Explosion of Youth! (5)

"So… I lost in the end?" Lee muttered, more for himself than any others, while his countenance looked downcast.

Seeing his dejection, Tenten spoke up in consolation, "Y-you did well, Lee! Just that your opponent used a genjutsu and put you in to an illusion. Otherwise, you would have won!"

Shinji frowned slightly, at her implication that the only reason he won was because he used a genjutsu. Honestly, he was already holding back quite abit. Ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and elemental chakra manipulation, all of these he had held back on using. Did she even understand how badly Lee would have been torn up if he applied Wind Nature chakra to his Shinkyoken?

But of course, he also knew Lee was holding back too. Specifically, in the usage of his chakra gates. Lee could open the first five gates, and which one provided a tremendous boost in power. If Lee disregarded courtesy and treated the fight as a life or death match, Shinji wasn't sure how he might fare against Lee with all of the five chakra gates released.

Shinji did not verbally express all these thoughts. Instead, he bowed respectfully at his dejected opponent, "Thank you for your guidance. I have learned a lot from this fight."

Lee turned to Shinji, his previously dejected appearance brightening up at Shinji's heartfelt gratitude.

Shinji continued, "I look forward to the next time we spar, when you will not hold back like you did this time."

The bowl-haired genin's eyes watered upon hearing that. He understood Shinji's intent. His opponent was consoling, but at the same time trying to reassure Lee that the only reason he won was because Lee was still holding back. Simultaneously, Shinji was extending a hand in friendship by promising a next time they would spar.

Though Lee might have his own thoughts that Shinji had similarly held back, he could feel the sincerity in Shinji's remarks.

"Shinji-kun, you…"

"WHAT AN EXPLOSION OF YOUTH!!!" A sudden loud shout pierced the room as an older version of Lee appeared in the room without anyone even realizing when he had arrived in the first place.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee quickly stood up but winced from the pain of his still open wound on his back.

"Ah, wait, let me heal your injury first." Shinji moved to support him as the unmistakable green glow of medical ninjutsu appeared on his hand. He then hovered his hand over Lee's wound, letting the medical chakra slowly infuse into Lee's injury.

"Yo, Lee. I was watching. It was a superb display of youth!" Gai announced, before flashing his signature thumbs up and bright smile.

"Gai-sensei! But, but I lost…" Lee responded dejectedly.

Gai approached and put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, "Lee! Haven't you understood by now, losing is not a failure. Real failure is when you give up after you have lost!"

"I… I understand, Gai-sensei! I will never give up!" Lee declared with tears in his eyes.

Gai nodded firmly although his eyes briefly glanced towards Shinji's hand covered in the warm green glow of medical ninjutsu. However, what he was looking at was not Shinji's prodigious use of medical ninjutsu. Rather, his mind was thinking back on the taijutsu style Shinji had used against Lee.

'He was using… the Shinkyoken! Asuma, why would teach him that taijutsu?' Gai gravely thought to himself.

"All done." Shinji reported to Lee, as the medical ninjutsu finished healing up his injury. The wound was a shallow one to begin with, since Shinji had purposefully avoided hitting anywhere major. The finger had precisely pierced through some layers of muscle, and not even complicated ones. The large stretch of muscles were easily woven back together by Shinji.

"Wow, I don't feel any pain at all! That's amazing, Shinji-kun!" Lee exclaimed, stretching and flexing his back with wonder.

"Well, that's the least I could do after doing that to you." Shinji replied, "Although, I do hope you brought a change of clothes, otherwise you will have to go compete in the chuunin exams with a hole in your suit."

Lee's already big round eyes widened further, "Ah! I didn't think to bring a change of clothes! What should I do? Hmm, the exam starts in half an hour, that's more than enough time for me to run home and grab a pair…"

At this point, Gai laughed and interrupted, "Don't worry Lee! A good ninja always comes prepared, especially when it comes to this suit of ours!"

From behind him, he pulled out a pair of the green bodysuit both Lee and he wore.

'Where did he even pull that out from…' Shinji thought to himself.

"Ah! Now I understand how important it is to carry spare suits with me! Gai-sensei, thank you!" Lee shouted back, with appreciation and fire in his eyes.

Gai laughed even louder before turning to Shinji, "How about it, do you want a pair as well? This gorgeous suit is specially made so it is durable, breathes well, always fits perfectly and not to mention incredibly fashionable as well! It is the perfect bodysuit! It is a highly sought after item that is very difficult to get your hands on! I guarantee that once you wear it, you will never want to wear anything else ever again!"

The inner fashionista in Shinji screamed in horror, but out of curiosity, he casted [Observe] on the suit.

[Maito Gai's Bodysuit – Grade: Unique]

The perfect bodysuit designed specifically for ease of movement and combat effectiveness. The material it is made of is a special blend of nylon, cotton and a unique fibre doused in chakra in the production process. As a result, it is exceptionally durable despite it being made of such a thin and flexible material. For it's practicality, all concept of fashion and aesthetics have been abandoned. It is the epitome of function over form.

Durability: 200/200

STR +5%

DEX +10%

'A-Amazing… it's a percentage increase in stats! I have never seen that in an item before! But… but it's hideous!' An epic battle between two different parts of Shinji's psyche raged on in his mind, similar to when he had previously debated on whether or not he should consume the Legion Zombie's heart.

One side reasoned that min-maxing was obviously the right decision, and the stat boost it gave was too precious to lose out on simply for as shallow a reason as fashion. While the other side screamed, 'Are you outside of your fucking mind!? Look at how tight that suit is! You want to show our cock and balls to the entire world?'

'Just wear other clothes over it then.'

'Oh… yeah that could work.'

"Really? Well, if it is as amazing as you have made it sound then I would gratefully receive your gift, Gai-sensei!" Shinji responded, as Gai handed over the green bodysuit.

"Trust me. Once you go green, you will always be keen!"

Hinata, Shino and Tenten watched their exchange with slack jaws.

'Shinji-kun is going to wear… that? I mean, if anyone could pull it off, it would be Shinji-kun of course.' The Hyuuga princess was incredulous for a moment but she still managed to perform some mental gymnastics that Shinji could do no wrong.

'T-there's three of them now? Sigh, what a shame. And I thought he was pretty cute too.' Tenten sighed and shook her head in pity.

"Shinji-kun, shouldn't we start heading to the exam venue. We wouldn't want to be late, after all." Hinata spoke up, not wanting Shinji to receive any further adverse influences from garish duo.

"Ah, sure. Give me five minutes, I need to go change first. See you at the exams, Lee. And your team too. Next time we fight, don't hold back, alright?" Shinji responded before waving and running off to the toilet to change into the green bodysuit.

'EH!? Does he really like it so much that he is going to change into the suit right away!?' Tenten stared after Shinji's retreating figure in shock and disbelief.

"As expected of Shinji-kun… After hearing that the suit would boost his combat performance, he disregards others' opinion and seeks only strength. He is indeed admirable!" Lee breathed out in admiration. "YOSH, wait for me Shinji-kun, we will go change together!"

"That's so weird! Can't you phrase it another way!?" His teammate shot back.

Though none of them noticed Hinata's cold gaze on Lee, 'Change… together? Oi you green freak, stay away from Shinji-kun.'

And so the duel between Shinji and Lee concluded, with Shinji adopting the usage of Gai's bodysuit. Though thankfully he wore it underneath his other clothes, much to the disappointment of Lee and Gai and the delight of every other person.

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*Shinji POV*

We stood outside the door leading to the exam room of the first stage of the chuunin exams. Team Gai had opted to enter after them, possibly due to some weird tension between Hinata and Neji. But I shrugged it off. What came after entering this door was far too important to be bothered about the internal matters of the Hyuuga clan.

"You guys ready?" I asked, though it was an unnecessary question to begin with.

"Of course, Shinji-kun!" Shino remained silent while Hinata enthusiastically responded.

I put both hands on the door and pushed. Chuunin exam, I am here!