Might Guy

Life after returning to the village was peaceful. Or rather, after truly experiencing life and death, Chino and the others viewed the world around them differently.

"Ahhh, why have the missions we've been taking lately been so boring?" Hatsumi slumped over dejectedly. Because she had used the Green Silk Worm before, her hair now hung down to her waist, and she had tied it into a single ponytail at the ends with a hair tie.

Zi Xu clasped his hands behind his head, equally bored. Rather than missions, it felt more like they were doing community service.

"Helping kittens, looking for lost wallets, things like that... I'm sick of it already." Hatsumi shook her head like a rattle drum, the ponytail at the tip of her hair spinning in circles like an actual horse's tail.

"My suggestion is to stop taking missions and go train, maybe learn a few ninjutsu." Chino stroked the whimpering Panda in her hands, and Panda's fur visibly thinned at a rate discernible to the naked eye.

Tenzo was not leading them on this mission. He still had plenty of matters to deal with and did not have time to take them around every day.

"Yeah, I think..." Zi Xu strongly agreed with Chino's suggestion, but unfortunately, neither Chino nor Hatsumi could withstand his training. Even if he wanted to improve his Taijutsu, he had no suitable opponent.

Then Zi Xu spotted a boy in a green bodysuit, with eyebrows as thick as two index fingers and eyes opened wide, walking toward him upside down on his hands.

What kind of bizarre creature is this? Zi Xu muttered inwardly, unsure why this thick-browed kid had come looking for him.

The thick-browed boy with bandages wrapped around his hands landed on his feet after a somersault. He dusted off his hands, then flashed Zi Xu a youthful smile, along with teeth that gleamed under the sunlight.

The boy gave him a thumbs-up and said brightly:

"Hello! My name is Rock Lee! Teacher Kai said Teacher Tenzo told him that Zi Xu from their class is very skilled in Taijutsu. I have come to spar and learn from you! Let us unleash our youth together in a shower of sweat!" The thick-browed kid, Rock Lee, spoke in a booming voice, every word crisp and precise. It was clear that he was utterly serious.

"Huh? Challenging Zi Xu? Does this count as coming to pick a fight?" Hatsumi wore a puzzled expression as she looked Rock Lee up and down through her glasses.

Only then did Rock Lee notice Hatsumi and the others beside Zi Xu. The moment he saw Hatsumi, he seemed to have been struck by lightning. His body stiffened straight, and a faint blush appeared on his face.

"Th-that..." His speech suddenly became shy and awkward.

"Hatsumi, why is he staring at you? He's so weird." Chino looked at the strangely behaving man before her, wondering whether he had some serious illness. Panda beside her nodded in agreement.

"Ah... your name is Hatsumi? What a beautiful name, like an angel..." As he spoke, he blew Hatsumi a kiss.

"!!!" Hatsumi felt as though she had been electrocuted. This strange guy really was abnormal. He looked terrifying—and those weird eyebrows were completely outside her tastes.

"???" Zi Xu scratched his head. Hadn't this kid said he wanted to challenge him? Why was he flirting with Hatsumi now? That was quite a leap.

Rock Lee glanced at Hatsumi, who was hiding behind Zi Xu, seemingly understood something, and nodded.

"Mm. Zi Xu, I challenge you now. I want to see just how strong the Taijutsu praised by the teachers is." Although that was what he said, Zi Xu knew that Rock Lee had misunderstood something. He seemed to want to prove his strength to Hatsumi by defeating him.

Chino quietly watched the show from the side. He rather wanted to see a battle between two Taijutsu Ninja. Fists striking flesh was not merely a man's romance.

Seeing Chino watching from the side and Hatsumi behind her, whose hair was nearly standing on end, Zi Xu thought it over and decided to spar with Rock Lee.

The group quickly arrived at an open area. There were few people around, and the grounds were spacious enough, making it well suited for a Taijutsu match.

"Please teach me." Rock Lee gave Zi Xu a slight bow, displaying excellent manners.

"Please teach me." Zi Xu cupped his fists in return, inwardly unsure how things had developed to this point.

"Whew~" Dust swirled around where Lee had stood. A blurry green figure flashed behind Zi Xu with lightning speed and viciously kicked upward, trying to send Zi Xu flying into the air.

"What?" At some point, Zi Xu had already turned around and pinned that kick down with his knee. Lee had not expected his attack to be blocked. Although the weights on his legs affected his agility, the momentum they provided should have increased the power of his kick. There was no reason for it to be stopped so easily.

"Hm? What's this thing digging into my hand?" Zi Xu found it strange. After blocking the kick, one hand coiled around Lee's knee like a snake. But Lee was indeed a Taijutsu specialist. In an instant, he launched both feet off the ground, kicked Zi Xu in the chest with the leg Zi Xu had not restrained, and used the recoil to break free.

After that strike, he swiftly retreated, removed the weights from his legs, and immediately launched a fierce assault on Zi Xu.

Hatsumi and Chino stared in surprise at the weights Lee had casually tossed aside, which had kicked up dust several yards high. Did this guy move around wearing those things all the time...?

"So these were what dug into my hand..." Zi Xu's focus was rather peculiar. With his current overall abilities, suppressing Lee would have been easy. In terms of Taijutsu technique alone, however, they were evenly matched.

The reason Zi Xu did not bother with Lee, who was moving so fast at the side that he was nearly leaving afterimages, was because he could now keep up with Lee's speed using his eyes alone. With Natural Energy enhancing his senses, he could see even more clearly.

"Papapapapa!" Lee and Zi Xu continuously exchanged punches in the air. Chino and the others could not see Lee clearly; they could only make out a mass of green shadows moving around Zi Xu.

They could see Zi Xu quite clearly, though. He stood in place, and his hands moved even faster than Lee's.

The two fought on equal footing, but Lee knew in his heart that Zi Xu still had not used his full strength. At his current level, defeating Zi Xu would probably be impossible, unless...

During a gap in his attacks, he glanced at Hatsumi in the distance, gritted his teeth, and prepared to use that move.

"Hm? This kid... something's wrong!" Zi Xu, who had remained composed all along, suddenly changed expression. He sensed an explosively rising power within Rock Lee, and a faint green glow appeared around Rock Lee's body.

Just as Zi Xu was wondering where Rock Lee's power had come from, a taller figure dressed very similarly to Rock Lee charged in from the side and separated them.

"Yo! Such vigor! This is youth!" The strange man who had rushed in laughed heartily at everyone present.

"Teacher Kai!" Rock Lee shouted loudly at the man who had appeared.

"!!!" That shout gave Zi Xu a fright. He had thought Lee was calling Kaido his teacher.