The next morning, Ryosuke didn't go looking for Guy to spar again.
After yesterday's intense match, he knew that Guy wouldn't recover as easily. Unlike Ryosuke, who had the Auto-Cultivation System and the system's healing warmth, Guy's body didn't bounce back overnight.
Even Uchiha-made recovery potions weren't magic. Ninja might be high in offense, but in the end—even taijutsu specialists had relatively low durability.
Guy still needed his body to earn a living. Ryosuke had no intention of becoming a burden.
As for himself, he felt completely revitalized by morning.
Back in the grove near the Uchiha compound, he resumed his daily One Punch Man training:
100 squats, 10 km run, 100 sit-ups, and 100 push-ups.
Midway through his routine, a group of Uchiha clansmen arrived, led by Uchiha Inaho.
They found Ryosuke drenched in sweat, throwing precise, clean strikes and kicks in solo training.
Their faces twisted with disdain.
Training taijutsu instead of developing his Sharingan?
What a waste of talent. Like leaving a vault of treasure unopened.
One of the younger Uchiha sneered.
"Ryosuke, training taijutsu? And with that Konoha dead-last, Might Guy?"
"Don't you find it embarrassing?"
"You've disgraced the Uchiha name for a whole month."
Ryosuke paused mid-push-up, blinking in surprise.
Seriously? These guys still think Guy is just some dropout?
They had no idea.
Might Guy's taijutsu was already rivaling jonin level. Just because his rank was still chunin didn't mean he was weak. If he opened even a few of the Eight Gates, he could easily beat a jonin.
Heck, Kakashi was a jonin, and Guy was already keeping up with him.
These idiots should be embarrassed, not him.
More importantly, if anyone should be complaining—it was him. In the original timeline, the "Pride of the Uchiha" got wiped out by two damn traitors, without so much as scratching them.
Some "Strongest Clan" that was.
His expression darkened slightly as he stood up.
"Then what do you think I should be training?"
The smug Uchiha puffed out his chest.
"Obviously Fire Release and the Sharingan."
"Those are the signature arts of the Uchiha. Our pride."
Ryosuke almost laughed.
Sure, Fire Release was powerful—on paper. But it was known as the "benevolent art" for a reason: it looked flashy but rarely hit anything.
Sharingan? That had potential. But unlike these guys, Ryosuke didn't need years of combat experience to unlock stronger forms.
All he needed was to be insulted.
His Sharingan had its own sense of pride.
Still, for now, taijutsu remained his primary focus. His goal was to eventually learn the Eight Inner Gates.
Sharingan + high-level taijutsu would be more than enough for the early stages.
Inaho, noticing Ryosuke's calm defiance, narrowed his eyes.
"Are you saying you look down on Fire Release and the Sharingan?"
Ryosuke shook his head.
"Not at all. I just find it weird that you guys look down on taijutsu."
"The Sharingan allows us to track enemy movements with precision. Pair that with powerful taijutsu, and it's an incredible advantage."
"What, you think ninja never fight up close?"
Inaho hesitated.
He had to admit... Ryosuke had a point.
"Sure, close-quarters combat happens. But why train with a loser like Might Guy?"
"That ridiculous public training you've been doing? It's humiliating to the clan."
"And don't tell me the Uchiha don't have better taijutsu than that guy."
Ryosuke almost laughed in his face.
You wish.
The Uchiha didn't have anything close to the Eight Gates.
The Eight Gates were the pinnacle of taijutsu.
He turned to face them fully, wiping sweat from his brow.
"If the Uchiha have better taijutsu than Guy... then how about a match?"
"I'll go up against any of you."
Frankly, Ryosuke had been itching to teach some of these arrogant morons a lesson.
The Uchiha of today weren't the war-hardened elites of the Warring States Era. They were riding on the coattails of a name that no longer meant what it used to.
If they were so great, they wouldn't have been wiped out like insects in the canon timeline.
Inaho raised a brow at the challenge.
He was a jonin.
Ryosuke? Just a chunin.
What gave this kid the confidence to issue him a duel?
"Why not?"
"But if I win, you stop with this disgraceful behavior. No more tainting the clan's name."
Ryosuke nodded calmly.
"And if I win, you shut up with the superiority nonsense."
"One week from today. Right here. I'll be waiting."
Inaho glanced at Ryosuke's sweat-soaked shirt and figured the boy had been training all morning.
He didn't press it.
A whole week?
Sure, maybe Ryosuke wanted time to prepare.
Didn't matter.
Even if he had a full year, Ryosuke couldn't possibly close the gap between a chunin and a jonin.
He walked away with the others, confident.
What he didn't know was—Ryosuke had his own method of closing gaps.
Once they left, Ryosuke returned to his training.
By the time he finished his reps, his limbs were aching.
Then came the familiar system prompt:
[Strength +1, Speed +1, Constitution +1]
Slow. Steady. Limited gains—but they added up.
The downside? Too much time for too little reward.
Getting beat up by Might Guy? Way more efficient.
The system definitely favored pain over patience.
Still, any increase in stats was welcome. Over time, it all added up.
And more importantly—
His body had finally reached the threshold to start learning the Eight Inner Gates.
He hadn't asked Guy about the technique earlier because he knew he wasn't ready.
Without a powerful, conditioned body, the Eight Gates would do more harm than good—even if you knew the theory.
But now?
Now, he was ready.
With the duel set for one week from now, he needed every edge he could get.
It was time to ask Guy to teach him the Eight Gates.