Might Guy

In the original story, Obito had always compared himself to the genius Kakashi, and his dream of becoming Hokage showed that he did have some confidence in himself.

"All right." Cheng waved a hand. "Sit down. Class is starting."

Obito obediently sat down, and Cheng returned to his own seat.

As soon as Cheng sat down, he felt something strange in his body.

It wasn't pain or an itch.

It was a... very peculiar sensation.

It was as if a warm current had circulated through his body before settling in his head.

So this is the "genius" talent? Cheng muttered inwardly. Why does it feel like I've switched on a filter?

He tried recalling the Chakra Extraction Technique the teacher had taught yesterday.

Those obscure theories suddenly became clear.

Physical energy, spiritual energy, mixing ratios, circulation pathways...

Before, it had been like reading an incomprehensible ancient text. Now, it was like reading an elementary school textbook.

"Interesting." Cheng raised an eyebrow.

It hadn't given him chakra directly, but it had given him the ability to understand.

Not a bad deal.

At the front of the classroom, the teacher began the lesson. It was still the Chakra Extraction Technique, but this time, Cheng understood it.

Not only did he understand, he could even apply what he learned to other situations.

So that's how it works... he mused as he listened. Physical energy comes from the cells, spiritual energy comes from the brain, and the mixing ratio varies from person to person...

No wonder he hadn't managed to extract any yesterday. He'd misunderstood several key points.

Now that he'd corrected them, he might be able to extract chakra tonight.

As he was thinking, a rustling sound came from beside him.

Cheng turned his head.

Obito was sneaking glances at him, his eyes practically asking, "When do we start training?"

Cheng mouthed, "After school."

Obito nodded vigorously.

Then he turned back, sat ramrod straight, and listened more attentively than anyone else.

Looking at his back, Cheng suddenly had a thought.

This experiment... seemed to have worked.

Rather than getting others to believe "I'm a genius," it was better to say, "We're both geniuses."

The former was too deliberate and could easily arouse suspicion.

The latter was more natural and easier to accept.

Obito's reaction was proof.

Not only had he believed it, he believed it with absolute conviction.

Looks like I can use this trick more often, Cheng planned inwardly.

But he would have to be careful not to overdo it.

Say it too often, and he might give himself away.

For several days in a row, Cheng and Obito practically lived at the training ground.

They trained from the end of school until dark, working on everything from Taijutsu to chakra extraction.

Obito really went all out. Sweat poured off him like rain, and after training he sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, only to bounce back the next day and keep going.

But Cheng noticed a problem.

Obito's trust in him had hit a plateau.

It wasn't that he didn't believe him. Rather, being together every day meant his trust had reached a threshold.

Obito felt that Cheng was simply that strong-specifically, strong enough to beat Aoki and his two companions with one hand.

And because of Obito's weighting, at most eighty percent could be manifested.

Over the past two days, Uchiha Makoto had only managed to squeeze out some extra chakra.

After thinking it over for a long while, Cheng finally figured it out.

Distance made the heart grow fonder.

When people were together every day, they wouldn't feel much of a gap in each other's growth.

He needed someone else to milk.

But who?

A few faces flashed through Cheng's mind.

Asuma? Kurenai Yuhi? Rin?

None of them would work.

That left only...

"Guy."

Might Guy.

A simple, hot-blooded boy whose head contained nothing but youth, youth, and more youth.

That type was the easiest to fool.

Besides, Guy had a substantial role in the original story, so his weighting should be fairly high.

No sooner said than done.

After school the next day, Cheng didn't go to the training ground to train with Obito.

Instead, he went straight to a road on the outskirts of the village to wait.

About ten minutes later, sure enough, he spotted Guy charging out in his signature green outfit, a schoolbag on his back and his legs pumping furiously.

"Guy!"

Cheng called out.

Guy stopped in a flash. He turned, spotted Cheng, and his eyes lit up.

"Cheng! Are you here to run too?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking of getting some exercise."

Guy wiped away some sweat. "I'm about to run ten laps around Konoha. Want to join me?"

"Ten laps?" The corner of Cheng's mouth twitched.

One lap around Konoha was at least five kilometers. Ten laps meant fifty kilometers.

A six-year-old running fifty kilometers?

Was he even fucking human?

"That's right!" Guy clenched his fists, a roaring fire blazing in his eyes. "This is youth!"

"Sure, sure. Youth, youth." Cheng waved a hand. "Anyway, I'll run with you."

"Really?!" Guy's eyes shone even brighter.

"Really."

"Great!" Guy grabbed Cheng's hand. "Let's water the flower of friendship with our sweat!"

Cheng: "..."

He was starting to regret this.

But he was already here, so he would just have to grit his teeth and run.

The two set off side by side.

At first, it was fine.

With the Taijutsu boost the system had given him, Cheng could at least run three to five kilometers without trouble.

But Guy seemed pumped full of stimulants, running faster and faster.

Five kilometers.

Ten kilometers.

Fifteen kilometers.

Cheng wheezed like a pair of bellows, his legs feeling as though they were filled with lead.

Guy was still shouting beside him, "Cheng! Keep going! This is youth!"

"You... youth, my ass..." Cheng gasped. "I... I can't do this anymore..."

"How can you say that?!" Guy looked utterly serious. "A man must never say he can't!"

Cheng rolled his eyes.

Now he understood why Guy had nearly kicked the original story straight to its finale.

That stamina simply wasn't human.

"Stop... stop a second..." Cheng braced himself against a wall. "I... I have something to tell you..."

"What is it?" Guy stopped, neither flushed nor out of breath.

Cheng panted for a long while before finally recovering.

"I... I'm developing a new Taijutsu technique." He spoke between gasps. "I wanted... wanted your input."

"New Taijutsu?!" Guy's eyes instantly lit up. "What kind of new Taijutsu?!"

"I call it Iron Body."