"Oh, right, this red-haired kid must be Shiki."
Shiki nodded. "Yeah, mister, I'm Shiki."
After finishing their meals at Ichiraku Ramen, Shiki bought some daily necessities from nearby shops and went home with Naruto.
Night gradually fell, and Naruto had already fallen into deep sleep. However, Shiki was wide awake by now.
He certainly wouldn't give in to comfort—he had to find his mother sooner and grow stronger even earlier.
Shiki recalled meeting Rock Lee today. Would he still be there at that place?
Thinking about this, Shiki threw off his blanket, put on his clothes, and walked outside.
As expected, it was extremely cold outdoors. After all, it was the dead of night—the bright moonlight almost seemed to radiate a chill.
Looking at his relatively light clothing, Shiki said, "But after a while, I guess I'll be burning up anyway."
With that, Shiki started running swiftly toward the tree-lined street.
"One thousand and fifty-seven!"
"One thousand and fifty-eight!"
"One thousand?! No way!" When Lee reached this count, he found himself unable to complete another one-armed push-up.
"Darn it! Darn it! Darn it!" He smashed his fists into the ground, voice trembling with frustration as he whispered, "Am I really an idiot like they say? Is it impossible for me to become a strong ninja relying only on Taijutsu?"
Shiki quietly watched the scene unfold. He realized—this was probably before Rock Lee met Might Guy. He remembered how, back when he watched Naruto, Lee had received encouragement from Might Guy around this age.
Shiki felt a sense of helplessness. Originally, he had wanted Lee to teach him how to train in Taijutsu, but he didn't expect that Lee himself still hadn't overcome his own crisis yet.
Shaking his head, Shiki also dropped down onto the ground and began doing push-ups too—but using both hands.
Perhaps because there were many ninjas around, children's physical abilities in this world were especially impressive. Even someone like him could handle basic push-ups without difficulty.
Counting out loud,
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
...
Shiki followed Lee's example and started training earnestly.
Huh? Lee turned toward the unfamiliar voice and saw a red-haired child he'd never seen before doing push-ups just like him. Although he used both hands, Lee could tell he was trying hard to persist.
Could there actually be others like me? Suddenly, Lee felt his fighting spirit returning.
Encouraging himself out loud, he shouted fiercely, "Alright! Lee, do you really want to be beaten by this red-haired weirdo? Get up and keep going!"
With that, Lee once again took his position and resumed training enthusiastically.
Weirdo? Shiki thought to himself. Honestly, those hot-headed guys from the original story could be pretty hard to figure out sometimes.
But I won't lose to you either, kid!
Although Shiki was currently a six-year-old child, his adult soul naturally refused to acknowledge this fact.
Thus began a silent competition between the two. However, every time Lee completed a round of training, he would excitedly shout out loud.
Shiki, on the other hand, felt slightly embarrassed.
When he saw Rock Lee finishing two thousand push-ups—one hand at a time—Shiki clicked his tongue in amazement. He himself could barely do two or three hundred regular push-ups, even with the benefit of this world's naturally strong physique.
Although he couldn't do any more push-ups, Shiki still didn't give up. He switched to punching wooden posts; once he couldn't hit them anymore, he changed to running, and then repeated the cycle. As he felt his strength gradually draining away, his determination to train even harder only grew stronger.
How much time must Lee have spent training like this before achieving such powerful Taijutsu? If he gave up halfway now, during the next Ninja War, he'd surely become a weakling that everyone looked down upon.
While running, Shiki dragged his heavy legs but noticed his hands had somehow regained their strength again.
He dropped to the ground and resumed his push-ups—faster and faster with each rep.
"Four hundred and seventy-three!"
"Four hundred and seventy-four!"
Shiki resumed counting from where he left off. That night, his goal was to finish one thousand push-ups, two thousand punches, and fifty laps around the woods.
For a six-year-old child, completing such a task was practically impossible. But there were always exceptions.
The first category consisted of those like Rock Lee—boys with incredible willpower who trained continuously over long periods.
And the second category? Members of the Uzumaki Clan, blessed with extraordinary recovery abilities.
Though Shiki's training methods seemed basic at first glance, they actually created a perfect loop. While allowing him to keep training nonstop, they worked all the major muscles throughout his body.
Meanwhile, Rock Lee, who had been inspired by Shiki, also felt a slight sense of puzzlement toward this mysterious young boy who had suddenly appeared at his usual training spot.
Who exactly was he?
Why, despite clearly looking so exhausted, did he regain enough energy to do push-ups again after just a few laps of running?
Was this...what it meant to be a genius?
Was his hard work forever destined to pale in comparison to a genius's progress?
Chapter 7: The Ninja Academy
Sweat poured endlessly from his body.
Yet Shiki felt happiness bubbling inside because he gradually noticed himself doing a few more push-ups each time than he had before.
"So the regenerative power of the Uzumaki really is as strong as legend says. A shame most people never think to put this blessing to use in physical training."
Though subtle, Shiki could still feel the changes within his body—the same kind of pleasant sensation he used to feel after resting from intense workouts back then.
He couldn't help but imagine—was his idea truly possible? What if Lee were part of the Uzumaki Clan? Would he be able to train even more?
With such a powerful recovery ability combined with his relentless effort, could he achieve something even greater?
Shiki was also secretly worried whether the Uzumaki clan's powerful vitality could withstand the backlash from [Eight Gates].
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