Asuma's wish was doomed to come to nothing.
Only three days had passed.
On the evening of the third day.
Guy was working at Uchiha Tao Ye's blacksmith shop when Kurenai suddenly came running over.
She was in even more of a hurry than last time.
"Guy! There's a school assembly!"
Guy stopped working and looked at her.
"Another assembly?"
Kurenai nodded, her face pale.
"Something terrible happened."
In the classroom.
Even more students were present than last time.
Nobody spoke.
Even their breathing was hushed.
Ikkaku Umino stood at the front of the classroom.
His face looked even worse than last time.
He scanned the children below.
They were six or seven years old.
The oldest was eight.
He was silent for a long time.
Then he spoke.
"Early this morning."
He paused.
"Kumogakure, in the Land of Lightning, attacked our outpost on the border of the Land of Rice Fields."
The classroom fell utterly silent.
"All twelve members of the three squads stationed there were killed."
Someone sucked in a sharp breath.
Someone covered their mouth.
Someone went as pale as paper.
Ikkaku Umino continued speaking.
"At the same time, an outpost on the border of the Land of Earth was also attacked."
"Sixteen people. Not a single survivor."
He pressed a hand against the lectern.
He pressed down hard.
His knuckles turned white.
"Now that people have died, there's no room for negotiations."
"Kumogakure has declared war on the Land of Fire."
"Iwagakure has declared war on the Land of Fire as well."
"Sunagakure hasn't made a move yet, but three thousand troops have already assembled at the border."
He looked at the children below.
"War."
"It has already begun."
The classroom was so quiet they could hear their hearts beating.
Obito opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But no words came out.
Rin lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Kurenai clutched Guy's sleeve tightly.
Nobody spoke.
Ikkaku Umino took a deep breath.
"Next..."
He wrote a few words on the blackboard.
[Graduation date moved up.]
Someone asked quietly, "Moved up to when?"
Ikkaku Umino turned around.
He looked at them.
"Because of the war, your six-year curriculum had already been shortened to three years."
"Now."
He paused.
"We're cutting it in half again."
Obito jerked his head up.
"Half?! Doesn't that mean..."
"One and a half years," Ikkaku Umino said. "You've already been in school for more than half a year, so you have less than a year left."
The classroom erupted.
"One year?!"
"We're only seven!"
"We graduate in less than a year? Doesn't that mean we'll have to go to the battlefield?!"
Ikkaku Umino said nothing.
He simply looked at them.
He waited for the noise to die down.
Only then did he speak.
"Yes."
"You'll graduate in less than a year."
"After graduation, you'll be assigned directly to combat units."
"If you're lucky, you'll stay in the village on guard duty."
"If you're unlucky..."
He didn't finish.
But everyone knew what he meant.
The front lines.
The battlefield.
A place where people died.
Obito's face went pale.
Kurenai's grip on Guy's sleeve tightened until her knuckles turned white.
Rin kept her head bowed, tears welling in her eyes.
Ebisu's sunglasses slipped right off his face and fell to the ground. He didn't pick them up.
Guy sat in the last row, by the window.
He said nothing.
He didn't move.
But his hand was clenched into a fist.
One year.
Less than a year.
These children.
Kurenai, Obito, Rin, Ebisu, and Asuma would all be sent to the battlefield.
They might not die.
But!
Guy's gaze fell on some of his classmates whose names he didn't know.
These children had never appeared in the story that followed.
Some of them would die.
Some would die just like in the original story, somewhere he couldn't see.
Konoha's golden generation hadn't consisted of just those fourteen people.
Rather, only those fourteen had survived in the end.
No.
There might have been even fewer!
Guy took a deep breath.
He opened the system panel.
[Yijin Jing: 832 (Mastered)] [Vajra Leg: 1000 (Mastery of Perfection)] [Vajra Finger: 1000 (Mastery of Perfection)] [Precept-Breaking Blade: 316 (Thorough Mastery)] [Golden Bell Shield: 3 (Beginner)]
It wasn't enough.
Still not enough.
He had to get stronger.
Strong enough to protect everyone.
After school.
After everyone else had left.
Guy headed to the back mountain alone.
Halfway there, an Anbu suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Might Guy?"
Guy stopped.
"Yes."
The Anbu handed him a letter.
"Hatake Kakashi sent this to you."
Guy took it.
The Anbu disappeared.
Guy opened the letter.
He read it by the light of the moon.
It was short.
[Guy: I made Chunin. I was given an emergency promotion, and they made an exception because I've killed quite a few people. The Third said Konoha has never had a seven-year-old Chunin before. But I don't have anything to feel proud of. On the battlefield, there's no difference between a Chunin and a Genin. Either one can die. The squad next to mine was wiped out a few days ago. People I knew are gone. I don't want that to happen to you too. So get stronger. I'll be waiting for you on the battlefield. Kakashi]
Guy stared at the letter.
At the last line.
"I'll be waiting for you on the battlefield."
He folded the letter.
He tucked it into his shirt.
Then he looked up.
The moon was bright.
Its light fell across his face.
He suddenly thought of the Kakashi from the original story.
The genius who had become a Chunin at seven.
The genius who had lost Obito at Kannabi Bridge.
The genius who had gone completely cold after Rin died.
This time...
It wouldn't happen.
He turned and continued toward the back mountain.
He'd barely taken two steps.
"Guy!"
A familiar, booming voice exploded from behind him.
Guy turned around.
In the moonlight,
a green figure stood there.
Thick eyebrows and big eyes.
A faded green Spandex Suit.
Might Duy.
He ran over and stopped in front of Guy.
His eyes shone so brightly it was almost alarming.
"Guy!"
"There's something I've been thinking about for a long time, and I've finally decided to tell you!"
Guy's heart stirred.
Could it be that, at a time like this...
Duy took a deep breath.
Then he raised his thumb.
His teeth gleamed.
"Son, your father is going to teach you a forbidden technique!"