Training Begins, Rock Lee Joins

Rock Lee was a little confused by Zeff's words.

"Why?"

As he spoke, Rock Lee looked at Naruto, expecting him to give him an answer.

Naruto was speechless. Like I know a damn thing... I don't know anything. Don't look at me...

Just then, Zeff continued, "Rock Lee, training this way can indeed make you stronger, but... you're also squeezing out your body's future potential and sacrificing your health!"

"Most importantly, you aren't taking proper care of your body after each workout!"

That was indeed the case. Rock Lee wasn't a ninja from some clan. He was just a civilian ninja without much money at home. Simply having enough to eat was already pretty good.

Taking care of his body required plenty of medicinal herbs, and buying those herbs required money. Naturally, Rock Lee couldn't properly tend to his body when he had none.

As a result, hidden injuries would keep accumulating inside him. Though they might not show while he was young, they would gradually flare up as he grew older.

For an old marine like Zeff, the way someone trained in their youth was actually very important.

New, powerful pirates kept emerging on the seas, while the navy's military budget limited the number of marines it could recruit each year.

That meant many veteran marines, or rather, aging officers, only retired when they died.

Precisely because of that, their training in their younger years was carefully regulated to ensure the navy's continued strength.

That was also why, throughout One Piece, the navy's old veterans seemed to be older and older, yet healthier and healthier.

As for Zeff? He was an exception because he had asthma.

Rock Lee fell silent at Zeff's words.

Of course, he knew that training this way wrecked his body. Might Guy had told him so too.

But Rock Lee had long since made up his mind. He would become a ninja whose genius came from hard work.

Even if he couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, he could still become an outstanding ninja.

Seeing the determination in Rock Lee's eyes, Zeff smiled.

Zeff really liked this boy, Rock Lee.

Hardworking, resilient, unwavering, unwilling to bow to fate...

"Rock Lee, would you like to learn from me? I can teach you how to train and help you take care of your body!"

Rock Lee froze for a moment, then looked at Naruto and asked, "Really, Naruto...?"

Naruto: ...

"Uh... ask him!" Naruto said, pointing at Zeff.

"Isn't he your clone?" Rock Lee asked in confusion.

"Ahem..." Zeff cleared his throat, cutting their conversation short, and continued, "You don't have to think of me as Naruto's clone. You can think of me as a knowledgeable teacher instead!"

"Oh..." Rock Lee suddenly drew the word out. "I get it... Naruto, you actually have a split personality, don't you? My teacher at school told me about it..."

"Naruto, if there's something wrong with your head, you can go to the hospital and have it-"

Before Rock Lee could finish, Naruto cut him off, speechless. "I don't have a split personality!"

Zeff also spoke up. "Split personality or not, do you want to train with me?"

Rock Lee nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Rock Lee's current circumstances were actually much like Naruto's in the original story.

He was at the bottom of his class, hopeless at ninjutsu and genjutsu. He had no friends to play with at school, but there were plenty of people who mocked him.

If Rock Lee hadn't possessed such an unwavering spirit, he would have dropped out and given up on becoming a ninja long ago!

Despite this being their first meeting, Naruto had treated him as a friend. Rock Lee was deeply touched.

Besides that, he thought Naruto had developed a split personality.

The teachers at the Ninja Academy had said that a split personality could sometimes be terrifying, and severe cases could even lead to suicide.

For Naruto's sake, Rock Lee would do his best to stay nearby and keep an eye on him.

Once Rock Lee agreed, Zeff's consciousness returned to the Sealing Space, where he woke Wolffy, who was still sleeping soundly.

"What is it... Zeff? I don't need to train!"

Wolffy spoke impatiently from the bed.

Zeff picked Wolffy up like a stuffed toy, then said,

"Get up and make another set of training equipment!"

"Didn't I already make it?! I stayed up all night grinding the Abyss yesterday. Can't you let me sleep a little longer...?"

Dangling from Zeff's hand, Wolffy once again had a bubble forming at his nose. Clearly, he had fallen asleep again.

Zeff was speechless at the sight.

He looked around, then spotted a stack of paper documents over a meter tall.

Zeff walked over to the documents and roared at Wolffy, "Wolffy, if you don't get up, I'll burn all these documents!"

Zeff's words made Wolffy's eyes snap open.

When he saw the stack of documents, Wolffy hurriedly waved his hands. "Don't, don't, don't... those are my only hope of getting home!"

These documents contained all the core technical information for Wolffy's Dimensional Shuttle.

Though he couldn't return to Green-Green Grassland yet, Wolffy spent time researching the Dimensional Shuttle every day, aside from playing games.

"I'll get up and make it for you now, okay...?"

Only after hearing that did Zeff move his mechanical arm away from the stack of documents.

Meanwhile.

Naruto and Rock Lee were still chatting.

The original Naruto story hadn't explained Rock Lee's family circumstances.

Only through their conversation did Naruto learn that Rock Lee was an orphan, just like him.

As the two chatted, the eyes of the clone that had been standing motionless beside them sharpened again.

Naruto knew Zeff had returned.

"Wolffy said he'll bring the equipment over in a little while. Let's keep training here!"

"Naruto, Rock Lee, get running!"

At Zeff's words, Rock Lee answered, "Oh..." and started running.

Naruto, however, continued jogging.

It wasn't that Naruto didn't want to run as fast as Rock Lee. The gravity wouldn't let him.

Rock Lee noticed Naruto's pace too. Thinking Naruto couldn't run fast because he had only just started training his body, he chose to run at the same pace to spare his friend's feelings.

Seeing this, Zeff nodded inwardly. Never abandoning or giving up on a friend is an admirable quality too.

And so, Naruto and Rock Lee ran for over an hour, until it was past four.

By then, Naruto was drenched in sweat, his gaze unfocused. He desperately wanted to say, "That should be enough, right...?"

But every time he saw Zeff's stern gaze, he swallowed those words.

Rock Lee had a much easier time. For someone who had already been training for over a year, jogging the entire time was barely any different from not running at all.