Ryuji sat down, exhausted, staring at the water in front of him. "*Damn...*," he muttered under his breath, rubbing the ache out of his legs. "*This shit's brutal.*" He had been at it for 24 days now—nonstop training. Water walking, tree climbing, the leaf sticking exercise... push-ups, sit-ups, squats, all the crap he could fit into his small body. And yet, he was still just a five-year-old kid, no bloodline limit, no special gifts, nothing.
"*What the hell am I doing?*" he thought, staring at his reflection. The Ryuji from a month ago would've drowned trying to walk on water, and now? "*Okay, so I'm still slipping around like an idiot, but at least I'm not face-planting into the pond every five seconds,*" he mused, chuckling to himself. "*Progress, right?*"
He glanced at the tree he'd spent weeks trying to conquer. "*That damn tree,*" he scowled. "*Look at you, all smug and tall. I'm running up you now like it's nothing, huh?* But man, it was rough. The first few days, I couldn't even get halfway up before busting my ass.*"
Ryuji rubbed his shoulder, still sore from all the falls. "*I seriously thought I'd never get it,*" he thought. "*But then, it just... clicked. One day, I was sticking like glue. That's right, tree, you're my bitch now.*"
The leaf sticking exercise? "*Pfft,*" he thought, shaking his head. "*At first, it was like, 'Hey, let's see if I can keep this damn leaf on my head without looking like an idiot.' And now? I don't even need to think about it. It's like brushing my teeth, easy as hell.*"
But that water walking... "*Shit, that's another beast.*" He grimaced, staring at the rippling surface of the pond. "*Keeping my chakra steady for that long? It's like trying to balance a damn boulder on a needle.*"
Despite the complaints running through his head, there was something undeniable. He was getting better. "*It's slow,*" he admitted, "*but I'm stronger than I was.*" His body didn't burn after just a few push-ups anymore. He could run up the trees without worrying about falling flat on his face. The water walking was coming along, too, even if it still felt like walking on eggshells.
"*Twenty-four days. Shit, it's been a hell of a grind,*" Ryuji thought, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "*I didn't even realize how much I've been pushing myself. But look at me... I've actually stuck with it.*"
He looked down at his hands, now a little rougher than before. "*When I first got here, I couldn't even control my chakra properly. I was just a lost kid with no idea what I was doing. Now, I'm walking on walls, on water... and yeah, I'm still nowhere near the level of these other ninja, but...*," he grinned, "*I'm not as weak as I was.*"
The thought of leveling up, of growing stronger, pushed him on every day. "*It's like a damn game, but it's real,*" he thought, feeling the familiar buzz of the Gamer System in the back of his mind. "*And I've got the cheat codes.*"
"*But I'm not done,*" he told himself. "*Hell no. This is just the beginning. I'm not gonna settle for being average.*" His thoughts turned to the ninja around him, the ones with bloodline abilities, crazy skills, and godlike power. "*I've got a long way to go before I can even think about keeping up with them.*"
"*But if I can do all this in 24 days... what the hell can I do in a year?*" His heart pounded at the thought. "*Screw just surviving. I'm gonna be stronger than any of those bastards. Just watch.*"
He clenched his fists, feeling that familiar fire burning inside. "*This world isn't ready for me yet.*"