What a Coincidence

"Teacher, do you know Might Duy?"

Shen Ye whispered into the teacher's ear in an incredibly faint voice.

The classroom was so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping could be heard; the others could only watch Shen Ye's lips move, unable to discern what he was saying.

The teacher's expression shifted, his gaze drifting involuntarily toward that guy wearing a green combat suit.

"The Shadow Clone Technique won't be the only piece of evidence; there will be many ways to verify it in the end, so you don't need to worry about anything at all."

Shen Ye nodded, feeling reassured. This way, there was no need to worry about Might Duy's graduation; after all, his strength was more than enough to easily become a genin.

The day passed quickly, and Shen Ye shook his head, feeling a bit tired.

"Ring..."

The bell for the end of the school day rang. Minato and Shikaku rushed out of the classroom like wild horses, but after waiting on the playground for a while, they still didn't see Shen Ye appear.

The two couldn't help but feel very curious, as Shen Ye was usually the first one to dash out.

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

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

Retracing their steps, the two passed through the crowds and returned to the village, finding Shen Ye leaning against a chair with his eyes closed.

Beside him, Might Duy was looking down at something, his expression extremely serious.

Walking over, Minato finally heard the faint sound of snoring coming from Shen Ye; he hadn't expected him to have fallen asleep in such a short time.

"Might Duy, what are you looking at here?"

"I still have many things I don't understand about what the teacher taught today, and I wanted to ask Shen Ye for advice, but he's already fallen asleep."

"If there's anything you don't understand, I'll answer it for you. Although I wasn't listening very carefully, I've mostly grasped today's content."

Might Duy nodded and handed his notes to Minato, having already circled all the parts he didn't understand.

Minato looked at the content and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

He had expected some profound questions, but he hadn't expected Might Duy to have circled the entire page with one giant ring.

He truly couldn't fathom why Might Duy was so ignorant about ninjutsu.

However, as his good friend, Minato still carefully answered Might Duy one by one, without a hint of impatience.

The sky gradually darkened, and the stomachs of the three let out a simultaneous growl. Might Guy rubbed his belly gently.

"I'm a bit hungry. Should we wake Shen Ye up to get something to eat?"

"This guy is really something, sleeping in that same position for so long."

Minato shook his head helplessly and gave Shen Ye a few nudges.

Opening his eyes, Shen Ye looked at the people in front of him with a puzzled expression, not expecting that he had actually fallen asleep there.

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

"We were helping Might Duy solve some academic problems. We just finished, and since everyone was hungry, we decided to wake you."

Standing up and stretching, the group headed toward Ichiraku Ramen.

Just as they stepped out of the academy, Might Duy leaped onto a rooftop. After doing a few backflips, he stood on his hands on the edge of the roof.

"I can't waste a single moment of training. I'll see you at Ichiraku Ramen; I still have five thousand handstands to complete today's mission."

Shen Ye knew of Might Duy's diligence and said nothing, simply walking forward, while Minato and Shikaku looked at Might Duy with expressions of admiration.

Both of them secretly asked themselves if they could reach such a level.

The answer was definitive: they would never be as self-disciplined as Might Duy, nor would they be as hardworking.

Amidst laughter and chatter, the figures of the group gradually disappeared into the dark streets.

Early the next morning, Shen Ye was startled awake by a rapid knocking on his door. He pulled it open to see Hatake Sakumo standing there, gasping for air.

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

Shen Ye rolled up his sleeves, his intention clear: he was ready to stand up for Hatake Sakumo.

"It's not what you think. There is just a very urgent mission that requires your help. As a member of the Anbu, I need Danzo's orders to mobilize."

Shen Ye nodded, understanding Hatake Sakumo's intent. After clarifying the details of the mission, he left his home.

In fact, this mission was neither an Anbu mission nor one issued by the Third, but something Hatake Sakumo had stumbled upon by accident.

The reward for the mission was a ninjutsu that had never been heard of before—at least, not one that Hatake Sakumo had ever seen in his experience.

Shen Ye gathered Minato and Shikaku, and the three appeared at Might Duy's home, only to find the room empty.

The sun had only just appeared in the sky; had Shen Ye not come looking, Minato and Shikaku would still be fast asleep.

"Has Might Duy already gone out to train? With such perseverance, he will surely become a very powerful ninja in the future."

"Let's find him quickly, or if the mission gets snatched up, we won't get the reward."

The three nodded at each other and split up, heading in three different directions to search for Might Duy.

Compared to dull and boring training, real combat was what allowed people to grow faster, which was exactly why Shen Ye insisted on bringing Might Duy along.

After searching for a long time without finding any sign of Might Duy, the three of them regrouped.

"I've checked both the rooftops and the training grounds, but he's nowhere to be seen."

"I have no idea where this guy could have gone."

Suddenly, a dark green figure appeared in the distance, swaying as he slowly came into their line of sight.

"Talk about finding something without even trying; he just appeared out of nowhere."

Minato was equally surprised, as he had already searched that direction and truly hadn't found a trace of him.

"Minato, did you check the Ninja Academy? I get the feeling this guy just walked out of there; the way he's walking clearly shows he's been rattled by some knowledge."

Minato shook his head. He had naturally overlooked the Ninja Academy during his search, as no one would go to a place like that so early in the morning.

The three of them couldn't help but marvel at what a weirdo Might Duy was, while simultaneously becoming even more curious about him.

"Oh, it's Shen Ye and you all! What a coincidence to run into you here."