At the edge of Konoha, there was a bamboo forest rarely visited by people.
Unlike the bustling scene in the center of the village, it was so quiet here that one could only hear the rustling of the night wind blowing through the bamboo leaves.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo, casting scattered light and shadows on the clearing.
And in this clearing, a figure was undergoing a harsh training beyond ordinary imagination.
"Hah!!"
"Work hard! Dai! As long as you persist, you can prove that even if you're not good at ninjutsu and genjutsu, you can still become an amazing ninja!"
A shout full of power pierced the silence of the night.
Might Dai was shirtless, his bronze skin reflecting a sheen under the moonlight.
He had several exaggeratedly heavy sandbags tied to his body, and on each sandbag, a large character for "Perseverance" was written in black ink.
Might Dai was doing weighted squat jumps.
Every time he squatted, he compressed his body to the limit, and every time he jumped, he used all his strength, as if trying to break free from the earth's restraints and rush towards the bright full moon.
Sweat flowed down from his signature bowl-cut hair, across his face full of determination, and dripped onto the ground beneath his feet.
"Sweat shed is the brilliance of youth!"
"Burn! My youth!"
He was still cheering himself on, his voice hoarse but full of passion.
After completing five hundred squat jumps, the young man didn't pause for a moment and immediately started one-handed handstand push-ups.
"One! Youth!"
"Two! Hot-blooded!"
"Three! Effort!"
He was like a machine that never stopped, squeezing every bit of potential out of his body in a way that bordered on self-abuse.
This was Might Dai's daily routine.
Five thousand push-ups, five thousand squat jumps, eight hundred laps around Hokage Avenue every day, and then a few D-rank missions to find cats and dogs.
In the eyes of others, he was an incomprehensible weirdo.
A "dead-last" who was still a genin in his twenties.
A ninja who clearly had no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, yet stubbornly persisted in the hardest and least promising taijutsu training.
But Might Dai never cared about this.
He just stuck to his belief, the training rule named "My Youth, My Rules."
He firmly believed that as long as he worked hard, he could surpass geniuses.
He firmly believed that sweat would not lie.
One day, his youth would bloom with the most dazzling light like the midsummer sun.
In the shadows of the bamboo forest not far away, a pair of eyes had been silently watching him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had been watching here for almost half an hour.
Looking at the man under the moonlight, sweating like rain, dedicating his life to his ninja way, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart was filled with emotion.
In the original story, Might Dai was a character who was not heavily featured but was incredibly dazzling.
An eternal genin, yet at the last moment, he opened the Eight Gates Released Formation and single-handedly fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Killing four and forcing three to flee, he protected his son and comrades with his life.
That boundless brilliance illuminated Guy's entire life.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, this persistence day after day for decades, this purity unshaken by the outside world, was another ultimate manifestation of the "Will of Fire."
Therefore, he specifically instructed Tsunade of the Medical Department to prepare a special military ration pill that could recover muscle damage and replenish stamina for Might Dai, and then had the Anbu deliver it to him in the name of a mission reward.
He wanted to let this uncut jade polish the forbidden jutsu that could shake the Kage level—the Eight Gates Released Formation—in a relatively tolerant environment without distractions.
"Truly an... amazing ninja."
Even with Sarutobi Hiruzen's current strength, seeing Might Dai's self-harming training method, he couldn't help but secretly praise him in his heart.
In the original story, Might Dai opened the Gate of Death to protect his son and the future of Konoha.
But now, what he wanted to do was to let this power bloom at a more controllable and valuable time.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to personally carve this uncut jade.
The night sky was exceptionally clear, and the stars were twinkling.
"Youth... is truly... beautiful..."
Might Dai looked at the starry sky with a satisfied smile.
Under the moonlight, his bronze muscles reflected the vitality and hot blood of youth.
However, just at this moment when his body and mind were most relaxed.
The bright full moon overhead was suddenly obscured by a dark cloud, and the surrounding light dimmed instantly.
The entire bamboo forest was instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their own fingers.
Immediately after, a swift black shadow, without warning, attacked from the darkness directly in front of him.
No sound, no chakra fluctuation.
Only a fierce fist wind that made his scalp tingle.
So fast!
Might Dai didn't even have time to think about who this black shadow was, whether it was an enemy or...
His body's instincts had already reacted faster than his brain.
He didn't choose to dodge because it was too late.
Might Dai concentrated all his strength in his arms, his muscles tensing instantly.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest to protect himself.
In the next second.
That fist, wrapped in terrifying power, landed solidly on his arms.
"Bang—!"
A dull thud.
An irresistible force erupted from the opponent's fist, instantly crushing the defense he had put up.
His body flew backward uncontrollably.
Crack! Crack!
He crashed through three or four bowl-thick bamboos before slamming heavily onto the ground, plowing a long groove in the earth.
"Cough..."
A piercing pain came from his arms.
He struggled, trying to get up from the ground, but every part of his body was screaming in pain.
How is this possible?
Might Dai looked in horror at the black shadow standing quietly in the darkness in the distance.
The opponent had used only one punch.
What terrifying power was this?
This had... exceeded his understanding of the word "power."
Might Dai stared deadly at the black shadow in front of him.
The opponent just stood there quietly, without pursuing or speaking, as if that earth-shattering punch just now was merely a casual wave of his hand.
He couldn't see the face clearly.
But that imposing aura made Might Dai feel like he was facing an insurmountable mountain.
The black shadow didn't pursue or speak.
He just stood there quietly, assuming a standard taijutsu starting stance.
Might Dai knew that the opponent was waiting for him.
Waiting for him to stand up, and then, give him an even heavier blow.
Humiliation and unwillingness welled up in his heart.
Gritting his teeth, he supported himself on the ground with his still trembling arms and got up bit by bit.
"Damn it... a ninja from another village?"
In those pupils, at this moment, the fire of youth burned ragingly.
Might Dai knew that he might die here today.
But even if he died, he would burn out his youth in the posture of a warrior.
"Ahhh—my youth will never fade!"
Might Dai let out a roar and charged towards the black shadow.
<><><><><
Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247
~ Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]