Evening, by the small river behind the training ground.
Sora looked at Might Duy, hesitated for a moment, then still asked, "Senior Duy, how did you train to develop such strong taijutsu?"
Might Duy laughed heartily, "It's simple. Five hundred push ups every day, five hundred sit ups, five hundred squats, plus a ten kilometer long distance run. Persist for ten years, and you can become strong too."
"But I'm not very strong either, I'm just a genin."
The corner of Sora's mouth twitched, "Ten years... genin..."
Guy added at the side, "Father also has a secret taijutsu technique, but I still can't learn it yet."
"Secret taijutsu technique?" Sora's mind stirred, but he didn't ask further. The secret taijutsu technique Guy mentioned was probably the Eight Inner Gates.
Might Duy looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Guy and I still need to continue training. Sora, want to join us?"
Sora thought about it. He had just publicly taken a Great Fireball today, and fighting Guy was already his limit. If he were still bouncing around energetically following their training now, it would clearly be suspicious. He shook his head and said, "Let's skip it for today. I still have some things to handle."
"Alright then. We train around here every day lately. Let's meet another day." Might Duy replied cheerfully, waved his hand, and continued training with Guy.
Just a few steps away, Guy eagerly asked, "Father, how much extra training should we do next? Are five hundred push ups enough?"
"No, no, no. That's not enough."
"Since we didn't get fully warmed up during the spar with Sora just now, let's add another five hundred sit ups, five hundred squats, and after running ten kilometers, do another set of combined training."
"..."
Sora watched the retreating figures of the father and son, thinking silently to himself, 'My current daily training load is 20 kilometers, 400 push ups, 400 sit ups, 400 squats, which is like Saitama 4.0, plus straight punches and side kicks. But in front of them, I feel like a complete rookie.'
Perhaps, he could learn something from Guy and his father.
Shaking his head, Sora leaped back across the river in a few bounds and headed towards the orphanage.
He already had a new plan in mind. 'Starting tomorrow, increase the training load. Also, interact more with Guy and them. There might be a chance to access the Eight Inner Gates.'
In Sora's view, to obtain the secret technique of the Eight Inner Gates, he only needed to meet three requirements.
One. Must not be an enemy of Konoha.
Two. Gain the recognition of Might Duy and Guy.
Three. Just ask for it.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the next evening. Sora arrived early at the riverside where he met Guy and his father yesterday.
Probably because he came too early, the riverside was empty, with no sign of the two figures in green.
"Perfect. I'll train while waiting. Don't waste time." Sora stretched his limbs and decided to train while waiting.
But he had only done a few squats when thoughts of the morning's events flooded his mind. Uchiha Ryota had actually just written a self criticism, and the little incident from yesterday's practical exam was considered closed.
"Tch. As expected of Konoha's strongest ninja clan. The treatment is really different." Sora secretly curled his lip. 'If it were an orphan like me, I'd probably have been expelled from the academy long ago, right?'
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. Sora couldn't help but grumble inwardly, 'I've been keeping a low profile enough. It's just that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi had to single me out for praise on stage. Isn't that purely inviting hatred for me?'
Shaking his head to dispel these messy thoughts, Sora took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and continued focusing on training.
"Guy. Put in more effort. Youth does not allow slacking."
"Yes, father. This is youth."
Not long after, a similar conversation to yesterday's came from the distance. Sora stopped training and looked over. He saw two figures, one large and one small, both wearing green spandex suits, appear on the opposite bank of the river.
"Senior Duy. Guy." Sora crossed the river and greeted them.
Might Duy noticed the approaching Sora and said loudly, "Oh. It's the youth from yesterday. Want to burn youth together?"
"..."
Sora understood clearly. His own set of exercises only trained basic physical fitness. When it came to professional taijutsu, he was far inferior to Might Duy, a master of the Strong Fist style.
So he didn't beat around the bush and spoke directly, "I'd love to. But today I wanted to ask about more professional training methods. Please give me some guidance, Senior Duy."
Might Duy's eyes lit up. "Professional. Hahaha. When it comes to training methods, I am an expert."
Guy, who had stopped frog jumping and was following behind, asked curiously, "Sora, why do you like taijutsu so much?"
Sora thought for a moment and said, "Because I have no talent for ninjutsu, and my chakra amount is pitifully small. I can only rely on taijutsu."
"Sniff. I see." Guy nodded vigorously with tears in his eyes. "Then we are kindred spirits. I only know taijutsu too."
Might Duy patted both their shoulders. "What's wrong with taijutsu. Training taijutsu to the extreme can also make you the strongest ninja."
Sora glanced at Guy who was in tears and chuckled inwardly. That's not false. In the original story, when Guy opened the Eight Gates, he almost kicked his way to the ending.
"Senior Duy, can you show me your training plan?" Sora asked.
"Of course." Might Duy took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. "This is the essence I've summarized over more than twenty years."
Sora took it and looked. The corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
[Daily Basic Training.
Push ups 1000.
Sit ups 1000.
Squats 1000.
Handstand walking 10 kilometers.
Weighted frog jumps 5 kilometers.
...]
This isn't a training plan. This is clearly a suicide guide.
And how come it's doubled compared to what he said yesterday.
"How is it. Very scientific, right." Might Duy asked proudly.
Sora barely suppressed the urge to retort. "Indeed. Very scientific. But Senior Duy, do you have more. Systematic training methods. For example, specialized training targeting different muscle groups."
Might Duy stroked his chin in thought. "Muscle groups."
Guy interjected, "Father, it's what you mentioned last time. When training legs, you need to coordinate with core strength."
"Oh! That." Might Duy suddenly understood. "Of course there is."
For the next two hours, Sora finally managed to extract some substantial information from this father and son pair. Such as how to scientifically distribute training intensity, how to avoid sports injuries, and even a unique breathing technique.
"This breathing technique is crucial." Might Duy's expression was quite serious at this moment as he earnestly said, "It can let you hold on for three more minutes in a state of extreme exhaustion."
Three minutes.
Sora's eyes lit up. Could this be the foundational training method for the Eight Inner Gates.
He tried adjusting his breathing according to the method taught by Might Duy. Indeed, he felt a warm current stirring within his body.
"Senior Duy, does this breathing technique have a name."
"Name." Might Duy scratched his head. "Let's call it the Youth Breathing Technique."
Sora, "..."