Teacher Might Guy

"Youth means passion! Whoo! Team 11, boys, follow my lead and march toward the future!"

As he spoke, he struck a pose like he was drawing a bow, holding one hand open with his fingers together and gazing over it at a forty-five-degree angle toward the upper left.

Looking at the man in front of them, dressed in a green jumpsuit with thick eyebrows, and then at his bizarre pose, the three couldn't bear to look.

"Ahem, come along with me." After waiting quite a while and getting no cheers or applause, Might Guy coughed awkwardly and spoke.

"This... this is our team leader?" Uchiha Mikoto asked in disbelief. Their jōnin instructor was a man dressed in such a creepy outfit, acting like an idiot. It turned her whole worldview upside down.

"Come on, let's go," Hyuga Gen said calmly, looking at the two girls, who seemed dazed. He set off first. If he hadn't known this "Rare Beast," he would have been just as stunned.

Hearing Hyuga Gen, the two came back to their senses and hurried after him.

Hyuga Gen was pretty happy to find out that Might Guy was their team leader. He figured he should buy a lottery ticket, since his luck had been great lately.

First, he'd been assigned to the same team as Uchiha Izumi, and now their team leader was Might Guy. Two pieces of good news at once.

There was no need to explain how important a team leader's strength was. A powerful leader could greatly improve the team's chances of surviving missions and ensure their safety.

Hyuga Gen knew exactly how strong Might Guy was. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he'd nearly kicked Six Paths Madara to death, earning himself the title of the man hailed as a god.

If Uzumaki Naruto hadn't saved him, he wouldn't have escaped death either. Hyuga Gen couldn't help marveling at his good fortune. If Naruto had been even a little later, he would have turned to ash.

Though he was saved, he could only spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Hyuga Gen felt it was a pity.

Still, there was no doubt about his strength. After all, as Kakashi's lifelong rival, he was about his equal, with neither able to best the other.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He should be thinking about what the test would involve and how to pass Might Guy's exam.

Before long, Might Guy led the three of them to the area near the school field.

"First, let me introduce myself. I'm your team leader, Konoha's noble Blue Beast, Might Guy!" He gave a thumbs-up in front of his chest and grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

Might Guy's teeth didn't seem quite as dazzling as they did in Shippuden, when his trademark pose had nearly blinded Naruto.

"Next, it's your turn to introduce yourselves. Tell us your dreams, what you like, and what you dislike."

Hearing Might Guy's questions, which were much like the ones Kakashi had asked the three rookies in Shippuden, Hyuga Gen wondered if Might Guy was copying Kakashi. Would the test be a bell-grabbing game, too?

Of course, Hyuga Gen was overthinking it. Those same questions were being asked elsewhere, one after another.

A moment later, they fell into an awkward silence. None of the three seemed particularly eager or outgoing, leaving Might Guy momentarily stunned. This wasn't the least bit youthful, passionate, or fiery! Shouldn't they be fighting to speak first?

"Then I'll go first. I'm Hyuga Gen. My dream is to be a carefree, unrestrained slacker," Hyuga Gen said, breaking the brief silence.

That was his dream. It would be even better if he could rest his head on someone's lap while being fed fruit. Hyuga Gen thought to himself.

"There's nothing in particular I like. I dislike all kinds of troublesome things," Hyuga Gen added, wondering what he really liked. It did seem he had no particular favorite. Beautiful women? Freedom? He seemed to like a lot of things.

Be a slacker? I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound youthful, passionate, or fiery. Shouldn't a young man want to become Hokage? I'll have to keep an eye on him and teach him what youthful passion really means! Might Guy thought.

Hyuga Gen didn't yet know that he had become a special focus of Might Guy's attention.

Uchiha Izumi went next.

"My name is Uchiha Izumi. My dream is to become an excellent and powerful ninja. I like dango best, and there's nothing in particular I dislike," Uchiha Izumi said succinctly.

Hearing her answer, Hyuga Gen couldn't help thinking of the scene in Shippuden where she held dango.

Uchiha Itachi gazed longingly at the dango in her hand, blinking his eyes and acting cute. In the end, he got the dango and stole the girl's heart, too. Are you sure you don't like Uchiha Itachi best? Hyuga Gen wanted to ask.

"Becoming an excellent and powerful ninja. That's more like it! That's how young people should be. Overcoming every obstacle on the path to becoming an excellent and powerful ninja—that's youthful passion! This little Uchiha Izumi girl seems pretty good," Might Guy thought, looking at Izumi kindly.

Next it was Tōyama's turn.

"My name is Tōyama. My dream is to be someone useful to the village. I like tinkering with little toys. There's nothing in particular I dislike. That's all," Tōyama said quietly.

"Just so-so. Still no passion, and his voice is a bit too soft," Might Guy judged silently.

"All right, that's enough introductions. Now for today's test," Might Guy said, looking at the three of them.

"Youth is all about running, so my test is simple: running! Anyone who completes two hundred laps around the field today passes. Now, start running!" Might Guy began jogging in place as he spoke.

At the mention of two hundred laps, Hyuga Gen remained calm. He trained by running every day. One lap around the field was four hundred meters, so two hundred laps came to eighty thousand meters. He should be able to finish it today.

Uchiha Izumi turned a little pale, while Tōyama's face went white. He was already a little overweight and didn't have much stamina. Two hundred laps might kill him.

"Come on, don't just stand there. Youth means keeping on the move! Start running from here, boys!" Might Guy urged them.

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

And so the three of them started running, while time slipped by unnoticed.

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

For some reason, hearing that actually put Hyuga Gen at ease. It was still about two hours until noon, and running fifty laps was no problem for him. He knew Izumi well enough to think she'd manage it, too. Tōyama was the only one who might struggle.

Remembering the scene in Shippuden where Naruto was tied to a post and left hungry, then the moment someone fed him, Hyuga Gen understood that finishing all eighty thousand meters didn't really matter.

What mattered was not abandoning anyone and never giving up. As long as they stood together, whether they finished the run or not, the outcome would be victory.