Most importantly...
Taijutsu training ultimately had to be put into practice!
Theoretical knowledge merely made things easier to understand and provided a clearer direction when training, but training itself still depended on individual effort.
"Hmm..."
Araki knitted his brows and began to think. He was no longer acting; he genuinely did not know. Otherwise, he would not have come here to humbly ask Might Duy for guidance.
"Some strength does go into it, but the arms still mainly provide support. You primarily rely on the strength of your core, around your waist and abdomen, to drive the muscles in your chest and back, which then drive the muscles in your arms to complete the lowering and pushing motions. Your core also drives the muscles in your buttocks and legs to keep them supported in a straight line!"
"On the surface, push-up training looks like it works your arm strength, but what it actually trains is still your core strength."
"Only when your core is strong enough will your body be strong enough, and your Taijutsu strong enough!"
Might Duy spoke one sentence after another. His train of thought was not particularly clear, and when explaining things, he simply said whatever came to mind, without any particular structure.
"I understand!"
Araki immediately nodded. His comprehension was excellent, and coupled with his strong desire to train his body, his active thirst for knowledge would lead him to climb even farther.
"Come on, since we're talking about push-ups, let's start with a set of push-ups."
Might Duy beckoned to Araki and led him into the open park.
It was getting late now. Few people passed along the roadside, and the children playing in the park had gone home one after another. Visibility was decreasing, and scattered cricket calls gradually rose around them.
"Today is your first day of training, so I won't ask too much of you. Start with three hundred sets of push-ups. If you can't finish, run three hundred laps with me!" Might Duy grinned and gave Araki another thumbs-up.
"Yes!"
Araki nodded firmly. Planting both hands on the ground, he lowered himself into position and, following Might Duy's instructions, used his waist and abdominal core strength to hold his entire body taut in a straight line.
That alone gave Araki a sense of strain, and waves of fatigue began to surface.
At this point, the movement was nothing more than a plank.
Next.
Araki began adding the arm movements.
He avoided exerting force through his arms as much as possible, using them as supports while his core drove his entire body.
"This..."
After just a dozen or so repetitions, Araki felt his waist and abdomen growing hot and sore. Beads of sweat the size of beans gathered on his forehead.
No way!
Am I this weak?
Were these three years of exercise all wasted?
Araki gritted his teeth and persisted. He considered his physical fitness fairly good. For three years, he had spent every night either running or swimming, constantly training his stamina. He could not accept being unable to manage three hundred push-ups.
For a time.
Araki held on through sheer willpower.
He controlled his movements to bring them as close as possible to Might Duy's, training his core strength with an extremely precise form.
Hold on! I have to hold on!
Araki gritted his teeth, inwardly urging himself on. He could clearly feel that the soreness in his waist and abdomen had reached its limit, almost leaving them numb. Even his face had turned deathly pale.
Buzz!
Just as Araki was about to give out, his heart suddenly jolted as though it were about to leap straight out of his chest. It startled him, and he thought he was about to die suddenly.
But in the very next instant.
Streams of green Chakra brimming with vitality surged out of his heart and spread throughout his body. Everywhere they passed felt cool, carrying away all his fatigue and soreness.
This... this is... the Chakra from the First Hokage's Necklace!
Araki was inwardly shaken. After circulating through his Chakra pathways, all the Chakra he had absorbed back then had gathered in his heart.
He had not thought much of it at the time, assuming that was the end of it.
He had never expected it to spill out of his heart again now and begin circulating through the Chakra pathways throughout his body once more.
Could it be...
As long as I push my body to its limit...
This green Chakra can be activated?
Such a bold idea arose in Araki's mind, but he did not yet have enough data to support it. He would need to test it during his subsequent training.
With the support of this green Chakra, Araki immediately felt as light as a swallow. His fatigue vanished completely, and his push-up form became even more precise.
Chapter 57: He Was Astonishing Might Duy!
When Might Duy finished telling Araki the push-up requirements and had him begin training, he had actually intended to test him.
Might Duy was a man with a rough exterior and a meticulous heart.
Araki's passionate words had given him the feeling that they were kindred spirits, but he had not simply let hotheaded enthusiasm drive him to entrust his youth to Araki.
He needed to test him!
He needed to see whether Araki could persevere as he had claimed!
It was too early to celebrate!
However, out of consideration for Araki's feelings, he had acted very excited so Araki would not feel disappointed.
Might Duy knew all too well how difficult the core-driven push-ups he required were. Both the difficulty of the movement and the exhaustion caused by exerting force far exceeded ordinary push-ups.
Might Duy's training methods had always been plain and unadorned.
Push-ups.
Squat jumps.
Sit-ups.
Running laps with high knees.
And so on...
Viewed from the outside, these movements did not look special at all, but in reality, they all constantly trained the body's core.
There was only one purpose to doing this.
To constantly push the body's limits through day after day of training, eventually breaking through its shackles, releasing its restrictions on Chakra, and unleashing all the energy within it.
Though Might Duy had told Araki to complete three hundred push-ups, his actual expectation was only thirty.
He had set such a high number merely to gauge Araki's capabilities, such as his physical fitness, comprehension, and degree of perseverance.
After all, Araki had only just begun training.
Physical training had to progress from the basics to more advanced stages. Nothing could be rushed. Only by persisting day and night could one finally bloom into a magnificent lotus and become a true beast of Konoha.
For precisely that reason.
Might Duy kept watching Araki, silently praising his precise form, with considerably more appreciation in his eyes.
This kid has excellent comprehension.
Just by watching me do push-ups and asking those questions, he figured out where to exert force.
I can't compare to him in that respect!
Might Duy marveled inwardly. Even when he had trained, he had not grasped the method of exerting force through his core so quickly. It was extremely difficult and required exceptional control over one's body, essentially freely controlling the core muscles to exert force and drive the other muscles.
Nearly all the ninja in Konoha who could do this at will were already Jonin.
Core strength affected balance and coordination in even more postures. These were unavoidable requirements for passing the Jonin examination.
Still, he probably won't last much longer. With such precise form, the stamina expenditure is too great. He's only just started training; managing thirty really won't be easy. Let's see how long he can hold on.
Might Duy silently assessed him. Many Jonin could exert force this way, but few could repeat the training in such enormous quantities as he did.
Sometimes, he even felt fortunate to be a Genin. With far fewer opportunities to go on missions, he had much more time to immerse himself in training.
However...
Just as Might Duy watched Araki trembling all over and dripping sweat, thinking he was about to give out.
He suddenly noticed Araki's body stiffen sharply, and in an instant, he was going again. His stalled movements became smooth once more. Sweat still dripped, and his muscles still trembled, but he simply did not look quite so exhausted.
Such powerful willpower!
Might Duy's eyes widened, his pupils contracting sharply as intense shock rose deep within his gaze.
As a ninja who specialized in Taijutsu...
He knew all too well what kind of willpower it took to break through the body's limits like this!
This was no longer something done for others to see, but entirely for oneself. No matter how resolute one's heart, another voice would constantly arise, continually telling oneself that it was about time to give up.
For a time.
Might Duy was filled with respect.
Only now did he truly believe that Araki was genuinely burning his youth.
"That's the feeling!"
"Araki, go! Keep going!"
"This is youth!"
Might Duy suddenly shouted loudly, raising his hand to give Araki another thumbs-up.
Now, he fully acknowledged Araki.
Although this was only the first day they had met, and Araki had done no more than a few dozen push-ups, the romance of youth was just that simple.
Araki was fighting his body's fatigue. He could clearly feel that even with the green Chakra washing away his exhaustion, every additional push-up now seemed to pile its expenditure onto what came before, multiplying it outright.
He could not help marveling inwardly at the intensity of the training Might Guy had endured from childhood to adulthood.
Without the Chakra constantly pouring out from his heart, he would have collapsed on the ground long ago, utterly unable to keep going.