Might Duy struggled to lift his head. His face was smeared with blood and dust. The fervor in his eyes had long since faded, leaving only deep unwillingness and a trace of bewilderment.
He had heard Bai Lin praise him, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel happy.
For as long as he'd known him (at least before he'd scraped together a million ryo), Bai Lin had always seemed like an ordinary person. Yet in just one day, he'd displayed overwhelming strength. The contrast weighed on Duy's heart like a stone.
I could have borne my own ordinariness if I'd never seen a genius.
In his heart, he'd believed that as long as he worked hard enough, he would become a ninja everyone acknowledged.
But what about Bai Lin?
He'd never shown any sign of being a ninja, and Duy had never even seen him train. Yet he'd easily defeated the results of countless days and nights of Duy's hard work.
Is this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?
Bai Lin seemed to see what was on his mind. He simply said, "Duy, if you make me your goal and try to catch up to me, you'll never reach my level."
"But you don't need to catch up to me."
Bai Lin's voice was calm, yet it carried a power that pierced straight to the heart. He crouched down to meet Might Duy's gaze and gently tapped his chest with a fingertip. "The person you need to catch up to is the person you were yesterday."
"Your hard work has never been in vain. You went from being a ninja people mocked as 'untalented' to reaching where you are today. That resilience is more precious than any talent."
Bai Lin's tone grew more emphatic. "A genius might get there faster, but follow in my footsteps, and I have a way to help you go even farther."
Between Minato Namikaze and Might Duy, Bai Lin valued Minato more because of his talent and potential, while Duy was the opposite.
But Bai Lin liked Might Duy more.
Part of it was because Duy had helped him unconditionally from the start, and part of it was that Bai Lin admired Duy's hard work.
Minato was still young, and his values weren't fully formed. He could easily be influenced by others (Jiraiya or Hiruzen Sarutobi) and stray from the path Bai Lin had laid out for him.
Might Duy was different. His mind was already mature. Bai Lin only needed to plant a single pin in his heart.
With his honest, straightforward nature, that "pin" would eventually take root and grow into a towering tree that would support him on his path.
Is this why honest people are so easy to bully?
No, this was all part of passing on the Will of Phosphorus!
"Boss..." Might Duy's voice was still hoarse, but it trembled with an intensity he'd never felt before.
Bai Lin's words had struck like a bolt of thunder, splitting apart the fog that had long clouded his heart. He'd been fixated on "catching up to a genius" all this time, forgetting that the person he most needed to surpass was his former self—the one who had been mocked and wanted to give up.
He abruptly straightened his back. The excruciating pain in his abdomen brought cold sweat to his brow, but a light even more blazing than when he'd entered the Gate of Pain state had rekindled in his eyes. It was a look of resolve. "I understand! Boss, I won't chase after anyone anymore. I'll chase after myself! But I want to follow you and walk a longer road with you!"
"Yeah! Our youth has no price tag. Gamble—no, give it everything we've got, right here and now!"
"Let's pour out a completely different kind of sweat for the youth we've lost!"
"The path I lead you down won't leave you with regrets."
Bai Lin forced out a tear, reaching the same emotional wavelength as Might Duy.
"Boss!" Might Duy gazed at Bai Lin with deep affection.
"Duy!" Bai Lin held his hand, stopping Might Duy from leaning in toward him.
The day's plans had once again exceeded expectations. The two returned to the village, each pleased in his own way.
The next morning.
Forest of Death No. 44.
Bai Lin had been summoned early that morning by an Anbu Ninja and brought to an open clearing in the Forest of Death No. 44.
When he saw that more than a hundred students from the Ninja Academy who hadn't yet graduated had already gathered there, he was completely at a loss. He had no idea what was going on.
"Big Brother Bai Lin, why are you here too?"
From the crowd, Bai Lin heard a familiar, clear voice. He turned and saw Kushina Uzumaki, her red hair like a ball of flaming tentacles, running toward him.
"Boss!" Minato Namikaze was running over too. He came to a stop in front of Bai Lin and scratched his head awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.
When Bai Lin had first arrived, he'd thought Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to test him and help choose a team leader or something. He hadn't expected to see this.
"What's going on?" Bai Lin asked in confusion.
"We applied to graduate early!" Kushina grabbed Bai Lin's arm, her voice bright with excitement. "Minato and I both signed up!"
"I can't believe Lord Hokage agreed. This is great! We won't have to go to school with all those brats anymore."
Hey, hey! You're a brat too, you know.
"Then why are there so many people here? If it were just you two, that would be one thing, but what's with the more than a hundred others?"
In reality, the Ninja Academy was the root of Hiruzen Sarutobi's power. Even with war looming, at most he would bring in the students who were about to graduate. Surely he wouldn't drain Konoha's future before its time.
The oldest of this bunch of brats was only ten, and the youngest was just six. Many of them probably hadn't even finished learning the theory.
(Minato Namikaze had entered the Ninja Academy at five and graduated at ten. The Ninja Academy was now a five-year program.)
"It's all because of this sissy. He applied to graduate early during class, and his classmates refused to be outdone, so they all rushed to apply too."
"Then it spread to the whole grade, and after that, the entire school joined in." Kushina put on a grown-up air and scolded Minato.
"I didn't expect things to turn out this way either." Minato still looked awkward and a little embarrassed.
After hearing the explanation, Bai Lin understood. So Minato Namikaze was the source of all this.
"Looks like things aren't going too well for Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi wants to quickly train a batch of ninja tools to send to the battlefield." Bai Lin narrowed his eyes, gently rubbing his chin with a finger.
"I can't believe Lord Hokage really agreed to let us graduate early. Once we pass, we'll become real ninjas."
"Hahaha, maybe Lord Hokage will notice my talent and take me as his student. If not, being taken in by Lord Orochimaru would be fine too."
"Lord Orochimaru would never take someone as mediocre as you as his student. If he picks anyone, it'll be me."
"Stop arguing, all of you. I'll tell you something: a few days ago, Lord Orochimaru stared right at me for several seconds. That feeling was out of this world."
"Bullshit, Lord Orochimaru stared at me for a whole minute!"
"Damn, Lord Orochimaru stared at me for ten minutes!"
"Crap..."
"Who's Lord Orochimaru? Is he famous in Konoha?" The three of them were standing at the edge of the crowd. Hearing the students around them talking excitedly, Kushina voiced her confusion.
Minato Namikaze said, "Lord Orochimaru is the Third's student. They say he's the Hokage's most prized pupil, and that he has incredible talent."
Bai Lin said, "Heh. When did you get the idea that being stared at by Orochimaru meant something good was going to happen?"