Chapter 72: Chapter 70: The best curry?

This is a story that occurred before Homura went to the academy.

It was only a few days after he had gotten the huge tab he had to repay Teuchi for Naruto's meal that he had lied about paying for. 

However, one thing lead to another, and Homura was forced to have to payback Teuchi for the stunt he tried to pull. 

Although he was indebted, it wasn't as if he had to repay all of it immediately. So whenever he had time and was not busy trying to earn more money, he would resume his daily dose of training to get to shape. 

In fact, he was feeling a bit sore as of late, since he had stopped training; due to fear and lack of sleep due to trying to avoid being tracked down for the money he owed.

Since now he had more or less an agreement, with his accursed loan shark, he was free to resume his pursuits. Although, he truly wished that he could repay all that he owed at once, but he had not nearly enough money and even if he did that would leave him completely broke.

More broke than he was now, but if he paid back all he owned. He would be in the negative digits. In other words, he had nowhere near enough to pay back everything, and asking Naruto to contribute to paying back the bill would be even more humiliating, so he refrained from doing that and unleashed all his pent-up anger and frustrations through training harder than usual.   

*Pow*

The noise he made from his training could be heard from afar as he hit a cylindrical-shaped object every time. 

- Ha!- yelled Homura while putting all of his strength into trying to deliver a kick.

Homura was not currently kicking the air or some shadow partner but a wooden log that served as a training dummy.

*Pow*

-Ha!

Even after delivering so many hits, he had not lost his original vigor from the start of his training.

In reality, he had been training for over a few hours hitting the same pole.

Over and over again without taking a break, his current physique and mind allowed him to persevere from the pain and continue past his normal limits.

*Pow*

-Ha!!!

He kicked the wooden log with more strength than the previous time causing him to feel the pain from the recoil.

-(Darn...Again!) Ha!!!

*Pow*

However, ignoring his leg which was still numb continue kicking the pole with renewed vigor.

Although there was no way to get used to the pain, he had felt the same pain so many times already that his mind tried to filter it by focusing on something else, in order to not become absorbed by the pain his body was currently under.

He had repeated the process too many times and was now used to it.

Each time the wooden log would become too dented, due to the sheer amount of hits it would endure from Homura's training regiment a new one had to be chopped from a nearby tree, within the village.

Not that he himself would do so.

Many children either get their parents to chop some logs for them to train or get one from the many woodcarvers within the village.

*Pow*

-Ha!

Homura bought the log instead of cutting it himself.

He thought of doing it himself at first, chopping a tree down himself but on quick reflection realized; that he neither had the tools nor the strength to do so.

It was a clear indication, that no matter the amount of progress he made in his training, he was overall still weak.

Far from the superhuman levels of strength shinobi in the show were capable of, it seemed that chakra control truly was important in order to progress in the latter stages of obtaining more power.

He could train his whole life but without a proper mastery of chakra, he would just be a very fit human being and lack the strength of those around him.

However, Homura was still young...he had time and brains on his side that would allow him to overcome any hurdle, that was at least what he believed.

What he tried to believe, in order to keep his sanity, justify his efforts; and everything that he would be forced to endure in the future.

*Pow*

- ha!

Homura jumped in the air and unleashed a flying side-kick!

Sadly, the reverberating recoil from the kick soon spread throughout his whole body and he dropped to the ground in terrible pain, holding his right knee.

- Kuh (I-It hurts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The pain Homura was feeling attacked all his senses and overloaded his brain with nothing but excruciating pain.

Which made the boy roll side to side in a fruitless attempt to alleviate the pain, however it did not.

It took 5 minutes for Homura finally manage to stand on his legs with a huge amount of effort, in fact, he hadn't moved from the spot for a minute after standing up.

Even saying that he was standing up was a stretch.

He was standing on his two legs, but he was still away from standing up straight.

His knees were still bent and showed no desire to fully straighten themselves up.

The only thing that was straight, were the drops of sweat that were rolling down Homura's face, from the effects of gravity pulling it towards the ground.

- Damn it!- uttered Homura while wiping away some of the sweat rolling down his drenched forehead, with his right arm.

- I can't believe it... I can't believe that I am still this weak...

He looked at the log in front of him, which had barely moved or been damaged from his last attack.

The log was set up straight and tied down on the ground, so it would hardly move unless enough force was applied.

However, Homura lacked the said force to do so.

- At this rate... I will never catch up to them.

Homura remembered what had happened in the tryouts both Naruto and Sasuke surprised him.

Naruto was nothing special overall, but he had stamina and determination beyond what he had imagined.

Sasuke was extremely agile and coordinated.

His motor skills far surpassed most of the children in attendance.

He was overall in very good shape.

Meaning whoever trained him had made sure his entire form was impeccable.

If he continues to train with the same foundation he would soon or later acquire the reflexes and coordination of a first-rate shinobi.

He was growing good habits and battle skills, which would definitely become second nature for him.

Just watching him perform, was an overall good experience for Homura.

However, it also hastened the growing feelings of insecurity residing inside of him.

Too much effort for very little progress... is what he thought of his current level, and the result of his training for all these years.

It seemed that even though he was far stronger by injecting the DNA of several other children it was not enough, his talent was not enough.

It's not as if he became a perfect copy of Sasuke or any of the children he took DNA from.

Whatever the secret to Sasuke's talent might be, it was either due to how his body was hardwired or something to do with him himself.

Genetics was certainly a factor behind Sasuke's strength and talent, but not the whole truth.

What he needed was the DNA of someone who was a born genius someone talented from birth. Someone that always had the potential for great strength and ability unlocked from the get-go.

What he needed was someone like Uchiha Itachi.

- Uchiha...Itachi- muttered Homura, while readying himself to start the next phase of his training which included punching the training pole several times with his fists.

Nonetheless, although his body resumed his training, his mind, on the other hand, was still preoccupied with thoughts of a certain someone.

It was the conclusion that came to his mind.

Shisui was talented there's no doubt about that and outclassed Itachi in many aspects but it was undeniable that Itachi was something truly special.

Even among all the other Uchihas.

About his age range, according to the manga and novels, Itachi was already able to slice boulders; if the side materials are to be believed.

Shisui, was probably capable of the same or at the very least performing similar feats at the same level.

And from watching the other children performing in the tryouts... who knows what the other children are able to do already? What they were truly capable of?

The tryouts seem to be about testing the students' minds and bodies. If any of them could perform something beyond their years or had other hidden talents, was not something he was aware of.

For example, Haruno Sakura was said to be an unparalleled genius when it came to genjutsu and chakra control.

Things that were not really part of the examination process.

But her talent in those areas was something that put shinobi from respectable clans to shame, which was even more impressive since she came from a normal background and whatever genetic gift she received was her own; and not due to alien DNA in her gene pool or random abnormal mutations.

But she was a special case.

A case that seemed, paradoxically, to be quite normal.

Kakashi Hatake once said in the manga, that the next generation always surpasses the last.

Though shinobis who live in times of peace seem to be less battle-hardened and savvy than those that live in periods of war, it is almost undeniable that most of the children shown, that descended from powerful shinobi seem to have greater potential than their parents, or far surpassed them.

Just like Naruto did in the original series with the 4th Hokage.

And perhaps the same could be said about Sasuke as well, though not much was known to Homura about Fugaku and Sasuke's body was experimented on by Orochimaru, however, he was still a reincarnation of Indra Ootsutsuki.

He was always bound to become a very powerful individual, it was simply his destiny.

Homura knew that those 2 were outliers, and were far and beyond their peers and wiser beyond their ages, but he could not help himself but compare himself to them since he had trained with Shisui for a short time and they were his only real frame of reference.

Much less for the case of Itachi.

Itachi was already killing people in war zones since he was 4...There is just no frame of comparison to be drawn between the 2 of them.

Homura had lost the race of pure talent by a mile, and a couple of countries too. 

That was the true difference between pure talent and fake talent.

He could use any means necessary available to him to give the notion of talent to others, however, it was still fake. All he could hope was to try to even the playing field.

But he was still limited in how much growth he could draw from it.

Not that Homura isn't talented.

... not entirely.

However, his talents are simply not obvious to the untrained eyes.

Like most talented people, Homura's talent lies within his genes.

His, easy-to-adapt genes to other people's DNA; are by far greater than most talents.

Though, that specific brand of uncultivated talent, is practically useless, without other people's help.

The way Homura is trying to train is not completely useless, but it relies on normal-everyday-based logic.

In other words, it was an approach to a problem, that normal people would come up with.

The solution he came up with wasn't the wrong answer but perhaps not the best answer in his case.

Rather he needed to approach it more in a scientific way, as in math or chemical manner.

Or even in the way, an architect would build a house.

Creating a foundation as well as the structure, and the order all the blocks would be placed.

Though some amount of practice would still be needed, even if Homura had gone that route.

It is obvious that training makes everything better, at least in most cases, but his gift and the logic behind his training regiment were not incompatible per se, it simply wasn't the best way to go about it.

Perhaps, having the genes and the DNA make-up that allowed them for such an easy integration of the genes of others, without the possibility of rejection; made  Homura, rather unremarkable in the first place.

Since he was akin to a blank canvas that could ultimately be painted and represent whatever the artist so desired.

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Within him lay endless possibilities.

The possibility of potentially becoming whatever he could muster, given he had enough aptitude to become his idealized self.

Sadly, he had little choice.

It wasn't from a lack of trying.

Getting other people's DNA in large amounts is not an easy feat for most people.

Especially not when the ones he is trying to steal DNA from are people with power or in positions of power due to their efforts or genetic advantages.

Homura knew this very well.

But being outdone by his future classmates, when he is a bit further ahead was too much for him to bear... especially not when he has been stuck the way he has been without seemingly no progress for a while now.

He was finally about to enter the academy any time now.

He had passed the tests with flying colors... at least from his own version of the distorted events. However, there was no telling what his classmates were capable of, the only time that he truly fared against his classmates was in a race or more specifically the endurance test.

- HAAA!- Homura hit the training pole with far greater force than usual as he was approaching the 2,000th strike.

*Bang~!*

But all he could do was create a slightly bigger dent on the wooden block.

*tad!*

Being tired from exercising all morning, Homura felt the accumulated fatigue from all the exercises he had done and naturally fell to his knees.

- *Heavy breathing* *Heavy breathing*

He was confident in his speed and agility against people in the same age bracket, but as far as strength goes; he was completely clueless.

It was unclear at this point, to tell how well they would fare against him in a real combat situation.

He could not understand how some children like Itachi, simply put, could be so strong!

When he was about his age.

Even Sasuke, who will be regarded as a genius in the future, as of now, or at least the last time he saw him; was nothing close to the level Itachi displayed when he saved Izumi Uchiha in the anime.

It simply felt unreal to Homura, that someone who was his age at the time was capable of such a feat.

Although, he was stronger than what he felt children in his previous world could realistically be, since he could jump far higher and be overall more resistant to most things as well as heal faster.

It was nothing to the degree that could be seen as outrageous or outright impossible for a trained adult to do in most cases.

The disparity between Homura's former common sense and his new one, were to put mildly, simply at odds; on how to process all of the things currently happening to him.

It was not as much as in the past, as time went on, his new reality's common sense and norms were being eroded by the new one.

little by little.

But some things have still remained ingrained within his mind.

He has not even spent 10 years living in this world.

Even if it felt far more.

The inner workings of this world or perhaps it would be far more correct to refer as the way this reality's configuration appears to be structured; are incredibly different from the one in his former life.

Alien, would be too far to describe as such, but it nonetheless seemed to be following a loser grip on physics overall.

At least from what he could currently remember.

- Yo! Homura-kun! How have you been? (???)

Suddenly, a person appeared out of nowhere behind the young boy!

It had happened in the blink of an eye.

Homura himself would have not realized what had just happened; if the person themselves had not said a single word.

There was simply such a vast disparity or gap between the 2 parties' abilities and Homura's current mindset, being thrown in disarray from the lackluster progress with his current training regiment and focus on his internal thoughts.

However, as soon as he turned his head around, the striking green tights and overall figure were impossible to mistake.

It was none other than, the famous green beast of Konoha, Might Guy.

-...Training hard I see. *nod* *nod*- Guy started to nod his head after uttering his last statement as if he was confirming his last statement.

- Huh?! G-Guy-san!?- Homura, recognizing the familiar voice coming from behind him, could not stop himself from uttering the other party's name; even before finishing to turn his head around towards the said party.

- I heard you did a fantastic job in your entrance exam! I expected nothing less from you! Hahaha!- Guy gave Homura a thumbs up before he went on to laugh with glee at how well, the little guy that he would sometimes help train; did on the entrance exam.

Guy had heard stories of how the exam went but he was not within the village at the time, due to having to do a mission in a foreign land at the time.

However, as soon as he came back he managed to hear many things.

One that surprised him was the tryouts that Homura participated in, it wasn't that these tryouts were so special compared to others, but how they ended mostly in utter failure; with a lot of the children unable to complete them.

Though he had caught wind of someone matching Homura's description, in how apparently they had bested the Uchiha patriarch's second son.

It was gossip that a lot of people in Konoha uttered, the days after the tryouts.

Though it was gossip that Homura did not hear since he practically, became a recluse until he got his acceptance letter.

Not that he knew or mattered to Homura at the moment.

-(Now that I think about it... Guy-san is also somewhat of a genius... perhaps he could give some idea on what is my main problem currently.) Guy-san I wanted to know if-!

However, before he could finish his sentence, Homura immediately closed his mouth...terrible thoughts were running rampant throughout his mind.

- (What am I thinking!? This is Guy-san I am talking to... He has his moments of pure badassness, but he is also the same guy who will one day tell Rock Lee to crossdress as a housewife so that he could come up with a wedding present for Hinata... so I always have to take whatever he says with a mountain of salt!)

- Hm? What is it? No need to be shy! Asked away! Hahaha- as soon as Guy uttered that last sentence he gave Homura a pat on the back.

... However, it wasn't a pat.

- Guah?!- Homura's almost burst out of his skull, from the shock on his back, he had just received.

Due to how much strength Guy had and his jovial/lax attitude; it was more of a slap rather than a pat.

A very powerful slap that took Homura's feet off the ground and sent him crashing less than a few steps away; face first.

In a normal world that would be a problem but in the shinobi world, people are far more resistant to blunt force... until they aren't.

Thankfully for Homura, he is.

Otherwise, he might have needed medical attention.

- (Guy-san's famous slap on the back... how many times have I been hit and sent crashing face first... In any other world, this would be considered as abuse but here not so much

Stupid but confident... is what I am starting to think is what Guy-san is... but that's also how the father in the orphanage described me once... I will kill one day.

But I know that it is not true. Guy-san is quite capable. When looks at me seriously, he fucking scares me! It is such a shift in attitude that I can never tell what's happening.

It will either be something really insightful or f'cking stupid. You just never know what you're going to get with that man.

- Nothing... just forget it...

- Hm, you seem a bit down, Ah! I know! (Guy)

- Huh?

- I know what will cheer you up! (Guy)

- W-What?

- I will teach you my recipe for curry! You're a young burning with the passion of youth, I am sure that a hot spicy curry is all that you can think about, when you want to challenge yourself a bit further, *nod* *nod* (Guy)- Might Guy nodded several times as if trying to reaffirm to himself that his idea was the right answer to Homura's current dilemma.

- Ah...(What?!!! Where did that come from?!)

- Alright listen up good I will tell you my recipe for energizing curry! You better take some notes! (Guy)

- N-no, it's fine. I can remember everything. (I have CPU in my brain anyway...)

- What!? You will be able to remember everything? You geniuses are truly terrifying! I really can't underestimate you. *Nod* *nod* Alright here we go! (Guy)

-... (I wonder what he wants this time... he's usually super busy.)

A bored-looking Homura, chose to pay Guy almost no mind but still decided to keep an open heart since there might be something useful in the mix.

- Alright! First, you have to wake up at 6 and take a very light breakfast. (Guy)

- (huh?) huh?

- Wait thirty minutes, then do 3 laps around the center of the village on your hands. Then we start by fully waking up the still sleepy body by doing 300 push-ups, 800 squats, 400 pull-ups, 500 but-ups, 800 knee crunches, 1,000 sit-ups, 2,000 side bridges, 3,000 push-ups, and for the coup de gras! Climbing down the small cliff near the Hokage rock.- Guy pointed toward the Hokage rock in a dynamic pose.

Even Homura could not help himself and looked towards, where Guy was pointing with his left hand with dead fish-like eyes.

- Then finally take a shower and pour some heated pre-made curry on top of cooked rice. Mmm-Mmm, delicious! It will remind you of the first day of summer. That is the taste of a splendid lunch like no other. Just talking about it is making me hungry! How about we go do it right now?  What do you say? (Guy)

-...

It took a few seconds for Homura to snap out from the sheer amount of absurdity that had nothing to do with making curry until the very last moment to finally come back to reality.

And even calling it a recipe for curry was a stretch. For some unknown reason, it seemed that he either got lazy at the end or that he was secretly admitting that he couldn't cook.

- !? What?! How is that a recipe for curry!? This was just another of your training regiments! And that last part was definitely about instant curry! How is that even a recipe!? (Why do I even talk to this weirdo!? This is the same guy, that likes to run even while sleeping... but at the very least he told me to wait 30 minutes after eating to exercise...jeez, how low have I fallen for that to be the saving grace.)

- No! You're wrong, Homura- kun!- said Guy while pointing at Homura, in an overly exaggerated manner, as if he was challenging him to the fight of the century.

-Huh? How am I wrong?

- You're thinking too hard! (Guy)

- (That's the first time anyone ever told me that, and he's clearly not thinking enough.)... Is that so?- said Homura in a sarcastic-sounding tone.

- You have to understand that food always tastes better after a rough day of exercising! When you burn all the impurities from your body, the food will always taste better no matter how much effort you put into cooking. Your body will feel energized and revitalized from the intake of new protein flowing through your entire body, giving you a boost in performance! That rush of intake is the best spice that exists! Your own personal brand of spices! (Guy)

- Because you just suffered from extreme calorie deprivation! Also, apologize to all the chefs in the world for all the stupid statements you made so far! (How is this guy allowed to be a sensei!? He's a total menace! I hope he gets better in the future and that now I am just experiencing his crazy years, due to him realizing he is starting to lose his youth or something...)

- You know, from all your training regiments so far, I can tell that you want to get faster and stronger above all else, but you also fear building it up too many unnecessary muscles... (Guy)

-...Huh... I-I (H-how does he know that!? I haven't told anyone before...It's true that I fear becoming a muscle head and attaining the best possible lean figure... but I'd never say that allowed, it's too embarrassing so I had C make all the planning.)

- It's alright Homura-kun! There's no need to be shy, in fact, that recipe I just told you about; could help forge a more agile body and more stamina. (Guy)

- R-really?

- Undeniably, you can trust this famous green beast of Konoha! So, How is it? Don't you want to feel good in your own body? And sculpt it close to perfection?! (Guy)

- !?...I do... want a body close to perfection (handsome).

What Might Guy had told to Homura was indeed very appealing for someone with his narcissistic tendencies and his goal to become stronger, so although he doubted Guy's words; greed was a sin for a reason.

In other words, he had been hit where it mattered... he was now more open to listening to Guy's suggestions. 

-(...Urgh, H-he got me... I'm afraid that I might not be that popular... why is that? I'm supposed to be a higher-class Uchiha, right? I should have the good looks but, I'm not getting any fangirls so far... What's going on?)

- Great! With this recipe, you will have a fine-looking body (fit). (Guy)

- Hm... a fine-looking (sexy) body, huh? Alright Guy-san, I'm in! Show me how it's done! I won't disappoint you! (It's no martial arts regiment, but I can't pass down looking good.)

- OOOOH!!!!!! I knew you would agree Homura-kun! Let's not waste any more time and start right now! (Guy)

- Now?! 

- Of course! We have to strike while the iron is still hot! While our blood is still boiling! While our eyebrows are still looking ferocious!

- I-I guess...(I don't think that the last one applies to me. I have normal-looking eyebrows.) 

- Come on Homura-kun! The day is still young gotta burn all those calories!- Guy started running ahead without waiting for Homura any longer.

- S-sure... I guess I should start chasing after him too...(I'm actually just going along with this nonsense because I'm now terribly indebted... maybe I can get a free pack of curry out of this, when it's all over... but man, climbing? I hate high altitudes...)

It was in a rush that both the not-so-quite master and pupil started their so-called recipe to taste the best curry dish.

Chapter end.

*I will be honest I hate Guy and Naruto-centric chapters. You never know what Guy is going to say or Naruto's going to do since they are so random at times...well most of it comes from fillers. PS: got tired and decided to edit later bye*

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