"Uncle, bring me even heavier weights."
Although the ninja tools shop owner felt Shiki was acting out of childish stubbornness against the chunin, he still went into the back room and fetched a heavier weight.
This time, however, the middle-aged man wore a strained expression on his face.
When he reached Shiki, the man warned, "Shiki, let me tell you this — even if you can lift it, I strongly advise against wearing weights this heavy. They'll affect your physical development."
Shiki nodded and took the weight from the shopkeeper's hands, feeling its heaviness. But that was all!
This weight...was still too light!
"Uncle, do you have anything heavier?" Shiki asked.
At that moment, not only the shop owner but also the chunin and Tenten widened their eyes in shock.
While ninjas generally possess far greater strength than ordinary people, someone just starting ninja training should be nowhere near the strength of an adult.
Shiki could feel the skeptical gazes around him, but he had no choice. This weight simply didn't reach the intensity he needed.
Moreover, the weights the shopkeeper produced paled in comparison to Lee's during the Chunin Exams and even differed greatly from Lee's current weights.
The shopkeeper hesitated — he had never seen a child like this before.
What he didn't know was that he'd simply been lucky — Lee had just never visited this store.
"There are some, but...I can't lift them anymore. If you want them, you'll have to get them yourself."
Saying this, the middle-aged man felt somewhat embarrassed. As a ninja tools shop owner, he barely qualified as a ninja himself — probably only about genin level.
Now in his middle age, he couldn't even match the strength of a small child.
He wished he could find a hole to crawl into. Yet he became even more curious about this red-haired boy.
Could he really handle greater weights?
Following the middle-aged man behind the counter, Shiki noticed that both curious Tenten and Kousen Fujino, eager to see him fail, quickly followed.
After rummaging around, the shop owner pulled out an extremely unremarkable worn box from the very back of the cabinet. Inside lay some old, weathered weights.
Scratching his head apologetically, the middle-aged man explained, "Back then, when I was young and arrogant, I thought surely ninjas would need these heavy weights, so I specially customized them. Unfortunately, they've never sold."
Weights that hadn't sold for over ten years?
Shiki noticed that the bottom of the box was particularly smooth — probably why the shopkeeper could pull this box of weights out so easily.
So...would these really be the weights he needed?
Seeing Shiki hesitate, Kousen Fujino mocked, "Come on, brat! Why aren't you taking the weights? Scared?"
Shiki took a deep breath and reached into the box.
Chapter 21: Training Hand Seals
After Shiki reached into the box, he hesitated slightly because he didn't know which one to choose first.
The shop owner seemed to sense his confusion and explained, "From left to right, the weights gradually increase in weight. Try them yourself."
Hearing that, Shiki immediately reached out for the first weight on the left. With a firm pull, just as he had expected, the weight was easily lifted into his hand.
Shiki tested its weight and figured it was only slightly heavier than what an average adult could handle with both arms.
This weight was about right—barely acceptable—for him, but still hadn't reached the level of heaviness he truly desired.
So he gently placed that first weight back in its original spot and then reached for the second one.
He actually lifted it!
Seeing Shiki casually placing that weight back where it belonged, Tenten couldn't help but feel surprised as well.
Even Chunin Kousen Fujino dropped his mocking expression and started thinking seriously. Was this really something a child of seven or eight years old could do?
Shiki put his hands on the second weight, took a deep breath, and then suddenly pulled upward with force. The second weight came up smoothly in his hands.
This felt significantly heavier, didn't it?
Shiki thought that this one almost perfectly met his needs because a proper load carried on the body would bring better improvement.
But his gaze fell next upon the third weight—he wanted to discover where his strength limit truly lay.
Thus, he put down the second weight and reached out for the third.
The moment he touched it, Shiki already felt a heavy pressure pressing down on his palms.
This one's super heavy!
In fact, Shiki knew very well that it wasn't significantly heavier than the second one—it just felt like that once it exceeded his own personal limit.
Gradually stabilizing his breathing, Shiki focused practically all his attention on lifting this third weight.
"Haa!"
With a light shout, the wooden floor beneath his feet seemed to scream under the strain, while that seemingly immovable weight slowly rose up.
Feeling the immense weight in his hands, Shiki was filled with pride—a symbol of his training results over such a long time. For a moment, he even considered buying this third pair of weights.
Shiki had no idea how much his Taijutsu would improve if he trained regularly with that third weight.
"No way, this level of weight will definitely cause serious harm to my body." Shiki quietly said to himself. Though deeply reluctant, he resisted the intense temptation.
"Uncle, I'll take this pair of weights." Finally having chosen, Shiki didn't delay further and took out his coin purse ready to pay!
"What the hell! You damned brat! You must be fooling us!" The chunin simply refused to accept that a seven-year-old kid like Shiki could lift something even the owner of the ninja tools shop could not.
Just when Shiki picked up the second pair of weights, preparing to pay—
Kousen Fujino suddenly snatched the weights from his hands.
Before Shiki could react, there was a loud crash as Fujino slammed heavily onto the ground, with the weights he'd taken from Shiki crushing his hands.
Shiki sighed in exasperation, "I told you not to be so arrogant. Still didn't listen, huh?"
This brat!
As an experienced Chunin, Kousen Fujino actually had the strength to lift the weights from Shiki's hands.
But he was too focused on proving Shiki was just another cocky brat. The moment he took them, he lost balance and crashed to the ground.
What a disgrace!
Kousen Fujino's eyes flared with fury, glaring at Shiki with seething hatred.
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