The school bell rang.
The students left in twos and threes, keeping their voices low, but they could not stop their glances from drifting toward Kakashi.
"Did you hear? Senior White Fang..."
"Shh—"
Kakashi sat by the window without moving.
Guy packed his schoolbag and stood up. He glanced at Kakashi's back, then toward the door.
Obito was waving at him. "Bushy Brows! Coming? Are we doing extra training today?"
"You go on ahead. I have something to do."
Obito paused, then followed his gaze to Kakashi. He seemed to understand something.
"Oh... I'll wait for you at the back mountain."
He pushed open the door and left.
Most of the people in the classroom had gone. Kurenai Yuhi walked to the doorway, then looked back at Guy, concern in her eyes.
Guy smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up.
Kurenai pursed her lips and left as well.
Only the two of them remained.
Guy walked over to Kakashi, sat in the seat in front of him, and turned around.
"Kakashi."
No response.
"Kakashi."
Still no response.
Guy waved a hand in front of his face.
Kakashi finally moved and turned to look at him. His eyes were still red, but his expression was cold as ice.
"What?"
Guy got straight to the point. "What do you think about your father?"
Kakashi's gaze sharpened.
"It has nothing to do with you."
He stood up, grabbed his schoolbag, and headed outside.
Guy followed him. "I think it does."
Kakashi did not slow down.
"Was your father wrong to save his companions?"
Kakashi stopped abruptly and turned to glare at him. His voice was low but fierce. "What do you know? You don't know anything!"
"I don't know, so I came to ask you," Guy said.
Kakashi bit his lip, his chest rising and falling.
"Move."
"No."
Kakashi went around him and kept walking.
Guy followed behind him, out of the school building, out of the gates, and all the way onto the street.
"Stop following me!"
Kakashi turned back and shouted, drawing sidelong looks from passersby.
Guy stopped and looked at him.
"Then tell me. What do you really think?"
Kakashi clenched his fists.
"What I think has nothing to do with you! You're an underdog, and I'm a genius. We were never meant to walk the same path! Stop bothering me!"
With that, he turned and walked away.
Guy stood where he was, watching that small white figure recede.
Then he suddenly spoke. "Let's fight."
Kakashi's steps halted.
"Let's fight," Guy repeated. "If I win, you'll tell me what you think."
Kakashi turned around and looked at him strangely.
"You? Fight me?"
"Yes."
"What can you even do? You can't even use the Clone Technique."
Guy grinned, gave him a thumbs-up, and flashed his teeth. "But I have Youth!"
Kakashi fell silent for two seconds.
"Boring."
He continued walking.
Guy caught up and grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't you want to know what's right and what's wrong? After we fight, I'll tell you!"
Kakashi shook off his hand and stared at him.
There was anger in those eyes, confusion, and something else that could not be put into words.
"Fine. If you want to fight, then we'll fight."
The school training ground.
The sun gradually sank.
Guy and Kakashi stood facing each other, ten meters apart.
No one was watching.
Only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.
"The rules?" Kakashi asked.
"There are no rules."
Guy tossed his schoolbag aside.
"We fight until one of us can't stand."
Guy grinned and assumed a starting stance.
Kakashi took up a stance as well, one hand before him and an unsharpened kunai appearing in the other.
"Come."
Guy charged forward.
His first kick, Vajra Leg, swept toward Kakashi's shin.
Fast.
Kakashi sidestepped it, then slashed his kunai backhandedly toward Guy's arm.
Guy withdrew his leg and stepped back, evading the strike.
Kakashi gave him no chance to catch his breath. He formed a seal with one hand—
"Clone Technique!"
Poof.
Three Kakashis stood side by side, identical in movement and expression.
Guy froze for half a second.
All three Kakashis charged at once.
"Which one is real?"
He gritted his teeth and swept a kick at the nearest one—
Poof.
The clone dissolved into smoke.
The other two had already reached him.
The one on the left thrust a kunai at him, while the one on the right kicked at his stomach.
Guy could not deal with both. He jabbed two fingers of his right hand at the one on the left while twisting aside—
Puff.
His fingers pierced through a clone.
Thud.
But the kick from the right landed solidly.
Guy staggered back two steps, a burning pain flaring in his stomach.
Before he could steady himself, the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him.
"Shuriken!"
Guy bent down sharply. Two shuriken skimmed past his back and buried themselves in a tree trunk.
He turned around.
Kakashi stood five meters away, two more shuriken in his hand.
Of those three clones, not a single one had been real.
Guy panted and grinned.
"Impressive."
Kakashi said nothing and formed seals again.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
His figure blurred, and he suddenly appeared in front of Guy, his kunai slashing horizontally.
Guy had no time to dodge and raised his arm to block.
The kunai cut a gash across his forearm, spraying blood.
Guy let out a muffled groan and jabbed his other hand toward Kakashi's shoulder.
Kakashi leaned back to avoid it, then kicked Guy behind the knee.
Guy dropped to one knee.
"Enough."
Kakashi backed away several steps and looked at him.
"Enough what?"
Guy raised his head, sweat from his forehead mixing with blood.
He pushed himself to his feet, blood from his right arm dripping from his elbow.
"I'm only getting started."
Kakashi frowned. "You can't beat me."
"I know."
Guy flexed his fingers. The knuckles were covered in scraped skin from blocking the attack earlier.
"But I haven't fallen yet."
He charged forward again.
This time, he was faster.
The Yijin Jing circulated wildly through his body. A warm current flowed through his limbs, suppressing the pain of his wounds.
In its place came boiling hot blood.
Vajra Leg!
Whoosh—
Kakashi sidestepped, but Guy's leg suddenly changed direction in midair and swept toward his waist.
Kakashi's eyes flickered. He planted one hand on the ground and flipped away, barely avoiding it.
Before he could get up, Guy's fingers were already thrusting toward him.
Vajra Finger!
Puff.
His fingers struck Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi let out a muffled groan as numbness spread through it.
"You!"
Kakashi gritted his teeth and kicked Guy in the stomach.
Guy staggered back several steps, but he did not fall.
He took a breath and charged forward again.
Kick, jab, kick, jab.
There were no flashy movements, only the simplest two attacks.
Yet every kick carried the sound of wind, and every jab hurt like hell.
Kakashi dodged and counterattacked, his kunai carving one wound after another across Guy's body.
His clothes tore.
His arms were covered in blood.
The skin on his face had been scraped raw too.
But Guy kept charging forward.
Thud!
Kakashi's fist smashed into his face.
Guy's head snapped to the side, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
But he grabbed Kakashi's wrist with his backhand.
The gripping force of the Diamond Finger!
Kakashi struggled, but couldn't break free.
Guy had already clenched his other hand into a fist and slammed it toward his stomach—
Bang.
Kakashi doubled over from the blow.
But he used the chance to wrench his wrist free and stagger backward.
The two stood five meters apart, gasping for breath.
Kakashi's chakra was nearly depleted.
He had used the Clone Technique and Body Flicker Technique too many times just now, and now he felt completely empty inside.
Meanwhile, the guy in green across from him was covered in blood, yet still standing.
His eyes were terrifyingly bright.
"You're... insane," Kakashi panted.
Guy grinned, revealing teeth stained red with blood.
"Youth is insanity."
He charged again.
This time, there were no ninjutsu and no techniques.
Just the simplest fists and legs.
Kakashi was out of chakra too, so he could only meet him head-on with taijutsu.
Bang!
Their fists collided.
Smack!
Their legs swept into each other.
Kakashi punched Guy in the ribs.
Guy kicked him in the thigh.
One hit from you, one hit from me.
No dodging, no defense.
Just a brutal clash of strength against strength.
It was even as if they were venting something.
Until, at last.
Guy threw a punch and missed.
Kakashi kicked too, and missed as well.
They staggered at the same time, then fell to the ground together.
They just lay there.
Neither could move anymore.
The sun fully sank below the horizon, and darkness fell.
The forest was quiet, filled only with the two of them breathing heavily.
Guy lay on the ground, watching the sky gradually darken.
Not a single part of his body didn't hurt.
His right arm had gone numb, and every breath sent pain shooting through his ribs.
But he smiled.
"Kakashi."
Heavy breathing came from beside him, but there was no response.
"At a time like this... you can tell me... what you think now, right?"
Silence.
After a long time.
Kakashi's voice finally sounded, soft and hoarse.
"I... think my dad wasn't wrong."
Guy turned to look at him.
Kakashi lay on the grass two meters away, his eyes fixed on the sky.
Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes and into his white hair.
"What's wrong with... saving your comrades?"
His voice trembled.
"But... but everyone kept saying... saying he disgraced Konoha... saying he didn't deserve to be a ninja..."
"I don't know... I really don't know..."
He raised an arm to cover his eyes, his shoulders shaking.
Guy watched the usually cold genius cry like an ordinary child.
He pushed himself up.
His whole body hurt as though it were falling apart, but he still forced himself to crawl over.
He crouched beside Kakashi.
Then he placed a hand on his shoulder.
Kakashi froze, lowered his arm, and looked at him with reddened eyes.
Guy's face was swollen and blood stained the corner of his mouth, but his gaze was terrifyingly earnest.
"I think he wasn't wrong."
Kakashi stared blankly at him.
"Those who don't cherish their comrades are the ones who don't deserve to be ninjas."
Guy's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Kakashi's heart like a stone.
"Your dad saved his comrades. He's a hero."
"What do those people spreading gossip know?"
Guy grinned, tugging at the wound on the corner of his mouth. He winced in pain, but his smile didn't fade.
"When I become a ninja, I'll save my comrades too. Even if the mission fails, even if everyone curses me, I'll still save them and protect the people I cherish."
He raised a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
"Because this is my ninja way!"
Kakashi stared at him blankly.
That green-clothed guy with the swollen face, covered in blood and looking utterly miserable.
Yet his eyes burned as if two flames were blazing within them.
Tears welled up in Kakashi's eyes again.
But this time, he didn't hide them.
He simply cried in front of Guy, sobbing uncontrollably.
Guy didn't say anything either. He just crouched there, his hand on Kakashi's shoulder.
After Kakashi had cried himself out, he sat up with a sniffle.
He looked at Guy, his lips moving slightly.
"You... why are you helping me?"
Guy thought for a moment.
"Because you're my classmate."
Kakashi froze.
"And besides," Guy scratched his head, "your dad complimented my kick during the assessment that day."
He chuckled.
Kakashi looked at him and suddenly felt that this underdog was a little foolish.
Foolish enough to make someone want to cry.
[Bond Triggered: Genius and the Underdog] [Reward: Monk Points +30]