A Valued Rival and Dear Friend

Crack.

Might Guy stepped out of his house in a green bodysuit, a bun clenched between his teeth. Warm sunlight fell across his face, and even the ever-energetic Might Guy could not help letting out a contented groan as he stretched.

The flowers planted along the streets had already bloomed brilliantly. Just looking at them was enough to brighten his mood.

"Sure enough, morning is the perfect time for youth to bloom!"

Might Guy took a deep breath, stuffed the bun into his mouth in a few bites, and shouted unclearly, "Face Konoha's rising sun! Let sweat and flower petals dance together!"

With that, he kicked up clouds of dust as he ran toward the Commercial Street. Yet halfway there, he noticed more and more people heading in the opposite direction. The once broad and empty road was beginning to grow crowded.

"Huh?"

Might Guy stopped and scratched his head. With a light push of his feet, he leaped up to a higher spot, raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, and looked toward the crowds on the distant streets.

The hurried masses gathered like ants in a tide, moving in small groups toward Konoha's entrance.

"What happened?"

Seeing this, Might Guy could not help feeling curious. But after only a brief hesitation, he continued against the flow of people toward the Hyuga Clan compound.

Time passed quickly, and two months went by in the blink of an eye.

During that time, Konoha remained peaceful and serene. The civilians were completely unaware of the conflicts at the borders of the Land of Fire.

It was not until Konoha's higher-ups announced that Kumogakure was coming to Konoha to sign an alliance treaty that the people suddenly realized what had happened, followed by delight at the fact that their Third Hokage had secretly accomplished something so significant.

Calling it an "alliance treaty" sounded nice, but were they not really coming to cling to Konoha's thigh?

Faced with the submission of a former enemy from the Shinobi World War, every citizen of Konoha felt honored.

However, a lowly Chunin without any background like Might Guy naturally had no idea what had happened at the border. Immersed in training every day, he also did not know that Kumogakure was coming to Konoha to sign an alliance treaty.

All he knew was that Hyuga Yunchuan, his training partner, had completely vanished for the past two months.

Whenever he went to the Hyuga Clan to find Hyuga Yunchuan, a Branch Family member with a complicated expression would stop him. Their attitude had changed completely, and they would politely, even courteously, tell him that Hyuga Yunchuan was undergoing secluded training and to come back in two months.

Secluded training?

How could someone train in taijutsu without leaving the house?

Might Guy knew very well that Hyuga Yunchuan was no less hardworking or disciplined than himself. So when he first heard those words, his immediate reaction was that the guy was lying to him.

But the complicated expression on that Hyuga Branch Family member's face did not seem fake, making Might Guy wonder whether something had happened within the Hyuga Clan.

Now, two months had passed since that day.

"Yunchuan should be opening his doors to visitors today, right?"

Kakashi had joined the Anbu and was busy every day without his feet touching the ground. With Hyuga Yunchuan, his only other training partner, also absent, Might Guy had been stifled from training alone for the past two months.

Now that the agreed time had arrived, he naturally could not wait to find him.

When Might Guy ran to the Hyuga Clan compound, the person on duty happened to be the very Branch Family member whom Hyuga Yunchuan had taught a lesson back then.

This time, the man neither stopped him nor looked at him coldly. Instead, he politely let him inside.

His attitude had changed! It really had changed!

That brat Yunchuan must have secretly done something huge!

"Yun—chuan—!"

Might Guy ran excitedly toward Hyuga Yunchuan's residence and shouted, "Don't pretend you can't hear me, bastard! Let me see how much you've improved over the past two months! Today, I'll definitely make you shout, 'As expected of Senior Guy!'"

Whenever he came before, Hyuga Yunchuan's residence had been protected by a Barrier. Now, the Barrier was gone.

In his excitement, Might Guy did not even care about manners. Seeing that the door was open, he understood the invitation and walked inside.

But the moment he entered the house, it felt as though he had passed through a thin membrane, and the hairs on his body suddenly stood on end.

It was not because he sensed any inexplicable killing intent. Rather, invisible electric charges seemed to permeate the air, causing the hair and fine hairs on his skin to rise slightly.

"This is..."

Feeling a faint numbness across his body, Might Guy froze for a moment. Frowning, he quietly made his way toward Yunchuan's training room, the sensation growing stronger the closer he got.

When he pushed open the door, the first thing he saw was slightly distorted air.

Crackle!

All conductive equipment had been removed from the room. Hyuga Yunchuan sat cross-legged in the center, his sharply defined upper body bare. Tiny blue arcs of electricity flickered over and around him, like countless little blue snakes stretching their slender bodies through the air.

As if he had heard Might Guy enter, Hyuga Yunchuan slowly opened his eyes. A blue gleam flashed through his pure white pupils and vanished in an instant.

Under Might Guy's astonished gaze, the arcs swirling around him began to draw inward, like a tamed swarm of snakes gradually sinking into that body.

"Senior Guy, are you here to train?" Hyuga Yunchuan asked.

"..."

Might Guy came back to his senses at those words and stared blankly at Hyuga Yunchuan's body. The power hidden within it was almost visible to the naked eye.

"Yunchuan, you're actually using Lightning Release Chakra to temper your body?" Disbelief gradually appeared on his face as he blurted out, "Have you lost your mind?"

The fact that Lightning Release Chakra could temper the body was no secret in the Ninja World. After all, Kumogakure excelled at it most.

The Third Raikage possessed the titles of Strongest Shield and Strongest Spear, while the Fourth Raikage had earned the fearsome name Blue Lightning because of his speed.

But not just anyone could use Lightning Release Chakra to temper their body. Mastering both the nature transformation and shape transformation of Lightning Release Chakra was already enough to stump many people, and one also needed a complete understanding of the complex Meridians system within one's body.

Why were most Lightning Style Ninjutsu released from a distance?

Why were there so few Lightning Style Ninjutsu suitable for Chunin and Genin to train in?

It was because Lightning Release Chakra was not as stable as Earth Style Chakra. It could even be said to be the most unstable of the five chakra natures.

To use Ninjutsu, chakra had to circulate through the body's Meridians system. Violent Lightning Release Chakra was extremely difficult to control, and the slightest mistake during that process could severely injure one's own body...

At that thought, Might Guy froze again. He suddenly realized that Hyuga Yunchuan, who possessed the Byakugan and could see the Meridians system within his body, truly seemed to be the ideal person to temper his body this way.

"This..."

For a moment, he opened his mouth but could not say anything, falling into brief silence.

It was easy to imagine that with Lightning Release Chakra tempering his body, Hyuga Yunchuan's future training in the Eight Gates Released Formation would advance by leaps and bounds.

And this method of training was something completely beyond the reach of someone like him, who possessed almost no talent for Ninjutsu.

Yet that gloomy thought lasted only an instant before being replaced by the boiling battle intent and hot-blooded passion in his heart.

Might Guy's gaze toward Hyuga Yunchuan changed again and again, finally becoming the same look he usually gave Kakashi.

"Yunchuan." With blazing eyes, he raised a thumbs-up, bared his shining white teeth in a grin, and said seriously, "Congratulations."

There was no Envy or bitterness in his words, only sincere happiness for both his friend and himself.

He was happy for Hyuga Yunchuan's progress, and happy that he had gained another rival.

Yes.

At that moment, Hyuga Yunchuan was no longer merely someone like him, someone who needed to huddle together for warmth. Nor was he a junior he pitied and admired, someone he needed to guide.

Like that guy Kakashi, he was now a truly valued rival and dear friend.