I didn't respond with words.

My nervous smile as I snapped into the same stance as Guy was all he needed to confirm my acceptance. Standing there, facing a Jonin who I had placed a lot of my hopes on... I couldn't help but feel the intensity of my heartbeat skyrocket.

Everything about Guy's demeanour showed that this battle went beyond a normal spar, his silence as we walked to the compound and the words he said just now implied that its consequences would be far-reaching.

'Calm down Aoki. Focus... breathe...' I reminded myself, taking a moment to quell my worry.

*FWOOM*

Guy switched to a stance that relied on counterattacking and interception, heavily reminiscent of the Uchiha style. He didn't have to say anything to convey what he was hinting at.

The Jonin was waiting for my move.

It would be rude of me to leave him waiting.

I switched my stance into the "Fast Fist" style that I was most comfortable with, it relied on swift movements and dodges interspliced with light jabs and heavy strikes at oppertune movements.

The most difficult part of this Taijutsu style was the footwork, but I had practised it thoroughly enough to burn through a couple of shoes, much to Tomo's chagrin.

*Thunk!*

I jumped forwards to him with my stance locked in place and my senses pried open.

I reached Guy within a second and flicked my left hand towards him in a light jab to test his reaction, before it had halfway reached him, my hand was slapped away and I found a fist flying at my face.

I sidestepped his punch and responded by pulling my arm back into position and putting my weight into my left leg, snapping my right leg forward for a front kick.

Guy dodged my kick with ease and before I could respond, I found a kick of a similar style that I employed flying to my chest.

*SMACK*

I almost flew away from the force he had hit me with and crumpled to the ground, however, I managed to roll over and get up... only to find a fist flying at my face.

I ducked, or more accurately, let myself fall to the ground. Once I had dodged, I aimed a punch from the 'Strong Fist' style that relied on heavy hits at Guy's stomach which was now open, I half expected him to dodge but surprisingly, it hit.

"URK!"

[THIRD PERSON POV]

Guy smiled as Aoki dodged his fist, he wasn't using nearly a fraction of his real speed, but the amount he used was far above what even most Genin would be able to dodge.

In Guy's mind, Aoki's display was brimming with youthful potential.

Genin, while only Ninja trainees to some, almost always show levels of skills far superior to any academy student. The difference between an academy student in his last year and a Genin with a few months of experience is monumental.

This increase in skill has nothing to do with what the instructor at their respective level teaches them, but almost exclusively has to do with one essential factor, the backbone of a Ninja's combat aptitude.

Experience.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Aoki however, has none; elevating his feats to another level.

Guy launched his leg forward at Aoki with a speed he wouldn't expect anyone near Aoki's age to be able to dodge, it was a matter of physical maturity, not skill. The Jonin had placed enough force in it to bring Aoki to his knees for a while, he took no pleasure in it but he was well aware of Aoki steamrolling his peers in Taijutsu, Guy took this opportunity to help Aoki learn how to take hits.

As his foot slammed into Aoki's abdomen Guy grimaced a little at the sight of his body being flung backwards, he decided that while Aoki recovered from the attack, he would complement the boy's speed.

However, Aoki gave him no time for his speech. The boy got up on his feet and readied his stance within a few seconds.

Guy only got more thrilled at his fast recovery and decided to go on the attack, the Jonin flew a fist towards Aoki's face, it was faster than the first punch but slower than the kick, he wanted to get a grasp on Aoki's maximum speed to help push the boy even further.

As Guy had expected, Aoki dodged.

Guy saw the child ball his fists up and switch stances into his own favoured Taijutsu style, with a small smile he allowed Aoki to hit him, he wanted to measure how strong the boy would be.

"URK!"

Unintentionally, Guy let out a small grunt as his gut was punched by Aoki.

The Jonin's eyes were wide open as he rolled his body away from Aoki's kick that followed, Guy was still in shock from the punch as he dodged Aoki's flurry of attacks, each were perfect in form and style; his movements flowed like water and a Taijutsu practitioner such as Guy was able to see how excellent it was.

'Strong.' Was what Guy thought remembering the hit he had received. It was magnitudes higher than what he expected of Aoki, even considering his... peculiar circumstances detailed by the Hokage.

Guy decided to go on the attack, he punched Aoki's abdomen harder than ever before, and this time he put enough force in it to surely down the boy for a minute or so.

Throughout this, Guy couldn't help but notice how excited he had become.

He had high hopes for Aoki before... but those expectations paled in comparison to what he felt now.

Guy was about to drop his stance and tend to the fallen boy but froze in his steps as Aoki shakily stood up from the punch, his body shaping into a proper stance. It took all the instinct he took to not show his surprise on his face, but internally, he was slackjawed. That level of force would've been more than enough to bring many experienced Ninjas he knows to their knees.

If Aoki's body could stand this level of punishment at this age, what would he be able to endure once fully matured?

With this, the Jonin decided to trash all the plans he had made before... he could afford to go a lot harder on Aoki than what he had expected. It was his duty as a senior to allow Aoki to experience the power of unbridled youth!

"Ready your stance Aoki." Guy said, snapping Aoki into attention as he halted his attack.

Guy grinned at Aoki as the boy retreated and swiftly switched his stance into a defensive one, it was clear he had gotten the message. With a flash of his teeth, Guy made a declaration that caused Aoki's hardened will to waver.

"Prepare to face the burning flames of my YOUTH!"

-----

[AOKI POV]

'Youth needs to die.'

'Youth needs to be decapitated.'

'I shall kill youth... call me Anakin... fuck...'

After getting an earful from Tomo about being "irresponsible" while Sasuke looked at me from the background with a smug face, I couldn't help but feel that the bruises began to sting a little more after the fact.

I hobbled to my bedroom with Sasuke in tow, he handed me a couple of icepacks and wished me well but I shooed him off, I wanted some time alone. I laid on my bed and reminisced about the ass-kicking I just got.

With a groan, I stretched my limbs and let my thoughts run free.

'Did he have to go so hard? Jeez... zero to a hundred real quick...' I thought, remembering how Guy completely changed his attitude during the spar.

If at first, he wanted to measure how capable I was, later, he changed to measuring how long it'd take before I got knocked out.

The moment he started talking about youth, I knew I was cooked.

The worst part is that even though it hurts like hell, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

That speed... that strength...

It was beyond anything I've ever seen, this marks the first time that I was fully at a loss as to how to handle a spar.

I was getting punched and kicked at speeds I couldn't fathom, it's a wonder I'm still standing.

Half of my mind was reeling with pain and trying to counterattack, the other half was marvelling at Guy's strength; it was an odd mix of hopelessness and awe. The nail in the coffin was the thought that this level of capability could probably be replicated by many Ninjas in the village, chances are Guy wasn't using even a small fraction of his true strength.

Beyond the hopeless loss, I found that my level of skill was going up as the match progressed, experience is the backbone of all Taijutsu and I couldn't help but feel that by only practising the scrolls, I was overlooking a big part of what it means to practice Taijutsu.

Practice is one half of the puzzle, I need to graduate quickly in order to get the other half.

'But that's a problem for future Aoki...' I thought, shelving my thoughts away for later.

All present Aoki had to do was eat some dinner and go to sleep... ah... how nice.