It's Decided-you're Going to Fight the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki

At Team Three's training ground, Hyuga Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee gathered.

"Wahahaha! Excellent! Not one of you is late." Might Guy nodded in satisfaction.

"Teacher Kaido, what's the mission this time?" Tenten asked Might Guy, propping her chin on her hand.

"Well, this time... it isn't a mission." Might Guy spoke in a grave, solemn tone.

"Huh?" Tenten looked confused.

"Although it isn't a mission, it's a match on par with an A-rank mission." Might Guy explained to the three of them.

Hyuga Neji: "On par with an A-rank mission?"

Rock Lee: "A match?"

"I'm going to choose one of you three to compete against my dear friend Kakashi's student. It'll be one week from now."

"For this match, the students can only use things they learn during this week. How does that sound? Pretty challenging, right?" Might Guy looked at his three students, watching their expressions.

"..." Tenten fell silent.

"Not interested," Hyuga Neji said flatly.

"Teacher Kaido! Let me do it!" Rock Lee eagerly thrust his hand high into the air.

"To be fair, I'll have you draw lots."

Might Guy produced a cardboard box.

"Your opponent is a student who's still attending the Ninja Academy. If you don't want to compete, I'll just tell Kakashi I give up..."

"Waaah..."

Might Guy fell to his knees, tears welling in his eyes.

"I really don't want to give up to Kakashi, but I respect your wishes. Waaah..." Might Guy wiped his tears, sobbing.

"Teacher Kaido, don't be like that!" Tenten cried, going to pull Might Guy up.

"Let me do it, Teacher Kaido! I promise I'll win!" Rock Lee clung to Might Guy and knelt beside him, tears welling in his eyes too.

"Uh... I can't pull him up." Tenten was speechless.

"All right." Hyuga Neji couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he agreed.

"Let's draw lots," Hyuga Neji said.

"Good!"

Might Guy instantly sprang back to life and leaped to his feet, looking nothing like the man who'd been utterly heartbroken moments ago.

"Now, now! Take one slip of paper from the box."

Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee each took a slip of paper from the box.

"A circle means you drew the winning lot. An X means you didn't."

"Open your slips and show me who got the chance to compete," Might Guy said.

"Teacher Kaido, it's me." Hyuga Neji calmly unfolded his slip and showed it to everyone.

He'd drawn a "〇."

"Oh! It's Neji!"

"This makes it pretty hard for Kakashi to win." Might Guy imitated Neji's tone of voice.

"Hmm..." Might Guy stared at Hyuga Neji, lost in thought.

"Teacher Kaido, is something wrong?" Neji asked.

"Neji, you won't be allowed to use your Byakugan in this match, or your family's Gentle Fist."

"I'm going to teach you something new. Will that make you uncomfortable?" Might Guy asked.

"That's fine. It'll give me a chance to test my own abilities," Neji said.

"Our opponent is still a Ninja Academy student, right? I can win without using those."

"But what are you planning to teach me, Teacher Kaido?" Hyuga Neji asked.

"What am I going to teach you..."

"I recently came up with a new style of fist," Might Guy replied.

What Might Guy meant was none other than Arhat Fist, which he'd picked up from Kakashi during their daily sparring sessions.

Might Guy hadn't meant to learn it by watching. His body had simply memorized the moves on instinct as he traded blows with Kakashi. Kakashi was always using him to test out Ultimate Boundless, and as a result, Might Guy, a genius at Taijutsu, had passively learned most of the techniques.

Might Guy's situation was just like Kakashi learning the Eight Inner Gates.

"Neji, come at me. Experience this style of fist for yourself!"

Might Guy took his stance and beckoned to him.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

"Knock, knock"—someone tapped at the door.

"Come in."

"Lord Lord Third."

The Lord Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, raised his head and looked at the visitor.

"Oh, Iruka. Is something wrong at the Academy?"

"It's Naruto. He's been skipping school for a whole week. I went to his house to look for him today, but he wasn't there either."

"Oh, so it's about Naruto," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

"Iruka, you don't need to worry about Naruto."

"Lord Lord Third, it's been a whole week! Naruto hasn't come to school, and he's not at home either! He hasn't even been causing mischief around the village. I can't imagine what might have happened to him!"

"I'm his teacher. How could I not worry?"

"I'm sorry, Iruka." The Lord Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, came out from behind his desk and walked over to the window.

"He's in the forest behind the village right now."

"Why don't we go and see him together?" Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to look at Umino Iruka.

"All right, Lord Lord Third."

From the very first day Naruto skipped school, Sarutobi Hiruzen had used the Telescope Technique to keep an eye on him and Kakashi.

Kakashi had been spending time with Naruto and teaching him things, which had brought Sarutobi Hiruzen some comfort.

Sarutobi Hiruzen silently marveled that Kakashi had finally started to change. Could he finally face everything he'd been through?

Sarutobi Hiruzen took Iruka to the forest behind the village and stopped a hundred meters from the place where Kakashi and Might Guy had arranged their match.

"The view's good here. Let's watch from here." Sarutobi Hiruzen and Umino Iruka concealed themselves.

"Here, Lord Lord Third? What are we watching?"

"Naruto isn't here either," Iruka whispered.

"Wait a little. Naruto will be here soon."

A few minutes later, from the other direction, Might Guy arrived with all the members of Team Three.

"Just as I thought. I knew Kakashi wouldn't be on time," Might Guy said.

Might Guy began warming up, and Hyuga Neji joined him, stretching in the clearing.

"Sorry I'm one minute late." Kakashi appeared with Naruto.

Hyuga Neji immediately looked at Naruto Uzumaki, standing behind Kakashi, sizing up his opponent.

"..."

Blond hair. A foxlike grin. Filthy clothes.

Naruto Uzumaki was someone he knew. A real pain in the neck, and the sort of person people found hard to like.

"Guy, who are you putting up?" Kakashi asked.

"Neji, you're up," Might Guy said with a smile.

"Kakashi, fate chose Neji. Of the three students, he was the one who drew the winning lot."

"Careful. Neji's a genius," Might Guy said.

"Okay." Kakashi nodded.

"Naruto, go on. Show them what you can do."

"Yeah!"

Naruto jumped forward.

A thin bamboo stick hung at Naruto's waist. It was about as thick as two fingers, with plenty of spring and flexibility.