Apologize!

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Two Palms!"

Boom!

In the middle of the hallway, Masamune Hyuga struck a short-haired boy with his palm, sending him flying. His expression was full of disdain. "A guy like you doesn't deserve to practice Taijutsu!"

A commotion broke out among the crowd as everyone began talking.

"He got beaten up again. How pitiful."

"I heard his father's that legendary Genin who can't do anything but Taijutsu."

"Doesn't the Hyuga House use only Taijutsu, too?"

"That's different. The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist is the strongest Taijutsu in the Ninja World!"

"Hmph, what's so great about that? Yesterday, Uchiha Houka beat him so badly he wet his pants."

"Hey, hey, is that true? Is it really true?"

"I heard he wet his pants, too, but it probably isn't true."

"It is true. His pants were soaked, and they stank. Houka wouldn't even perform the Seal of Reconciliation with him."

Masamune Hyuga's moment of glory lasted all of three seconds. When he heard his classmates chattering around him, his eyes turned white—no, even whiter.

"Shut up! You guys don't know anything!" Masamune Hyuga was so angry and frantic that his face and neck turned red. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "If anyone dares bring this up again and shame the Hyuga Clan, I'll beat them until they can't talk!"

The Hyuga Clan was one of Konoha's great clans, and its reputation carried so much weight that none of the other students dared respond.

Fortunately, Houka was in Class Two.

"Well, well, young man. Did you wash your hands after wetting your pants yesterday?" Houka sauntered over and helped the boy lying on the ground back to his feet. One look was enough to confirm it: those outrageously thick eyebrows could only belong to the future legend of Konoha, the noble Blue Beast, Might Guy!

"Uchiha Houka!!!"

When enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred—but Masamune Hyuga was an exception. His eyes blazed with extra-white fury!

"Who else?" Houka said, then turned to Might Guy with a smile. "You okay?"

"Ah, I—I'm okay," Might Guy panted. "Thanks."

Houka did a quick calculation. Might Guy and Kakashi were the same age, five years old this year. His Taijutsu training was probably still focused on building a foundation, so he wouldn't be much of a fighter yet.

"Uchiha Houka, don't think you can frame me for wetting my pants just by splashing water on them! I outgrew tricks for little kids like that when I was four!" Masamune Hyuga shouted, stubbornly sticking out his chin.

"You're proud of that?" Houka asked, giving him a sidelong look.

"Pfft—hahaha!"

"That's hilarious! Hahaha!"

The watching students clutched their stomachs, laughing out loud.

Masamune Hyuga's face turned as red as a monkey's backside.

When he'd gotten home yesterday, he'd cried to his father about what happened. As expected, his father had rewarded him with a Fist of Love and sternly told him to deal with it himself. If the matter got out of hand and damaged the Hyuga Clan's reputation, he'd never forgive him!

So Masamune Hyuga had spent all night coming up with a way to clear his name.

But now it seemed his plan had backfired.

"Stop laughing! Shut up, all of you!" Masamune Hyuga was furious. He waved his arms and threatened the students around him, but the more he threatened them, the louder they laughed.

Houka turned to Might Guy beside him and asked, "Hey, what's your name?"

"My name's Might Guy. You can call me Guy!" Might Guy said, lowering his head.

"Might Guy?" Houka asked. "All right, Guy. Why did Masamune Hyuga hit you?"

"Bastard, you think you can stand up for this guy? Uchiha Houka, don't think I can't beat you!" Masamune Hyuga shouted.

Houka ignored him completely.

Guy glanced at Masamune Hyuga, then at Houka, and lowered his head. "Because I—I'm a Taijutsu practitioner."

"A Taijutsu practitioner, huh." Houka knew that, of course. In a few decades, you'll be the number-one Taijutsu practitioner in the Ninja World.

"A guy like you doesn't deserve to practice Taijutsu!" Masamune Hyuga taunted him. "You don't even understand what Taijutsu is!"

Guy clenched his fists, refusing to back down. "That's not true! My father taught me Taijutsu!"

"Can the Taijutsu of that Eternal Genin even be called Taijutsu?" Masamune Hyuga seemed to have regained a sense of superiority he'd long forgotten. He held his head high and looked down at Guy. "My Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist is the best Taijutsu in the Ninja World!"

Guy gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept it, but unable to argue.

Houka patted Guy on the shoulder. "The world keeps changing and growing. Being the best now doesn't mean you'll still be the best in the future. Guy, I believe you can surpass Gentle Fist and create a Taijutsu style of your own!"

Houka's encouragement made a blazing fire appear in Guy's eyes. "That's right! My father says the same thing. He also told me that youth is meant to burn brightly, and passion is meant to be spent!"

Guy flashed his pearly white teeth. Behind him, an ocean roared, and a dazzling ray of sunlight shone across the backdrop!

"..." Houka's eye twitched. Had he really turned out like this already?

Then he turned to Masamune Hyuga. "You. Apologize to Guy!"

"What?" Masamune Hyuga couldn't believe it. He gritted his teeth. "You want me to apologize to him? Are you kidding me? Who do you think you are? Who does he think he is? What do you think the Hyuga Clan is?! I'll never apologize to him!"

Masamune Hyuga was only a Branch House member of the Hyuga Clan, but his attitude represented that of most of Konoha's great clans.

Konoha had been founded only forty years ago, yet the great clans had already risen to power. They controlled vast resources and wielded immense authority, with no one daring to question them. To ordinary shinobi, they were untouchable. The divide between the classes had gradually taken shape, and its emergence was inevitable. The Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan were undoubtedly the most prominent among them!

Making a child of a great clan apologize to an ordinary shinobi wouldn't be a major incident, but it wouldn't be trivial, either.

At the very least, Masamune Hyuga knew that if he apologized to Might Guy today, his father would beat him half to death when he got home, then drag him to the Main House to atone!

"The Hyuga Clan is one of Konoha's great clans. It has always supplied Konoha with many outstanding Taijutsu shinobi, protecting the peace of Konoha and even the Land of Fire. It made tremendous contributions during the First Shinobi World War and the Second Shinobi World War, and produced countless heroes whose stories deserve to be sung! They gave their lives to create a better tomorrow and a better future for the Land of Fire, for Konoha, and for the Hyuga Clan. But..." Houka's face was full of sorrow, and his eyes brimmed with emotion. "If they saw their descendant turn out like you, how heartbroken would they be?"

"Y-you're talking nonsense!" Masamune Hyuga panicked so badly his teeth could barely stop chattering.

"You beat an ordinary classmate in front of everyone, insulted his Taijutsu, then proudly refused to admit you were wrong! Masamune Hyuga, are you worthy of your ancestors? Are you worthy of the Hyuga heroes who died in the First and Second Shinobi World Wars? Or is this how the Hyuga Clan teaches its children to behave?"

Masamune Hyuga was completely panicked. Even at six years old, he knew how much those words could hurt the Hyuga Clan if they got out—especially its reputation. It might plummet, earning the scorn and hatred of countless ordinary shinobi!

"N-no, that's not true! You're lying! You're lying!" Masamune Hyuga protested loudly, but his words sounded feeble and unconvincing. No one believed him.

Houka looked at him calmly.

All the students watching had fallen into an eerie silence. Most of them... came from ordinary families!

At last, Masamune Hyuga could no longer hold out. Trembling, he walked over to Might Guy, gritted his teeth, and said, "I'm sorry."

"Can't hear you," Houka said.

"I'M SORRY!!!" Masamune Hyuga shouted.

"If apologies were enough, what would Konoha's Military Police Force be for?" Houka scoffed.

Masamune Hyuga couldn't take it anymore. He was the one who'd been told to apologize, but the moment he did, Houka said it was useless. You couldn't mess with someone like that!

Overwhelmed by his grievance, Masamune Hyuga burst into tears and ran off, wiping his eyes.

"Honestly, kids these days are so coddled. Say a couple of things to them and they start crying." Houka shrugged innocently. "You all saw it. I didn't hit him. He cried on his own."

The students beside him looked at him speechlessly, but the gazes of many ordinary students had changed a little.

Guy, standing right next to him, looked at him with pure admiration.

Houka's vanity wasn't satisfied in the slightest. He waved his hand. "All right, break it up. Class is about to start."