"Hey, what happened to you, little Gu Qi? How are you feeling? Are you all right?"
With the help of three Ninja Dogs, Gu Qi finally found Kakashi in the Jiying Hall, browsing through books.
Before Gu Qi could say anything, though, Kakashi asked in a very concerned tone.
Anko had said she was going to beat Gu Qi up—and she'd meant it.
And she'd hit him especially hard, aiming right for his face. Gu Qi had fought back, but he was no match for Anko.
At first, he'd managed to keep her at bay with his agility and the help of his three Ninja Dogs.
But as time dragged on, he couldn't keep it up. He soon fell behind, both in experience and stamina.
Then Gu Qi's luck ran out.
Anko spotted an opening and proceeded to beat him black and blue.
"You've got some nerve. Where were you when I was getting beaten up?" Gu Qi asked, thoroughly annoyed.
Kakashi scratched his head. "Well, I got a little lost on the road of life."
"..." Gu Qi's patience snapped in an instant.
"Well, if it isn't my lifelong rival, Kakashi!"
Just as Gu Qi was about to explode, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
Kakashi looked up, puzzled. "Huh? Was someone just talking?"
"Ah~ As expected of my rival!" Guy burst into tears.
After he'd calmed down, Guy noticed Gu Qi's condition too. "Huh? What happened to you, Gu Qi?"
Gu Qi was about to laugh it off, but accidentally pulled at his wounds and couldn't help grimacing in pain.
"Urgh, I'm fine, I'm fine. It looks worse than it is—it's only superficial." Gu Qi explained, looking annoyed.
Guy sighed. "This is youth. You don't get discouraged by a little setback. That's the spirit of youth..."
"..." Gu Qi was completely speechless at his over-the-top antics.
"Teacher Kai, Kakashi said he wants to challenge you." Gu Qi glanced at Kakashi, who was trying to sneak away, and spoke up out of nowhere.
At Gu Qi's words, Guy immediately returned to normal. "As expected of my lifelong rival. I accept your challenge."
Kakashi: "..."
With a headache, Kakashi put down the book in his hands. He knew he wasn't getting away today.
"See you, Kakashi! Remember to come back for dinner." Gu Qi waved at Kakashi, who looked thoroughly reluctant.
"Heh..."
Once the two of them had left, Gu Qi headed straight for the nearby market.
He'd been beaten up this badly today. If he didn't get revenge, he wouldn't be Gu Qi.
As the saying went, a gentleman's revenge couldn't wait even a day. Gu Qi planned to settle the score tomorrow.
After buying what he wanted, Gu Qi hurried home.
The next day, Gu Qi disguised himself early and left the house.
He wandered around Konoha for a long while, and it was almost noon by the time he finally changed back to his usual appearance.
"Boss, I'll take all the red dumplings you have." Back at the dango shop, Gu Qi pulled out a ten-thousand-Ryo bill and called out.
"Sure thing!" The boss sprang into action, delighted.
Before long, a large bag of neatly packed dumplings was handed to Gu Qi.
Gu Qi took the dumplings and immediately began eating.
"Boss, give me twenty skewers of red dumplings."
Just as Gu Qi was reaching his tenth skewer and starting to find the sweetness cloying, Mitaraishi Anko appeared again.
The boss apologized. "Sorry, customer, those customers over there bought all the dumplings."
Following the boss's pointing finger, Anko spotted Kakashi Gu Qi, who had returned to his usual appearance.
"You again!? Hand over the dumplings nicely, or else, heh..." Anko cracked her knuckles and stalked toward Gu Qi with a vicious grin.
Gu Qi made a face, kept eating his dumplings, and took off running.
"Stop right there!" Anko shouted, chasing after him.
Gu Qi ignored her completely. As he ate, he threw the wooden skewers he'd finished at Anko like senbon.
Anko was already furious, and now she completely lost it. "Kakashi Gu Qi, you're dead! Stop!"
"You can't catch me! I'm just that strong! La, la-la, la, la!" Gu Qi kept taunting her.
Anko's already dark expression turned terrifyingly menacing when she heard Gu Qi's song.
"Tiger-Ram-Monkey-Ram-Tiger, Shadow Snake Hand!"
As Anko finished speaking, two snakes with red tongues darted out of her sleeves and lunged at Gu Qi.
Caught off guard, Gu Qi's legs were wrapped by the snakes, and he fell straight to the ground.
"You actually used a jutsu!" Gu Qi shouted, furious.
Anko picked up the bag from the ground and snorted. "Brat, you clearly haven't learned your lesson! I'll teach you a proper lesson today."
After speaking, Anko popped a skewer of dumplings into her mouth, looking blissful.
"Mmm, Konoha's dumplings really are the best. Dumplings, dumplings, du—"
Anko had been happily chewing when her eyes suddenly rolled back. She clutched her throat, silently screaming.
She didn't even notice when her beloved dumplings fell to the ground.
Then Gu Qi saw her face turn bright red, before fading from red to white.
Finally, with a whoosh, Anko unleashed the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique without even forming hand seals.
"Hahaha! How do you like the flavor of my specially made super-insanely-spicy dumplings?" Gu Qi stood with his hands on his hips, like a villain who'd just defeated the protagonist.
"You..." Anko's face was bright red. She pointed at Gu Qi with a trembling finger, unable to say a word.
"I'll let you off today. If you try to beat me up again, I'll give you a proper taste of this." With that, Gu Qi walked away without looking back.
As if! Anko was just about to recover. If he didn't leave now, when would he?
Not long after Gu Qi had dashed away, Anko finally began to recover from the buff granted by Gu Qi's specially made extra-spicy dumplings.
"Kakashi Gu Qi, I'll remember you." A dangerous smile appeared on Anko's pale face.
Once she'd recovered enough, Anko vanished in a flash.
Soon, Anko found her target in the Jiying Hall bookstore in Konoha.
"Lord Kakashi, may I talk to you?" Anko asked respectfully.
Kakashi put down the book in his hands, looking resigned. "Does it really have to be like this?"
Anko chuckled. "I've never been this badly beaten before. How could I not get revenge?"
Kakashi sighed. "You and Gu Qi have the same kind of personality. The two of you can't keep going on like this."
"It's fine. I'll make Gu Qi admit defeat obediently." Anko said grimly.
"..." Kakashi had a feeling those two would turn the village upside down sooner or later.
"All right, ask whatever you want to know!"
Kakashi thought it over. Giving Gu Qi something to do didn't seem like a bad idea. At least then, he'd only have to deal with Guy.
Ever since Gu Qi started learning Taijutsu from Guy, he'd been constantly feeding Might Guy information. Now that someone else would keep Gu Qi occupied, Kakashi could relax a little too.
"Thank you, Lord Kakashi! Don't worry, I'll be gentle with Gu Qi." Anko said with a beaming smile.
Kakashi shook his head, then said seriously, "Don't hold back on my account. Make it hurt as much as you like! Really, I won't avenge him."
"Huh?!" Anko stared at Kakashi with her beady eyes. Were these two really brothers?
"Achoo!" As Gu Qi ambled home, a sudden sneeze gave him an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
Gu Qi stroked his chin. "Something feels off. This feeling that someone's about to set me up... It's probably Kakashi getting involved."
Gu Qi and Kakashi had set each other up more times than he could count. Whenever he got this feeling, he knew Kakashi was up to some new trick.
"By all rights, Kakashi shouldn't have gotten mixed up with Anko. But they were both in the same graduating class, so I should be careful.
Still, given Kakashi's personality, he wouldn't get involved directly. That means he'll probably leak information about me."
After reasoning it through, Gu Qi fell into deep thought.
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