Teacher Might Guy

"Youth is all about passion! Whoo! Young ones of Team 11, follow my lead and charge toward the future!"

As he spoke, he struck a pose similar to drawing a bow, his palm open with fingers pressed together, eyes tracking along his hand toward a point forty-five degrees to the upper left.

Looking at the middle-aged man in the green spandex suit and thick eyebrows, combined with that bizarre movement, the three of them found it hard to look directly at him.

"Ahem, follow me," Might Guy said, coughing awkwardly after waiting for a long time without a single cheer or round of applause.

"Is... is this really our team leader?" Uchiha Mikoto asked, unable to believe it. The fact that a guy dressed in such a cringe-worthy outfit and acting like a fool was their Jōnin team leader completely shattered her worldview.

"Let's go, we'd better get moving," Hyuga Gen said calmly, watching the two who were still in a daze, before taking the lead. If he didn't already know this "Rare Beast," he would have been just as stunned.

Hearing Hyuga Gen, the two snapped out of it and hurriedly followed behind him.

Hyuga Gen felt quite happy inside that their team leader was Might Guy. He felt like he should go buy a lottery ticket, as his luck had been consistently good lately.

First, being placed in the same team as Uchiha Izumi, and now having Might Guy as their team leader—this was a double blessing.

There was no need to explain the importance of a team leader's strength. A powerful leader could significantly increase a team's survival rate during missions and ensure greater safety.

Hyuga Gen was well aware of how strong Might Guy was. During the Fourth Ninja World War, he had nearly kicked Six Paths Madara to death, earning him the title of the man who became a god.

If not for Uzumaki Naruto saving him, he would have been unable to escape death. Hyuga Gen couldn't help but marvel at his own good fortune. If Naruto had been a moment later, he would have been reduced to ashes.

Although he was saved, he had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, which Hyuga Gen found quite a pity.

However, his immense strength was beyond doubt; after all, as Kakashi's lifelong rival, the two were evenly matched.

But now was not the time to think about such things. He needed to consider what the assessment would entail and how to pass Might Guy's test.

Before long, Might Guy led the three of them near the school playground.

"First, let me introduce myself. I am your team leader, the noble Blue Beast of Konoha, Might Guy!" As he spoke, he gave a thumbs-up in front of his chest and grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth.

Looking at Might Guy's teeth, they didn't seem quite as blinding as they were in Shippuden, where that signature move had nearly blinded Naruto.

"Now it's your turn to introduce yourselves. Tell me your ideals, what you like, and what you dislike."

Hearing Might Guy ask this, which was similar to the questions Kakashi asked the three genin in Shippuden, Hyuga Gen wondered if Might Guy was copying Kakashi and if they would be doing a bell-snatching test next.

Of course, Hyuga Gen was overthinking it, as these very words were being spoken in several other places at that exact moment.

After a while, the awkward silence hung in the air. None of the three were particularly enthusiastic or proactive, which left Might Guy stunned. This didn't fit his vision of youthful passion and fire at all—shouldn't they be fighting for the chance to speak?

"I'll go first then. I'm Hyuga Gen, and my ideal is to be a free and unrestrained salted fish," Hyuga Gen said, breaking the brief silence.

That was his true ideal. If he could rest his head on a lap pillow while being fed fruit by someone else, there would be nothing better, Hyuga Gen thought to himself.

"I don't have anything I particularly like, and I dislike all sorts of troublesome things," Hyuga Gen pondered internally about what he actually liked. It seemed he didn't have any strong preferences. Did he like beautiful women? Freedom? It seemed he liked many things.

A salted fish? Although I don't know what that means, it doesn't sound like a word associated with youthful passion or fire. Shouldn't a young person say they want to be Hokage? No, I'll have to keep a close eye on him later and make sure he understands what true, passionate youth is all about, Might Guy thought.

At that moment, Hyuga Gen had no idea he had already become a target for special attention.

Next, Uchiha Izumi began her introduction.

"My name is Uchiha Izumi. My ideal is to become an excellent and powerful ninja. The thing I like most is dango, and I don't have anything I particularly dislike," Uchiha Izumi said concisely.

Hearing Uchiha Izumi say this, Hyuga Gen couldn't help but recall the scene from Shippuden where she held a dango.

Uchiha Itachi had looked at the dango in her hand, blinking his eyes and acting cute. In the end, she got the dango, and her heart was stolen by him. Are you sure you don't like Uchiha Itachi the most? Hyuga Gen really wanted to ask that.

"To become an excellent and powerful ninja. That's it! That's what a young person should look like. To overcome every obstacle on the path to becoming excellent and powerful—that is the fire of youth. This little girl, Uchiha Izumi, is not bad at all," Might Guy thought, looking at Izumi kindly.

Next, it was Tōyama's turn.

"My name is Tōyama. My ideal is to become someone useful to the village. I like tinkering with small toys, and I don't have anything I particularly dislike. That's all," Tōyama said in a small voice.

That's passable, but still lacking passion, and his voice is a bit too quiet, Might Guy evaluated internally once again.

"Alright, that's enough for the introductions. Now, for the content of this assessment," Might Guy looked at the three of them.

"Youth is inseparable from running. So, my assessment is very simple: running. Anyone who finishes two hundred laps around the playground today passes. So, start running!" With that, Might Guy began running in place.

Hearing "two hundred laps," Hyuga Gen's expression remained steady. After all, he exercised by running every day. The playground was four hundred meters per lap, so two hundred laps were eighty thousand meters; finishing that today wouldn't be a major problem.

Uchiha Izumi's expression changed slightly, while Tōyama turned pale. He was naturally a bit chubby and didn't have great stamina; two hundred laps might just be the death of him.

"Alright, don't just stand there! Youth is about movement. Start running from here, young ones!" Might Guy urged.

"Let's run. Don't worry, if you really can't make it, we'll help you," Hyuga Gen said, patting Tōyama on the shoulder.

And so, the three began to run, and time slipped away before they knew it.

"Oh, by the way, anyone who hasn't finished fifty laps by noon doesn't get lunch!" Might Guy added with a mischievous grin.

Hearing this, for some reason, Hyuga Gen felt relieved. There were about two hours until noon, and running fifty laps was no problem for him at all. Based on his knowledge of Izumi, she would have no trouble either. The only one with a problem was Tōyama.

Recalling the scene in Shippuden where Naruto was tied to a wooden post and left hungry, and how he was eventually fed, Hyuga Gen realized that whether or not they finished the eighty thousand meters wasn't actually the point.

The important thing was not to abandon or give up on each other. As long as they were united as one, the result would be a victory, regardless of whether they finished the laps or not.