Guy didn't rush to spend his points.
He lay on the ground and turned his head to look at Kakashi.
"How's White Fang doing?"
Kakashi fell silent for a while.
"He's locked himself in his room. He won't come out."
Guy was stunned.
"For how many days?"
"Three." Kakashi's voice was muffled. "He hasn't eaten or said a word. I knock, but he doesn't answer."
"He can't go on like this."
Guy pushed himself up and looked at him.
Kakashi said nothing.
"The best way to overcome pain and doubt is to take the first step out of them."
Guy looked serious.
"Locking yourself in a room will only make the pain worse."
Kakashi was stunned.
He turned to look at Guy, his eyes full of bewilderment.
How could this big, carefree Bushy Brows, who'd fought like a madman just moments ago, say something like that?
"How... do you know that?"
Guy scratched his head.
"My dad told me."
He pinned it on Might Duy without hesitation. It wasn't as if Kakashi would go ask him.
Kakashi fell silent for a while, then suddenly sat up.
"Then what should I do?"
He stared at Guy, his eyes alarmingly bright.
"Teach me!"
Guy felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze.
"Me, teach you?"
"Yeah!" Kakashi grabbed his shoulders. "You're right. We can't keep going like this. But I don't know what to do. Please, teach me!"
Guy looked at him.
The usually cold, brilliant prodigy now had red-rimmed eyes, his gaze full of anxiety.
Guy thought for a moment.
"How about this? First, get your dad to come to the academy. Then we'll..."
He whispered a long explanation in Kakashi's ear.
Kakashi looked suspicious. "Will that work?"
Guy shrugged. "Whether it works or not, it's better than staying home the whole time, right?"
Kakashi fell silent.
That was true.
His father hadn't left his room in three days.
If this kept up...
He gritted his teeth.
"Fine. I'll try."
But then he hesitated.
"How am I supposed to get him to come out? He won't leave his room."
Guy grinned and pointed at Kakashi, who was battered all over. "Aren't those injuries the perfect excuse?"
Kakashi froze.
He looked down at himself.
His clothes were torn, his arms were bruised, the skin on his knees was scraped off, and there was a streak of blood on his face.
Then he looked at Guy, who was in even worse shape.
He was covered in blood, and his face was swollen like a pig's.
Kakashi suddenly understood.
He looked up at Guy.
"You... you'd already thought of this?"
Guy shrugged and said nothing.
Kakashi watched him in silence for a long while.
Then he spoke.
"Thank you."
Guy said nothing.
He just gave a thumbs-up, flashing his white teeth.
Moonlight fell on his swollen face, and his smile looked downright ugly.
But Kakashi thought it was the best thing he'd seen all day.
Supporting each other, the two slowly walked out of the woods.
The next day.
Early morning.
At the entrance to the Ninja Academy.
Students trickled inside, some arriving on their own, others brought by their parents.
White Fang stood at the gate, his expression complicated.
He hadn't wanted to come.
For three days, he'd locked himself in his room, not wanting to see anyone.
Those looks, those whispers, those pointing fingers...
He couldn't take it.
But that morning, Kakashi had knocked on his door, urgently.
"Dad! Dad!"
White Fang hadn't answered.
"Dad! I got into a fight with a classmate!"
White Fang's heart tightened, but he still didn't open the door.
"Dad! I'm hurt! I'm covered in injuries!"
White Fang couldn't stay put.
He pulled the door open and looked down, seeing Kakashi in a sorry state.
White Fang's pupils contracted.
"Who did you fight?!"
Kakashi lowered his head.
"A classmate... from my class."
White Fang crouched down to examine his injuries.
They weren't minor.
Though they were only scrapes and bruises, they were enough to hurt a six-year-old.
But that wasn't the point.
"How badly is the other kid hurt?" White Fang asked with a frown.
Kakashi froze, remembering how awful Guy had looked the night before.
"...Worse than me."
"Just as I thought..."
White Fang fell silent.
His son was a prodigy who could already use the Three Body Technique at six.
He'd met all the children in Kakashi's class.
So far, none of them had been a match for Kakashi.
Now even Kakashi was injured. How badly must that other child be hurt?
"Dad, Teacher Umino asked you to come by..."
White Fang sighed.
He really didn't want to go, but when he looked at Kakashi and thought of the child he'd beaten up, he finally gave in.
"Let's go."
Kakashi looked up at him, his eyes brightening.
"Dad, you..."
White Fang said nothing. He took Kakashi's hand and led him out.
At that moment.
At the academy gate.
As soon as White Fang appeared, people nearby began to look his way.
"That's..."
"White Fang!"
"What's he doing here?"
"Did you hear? He failed a mission..."
"Abandoned the mission to save his teammate. Tsk, tsk..."
The voices weren't loud, but each one drifted into his ears.
White Fang's steps faltered.
Those stares pricked him like needles.
Instinctively, he wanted to lower his head, turn around, and flee back to that dark room.
Then he saw the man standing at the gate.
Might Duy.
That Eternal Genin stood there in a faded green outfit, like a gatekeeper.
White Fang froze.
He looked down at Kakashi.
"Is that the hardworking kid you fought?"
Kakashi's gaze darted away. He didn't answer.
White Fang wanted to scold him, but he opened his mouth and couldn't get a word out.
He only sighed.
His face was expressionless.
He let go of Kakashi's hand and walked toward Duy.
More people were watching now.
Parents dropping off their children, villagers passing by, and a few teachers on their way to class.
They all stopped to watch White Fang.
Whispers spread around them.
"That's him..."
"White Fang of Konoha? I heard..."
"How embarrassing..."
White Fang's steps grew slower and slower.
Those words were like knives, carving into his heart one cut at a time.
Suddenly, he felt afraid.
Afraid to reach Duy, afraid to hear him say something too.
The renowned White Fang of Konoha had killed countless enemies and carried out countless dangerous missions. He'd never known fear.
But now, he was afraid.
Duy watched him approach, taking in his expressionless face and those evasive eyes.
His heart suddenly ached.
Was this really White Fang?
The White Fang who'd taken him on missions back then and never once said he was holding him back?
The White Fang who'd smiled and told him, "Everyone has their own way of life"?
Duy was about to speak.
"Zzzzt—"
A piercing crackle of electricity exploded overhead.
Everyone looked up.
A large loudspeaker hung from a utility pole beside the school gate.
It was usually used for announcements.
Now its horn was pointed at the crowd.
"Hello, hello..."
A voice came through the loudspeaker.
It was Might Guy's voice.
Everyone froze.
White Fang froze, too.
He looked up at the loudspeaker.
Then Guy's booming voice rang out through it, spreading across the entire school entrance.