Rock Lee was also stunned. He actually recognized Jokichi. Although he did not know his name, he often saw him running laps around Konoha. After seeing him so many times, he naturally remembered his face. It was just that the two had never interacted. Lee could not figure out why Jokichi, whom he had never interacted with, would suddenly come looking for a fight.
However...
"What you said makes sense. Always training hard alone will not amount to much. I will go challenge my classmates tomorrow." Lee held his fist in front of his chest, his expression firm.
"This..."
Jokichi opened his mouth and asked, "Why not fight me?"
Lee turned back to smile at him and said, "You are not an Academy student yet, right! Even if I win, what would it prove?"
What is wrong with not going to school? Looking down on people who do not go to school? I look down on you too, damn elementary schooler!
Jokichi was going crazy inside, just about to say something.
Unexpectedly, Lee suddenly said, "I did not complete the 300 kicks just now, so I will punish myself with 300 laps of frog leaps."
After saying that, he ignored Jokichi and started jumping around the training ground with his hands behind his head.
Jokichi was speechless.
He originally wanted to fight Lee and then grab a piece of skin or hair from him. He never expected things to develop like this.
But it did not matter.
The wooden dummy on the field that had been kicked until it dented had brightly colored bloodstains left on it. It was not yet dry and was left behind by Lee during his training.
Jokichi reached out and wiped the bloodstain, and the system's notification sound immediately rang in his mind.
[Ding! Found special material 'Burning Hot Blood', can be crafted into special item 'Hot-Blooded Headband', do you want to forge?]
"Yes."
As his voice fell, a red headband appeared in Jokichi's hand, while the information of the headband appeared on his retina.
"Hot-Blooded Headband: Can make the wearer hot-blooded, while making the body tougher and able to endure higher intensity physical training."
"Tougher..."
Looking at the headband's effect, Jokichi looked at Lee who was still working hard on frog leaps. A smile formed at the corner of his mouth as he whispered, "Lee, you are not a useless dead-last. You are a genius of hard work."
This world does not lack people with great perseverance.
One of the admission requirements for the Konoha Ninja Academy is to have great perseverance, but in this world, only Lee can undergo such an inhuman level of training.
It is not that others lack perseverance, but their bodies do not allow it.
If ordinary people practiced like them, they would only ruin their bodies. If Might Guy had not been able to break through the limits of the human body, he would not be able to either.
This is the talent unique to Lee, the "genius of hard work."
And now, with this headband, Jokichi also possessed this talent. Moreover, he had the Ring of Kurama to quickly recover his stamina. He could undergo even higher intensity training than Lee.
Putting on the headband, the body that was already exhausted from training all day erupted with vitality once again.
Jokichi clenched his fists and started running around Konoha again.
Starting today, his daily training volume would be more than yesterday's.
However, even though he said that, Jokichi did not run for long before returning.
He is not Lee. He possesses talents in other areas. Although they might not be very high, he could still develop in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. He could not put all his energy into Taijutsu.
Although practicing Taijutsu to the extreme is also very strong, he already knew the limits of Taijutsu through Might Guy in his past life.
Even if trained to the extreme, and even burning one's life force, it still could not dominate everything.
...
Jokichi's home was in the singles apartment district in the south of Konoha. It was a house assigned to him a year ago when Konoha allowed him to move out and live alone after he demonstrated the ability to take care of himself to the orphanage director.
Of course, Konoha still had to issue a monthly living allowance.
Although it was not much, it was enough for an ordinary life.
The room was a wooden, single room. The furniture consisted only of a bed, table, chairs, a small refrigerator, and other daily necessities.
After returning home, Jokichi casually cooked a meal and ate it, then sat cross-legged on the bed to refine chakra.
Jokichi's parents were Chunin, and the ordinary kind at that. They could not be compared to big shots like the Gate Guards of Konoha, and at most could only be compared to Mizuki and Umino Iruka.
Therefore, the inheritance left behind after their deaths was also very small.
Besides a pension, there were only scrolls on chakra refinement, the Three Basic Jutsu, basic methods for using kunai and shuriken, and some experience and insights from ninja missions.
These were all sent by people dispatched by the Third Hokage when he moved out to live independently.
Through the scrolls, he could learn the Academy's knowledge in advance.
Chakra is the product of the perfect fusion of physical energy extracted from the 130 trillion cells of the human body and mental energy tempered through much training and accumulated experience.
Theoretically speaking, the stronger the life force and the richer the experience a person has, the more chakra they have.
Jokichi was born a commoner and did not have a bloodline with strong life force.
In terms of experience... Although he had lived two lives, he only lived to be eighteen in his past life, which combined with his current life makes twenty-three, unable to compare to those ninja who constantly wander between life and death year-round.
Therefore, his chakra was very low.
Jokichi refined chakra for two hours a day and persisted for a year. The accumulated amount of chakra was only enough to use the Transformation Technique once.
His talent was not good. If he only relied on training, the greatest achievement in his life would just be becoming cannon fodder Chunin.
What is a cannon fodder Chunin?
It is a Chunin who has more rich experience than ordinary Genin, does not even know nature transformations, and only knows how to use things like kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags.
Yeah! About the same as his parents or Mizuki and Iruka.
Two hours later, Jokichi opened his eyes.
He felt the amount of chakra in his body that had almost shown no growth, nodded in satisfaction, and then went to take a shower and prepare for bed.
Talent is innate, and no one can change anything about it.
Jokichi never complained about his own terrible talent. He was just doing his best to become stronger.
Not to mention that with a cheat, his advantage was not inferior to anyone.
Soon a night passed.
The next day, early morning, the sky had just cleared up.
Jokichi yawned and sat up from the bed.
He sat in a daze by the bed for a while, changed into the white training clothes hanging on the wall, and washed and groomed himself.
With a little tidying up, Jokichi was actually very handsome, with a pair of black pupils, black hair, and a tender but very delicate face.
After finishing dressing up, Jokichi looked in the mirror before walking out the door with satisfaction.
The streets of Konoha were bustling with people.
Jokichi walked on the street, and the warm sun shining on his body was very warm, bringing a sense of comfort.
Occasionally, two or three ninja could be seen flying over the eaves and walking on the walls.
After the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself, and the village was half-destroyed.
The Third Hokage put on his armor and continued to serve as Hokage during the gap before the Fifth's succession. Under his political maneuvering, Konoha had restored its past prosperity.
Yeah! Economically.
Continuing to move forward on the street, passing through the bustling downtown, Jokichi came to the 14th Training Ground where few people came.
"Let me finish today's morning training first!"
Tying the Hot-Blooded Headband, Jokichi did his warm-up exercises, revealing a vibrant smile on his face.