Atop Hokage Rock

Might Guy studied with great seriousness. Though he was not as clever as Itachi, he had excellent control over his body, thanks to his unceasing training over the years.

Moreover, he possessed an exceptionally keen intuition for Taijutsu.

Sandaime naturally knew that this came from Might Guy's sincere heart. With sincerity in his heart and no distracting thoughts, even the slightest irregularity could be clearly reflected within it. He could immediately find the root of the changes in his body, and with Sandaime's careful guidance—

Might Guy quickly grasped all sorts of Internal Family Boxing training techniques.

And because Might Guy already had such a solid foundation, he could absorb more than Itachi. His body had already been trained extremely well, allowing him to undergo much deeper training.

Sandaime found this progress greatly encouraging.

However, when it came to deeper training, Might Guy encountered some problems.

He told Sandaime about what he felt.

"There's a slight stabbing pain here. It isn't unbearable, but I feel that continuing to train will be bad for my body." Relying on his keen intuition, Might Guy came to this conclusion.

Sandaime nodded.

He was not surprised. He had more or less guessed what was going on.

"These are tiny injuries accumulated over time from the intense and crude training methods of the past. Such minor injuries are usually inconspicuous and do not interfere with daily life. For ordinary people, they can almost be said to pose no threat to life or health."

After all, ordinary people had far too many leaks in their vitality caused by all kinds of habits and actions. Compared to those, these minor injuries were hardly worth mentioning.

"But if you wish to train the body's inner workings in a more meticulous and comprehensive manner, then these minor injuries must be taken seriously."

Might Guy's expression became solemn as well.

Since they were an obstacle to his Taijutsu training—an obstacle to learning the Internal Family Boxing Taijutsu he so desperately wanted to learn—he naturally took them very seriously.

"Lord Third, what should I do?"

"Of course, heal them."

Sandaime said as if it were only natural, "Until they have healed, do not continue with such intense and crude training."

"Yes, sir."

Might Guy agreed at once.

He still yearned for the future of Internal Family Boxing that Lord Third had described to him.

It gave him a broader direction than the Eight Gates he had once trained so hard in!

Of course, he would not abandon the Eight Gates either!

For Might Guy, another goal in learning Internal Family Boxing was to better subdue the eight fierce beasts of the Eight Gates that Lord Third had spoken of!

He would subdue them completely!

That was his will!

Might Guy clenched his fists again, his passion blazing!

But this time, Sandaime raised his head to look at the sky and said, "Might Guy, it's getting late."

Might Guy came back to his senses and looked overhead. Indeed, it was already dusk.

"Lord Third! Thank you for your guidance!"

He immediately bowed deeply to Sandaime again. Today's lesson had truly benefited him immensely!

As expected of Lord Third, the strongest Hokage!

For an insignificant little Konoha ninja like me, even the slightest guidance feels like a lifelong benefit!

Yes, insignificant.

Sandaime waved his hand.

"Remember to come here again tomorrow. I'll wait for you here in the morning."

"Yes, sir!"

Sandaime turned and left.

Watching Sandaime's figure disappear beyond the edge of his vision, Might Guy immediately clenched his fists and shouted, "To celebrate a moment like this! Next, I'll work twice as hard and do more frog jumps—"

He froze. Remembering Lord Third's advice, Might Guy let out a rare sigh.

But he quickly rallied his spirits.

"Since I have free time, I'll go see my eternal rival!"

Splash, splash, splash, splash.

At night, inside a bathroom.

Kakashi, who wore his mask even while bathing, looked expressionlessly at the watermelon-shaped head that had suddenly emerged from the bath he was soaking in.

And, of course, those gleaming teeth bared in a grin.

"Yo, Kakashi."

Splash.

Kakashi stood up, water clinging to his body sliding off.

He had completely lost the mood for a bath.

After drying himself and putting on clean clothes, he returned to his bedroom. Might Guy followed close behind and entered the room with him.

Seeing how the floor had become somewhat wet after Might Guy came in, Kakashi sighed inwardly and walked to the wardrobe.

Opening it, he found not only his usual clothes, but also the green jumpsuit Might Guy had once left behind at his place.

He picked up a set and tossed it at Might Guy.

"Change into this."

Might Guy caught it, quickly dried himself off, and changed clothes.

Kakashi then headed for the door.

"Kakashi! Where are you going?!"

"To fill my stomach."

Ichiraku Ramen.

Under the night sky, Kakashi and Might Guy sat there, each with a large bowl of ramen before them.

Kakashi sometimes got lost in thought and forgot the time, leaving him ravenous. Might Guy, meanwhile, trained heavily every day and was, without exaggeration, a huge eater!

By the time Kakashi finally finished his bowl, Might Guy had already eaten several!

But Kakashi looked at the tower of bowls beside Might Guy.

"You ate less than usual."

"Because I met Lord Third today!"

Might Guy said, giving a thumbs-up.

Kakashi's face darkened.

What did eating less have to do with Lord Third?

"And then?" he asked casually.

"Lord Third taught me Taijutsu."

"I see."

"It's an amazing kind of Taijutsu! Kakashi, aren't you worried I'll surpass you?"

"Mm."

"Kakashi!"

A hand pressed hard onto Kakashi's shoulder.

Kakashi turned his head listlessly and saw that passionate face leaning close.

He was like the complete opposite of Kakashi, who was lazy as a salted fish.

"Let's compete again!"

So.

What exactly was he doing?

Kakashi lay weakly on the ground, looking at Might Guy, who had reached the top of Hokage Rock ahead of him. Standing nearby, Might Guy bared his teeth and gave him a thumbs-up.

That was right—their competition had been to see who could run here first.

Hokage Rock.

It had become somewhat different from before.

Because a fifth face had been added to the four Hokage faces of the past.

Kakashi sat up and lowered his head. Beside the face of his teacher, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, was the face of Konoha's current Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru.

He raised his head again.

Konoha at night was brightly lit, seemingly having emerged from the shadow of the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

And it was undergoing massive reconstruction.

Apparently, because of the Joint Security Plan and cooperation with the country's major Merchants and large corporations, all kinds of new technologies were being applied to Konoha's rebuilding.

Combined with the efficiency of ninja participating in construction—

Konoha was changing rapidly, gradually becoming unfamiliar.

Was this peace?

Kakashi, who could be said to have grown up in war, could not help thinking so.