"Teacher, please make me train like crazy!"
Might Guy's enthusiasm, much like his burning passion for youth, was swift and completely unstoppable.
Early the next morning, a deafening roar echoed through the director's office of Konoha Hospital.
"My precious student, Rock Lee, is in the prime of his youth, bursting with limitless potential! How could a mere hospital room possibly contain a wild beast ready to soar into the sky!"
With his hands planted firmly on his hips and words flying from his mouth like kunai, Guy delivered an impassioned speech to the increasingly overwhelmed Director of Medicine and several attending physicians.
"His body has awakened extraordinary abilities! Last night's incident proves it beyond doubt! What he needs now is proper guidance and freedom to grow, not to be confined here like a caged animal! I, Might Guy, will personally design his recovery training program. This is absolutely critical to his future as a shinobi!"
The medical staff exchanged helpless glances with one another.
"Guy-sensei, we completely understand your concern for your student," one doctor said carefully. "But you've seen Lee's injury reports yourself. Multiple fractures throughout his entire body, severe damage to several internal organs... The fact that he can even stand up this soon is already a medical miracle. If we subject him to high-intensity training now, it will only make things worse and could permanently—"
"A miracle?" Guy's voice shot up several octaves, practically shaking the windows. "No! This isn't just some miracle! This is the beautiful flower of youth, cultivated through pure dedication and honest hard work! You people don't understand Lee like I do! Only I truly know what he's capable of!"
Lee stood behind his teacher with his head slightly lowered, doing his absolute best to appear like a shy but determined young man filled with hope for the future.
Internally, he was having very different thoughts.
'Keep going, Guy-sensei. Keep laying it on thick. Honestly, with this level of passion and persuasion, you could've made a fortune in sales. But hey, the results speak for themselves. These poor doctors look like they're about ready to sign anything just to make the shouting stop.'
Finally, after Guy practically performed his signature "Power of Youth" pose right there in the office to demonstrate his unwavering commitment, and with Lee's mysteriously rapid recovery documented in official medical records as undeniable evidence, the hospital administration finally gave in.
They signed the discharge papers, but made it crystal clear that all responsibility for any consequences would fall entirely on Lee's guardian, Might Guy.
The moment Lee stepped outside the hospital and breathed in the fresh morning air, he felt like a prisoner who'd just been released from jail after serving a life sentence.
"Oh, Lee!" Guy spun around dramatically and clapped him heavily on the shoulder, his eyes practically blazing with fierce determination. "Starting today, we're going to embark on a special hellish training program designed specifically for you and me, master and student together!"
Lee matched his teacher's energy perfectly, displaying an excited yet resolute expression. "Yes, Guy-sensei! I'm ready!"
Inner monologue: 'Perfect. I've secured my cover story and my protection. Now it's time to figure out exactly how to maximize my point gains without anyone getting suspicious.'
Training Ground Three.
This was Team Guy's designated private training area, and at this particular moment, only the teacher and student were present.
Guy pulled out an enormous scroll and unfurled it across the ground with a dramatic flourish. The paper hit the dirt with a satisfying thump.
Covering the entire surface was a training schedule he'd painstakingly written out overnight using a calligraphy brush. The characters were densely packed together, filling every available inch of space.
"Lee! Come take a look at this!" He pointed at the scroll with utmost seriousness. "The power awakening inside you is like a wild tiger. We need to both unleash its full potential and keep it under proper control! That's why this 'Youth Recovery Training Method' must be followed carefully, step by step!"
Lee leaned in closer to examine the contents.
Phase One: Basic Recovery
Daily five-kilometer jog at moderate pace, supplemented with gentle stretching exercises to promote healthy blood circulation and natural bone regeneration.
Phase Two: Strength Adaptation
After confirming all joints have completely healed, perform fifty push-ups and fifty sit-ups per day...
Phase Three:...
The more Lee read, the deeper his frown became.
What was this supposed to be?
This was a retirement home exercise routine!
At this pathetically slow rate, by the time he'd accumulated enough Vitality Points to actually retire comfortably, he'd be an old man anyway. The whole point would be moot.
His "efficiency above all else" mindset, forged through years of brutal overtime work culture in his previous life, physically revolted against this kind of cautious, conservative approach.
No. Absolutely not. This wouldn't do at all.
He needed high-risk, high-reward aggressive tactics, not some gentle wellness program designed for recovering invalids.
"Guy-sensei..." Lee looked up, allowing a hint of almost fanatical intensity to creep into his eyes. The expression seemed strangely out of place on his usually earnest face. "Don't you think this plan is... a little too conservative?"
"Huh?" Guy blinked in surprise.
"I know my own body better than anyone!" Lee clenched both fists tightly, his voice trembling as though he were struggling to contain some powerful impulse. "I can feel it deep inside me! It's hungry! It craves something stronger! More intense impact! Greater pain! Just like during my fight with that Sunagakure shinobi—only when I'm pushed to the absolute edge between life and death can this power truly awaken and grow!"
Every single word he spoke struck directly at Might Guy's core beliefs about youth and passionate determination.
"Oh! Lee! You mean to say..."
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee pressed his advantage immediately, pointing dramatically at his own chest as he spoke with barely contained intensity. "Normal training feels like nothing more than a gentle tickle to me now! What I actually need is... destruction! Complete and total devastation! And then rebirth from those ashes! Like a phoenix rising from flames!"
In his previous corporate life, he'd already perfected the art of spinning complete nonsense with absolute conviction to deal with demanding bosses and their empty motivational speeches.
Now he deployed those same skills on his passionate, hot-blooded teacher, and the effect was nothing short of spectacular.
Guy stared at him intensely, taking in the undisguised fervor burning in Lee's eyes. Instead of being concerned or frightened, he began trembling with overwhelming excitement.
That's right!
Exactly right!
Even without special bloodline abilities or natural talent, you still need this kind of burning passion and relentless dedication—that's what true youth is all about!
"I understand completely..." Guy took a long, deep breath, as though steeling himself for something momentous. Then he grabbed the scroll he'd spent all night carefully preparing and tore it cleanly in half.
Torn paper fragments floated through the air like snow.
"Lee! You're absolutely correct! I was being far too cautious! I underestimated just how intensely your youth burns!" He locked eyes with Lee, his gaze filled with unwavering resolve. "In that case, let's design something completely new. An ultimate training program that belongs to you and you alone!"
Lee was internally celebrating his victory. 'Hook, line, and sinker.'
Thirty minutes later, a brand new training regimen had been completed.
If any normal Konohagakure shinobi saw this document, they would immediately assume it was some kind of elaborate suicide manual written by a madman.
[Rock Lee's Exclusive Ultimate Taijutsu: Rebirth Through Destruction Training Method]
Article One: Eight Gates Formation as Daily Practice
Each training day consists of alternating "activation" and "recovery" phases. Push the body through excessive physical strain until muscles tear completely and bones accumulate significant fatigue damage.
Note: Initial training should be conducted under controlled trial conditions. If recovery response is favorable, training intensity can progress to include opening the Gate of Life and Gate of Pain.
Article Two: Extreme Impact Resistance Training
Direct combat sparring sessions between student and teacher. Full-contact exchanges demonstrating the passionate collision of youth and determination.
Objective: Induce a minimum of three moderate to severe bone fractures daily. Training intensity can be progressively increased based on observed recovery rates.
Article Three: Forbidden Technique Adaptation Training
Under Guy-sensei's direct supervision, study and attempt forbidden taijutsu techniques. Practice opening the Gate of Life, experience the overwhelming destructive power of techniques like the Front Lotus, and carefully document all body recovery times and physical data for analysis.
Guy looked over the completed plan and nodded with deep satisfaction. "Yes! Now this is a proper challenge! This is what ignites the flames of youth!"
Lee examined the same plan and nodded with equally deep satisfaction for entirely different reasons. 'Perfect. These performance metrics are actually realistic. As long as I stick to this schedule consistently, I'll be the top performer by year's end.'
He looked up at his teacher and flashed his most dazzling, genuine smile.
"Guy-sensei! Let's start right now!"
"Yes!"
In the center of the training field, Lee's voice rang out powerfully as chakra began flowing throughout his entire body in controlled pathways.
"First Gate, the Gate of Opening! Release!"
"Second Gate, the Gate of Healing! Release!"
Vibrant green chakra steam rose from his body like visible flames. An incredible surge of raw power flooded through every muscle and bone.
His skin flushed bright red almost instantly, and sweat soaked completely through his green training suit within seconds.
"Beautiful! That's perfect!" Guy pumped both fists in the air excitedly, even more thrilled than when he opened the Gates himself. "Can you feel it, Lee? The power is roaring through every part of you!"
"I feel it, Guy-sensei!" Lee responded with matching volume and enthusiasm.
And he definitely felt it, all right.
[Opening the Gate of Opening overloads normal bodily functions. Physical capabilities increased by 500%.]
[Opening the Gate of Healing accelerates stamina recovery speed but places continuous cellular stress on the body.]
But that wasn't nearly enough!
Lee exploded forward with tremendous force, launching himself at Guy like a green missile!
"Guy-sensei! Watch me closely! This is my burning youth!"
BANG!
Their fists and feet collided with brutal force, producing a deep, thunderous impact that echoed across the training ground.
The violent shockwave traveling up through his arm sent Lee's body flying backward uncontrollably. He carved two deep trenches in the dirt before barely managing to stop his momentum and regain his footing.
"Oh! Impressive power, Lee!" Guy struck his signature fighting stance, giving a brilliant thumbs-up with teeth practically sparkling in the sunlight. "But this level of youth alone won't be enough to surpass your teacher!"
"I know!" Lee shook out his numb, tingling arm. The excitement he felt internally far outweighed any physical discomfort.
"Guy-sensei! Here I come again!"
He roared and burst forward once more, his figure becoming a green blur.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Lee's body spun rapidly through the air, his leg sweeping toward Guy's lower body with a sharp whistling sound cutting through the wind.
"Too slow, Lee!"
Guy didn't dodge or evade. Instead, he countered with a devastating roundhouse kick of his own.
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
Their legs collided violently in midair with crushing force.
CRACK!
A sickeningly crisp snapping sound rang out, painfully clear in the otherwise quiet training ground.
Lee's right leg bent at an unnatural, obviously wrong angle. He lost all balance and crashed heavily into the ground.
Any other shinobi in this situation would be clutching their shattered leg and screaming in absolute agony.
But in the very next second, Lee braced both arms against the dirt and pushed himself upright!
The excruciating pain shooting through his right leg had mysteriously dulled to a manageable, distant tingling sensation. The notification appearing on his mental system interface was, to him, the most beautiful sound in the entire world.
[Right tibia fracture detected. Extensive tendon tearing confirmed. Vitality Points +80.]
[Host has sustained significant damage while maintaining unwavering determination. New function unlocked: 'Pain Regulation Center'. Consume 50 Vitality Points to block 50% of pain sensation for 10 minutes.]
[Activate now?]
'Yes!' he roared internally without hesitation.
An strange, almost pleasant warmth enveloped his entire body immediately.
The unbearable agony radiating from his fractured leg bone seemed to pass through a thick pane of frosted glass, becoming hazy and distant, leaving behind only a pure sensation of "impact" without the suffering attached to it.
Haha... hahaha!
Lee couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud, his fervor growing even more intense by the second.
'So this is what it's like. This is my version of "painless overtime mode"?'
This was absolutely perfect!
Freed from the limiting constraints of debilitating pain, he felt like he could push this body to its absolute maximum potential without any hesitation or holding back.
"Not enough! Guy-sensei! This is nowhere near enough!"
Lee stood balanced on his one good leg, assuming a precarious yet fiercely determined fighting stance. His eyes blazed with genuinely terrifying intensity. "Is this really all the passion your youth has to offer?!"
For the first time ever, the enthusiastic smile completely froze on Might Guy's face.
He stared in stunned silence at Lee's leg, which was very clearly broken in multiple places, and then at his student's face, which was flushed with pure exhilaration rather than pain.
That wasn't bravery. That wasn't even extraordinary endurance.
It was something else entirely... a deep, primal hunger.
A craving for more damage. More pain. More destruction.
Even the normally oblivious and endlessly optimistic Guy felt a genuine chill run down his spine at this discovery.
"Lee... your leg is..."
"Don't worry about such minor details, Guy-sensei!" Lee took a deep, steadying breath as his chakra began surging powerfully once again. "The agony of being unable to grow stronger hurts far more than any physical injury ever could! Come on! Let's continue burning with the passion of youth together!"
With those words still hanging in the air, he dragged his broken leg forward and charged at Guy again, refusing to stop!