Of course.
Crying is only temporary.
Youth may bloom, but Duy-sensei's sparkle will never be absent.
After the initial crying session, Might Duy gradually got into the zone.
With the flash of Might Duy's sparkling teeth, this speech about youth finally drew to a close.
Finally, everyone lined up to go to the podium and collect their equipment.
A pair of wristbands, a pair of anklets, and two Tights representing youth.
"By the way, are we really going to wear this tomorrow?"
Nagato held up the Tights he had been given, looking it over from left to right.
But no matter which way he looked at it, he just couldn't convince himself.
"Nagato, why the long face? Didn't Duy-sensei say it? This is the color of youth.
This is a color even Pops Sunaen approves of!"
"When did Pops ever approve of this color? Isn't his color always gold?"
"What do you mean? Doesn't he wear that green hat for every important occasion?"
"Is it possible that the hat is actually a symbol of the Kazekage? It's not green because he likes it, but because it's just meant to be green.
And isn't it also possible that because he doesn't like it, he never wears it unless he absolutely has to!"
"Ah! Is that so!"
Seeing Yahiko's pensive look, Nagato shook his head helplessly.
"Sigh! He's hopeless!"
9:00 AM the next morning.
"Huff..."
"Puff..."
"Huff..."
"Puff..."
"I... I can't... do it! Nagato! I feel like... I'm seeing my great-grandma! I think I see... that fishmonger... who used to chase me... when I was little!"
In a golden desert, a group of green-clad Kappas were running across the sands.
They were surrounded by hundreds of trucks piled high with various supplies.
By now, the line of Kappas had stretched for nearly a thousand kilometers, yet it was vaguely divided into three groups.
The first group was the smallest, consisting of those with the best stamina running at the very front.
The second group was the largest, at an average level, but people were already starting to fall behind and merge into the final third group.
Yahiko and Nagato were currently in the second echelon.
At this moment, Yahiko was clutching Nagato's Tights, his head bobbing as he ran.
"Huff... Serves you right! Who told you... to sprint so far... at the start! Huff... puff... You're out of energy and still tried to use Chakra to slack off, now you're paying for it!"
"Puff... puff... Who would have thought... these wristbands could actually... sense Chakra fluctuations! And the most important thing... is that they can actually get... heavier!
Do you know? These four bands... add up to 1,000 kin! I just used... a bit of Chakra, and these four bands... at least quadrupled! 4,000 kin! Do you know... what that means? Sunagakure's latest... sports car... the Mercedes-Flyer... is only a little over 4,000!
And... huff... puff... even after you stop releasing Chakra, it... won't... change back immediately! It lasts for five minutes! Do you know what I went through during those five minutes?!!"
"Alright, alright, I get it. Just keep running. I heard we have to run 200 kilometers today, and we've only done ninety-something so far!!!"
"What! 200 kilometers! Who told you that?"
"There!"
Nagato didn't answer Yahiko's question, but simply tilted his head, gesturing for him to look ahead.
Yahiko took Nagato's hint, adjusted his head, opened his sweat-soaked eyes, and strained to look forward.
He could vaguely see a creature with two heads approaching them.
Yahiko was startled by this sudden monster and widened his eyes, only to realize it was their Duy-sensei running backward while doing a handstand.
"Students, keep it up! Youth has already led us halfway through the journey!"
Then, he vanished from Yahiko's sight in a flash.
"Wait! That was Duy-sensei who just went past, right?"
"Yes! You didn't see wrong!"
"Is he not wearing any Weights?"
"He is, and I even saw him wearing a Weighted Vest!"
"??? Cheat!!!"
Actually, it wasn't just Yahiko who was dazed; everyone who saw Might Duy was stunned.
Including those sitting in the trucks.
"Hehe! As expected of someone the Kazekage-sama personally recruited from Konoha. With this kind of stamina, I have no doubt about his Taijutsu level.
We started at five o'clock, and it's been four hours now. My old backside is getting sore from sitting, yet he can still run while doing a handstand."
Chiyo, sitting in the car wearing sun-protective clothing and sunglasses while watching the Kappas run, spoke with a face full of wonder upon seeing the handstanding Might Duy.
[At this time, having been nurtured by Sunaen's natural energy, Chiyo does not look like a wrinkled forty-something, but a mature woman in her early thirties with purple hair. Search 'Young Chiyo' on TikTok.]
"Yeah, it's truly amazing. He could be called Sunagakure's number one in Taijutsu! But why did Chiyo-sama volunteer for this training supervision mission? Aren't you the most afraid of the sun?"
The Suna Shinobi driving the car said this while looking at Chiyo, who was shading her eyes with her hand as she looked outside.
"Ah... well! The place we're going is Ebizō's honeymoon spot! As his older sister, of course I have to go take a look."
"Hahaha, so that's how it is. It seems Kazekage-sama also realized there's too much work and decided to call Ebizō-sama back. By the way, how long of a leave did Ebizō-sama take?"
"He's coming back to get married after the New Year!"
"Hahaha, until the New Year... Wait—getting married?!"
"That's right. Don't forget to give a wedding gift, Pakura!"
Having said that, Chiyo turned back to look at the shocked Pakura.
Then, she extended a foot clad in fishnets and gave Pakura a nudge, saying:
"Drive properly!"
"Oh, oh! Right!!!"
"Look there, Chiyo-sama, more people have fainted. It looks like Nagato and Yahiko!"
"Let me see... Tsk tsk, those two kids of Kazekage-sama don't have enough stamina either!"
...Returning the perspective to after Might Duy ran past.
Yahiko still couldn't believe that Duy-sensei could run back while doing a handstand while wearing weighted gear.
"Is this right?
Is this reasonable?
No, he had to see it again.
Soon, after what felt like a century.
It was actually only ten minutes.
Might Duy ran back again, but this time he wasn't doing a handstand; he was running normally.
"Students! This is youth! If you don't grasp your youth, you will be abandoned by it! And finally end up in the boiling pots on the trucks!"
"Duy-sensei! I have a question!"
Seeing Might Duy's arrival, Yahiko summoned all his strength and shouted loudly, his voice even going hoarse by the last few words.
"This student seems very energetic! This is youth!"
Might Duy heard Yahiko's call and walked over to him, praising him before saying anything else.
"Hehe... Duy-sensei, are you still wearing your weighted gear?"