As school let out that day, Uchiha Mai found himself blocked by Might Guy once again. Honestly, Mai was a bit surprised that Guy hadn't been pestering him for a challenge over the last few days.
"Mai, let us settle this once and for all!"
Dressed in his eccentric outfit, Might Guy wiggled his thick eyebrows and pointed a thumb at himself, shouting excitedly: "I wanted to challenge you days ago! But my father finally had a break from missions and stayed home, so I've been training with him for days. When my father heard that a young Uchiha genius also values Taijutsu training, he was greatly encouraged, just like me!"
Might Guy's father?
Isn't that the man who kicked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist so hard they became the "Lucky Three"? Might Duy?
Uchiha Mai's interest was instantly piqued. "Is your father still in the village right now?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" Guy scratched his head, baffled.
"Nothing, it's just that I've run into some issues with my Taijutsu training lately. I wanted to ask a master specializing in Taijutsu for some advice," Mai replied.
The boxing techniques he gained from Mayweather focused mostly on punching power, leverage, and psychological tactics, while the Jiu-Jitsu focused on grappling. There's a saying that "an arm cannot wrestle a thigh"—the power of the legs is far greater than that of the fists.
Modern boxing has strict rules and point systems; in close combat, lifting a leg too high makes it easy to lose balance, so it lacks kicking techniques.
In the ninja world, however, the supernatural flexibility of shinobi means they don't have to worry about balance. The popular Taijutsu in the Great Villages is almost entirely centered around kicks.
Whether it was Konoha's Strong Fist or the Hidden Cloud's Nintaijutsu, both were the same in this regard.
Mai desperately needed to learn the "coolest and hardest" kicking techniques of the ninja world to compensate for the shortcomings of his boxing-based system.
Don't ask why a "fist" technique needs legwork—even the Konoha Strong Fist style is essentially a collection of kicking skills.
Hearing that Uchiha Mai wanted to learn Taijutsu from his father, Guy became even more hyper. Tears of youth began to flow again.
"If Papa knows that a Uchiha genius wants to learn from him, he will be overjoyed! I'll take you to him right now. My father is the strongest Taijutsu ninja in Konoha—no, the whole world! You will definitely learn a lot!"
Without another word about the challenge, Guy grabbed Mai's arm and sprinted toward his home.
Mai was slightly stunned; he had underestimated the influence of the name "Uchiha."
In an era where the smoke of war hadn't fully cleared, the Uchiha name carried a deterrent power second only to the Senju.
Putting aside the Mangekyō, almost every Uchiha who awakened their eyes reached the two-tomoe stage by adulthood. With a bit of experience, they were shoe-ins for Jonin.
Jonin were the backbone of a village. Even at its peak, Konoha likely had no more than 300. Yet, the Uchiha clan had at least 40 ninjas with two or three-tomoe Sharingan—that meant 30 to 40 potential Jonin.
Most of these ninjas didn't even have official ninja registration numbers, which were only given to Academy graduates.
This explained why, despite registration numbers only being in the 10,000s, the Five Villages could muster a 70,000-strong Allied Shinobi Force during the Fourth War.
Thirty to forty Jonin represented more than a tenth of Konoha's elite force. The Sand Village, the weakest of the five, likely had barely over a hundred Jonin in total.
This was the foundation of the clan that once stood equal to the Senju.
Uchiha were the "nobility" of the shinobi. They were so high-status that in the early parts of Shippuden, even though Sasuke's initial talent seemed relatively standard, he was still the absolute center of attention during the Chunin Exams.
In this world, the Uchiha fan crest was more prestigious than a royal seal.
Now, consider Guy and Duy. Because they could barely use Ninjutsu and relied solely on Taijutsu, they were shunned by other ninjas and lived at the bottom of Konoha's social ladder. They desperately craved recognition.
If a young member of the noble Uchiha clan heard that Might Duy's Taijutsu was legendary and wanted to seek advice from a "mere Genin," did that count as recognition?
You bet it did!
Guy dragged Mai along, running until they reached a somewhat dilapidated courtyard. A man who looked exactly like Guy, only many years older, was sitting on a small stool under the shade of a tree, stitching weighted leg wraps.
Hearing his son, Might Duy looked up and asked, "Back so soon? I thought you were going to challenge your classmate today. Er... who is this?"
Duy's eyes fell on the Uchiha crest on Mai's clothes, and his pupils shrank slightly.
"Hello, Mr. Duy. I am Guy's classmate, Uchiha Mai," Mai said with a polite, slight bow.
Duy was even more shocked. When did an Uchiha become so polite? Is this a fake Uchiha? Usually, the Uchiha he saw walked with their noses in the air, looking at people with their chins.
Well, if you need a favor, you have to be polite.
Guy pulled Mai over and introduced him excitedly: "Papa! This is the Uchiha Mai I told you about. He is very interested in Taijutsu and is already very skilled! He said he ran into some trouble with his training and wanted to consult a master!"
"But... but I am just a Genin..." Duy said hesitantly, his confidence wavering. The Uchiha name was intimidating.
Mai smiled, the lies rolling off his tongue effortlessly: "I've heard the clan elders mention you. They said that although Mr. Duy is a Genin, your strength is immense, and your understanding of Taijutsu is among the best in Konoha.
If it weren't for the fact that you can't use the Three Basic Jutsu, you would surely be a Chunin or higher."
What...? The Uchiha think that highly of me?
Duy froze, then suddenly burst into tears, embracing his son. "My Taijutsu... my Taijutsu has finally been recognized by the village! I, Might Duy, am not a waste! I am a powerful shinobi!"
"Of course, Papa is a powerful shinobi! Taijutsu isn't just a move for failures..."
The father and son completely ignored Mai's presence, hugging each other and pouring out years of pent-up bitterness and hardship.
Uchiha Mai: "..."
Does the tendency to burst into tears and overshare emotions run in the family?
He had to make sure he didn't catch their "disease." It would be a disaster if he learned the coolest leg techniques but became a "goofball" in the process—he'd never be able to harvest Style Points again!
*I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
*One bonus chapter will be released for every 50 Power Stones.
*Read 60+ chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/MasterStudios(Luffy Pfp)