And so—
Might Guy, Lee, and Uchiha Ryōsuke began running laps together around the outskirts of Konoha.
Their pace wasn't fast—Guy was clearly keeping it manageable for young Lee.
Halfway through the route, Guy suddenly threw back his head and shouted:
"Burn, youthful spirit!"
It was something his father had drilled into him—a phrase meant to ignite stamina and awaken hidden potential.
He glanced back at his two companions.
"Come on!
Say it with me!"
Lee instantly followed, eyes blazing with passion:
"Burn, youthful spirit!"
Ryōsuke hesitated for a moment… then gave in.
"…Burn… youthful spirit."
It sounded embarrassingly chūni, but if yelling nonsense helped him get stronger, he'd endure anything.
Thus, the three of them jogged around Konoha yelling Guy's signature line—loudly.
Villagers stared.
Guy doing this was normal. Everyday scenery.
But today?
They blinked as if seeing a wild animal in clothes.
An Uchiha—running laps with Guy?
An Uchiha—shouting about youth?
An Uchiha—doing physical training instead of fire-style genjutsu?
This was unheard of.
"Since when did the Uchiha have someone like this?"
"No clue…"
"He must've hit his head."
"Why train taijutsu when you're born with the Sharingan? That's just throwing talent in the trash."
"Becoming a jōnin through taijutsu alone is basically impossible."
Most of them couldn't even name a single taijutsu-only jōnin.
Guy was the only known anomaly in the entire village.
Naturally, Ryōsuke's behavior also caught the attention of the Uchiha Police Force.
"This brat… what's gotten into him these days?"
"He's actually running with Might Guy? The taijutsu idiot?"
"Does he not care about the clan's dignity?"
"Instead of training his Sharingan, he's running around yelling about youth? What a disgrace."
"Should we report him to the Clan Head?"
"Report? And then what? You want to get executed? Fugaku can't punish the Elder's grandson."
Their voices carried helpless frustration.
Within the younger generation of the Uchiha, three names were known:
Uchiha Shisui.
Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Ryōsuke.
But while Shisui and Itachi were famous across the village for prodigy-level talent…
Ryōsuke was "famous" only because he was the Grand Elder's grandson.
And nobody dared smack sense into him, even if they wanted to.
Meanwhile — Kurenai
On her way home from shopping, Kurenai spotted the trio jogging and froze.
Ryosuke… was training with Guy?
She had been Guy's classmate at the Academy.
Everyone made fun of him for his zero ninjutsu talent.
But Kurenai never joined in.
She only felt regret—
Had Guy possessed even a shred of ninjutsu talent, his hard work would have already made him an elite.
Seeing Ryōsuke willingly train with such a person filled her with a quiet warmth.
He wasn't arrogant.
He wasn't prideful.
He didn't look down on anyone.
Her opinion of him rose yet again.
Kurenai's mother followed her gaze and spotted the Uchiha crest.
"That's the boy you've been thinking about lately, isn't he?"
"He really doesn't have the typical Uchiha arrogance."
Kurenai almost choked.
Even her mother—who disliked the Uchiha—had noticed?
Ryōsuke was turning out to be… unexpectedly interesting.
Her mother smirked at her daughter's startled expression.
"If you do end up liking that boy, I won't oppose it."
"But you'll need to settle things properly with Asuma."
Then she added thoughtfully:
"That Uchiha boy… he reminds me of your father.
Hot-blooded at first glance, but steady and serious underneath."
Kurenai nearly dropped her groceries.
"Mother! What are you saying?! There's nothing between us—we barely know each other!"
Sure, he was better than Asuma by several miles—
But that didn't mean they were destined for anything.
Her mother simply smiled nostalgically.
If it were this Uchiha…
She wouldn't object.
She wasn't planning to force her daughter into marrying Asuma, either.
Training Complete
By afternoon, Guy, Lee, and Ryōsuke finished all twenty laps around Konoha.
Ryōsuke collapsed onto the grass, legs trembling like jelly.
Right then, the system chimed:
"Your body feels greatly fatigued.
Strength +1
Speed +1
Constitution +1"
As he guessed.
Physical exhaustion also raised his stats—though barely.
Getting beaten up? +5 to everything.
Running twenty laps? +1.
What a scam.
This damn system clearly wanted him to get beaten, not train properly.
Nearby, Guy was encouraging Lee:
"Lee! You did well today! Your willpower is admirable!"
Lee, panting heavily, beamed.
"It's only because Guy-sensei was with me! Otherwise, I wouldn't have lasted!"
Ryōsuke wiped his sweat.
Then said casually:
"Guy, how about another round of sparring?
I feel like today's training wasn't enough."
Guy blinked, remembering yesterday's pummeling.
This kid… really enjoyed physical pain?
"Like yesterday?" he asked carefully.
"Exactly."
Guy grimaced.
Yesterday he had turned Ryōsuke into a human piñata.
Even with Uchiha-grade medicine, recovering that fast was insane.
But doing it again… was it safe?
Ryōsuke stared him down seriously.
"Guy—
youth fears nothing."
Guy froze.
Then—
Sparkles.
Thumb up.
Teeth glistening.
"Well said!!"
"Lee! Move aside!"
Lee scrambled away instantly.
Ryōsuke activated his Sharingan again.
Without it, he couldn't track Guy at all.
Guy planted his feet, tightened his fists.
"Here I come!!"
His punch blurred.
Ryōsuke managed to block—trembling from the impact—but he blocked.
Guy's eyes widened.
He had used the same force as yesterday.
So Ryōsuke truly had grown stronger.
Guy inhaled deeply.
"In that case…"
He increased his power.
Ryōsuke was immediately blasted off his feet.
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