Invitation to Form a Team

A few days later, the pair returned to Konoha after completing the mission to subjugate the Giant Bear.

At 4:00 AM the next morning, Shinichi stepped out as usual to begin his daily morning run around the village.

The sky had yet to brighten, and the streets were silent, save for the echo of his rhythmic and powerful footsteps.

After running for some time, as he passed the perimeter of a certain training ground, a bright green figure cut in from the side like a gust of wind, steadily pacing beside him.

"Shinichi, long time no see!"

The person who arrived was none other than Might Duy. He wore his signature green spandex suit, his stride full of bouncy vitality, and the red ribbon tied to his forehead protector fluttered in the wind. His face bore that same, seemingly unfading, passionate smile.

"Indeed, Senior Duy." Shinichi nodded, responding with steady breath.

As someone who had exercised every single day for years, it was not the first or second time Shinichi had encountered this famous, passionate father-son duo during his morning training.

Over time, while they couldn't be called close friends, they were familiar enough to be running buddies who could stop and chat for a few moments.

"Is Guy not with you today?" Shinichi asked casually.

"He went to execute a mission," Might Duy replied, his voice as booming as ever, though a subtle pause could be detected if one listened closely.

"You aren't with him, Senior?" Shinichi asked in turn.

Although it sounded somewhat surprising, Might Guy had indeed been one of the early graduates—even earlier than Shinichi—having successfully graduated and become a Genin last year.

However, much like Shinichi, he had not been assigned to a regular squad. Since graduation, he had been following his father, Might Duy, handling basic D-rank missions around the village.

Hearing Shinichi's question, the perpetually upbeat smile on Might Duy's face faltered for a barely perceptible moment. He reached up to scratch his stiff black hair, revealing a rare expression of embarrassment and helplessness:

"That kid Guy... he said he's grown up and can execute missions on his own, so..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but Shinichi already understood.

This was likely a stage every child experienced while growing up—in their youth, they viewed their father as an omnipotent hero, but once they stepped into a wider circle and were exposed to the eyes and judgments of the outside world, their mindset would quietly shift.

Especially at Might Guy's age, it was a period when self-esteem was sensitive and one was particularly concerned with the opinions of others.

After becoming a ninja, he might have felt more directly the disdain, or even mockery, that some in the village held toward his father for being an "eternal Genin" who "only knew taijutsu."

His father's passionate declarations of youth from the past now seemed like the behavior of an out-of-place clown in the eyes of others, making him feel embarrassed, or even ashamed to appear alongside his father.

This estrangement and conflict would likely persist until that turning point arrived—until Might Duy taught him the Eight Gates, and until they were cornered by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist during a mission.

That father he had always felt was "embarrassing" would descend from the sky like a burning meteor, blooming with the radiance of a miracle in a mortal body.

Only then would all the knots in his heart be washed away by hot tears and pride.

But those were matters for the future.

Thinking of this, Shinichi suddenly stopped running. He turned to Might Duy beside him and spoke with a serious expression:

"Senior, there is something I would like to discuss with you. I heard that this year's Chunin Exams will be held in Sunagakure. I intend to participate, but my team is currently one person short. I would like to invite you to be my teammate and go there together."

Might Duy was visibly stunned by these words. He blinked, seemingly doubting he had heard correctly, and then hurriedly waved his hands, his smile retaining its customary heartiness but tinged with a hint of awkwardness:

"Shinichi, stop joking! You are the village's recognized genius; everyone sees your strength. I... I am just an eternal Genin who only knows a few taijutsu moves, and I know nothing of ninjutsu or Genjutsu. If I team up with you, I'm afraid I'll hold you back and ruin your future!"

"Senior, I am serious." Shinichi's gaze was clear, and his tone held no hint of jest: "In my eyes, you are a person of great strength. You have poured your heart and soul into the path of taijutsu; this focus and perseverance, maintained for decades, is worthy of respect in itself. Someone who can hone taijutsu to the extreme cannot be underestimated. To be honest, I know another ninja who has cultivated taijutsu to a very high realm, and I am planning to invite him to serve as our squad's leader."

Might Duy was left flustered by these words, his voice dropping lower than usual: "Shinichi, you... you hold me in too high regard, I really..."

"Senior." Shinichi interrupted him, his tone becoming more earnest: "You often tell Guy that even if one only knows taijutsu, one can become a great ninja; those words are full of power. But if you, the one who says these words, do not believe in yourself from the bottom of your heart, if you believe you are not good enough and will be a burden, then how much power is left in those words?"

He stared into Might Duy's somewhat dazed eyes and said slowly: "Senior, a father is a child's first and most important role model. If you cannot face and believe in your own path, how can you make Guy truly believe that even by focusing on taijutsu like his father, one can truly walk a glorious path of a ninja?"

The morning light grew brighter, reflecting on Shinichi's calm and serious face. Might Duy looked at the sincere young man before him, and the flame that had burned in his chest for years—which even he sometimes ignored—seemed to be quietly stirred, burning brighter than before.

"You're right, Shinichi! Then let us let our youth bloom in Suna!"

After successfully inviting Might Duy, Shinichi found Teacher Chen, who was instructing Ishizuka Takashi at the training ground, that same evening.

Using the promise Teacher Chen had once made—"When you become a Chunin, I will teach you a new taijutsu move"—as his pretext, he sincerely invited Teacher Chen to serve as the team's Jonin leader and accompany them to Sunagakure.

Shinichi's reasoning was direct: he wanted Teacher Chen to be the first to witness his promotion to Chunin.

Chen Baojun adjusted his round sunglasses, pondered for a moment, and then agreed.

Late at night, lying in bed, Shinichi fell into thought.

Graduating in the same year and becoming a Chunin in the same year was a path he had plotted before graduation; he needed to rapidly advance his Occupation to obtain the attribute bonuses granted by the [Genin] and [Chunin] Occupation Traits.

More importantly, the chance to draw a Trait with each Occupation promotion was crucial—based on previous patterns, starting from Chunin, there might be a chance to access higher-level blue Trait draws.

This was the fundamental motivation for his urgency, and even his willingness to consider going to Sunagakure for the Chunin Exams; he needed to solidify his foundation of strength as quickly as possible before the potential total turmoil arrived.

He had indeed hesitated when he learned that this year's Chunin Exams would be held in Sunagakure.

But now, with one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, serving as the overall leader, Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja, Teacher Chen, and two eternal Genin, Maruboshi Kosuke and Might Duy, as his teammates.

The Third Hokage might even attend the finals.

Shinichi pondered and decided there was nothing to worry about; even if some unexpected event occurred in Sunagakure, they would be well-equipped to handle it.

After all, this lineup was enough to stage a Suna version of the Konoha Crush plan right there in Sunagakure.