As he passed the open-air park in central Konoha, he faintly heard someone counting.
"Two thousand seven hundred ninety-eight..."
"Two thousand seven hundred ninety-nine..."
"Two thousand eight hundred..."
"Two thousand eight hundred one..."
"..."
The voice carried resolve and persistence, brimming with intense hope and passion and a sense of striving. It could easily stir other people's emotions, as though its owner would never tire.
"This is..."
Araki's eyes suddenly widened, his pupils contracting slightly. He abruptly roused himself, suppressed the drowsiness creeping over him, and walked toward the park.
Even from far away, he could vaguely make out a bright green figure doing one-handed push-ups.
When he drew a little closer...
Araki discovered, to his astonishment, that these were not one-handed push-ups, but one-finger push-ups. The man was supporting himself on just a single finger.
"Might Duy!"
The name immediately sprang into Araki's mind. He had never imagined he would encounter this legendary man at this point in time, and his heartbeat quickened considerably.
Chapter 54: All It Takes Is Youth and Hot Blood-Just Charge Ahead While You're Young!
Araki knew Might Duy's story very well-or rather, almost anyone who had watched Naruto knew it very well.
This was a man whose entire body coursed with the blood of youth.
In Araki's view...
Might Duy had done two utterly outrageous things in his life.
The first was unleashing the Eight Gates and stunning the world.
The second was finding a woman between training sessions and fathering Might Guy.
"Whew..."
Araki slowly drew a deep breath, gathered all his concentration, and circulated the chakra within his body, instantly suppressing every trace of fatigue.
He had not been that tired to begin with. After the conditioning provided by the chakra crystal on the First Hokage's Necklace, every cell in his body was full and replenished. It was as though he had instantly downed a cup of coffee, and his spirits lifted.
Araki approached Might Duy little by little.
Might Duy was someone he had always wanted to find, yet strangely enough, he had never run into him in three whole years.
He had never expected to meet him now!
At once.
Araki edged closer.
Before his eyes, Might Duy continued doing push-ups on his right index finger, his body held straight as a line. His form was impeccable, and he kept counting without pause.
"That... perfect form!"
Araki's eyes filled with amazement. His daily training centered on running and swimming, while he had neglected strength training such as push-ups. His main goal had been to build stamina and increase his chakra.
But now, after seeing Might Duy train, Araki suddenly realized that he seemed to have taken a few wrong turns.
There had been no helping it.
After all, the Ninja Academy's textbooks said nothing about Taijutsu training.
Before transmigrating into the ninja world, Araki had not been a professional in physical fitness training. His knowledge was limited, and all he could think of were humanity's most basic activities: running on land and swimming in water.
Only now, upon seeing Might Duy, did he awaken as though from a dream and realize that Taijutsu actually encompassed many forms of training. He had simply been overlooking them.
And so...
Araki quietly watched Might Duy.
Gradually, he became a little lost in thought.
He was already considering how to improve his training that evening.
"Two thousand nine hundred ninety-eight..."
"Two thousand nine hundred ninety-nine..."
"Three thousand!"
After saying this, Might Duy sprang to his feet and raised his right hand, giving himself a thumbs-up.
"Well done!"
"Now rest here for three minutes!"
"Then three thousand one-finger push-ups on the left hand!"
"If I can't finish them, I'll walk three thousand laps on my hands!"
Might Duy spoke to himself, his tone brimming with positivity as beads of sweat slid down from his thick hair.
"Hm?"
Just then, Might Duy turned toward Araki and suddenly noticed a child staring at him.
"Do you need help, little one?"
Might Duy grinned, his face gentle, and walked straight toward Araki. His thick, heavy eyebrows, together with his facial hair, gave him the air of a kindly older man.
As Might Duy approached, Araki emerged from his distraction, a little clarity returning to his blank, dazed eyes.
The Might Duy approaching him wore a green training suit.
The same outfit could be seen on Might Guy and Rock Lee. Clearly, it was a training uniform passed down through their lineage.
Unlike Might Guy in the story, Might Duy did not wear the green flak jacket symbolizing Konoha's Chunin over his green training suit.
This also revealed Might Duy's status as a Konoha Genin!
Might Duy looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, considerably older than Tsunade. Coupled with a look that aged him somewhat, he already resembled a middle-aged man.
Still...
The current Might Duy looked little different from how he would appear later.
It was simply a few years earlier.
"I..."
Araki pressed his lips together slightly, a faint flicker crossing his eyes. As though reaching some decision, he abruptly looked up at Might Guy and said, "I want to learn from you!"
"Learn from me?"
Might Duy paused, then smiled again. By the time he spoke, he had reached Araki. He raised a hand and rubbed Araki's head, saying with a smile, "You're a Ninja Academy student, aren't you? Just focus on your classes. I'm only a Genin. There's nothing much you can learn from me. Once you graduate, you'll have a Jonin teacher to guide you."
"I want to learn Taijutsu. They can't teach me that." Araki shook his head. What a joke. Since when could a Jonin compare to a Konoha Genin?
"Taijutsu..."
The puzzlement in Might Duy's eyes deepened, though the smile never left his face.
"Little one, can you tell me why you want to learn Taijutsu?"
Might Duy stared intently at Araki.
At that moment.
The confusion in his heart was gradually turning into curiosity.
Taijutsu training was extremely grueling!
There were no results to speak of in the short term. It took years upon years of accumulated sweat, and only by putting in effort beyond the reach of ordinary people could one make the most magnificent lotus bloom.
In all these years...
No one had ever asked him for advice on Taijutsu training!
For the ninja of the day, Taijutsu only needed to be adequate. Everyone was at roughly the same level; Ninjutsu and Genjutsu mattered more.
"Because..."
Araki lowered his head slightly. He knew it was time to show off his acting again. This was a rare opportunity.
He could not afford any mistakes.
Otherwise, success would be difficult.
He had to prescribe the right medicine for the condition!
Fortunately, Araki was a transmigrator who had watched Naruto before, giving him some understanding of the personalities of certain people here. It was rather like having an all-seeing eye.
He had to admit...
This was the power of intelligence that Jiraiya spoke of!
"I think..."
"As long as you work hard, your dreams will come true!"
"I love working hard like this, sweating buckets!"
"I yearn to push past my limits with my blood burning!"
"It makes me feel truly alive!"
"It lets me feel the power of youth!"
"I'm still young, and I want to train like you, mister. When I'm old and look back on this time, I don't want to have any regrets!"
Araki spoke one sentence after another, his voice now impassioned and filled with uplifting energy. Like a child chasing his dreams, his eyes sparkled with little points of light, as though he could see the limitless possibilities of the future.
During Tsunade's interview, talking specifically about medical-nin could hit her G-spot just right.
Now he was facing Might Duy. None of that other nonsense would work!
All it took was youth and hot blood-young people just had to charge ahead!
As long as he nailed Might Duy's kink, how could the man fail to climax?