It was already late; the sky had completely fallen into darkness.
Naturally, Kushina couldn't possibly spend the night in Leo's shabby little hut.
Standing on the small path, Leo watched her departing figure, his eyes flickering with thought.
The plot of Naruto had more or less entered its next phase. Whether or not Kushina had already become the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, the Second Great Ninja War was drawing near.
Once the flames of war erupted, in that maelstrom called the Second Ninja War, faced with the overwhelming current of the entire shinobi world, no one could go against the tide.
An individual's strength was far too small—utterly powerless before the torrent of the times.
Even the future "Legendary Sannin"—Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya—did not yet possess the ability to protect themselves, much less stand above others.
Had it not been for Hanzō of the Salamander's mercy—his unwillingness to provoke Konoha, which had already gained the upper hand in the war, and his appreciation of their talent—the name "Sannin" would never have existed in the first place.
One must remember, Hanzō was called the "Demi-God of the Shinobi." A man of such renown was no fraud—his ninjutsu had reached the absolute pinnacle. In the Second Ninja War, he was a true boss-level opponent!
That was why Leo's current strength was still far from enough. He needed to use the little time that remained to grow stronger.
The next day, Leo began another round of grueling training.
Punch after punch, kick after kick—slamming into ironwood posts or striking against stone walls to temper his body. It was inhuman, devil-style training!
Sweat poured down like rain; his breath roared like thunder; the air trembled with each strike!
The earth beneath him quickly became soaked, yet Leo's eEXPression never changed. Calm and resolute, he continued to punch again and again, tireless, pushing his limits.
He had to strengthen himself before the Second Ninja War—or, more precisely, before he entered the battlefield.
Not only to seize a better chance of survival amid the chaos of the war, but also to protect Kushina—to change her fate.
And beyond that, to one day stand fearless before the Uchiha Clan!
Only through the baptism of real battle—of blood and death—could he truly transform into a strong man.
And participating in the war was undoubtedly the best path toward the summit of power!
Through the cultivation of the Three Colors of Haki, his physical abilities and constitution continued to grow.
In fact, even if he didn't train, his body would still slowly strengthen because of the Haki. But that process would be far too slow. By combining it with physical training, he could accelerate the enhancement—from the outside in—and drastically shorten the time needed.
Each day, Leo used Shadow Clones to separately comprehend Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki.
Although his system could level up each form of Haki directly, pushing them into higher realms, the longer he trained, the more he realized that his understanding was still shallow.
Take Observation Haki, for instance—
In the original story, Katakuri's Observation Haki had reached perfection, merging with his Mochi-Mochi Fruit powers to create an almost invincible combination!
Every move anticipated the enemy's attack, countering before they could even act—leaving opponents utterly helpless.
Leo could use Observation Haki too, but most of the time he only managed to perceive an opponent's weakness after they had already made a move, dodging at the last instant.
True Observation Haki was the ability to hear the voice of the heart, to foresee the future—to be flawless in prediction!
In recent days, Leo had been developing his Observation Haki in precisely that direction.
Then came Armament Haki—
He no longer used it merely to harden his arms, but had begun coating his kunai, shuriken, and other ninja tools with it.
He even eEXPerimented with Armament-infused ninjutsu.
Could he, for example, cover the Rasengan with Armament Haki to amplify its power?
Or use it on Chidori, merging it with the Lightning Release's shape transformation to forge a black thunder blade?
Could his Flame-Flame Fruit ability also be strengthened through Haki?
Though the general rule stated that Haki and Devil Fruit powers couldn't coexist at the same time, that limitation mostly applied to certain types.
If Paramecia-type users like Luffy and Katakuri could combine the two, then why couldn't Logia-type users? After all, all of them were Devil Fruit users in essence!
Through constant training and eEXPerimentation, Leo's understanding of his abilities deepened day by day.
His daily meals were still the bento lunches Kushina brought him, but they were far from enough for his monstrous appetite.
Since the eEXPenses were reimbursed by the ANBU, Leo had no worries about food or money—otherwise, he wouldn't have given all his mission rewards to Might Duy.
So he began roaming the streets, sampling every dish Konoha had to offer.
After all, Konoha was a big village; there wasn't just Ichiraku Ramen! That would be far too monotonous!
Each day, after burning a massive amount of energy through training, Leo would head to a restaurant for a hearty meal.
His appetite was astonishing. People would often stare in disbelief at the sight of the boy devouring mountains of food.
How could a kid eat so much? Was his stomach a bottomless pit?!
Before long, Leo earned himself a new nickname in the village—the Big-Eater King.
Some even joked that his genius was linked to his appetite.
The Akimichi Clan wholeheartedly agreed, claiming Leo's talent surely came from eating well—and encouraged everyone to dine at their family's establishments.
Of course, that was nonsense. Just look at Leo—fit and lean—and then look at the round, rotund Akimichi. Who'd believe such talk?
Only a fool would!
As days passed, Leo's body grew rapidly.
He wasn't even ten years old yet, but his appearance already resembled that of a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old.
During this period, Konoha had also seen major changes.
First and foremost—Might Duy, the "Eternal Genin," finally shed that humiliating title. Not only that, he even skipped the Chūnin rank entirely and was directly promoted to Special Jōnin!
Some people were unconvinced, of course. After all, how could someone long regarded as a useless loser suddenly become a powerful ninja?
But after Duy opened the Eight Inner Gates and completely crushed those doubters in battle, everyone was forced to accept reality.
This world, after all, was one where the strong ruled.
In truth, with Duy's strength, even a Full Jōnin rank would have been justified.
The only reason he became a Special Jōnin was because he was still lacking in other aspects—he couldn't always handle missions alone, and his Eight Inner Gates technique left him severely weakened afterward, making it dangerous for solo operations.
Nevertheless, his promotion greatly improved his family's living conditions.
When his son, Might Guy, was born in the future, he wouldn't have to suffer the same hardships—struggling to afford the nutrients needed to maintain his training.
And one day, that same Eight Inner Gates Formation would open once more on the battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War, enshrining the name Might Guy in legend!
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