Guy, What Does True Victory Mean?

"Come on, I believe in you!"

Tsunade nodded, offering him more encouragement.

Might Guy was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He immediately declared that he would work hard and strive to live up to Tsunade's expectations.

After that, he vanished in a flash.

Tsunade fell silent for several seconds. Then she turned her head. "Is he always like that?"

"He can be a little unpredictable. You get used to it. He's actually a good ninja who's hardworking and talented."

Kyohiko spoke up for Guy.

Tsunade nodded.

She knew Guy was a good kid, and that he worked hard. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given him her support.

Did Tsunade and Orochimaru get here so quickly because they happened to see me, or have they been keeping an eye on me?

Kyohiko wondered as he watched her.

Then...

He asked, "Tsunade, have you gotten over that?"

"It's not that easy."

Tsunade shook her head.

She had indeed been researching it, looking for relevant information and seeing if there were any corresponding medicines. But Konoha had no records on the subject; the whole field was a blank slate.

On the bright side—

There was plenty of room for progress in medical ninjutsu, and she had many directions she could work toward.

She couldn't help smiling as she spoke.

"I was just discussing with Orochimaru whether the Hozuki Clan had specific nerves after liquefying their bodies."

"Uh..."

Kyohiko couldn't answer.

Tsunade smiled breezily.

"You don't need to worry. I'm Tsunade. A little problem like this won't defeat me. If I get over it now, I won't be able to find the herbs for it, will I?"

She started walking, then suddenly stopped.

"Oh, right. Jiraiya's been away from the village lately. Have I told you about the Chunin Exams?"

"No, but Guy just told me."

Kyohiko replied.

Tsunade slapped her forehead.

"I've been so busy with my research lately that I didn't even think to tell you!"

Then she explained the situation with the upcoming Chunin Exams.

It was largely as Guy had described.

The difference was that Tsunade mentioned some of the deeper issues.

The situation in the Land of Waves was more or less as Kyohiko had guessed.

At the national level...

Nobles from various countries had been gathering in the Land of Waves in recent days, preparing to discuss maritime trade regulations and prevent commercial companies from maliciously monopolizing the shipping industry.

At the ninja village level, Konoha had joined forces with Kumogakure, Yugakure, and other villages with interests in the shipping routes to force Kirigakure to declare that it wouldn't secretly support Gato or interfere in the internal affairs of the Land of Waves—

Konoha was no exception.

Jiraiya had gone to attend the meeting as a representative.

The Joint Chunin Exams were an added feature of the meeting. Essentially, everyone wanted to find out how much each village had recovered since the war.

The exams would be held in Yugakure.

"There are still small-scale battles and conflicts happening behind the scenes, so nobody feels comfortable hosting the exams in their village. They settled on neutral Yugakure instead. That's why this is such an unusual exam, and the village is being very careful about who it selects."

As she spoke, Tsunade looked at Kyohiko. "You and Kurenai are among the candidates."

Kyohiko asked, "Can Kakashi participate?"

Tsunade shook her head.

Kakashi was already a Chunin. Having him take part in a joint exam at this level would invite criticism.

"Even if you and Kurenai both participate, you'll still need a temporary teammate. Have anyone in mind?"

"What about Guy and the others?"

"They're not strong enough. As for Might Guy..."

Tsunade thought back to the information she had on him.

Setting aside ninjutsu and academic knowledge, Might Guy was quite capable. His two teammates, however, didn't quite measure up. Putting together a temporary team to take the exam might actually work.

She had been about to offer to ask Kyohiko about it.

But then—

She remembered Guy's behavior just now, and the corner of her mouth twitched. She decided against approaching him again anytime soon.

"I'll ask Kurenai for you. You'd better ask Might Guy yourself, to avoid any misunderstandings. If you decide to participate, you'll have a month to train."

"Yes!"

Since Guy had mentioned it earlier, he was clearly interested in participating.

Kyohiko wasn't worried.

After saying goodbye to Tsunade, Kyohiko found Might Guy outside a wooded area.

Guy was working out while wiping away tears.

Kyohiko hesitated for a moment, but eventually walked over.

"Guy, I've got something important to discuss. How many people from your team are taking the Chunin Exams? If it's just you, our team might be one person short."

Might Guy stared at him blankly, then broke into a delighted smile.

"Really?"

"I've always believed in you. Or did you think I was just trying to comfort you earlier?"

"Kyohiko!"

Guy immediately hugged Kyohiko.

Then he quickly let go and said excitedly, "I'm going to train! I'm going to get stronger! I absolutely won't hold you back! I'll run another five hundred laps today. If I can't do it, I'll—"

"I'll train with you!"

"Awesome!"

That night, both of them were exhausted, but Kyohiko still insisted on walking Might Guy to his front door.

"Guy, is he the new friend you told me about?"

"This is Kyohiko, the one I mentioned."

Guy hesitated for a moment, then said, "Father, he also invited me to take part in the Chunin Exams!"

Might Duy froze.

Then he ruffled Guy's hair.

After a brief pause, Might Duy said, "Guy, do you remember what I said true victory for a ninja is?"

"Protecting what's important to you, even if it costs you your life."

"Right. Today I'm going to teach you a technique. It's not quite complete yet, but—this time, during the Chunin Exams, you'll have to protect your comrades!"

As he spoke, an enormous amount of chakra suddenly burst from Might Duy.

At that moment, Guy stared at him in shock.

He had stopped hating his father's "youthful" speeches and had even found himself picking up a few of them, but he had never imagined his father was hiding such tremendous power.

"This technique is only to be used to protect your teammates. From now on, I'll train you to master it!"

"Yes!"

The next day, at the agreed-upon training ground outside the village.

"You two?"

"We absolutely won't hold you back!"

Kyohiko and Guy shouted in unison.

Kurenai Yuhi's expression darkened.

Just looking at them, it was obvious the two of them had trained for a long time the day before and weren't in the best shape today.

Kyohiko was doing all right. He was only a little tired, and it shouldn't affect his training today.

But Might Guy...

In this condition, had he even rested at all yesterday?

She stared at Might Guy.

Guy immediately ducked his head. "I... I didn't mean to..."

A short while later, the fourth person arrived.

Though Kakashi tried to hide them, Kurenai could still see the bruises covering him.

She sighed.

"You guys! Let me treat you first. My skills aren't great, but I can handle injuries like these easily."

"No need. It won't affect my fighting."

Kakashi replied coldly.

Kyohiko said, "Kurenai, don't just lecture us. You haven't rested well yourself, have you?"

Kurenai fell silent.

Everyone wanted to get stronger. How could she possibly rest?

A short while later, the fifth and sixth people arrived.

Genma Shiranui and Ebisu were undoubtedly the two in the best shape, both physically and mentally.

But—

When they saw the four of them,

it was clear that all four had been training like mad.

Compared to them,

the two of them...

Genma Shiranui and Ebisu exchanged a look, their eyes full of shock. Shame welled up inside them, too.

Before, they had only compared themselves to Guy and thought his talent was average, so his fanatical effort wasn't surprising.

But—

What about Kakashi, Kurenai, and Kyohiko Yoshimine?

They were Jiraiya's disciples!

Were they really training almost as frantically as Guy?

"Let's get started. Today's training is mainly to help those three work on their teamwork and prepare for the Joint Chunin Exams. The three of us..."

Kakashi glanced at Genma Shiranui and Ebisu.

He instinctively wanted to make a snide remark, but his reason suppressed the urge.

"We'll just do our best."

After all...

Even he might not be able to beat Kyohiko in a straight-up sword fight.

He'd just have to do his best!