Chapter 3: Foundations Built and Ready to Roll
Rock lee rushes upto Naruto and removes all the weights on him
"Naruto-kun, you have overworked yourself" Lee pitied Naruto
"No pain no gain, aint that right?" Naruto stared at Lee while panting deeply
"I will take a rest for 40 mins after which we shall spar, till then you do warm ups"
"Alright Naruto-kun, i will do 1000 push-ups to even the fatigue between both of us"
"Do as you see fit, bushy brows"
"Hey Lee, how much weight do you have on your body right now?"
"No weights on my arm, about 25kg each leg is all..."
" " Naruto stared blankly as Lee began his push-ups
Few minutes later they began to spar one other,
("as expected bushy brows is tough to handle even for spars despite the experience I have gained") Naruto thought to himself
"Naruto-kun, you are too good, I am unable to pressurise you despite using all my strength….."
"Don't sell yourself short Lee, you haven't taken those weights of your legs yet…."
"Naruto-kun this is a secret but I am telling you since we are friends… My sensei told me never to take these weights of until I am facing a battle I cannot hope to win."
"I knew there was a condition like that. But I still cannot help but want to fight you without those leg weights in the near future."
""Lee was silent as he kept dealing kicks after kicks, unable to break through Naruto's defence
"How about this Lee?" Naruto faced Lee grabbing his attention
"By the end of this month, once I train through the last week with the 25kg weights, will you please fight me without those weights?"
" " Lee kept silent as they sparred throughout the field.
Unknowingly a manly voice interfered their spar
"Accept it Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted as a cloud of white smoke appeared behind Naruto revealing an Adult and a more intense version of Lee. The new appearance was none other than Might Guy (maito gai)
"Go on Lee, it is interesting challenges like this you should accept…."
Naruto turned towards guy as he saw a youthful and a powerful guy sensei, unlike the one on wheel chair that he had last seen
"No.1 Hokage candidate Uzumaki Naruto, Nice to meet you Gai-sensei!" Naruto said as he bowed towards Gai
Gai raised Naruto's head as he introduced himself
"The Handsome Green Beast of Konoha, Maito Gai, Nice to meet you Naruto-kun" said guy as he pointed towards his face using his hand and revealing a sparkling smile that would do well for a toothpaste advertisement.
"I hear you have been training with Lee for the past two days, He has been very happy to find a friend like you, say how about this, why don't I give you a matching green training suit that both me and Lee use, They are extremely comfortable for training you know…hahaha"
"" Naruto felt a headache coming his way, as he signalled to guy saying that he would do well with the one he was wearing.
"Gai-sensei! I wanted to remove my weights only when battling against Neji-san".
"Are you implying Naruto is less than Neji?" Guy raised his super heavy brows at Lee.
"NO!" Lee countered immediately.
"That means you have hereby accepted the conditions for battle set by Naruto-kun"
"Naruto-kun" Gai gestured for Naruto to come over
"Follow me to some herb shops, I have to prepare your diet so you can fight against Lee by the end of this month, But remember one thing clearly. No matter what, avoid all junk foods and stick to this diet like it is your life"
"Yes Gai-sensei" Naruto stood upright as he gave a military salute.
The Following days at the academy, Naruto quietly pulled his weight along through sheer will power despite struggling to keep up with his classmates, he was able to do much better than before.
Naruto continued wearing his weights through sleep, academy and training not taking off until his new weights had to be added.
The students in the academy felt something weird happened to Naruto, especially Iruka, Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata. Naruto never pestered Sakura, nor got into fights with Sasuke, nor did he create mischiefs like painting over the hokage's faces. Hinata in particular could feel him struggling but silently praised his efforts.
The new weights were a hundred times more burdensome than the ones before nearly threatening to break his bones, luckily gai had prepared supplements targeting both his bones and muscles beforehand with a proper prescription to follow through, to get all the way to the end of the ruthless training.
And soon the day of the battle appeared and Naruto was finally ready to face Lee head-on.
"Ready Naruto-kun"
"Yeah!"
Gai raised his hands as he shouted "Let the match begin"
(Boom)
It was a collision of kicks
"Not bad Naruto-kun" Lee said with a smile
"You too" Naruto smiled back
(boom)
(boom)
(boom)
(boom)
(boom)
A continuous collision of kicks and punches sounded across the atmosphere with the combatants nowhere to be seen, except for a pair of trained eyes like Gai as he began analysing the duo's moves
(boom)
(boom)
(boom)
("Naruto does not look like you typical tai-jutsu user, but he seems to have a great sense for battle, whereas Lee makes up for the gap with the skill, But at the same time it seems as though Naruto-kun is still holding back a bit of his battle power") Gai thought as we saw the kicks and punches parry with equal power.
("Naruto's stamina is pretty high which can be explained with the fact that he is a jinchuuriki but the battle power is still unbelievable for someone who just finished training")
"Stop" gai commanded
Naruto and Lee landed at the same time, both equally panting for breaths at the same time
Lee still looked like he wanted to battle. He looked towards guy's face with a pleading look
With a tacit understanding Gai instantly indicated a 'NO'
Gai knew Lee wanted to unleash the Lotus, but this was not a serious battle and Naruto clearly had no chakra disability which made him question Naruto's intentions. But he soon dismissed all thoughts clearly classifying this as a bout between junior generations since he could feel that Naruto never possessed any intentions to harm Lee in the first place.
Naruto bowed towards Lee and Gai, after he wore back his weights and prepared to leave. He turned back towards Lee with a smile on his face, "You can defeat Neji, Lee, you already possess the ability to do so…"
"Thanks Naruto-kun" Lee almost cried as he raised his hand to wipe the tears away before it could appear.
A certain distance away in a remote part of the forest, Naruto entered sage mode as he scanned the surroundings
"No one nearby, good"
He then enters into six paths mode, and was able to activate full power
"Everything is finally solved and I have almost an entire week before the academy graduation exam begins and enough time to deal with Sasuke also"
I probably should enjoy my last few days at the academy, as I would probably not get to go back again.
Naruto shuts off his six paths mode as he goes back to his house.
Next day at the academy, Naruto goes upto to Shikamaru
"Hey, hey shikamaru, how about us boys bunk class today, last few days of academy right…"
Naruto shows a side eye as he lightly elbows Shikamaru.
"Nah I would rather sleep in class"
"How about laying down under the shade of a tree near a sunny place, huh we have a great weather today" Naruto suggested with an expectant look.
Shikamaru gives a one eyed look to Naruto before calling Chouji and Kiba over "let's hang out"
The three boys and one with a dog sneak out of class.
(Obviously Shino was ignored yet again)
In a dumpling shop somewhere, trio enjoyed eating and marvelling at the crowd in the streets
"Full fledged ninja in a week huh?" Kiba asked lazily
Num, num, num (crk) "Yeah" (obviously Chouji here)
"The reason I wanted to be a ninja was I thought it would have less studies than school, but now it is definitely troublesome" Shikamaru replied as he stared at the ceiling.
"Its not entirely a bad thing you know, but it is a huge responsibility" Naruto replied as a chomped on some dumplings simultaneously.
"hah, says the guy who does the grafiti" Kiba laughs out loud.
"Thats not a bad idea, in-fact I think its a brilliant plan" Naruto grins as he speaks to the group
"Say what" Chouji intercepts having nothing to do
"I mean it guys, whats the best way to celebrate graduation?"
" " the trio look at Naruto with wide eyes
"I'll take care of the cleanup, what do ya say?"
"We are all going to do this together , whether we like it or not" Shikamaru lazily comments cleaning out his ears
"Alright then, the graffiti is going to be done on the academy walls, any objections?"
"" The group looks at each other
"NONE, then get ready gentlemen, this is the last mission we are going to do and its gonna be in style...."