Lee stood frozen, stunned, eyes wide with disbelief.
"…What kind of punch was that?"
"How did you do that?"
Garou answered calmly, "It's about maximizing physical power, and then reinforcing it with chakra."
That's what he was planning to teach.
The Eight Gates Technique, at its core, was about unsealing one's chakra pathways to temporarily amplify the body beyond its natural limits. While Garou didn't truly understand the Eight Gates in depth, the underlying concept was enough for him to adapt.
"Whoa… That's incredible!" Lee exclaimed with excitement, though there was also a faint hint of sadness in his voice.
Garou turned to him with a firm gaze. "Lee, you and I both lack skill in ninjutsu and genjutsu. But we still have chakra. You wouldn't be able to run up trees or walk on water otherwise. So instead of relying solely on brute strength, you need to learn to channel chakra to empower your body."
Lee was silent.
"I haven't tested this method on anyone else yet," Garou continued, "so I don't know how effective it will be on different people. That's why I'll need your help to try it out."
Lee choked up, "Garou… thank you. But I…"
He wasn't stupid, just a little slow sometimes.
He knew Garou's so-called experiment was just an excuse. Garou was trying to help him.
Among all their classmates, Garou had never looked down on him. In the beginning, it was like they were both in the same boat, but over time, Lee came to understand that Garou was different.
"If you don't want to learn because of personal reasons, that's fine," Garou said lightly. "Your ninja path has always been about proving yourself through hard work. No one can take that away from you."
Lee lowered his head for a moment, then gave a powerful nod.
"Follow my instructions," Garou said. "I'll observe and guide you."
"Yes!"
Lee began practicing, refining his chakra and throwing punch after punch.
He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
But he wasn't afraid of pain.
Over and over again, he molded his chakra and let his fists fly.
Garou stood by, silently observing with his sensory abilities, correcting his force distribution with careful feedback.
Finally, the trunk of the tree Lee always used for training split open right at the point of impact.
Lee stared down at his fist, stunned.
"I did it. I actually did it!"
"Remember that feeling," Garou said calmly.
"Yes!" Lee shouted, eyes sparkling with renewed determination.
For the first time, he realized, he could use chakra to become strong too.
Tears welled up again.
He was crying.
Garou facepalmed. 'Seriously, Guy-sensei and Lee are both great in so many ways, but their emotions… are just too much sometimes.'
"Hey, how's your hand doing?" he asked.
"My hand? Oh, it's fine—Aaaah! Ouch! Ouch!"
The adrenaline wore off, and pain rushed in.
Garou reached out, scanning Lee's hand with chakra before pulling out a notepad to jot something down.
[If physical strength falls below a certain threshold, this taijutsu can't be practiced safely.]
"Come with me," Garou said.
"Where to?"
"The medical division. This technique is best used as a trump card. It's not just fists, you can use any part of your body that can generate force. If you really grasp it, your whole body becomes a weapon."
On the way back, Garou was already contemplating how to optimize the method.
He'd drawn inspiration from both the Strong Fist and Monster Strength techniques.
As a hybrid, his version wasn't as powerful as Tsunade's monster strength, but it was far more usable in real combat. The downside, though, was similar to the Eight Gates.
It strained the muscles heavily with repeated use.
Optimizing it would be difficult.
Even Monster Strength required specific conditions and immense talent.
Shizune had spent years by Tsunade's side and still hadn't mastered it, not because Tsunade didn't want to teach her, but because she simply didn't meet the requirements.
"…For now, this will have to do," Garou murmured.
Unless he met Tsunade and learned the full technique directly, improving his method would be little more than wishful thinking.
Lee refused to go to the hospital, insisting he could just rest and recover.
As expected, money was a factor.
Garou opened his mouth to push back, but a spinning kick from the side slammed into Lee, sending him tumbling across the ground.
A figure appeared.
"Lee! Have you been slacking off while I was away?!"
"…Huh?"
Garou blinked, momentarily speechless. 'That was a sneak attack! Who could react to that?'
"Guy-sensei! I'm sorry! I'll train twice as hard to make up for it!"
"That's the spirit!" Might Guy roared, blazing with passion.
Then he noticed Garou and paused. "Garou? Weren't you at the medical division recently? Surprised to see you training again."
"I was studying there," Garou said with a helpless smile. "Not training to be a medical ninja. I've learned enough, and I can't neglect my taijutsu."
'Why does everyone assume I am going to become a medical ninja?'
He didn't even know medical ninjutsu.
"But I heard from others," Guy said, frowning in thought. "Your hands are skilled. Some say even medical ninjas can't match your surgical precision. You sure you want to let that talent go to waste?"
From a personal standpoint, Guy was happy to see Garou return to the battlefield. But from a broader view… having someone like Garou performing surgery could save limbs, lives.
Garou smiled faintly. "I'm a special consultant now."
"That technique isn't hard to reproduce. If there's ever another case like that, I can help. Otherwise, I'll manage my time on my own."
"I see… Then, how about a youthful duel?!"
"…Huh?"
Garou blinked, half wondering if he'd heard wrong. He looked around.
No Kakashi in sight.
"Sensei, isn't this usually something you do with Kakashi-senpai?"
"Not this time. I'm challenging you."
Might Guy placed a hand on the cracked tree trunk, eyes glinting.
He hadn't seen the actual punch land.
But as a taijutsu user, reading the force from the damage wasn't difficult. The double fractures told him everything he needed to know about the power behind that strike.
He couldn't resist anymore.
"…Then I'll accept," Garou said.
"Give me everything you've got!" Guy declared, eyes blazing.
Garou took a breath and gave a respectful bow, forming the seal of confrontation.
He vanished with a burst of speed, his fist flying horizontally.
Guy didn't dodge. Their fists collided mid-air.
Garou staggered back a step to deflect the recoil, while Guy stood completely unmoved.
Garou wasn't surprised.
Thanks to the Bodhi Seed and his consistent training, he could now control nearly all his power, reaching something close to the First Gate of the Eight Gates.
He could maintain that state indefinitely.
But even that had its limits, namely, physical strength.
"Even with this technique, your raw strength still surpasses mine," Garou admitted.
Guy flexed his fingers, smiling. "You're still young. For your age, you're already terrifyingly strong."
"That just means I need to keep pushing forward," Garou replied, smiling faintly.
"Then let's keep going!"
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