A Jumpsuit from Passionate Youth

"Might Guy! The sun hasn't fully risen yet, but our youth is already burning!"

"Yes, Father! I will definitely chase down youth with my own two feet!"

Fang Xu paused.

Here it came.

Two green figures charged out from the street corner.

There were the familiar bowl cuts, thick eyebrows, and impossible-to-ignore green skintight jumpsuits.

Might Duy ran in front, with Might Guy close behind him.

As they ran, they held up their thumbs, their teeth gleaming brightly enough to reflect light.

Guy spotted Fang Xu at once and immediately waved excitedly.

"Fang Xu!"

He pushed off the ground and rushed straight over.

"You came for a morning run today too! Great! Your youth truly hasn't stopped!"

Fang Xu stopped and smiled as he nodded.

"Morning, Guy. Senior Duy."

Might Duy stopped as well, planting his hands on his hips and nodding heavily.

"Young Fang Xu! When I saw you yesterday, I felt the flames within your heart!"

"I never expected you to truly appear here again first thing this morning!"

"This persistence is the most beautiful proof of youth!"

Fang Xu's lips twitched slightly. That praise was a little too intense.

He was only on his second day of morning runs, yet in the mouths of the Might father and son, he was nearly becoming a representative of youth.

Guy also looked completely serious.

"Fang Xu, you said yesterday that we should proceed step by step. I thought about it for a long time!"

"Father was right. Recognizing your own limits, then gradually breaking through them—that is youth too!"

Fang Xu nodded.

"I'm glad you can think that way."

As soon as he said that, Might Duy's expression suddenly turned solemn.

He took a step back, as though he were about to announce something important.

Fang Xu's heart skipped a beat. That expression did not look right.

Might Duy took a deep breath and suddenly reached into the small bag behind him.

"Young Fang Xu!"

"To acknowledge your passionate youth, I've decided to give you a gift!"

A gift?

Fang Xu instinctively became a little wary.

The next second, Might Duy pulled a piece of clothing from his bag.

Green... skintight... a jumpsuit... identical in style to the ones worn by Might Duy and Might Guy.

It had even been thoughtfully folded nice and neatly.

The smile on Fang Xu's face nearly cracked.

He stared at the green skintight jumpsuit, and his mind went blank for a moment.

No way. It was really happening?

Guy clenched both fists excitedly beside him.

"Fang Xu! This is a specially made training suit Father prepared!"

"Once you put it on, you can burn your youth together with us!"

Might Duy raised the green jumpsuit high, his tone as solemn as if he were handing over some priceless treasure of the ninja world.

"That's right!"

"This is a specially made training suit, the same style that Guy and I wear!"

"It's lightweight, form-fitting, and suitable for running, jumping, push-ups, walking on your hands, and any other passionate taijutsu training!"

"Young Fang Xu, I acknowledge your youth!"

"Accept it!"

Fang Xu looked at the outfit, with only one thought left in his mind.

Refuse. He absolutely had to refuse.

He could train taijutsu, go on morning runs, and ask the Might father and son for guidance. If he ever truly got the chance, he even wanted to learn the Eight Gates.

But this outfit was absolutely out of the question.

This was not clothing. It was a Konoha aesthetic converter.

If he wore it, what would Kurenai Yuhi think when she saw him at the Ninja Academy? What would Rin Nohara think? What would Kakashi think?

And how would Asuma and Obito, those two guys who already loved picking fights, laugh at him?

Most importantly, Fang Xu had only just relied on his looks to intimidate Obito the day before yesterday.

If he changed into this green skintight jumpsuit today, would that not be destroying his own image on the spot?

But the problem was that Might Duy's face was full of sincerity, and Guy was looking at him with expectation.

This father and son genuinely treated it like a treasure.

If he directly said, "It's too ugly, I don't want it," he would not merely be refusing a gift. He would be stabbing them in the heart.

Fang Xu's mind raced. He could not offend them, could not accept it, and still had to make them feel good about it.

Ideally, after he refused, they would not only avoid getting angry, but even feel that he truly understood them.

A breath later, Fang Xu's expression changed.

He neither stepped back nor showed any disdain. Instead, he stepped forward and stared solemnly at the green skintight jumpsuit.

Might Duy and Guy both froze for a moment.

Fang Xu slowly spoke.

"Senior Duy, I can't accept this outfit."

Might Guy immediately became anxious.

"Why? Fang Xu, don't you like youth?"

Might Duy was also somewhat surprised.

"Young Fang Xu, have you not yet prepared yourself to burn your youth?"

Fang Xu shook his head.

"No."

He raised a hand and pointed at the green skintight jumpsuit, his tone incomparably serious.

"It is precisely because I respect youth that I cannot casually accept it."

Might Duy was stunned.

Guy was dumbfounded as well.

Fang Xu continued, "This is not an ordinary outfit."

"It represents the glory of taijutsu practitioners."

"It represents the sweat shed day after day, the perseverance to rise again after falling, and the conviction to break through one's limits through hard work despite not being blessed with talent."

Might Duy's hand trembled slightly.

Guy's mouth gradually fell open.

Fang Xu spoke more steadily with every word.

"Senior Duy, you and Guy wear it because you deserve to."

"You train every day, unafraid of others' ridicule and unafraid of being misunderstood."

"You have proven through your actions that taijutsu can also burn with the most dazzling youth."

"But what about me?"

Fang Xu raised his hand and pressed it against his chest.

"I've only been training in the mornings for two days."

"I haven't even built up my basic endurance yet. I haven't even touched the threshold of true taijutsu."

"If I wore it now, it would not be glory. It would be desecration."

"It isn't that I don't want to accept it. It's that I'm not qualified to accept it yet."

Might Duy froze in place.

Guy's eyes were beginning to redden as well.

Fang Xu looked at them, his tone growing even more solemn.

"Senior Duy, this outfit should be given to someone truly qualified to wear it."

"When one day, my taijutsu training reaches a standard that I can acknowledge myself."

"When I can stand tall and say that I have not let down my own sweat."

"If you are still willing to give it to me then, I will definitely accept it with both hands."

"But right now, I cannot tarnish this honor because of a momentary impulse."

As his words fell, the surroundings went quiet for a moment.

Might Duy lowered his head to look at the green skintight jumpsuit in his hands, his lips trembling.

The next second, tears poured from his eyes.

"Young Fang Xu!"

He suddenly raised his head, tears streaming wildly beneath his thick eyebrows.

"You actually understand it to this extent!"

"That's right! This is not an ordinary outfit! It is the battle uniform of youth!"

"I originally only sensed your passion, but I never expected you had already seen through its true meaning!"

Guy burst into tears as well.

"Fang Xu! You're incredible!"

"I used to only think this outfit was suitable for training. I never knew it held such profound youth within it!"

Fang Xu inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

That was close.