The True Hero

Might Guy ran off crying again, leaving behind even that large bag of chestnuts.

Kakashi's eye twitched several times as he watched Zhang Miao sit on the stool as though nothing had happened, peeling and eating chestnuts.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Mm!" Zhang Miao nodded, then held out the chestnut in his hand to him. "Want some? They're pretty sweet. It'd be a waste not to eat them!"

Kakashi: "..."

Those chestnuts belonged to Might Guy! Was it really okay to chase him off and then eat his chestnuts so matter-of-factly?

There was so much to complain about that Kakashi did not even know where to begin. Seeing Zhang Miao sincerely offering him a chestnut, he could only sigh.

"Let's go!"

"Okay!"

By now, Zhang Miao had grown accustomed to being carried around by Kakashi. He did not feel the slightest bit ashamed about being carried by a thirteen-year-old boy.

He hummed an unknown tune while crunching through the bag of chestnuts Might Guy had left behind.

"Crunch... Mm, these chestnuts are really good. Kakashi, you really don't want a couple?"

"No!" A faint smile appeared on Kakashi's face at Zhang Miao's words. "Ryunosuke, have your upper teeth grown in yet?"

"No, I'm crushing them with my lower teeth. My front teeth probably won't grow back for another three months, so I'll just make do for now!"

"..."

Watching Zhang Miao calmly toss another chestnut into his mouth, Kakashi's face flashed with helplessness.

No matter how he looked at it, this guy did not seem like a child under a year old. Were all members of the Uzumaki Clan such freaks?

With that thought, Kakashi shook his head, casting aside those far-fetched ideas before asking Zhang Miao in a somewhat serious tone, "Ryunosuke, do you dislike Guy?"

In the past, Kakashi would never have asked such a question. However, Obito's death during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had once again changed his outlook on life, making him value his comrades.

Although Might Guy could sometimes annoy him beyond endurance, Guy's hard work and perseverance had genuinely moved him to some extent and earned Kakashi's recognition. Therefore, Kakashi did not want Zhang Miao to tease Might Guy like this.

In Kakashi's view, Guy's image was indeed somewhat terrible. Perhaps that was why Zhang Miao disliked him. But to Kakashi's surprise, Zhang Miao did not seem to think so.

The moment Kakashi finished speaking, Zhang Miao immediately shook his head.

"No, I don't dislike Might Guy at all. On the contrary, I like him very much, and I firmly believe that he will become a great ninja someday!"

"Uh..." Zhang Miao's answer had clearly caught Kakashi off guard. He stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at Zhang Miao. "Why do you say that?"

"Because he has a great father who is no less remarkable than your father, Hatake Sakumo—Might Duy!"

As soon as Zhang Miao said that, Kakashi's eyes widened, his gaze filled with disbelief.

In Kakashi's eyes, Zhang Miao deeply admired and respected his father, Hatake Sakumo. Yet he had never expected Might Guy's father to hold such a high place in Zhang Miao's heart as well.

Kakashi had some impression of Might Guy's father too. When Hatake Sakumo had taken him to the Ninja Academy, he had seen Might Guy's father once at the school gates.

Kakashi remembered that Might Guy's father dressed just like Guy did now, wearing a green jumpsuit and always carrying a worldly smile, as though he could smile at anyone.

Could someone like that be called a hero?

As if sensing Kakashi's surprise, Zhang Miao slowly spoke again.

"Might Duy was Might Guy's father. He was not skilled in ninjutsu or genjutsu and devoted himself to taijutsu for twenty years. People called him the Eternal Genin, and the Konoha ninja of that time always treated Might Duy like trash, like a worthless failure!"

At this point, a trace of mockery flashed across Zhang Miao's face.

"But they never imagined that this very 'failure,' this 'trash' in their eyes, could unleash such astonishing power to protect his son and Konoha's comrades, turning the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into the Three Ninja Swordsmen in one stroke!"

"Hiss..." Kakashi sharply drew in a breath at Zhang Miao's words. "Guy's father was actually that strong?"

Kakashi knew about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. It was said that each of them possessed Kage Level strength. Against all seven working together, Kakashi felt that even his father, Hatake Sakumo, would have found it difficult to contend with them, much less kill four of them.

Yet Guy's father had actually managed it. How had he done it?

Seeing Kakashi's incredulous expression, Zhang Miao smiled again.

"Hard to believe, right? But it's the truth! After that battle, only Juzo Biwa, Fuguki, and Raiga Kurosuki remained of the once-renowned Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Two of them later became rogue ninja as well. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were completely destroyed."

"So that's how it was!"

After listening to Zhang Miao's account, Kakashi nodded with a somewhat moved expression.

"I never expected Guy's father to be such a great ninja too."

"Yeah!" As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, Zhang Miao nodded as well. Then he looked up at the sky and said with a touch of emotion, "But I still think calling him a hero is more fitting!"

"A hero?"

Hearing Zhang Miao mention the word "hero" again, Kakashi looked at him in surprise once more. His expression seemed to ask whether that assessment was not a little excessive.

Facing Kakashi's questioning gaze, Zhang Miao nodded firmly again.

"Yes, a hero! In my eyes, a hero isn't someone holding a sword, nor someone holding a shield, nor someone who heals others. A hero is someone who, at a critical moment, can use his life to protect his family and comrades. That is a true hero!"

Having said that, Zhang Miao took a deep breath and pointed toward the enormous Hokage Rock in the distance.

"Just like the Fourth Hokage, who died during the Nine-Tails' Rampage!"

Upon hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi could not help looking toward Hokage Rock, murmuring to himself at the same time.

"Someone who, at a critical moment, can use his life to protect his family and comrades... is a true hero..."

Seeing Kakashi fall into a daze again, Zhang Miao smiled and nodded once more.

"That's right. Those are true heroes. Like your father, Kakashi, and Might Guy's father—they are both Konoha's true heroes!"

Hearing Zhang Miao call his father a hero again, the corners of Kakashi's mouth curled up beneath his mask. He gently pulled down his ninja forehead protector to cover his slightly burning left eye, then carried Zhang Miao onward.

As he walked, he thought to himself, Ryunosuke, you keep saying that Guy's father and mine were true heroes, but in my eyes, your father—the man who protected the entire village under the threat of the Nine-Tails—was the true hero!

With reverence for his father and teacher in his heart, Kakashi carried Zhang Miao farther and farther away.

Neither of them knew that after they left, a thick-browed boy in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut was leaning against the wall in the alley, biting his clothes hard as tears streamed down his face.

"Father... the people of the village haven't forgotten you. You are a true hero... sob, sob, sob..."