Might Guy

Aozora followed the waiter up to the Second Floor Private Room. After having a cup of tea, the burly Fukuyama Sai Uchiha pushed open the door and entered.

Fukuyama Uchiha walked into the room and, upon seeing Aozora, said in surprise, "I didn't expect it to be you!"

He had attended the Clan Meeting before, so he naturally recognized this boy who had spoken so wildly. Compared to Aozora's alarmist words, he agreed more with the ideals of Aozora's older brother, Shisui. Even so, he had a fairly good impression of Aozora. At the very least, he was someone who cared about the clan.

Aozora stood and replied, "Hello, Uncle Fukuyama!"

Fukuyama casually returned the greeting, then sat down and said, "You just graduated, didn't you? Is there really a need to come to me for ninja tools?"

"It should be known that no matter how good a ninja tool is, it can only be effective in the hands of someone suited to it. Otherwise, it's merely a child clutching a sword, inviting murderous intent."

Aozora merely nodded at that without saying anything.

Seeing this, Fukuyama knew Aozora had not given up on the idea. He shook his head and said, "Fine! That's something you need to consider. What kind of ninja tool do you want made?"

Aozora said, "Flying daggers!"

Fukuyama immediately frowned. "Are you joking?"

Flying daggers were merely consumables. Why would they require him to personally make them?

Aozora nodded seriously. "They really are flying daggers. This is the material I specially prepared to make them."

As he spoke, Aozora took out the Wind Chant Stone.

The instant he saw the Wind Chant Stone, Fukuyama's eyes lit up. He immediately recognized it as the Chakra Conductive Metal collected by the Clan Head.

Taking the Wind Chant Stone, Fukuyama infused Chakra into it. Hearing bursts of wind-like chanting, he said, "Wind Chant Stone? How did you swindle this from Fugaku? I offered several times, but he never sold it."

Aozora shook his head with a light smile and did not answer Fukuyama's question.

After a while, Fukuyama finished examining it and set the Wind Chant Stone on the table. "You're planning to use the Wind Chant Stone to make a flying dagger?"

"That's right."

Fukuyama stood up. "I can't do this!"

"Why make flying daggers out of perfectly good Chakra Conductive Metal? What use does Chakra Conductive Metal have once it leaves the body? And flying daggers are easy to lose. It's far too wasteful."

As he spoke, Fukuyama could not help shaking his head again, clearly extremely dissatisfied with Aozora's idea.

After thinking it over, he suggested, "How about I add some supplementary materials and make you a short sword instead? I guarantee it won't affect the Chakra conduction efficiency."

Aozora shook his head. "Uncle Fukuyama, I only want flying daggers."

"Then find someone else!"

Aozora smiled apologetically. "How could I trust anyone else? Everyone in the Uchiha clan knows you're the clan's foremost Master Craftsman."

"I have an important use for these flying daggers. No one but you will do."

Most Uchiha Clan Members were easy to get along with as long as you stroked them the right way.

Hearing that, Fukuyama was still reluctant, but after huffing, he sat back down.

"Go on, then. What are your requirements?"

Aozora immediately said, "First, they must transmit Chakra as perfectly as possible."

Fukuyama nodded. "That won't be a problem. The Wind Chant Stone has very high transmission efficiency."

After thinking for a moment, Aozora continued, "The design of the flying daggers will mainly be up to you, but they need strong air-piercing ability. The handles can be reduced in size or even removed."

"Mm... make the design look good, too."

After hearing him out, Fukuyama asked, "That's it?"

Aozora said, "Those are all the requirements."

Hearing those rookie requirements, Fukuyama impatiently waved his hand. "Get lost. Leave the Wind Chant Stone behind, and bring 30,000 Ryo next week to collect your flying daggers."

Aozora's mouth twitched. "Wasn't it 10,000 Ryo?"

Fukuyama snapped, "That's for ordinary ninja tools! The materials are different, so how could the price be the same?"

Aozora gave an embarrassed smile, then bade him farewell and left.

After leaving the building, Aozora saw that it was still early, so he decided to go pick a fight with Guy.

As one of Konoha's most talked-about figures, Guy's whereabouts in Konoha were easy enough to find.

After casually asking around, Aozora learned that every weekend, Guy would run around Konoha Village on his hands. He calculated the time and waited for him on a Shaded Path he was sure to pass through.

About twenty minutes later, a cloud of dust rose in the distance.

Seeing this, Aozora deliberately jumped into a tree by the roadside and pretended to nap.

Not long after, the iron-blooded Guy charged over with the momentum of an army of thousands.

As the rumbling beside him drew closer, Aozora opened his eyes and saw a green-clad, bowl-cut man charging toward him.

The ground was too dry, and he was running too fast, kicking up a yellow cloud of dust two or three meters high.

Aozora hurriedly shouted, "Someone's here! Stop—!"

Unfortunately, before his words had even finished, the bowl-cut man had already rushed past the path, and the dust he kicked up filled Aozora's mouth.

"Damn it!"

Aozora cursed and turned to chase after him.

Only after giving chase did Aozora discover just how impressive Guy was.

Even at what was supposedly only training speed, he was faster than Aozora running at full speed. Aozora could not help gathering Chakra in his feet to increase his explosive power.

"Hey, stop for a second!"

"You tight-suit freak up ahead, you're speeding!"

"..."

After chasing and shouting all the way, Aozora finally managed to stop Might Guy three minutes later.

Aozora ran in front of Guy, bracing himself on his knees as he panted. "I've been shouting at you forever. Are you deaf?"

Although Guy had stopped where he was, he was still running in place. "Youth does not permit us to stop!"

After saying that, he flashed a toothy grin.

His dazzling white teeth reflected two glints of light, nearly blinding Aozora and making him forget why he had come.

"..."

For a moment, the scene was incredibly awkward as they stared at one another in silence.

After a while, Aozora was the first to give in under the other man's burning gaze. He made things difficult for him, saying, "Your running just now disturbed my sleep!"

Guy thought back and remembered seeing Aozora lying in the tree.

He scratched his head and sincerely apologized. "Sorry, I disturbed your sleep!"

He did not even consider why Aozora had been sleeping in a tree in the middle of the afternoon.

Aozora had originally planned to provoke him after picking a fight, then take the route of becoming friends through a fight.

But after chasing Guy, Aozora no longer felt so confident. Could he really beat Guy now?

Even his normal running isn't much slower than my Body Flicker. What if he gets serious?

So Aozora softened his attitude and waved his hand. "Forget it. I shouldn't have been sleeping in a tree."

"By the way, who are you? You run pretty fast."

Guy froze when he heard that.

When ordinary people saw him training like this, they only mocked him. Few ever asked his name or praised him for running fast.

Excited, he spread his arms like a white crane displaying its wings, then said, "Since you have asked so sincerely."

"I shall tell you this great man's name."

"I am—"

"Konoha's proud Azure Beast—"

"Kakashi's eternal rival—"

"Might—Guy—!"

After saying that, he raised his right hand, gave a thumbs-up, and flashed his dazzling White Fang.

Looking at Guy, whose entire style was completely at odds with his own, Aozora hesitated.

Was it really worth turning myself into an idiot just to learn some taijutsu?