Following his successful breakthrough into the first realm of Body Transformation, an intense, restless curiosity burned within Shi Yan. He was incredibly eager to measure the exact distance between his newly refined cultivator physique and a true, living shinobi of the Ninja World.
He knew logically that expecting to defeat a fully fledged ninja in his current state was nothing short of a pipe dream. Without a proper benchmark to gauge his strength, however, he would never truly understand his own progress or how his cultivation translated to the laws of this world.
Wrapped in these deep, calculating thoughts, he finally closed his eyes and drifted off into the dream world.
The next morning, the bright sunlight filtered through the grand windows of the Nakamura dining hall.
As Shi Yan quietly ate his breakfast, his gaze kept darting toward Old Man Roshi, who stood nearby with his usual poised, attentive posture.
Shi Yan chewed slowly, completely stuck in his own head, trying to figure out the best way to voice his sudden, reckless intention.
"Is there something on your mind, Young Master Shi?" Roshi asked gently, his sharp eyes picking up on the boy's unusual hesitation.
"Ah!" Shi Yan startled, a sudden blush creeping up his cheeks at being caught. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "Grandpa Roshi... I want to ask you for something, but I'm really not sure if you will agree to it."
Roshi offered a warm, indulgent smile. "We will see about that after you make your intentions clear, young master."
Shi Yan took a deep breath, his expression turning entirely serious. "I want to fight a shinobi."
"Oh... wait, what did you just say, Young Master?!" The old man's composed demeanor completely shattered, his voice rising to an outright shout as his eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
"Don't misunderstand me, Grandpa!" Shi Yan raised his hands defensively. "I just want to see how strong they actually are. I want to see how much of a gap lies between me and them, so I know how much further I have to go."
Old Man Roshi fell into a heavy, tense contemplation. He locked his gaze onto Shi Yan, staring the boy down for two agonizingly long minutes.
Yet, no matter how hard he looked, he didn't see the fleeting whim of a spoiled child. He only saw a gaze of absolute, unyielding determination and a fiery, deep-seated desire to grow strong.
Realizing he couldn't talk the boy out of it, Roshi sighed softly. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"
"Very sure," Shi Yan said, his voice firm and resolute.
Seeing that look, Old Man Roshi knew he had no choice. Those eyes belonged to someone with an unbreakable will. A fond, nostalgic smile slowly broke across the old servant's weathered face.
"In that case... I will help train you myself."
Shi Yan blinked, thoroughly confused. "Huh? But Grandpa Roshi, I just said I need to face a shinobi."
"Hahaha!" Roshi let out a hearty, booming laugh, his chest heaving. "Although these old bones of mine are certainly not as good as they once were, you should know that I am, after all, a full-fledged shinobi."
Shi Yan's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Really? I... I never knew that."
"Yes," Roshi said, his smile fading into a melancholic, wistful look as he began to recount a past long buried. "A long time ago, I was a Leaf Chunin. I was a young, aspiring youth with a firm determination to serve my village with all my heart. But everything changed when I made a critical blunder on an official mission."
The old man stared blankly into the distance, tears threatening to well up in his eyes as the painful memories resurfaced.
"My objective was to pursue and capture an injured enemy ninja. But along the way, I stumbled across a group of ruthless bandits who were terrorizing a helpless child. I hesitated... and I chose to stop and save that kid. Because of my delay, the enemy ninja escaped, and the official mission ended in a total failure."
Roshi let out a ragged breath. "The village addressed me very harshly afterward. I was vilified, stripped of respect, and treated as a disgrace. I lost all desire to keep living. I was an orphan; I had no family, no home, and absolutely nothing left to live for. Just as I was seriously entertaining the dark idea of suicide, at my absolute lowest point... your grandfather came to find me."
Shi Yan listened intently, holding his breath as the pieces of his family history locked into place.
"Your grandfather didn't come to scold me," Roshi whispered, a tear finally escaping and rolling down his cheek. "He came to thank me with tears in his eyes. As it turned out, the random child I had abandoned my mission to save from those bandits was actually his own son—your father, who had been brutally kidnapped in the surrounding chaos. Your grandfather used his noble influence to gracefully help me get rid of my active ninja status, freeing me from the village's judgment. He offered me a place by his side as his personal guard."
Roshi looked down at Shi Yan, his voice trembling with profound emotion. "Since that fateful day, your grandfather always treated me like a blood brother, never as a mere employee. Even your father grew up to respect and love me like a true uncle. At that lowest point in my life, I vowed to always protect your family, to live and die for them from that moment onward."
Shi Yan looked at the crying old man, forcefully clamping down on his own rising emotions.
"Young Master," Roshi stated, his eyes locking onto Shi Yan's with absolute, eternal loyalty. "I will protect you until my dying day. Even if I pass on and become a wandering soul, I will always be there to help you. Though you cannot currently wield chakra, it is still entirely possible to mold your physical body to be strong enough to protect yourself in dire moments."
Shi Yan felt a deep warmth swell within his chest. He looked back at his faithful guardian and made a solemn vow of his own. "Grandpa Roshi, I promise you that I will do my absolute best. I will become strong enough to protect myself, and I will become strong enough to protect you, too."
Roshi's eyes filled with immense love and paternal care. He wiped his tears away and smiled broadly. "Let us go out to the courtyard field, then. From this moment onward, I will be your official ninja trainer."
Shi Yan stood up, took a step back, and bowed deeply and formally to the old man.
"Yes, Sensei."
The sprawling, grass-covered training field within the Nakamura compound was completely secluded from the rest of the village.
The morning breeze rustled the leaves of the surrounding trees as the two stood facing each other.
Roshi slid into a loose, experienced taijutsu stance, keeping his hands open. "Young Master, come at me with every ounce of your strength. Do not hold back, and try your absolute best to take me down."
Without a single word of complaint or hesitation, Shi Yan lowered his center of gravity and exploded forward.
Whoosh!
Roshi's eyebrows shot up in sheer, unadulterated shock. He watched the five-year-old boy sprint across the grass at a speed that was completely unnatural for a child with zero chakra refinement.
'What incredible physical acceleration!' Roshi thought, entirely amazed.
Alas, while Shi Yan's speed was miraculous for a normal child, thanks entirely to his breakthrough into the first realm of Body Transformation, it was still a far cry from a seasoned shinobi. His raw velocity was barely approaching the baseline of an average Ninja Academy student, let alone a veteran Genin.
Closing the distance instantly, Shi Yan pivoted on his heel and launched a full-force kick aimed directly at Roshi's ribs.
Swif!
Roshi cleanly stepped back, causing the kick to miss completely. However, instead of losing his balance, Shi Yan beautifully utilized his forward momentum. He rolled low across the grass, transitioning the fluid motion into a sudden, low jump-sweep aimed at the old man's ankles.
Zip!
Roshi simply hopped over the sweeping leg, his smile widening as he easily evaded the assault.
The intense exchange continued continuously for the next six to seven minutes. Shi Yan charged relentlessly, utilizing every ounce of the pristine motor control and physical conditioning granted by his cultivation realm.
He threw punches, elbows, and low kicks in a desperate bid to land even a single scratch. Yet, Roshi moved like a ghost, effortlessly dodging every single calculated strike with a proud, warm smile plastered across his face.
Huff... huff... huff...
Finally, Shi Yan's lungs burned like fire. His stamina completely spent, he collapsed backward onto his butt, completely unable to support his own physical weight.
Breathing greedily, his chest heaved as he looked up at Roshi, waiting anxiously for his trainer's honest evaluation.
Roshi let out a proud laugh and walked over, offering a hand. "Splendid, Young Master! Truly splendid! You have never trained a single day in your life, yet you possess this level of raw physical strength and endurance. For a civilian, it is nothing short of a miracle."
Roshi's smile turned slightly realistic as he helped the boy up. "However... compared to the prominent descendants of the Hidden Leaf's elite Ninja Clans, who are practically bathed in chakra from birth, your current physical capabilities are still not very impressive. What is genuinely terrifying about you, young master, is your flawless battle form and your fighting instincts. They are far beyond your years. It's as if you already possess the muscle memory of a veteran warrior."
Shi Yan looked down at his small hands, quietly digesting the crucial knowledge. His cultivation had fundamentally altered his body's structural purity and biological efficiency, but his current realm was still just the absolute baseline of human limits.
"Do not be discouraged," Roshi added reassuringly, patting his shoulder. "From tomorrow onward, we will train daily. I am entirely certain that with your natural, monstrous battle instincts and unrelenting physical training, you will easily be able to protect yourself against elite ninja Genin in the future."
Shi Yan paused, looking up with a bewildered, dissatisfied expression. "Only... Genin?"
Roshi let out a heavy, solemn sigh, staring up at the sky.
"Young Master, the reality of the shinobi world is harsh. Physical strength alone has strict limitations when placed against ninjutsu. Though, it is not entirely impossible to reach world-defying power through sheer physical conditioning. In our very village, there resides an elite ninja who cannot wield ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. His name is Might Guy, a master who trains exclusively in taijutsu, yet he possesses the terrifying combat abilities of a standard Jonin."
Roshi's expression turned deeply reverent. "But his path is an absolute living hell. I cannot even begin to fathom the sheer, agonizing torture and unbreakable dedication it must have taken for him to accomplish such a feat."
Hearing the legendary name of Might Guy, the internal soul of the ancient immortal cultivator flared to life within Shi Yan. The absolute pride of a celestial being rippled through his spirit.
Shi Yan forced his trembling, exhausted legs to straighten. He stood tall, brushing the dirt from his clothes, and looked straight into the eyes of his new sensei. His voice echoed across the training field with a terrifying, absolute conviction that shook Old Man Roshi to his very core:
"I will surpass him."