Sora sat on his bed reviewing the battle he had against Fugaku. His biggest issue was the flaw that Hangeki Choryoku (Counterattack Power Storage) presents.
Hangeki Choryoku (Counterattack Power Storage) works by absorbing the kinetic energy from attacks and then delivering them with a burst of the user's chakra, the problem lies in the type of attack.
Sora had already guessed that Slice-type of attacks wouldn't be effective since the contact surface is lower compared to other forms of attack and it can cause more damage than simple punches.
What he didn't expected was that elemental attacks would have a lower degree of damage as well. Fire burns but doesn't have enough mass, wind slices, lighting attacks the insides, by Sora's estimations, only Water and Earth-Style Ninjutsus can be stockpile efficiently with Hangeki Choryoku (Counterattack Power Storage).
The second problem was Shippū Shungeki (Gale Instant Strike), or more specifically, his inefficient use of it. He went all out with Minato, not relying on anything in order to win, but during his fight with Fugaku he was more reserved about battling due to his limited chakra reserves.
As such, he couldn't really use Shippū Shungeki (Gale Instant Strike) as he intended.
It wasn't a good strategy to begin with given that Sora lacks physical power due to the seals, but the worst part was how even after using En Tomoshibi (Embers) proved futile against Fugaku.
the attack itself was ok and even acted as intended but that only when Sora used the Fire Breathing Technique, which isn't ideal in his usage of the technique, but maybe he just has high standards for his jutsus and is being a bit too hard on himself but even he can't deny the truth of his weakness.
Regardless, his chakra won't increase much even if he focuses on that so, he's better focus on his physical body. With his focus changed, Sora went to sleep as he planned his morning routine.
(Next Day.)
The exams ended, the sun was high in the morning, and Sora had eaten a nice breakfast of eggs and bacon. At this point in the morning he would either train with Minato or research jutsus, however, he's doing something a lil different today, he's running at the top of his lungs around the village.
As to the why? Well, allow me to once again turn the time back a few hours ago.
(Literally 2 hours ago.)
Sora was throttling around the village at a decent pace while keeping his breathing under control to train his stamina. Amongst the things he has to strengthen, stamina is crucial.
Not only will it allow him to work out for longer periods, but it'll also help him experiment the limits that his physical body can allow him to do stuff.
Right now, he's been throttling for barely 30 minutes and still doesn't feel anything different with his body.
'Strange, I don't feel that tired when doing this but when using jutsus I feel like the wind's literally being squeezed out of my lungs, why's that and- oh my GOD! What the hell is that?!' Sora stopped throttling as he saw a bizarre scene unfolding.
Walking on his arms while carrying four stacks of wood is a man wearing a full body green jumpsuit with leg warmers and an orange scarf. He has thick eyebrows is shinning the whitest smile Sora's ever seen.
"Who's that guy?" Sora unconsciously asked aloud.
"That's Might Duy, the eternal Genin." One of the passersby answered.
Sora looked at the man.
"Eternal Genin?" Sora asked.
"Well, he's been a shinobi for over 10 years but's still just a Genin. He can't use neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu." The passerby.
Sora took a moment to appraise Might Duy's body and noticed something, he wasn't actually augmenting his strength with chakra.
Everyone has chakra, and even civilians unconsciously use it to move around, strengthening one's body through chakra can allow them to perform inhuman actions like jumping several meters high or breaking rock and metal with their hands.
Duy, however, is carrying the equivalent of 5,400 kg worth of wood in his legs while walking on his hands, all of that without strengthening himself with Chakra.
Sora instinctively left the passerby and sneakily followed the Eternal Genin. All the wood was delivered to a construction site, and he was paid for it. Afterwards, he continued to follow him as the man started to run towards the mission board.
This process of accomplishing D-Rank missions lasted for an hour until he topped-out his daily quota. Apparently, the village has a system in which a ninja or a team can't perform over a certain quantity of missions per day.
Given that most C-Rank missions and forward happen outside the village and tend to last for over a day, this was never an issue, D-Ranks however are mostly all within the same village or places extremely close to it, which makes them easy to accomplish and claim the money.
Of course, for a broke guy like Might Duy this was nothing short of a curse, he can't do higher missions since everyone refuses to accept him into a team, and he can't elevate his rank since he doesn't have enough merit, merit he can't obtain anyway due to the previous reason.
As an adult male supporting a pregnant wife has made him tried to find ways to save money, like asking for discounts or looking for money on the streets.
After leaving the mission hall, the man stopped in the middle of the street and disappeared. Sora couldn't even process what had happened before he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder.
"So, it was just a passionate youthful kid, huh? For a second there I doubted my gut here." A strong and confident voice was heard by Sora.
He looked back as the hand loosened his hold and saw that it was none other than Might Duy himself.
"So, what can I do for you?" Duy asked with a smile.
Sora's brain finally processed everything and snapped.
"Ah, well, I wondered, how are you this strong?" Sora asked.
Duy was taken aback for a moment before flashing his grin.
"TRAINING, OF COURSE!!" Duy yelled.
Sora was a bit surprised for the simple answered and decided to elaborate further.
"No, I meant, what type of training was?" Sora.
"Ah, it was a LIMIT BREAKING TRAINING!!" Duy.
"Why're you screaming again?!" Sora.
"Haha! Because of the youth inside of me!" Duy.
"Youth?" Sora.
"Right! I'm in the prime of my youth and as such I must show my energy to its maximum!" Duy exclaimed, attracting the attention of the bystanders.
"Look at him, he's doing his weirdo routine again."
"Doesn't he feel any shame?"
"What a dumbass, no promotion in over 10 years, he should just give up."
The murmurs were high enough for ninjas like Duy and trainees like Sora to hear. Sora didn't like this, dissing out someone isn't something that he supports. He wanted to cheer up Duy a little but to his surprise, Duy simply smiled and gave everyone a thumbs up.
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!" Duy yelled once again.
With that, the bystanders dissipated immediately.
Sora was perplexed at the scene. He didn't had any bullies in his past life or anything similar, but he feels that he wouldn't be able to handle such harsh words and remain quiet.
"Uh, Mr. Duy." Sora.
"Yeah?" Duy.
"Why, or better yet how are you not mad? They were saying bad stuff about you." Sora.
Duy smiled.
"What you call 'bad stuff,' I see as encouragement. When people speak ill of you, it's often because they're either envious of your progress or frustrated with their own. They try to bring others down to protect their pride. But instead of feeling sad or angry, I choose to turn those words into fuel for my dreams—to push forward and become a stronger ninja." Duy smiled.
Sora was at awe. He pictured himself as an optimistic individual but Might Duy just showed him that he surpassed him by leagues ahead of him.
"Can I ask for a favor?" Sora said unconsciously.
"Of course! What is it?" Duy.
"Please train me!" Sora knelt and bowed.
"EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!" Duy exclaimed surprised.
And with that, the rest is history.
Sora is now running behind Duy while carrying 10kg sandbags in both wrists and ankles. Sora was panting like crazy and he could barely think properly, his body was practically on automatic to just run as much as he could.
"You can do it Suzuki-san! Burn alongside your youth until it becomes a crimson flame!!!" Duy.
"Call...…me...Sora...…!" Sora barely managed to say that sentence.
"Haha! That's the spirit Suzuki-san! Keep breaking the limits of your youth!!!!" Duy.
'This…. isn't…. Black…Clover!!' Sora thought since he now couldn't speak at all.
After 30 minutes or so, Sora finally collapsed but didn't fell unconscious.
"Very god Suzuki-san! You've broken your limits in such a youthful manner!" Duy.
'Water...…breeze...…mommy...…' Sora.
"Don't lose consciousness, Suzuki-san. You can only feel your body strengthening itself when you're fully conscious." Duy.
'How...…is…this...…more...…painful...…than…my...…last…death…?' Sora wondered as he forced his eyes open.
"That's it, very good! Now, sit properly and drink this water, be careful to not choke." Duy.
Sora immediately took the water and chugged it down so aggressively that it made Duy laugh a little, he reminisced of when he started training himself and couldn't help but to feel nostalgic about it.
Sora had to rest for 30 whole minutes to recover himself from his "near-death-experience" but Duy kept training the whole time.
'This guy's a monster. In the good sense but I'm still conflicted about it.' Sora thought as he calm his breath.
"Alright! Since you've rested, do now 50 push-ups." Duy.
'Scratch that, he's a monster.' Sora complained a little before beginning to do his push-ups.
Hours passed and Sora kept training with Might Duy the whole day. In the end, he was looking at the horizon as the sun set down.
"Is this the type of training that you do every day?" Sora.
"Of course! I'm not a genius nor have even the most basic of abilities. All I have is this strong body to back me up and my training to further nurture it!" Duy.
"But you haven't been promoted to a Chunin. Aren't you, well, afraid or discouraged? I feel like I would if my efforts wouldn't show results after 10 years." Sora.
Duy simply smiled again and got up.
"Of course, I feel that way sometimes. No matter how positive you are, it's impossible to stay that way all the time. But I'll never stray from the path I've chosen. Even if my efforts don't seem to show results, I know they are—because I'm stronger than I was yesterday, and that's all that matters. I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about rising through the ranks, but as long as I'm alive, I'll make my youth burn so brightly that it will light my way forward—no matter how long it takes!" Duy spoke firmly, his voice unwavering. Sora could feel the sheer passion radiating from his words alone.
"Wow." Sora.
"Now, if you'd excuse me, I've got to go back home and spend some time with my wife." Duy.
"You're married?!" Sora.
"Yes! She's the best and we're currently expecting a son or daughter." Duy spoke proudly.
"Shouldn't you have returned earlier then? To help her out?" Sora asked a bit ashamed of taking the married man's precious time.
"Don't worry, she's barely a week old pregnant. Besides, she told me to not worry about her until she tells me. She said it was because she knows how important my training is to support both of us." Duy explained.
'That's weird. Why would she tell him to do that? I don't think I should focus on this though, Duy's wife must have a good reason anyway.' Sora thought as he saw Duy sprint towards his house.
As Duy left, Sora was left with his own thoughts, he never felt more doubtful about his strength or talent, yet he began to feel that there was a decline after Minato got promoted but he didn't.
But now, just a few words from a guy who's been a Genin for over a decade recomfort him.
This made Sora's blood pump. He wanted to do better, he wanted to see how far he could go in this ninja world!
Speaking of homes, he remembered that he's been out the whole time and needs to return immediately! Sora ran like the devil as he hoped that he didn't arrived late for dinner once again.