A Chance Encounter with Might Guy

As he thought about this, Yei headed toward Death Forest.

But halfway there, he spotted a green figure walking on his hands while upside down, apparently training...

It was none other than Yei's classmate, Might Guy, whom he had just eaten with.

Guy was upside down, chanting slogans as beads of sweat dripped onto the ground. He was struggling forward on his hands.

It could be said that Guy was the most diligent ninja Yei had ever seen. He trained almost every moment of every day.

His talent for ninjutsu was terrible—arguably even worse than Hyuga Yue's in some respects. If his Taijutsu had not been passable, becoming a Chunin would not have been so easy for him.

Of course, in the past, becoming a Chunin through Taijutsu alone had been nearly impossible...

The eternal Genin, Might Dai, was perfect proof of that!

The reason things later changed was also because of Might Dai!

To protect his son and several Konoha ninja, Might Dai unleashed the Eight Gates Formation on the battlefield and killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, displaying strength that shocked Konoha's higher-ups.

Only then did Konoha's higher-ups realize that perhaps... ninja who specialized in Taijutsu could also display formidable strength!

After that, the higher-ups made specific adjustments in response.

Perhaps ninja who could not learn ninjutsu but possessed exceptional talent in Taijutsu could also be cultivated!

This gave those with no talent for ninjutsu but decent Taijutsu another path forward!

Guy was one of the best among Taijutsu practitioners!

Naturally, Yei would not underestimate Guy. Although Guy seemed ordinary at the moment and his strength barely reached Chunin level, that was only because he had not opened the Eight Gates!

Though Yei did not know which Gate Guy could currently open, as long as he could open the fourth Gate—the Gate of Injury—his strength could not be underestimated!

Rock Lee, who had been around Guy's age in the original story, could open the fifth Gate of the Eight Gates Formation. Guy, who had experienced the brutality of war, should have been able to open the fifth Gate, or perhaps even higher!

No one could look down on Guy once he opened the Eight Gates Formation!

Moreover, as he grew older and his physical condition improved, Guy would only become stronger!

In the original story, when he opened all Eight Gates, he unleashed strength surpassing even a Kage, startling Madara Uchiha to the point that he uttered that famous line...

The Eight Gates Formation? Yei stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then greeted Guy. "Yo, Guy."

Hearing someone call him, Guy stopped moving and raised his head slightly. Upon seeing Yei, he smiled and greeted him as well. "Huh, it's you, Yei. What are you doing here?"

Yei casually made up an excuse. "I wanted to make a trip to Death Forest and see if I could gather some medicinal herbs. Did you just come back from there?"

Guy sprang to his feet with a kip-up, flashing his white teeth as he smiled. "I have a place over there specifically for training. You know how it is—my training makes too much noise. I don't want to disturb anyone, so I can only find somewhere quiet to train by myself."

"Steel Fist Style?" Yei activated his Byakugan and looked Guy over from head to toe before cautioning him, "You have many old injuries that haven't healed yet. If you keep training like this, you may end up harming your body."

Through the Byakugan's vision, Yei could see that Guy's body had many minor issues, injuries accumulated over countless years.

Guy did not seem to care. "They're just aftereffects from training. But I use medicinal herbs every day to help my body recover, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

He muttered under his breath, "Most of my mission pay goes toward that..."

There were no shortcuts in Steel Fist Style training. It required day after day of tempering, honing one's body and improving one's physical condition as much as possible!

The body was their greatest weapon, and their strength would grow as their physical condition improved!

For that reason, prolonged training and tempering placed an enormous burden on the body. Before muscle strain, minor injuries, and light wounds could fully heal, they would undergo high-intensity training once again...

Over time, Guy's body had developed quite a few minor problems.

"I see. You should still be more careful. Don't injure your body through training, or the losses will outweigh the gains." Yei merely smiled.

Then, as if recalling something, he looked at Guy and said, "Guy, you said all your mission pay goes toward buying medicine to restore your body. I'm heading to Death Forest to look for medicinal herbs. Do you want to come with me? I also want to ask you a few questions about Steel Fist Style."

As mentioned before, Yei did not reject other forms of ninjutsu or Taijutsu. He would humbly seek advice from classmates who were particularly proficient in certain areas.

Kakashi's Chidori had also come about because Yei had asked Kakashi about his understanding of Lightning Release ninjutsu. Kakashi, who had only recently obtained the Sharingan and was not yet very skilled at using it, also wanted Yei's insights as a ninja with a dōjutsu bloodline. The two had reached a certain mutual understanding.

It was a sort of exchange that did not quite count as a transaction...

It was not that Yei coveted Guy's secret technique, the Eight Gates Formation. He definitely had thoughts about it, since someone who retained memories of his past life knew better than anyone just how powerful the Eight Gates Formation was.

But the fact that opening the final, eighth Gate meant certain death made Yei hesitate...

What Yei wanted more was to study it and explore the mysteries within!

"Questions about Steel Fist Style? If it's about that, I have some confidence. After all, there still aren't many Konoha ninja who focus solely on learning Taijutsu..." Guy began confidently, but as he continued, his expression became somewhat despondent.

Compared to ninjutsu, Taijutsu was somewhat weaker when it came to increasing one's strength.

It required far too much time. Not everyone had the patience to slowly temper their body.

Unless one's talent for ninjutsu was truly terrible, no one would take this path at all!

As far as Guy knew, among their classmates, he was the only one who had chosen the path of specializing in Taijutsu...

This left Guy, who had always wanted to promote Steel Fist Style, feeling somewhat dejected!

Of course, he would not give up. He firmly believed that even without ninjutsu or genjutsu, Steel Fist Style was still a path to becoming stronger!

Yei smiled and comforted him. "Don't worry. As long as people realize how powerful Taijutsu can be, there will be people willing to learn it just like you. I've never doubted that. As long as something can make people stronger, someone will be willing to learn it!"

Guy flashed his white teeth and gave him a thumbs-up. "Yei, you're really different from the other members of the Hyuga Clan. You're a genius like Kakashi! Kakashi told me something similar too!"

Yei was surprised. "That smug bastard Kakashi actually said something that made sense?"

Gai nodded and said solemnly, "After all, he's a rival I acknowledge!"

"You two really are close..."

Gai flashed his trademark smile again. "He and I are eternal rivals!"

Yei smiled. "Let's go. It's not too late yet—better to leave early and return early."

Gai answered, "All right."