"This is still not enough," Akiko said as he lay on the ground with bruises all over his body.
He just finished his sparring session with Santa.
Despite Santa holding back a lot Akiko was still easily overpowered by Santa.
This was because Akiko didn't have much talent for learning Taijutsu, and Santa couldn't personally train him in Taijutsu most of the time because he was a very busy Shinobi.
When Santa was around, he usually taught Akiko new ninjutsu-related skills or helped him improve the basic skills that he already had.
Whether they are utility-based skills like sensory jutsu and the body flicker technique, or other offensive skills related to ninja tools rather than taijutsu.
That was because, despite being somewhat above average at Taijutsu, Santa was not a Taijutsu specialist who used a special technique or fighting style.
The most he could do is give sparing sessions and verbally tell Akiko about the areas he needs to improve in.
But it was still not enough.
Akiko was not very talented in Taijutsu so even with the personalised guidance and sparring sessions his skills didn't really improve much.
"This can't do I have to find out a way to improve my tainutsu skills. Santa Sensei's teaching might not be enough." Akiko said to himself as he got up from the ground.
Then he saw a boy with a bob haircut doing push-ups while hanging from a tree.
It was an unusual sight, since the boy didn't seem much older than him.
He was wearing a green jumpsuit and a Konoha headband on his wrist.
"If I remember correctly that is supposed to be Rock Lee," Akiko said to himself.
Rock Lee performed extremely well on the last Chunin exam, so he gained a little fame among Konoha's shinobi.
Of course not everyone knows about him but most people who are planning to take the Chunin exam and gather information about their possible opponents have a decent amount of knowledge about his accomplishments.
Hmmm. He seems to be someone who might be able to help me. Akiko thought as he got up and approached Rock Lee.
"354, 355, 356....." Rock Lee continued his exercise until he realised someone had approached him.
"....." After a few seconds, Rock Lee noticed Akiko who was looking directly at him.
He got down from the tree and looked at Akiko.
"Uhmm. I am sorry to say this but do I know you?" Rock Lee asked.
"You must be Rock Lee. Right?" Akiko asked in a friendly tone.
Despite Akiko's dislike of Naruto due to his horrible reputation Akiko possesses a high opinion of Rock Lee despite never meeting him.
This is simply because of the rumours about how hard he works and how down-to-earth he is.
Of course, not everything he heard about Rock Lee is true, since there are times when Rock Lee can be very prideful and arrogant, and Naruto, unlike the rumours about him, is not an evil person.
"My name is Akiko. And I want to ask you about something." Akiko said to Rock Lee.
*****
"I see. You want to find a way to increase your taijutsu skills." Rock Lee asked.
"Why don't you come and train with me. I am sure Guy Sensei won't mind training an extra student." Rock Lee made an offer.
"I don't think that will work out. From what I have heard his training sessions are too long and I don't think I can take that kind of toll on my body, at least not right now." Akiko replied.
He usually used at least one clone to train at all times, and adding an intense all-out taijutsu training on top of it will be incredibly stupid and suicidal.
"Hmmm. Then it might be difficult for me to give you any kind of advice since most of the training I do to improve my taijutsu revolves around training. And it's not like I can ask Neji to help you since he practices a hidden technique." Rock Lee said as he scratched his head.
But Akiko was not too disappointed since he didn't even know Rock Lee personally and from his looks Akiko could tell he still wanted to help him.
"Wait. I just remembered something." Rock Lee said.
He then made a hand gesture to signal Akiko to come near him.
"Remember you have to keep this a secret." He whispered.
Just like the runors this guy is really a pushover. This was my first conversation with him and he is already telling me secrets that he doesn't want other people to know about. Akiko thought in his mind.
"There is an old martial artist named Chen who lived in the Konoha cemetery. If you can find him I am sure he might be able to help you improve your martial arts." Rock Lee stated.
"Chen. It seems like I have heard that name before." Akiko said.
"Don't try to dig into his past when you are asking him for help. He seems really sensitive about that topic." Rock Lee warned Akiko.
"You know I once asked him to teach me his taijutsu skills so that I can further my dream of becoming a great shinobi who specialises in taijutsu." Rock Lee said with a defeated look on his face.
"But he rejected me because I can only use taijutsu and not ninjutsu." Rock Lee continued.
"So if I managed to learn the old man's technique should I teach you?" Akiko asked.
Rock Lee was the reason why he even knew about the existence of the old man so Akiko was serious about considering passing on the old man's technique to Rock Lee if he managed to learn it.
"No need, he has a reason why he didn't want me to learn his technique. And I was able to get acknowledged by him so this is enough. I have decided that I will follow my own path and become a great shinobi even without learning his technique." Rock Lee said while smiling.