Chance Encounter with Might Duy

Early the next morning, Yūske hurried to the training grounds after a simple breakfast.

After several rounds of physical training, Tsunade still had not arrived.

He thought, It seems Tsunade must have gone to make preparations for the war. I've been sparring with her these past few days and nearly forgot that she's also a Medical Ninja. She has quite a lot of supplies to prepare.

After confirming that Tsunade would not be coming, Yūske prepared to change locations and continue developing the powers of the String-String Fruit.

As he passed through a part of the forest, Yūske suddenly stopped. His gaze was deeply drawn to a lone figure training by himself.

A man dressed in a green bodysuit gritted his teeth and struck a wooden post again and again. Even though his clothes were already soaked through and sweat was dripping onto the ground, he persisted without his strength diminishing in the slightest.

At the same time, he kept counting, "Five hundred and five, five hundred and six, five hundred and seven... nine hundred and ninety-eight, nine hundred and ninety-nine, one thousand."

After finishing, he knelt on the ground with both hands braced against it, gasping for air.

"Rest for a moment. Then another thousand straight punches, followed by five hundred side kicks."

Might Duy. Yūske looked at him. He appeared to be around twenty years old, and with that distinctive outfit, Yūske could practically confirm that he was the Might Duy he had been thinking about for quite some time.

At this point, Might Duy had already learned the Eight Inner Gates.

With the intention of making friends, Kazama Tetsu walked over to him.

"Hello, my name is Watanabe Yūske. Do you train here often?"

Might Duy, who had been resting, was startled by the sudden voice. A handsome young man stood before him with an outstretched hand.

"Hello, I'm Might Duy. Nice to meet you."

Might Duy quickly rose to his feet, a delighted smile appearing on his face. After patting the sweat from his hands, he grasped Yūske's hand.

Everyone treated him like an oddball. Since this was the first time someone had taken the initiative to speak to him, Might Duy seemed somewhat at a loss.

Seeing how nervous Might Duy was, Yūske smiled indifferently. "I often come here to train by myself too. How about we have a little competition?"

"It would be an honor!" Might Duy shouted excitedly.

Yūske then found a wooden post and said, "Then let's start with a thousand straight punches?"

Upon hearing that, Might Duy quickly ran to the wooden post where he had been training, his expression turning serious.

Three, two, one.

The two threw their punches at the same time and shouted in unison.

"One, two, three... four hundred and twenty-four, four hundred and twenty-five... nine hundred and ninety-nine, one thousand."

When the training ended, Yūske was the first to give out. He sat on the ground, gasping for breath, then looked at Might Duy, who was half-crouched with his hands braced on his knees, and smiled.

"I lost this round."

"That's not true. It's only because I repeat this training every day, so I..." Might Duy shook his head, about to explain.

"A loss is a loss. That way, I'll have even more motivation to catch up to you."

Seeing Yūske speak to him with such seriousness, Might Duy's eyes instantly welled up. It felt so good to be acknowledged by someone.

Wiping away his tears, Might Duy resolved to train even harder so that he would not disappoint Watanabe Yūske's recognition.

The two trained and chatted for a while. Might Duy frankly told Yūske that even if he could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu, he would still become a great ninja.

"I believe you definitely can," Yūske answered firmly.

"Yūske, from today onward, you are the dearest friend of Might Duy. Let us work hard together and become stronger."

"Grrrumble."

After the training ended, Might Duy's stomach growled. He looked at Yūske sheepishly.

Yūske looked up and realized that the sun had unknowingly reached the middle of the sky. He rubbed his own stomach and said, "Duy, to celebrate us becoming friends, I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."

"No, I should be the one treating." Might Duy still felt embarrassed to let Yūske spend money on him, especially since he had a large appetite.

"I lost today's competition, so I should be the one paying. If you want to treat me, wait until you beat me next time." Without giving Might Duy a chance to refuse, he grabbed Might Duy's hand and pulled him back to the village, heading straight for Ichiraku Ramen.

"Teuchi, four bowls of Miso Tonkotsu Ramen to start with."

The moment he entered Ichiraku Ramen, Yūske was the first to place an order with Teuchi.

It was Might Duy's first time eating out, and he seemed a little nervous, though even more excited.

Father, I finally have a friend.

Ever since Hiruzen Sarutobi had told Tsunade and the others yesterday to be ready to head to the Front Lines at any time.

Tsunade had plunged headfirst into the hospital. Using the information sent back by her companions on the front line against Sunagakure, she began researching antidotes. She knew well that the most dangerous thing about facing Sunagakure was not their endless stream of ninjutsu, but the various poisons used by their Puppet forces.

Chiyo, the commander-in-chief of the Sunagakure front line, was an expert in poison, and most of the poisons used by the Puppet forces under her command came from her own hands. As one of Konoha's top Medical Ninja, Tsunade had to hurry and prepare antidotes. Only then could she reduce her companions' casualties and ease the pressure on the Front Lines.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, was in his secret base, trying out the new ninjutsu he had developed while recording data, testing and improving it at the same time.

Jiraiya, however, had pulled along his prized disciple Minato and was already preparing to lie in wait at the place where Yūske trained every day, swatting away bugs while eating Military Rations Pills.