Failure Always Runs Through Life

His opponent in this match was Naruto Uzumaki. Hyuga Neji had nothing to say. He silently assumed the opening stance of Arhat Fist.

"Oh?" Kakashi recognized the familiar pose.

"Sorry, Kakashi. I taught Neji your stuff." Might Guy scratched his head sheepishly.

"Guy, how much has he mastered?" Kakashi asked.

"I only know about seventy or eighty percent, and Neji's learned half of what I know," Might Guy replied.

"Mastering thirty or forty percent in a week is pretty good," Kakashi said.

Naruto Uzumaki drew the thin bamboo stick from his waist, a confident smile on his face.

As the bamboo stick moved, it made a sound as it scraped through the air.

"Smack!"

Naruto struck first, whipping the bamboo stick against Hyuga Neji's shin.

"Ow!!"

The blow made Neji jump into the air.

"Come on, Neji!" Tenten cheered him on from the sidelines.

I have to watch out for that bamboo stick, Neji thought.

Neji took a defensive stance, dodging Naruto's strikes again and again. Avoiding Naruto's Dog Beating Technique was no easy feat. Naruto repeatedly anticipated Neji's dodges, leaving bright red marks across his body.

"Neji! Are you scared of him?!" Rock Lee shouted at Neji.

"..."

Me? Afraid of him? Never!

This kind of pain is nothing compared to when the Caged Bird Seal is activated!! Neji thought angrily.

"Smack!!"

Naruto struck Neji's arm with the stick. From that moment on, Neji chose to stop dodging and charged straight into Naruto's blows.

Arhat Fist combined hardness with softness, its steps changing with its hands and its upper and lower body moving in unison. With his foundation in the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, Neji could grasp its essence in a short time.

Although he had only learned three or four layers of the techniques, Neji was a genius!

Horse Stance Single Whip!

Extended Leg Punch!!

Embracing the Moon!

Black Tiger Steals Heart!!

Neji's sudden shift from defense to offense caught Naruto completely off guard!

Retreating Step Palm Push!

Hyuga Neji found his rhythm, raising both palms to clamp down on the bamboo stick thrust toward his face.

Neji tried to wrest the stick from Naruto's hands, but Naruto clung to it and refused to let go. The next moment, Neji lifted both feet, wrapped them around Naruto's neck, and hurled him away with a sudden burst of strength.

"Oh, beautiful," Kakashi praised despite himself.

Having seized Naruto's bamboo stick, Neji wasn't about to give him another chance to take it back. He snapped it in two.

"Ah!!" Naruto felt his heart sink, too.

"Now that you've lost your stick, what else can you do?" Neji asked Naruto coolly.

"That's enough." Kakashi walked to the middle of the sparring ground and addressed them both.

"I declare Neji the winner this time."

"Yeah!!" Tenten cried out happily. Rock Lee did too.

"What? No way!" Might Guy said to Kakashi. Then he glanced at Naruto, who stood frozen.

"A loss is a loss," Kakashi said calmly.

"I—I haven't given up!!" Naruto shouted, his head tilted back.

"I haven't given up!"

"..."

Kakashi walked toward Naruto.

"I'm the one who gives up," Kakashi told him.

"You've done a great job showing me what I taught you. That's enough."

"That's how life is."

"Failure always runs through it."

Kakashi walked away, changing from a slow walk to a brisk one, then breaking into a run before vanishing with the Body Flicker Technique.

"What was that?!" Naruto roared.

"I'll never give up!"

After shouting, Naruto ran off too, no one knew where.

"Uh..." Might Guy looked in the direction the two had disappeared, at a loss for words.

"Neji, let's go put some medicine on those wounds." Tenten looked at the marks the bamboo stick had left on Neji. Just seeing them made her feel sore all over.

"Poke!"

Rock Lee curiously prodded the bruise on Neji's arm and was instantly pinned by Neji's murderous glare.

"S-sorry!!" Rock Lee immediately bowed to Neji in apology.

"Good thing he was only using a bamboo stick. If it had been another weapon, Neji, you couldn't afford to give up defending yourself," Might Guy said seriously.

"I know."

Might Guy noticed Neji's hands trembling slightly. His legs were, too.

He could tell that Neji was enduring intense pain.

His expression looked normal, but his body couldn't hide it completely.

"We should apply medicine, but you also need to see a doctor."

"Let's go to Konoha Hospital and have a medical ninja examine you," Might Guy said.

"..."

Hyuga Neji nodded.

That kid Naruto hadn't been swinging his Dog Beating Technique around at random. Most of his blows had targeted vital points and pressure points.

Neji had used the thirty or forty percent of Arhat Fist he'd learned to close the distance between himself and Naruto. That turned the bamboo stick's long-range attacks into a disadvantage, and Naruto, lacking experience, was quickly taken down by Neji.

Lu Bian: [How did it go?]

Kakashi Hatake: [The performance worked extremely well. Now I don't even have to remind him; Naruto practices on his own from time to time.]

Lu Bian: [Sorry for all the trouble, Kakashi.]

Kakashi Hatake: [It really has been a lot of trouble for me. Teaching students is exhausting, especially one like Naruto Uzumaki.]

Kakashi Hatake: [Teaching him for a week felt like working overtime for a whole month.]

Lu Bian: [Kakashi, you're a jonin instructor. Sooner or later, you'll have three students.]

Kakashi Hatake: [I haven't met any students I can approve of yet.]

Lu Bian: [Next year. Next year, you'll meet your adorable students.]

Kakashi Hatake: [I'm looking forward to it.]

Naruto searched through the woods for a suitable stick. The Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, walked toward him with Umino Iruka.

Hearing them approach, Naruto stood and looked back.

At first glance, Naruto Uzumaki saw the kind Third. His heart leaped with joy, and he wanted to tell him about the amazing experiences he'd had over the past week.

At second glance, Naruto Uzumaki saw his homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka. His heart stopped for a second, and his hands and feet turned cold. They'd come to catch him!

Naruto leaped desperately to flee.

"Where do you think you're going, Naruto!"

Umino Iruka rushed over in an instant and grabbed Naruto by the ankle as he jumped into the air.

"H-help! Third!" Umino Iruka held Naruto upside down.

"Naruto, don't you think it's time you went back to class?"

"I, I..."

"Naruto, you've been skipping school for a week..." Iruka trailed off.

"Since you had a good reason, I won't punish you as long as you go back to school."

"Huh?! Iruka-sensei, do you mean it?"

"I mean it."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!!"

"Iruka-sensei..."

"What?"

"Could you put me down first?"