Might Duy

Night fell, and a knock sounded at the door.

Watanabe had been practicing Taijutsu and was drenched in sweat. He grabbed a towel, wiped his face, and went to open the door.

"Hey, my friend! I'm here to return your Forehead Protector!"

Might Duy stood outside, covered in dust, but wearing a brilliant smile that showed off his dazzling white teeth.

One look at him told Watanabe that he must have gotten a job afterward, so he smiled back. "Did you make any money?"

"I made three thousand ryō!" Might Duy said happily.

"Thanks to your Forehead Protector, someone who needed help moving came up to me not long after I put it on. He thought I was a ninja and had no idea I'd borrowed it..."

As he spoke, Might Duy seemed to remember something. His smile suddenly froze, and he stammered, "Um, you should get a share of the payment for this job, but I'm really short on money right now. Would it be okay if I paid you when I have some?"

Might Duy was nervous. If Watanabe refused, he had no choice but to give him half the payment right then.

"No need. You did the job yourself. It has nothing to do with me," Watanabe said, refusing without hesitation.

He had helped Might Duy purely out of kindness. He had never expected anything in return.

Might Duy breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Watanabe didn't ask him for the money now, that was fine. He insisted, "It does have something to do with you. I wouldn't have gotten the job without you. I'll give you your share in a few days."

He was surprisingly principled.

Watanabe thought it over and didn't argue. Perhaps he should respect Might Duy's pride.

"Want to come in and sit for a while?" Watanabe invited him.

"Sure."

Might Duy readily accepted. Watanabe was one of the few ninjas who thought well of him. From the moment Watanabe had removed the Forehead Protector for him that afternoon, Might Duy had considered him a kindred spirit and a friend.

The living room was a mess. Sweat covered the floor, leaving it slick and damp.

Watanabe showed Might Duy to a seat in the living room, then went to the kitchen to pour tea.

"I heard about you from some people," Might Duy said, starting up a conversation. "They said you graduated at the top of your class and that you're a bona fide genius—the best at the Ninja Academy!"

"They exaggerated," Watanabe said as he brought over the tea. "I wasn't the best at the Ninja Academy. My girlfriend was, though she didn't take the graduation exam."

Might Duy's eyes widened. "Th-then... that makes her even more impressive!"

At that moment, he genuinely thought Watanabe was incredible. It made sense that an impressive person would have an equally impressive wife.

"I wish I'd had even a tenth of your ability when I was at the Ninja Academy," Might Duy said sincerely.

"You went to the Ninja Academy?"

Watanabe was surprised. If Might Duy had attended the academy, why wasn't he a ninja?

Might Duy smiled bitterly. "I'm older than you. I studied at the Ninja Academy eight years ago, but I had terrible talent. I could barely gather any Chakra, and I couldn't learn ninjutsu. On top of that, tuition was expensive, so I dropped out after half a year."

Watanabe understood. "So you're actually my senior."

Might Duy quickly shook his head. "I'm not even a ninja. How could I be your senior?"

After a pause, he hesitated before continuing. "Even though I dropped out of the Ninja Academy, I never gave up on the path of a ninja. Since I had no talent for ninjutsu, I focused all my efforts on training in Taijutsu. I wanted to prove that you could become a ninja even without knowing ninjutsu. Every year, I've taken Konoha's Genin exam, but I've never passed."

Watanabe found it rather ironic.

He and Might Duy were complete opposites. Watanabe had lacked talent for Taijutsu, so he'd focused on ninjutsu, while Might Duy lacked talent for ninjutsu and had turned to Taijutsu.

Still, judging by the fact that Might Duy couldn't pass the Genin exam, he probably wasn't very talented at Taijutsu either.

"Keep at it. As long as you don't give up, I believe you'll become a ninja someday," Watanabe encouraged him.

Might Duy nodded. "That's what I think too. I haven't taken a single day off from Taijutsu training in all these years. I was planning to prepare for this year's Genin exam with everything I had, but then my dad suddenly got sick. I have to find a way to earn money to buy his medicine."

Watanabe immediately understood.

No wonder Might Duy had seemed so desperate to find work earlier. It was all for his sick father.

He was not only principled and upright, but a devoted son as well.

Too bad someone like that was poor.

"Is your father seriously ill?" Watanabe asked.

"Not too seriously. The doctor said he'd gradually get better if he kept taking medicine for a while. I'm going to use all the money from today's job to buy it. Once my dad's better, I'll give you your share!"

Watanabe fell silent.

He didn't know what to say. Might Duy was already so down on his luck, yet he still couldn't stop thinking about giving Watanabe a share. He was almost too honest.

"Here, keep using this Forehead Protector."

Watanabe handed him the Ninja Headband again.

"But..."

"I don't need it for now," Watanabe said. "It'll be a big help to you, though. It'll make it easier for you to find jobs and earn money."

Might Duy's eyes reddened with emotion. After what had happened that day, he knew all too well how badly he needed a Ninja Headband.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll accept it." He rubbed his eyes.

"From now on, I'll come by every day and tell you what jobs I've taken. And when I can, I'll pay you back every last ryō!"

Watanabe smiled. "All right. I'll be waiting."

"Actually, I've been specifically training in Taijutsu lately too. Once your father's feeling better, we can train together and share pointers."

Watanabe didn't have many friends, and he didn't mind having another one like Might Duy.

"Yeah! It's a promise!"

Might Duy had even fewer friends than Watanabe.

Out in the wilderness.

A golden-haired girl sat at the edge of a cliff. Cool moonlight bathed her, outlining her figure beneath her close-fitting training clothes. She was as beautiful as a moonlit goddess.

"It's only been nine days since I saw that guy. Why does it feel like nine months...?"

Tsunade muttered to herself, sounding irritated.

Footsteps came from behind her. She turned and saw three shadows approaching in single file.

As they drew closer and their faces came into view, Tsunade immediately frowned. "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, what are you doing here?"

Jiraiya grinned cheekily. "Surprised? Shocked? Too bad it's not Watanabe. Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"Do you want to die?" Tsunade glared at him, a vein throbbing on her beautiful forehead.

"Hey, I was only joking." Jiraiya quickly backed down.

"I've taken Jiraiya and Orochimaru on as my students," Hiruzen Sarutobi explained with a smile. "Starting tomorrow, they'll train with you."

Tsunade froze, then looked past the three of them. There was no fourth figure behind them.

"Just those two?"

"Yes, just those two."