After all...
His physical fitness already ranked among the best of his classmates!
He was no worse than anyone in his class!
That included Minato Namikaze, but not Kushina Uzumaki. The Uzumaki Clan's physical constitution was simply too absurd.
But...
Just as Araki kept pushing himself...
A thunderous shout of encouragement brimming with youth suddenly rang out beside his ear, startling him so badly that he nearly failed to catch his breath and collapsed.
"Y-yes!"
Araki drew a sharp breath, controlled his uneven breathing, and barely managed a reply to Might Duy.
He never paused throughout the entire process, continuing his push-ups at a steady pace. Gradually, he was approaching a hundred.
"..."
Might Duy finally lost his composure.
Standing beside Araki as he did push-ups, his smiling face grew solemn and serious.
Such talent!
Such perseverance!
Such willpower!
Wasn't this the successor he had dreamed of finding?!
Yes!
He was the one!
Might Duy's eyes gradually burned with fervor. He had finally found someone else with a chance of breaking through his body's limits and entering the Eight Gates Released Formation.
This was his disciple!
The disciple best suited to him!
At that moment...
Might Duy secretly resolved to give everything he had to training Araki, making him the strongest Taijutsu ninja, one who would surpass him.
Araki, still doing push-ups, knew nothing of Might Duy's thoughts. He was still working hard to control his score.
He knew perfectly well that he couldn't casually take first place on a test. That would draw too much attention. Nor could he readily place near the bottom, which would make people mistake him for trash.
The best outcome was to consistently maintain above-average results, neither standing out too much nor attracting much attention. People in that range had almost no presence.
But...
When it came to Taijutsu training...
Without a point of reference, he had no idea what three hundred push-ups meant. He only felt incredibly exhausted.
Araki had just personally witnessed Might Duy complete three thousand push-ups on one finger. If he could only manage a few dozen, his performance would be far too pathetic.
Talent like that might disappoint Might Duy.
He had to keep it around two hundred push-ups, while falling short of the required three hundred.
That way...
It would fit his above-average positioning perfectly.
Except...
What Araki didn't know was...
He was amazing Might Duy!
Chapter 58: The Master of Score Control
"One hundred ninety-seven..."
"One hundred ninety-eight..."
"One hundred ninety-nine..."
"Two hundred!"
Araki silently counted as he did push-ups. Although green chakra already wreathed the chakra pathways throughout his body, the terrifying drain on his stamina still made him feel as though he was about to throw up.
This was way too exhausting!
Now, he felt as though his brain was about to stop working.
Even his thoughts had slowed.
The strain of pushing his body beyond its limits had crushed his mind along with it.
"I can't go on!"
After barely managing two hundred push-ups, Araki flopped straight onto the ground, gasping for breath. Even the green chakra surging from his heart no longer had such a strong restorative effect. The life energy within it seemed nearly depleted.
"S-sorry... Teacher Duy... I didn't... finish..."
Araki spoke breathlessly. This time, he wasn't pretending to stutter; he truly could barely catch his breath. The muscles around his waist and abdomen kept burning, like iron bars heated red-hot, having received an immense workout during this training.
Still...
For Araki...
He had finally succeeded in controlling his score.
He hadn't performed too spectacularly or too poorly, so he wouldn't disappoint Might Duy.
"..."
Might Duy stared blankly at Araki. After the boy lay flat on the ground, wisps of white vapor began rising from his waist and abdomen-the vapor of evaporating sweat, slight but clearly visible.
What kind of talent was this?
What kind of willpower was this?
How had this kid held on?
A whole pile of little question marks instantly appeared in Might Duy's head, intense bewilderment flickering in his eyes. As a veteran Taijutsu ninja, he knew all too well that there were absolutely no shortcuts on the path of Taijutsu.
Every achievement depended on diligent, arduous training!
But...
The disciple he had just taken on had shattered his understanding of talent!
It turned out that even when it came to simply training the body, differences in talent still existed. This child seemed born for Taijutsu!
"You did great!"
After a brief hesitation, Might Duy immediately gave Araki a thumbs-up and flashed an incredibly brilliant grin.
"Phew..."
Araki let out a heavy breath. After he lay down, his heart pounded wildly, like a pressurized water pump, constantly pumping green chakra throughout his body. The powerful life energy directly invigorated every cell in his body, sweeping away the fatigue in his muscle fibers in an instant.
This phenomenon even frightened Araki a little!
Could it be...
Was this green chakra connected to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?
Why was it so absurd?
It could even clear away fatigue.
And...
He had clearly felt as though he had used it all up just now, yet once he rested, he discovered there was still plenty stored in his heart.
For a moment...
Araki seemed to gain a closer understanding of how to use this green chakra.
"I'm sorry!"
Once Araki felt the exhaustion in his body disappear, he abruptly sprang up and stood before Might Duy, his small frame perfectly straight.
In fact...
There was a slight information gap here.
Araki's understanding of Taijutsu was far too limited.
He had absolutely no idea what doing two hundred push-ups at his current stage meant. His only point of reference was Might Duy, who had just completed three thousand push-ups on one finger.
Not even a tenth...
He couldn't let Might Duy look down on him too much.
Just then...
Araki remembered what Might Duy had said before they began training.
"Teacher Duy, I couldn't finish, so I'll run three hundred laps with you now. If I can't finish those, I'll do another three hundred push-ups!"
Araki spoke in complete earnest. He had already thought it through: he absolutely couldn't finish three hundred laps, or he would seem far too outstanding. Controlling his score appropriately was more in line with what he wanted.
Stopping at two hundred laps would be just right, and then he would do two hundred of the next three hundred push-ups...
This self-imposed rule of moving on to another training exercise after failing to complete one was a positive, uplifting approach for Might Duy, Might Guy, and Rock Lee. Yet in Araki's hands, it had become a miraculous tool for slacking off. The training exercise he would do after failing practically amounted to an announcement of what came next.
"You can still run?"
The corner of Might Duy's mouth twitched hard. He had already been deeply shocked, and now he was even more so. He had just thought Araki couldn't move anymore, yet now the boy looked as though nothing had happened.
It was as if the scene of him doing two hundred push-ups had been an imagined illusion.
"Yes!"
Araki immediately nodded. He had already begun looking forward to training with high-knee running, using the strength of his core to drive his leg muscles, just as Might Duy had described.
Especially with green chakra constantly surging out of his body, he felt an indescribable longing to train.