"Mmm..."
Might Dai's consciousness floated up from the chaos, and he slowly opened his eyes.
What came into view was the familiar bamboo forest and the bright full moon.
He moved his body, and a strange sensation came over him. The severe pain that had covered his body after being hit hard earlier had vanished without a trace.
I... was "attacked."
And I lost miserably.
Where is that mysterious powerhouse?
Might Dai struggled to prop himself up with his arms.
Just as he looked around, full of confusion, a voice as calm as the night came from beside him.
"Awake?"
Might Dai's body stiffened, and he turned his head abruptly.
On a rock not far away sat a person.
Dressed in a capable black combat suit, his calm and upright silhouette was outlined under the moonlight.
That face...
"Ho... Lord... Hokage?!"
Might Dai's mouth dropped open, his face full of shock.
He couldn't connect the man in front of him with the mysterious powerhouse who had completely crushed him with just punches and kicks in the dark night.
That was...
The supreme pinnacle of Konoha, the Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"You... why are you here?"
Might Dai's voice was incredibly dry, his tongue tied, his mind stagnant from the excessive shock.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't answer. He jumped down from the rock and walked slowly to Might Dai.
He crouched down and gently patted Might Dai's chest.
"Does it still hurt?"
"No... it doesn't hurt anymore, Lord Hokage."
The young man answered subconsciously, his whole body tense as a stiff rock.
Seeing him so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth.
"Your taijutsu foundation is very strong."
"It can even be said to be very solid."
"But..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone shifted, his gaze becoming sharp.
"Your fighting style is too crude."
"You are like an unpolished heavy hammer, only knowing how to smash with brute force, but not understanding how to use skillful force. Every attack of yours is full of power, but also full of flaws because of it."
"True taijutsu is not simply a release of power."
"It is the ultimate control of every inch of muscle and every bit of strength in the body. It is perceiving the enemy's flaws in a split second, and then, with the smallest cost, delivering the most fatal blow."
Sarutobi Hiruzen analyzed the several fatal flaws Might Dai had exposed in the battle just now, one by one.
From the timing of exertion to the shift of the center of gravity, to the choice of angle when attacking.
Every detail was analyzed incisively and to the point.
Might Dai listened, mesmerized.
These were areas he had never thought about before, and no one had ever guided him in.
He had always thought that as long as his strength was strong enough and his speed fast enough, he could defeat everything.
But today, Lord Hokage had opened a door to a brand-new world for him with a crushing actual combat session.
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around, with his back to him, looking up at the cold bright moon.
"I've been watching you for a long time, Might Dai."
"Getting up before dawn every day, running eight hundred laps around the village, rain or shine."
"Persisting in thousands of push-ups and thousands of squats every day until exhaustion."
With every sentence Sarutobi Hiruzen said, Might Dai's heart trembled.
He never thought that his obscure persistence, which even seemed ludicrous to others, had always been seen by Lord Hokage.
"People in the village say you are a weirdo, a mediocre genin."
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around, looking at him calmly.
"They don't understand why you waste your precious time on these boring taijutsu trainings."
"They think that this way, you will never become a powerful ninja."
These words, like blunt knives, cut open Might Dai's mental defenses again.
Might Dai's head lowered gradually, a flash of sadness in his eyes.
Yes, in those people's eyes, he was just a joke.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen's next words made Dai raise his head abruptly.
"But, I know."
"What you persist in is an incredibly difficult, yet incredibly correct path."
"Behind the persistence that seems laughable to others, burns a Will of Fire named 'Youth' that is hotter than any ninjutsu!"
"You have never deceived your sweat, and your sweat will eventually reward you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen walked up to him, reached out, and patted his shoulder heavily.
"Might Dai."
"Your youth is not in vain."
Boom!
This heartfelt recognition, like a bolt of lightning from the sky, struck deep into his soul.
Might Dai stared blankly at the Hokage before him, at those gentle and profound eyes.
A surging wave of sorrow rushed straight to his nose without warning.
His eyes reddened instantly.
All along, he had been like an outlier.
Alienated by companions, mocked by villagers, treated as a laughingstock by children.
Everyone thought he was a fool, a hopeless dead-last.
He never asked for understanding, just silently and lonely persisted in his ninja way, burning his youth.
Until today.
Until this moment.
Everything he had done, everything he had persisted in, actually received recognition from the highest existence in the village.
Happiness and the grievance buried deep in his heart instantly broke through all his psychological defenses.
"Lord... Hokage..."
Might Dai's lips trembled violently, and two lines of hot tears could no longer be held back, streaming down his determined face.
He wanted to say something, to say thank you, to say he would work even harder.
But a thousand words turned into choking sobs that couldn't be spoken.
A seven-foot-tall man in his twenties was now crying like a child who had finally found home.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't comfort him, just watched quietly, letting him vent all the emotions accumulated over the years.
He knew that this man needed such a thorough vent.
After a long time, Might Dai's crying gradually ceased. He wiped the tears and snot on his face indiscriminately with the sleeve of his green tight suit.
"Thank you... Lord Hokage!"
"Keep working hard."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at him, a gratified smile on his face.
"Konoha needs strength like yours."
"I believe that one day, your persistence will bloom with a brilliance as dazzling as ninjutsu and genjutsu."
With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen said no more. His figure flashed and disappeared silently into the depths of the bamboo forest.
Leaving Might Dai sitting there alone in a daze.
After a long time, he slowly raised his hand, wiped the tear stains off his face, and a smile brighter than the sun appeared on his face.
Dai clenched his fists tightly, towards the bright full moon, towards this bamboo forest that witnessed his sweat and tears, towards the whole world, using all his strength, he shouted loudly:
"Yes! Lord Hokage!"
"This is... Youth!!!"
The shout echoed in the night sky, reverberating in the bamboo forest, startling a flock of resting birds.
Under the moonlight, the young man in the green tight suit seemed to be reborn at this moment, rising from the ashes.
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