Let Go of That Girl!

Guy's training continued.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

His fingertips touched the rough bark. It hurt.

But he gritted his teeth and continued.

The warm current of the Yijin Jing circulated through his body. His fingertips split open, healed, split again, then healed again.

The sun slowly rose.

One hundred times. Two hundred times. Five hundred times.

One thousand times.

His fingers were swollen like carrots.

Two thousand times.

His knuckles had been rubbed raw, leaving streaks of blood on the bark.

Three thousand times.

The pain had gone numb. But he was still poking.

There was only one thought in his mind: Guy, you can't stop.

Four thousand times.

Five thousand times.

When the final strike went out, his fingers could no longer bend back.

Might Guy spread out his hands, looked at his ten red, swollen fingers, and grinned.

[Vajra Finger: Initial Mastery 5/100]

"Good. Time to go home and eat."

The road back passed through a small grove.

Might Guy swung both hands around to get the blood flowing.

His fingertips throbbed with pain, but he was in a good mood.

Then he heard crying.

It was very quiet, the kind of crying someone made while covering their mouth so they would not be heard.

Might Guy stopped.

He looked toward the sound.

Deep in the woods, four older boys stood in a circle around a little girl.

She had short, naturally curly black hair.

Big wine-red eyes.

She was adorable, especially cute.

But tears filled the little girl's eyes now, though she bit her lip and refused to let them fall.

She clutched a hair tie in her hand while several boys reached out to snatch it away.

"Let go!"

"No! My mother gave this to me!"

"If you don't let go, we'll beat you up! Hand it over!"

"Bullying a little girl?!"

Something exploded in Might Guy's mind.

[System Notification: Mission triggered—Righting Wrongs and Upholding Justice.]

[Reward: Monk Points +80, Random Beginner Gift Pack ×1.]

Guy ignored the system notification completely.

He strode forward and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Let go of that girl!!"

The four older boys jumped in fright and turned around in unison.

The leader was a chubby boy of seven or eight, wearing a wrinkled Ninja Academy uniform.

When he saw who it was, a mocking sneer appeared on his face.

"Oh? Who did I think it was?"

He looked Might Guy up and down in his green outfit.

"The son of the Eternal Genin, that washed-up dead last who failed?"

The others laughed along with him.

"I heard he can't even use the Clone Technique. He only knows a little taijutsu."

"What good is taijutsu? He'd still just be someone else's punching bag."

The chubby boy stepped forward and shoved Might Guy. "Get lost if you know what's good for you. Don't stick your nose into other people's business—"

Before he could finish, Guy sent out a flying kick.

"Vajra Leg! Ota!!"

Bang.

His foot slammed into the boy's shin.

The chubby boy screamed and dropped straight to his knees.

The remaining three froze for a second, then charged at him with loud cries.

Might Guy did not dodge.

Two fingers on his right hand, swollen like carrots, stabbed out and struck the second boy squarely in the shoulder.

The boy clutched his shoulder and screamed. Half his arm had gone numb.

The third boy lunged at him from the side, actually gripping an unsharpened Kunai.

It was the kind used for training, but it would still hurt if it cut him.

Might Guy twisted aside, then followed through with a high kick, the top of his foot cracking against the boy's chin.

The boy fell flat on his back.

The fourth boy turned and ran in terror, shouting as he fled, "Just you wait! You'll regret this!"

Might Guy did not chase him.

He lowered his head and looked at his right arm.

He had not dodged completely just now. The tip of the Kunai had cut a gash in his arm.

Blood dripped down from his elbow.

It was not deep, but it hurt.

He did not make a sound.

He turned to look at the little girl.

She was still standing there, hugging the hair tie as she stared blankly at him with her big eyes.

Might Guy grinned, gave her a thumbs-up, and flashed his White Fang. "It's okay now!"

Sunlight shone on his face. Sweat still covered his forehead, blood still ran down his arm, but his smile was especially bright.

The little girl stared at him in a daze.

Then her face turned red.

She lowered her head and said softly, "Th-thank you..."

Might Guy walked over and crouched down in front of her. "What's your name?"

"...Ku... Kurenai Yuhi."

Her wine-red eyes lifted to glance at him, then quickly lowered again.

Might Guy froze for a moment.

Kurenai Yuhi?

Kurenai when she was little?

No wonder she was so cute.

I really want to pinch her cheeks...

Guy held back the urge, scratched his head to ease the awkwardness, and asked, "By the way, why are you out here alone?"

Kurenai pursed her lips, her voice even softer. "I... I just finished training and wanted to take a shortcut home..."

Might Guy nodded.

"Take the main road from now on. If those bastards dare come again, run. If you can't outrun them, shout. If I hear you, I'll come over."

Kurenai blinked.

She looked at his green outfit, then at his carrot-like swollen fingers, then at his bleeding arm.

"Y-your hand..."

"It's nothing!"

Might Guy shook his hand. The pain made the corner of his mouth twitch, but his smile did not change.

"A real man doesn't care about a little injury like this!"

A strange light appeared in Kurenai's eyes as she pressed her lips together.

She pulled a neatly folded little handkerchief from her pocket and held it out to him.

"Here... wipe the blood."

Might Guy paused, then accepted it. "Thanks."

Even the tips of Kurenai's ears turned red.

She turned and ran away. After taking two steps, she looked back and said seriously:

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi! You have to remember me!"

Then she ran even faster.

Her black curls bounced in the sunlight.

Might Guy watched her retreating figure, then lowered his head to look at the little handkerchief in his hand and smiled.

A small flower was embroidered on it, and it carried a faint fragrance.

[Mission Complete: Righting Wrongs and Upholding Justice.]

[Obtained: Monk Points +80, Random Beginner Gift Pack ×1.]

[Open the gift pack?]

"Open it."

[Obtained: Golden Sore Medicine ×3. Rapid wound healing, for external use.]

Might Guy's eyes lit up.

Golden Sore Medicine?

This stuff was good.

He then added all eighty Monk Points he had received to the Yijin Jing.

[Monk Points -80]

This was the foundation.

Guy had already decided that all Monk Points he gained in the future would go into the Yijin Jing.

He only wanted to bring the Yijin Jing to great mastery as quickly as possible.

To lay the most solid foundation for his future self.

Besides, the higher the Yijin Jing's proficiency, the faster his body recovered.

And the more intense training he could endure.

A virtuous cycle.

Guy was in a good mood. Humming a tune, he returned home and pushed open the door.

"Guy!" Dai immediately came over. "You must be hungry! Dad made some extra—"

His voice stopped when he saw the blood on Might Guy's arm.

"You're hurt?!"

"Just a small injury." Might Guy waved a hand. "I ran into some bullies on the road and got into a fight."

Dai froze for a moment, then his eyes reddened again.

He pulled Might Guy into a fierce hug. "Good son! Standing up for justice! That's what a real man should do!"

Might Guy could barely breathe from the squeeze. "Dad... food..."

"Right, right, right! Let's eat!"

Two plates of strangely colored fried rice steamed on the table.

Green, red, and yellow bits were mixed together.

It looked like some unknown ninjutsu.

Might Guy sat down, picked up a spoon, and began eating in huge mouthfuls.

It actually tasted pretty good.

Dai sat across from him, staring at him the entire time.

"Guy."

"Yeah?"

"Did you put medicine on the injury on your hand?"

"Not yet."

Dai got up, rummaged through a cabinet for a small medicine box, and took out some ointment.

He sat beside him and carefully applied it.

Might Guy lowered his head and watched the man's clumsy movements.

In his previous life, he had been an orphan. No one had ever applied medicine to his wounds.

"Dad."

"Hmm?"

"I beat back four people today. One of them had a Kunai, but I wasn't scared."

Dai's hands paused.

He looked up, his eyes reddening again, but his smile was especially proud.

"Good son!"

He gave Might Guy a hard slap on the back.

Might Guy nearly spat out his food.

After dinner, Dai cleared the dishes and suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, Guy. Dad has to go out tomorrow."

Might Guy looked up. "Where to?"

"There's a mission outside the village, escorting a merchant caravan to the neighboring town. It'll probably take two or three days."

Dai scratched his head.

"It's a C-rank mission. I hadn't planned on taking it, but the pay is good... and the client specifically asked for me."

He raised a thumb, his teeth gleaming. "That means Dad still has a bit of a reputation!"

Might Guy nodded.

It was perfectly normal for a genin to take C-rank missions.

"Then get plenty of rest today."

Dai patted his head.

"Your body is what matters most. While Dad's gone, don't train too hard. Remember to eat on time."

Might Guy froze for a moment.

That hot-blooded idiot actually knew how to say something like "don't train too hard."

"Got it."

Dai grinned, got up, and went out to buy groceries.

That afternoon.

Guy came into the yard and looked over the array of training equipment.

He really wanted to start training right away.

But Dai's words echoed in his ears.

"Your body is what matters most."

"Don't train too hard."

Might Guy looked at his red, swollen fingers.

Then at the wound on his arm.

It had scabbed over, but it still hurt a little when he moved.

He took a deep breath and stood up.

Then turned and went back inside.

He lay down on the bed.

The Yijin Jing slowly circulated, warm currents flowing through his body.

His fingers hurt less, and the wound felt numb as it healed.

The sunlight outside the window was just right.

But he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Dai was right.

Resting properly was for the sake of training better.

That evening.

Dai pushed open the door and was stunned to see Might Guy still asleep.

Then he smiled.

He quietly walked to the bedside and tucked the blanket around Might Guy.

"Good son,"

he whispered.

"You know how to rest now."

After looking at him for a while longer, Dai seemed to make some sort of decision.

He took a deep breath, turned around, and walked outside.