[You gave him your foot measurements, paid 20,000 ryo in banknotes, and ordered a pair of iron boots from him.]
'Damn, starting with weighted training right away?'
Seeing these iron boots, Takumi almost couldn't hold back.
'Was he intentionally increasing the difficulty because he felt he was running too fast?'
[After the transaction, you went to the training ground outside Konoha as usual and started practicing running.]
[You bent over, bent your knees, and exerted force instantly!]
[Whoosh!]
[You passed by like a gust of wind, the wildflowers by the road rustling from your passage.]
[You checked the timer in your hand: 13.05 seconds.]
[You shook your head; this speed wasn't enough yet, it couldn't surpass Ronaldo yet. So you continued training.]
[Long-distance running, sprinting, fast running, slow running... Your eyes were only on running. You only felt the reality of being alive during speed sprints.]
[Your short-term goal was to surpass Ronaldo within a week.]
[Your medium-term goal was to surpass Usain Bolt within a month.]
[You began working towards these two goals.]
'Damn, aiming to surpass human limits right from the start?'
Takumi couldn't help but get excited.
He felt that if he could really achieve that speed, it would be pretty good.
You need to know, in ordinary combat, the distance between both parties is only a few meters, at most a few dozen meters.
Unless it's like Madara and Hashirama, with large-scale map-wide attacks where the distance extends, most other fights are basically at close quarters.
If he could master the ability to achieve instant speed within 100 meters, his combat skills would improve several times over!
[You began practicing day and night.]
[While Naruto and the others were in class, you were running.]
[While Teuchi was making ramen, you were running.]
[While Sandaime Hokage was peeping at the women's bathhouse with his crystal ball, you were running...]
[You were like Forrest Gump, your mind free of desires, only running.]
[You faced the wind, bathed in the rain. Your figure became a unique sight in Konoha.]
"..."
"Quite positive energy."
He had to admit, seeing such a pure version of himself was quite touching.
Especially in a dark place like the Shinobi World, focusing solely on one thing occasionally was actually quite nice.
[One week later, you tested your 100-meter speed again.]
[Exert force, push off.]
[Whoosh!]
[You were as fast as an arrow leaving the bowstring. After reaching the finish line, you checked the timer: 8.53 seconds.]
[You were shocked.]
[Because your speed had already surpassed the fastest human 100-meter sprint speed in your original world, Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds.]
[You began re-evaluating your abilities.]
[You decided to surpass Minato and Yondaime Raikage.]
'That's more like it.'
Takumi nodded silently.
His Mad Runner talent was Black level. Using ordinary humans as a target was simply too modest.
But it also surprised Takumi that his progress was so fast.
In just one week, he could run 100 meters in under 9 seconds. If he continued training, he might really surpass Minato and Yondaime Raikage's speed!
[You practiced for another week. Your 100-meter speed had reached under 7 seconds.]
[But at this point, you felt you hit a bottleneck.]
[No matter how much more you trained, your speed didn't increase further.]
[You guessed you might have encountered a biological bottleneck. After all, you were running purely through physical effort, without specialized Ninjutsu enhancements like Yondaime Raikage or Minato.]
[You suspected you had reached the human upper limit.]
'Hmm...'
This was something Takumi could predict.
After all, no matter how strong a human is, there is a limit.
For example, no matter how fast a human's legs are, it's absolutely impossible to run 100 meters in under 5 seconds, but a cheetah can.
This is the so-called gene lock.
Whether he could surpass human limits depended on whether he could break this gene lock.
[You felt it was time to add weight to yourself.]
[This day was the Academy's graduation day. You received the item you had custom-ordered from the blacksmith's owner.]
[It was a pair of pure iron high-top boots. Each one weighed 20 kg, and they had over ten grooves for adding lead plates later.]
'One boot weighs 20 kg?'
'Two boots, 40 kg?'
'Isn't that too exaggerated?!'
Seeing the actual weighted equipment he received, Takumi was dumbfounded on the spot.
'This level of weight was like dragging two small children on his legs while running!'
'Didn't he know about gradual progression?'
[You took the boots. The people around looked at you in surprise.]
[Because they had never seen anyone wear such heavy equipment. They were all discussing why you weren't progressing gradually.]
[But you didn't see any problem with it and just silently put them on your legs.]
[You took two steps.]
[Instantly, you felt an extremely huge resistance, as if you were dragging two children on your legs.]
"…"
'Even the inner monologue is the same...'
Takumi could only say, it was indeed him.
Even with different talents, his feelings were the same.
[You took off the iron boots again, put on several layers of socks on your legs, then put the boots back on. You began running on the streets of Konoha.]
[This weight indeed exceeded your expectations. You ran with great difficulty, and every step felt like it took all your strength.]
[After running less than 20 steps, you were already drenched in sweat and panting heavily.]
["Mom, look at that person! He's running in such strange shoes!"]
[The little girl appeared again nearby. But you paid no attention to her comment because you were a Mad Runner. Your mind was only on running. You only wanted to feel joy through constant running. You were indifferent to other matters.]
'More focused this time?'
Takumi couldn't help but look at the words 'Mad Runner' in the talent and ponder.
Generally, things like mad indicate someone not quite mentally normal.
Obsessive, stubborn!
Muscle-brained!
But for training, this was just right.
Otherwise, if it were something like 'Charging Warrior', he might run a few steps today and end up at Hinata's house.
Run a few more minutes tomorrow and end up at Sakura's house.
Forget about the training results, his stamina wouldn't be able to keep up!
[Soon, the day ended. Because of these iron boots, you ran less than 200 meters total today.]
[Returning home, you took off the iron boots. After jumping in place twice, you felt as light as a swallow.]
[The next day, you continued wearing the iron boots and running on the street.]
[On the third day, you encountered Guy and Lee. After exchanging some insights, they gave you a thumbs up.]
[On the fourth day, you saw Guy and Lee each get a pair of boots identical to yours.]
"…"
'Damn, is this a case of human-to-human transmission?'
[On the fifth and sixth days, you continued running with difficulty.]
[But you were almost getting used to the weight on your feet. From the initial 200 meters, to 500 meters later, then to 1000 meters, you constantly broke through your limits.]
[On the seventh day, you added the first lead plates, 5 kg on each side, totaling 10 kg.]
[It must be said, after reaching the load critical point, every bit of added weight felt extremely noticeable. You could barely run again.]
[On the first day, you only ran 300 meters, but the next day, your distance doubled.]
[After a week, you were completely used to it. You added the second set of lead plates. This time, you hardened your heart and added 20 kg to each side.]
[Running became even more difficult, and you even felt like you couldn't lift your legs.]
[But your Mad Runner talent drove you forward continuously.]
[You wanted to bathe in the wind, you wanted to become the fastest flyer in the Shinobi World, so you gritted your teeth and persevered!]
[A month later, you finally got used to the weight on your legs.]
[Each leg had 70 kg of weight, combined it was like tying an adult to your legs. But even so, your 100-meter sprint could still break 10 seconds.]
[You continued adding lead plates, the 8th, the 9th...]
[Later, for every 10 kg added, it took you at least two months to adapt.]
[One year later, all the lead plate slots were filled.]
[You spent another half a year adapting. During this period, your training never stopped for a single day. Because your total weight was nearly 300 kg, every step you took left an imprint on the ground.]
[Half a year later, you were completely accustomed to the weight on your feet.]
[After taking off the equipment, you began testing your maximum speed.]
[Ready, gather strength, push off.]
[In that instant, you felt your body was unprecedentedly light. With every step you took, you saw the surrounding scenery rapidly receding.]
[At the finish line, you glanced at the timer: 6.01 seconds.]
[You were utterly shocked, because you had far exceeded the limits of human speed. You had broken the gene lock.]
[You began even more crazily, weighting yourself. Besides your legs, you also wore specially made full-body equipment.]
[From head to toe, armed to the teeth.]
[You looked like the Mark I suit Tony Stark built in the cave.]
[Except his suit was energy-powered, while yours was flesh-powered.]
[Half a year later, you tested again. Your speed could now break 5 seconds, surpassing a cheetah's speed.]
'Damn, that's amazing!'
Seeing the latest result, Takumi was stunned, his heart extremely excited.
You need to know, this speed was enough for him to handle most battles.
Running 100 meters in under 5 seconds meant he could cover over 20 meters in one second.
In other words, even if the opponent was about to release a Ninjutsu from over ten meters away, he could reach them within one second by instantly running!
In close-quarters combat, he was already invincible!
However…
Takumi didn't stop there.
Because he knew he definitely wouldn't stop.
He could go even faster!
Fast enough to surpass Yondaime Raikage and rival the Flying Thunder God Technique!
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FOR EVERY 50 POWER STONES, I'LL UPLOAD ONE CHAPTER