Looking at Naruto in front of him, Rock Lee felt a little confused but still paused his training.
Gazing at Naruto with puzzled eyes, he asked, "Hello! What can I do for you?"
"You're practicing taijutsu, right?"
Naruto said softly.
"That's right! I firmly believe that even if I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, I can still reach the top with my taijutsu—and become a great ninja!"
There was a dazzling light in Rock Lee's eyes beneath his bowl-cut hairstyle.
"I also believe you can become a great taijutsu ninja!"
Naruto replied with a smile.
"Hey! You think I can become a real ninja with taijutsu too?!"
Rock Lee had expected to be laughed at, but Naruto unexpectedly agreed with his ninja way. In that moment, he couldn't help but burst into tears!
This was the first time he had received recognition from someone his own age!
Even though he had long grown used to being mocked, the joy of being accepted by someone was heartfelt and undeniable.
"Yeah! I think taijutsu has a lot of potential."
What Naruto said was sincere. In later years, after the appearance of the Ōtsutsuki clan, ninjutsu became almost useless. The only techniques that could be relied on were senjutsu and taijutsu. Both Naruto and Sasuke had honed their taijutsu to extremely high levels in their battles against the Ōtsutsuki.
But the Ōtsutsuki didn't just rely on taijutsu—they also wielded powerful ocular jutsu.
That's why Naruto would never give up on training in taijutsu. If possible, he even wanted to develop his own taijutsu-based techniques—like the Six Styles he was already conceptualizing!
In addition, the power of senjutsu was something Naruto greatly desired. Mastering senjutsu would be the key to achieving super-Kage-level and even reaching the Six Paths tier.
In the Naruto world, there were several ways to reach the Six Paths level:
One was to gather the Tailed Beasts and become the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki, thus forming the Truth-Seeking Balls and ascending to Six Paths status. At this point, one's life force and essence would transcend human limits—though there would still be a finite lifespan.
Another was to be granted power directly from the Sage of Six Paths himself, allowing one to temporarily reach the Six Paths level. This was what happened to Naruto and Sasuke in the original storyline—but current Naruto didn't want to rely on external help like that.
Then there was the route of mastering senjutsu to its utmost.
Though not shown fighting, the leaders of the Three Great Sage Regions were undoubtedly powerful. The Great Toad Sage himself deceived the Sage of Six Paths into fighting Kaguya personally. He taught the Sage of Six Paths senjutsu—and even survived after the Sage's physical death.
He likely stood at a Six Paths level, though probably still no match for the Ōtsutsuki.
Senjutsu could be considered the true native energy of the shinobi world. Chakra, in contrast, was introduced by Kaguya, earning her the title "Mother of Chakra."
There was also the route of perfecting the Yin-Yang Release—uniting all elemental and spiritual chakra natures.
However, in the original timeline, no one managed to reach Six Paths mode by this method alone.
Lastly, there was the Tenseigan mode, though Naruto wasn't sure whether Tenseigan power was truly Six Paths level. But considering that Toneri possessed the Truth-Seeking Balls, it likely was.
Perhaps due to some flaw in Toneri's transformation, he was defeated by Naruto and the Nine Tails before he could reach his peak.
Judging by the different strengths of those at Six Paths level in the original work, it was clear that even that tier had varying levels of power.
Coming back to his senses, Naruto looked at Rock Lee and said:
"Although you can indeed reach the top through taijutsu, this isn't the best way to train it."
"You've been repeating basic runs, kicks, push-ups, squats, and straight punches."
"While those actions can improve physical strength, the progress slows down drastically with time."
Of course, not everyone had Naruto's cheat-like ability where hard work directly yielded measurable results.
Naruto silently added this in his mind.
He then began pointing out and explaining the key principles of basic taijutsu that he had summarized over time.
As Rock Lee listened, he was completely shocked. To him, Naruto's training methods seemed connected by an invisible logic—concepts he had never heard in school.
Everything he'd practiced before came from standard ninja school curriculum.
Through years of repetition, he had increased his physical strength and even started light weight training.
However, given his age, it wasn't advisable for him to overdo strength training—it could hinder his growth.
In this world, taijutsu wasn't taken seriously. Training taijutsu required not only talent, but also enormous financial investment and years of relentless effort.
Few had the will to persist. Learning a high-rank ninjutsu in a year could be more efficient than training taijutsu for five. In a war-driven world, no one would commit to that path easily.
Might Guy and Rock Lee managed to achieve what others could not because they had no alternative—they could only use taijutsu, and they never gave up.
This was one of the reasons Naruto was willing to offer guidance to Rock Lee. As for whether Lee would become his future comrade, Naruto didn't place any expectations on that.
In truth, Naruto had already begun developing an advanced taijutsu system in his mind to further enhance his body. But it was too early to share it. What he just told Rock Lee was enough to sustain his training for the next two years.
If standard ninja school techniques were practiced long-term, they could lead to internal injuries—that's why taijutsu users were so rare.
Once you mastered the basics, you could transition to learning "power generation" techniques, but such knowledge was secret and not taught openly in schools.
As for Naruto's taijutsu insights, he couldn't reveal everything just yet.
All of it had to appear as his natural talent and personal understanding.
Besides, the Third Hokage didn't take taijutsu too seriously.
If Naruto's teachings inadvertently elevated the physical standards of Konoha's taijutsu users, he could face a major political backlash.
No matter how talented you were, reckless exposure could bring consequences.
"Waaah! You're amazing! You're actually sharing such precious training methods with me!"
Rock Lee rushed forward excitedly, clinging to Naruto's legs while wiping his tears and snot on him.
"Gah! Get away from me! I'm not into old chickens!"
Naruto recoiled in horror and kicked Rock Lee away. Lee crashed into a nearby tree—but strangely, he didn't feel any pain.
This only made Rock Lee believe Naruto was a taijutsu prodigy!
Though confused by Naruto's words, Rock Lee mumbled to himself,
What's a f**k? What's 'chicken old'?
Does he want to eat grass? Or did I bring him an old chicken?
Although Naruto may not have meant it harshly, Lee knew he had probably offended him.
He quickly stood up, bowed deeply, and said,
"I'm really sorry! I just got too excited. Thank you so much for teaching me this valuable training method!"
Rock Lee's eyes glowed as he looked at Naruto. Not only had Naruto been the first peer to recognize his determination—he was also the first to teach him taijutsu training.
Yes, there was a strange green-suited man who had once praised him and said he would consider taking him as a disciple after observing him.
But what Rock Lee truly longed for was recognition from someone his own age.
After hearing Naruto's insights on taijutsu, Rock Lee's admiration for him deepened even further.
End of the Chapter.
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