Might Guy's Low Emotional Intelligence

"Kakashi happens to be home training, you've come at just the right time." Hatake Sakumo smiled as he led the one adult and two children into his home.

As he walked, Uchiha Mai observed the layout of the Hatake Clan residence. Compared to the Uchiha compound, it was indeed much smaller, but for only two people, it was quite spacious.

In the courtyard, aside from a few flowers and plants, there were various training facilities, proving this was a household with a ninja heritage.

Kakashi, with his silver-gray hair and mask, was in the yard holding a short blade, practicing Hatake Style Kenjutsu. He slashed and thrust, drenched in sweat.

Many people say the swordsmanship Kakashi practiced as a child didn't help him much, but that is a misunderstanding.

The Chidori and Raikiri that Kakashi developed later indeed had nothing to do with Hatake Style Kenjutsu, but the rational application of these jutsu in actual combat required the principles of Hatake Style Kenjutsu.

One can simply understand the lightning-attribute chakra gathered in the hand to form a lightning blade as a reinforced, upgraded version of a short blade.

In Shippuden, after Kakashi lost his Sharingan and his observational abilities dropped significantly, the short-range thrusting Raikiri was also improved into the slashing-focused Shiden, making the foundation of Hatake Style Kenjutsu even more necessary.

"As expected of my rival Kakashi, to be training so diligently even when home alone! I've decided, after tonight's dinner, I'll sprint ten kilometers. If I can't finish that, I'll do 1,000 push-ups, and if I can't finish those, I'll do 1,000 sit-ups..." Might Guy was moved by himself again, his eyes welling up with tears as he planned his evening training.

"It's not good to exercise vigorously immediately after a meal, you know." Namikaze Minato said with a smile.

Hearing a familiar voice, Kakashi snapped out of his sword practice. He looked up and spotted Uchiha Mai and Might Guy behind Minato.

Teacher Minato said he was going to the Ninja Academy today to pick up two new students—are these them?

Kakashi still had an impression of Mai and Might Guy, and a deep one at that.

The former was someone who had crushed him in looks back at the Ninja Academy, with a number of fangirls several times his own.

The number of pursuers couldn't truly reflect their looks; Kakashi was probably half as handsome as Mai, but he had already started wearing a mask when he enrolled.

Many people said Kakashi had buck teeth and sausage lips; these false rumors severely affected Kakashi's reputation, causing his number of pursuers to be utterly slaughtered.

As for the latter, since they met over a year ago, his strength had improved rapidly. He had leaped from a "noob" who knew no ninjutsu and had sloppy taijutsu into an excellent ninja capable of threatening him—in terms of taijutsu alone.

So this is my future team, omoshiroi.

"Hi." Uchiha Mai waved with a smile, his friendliness not at all like an Uchiha.

"Hm." Kakashi nodded, acknowledging the greeting.

"Kakashi, Mai and Might Guy are your future teammates and companions; you should know them. If there's nothing else, pack up and let's go to dinner." Minato said.

"Alright, Teacher, I'll go take a shower first." Kakashi sheathed his blade and headed straight for the bathroom.

While Kakashi was washing up, Uchiha Mai had already used his honeyed tongue to build a rapport with Hatake Sakumo, offering sincere greetings and concern on behalf of Fugaku.

Hatake Sakumo and Minato were both relatively simple-minded people, completely different from politicians like the Third Hokage and Danzo, making them easier to get close to.

Furthermore, Mai didn't have any ill intentions; he just asked about trivial matters and mission experience, acting entirely like a normal admirer.

Before long, Kakashi finished his shower, changed into fresh clothes, and walked out.

As they bid farewell to Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Mai suddenly asked, "Senior Sakumo, if your teammate is in danger during a mission, would you continue the mission or abandon it to save your companion?"

"I would choose to save my companion first before continuing the mission." Hatake Sakumo replied without hesitation.

Good! Uchiha Mai felt a sense of respect; he was a "want it all" type just like him, but this wasn't the answer Mai wanted.

"The mission is urgent; if you save your companion, you will definitely miss the window of opportunity, causing the mission to fail." Mai added some conditions.

"Mai, why would you ask such a question?" Namikaze Minato asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I've just had some questions recently about how to interpret the Will of Fire, so I wanted to ask a senior who is highly respected in the village and has performed many missions." Uchiha Mai spouted nonsense again. Laughing to death, the Will of Fire—who would actually believe in that stuff?

Hatake Sakumo was silent for a long time. After thinking, he seemed reluctant to answer the question, saying, "If you encounter such a choice, then I hope you abandon your teammate and continue the mission. We are ninjas; performing missions is our vocation."

At this time, Hatake Sakumo, serving as the Anbu captain, could not give Uchiha Mai a clear answer, because his answer would inevitably run counter to the duties of an Anbu captain.

The Anbu, or the Assassination Tactics Special Force, is directly under the management of the Hokage, with the primary duty of protecting the Hokage and performing tasks to prevent external threats.

In some fan fiction, it is said that Hatake Sakumo's death from guilt was a conspiracy and that someone was manipulating public opinion; in reality, his mission was not unimportant.

Uchiha Mai had a different opinion. Conspiracy theories certainly existed, and it was likely that someone was indeed manipulating public opinion.

But considering this point in time and the nature of Anbu work, the mission Hatake Sakumo was performing must have been extremely important—important enough that it wouldn't be an exaggeration for an Anbu captain like him to die to apologize for his failure.

Other ninja villages have encountered situations where Hatake Sakumo or Namikaze Minato could abandon missions; Shippuden also hints that when encountering strong enemies while escorting a merchant caravan, one can abandon the escort target to preserve oneself.

Performing a mission is a vocation, but abandoning a mission is also the norm. Whether to fulfill one's duty or preserve oneself depends on the importance of the mission.

Hatake Sakumo was no fool; he wouldn't have felt guilty enough to commit suicide over some trivial mission.

"I understand." Uchiha Mai nodded, though he didn't understand at all.

The one adult and three children left the Hatake residence, heading toward the Konoha commercial district as dusk fell.

Namikaze Minato rummaged through his wallet and said, "What do you all want to eat tonight?"

"I heard a new ramen shop just opened in the commercial district..."

Ramen was cheap. Even with all the extra toppings, it wouldn't cost much. Master Minato was very frugal, mainly because he had already decided to marry Kushina.

As the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Kushina could not go out on missions, so Namikaze Minato's mission bonuses became the sole source of income for this "household."

Hosting a wedding and renovating a new home both required money, so Master Minato had to hand over all his mission earnings, receiving only a small living allowance from Kushina each month.

"Oh!"

Might Guy slammed his hands together and exclaimed in surprise, "I know, I know! Right across from that ramen shop, there's a very popular barbecue restaurant."

"My dad said that many high-level ninja in the village often go there to gather. Master Minato, you want to take us to that barbecue place, right?"

Low emotional intelligence.

Namikaze Minato's smile froze instantly, and his hand gripping the wallet gave a violent twitch.

Ah... what should I do now?