In Kaito's memory, Lee didn't seem to have moments of discouragement. He tried to recall, but most of his memories of Lee were after Lee had already graduated; he couldn't remember much from his childhood.
So, did the original work just not mention Lee's childhood, or did he simply skip those parts? Kaito felt a headache coming on. He thought to himself, "I'll observe more tomorrow. From the looks of it, Might Guy has already followed up on Lee. If Lee is still down tomorrow, I'll have to ask what's going on."
If Kaito could help, he wanted to lend a hand. After all, having a free sparring partner was crucial for his own training. Although he was also a sparring partner for Lee, it wasn't easy to find someone like Lee who could match Kaito's pace—even in taijutsu.
While taijutsu wasn't Kaito's primary offensive method in his long-term plans, that didn't mean he thought it was unimportant. Taijutsu was absent from his plans only because, with the limited time available, he wouldn't reach the level of proficiency needed to rely solely on it.
Having made his decision, Kaito didn't waste any more time. Even though the previous exercise to reach a state of stillness seemed like training, it was really more of a rest for him in all aspects. Since he didn't use Shadow Clones today, he had plenty of chakra left and could spend more time practicing shape transformation.
The next day, however, Lee's situation hadn't improved; it had actually gotten worse. He even stopped training early, sitting there looking lost.
"Lee, what's going on? Why do you look so down? This isn't like you at all," Kaito said, approaching Lee. He couldn't let his sparring partner quit!
"Kaito..." Lee looked up at him, his eyes full of sadness. "Kaito, I don't think I can become a ninja."
"Can you tell me exactly what's going on?" Kaito frowned.
"The teacher has already taught us the three basic techniques. But I've never been able to sense my chakra change, let alone use it. No matter how hard I practice, I see absolutely no progress," Lee said, his eyes filled with envy as he looked at Kaito. "You can use all three basic techniques so well, but I can't even get started, no matter how much effort I put in."
Kaito understood. So, this was the reason. He vaguely remembered a similar incident happening but hadn't paid much attention to it before. So, the real culprit behind Lee's frustration was him? Kaito quickly dismissed the thought. Even if he weren't there, Lee would still have faced this problem sooner or later. Kaito's proficiency in using the basic techniques simply accelerated Lee's awareness of his own difficulties.
Also, wasn't there something odd here? Since when were he and Lee the same age?
Kaito looked at Lee and nodded in realization. It made sense now. Since this was Lee, he probably didn't pay much attention to things at school. Kaito's development was well beyond his peers, and with his proficiency in the basic techniques, it wasn't strange for Lee to think they were the same age.
Still, Kaito wanted to complain—after spending so much time together, how could Lee not know this basic piece of information about him? Well, it was typical of Lee. Fortunately, his team captain was Hyuga Neji.
"I see," Kaito said. He knew Lee couldn't use ninjutsu, so there was no point in encouraging him to keep practicing those techniques. He thought for a moment and then said, "Did you know, Lee, that even if you can't learn ninjutsu, you can still become a ninja?"
"Really?" Lee's eyes widened, his thick brows raised in surprise. His dark eyes seemed to rekindle a faint hope.
"Of course. I read in the library about a 'Forever Genin' who was a taijutsu specialist in our village. He was extremely powerful. During one mission, to rescue a Konoha squad, he traveled a thousand miles alone and defeated all the members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."
"And, do you know about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? Let me tell you…"
In truth, Kaito didn't know the specifics—he wasn't sure if all of the Seven Swordsmen had been killed. He had only skimmed over this information while reading about Might Guy. Right now, exaggerating a little seemed like the right thing to do.
After Kaito finished talking, he saw Lee staring at him with a look of awe.
Well, it seemed to have worked. Kaito thought for a moment before continuing.
"And did you know? I heard that our village currently has a ninja who can't use ninjutsu, and he's even a Jonin!"
"A Jonin?! Really?!" Lee exclaimed. The status of a Jonin held immense significance for him.
"Absolutely!" Kaito nodded, looking at Lee with encouragement. "So, even if you only train in taijutsu, you can still become a Jonin. But this path will be extremely challenging."
"I'm not afraid of challenges!" Lee shouted.
"It will also be very tough."
"I'm not afraid of hardship!"
"And, it will be incredibly difficult to persevere."
"I will keep going until I become the strongest taijutsu user!" Lee's eyes seemed to blaze with determination.
"Alright then, keep at it. Don't be discouraged anymore." Kaito encouraged.
"Oh! My youth, continue to burn!" Lee shouted, his energy restored—perhaps even more intensely than before.
Seeing this, Kaito finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this was Lee—not one to overthink things and relatively easy to persuade.
Kaito sighed again, though. There was still a difference between Lee and Might Guy. Guy could use some simple ninjutsu, albeit not very proficiently. On the other hand, Lee, as Kaito remembered, couldn't use ninjutsu at all. While Lee could likely graduate with Might Guy's support, surpassing his mentor would be much harder.
But, the future was the future. Kaito wasn't in a position to worry about others when he himself hadn't found a clear path forward. Until he forged his own way, he couldn't afford to be concerned about others.
Meanwhile, Might Guy, who was watching from the shadows, also felt a wave of relief. He had been considering using his own methods to encourage Lee, but Kaito had managed to console him first.
Moreover, Kaito's mention of the 'Forever Genin' and the taijutsu-specialist Jonin struck a chord with Guy—they were his father and himself. Kaito's choice of examples made Guy feel a sense of closeness to him.
However, Lee's situation still needed to be closely monitored. Even though taijutsu could make one a Jonin, nobody understood better than Might Guy just how arduous that path was.
And what's more, even a taijutsu ninja shouldn't completely abandon ninjutsu. Guy would never encourage someone to disregard ninjutsu entirely—that would be doing them a disservice.
What Guy didn't know was that Kaito hadn't persuaded Lee to keep practicing ninjutsu because Kaito knew, based on the original storyline, that Lee simply couldn't use ninjutsu. Kaito didn't want Lee to waste his time on something futile.
While Guy was contemplating, Kaito approached him. Guy was already used to it; he had been discovered before, so getting caught again was no big deal.
"I asked around. You're Might Guy, the village's taijutsu-specialist Jonin, aren't you? Could you teach us some taijutsu?" Kaito directly asked. He figured that Guy's personality would lead him to agree—especially since it involved Lee.
"No."
Contrary to Kaito's expectations, Guy immediately refused.
"That goes against protocol, and you two are too young for rigorous taijutsu training right now."
Kaito immediately realized that Guy had misunderstood him. He quickly explained, "I'm not asking to learn specific taijutsu techniques. I just wanted to see if you could help us evaluate our training methods—things like proper intensity and how far we should push ourselves."
"Oh, I see." Guy hesitated. If it was just training guidance, that wasn't really a problem. He looked over at Lee, who was still training hard, and for a moment, he seemed to see his younger self—thick eyebrows, no talent for ninjutsu, and boundless determination.
Guy seemed to reflect on many things in that instant, and finally, he nodded in agreement.
Kaito's eyes brightened at this. Even if Guy agreed because of Lee, Kaito was still in the same boat. Learning alongside Lee was definitely an advantage.
With Guy's guidance, training his body would no longer be a guessing game.