Ryosuke hit the ground hard after being blown away again.
The system's mechanical voice rang in his mind:
『Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1』
A familiar warm current flowed through his body, soothing some of the pain.
That sweet, intoxicating feeling of getting stronger.
Even if his body was screaming in pain, it was totally worth it.
He scrambled to his feet—now it was his turn to strike.
He wasn't just here to get beaten up for stat points. He also wanted to sharpen his combat skills.
A strong body without solid technique is just wasted potential.
And this guy—Guy—was probably the strongest taijutsu user in the whole ninja world's future.
He might not be that strong yet, but his taijutsu now was still top-tier.
There was no better training than sparring with this man.
Ryosuke threw a full-force punch at Guy's face.
If he didn't go all out, how could he expect Guy to?
But Guy smoothly sidestepped and countered by slamming a knee into Ryosuke's gut.
Ryosuke clutched his stomach and collapsed to the ground, coughing up bile.
Yeah, that one hit hard.
But Guy didn't follow up.
This was just sparring—not a deathmatch.
Guy looked at Ryosuke seriously and said:
"Ryosuke, even though you have the Sharingan, you're not really using it."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't be this easy to knock down."
Ryosuke slowly lifted his head.
He'd only just started using the Sharingan in real combat—no wonder he was sloppy with it.
He'd been relying on raw instinct, barely tracking Guy's moves.
"I'll remember that," he said.
Guy stepped back to give him space.
"Come at me again."
This time, Ryosuke focused not only on his attacks but on reading Guy's whole body.
He launched another punch at Guy's face.
Guy, planning to dodge and counter again, prepped to hit Ryosuke's stomach.
But Ryosuke, watching his entire body, predicted the move—he used his left hand to block.
Why not the right? He didn't have time to pull it back in defense.
Still, blocking Guy's punch with one arm? Yeah, not happening.
He was sent flying again.
The system chimed again, more stat boosts flowing in.
Guy stood there, a little impressed.
His taijutsu was still way stronger, but Ryosuke's Sharingan had clearly improved under pressure.
If it were anyone else, they'd never spot his feints.
Only someone with the Sharingan could track those subtle movements.
Ryosuke got back up again, charging forward once more.
Though he kept getting knocked down, he was clearly getting the hang of the Sharingan.
And his combat technique? Definitely no longer a newbie.
His stats had increased by five points so far.
After that, nothing more. That must be the daily cap.
Still, he lasted longer than last time.
His eyes ached—his Sharingan was reaching its limit.
No point in pushing further. He didn't want to leave on a stretcher.
Panting, he said:
"Guy, let's call it here for today."
"Alright," Guy agreed easily.
Though Ryosuke wasn't as skilled, Guy didn't mind sparring with him at all.
Clearly, the kid respected him—why else come train with him?
And it helped Guy polish his own moves too.
What surprised him most was Ryosuke's subtle growth in speed and strength.
Logic said that kind of growth couldn't happen in just a day.
But he felt it.
Watching from the sidelines, Lee was deeply moved.
Ryosuke got knocked down over and over, but always stood back up.
Even someone from a prestigious clan like the Uchiha was working so hard at taijutsu.
Maybe taijutsu really could be the path to becoming a ninja—maybe even his dream wasn't impossible.
After Ryosuke left, Lee turned to Guy.
"Guy-sensei, I'm heading home too."
He was still young, and those laps around the village had pushed his body to its limit.
Guy had always told him—train hard, but don't overdo it, or it could hurt you in the long run.
But then Guy said:
"Hold on, Lee. I just thought of a new training method during that spar—it might be super effective."
"Wanna try it?"
Lee perked up.
"What kind of training, Guy-sensei?"
Since he'd started learning from Guy, he'd discovered the right way to train. The results had been way better than his old haphazard routines.
This new method might help him become a ninja even faster—just like Guy.
Guy grinned.
"It's simple—getting beat up."
Lee's excitement instantly nosedived.
He didn't mind hard work—but being a punching bag?
"Guy-sensei... does that really work?"
"Of course it works."
Guy replied confidently.
"You might not have noticed from watching, but I could feel it clearly during the fight."
"Ryosuke got stronger. Faster, too."
Lee still didn't look convinced.
Maybe Ryosuke had gotten stronger... but it could've been for other reasons.
Maybe he just had a good day.
Guy saw Lee's hesitation and chuckled.
"Just give it a shot. Who knows—it might work."
Lee sighed.
"Alright, Guy-sensei."
Guy stroked his chin, eyeing Lee's exhausted body.
"Let's wait till you've rested. Then we'll try it."