and bones.

It was more intense than ever before.

Guy's entire body shuddered.

His muscles twitched, his bones burned, and his blood boiled.

Looking down, he saw a layer of grayish-black, sticky sludge seeping from his arms, carrying a faint, fishy stench.

The impurities in my body have been purged?!

He could feel every single cell breathing and growing stronger.

[Yijin Jing: Stamina recovery speed significantly increased, physical strength significantly increased, cultivation efficiency significantly increased.]

The description remained the same as always, but the effects were far more potent.

As he was now, he could easily run five hundred laps around the training ground without even breaking a sweat!

As expected, focusing on strengthening the Yijin Jing was the right choice!

Guy's eyes gleamed as he checked the proficiency of his ultimate techniques.

[Yijin Jing: 618 (Perfected)]

[Vajra Leg: 483 (Mastery)]

[Vajra Finger: 482 (Mastery)]

In the nearly two months since Guy had obtained the system, he had poured every single Monk Point into the Yijin Jing.

A total of 610 points.

Unlike the Vajra Leg and Vajra Finger, the Yijin Jing was a high-grade ultimate technique that only allowed for one point of proficiency increase every seven days.

To reach Grand Perfection, it would take a full 7,000 days.

Even with unremitting daily practice, that would mean at least 19 years!

Now, that timeframe would be drastically shortened.

Deep down, Guy began to look forward to the day the Yijin Jing reached Grand Perfection.

But before that... he couldn't afford to neglect his two lower-grade ultimate techniques.

"Decided. Extra training today!"

"I'm not going home until the proficiency hits 500!!"

Guy's blood surged with passion as he performed one-finger push-ups, one after another.

Beside him, Obito's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Is this guy... a monster?

"Thud!"

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Staring at the thick darkness of the night sky, Obito wore an expression of utter despair.

"Just destroy it all... whoever wants to be Hokage can have it..."

Just as Obito was thinking this, the sound of rustling footsteps suddenly drifted from the distance.

Obito stiffened as he turned his neck, freezing once he saw who it was.

"Huh? Why is she here?"