Chapter 40: Might Guy
In the morning light, two figures—one large, one small—left intersecting footprints on Konoha's streets. Might Guy ran ahead, listening to the remarkably steady footsteps behind him.
His mouth curved upward unconsciously. Though Guy had long grown accustomed to the strange looks from passersby, the presence of this tiny follower still filled his chest with warmth. Those footsteps behind him represented pure recognition of his way of youth, even coming from a mere three-year-old child.
What surprised Guy even more was how this blonde little guy had kept pace with him without showing any signs of falling behind. Judging from his breathing rhythm and the stability of his steps, this child clearly possessed physical conditioning far beyond his age—obviously the result of long, arduous training.
But Might Guy still didn't believe Naruto could follow him for a full hundred laps around Konoha. That amount of exercise was simply too much for a small child.
Indeed, no matter how much training a child this age received, he ultimately couldn't accomplish the impossible, and excessive exercise could even damage his body.
However, Uzumaki Naruto was no ordinary child. Though he appeared to be just a three-year-old, that seemingly tender body contained power far exceeding his peers.
First was the system's taijutsu enhancement—those stat bonuses had improved his muscle fiber density and bone strength by percentage points. Every morning, while other children his age slept soundly in their warm beds, Naruto was already training with specially-made weighted equipment.
"Huff—huff—"
Naruto regulated his breathing rhythm, his steps never faltering. Sweat dripped from his golden hair. His daily training regimen was nothing short of Spartan—five hundred push-ups, five hundred squats, then a ten-kilometer weighted run. Such intensity would be difficult even for adult ninja to maintain, yet Naruto gritted his teeth and completed it day after day.
Such nearly masochistic training would certainly injure an ordinary child's body, but not Naruto. This was all thanks to what flowed through his veins.
The Uzumaki bloodline.
That ocean-vast chakra and cockroach-like vitality supported him in breaking through one physical limit after another. Whenever his muscles screamed in protest, chakra would automatically flow to repair those microscopic injuries. When his lungs burned with pain, his powerful life force would provide new strength.
The current Naruto, without any exaggeration, had the confidence to defeat ordinary genin through taijutsu alone—having fully developed his talents instead of wasting time like in the original story, constantly thinking about pranking the Hokage Monument.
All those days of bitter training, all that sweat shed in corners unknown to others, now transformed into the strength to keep running.
Might Guy's heart was churning like a stormy sea. He'd lost count of how many times he'd expected the footsteps behind him to stop—at every turn, every uphill stretch, he'd secretly prepared words of comfort. In his mind, those encouraging phrases had been rehearsed countless times.
"Don't be discouraged! At your age, you've already far surpassed what I could do back then!"
"When you're a bit older, we'll sweat the blood of youth together!"
"Keep it up, Future of Konoha!"
He'd even imagined gifting this child one of his treasured green training suits—that shining fabric would surely suit this fighting-spirited little guy.
Yet reality kept shattering his expectations. That small figure remained right behind him, and Guy could clearly hear Naruto adjusting his breathing rhythm—a technique that could only be mastered through long-term training.
This... this was simply...
Guy's heart pounded violently—not from the fatigue of running, but from irrepressible excitement. A genius! And more precious than a genius—a hard-working genius! This realization made his blood boil.
Konoha's streets gradually came alive. The morning mist cleared and the sunlight grew scorching. Residents opened their windows, vendors began setting up stalls, and everyone stared in amazement at these two figures—one large, one small—racing madly around the village. One lap, two laps... sweat left winding trails on the road, only to be evaporated by the blazing noon sun.
When they reached the ninety-ninth lap, Guy imperceptibly slowed his pace. On the final lap, he controlled his speed to just allow Naruto to run alongside him. Finally, both crossed the starting line simultaneously—a spot now marked clearly by their countless footprints.
"Hah... hah..."
Naruto immediately bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. His golden bangs were soaked with sweat, plastered to his flushed face. From dawn to noon, a full hundred laps around Konoha—a feat that would leave many genin in the dust.
"It seems..." Guy's voice trembled slightly with excitement, "this time it's our draw." He crouched down to meet Naruto's eyes, his thick eyebrows unable to hide his admiration. "Magnificent! This kind of perseverance... you're absolutely a hard-working genius!"
That signature thumbs-up stood perfectly straight. Sunlight reflected off his pristine white teeth in a dazzling gleam, revealing Konoha's famous pearly whites.
Naruto straightened up, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat constantly sliding down his forehead.
"Yes," he said between breaths, "no matter how high one's talent, effort is indispensable. Because... effort will never betray you."
"Oh oh oh!" Guy's tears of excitement burst forth again. "Beautifully said! This is what truly sparkling youth looks like!"
The air was thick with post-run heat, their breathing rising and falling in the brief silence. Suddenly, Naruto raised his head, looking directly into Guy's eyes.
"...Guy-san, you were holding back the whole time, deliberately slowing down to match my pace, weren't you?"
The words hit like a hammer blow, making Guy's body instantly rigid. His thick eyebrows shot skyward as visible panic flashed across his face.
"H-holding back? Ha ha ha!" Guy's laughter became abnormally loud yet obviously unnatural, like he was reading lines.
"How could that be possible? This race was absolutely a genuine draw! You can't doubt the results of your own hard work! Ha ha ha!"
That forced laughter echoed around them. Watching Guy's flustered appearance, Naruto couldn't help but smile—this straightforward man really wasn't good at lying.
"You don't need to hide it," Naruto shook his head. "Though I proposed this competition, I still have a clear understanding of my own abilities. Racing against a Konoha jounin? Even if I'd been training since the day I was born, there's no way I could actually tie."
Guy awkwardly scratched his head. "Ha ha," he admitted with a wry smile, "you really are a genius—even this maturity is so brilliant... this is youth's charm!"
But Naruto's next words made Guy's entire body tremble.
"But! Precisely because defeat is possible, effort shines so brilliantly! This is youth's true meaning."
Those words struck like lightning into the depths of Guy's soul. His pupils dilated slightly. For so many years, he'd been preaching youth's passion to others, yet now, from the mouth of a three-year-old, he heard the words that most touched his heartstrings.
Naruto took a deep breath, his small chest heaving violently as sweat continued streaming down his face. He raised his arm, pointing at Might Guy with a finger that was young yet remarkably firm.
"Guy-san, I lost this competition. But I absolutely won't give up!" His voice rang especially clear in the morning light. "Someday in the future, I will definitely become a stronger ninja than you! Because..."
Sunlight filtered through the gaps between leaves, casting brilliant points of light in Naruto's azure pupils.
"Human worth isn't determined by what you become, but by what you surpass. Today, I surpassed my own limits... tomorrow, the day after, someday! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will definitely surpass you!"
Guy's body shuddered violently, his thick eyebrows shooting up. He chewed over the profound meaning of those words, his eyes—usually brimming with enthusiasm—now flickering with contemplative light. Suddenly, he burst into an ear-splitting roar:
"Exactly!!!" Guy's voice exploded like thunder. "Never feel ashamed of your efforts! Challenge seemingly impossible peaks! Push yourself to the limit and create your own rules! This is..."
His voice suddenly dropped to a lower register, yet contained even greater power:
"This is the true meaning of self-discipline!"
The next moment, catching Naruto completely off guard, Guy suddenly burst into tears and crouched down again, opening his arms to give him a solid embrace. Those strong arms completely enveloped Naruto's small body.
"Even though you lost the race! You perfectly displayed youth's radiance! I'm incredibly proud of your efforts!"
Naruto felt somewhat overwhelmed by this sudden burst of passion, but just then—
Ding!
A crisp system notification rang in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host: Bond Level 3 established with original character "Might Guy"!]
[Points gained: 750!]
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