Together?

"Youth!!!"

From afar, Shinmoku heard their master and disciple's shouts.

Upon meeting and stating his purpose, Guy inexplicably produced a green, skin-tight suit and offered it to him.

"Excellent!"

He gave a thumbs-up with his other hand, smiling, his teeth gleaming.

I knew this would happen...

"I'll pass on this. Our aesthetics seem to differ somewhat."

"Alright." Guy didn't force others to wear it.

"We're about to begin our next training session. Why don't you join us?" Guy said.

"What is it?"

"Running five hundred laps."

"Certainly."

Just as Shinmoku was preparing to stretch, he saw them walking towards the training grounds' exit.

He followed, all the way to the village's edge.

"Could it be?"

"The next training session is to run five hundred laps around Konoha Village! If you can't do it, you'll walk the remaining five hundred laps on your hands!"

"Yes, sir! Teacher Guy!" Lee saluted.

"?"

One lap must be at least ten kilometers, right? Five hundred laps, over a hundred marathons. Could he finish today?

While Shinmoku was contemplating, the two green figures were already at the starting line.

Fine!

Let's do this!

Shinmoku steeled himself and stood beside them.

"Ready!" Catching sight of Shinmoku in position, Guy shouted, "Go!"

With a bang, footprints marked the starting line as the three figures shot forward.

"Yo! Why is there an extra person today?"

Someone who often watched their training on the road called out. Guy responded with his signature smile, but could only offer a smile as he was too fast to even discern the person's features.

It was already midsummer, and coupled with such strenuous exercise, after two laps, Shinmoku was already sweltering.

He took off his vest and casually hung it on a tree branch, figuring he'd be back for it. After another lap, his t-shirt was also tossed up there.

There were always people who enjoyed a spectacle, and Guy's training was considered a Konoha attraction. Even more so with an Uchiha joining today. They called their friends, and soon, many people gathered along the track in the bustling areas.

"Nice physique!"

Shinmoku stumbled. Anko's voice was still quite recognizable.

But he didn't have time to respond.

From afternoon to evening, without a moment's rest.

Then from evening into the night, the onlookers had mostly dispersed.

For the first two hundred laps or so, Shinmoku could still rely purely on his physical conditioning. But as he progressed, he could no longer keep up. He covered his body with chakra, but it was only to maintain his bodily functions; he didn't resort to the more ingenious Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

At midnight, this training session finally saw its end.

The final lap.

"Aaaah!!!!"

Shinmoku, disregarding his image, yelled as he crossed the finish line. After a few breaths, he collapsed.

The vast expanse of stars, so beautiful at this moment.

Then, a pretty face smilingly entered his vision.

"Are you alright?"

Anko retorted with Shinmoku's own words, her gaze then sweeping over him.

"Get lost." Shinmoku reached out and pushed her face away.

Her chubby cheeks felt good, but she was blocking his view of the stars.

At this moment, Guy and Lee, who had finished their training early, walked over.

"Will you come again tomorrow?" Guy asked.

"Yes!"

"Good, then we'll be going. We originally planned to wait for you to finish and escort you back, but it seems that's not necessary now."

Others had trained with them before, but none had completed the entire course, and without exception, they had all collapsed.

Although Shinmoku had also collapsed, he was still conscious, and more importantly, someone could now send him back.

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

His clothes were hanging not far away. After resting for a while, Shinmoku sprang to his feet like a carp.

"Hm? You're still here?"

"I was afraid you'd fall asleep here directly. It would be troublesome if you got sick."

"Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal."

Mainly, he was hungry.

Ichiraku Ramen was still open, but Ayame had replaced Teuchi as the one running the shop.

After three large bowls of ramen, his energy had been restored.

Anko didn't eat much. Perhaps his words had affected her, or perhaps she simply had a sweet tooth.

Upon returning home, Shinmoku hesitated for a moment before standing two meters away from the Flying Thunder God seal.

"Bang!"

He was sleeping soundly.

"Reporting to the Hokage, based on my observations over the past few days, I haven't found anything unusual. Not only that, but he is actively integrating into Konoha life, including..."

In the early morning, Anko Mitarashi reported to the Third Hokage.

"Good, I understand."

The Third Hokage also breathed a sigh of relief. The Uchiha clan had caused too many problems. As Hokage, he had to consider the well-being of the entire village.

Fortunately, the outcome was good.

This time, Shinmoku was certain that Shinnai had turned off the lights for him.

That was good. He breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't seem too extreme.

A beating should fix it.

His training regimen for the month was also almost complete.

Mornings were for learning weaving.

Afternoons were for perfecting ninjutsu.

Evenings were for training taijutsu with Guy.

He would practice Flying Thunder God again when he got home.

It was very fulfilling.

The weaving techniques progressed from easy to difficult. The afternoon training was quite boring when Hinata was occasionally absent. Taijutsu was torture, and Flying Thunder God was painful.

Soon, half a month passed, and Shinmoku's attire also underwent some changes.

He had switched to athletic shoes. His previous canvas shoes, being close to the ground, were more conducive to chakra conduction. Although the toeless ninja shoes were also an option, Shinmoku disliked that style.

The reason for switching to athletic shoes was the evening training; hard-soled shoes really couldn't take it.

His T-shirt was replaced with a breathable synthetic fiber material... white, otherwise, he would be indistinguishable from Guy and the others.

"Meow meow meow!"

Today's ninjutsu test subject was a different cat. In fact, it was the fifteenth one. Fortunately, all the ideas in his mind had taken shape... there were no more cats left.

It was time to go find Guy.

Shinmoku ended the summoning jutsu amidst a barrage of curses and got up to walk down the mountain.

As he passed a valley, he heard rustling in the bushes. A ball of white fur and a large backside. Opposite the bushes was a waterfall, and ladies often bathed there at the bottom of the waterfall.

"..."

This spot was indeed the best vantage point for admiring the scenery.

"Does it look good?"

Shinmoku asked softly.

"It looks good! It looks good!"

"?" Realizing the voice was wrong, Jiraiya quickly turned around. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"I won't tell anyone."

"...Alright." Jiraiya could only choose to believe him. "Want to join?"

"Maybe tomorrow. Today's... is just average."

"Oh?"

In an instant, Jiraiya revealed a lecherous grin.

"A man of culture, I see!"

"It's all in the name of art."

"Yes, yes, exactly!" Jiraiya nodded repeatedly. "I never expected to run into a kindred spirit here in Konoha. What is your name?"

"Uchiha Shinmoku."