The First Person Encountered, Mitarashi Anko

The fog in the Forest of Death was thick.

The moment Might Guy stepped into the forest, the path behind him vanished.

This was not a metaphor.

It had truly disappeared.

He glanced back.

The clear path he had arrived on was now completely swallowed by the vast, white mist, its very outline obscured.

He had even lost his sense of direction.

"Whoa, this fog is something else."

Might Guy muttered to himself, though he did not panic.

Navigating in the wild was basic material taught in the first year of the Ninja Academy.

Ikkaku Umino had said during class:

"Getting lost on the battlefield kills you faster than encountering an enemy. You can at least fight an enemy, but if you're lost, you don't even get the chance."

At the time, Obito had whispered, "Who would get lost?" and Ikkaku Umino had heard him, dragging him up to stand in the corner for the entire period.

Might Guy remembered it clearly.

He also remembered the phrase Ikkaku Umino had emphasized repeatedly.

"Head east."

It wasn't just a casual remark.

Every time someone went in, Ikkaku Umino would repeat it.

Head east.

There were twenty-three people, and he had repeated it twenty-three times.

Why?

Because from their current position, heading east was the only way to reach the finish line.

Might Guy crouched down and examined the tree roots at his feet.

The bark was rough, covered in a thin layer of moss.

He reached out to touch it.

The moss wasn't particularly thick, but it was clearly denser on this side than the other.

The shaded side.

The north.

Might Guy stood up and looked in the opposite direction.

That was south.

He raised his hand to gauge the position of the sun.

Although the fog was thick, the sunlight still filtered through faintly, allowing him to estimate the time.

Morning.

The sun was in the east.

Following the direction of the light meant heading east.

Might Guy grinned.

"Classes are useful after all."

He stepped forward, keeping an eye on the surroundings for traces.

Scratches on the tree trunks.

The direction in which the bushes had been trampled.

Occasionally, he could even see markings left by those who had come before.

Some were Konoha codes, while others were warnings carved by ninjas from unknown eras.

"Deep pit ahead."

"Bears here."

"Trap here, deactivated."

Might Guy looked at that last one, his mouth twitching.

Why carve it here if it's already deactivated?

Just to scare people?

After walking for about two hours, the fog gradually began to thin.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, significantly improving visibility in the forest.

Guy stopped in his tracks and pricked up his ears.

There was a sound.

Very faint.

"Swish... swish..."

"The sound of running water."

Guy's eyes lit up.

A water source.

The first lesson of wilderness survival: find a water source, and you have found the capital to stay alive.

It was also the place where others were most likely to gather.

He followed the sound, pushed through a thicket of bushes, and the view suddenly opened up before him.

A small river lay ahead.

It wasn't wide, maybe three or four meters across.

The water was shallow and crystal clear, revealing the pebbles and small fish swimming along the riverbed.

Guy crouched down, just about to reach out and test the water temperature.

"Splash—"

A sound of water came from upstream.

Guy paused and looked up.

About a dozen meters upstream, next to a large rock, someone was crouching.

She had purple hair tied into a bun and wore a dark training outfit with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

Both hands were submerged in the water, cupping a handful to splash onto her face.

On the rock beside her sat an empty oil-paper bag.

Mitarashi Anko.

Guy blinked.

The first person he encountered was actually her?

Mitarashi Anko seemed to sense something as well and whipped her head around.

Their eyes met.

Mitarashi Anko froze for a moment.

Then—

"Wah!!!"

Her foot slipped, and she fell backward.

"Careful!"

Guy reacted quickly, rushing over in a few strides to grab her wrist.

Pulled by him, Mitarashi Anko stumbled but managed to steady herself.

She panted, glaring at Guy.

"You... why don't you make any noise when you walk!"

Guy let go and scratched his head.

"I did make noise; you just didn't hear it."

Mitarashi Anko pouted.

She glanced down at the wrist Guy had grabbed, then looked back up at him.

"What are you doing here?"

Guy pointed at the river.

"Looking for water. You too?"

Mitarashi Anko nodded.

"Yeah... walked all morning, I'm dying of thirst."

As she spoke, she bent down to pick up the empty oil-paper bag, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into her Ninja Tool Pouch.

Guy glanced at the bag; it was still stained with oil and powdered sugar.

"Dumplings?"

Mitarashi Anko's face flushed red.

"It... it was the last one! I'm not giving it to you!"

Guy looked at her, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Three days' worth of rations, eaten in a single morning?

No wonder this girl had such a grudge against the Forest of Death in the original story.

It was because she was hungry.

Anko felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned her head away.

"What are you looking at! So what if I love eating dango!"

Guy didn't speak.

He just kept looking at her.

After a while, he suddenly smiled.

Anko was stunned.

"What are you laughing at?"

Guy didn't answer; he turned and walked to the riverbank, crouched down, and untied the small cloth bag he carried with him.

He opened it.

Inside were three rice balls, a small bag of dried meat, and a few pieces of hardtack.

He took out two rice balls and handed them to Anko.

Anko froze.

"This..."

"Just take them for now, eat them when you're hungry," Guy said. "Your three-day rations are gone in one morning, what are you going to do for the remaining six and a half days?"

Anko opened her mouth.

She wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.

She looked at the two rice balls, then back at Guy.

Her nose felt sore.

"Why... why are you being so nice to me?"

Guy found it strange.

"Aren't we classmates?"

Anko blinked.

"Just... just because of that?"

"What else did you think?" Guy rolled his eyes.

Anko was silent for two seconds.

Then she snatched the rice balls, lowered her head, and took a big bite.

"Hey, those were for later; if you eat them now, you won't have anything left."

"But I'm hungry..."

Anko said, looking aggrieved.

Guy watched her, and the image of her as an adult couldn't help but surface in his mind.

A little chubby girl.

Suddenly, he understood a bit.

"Forget it, eat up."

"The rations I brought aren't enough anyway; we'll have to go hunting."

"I'll just have to catch a bit more."

Guy washed up briefly in the river, replenished his water, then oriented himself and glanced back at Anko.

"I'm leaving, coming along?"

"Coming!"

Anko agreed without a second thought.

Guy was a legendary figure in their class.

He kicked over a Ninja Bear.

He kicked a Chunin to death.

Being with him provided a sense of security that was off the charts.

Anko would have to be crazy not to follow him.

Guy didn't mind.

It was nice to have company along the way.

Besides, with him around, perhaps Anko's grudge against the Forest of Death would diminish quite a bit.