Youth Breathing Method!

Evening, by the stream behind the training ground.

Lin Ze looked at Might Duy, hesitated for a moment, then asked anyway, "Senior Duy, how did you train your Taijutsu to be so powerful?"

Might Duy laughed heartily. "It's simple! Five hundred push-ups, five hundred sit-ups, five hundred squats, plus a ten-kilometer run every day! Keep at it for ten years, and you can get stronger too!"

"But I'm not that strong, really. I'm just a Genin."

The corner of Lin Ze's mouth twitched. "Ten years... a Genin..."

Guy added from beside them, "Father also has an ultimate Taijutsu technique, but I can't learn it yet."

"An ultimate Taijutsu technique?" Something stirred in Lin Ze's mind, but he didn't ask any further. The ultimate Taijutsu technique Guy mentioned was probably the Eight Gates Released Formation.

Might Duy glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Guy and I still have more training to do. Want to join us, Lin Ze?"

Lin Ze thought it over. He had just taken a Great Fireball in front of everyone today, and that spar with Guy just now was already the limit. If he still bounced around training with them now, something would obviously be wrong. He shook his head and said, "Not today. I still have some things to take care of."

"All right, then! We've been training around here every day lately. See you another day!" Might Duy replied cheerfully. He waved and led Guy away to continue their training.

They had barely taken a few steps when Guy asked eagerly, "Father, how much extra training are we doing next? Will five hundred push-ups be enough?"

"No, no, no! How could that be enough!"

"Since that spar with Lin Ze wasn't enough to satisfy you, add another five hundred sit-ups and five hundred squats, then run ten kilometers before doing another set of combination exercises!"

"..."

Watching the father and son walk away, Lin Ze silently mused, My daily training now is twenty kilometers, four hundred push-ups, four hundred sit-ups, and four hundred squats. That makes me Saitama 4.0, plus straight punches and side kicks. So why do I feel like a raw recruit next to them?

Perhaps he could learn something from Guy and his father!

Shaking his head, Lin Ze bounded back across the stream in a few strides and headed toward the Orphanage.

He already had a new plan in mind. Starting tomorrow, I'll increase my training load. I'll also spend more time with Guy and his father. Maybe I'll get a chance to learn the Eight Gates Released Formation.

As Lin Ze saw it, obtaining the secret technique known as the Eight Gates Released Formation really only required meeting three conditions.

First, he couldn't be an enemy of Konoha.

Second, he had to earn the approval of Might Guy and his father.

Third, all he had to do was ask!

Before long, it was the following evening. Lin Ze arrived early at the stream where he had met Guy and his father the day before.

Perhaps he had come too early. The streamside was deserted, with neither green figure in sight.

"Perfect. I'll train while I wait. No point wasting time." Lin Ze loosened up his arms and legs, deciding to train as he waited.

But after only a few squats, he couldn't help recalling what had happened that morning-Ryota Uchiha had actually only written a self-criticism, and that little incident during yesterday's practical assessment was considered settled.

Tch, just what you'd expect from Konoha's strongest ninja clan. They really do get different treatment. Lin Ze inwardly curled his lip. If it had been an orphan like me, I'd probably have been expelled already, right?

The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt. Lin Ze couldn't help grumbling inwardly, I've been keeping a low enough profile, but that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi just had to drag me up there and praise me. Wasn't that just painting a target on my back?

Shaking his head to cast aside those jumbled thoughts, Lin Ze took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and buried himself in training again.

"Guy! Push harder! Youth allows no slacking!"

"Yes, Father! This is youth!"

Before long, an exchange much like yesterday's rang out in the distance. Lin Ze stopped training and looked over, spotting two figures in green bodysuits, one tall and one short, on the opposite bank.

"Senior Duy! Guy!" Lin Ze crossed the stream and greeted them.

Noticing Lin Ze approaching, Might Duy called out, "Oh! It's the young man from yesterday! Want to burn with youth together?"

"..."

Lin Ze knew full well that his exercise routine only trained basic fitness. When it came to professional Taijutsu, he was nowhere near Might Duy, a master of the Strong Fist Style.

So he didn't beat around the bush. "I'd love to! But today, I'd like to ask about more professional training methods. Please give me some pointers, Senior Duy."

Might Duy's eyes lit up. "Professional? Hahaha, when it comes to training methods, I'm an expert!"

Guy, who had been following behind him, stopped his frog jumps and asked curiously, "Lin Ze, why do you like Taijutsu so much?"

Lin Ze thought for a moment and said, "Because I have no talent for Ninjutsu, and my chakra reserves are pitifully small. I can only rely on Taijutsu."

"Boo-hoo... So that's why!" Guy nodded vigorously, tears streaming down his face. "Then we're the same! Taijutsu is all I know too!"

Might Duy patted both of them on the shoulders. "What's wrong with Taijutsu? If you train it to its peak, you can still become the strongest ninja!"

Lin Ze glanced at the tearful Guy and chuckled inwardly. That's certainly true. In the original story, Guy opened the Eight Gates and nearly kicked the story straight into its finale.

"Senior Duy, could you show me your training plan?" Lin Ze asked.

"Of course!" Might Duy pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from inside his clothes. "This is the essence of over twenty years of experience!"

Lin Ze took it and looked it over. The corner of his mouth couldn't help twitching:

[Daily basic training:

-1,000 push-ups

-1,000 sit-ups

-1,000 squats

-10 kilometers of handstand walking

-5 kilometers of weighted frog jumps

...]

How was this a training plan? It was clearly a suicide manual!

And why was it double what he'd said yesterday?!

"Well? Pretty scientific, right?" Might Duy asked proudly.

Lin Ze fought down the urge to complain. "It certainly is... very scientific. But Senior Duy, do you have a more... systematic training method? For example, targeted exercises for different muscle groups?"

Might Duy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Muscle groups?"

Guy chimed in, "Father, it's what you mentioned last time, about how leg training needs to be coordinated with strength in the waist and abdomen..."

"Oh! That!" Realization dawned on Might Duy. "Of course I do!"

Over the next two hours, Lin Ze finally managed to draw some solid information out of the father and son. It included how to distribute training intensity scientifically, how to avoid exercise injuries, and even a unique breathing method.

"This breathing method is crucial!" Might Duy's expression was quite solemn now as he said earnestly, "It lets you hold on for three more minutes when you're at your limit!"

Three minutes?!!

Lin Ze's eyes lit up. Could this be the foundational training method for the Eight Gates Released Formation?

He tried adjusting his breathing the way Might Duy had taught him. Sure enough, he felt a warm current surging through his body.

"Senior Duy, does this breathing method have a name?"

"A name?" Might Duy scratched his head. "Let's call it the 'Youth Breathing Method'!"

Lin Ze: "..."