Might Duy

Early in the morning, before the sun had risen, Katsuo finished washing up. After stretching lazily, he did some simple warm-up exercises, then clenched his fists and began running.

"First, a hundred laps around Konoha!"

He shouted, setting himself a modest little goal of one hundred million. But at his current speed, he might not even finish a hundred laps in ten days...

The cool morning breeze against his face was incredibly pleasant. As Katsuo ran, he observed Konoha's buildings. Some were unfamiliar, while others felt deeply familiar—especially the Hokage Building and the mountain wall carved with the faces of past Hokage: Hokage Rock.

Just as he was taking in his surroundings, his ears twitched slightly, and he slowed down.

He heard footsteps approaching from behind. Judging by the sound, someone else was out for a morning run. Curious, he turned around.

The moment he did, his entire body stiffened. The wild delight on his face made the middle-aged man, who had been running enthusiastically, stop in his tracks.

The man Katsuo had dreamed of day and night since crossing over, the man he often thought about, the man he most wanted to meet, was standing right before him!

A green skintight suit, absurdly thick eyebrows, sexy facial hair, and a handsome face that was slightly weathered and unkempt—despite meeting him for the first time, Katsuo immediately confirmed the man's identity!

He was Guy's father—Might Duy!

The man who had mastered the Eight Gates Formation, and currently the only man who had learned this technique!

In the later stages of Naruto, when Super Kage-level experts fought, ordinary ninjutsu and genjutsu could not inflict even the slightest damage on their enemies. Even a mighty Tailed Beast Bomb was nothing more than a larger firecracker, a useless skill incapable of hurting anyone! (Except the Ten-Tails'.)

Looking at Naruto as a whole, it was basically a history of conflicts within the Otsutsuki Clan. Without Otsutsuki blood or eyes, it was nearly impossible to rise to prominence.

What powerful force, aside from the Otsutsuki Clan's lineage, was worth mentioning?

Probably only the Eight Gates Formation, hailed as the strongest taijutsu. Even the senjutsu of the three great sage regions fell short of it. In the later battle against Uchiha Madara, apart from Naruto and Sasuke, who had gained Yin-Yang Release and could fight Madara together, only Might Guy, after opening the Gate of Death in the Eight Gates, could do so!

Katsuo did not want to treat the Sharingan as his trump card, much less rely too heavily on its power. The only power worthy of becoming his trump card was the Eight Gates!

Of course, that was assuming he could learn this Forbidden Technique from Might Duy!

"Brother Dai! Out for a morning run? Hehe!"

Katsuo walked over to him and casually blurted out that pointless greeting like an idiot. His silly grin left Old Duy utterly baffled...

Although they were strangers meeting for the first time, and Katsuo was just a little kid, Old Duy saw the sincere smile on his face and returned his greeting with a smile.

"Yeah. Little brother, are you out for a morning run too? All by yourself?"

He thought it was not good for a child like Katsuo to run so far from home!

"Hehe, the burning of youth knows no age or gender! Don't underestimate me just because I'm a kid!!! Let us experience youth together, embrace youth, and burn with youth! Brother Dai..."

Katsuo got too immersed in the moment and accidentally called him Brother Dai. Every ninja was highly vigilant—how could Katsuo know his name when they had never met?

The moment he realized that, Katsuo froze stiff.

Damn it, this is getting tricky!

He had originally wanted to build a good relationship under the banner of youth. Now, the man would probably become wary of him...

Who knew Katsuo had overthought things? Old Duy did not think much of it at all. His body trembled, and with tears filling his eyes, he picked Katsuo up and burst into tears.

"Well said! You feel it too, don't you? That feeling of burning youth! My soulmate is actually a child! Youth! Waaaah..."

In truth, he was looked down upon because he only knew taijutsu. He was also ostracized because he was overly passionate and rather thick-headed. Almost no one wanted to be his friend, and no one recognized his youth. He was only acknowledged by White Fang later on, but that had merely been something White Fang said to Kakashi in private. Publicly, no one had ever recognized his so-called "youth" until he met Katsuo!

"Uh... Brother Dai, put me down already. Watch your snot! It's about to get on me..."

After struggling free from Old Duy's arms, Katsuo was too short to pat him on the shoulder, so he patted Old Duy's thigh instead.

"Men don't shed tears so easily, Brother Dai..."

Katsuo immediately fed him a mouthful of poisonous chicken soup, doing his best to prevent Old Duy from bursting into tears again!

Sure enough, after hearing Katsuo's words, Old Duy wiped his eyes. Then a toothy grin, completely free of awkwardness, bloomed across his face and nearly blinded Katsuo's Sharingan!

"You're right, little brother. Let us embrace youth together!"

Suddenly, Old Duy dragged him off in an excited sprint.

"Burn, youth!"

Ignoring Katsuo's corpse-like expression, he dragged Katsuo's body through the air. Katsuo was completely dumbfounded!

"First, ten laps around Konoha! If we don't finish, ten thousand push-ups!"

Hearing Old Duy's shout, Katsuo nearly fainted.

As he walked toward the school, Katsuo was utterly listless. Still, compared to his physical discomfort, he was in an exceptionally good mood.

Old Duy was surprisingly easygoing. Katsuo pushed his luck and directly became sworn brothers with Old Duy, who was more than ten years older than him!

They agreed to address each other as brothers from then on and arranged to continue their romance between men in the early mornings to come!

After Katsuo gave his surname and name, Old Duy was startled. Only then did he carefully examine Katsuo's appearance. With black hair, black eyes, and the looks of a little boy, he was indeed an Uchiha Clan child.

If any clan mocked and looked down on Old Duy the most, it was probably the Uchiha Clan. After all, most Uchiha men thought too highly of themselves and looked down on everyone else. They loved putting down the weak to show off their own strength. At the end of the day, most of the clan's men simply had severe inferiority complexes!

However, Old Duy did not care about such things. Katsuo had left a good and profound impression on him. He was a warm and cheerful man, and he did not care about Katsuo's identity.

"Hehe, first I'll get on Brother Dai's good side, then I'll find a chance to trick him into teaching me the Eight Gates! Hehe..."

Katsuo was fantasizing so hard that he let out a pig-like giggle, only to discover that the moment he stepped into the school, most of the students in the courtyard had turned their attention toward him!

"What's going on?"

Katsuo was utterly confused when a loud voice suddenly rang out!

"Boss!"

Senju Nawaki came running over eagerly. Each cry of "Boss" made Katsuo feel even more baffled!

"You're calling me? Since when did I become your Boss?"

"From the moment you defeated the Uchiha Clan's crown prince, you became my Boss! I'll follow you from now on and obey your every command!"

Senju Nawaki grinned foolishly, while the few lackeys beside him also called Katsuo Boss in unison!

The moment they finished shouting, the people around them began whispering among themselves. Some looked at him with admiration, some with fear, while some Uchiha Clan members gazed at him with hatred. All of them were looking at Katsuo.

Katsuo was stunned for a moment before chuckling softly. He rubbed Nawaki's head, then gave it a slight push forward. Nawaki immediately staggered and rolled off to the side!

"Get lost and go play in the sand!"

"And you lot, go play somewhere else too. I don't have time to play with brats like you!"

What kind of joke is this? Calling me Boss over and over—I don't have time to be some king of the kids... Katsuo grumbled inwardly.

He waved them away as though swatting flies, then entered the classroom and headed straight for his seat.

After briefly glancing at Uchiha Mikoto beside him, who had her head lowered, Katsuo sat down next to her.