The True Hero

Might Guy ran off crying again, not even taking that big bag of chestnuts with him.

Watching Zhang Miao sit on the stool, peeling and eating chestnuts like nothing had happened, Kakashi's eye twitched several times.

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

"Yep!" Zhang Miao nodded, then held out a chestnut to him. "Want one? They're pretty sweet. Would be a waste not to eat them!"

Kakashi: "..."

Those chestnuts were Might Guy's! After driving the guy away in tears, eating his chestnuts so matter-of-factly—was that really okay?

There was too much to complain about, he didn't even know where to start. And seeing Zhang Miao sincerely offering him a chestnut, Kakashi let out a sigh.

"Sigh. Let's go."

"Oh!"

By now, Zhang Miao was used to being carried on Kakashi's back. He felt no shame at all about being piggybacked by a thirteen-year-old.

Humming some unknown tune, he crunched away on the bag of chestnuts from Might Guy.

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

"No thanks!" Hearing Zhang Miao's words, a smile crept onto Kakashi's face. "Ryunosuke, have your upper teeth grown in yet?"

"Nope, I'm using my lower teeth to crack them. My front teeth probably won't come in for another three months. I'll make do for now."

"..."

Watching Zhang Miao calmly pick up another chestnut and toss it into his mouth, Kakashi's face showed a flicker of helplessness.

This guy didn't seem like a baby under a year old at all. Were all Uzumaki Clan members such freaks?

Thinking that, Kakashi shook his head, tossing those stray thoughts aside before asking Zhang Miao seriously, "Ryunosuke, do you hate Guy?"

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

Sure, Might Guy sometimes annoyed him to no end, but the guy's effort and perseverance had genuinely moved him to some degree and earned his recognition. So Kakashi didn't want Zhang Miao messing with Might Guy like this.

In Kakashi's view, Guy's image was admittedly a bit of a mess—maybe that was why Zhang Miao disliked him. But to Kakashi's surprise, Zhang Miao didn't seem to think that way.

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

"No, I don't dislike Might Guy at all. On the contrary, I really like him. And I firmly believe that in the future, he'll become a great ninja!"

"Uh..." Zhang Miao's answer 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, no less than your father Hatake Sakumo—Might Duy!"

When Zhang Miao said this, Kakashi's eyes went wide, his gaze full of disbelief.

In Kakashi's mind, Zhang Miao held his father Hatake Sakumo in very high regard and respect. But he never expected that Might Guy's father also occupied such a lofty place in Zhang Miao's heart.

Kakashi had some impression of Might Guy's father. Back when his own father, Hatake Sakumo, took him to the Ninja Academy, he'd seen Might Guy's father at the school gate once.

Kakashi remembered that Might Guy's father dressed just like Might Guy now—wearing a green jumpsuit, always sporting a worldly smile, as if he could smile at anyone.

Could someone like that really be called a hero?

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

"Might Duy is Might Guy's father. He's not good at ninjutsu or genjutsu, and he focused on training taijutsu for twenty years. People called him the Eternal Genin. Back then, the Konoha ninjas all treated Might Duy like trash, like garbage."

Saying this, a hint of mockery flashed across Zhang Miao's face.

"But they never imagined that this 'trash,' this 'garbage' in their eyes, could unleash astonishing power to protect his son and his comrades in Konoha. In one blow, he turned the 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist' into the 'Three Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist'!"

"Hiss..." Hearing this, Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath. "Guy's father was that strong?"

Kakashi knew about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. It was said each of them had power at the Kage level. Facing all seven working together, Kakashi felt that even his father, Hatake Sakumo, would struggle to match them, let alone kill four of them.

But Guy's father had managed it. How?

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

"Hard to believe, right? But it's true. After that battle, the once-famous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were reduced to just three: Juzo Biwa, Fuguki Suikazan, and Raiga Kurosuki. And two of them later became rogue ninja. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were completely finished."

"So that's how it was."

After hearing Zhang Miao's account, Kakashi nodded, visibly moved.

"I never thought Guy's father was such a great ninja too."

"Yeah!" As Kakashi finished, Zhang Miao nodded as well, then looked up at the sky and said with some emotion, "But I still think calling him a hero fits better."

"Hero?"

Hearing Zhang Miao mention the word "hero" again, Kakashi looked at him with renewed surprise, his expression seeming to ask if Zhang Miao's praise wasn't too much.

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

"That's right, a hero! In my eyes, a hero isn't someone who wields a sword, or someone who holds a shield, or someone who heals others. A hero is someone who, at a critical moment, can protect their family and comrades with their life. That kind of person is a true hero!"

Saying this, Zhang Miao took a deep breath and pointed toward the massive Hokage Rock in the distance.

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

Hearing this, Kakashi couldn't help but look toward the Hokage Rock, muttering to himself.

"So... a true hero is someone who can protect their family and comrades with their life at a critical moment..."

Seeing Kakashi stunned again, Zhang Miao smiled and nodded once more.

"That's right. That kind of person is a true hero. Like your father, Kakashi, and Might Guy's father—they're both true heroes of Konoha!"

Hearing Zhang Miao call his father a hero again, the corner of Kakashi's mouth lifted into a smile beneath his mask. He gently pulled down his ninja headband to cover his slightly burning left eye, then carried Zhang Miao on his back and continued walking forward.

As he walked, he thought to himself: "Ryunosuke, you keep saying my father and Might Guy's father are true heroes. But in my eyes, your father—the man who protected the whole village under the threat of the Nine-Tails—he's the real hero!"

With reverence for his own father and teacher, Kakashi carried Zhang Miao and slowly walked off into the distance.

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 of an alley, biting down hard on his clothes, crying with tears streaming down his face.

"Father... the people in the village haven't forgotten you. You're a true hero... waaah..."