What a Coincidence

"Teacher, do you know Might Duy?"

Shen Ye spoke softly into his teacher's ear, his voice barely audible.

The classroom was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone else could only watch Shen Ye's lips move, with no idea what he was saying.

The teacher's expression shifted, and his gaze unconsciously turned toward the fellow in a green jumpsuit.

"Shadow Clone Technique won't be the only evidence. There'll be plenty of other ways to verify things in the end, so you don't need to worry."

Shen Ye nodded, reassured. That meant there was no need to worry about Might Duy's graduation. With his strength, he could easily become a Genin.

The day passed quickly. Shen Ye shook his head, surprised to find himself feeling a little tired.

"Ring, ring..."

The dismissal bell rang. Minato and Shikaku bolted out of the classroom like horses freed from their reins. They waited on the school grounds for a while, but Shen Ye still didn't show up.

They couldn't help wondering what was going on. Usually, Shen Ye was the first one out.

"What's up with Shen Ye today? He's acting like a completely different person."

"Let's go back and check. Maybe he's waiting for Might Duy. He hasn't come out either."

Following the route back, they pushed through the crowd and returned to the classroom, where they found Shen Ye leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.

Beside him, Might Duy had his head down, studying something with a serious expression.

After a few steps, Minato heard a faint snore coming from Shen Ye. He couldn't believe that Shen Ye had fallen asleep in such a short time.

"Might Duy, what are you looking at?"

"I'm reviewing what the teacher covered today. There's a lot I still don't understand, and I wanted to ask Shen Ye, but he's already asleep."

"Tell me what you don't understand, and I'll explain it. I wasn't paying very close attention, but I got the general idea."

Might Duy nodded and handed Minato his notes. He had circled every part he didn't understand.

Minato looked them over and couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching.

He had thought there would only be a few difficult questions, but Might Duy had drawn one enormous circle around everything.

He couldn't understand how Might Duy knew so little about ninjutsu.

Still, since Might Duy was his good friend, Minato patiently explained every question without showing any impatience.

The sky gradually darkened, and all three of them heard their stomachs growl at the same time. Might Guy rubbed his stomach gently.

"I'm getting hungry. Should we wake Shen Ye and go get something to eat?"

"This guy, honestly. He's been asleep in the same position this whole time."

Minato shook his head helplessly and nudged Shen Ye a few times.

Shen Ye opened his eyes and looked at them in surprise. He hadn't expected to fall asleep there.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"I was helping Might Duy with some of his studies. We'd just finished, and everyone was hungry, so we woke you."

Shen Ye got up and stretched. Then they headed for Ichiraku Ramen.

As soon as they left the Academy, Might Duy leaped onto a rooftop. After flipping several times, he balanced upside down on two fingers.

"I can't waste a moment of training. I'll meet you at Ichiraku Ramen. I still have five thousand handstand reps to finish today."

Shen Ye knew how hard Might Duy trained, so he said nothing and simply kept walking. Minato and Shikaku, however, watched Might Duy with admiration.

Each of them secretly wondered whether he could ever reach that level.

The answer was an emphatic no. Neither of them could be as disciplined as Might Duy, even if they did work hard.

Amid laughter and conversation, their figures gradually disappeared into the darkened street.

Early the next morning, Shen Ye was jolted awake by a hurried knock. He opened the door and found Hatake Sakumo standing there, gasping for breath.

"What's the rush? Did someone in the Anbu give you trouble?"

Shen Ye rolled up his sleeves, clearly ready to stand up for Hatake Sakumo.

"It's not what you think. There's an urgent mission that needs your help. As an Anbu member, I need Danzo's orders before I can go out."

Shen Ye nodded, understanding what Hatake Sakumo meant. After asking for the details of the mission, he left home.

As a matter of fact, this wasn't an Anbu mission, nor was it one assigned by the Third Hokage. It was something Hatake Sakumo had stumbled across by chance.

The reward for the mission was a ninjutsu he'd never heard of before, at least as far as Hatake Sakumo knew.

Shen Ye gathered Minato and Shikaku, and the three of them went to Might Duy's house, only to find it empty.

The sun had only just come up. If Shen Ye hadn't gone looking for him, Minato and Shikaku would still have been fast asleep.

"Has Might Duy already gone out to train? With that kind of determination, he'll surely become a very impressive ninja someday."

"Let's hurry and find him. If someone else gets the mission first, we won't get the reward."

The three nodded to one another, then split up and searched in different directions for Might Duy.

Compared to dull, repetitive training, real combat could help someone grow much faster. That was why Shen Ye insisted on bringing Might Duy along.

They searched for a long time but still couldn't find him. Eventually, the three regrouped.

"We've already checked the rooftops and the training grounds, but he's nowhere to be found."

"Where could he have gone?"

Just then, a dark green figure appeared in the distance, swaying as he slowly came into view.

"We've searched everywhere, and then he just shows up out of nowhere. Finding him turned out to be easy after all."

Minato was just as surprised. He had searched that direction already and hadn't seen Might Duy.

"Minato, did you check the Ninja Academy? Why does it feel like he just came from there? His walk makes it obvious he's had a real clash with all that knowledge."

Minato shook his head. While searching, he'd naturally overlooked the Ninja Academy. Nobody would go to a place like that first thing in the morning.

The three couldn't help thinking that Might Duy was an oddball, and they grew even more curious about him.

"Oh, it's you guys, Shen Ye. What a coincidence, running into you here."