Might Guy

After returning home and packing his things, Orochimaru hurried overnight to the border between the Fire Country and the Lightning Country. He left in such a rush that almost no one in the entire Leaf Village knew about it.

The next day, Tsunade also received a mission delivered by ANBU. She and Dan would form a team and head to the border to carry out harassment operations and maintain the stability of the front lines.

More than a hundred others would be accompanying them. Their mission was to help Orochimaru draw attention on the main battlefield so he could carry out his operation more easily.

A force of nearly a thousand was also being assembled. Once it was ready, it would head for the border.

With Orochimaru's arrival, the border between the Fire Country and the Lightning Country suddenly became tense. The covert conflict between the Leaf Village and Kumogakure escalated directly, and the clouds of war hung over the front-line border, threatening to erupt at any moment.

Kumogakure, Lightning Country

After receiving the news, the Third Raikage, A, slammed the intelligence report onto the desk and snorted coldly.

"Looks like the plan to capture the Uzumaki clansmen failed. Is Hiruzen Sarutobi warning us that he isn't afraid of war?"

"Lord Raikage, that appears to be the case. So far, we have received no word from our spies. The mission must have failed, and now that the Leaf Village is on guard, infiltrating it in the future will be even more difficult. Those Uchiha Clan members are still troublesome."

With a cold snort, the Raikage stopped complaining. He knew that the Leaf Village, with the Uchiha Clan present, was indeed something he had to fear. With those red-eyed bastards patrolling the village, it was difficult for their spies to infiltrate.

Moreover, there were reports that Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, had also arrived at the front lines!

There was no way to interfere with matters so far away in the Leaf Village, but they could not back down on the front-line battlefield. After thinking for a moment, Raikage A issued an order.

"Have Blue B lead a thousand men to the battlefield."

"But we only just made a move against the Leaf Village. Would it really be appropriate to send Blue B to the front now? And his control over the Eight-Tails..."

"It's fine. I believe he can control the Eight-Tails." The Third Raikage, A, waved his hand, cutting off his assistant. "I'll head to the front lines at the appropriate time. Have them prepare the Heavenly Transfer Technique so they can send me over at any time."

"Then there won't be a problem. Does Lord Raikage have any other orders?"

"No. You may leave."

"By your leave."

After bowing, the Raikage's assistant left the Raikage's office to relay his orders.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, let me see whether you really are that formidable. That useless Ōnoki may be a bit of a fool, but his Dust Release is still quite powerful."

After his assistant left, Raikage A recalled the intelligence he had received regarding the battle between the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, and compared them to himself.

With the end of the main battlefield between the Fire Country and the Wind Country, the Lightning Country had also developed the intention to step in and challenge the Fire Country.

The militant faction within the Lightning Country had gradually gained the upper hand. On the front lines, this manifested as increasingly intense clashes, with infiltration and counter-infiltration activities suddenly multiplying. They had originally learned of the Leaf Village's prospective Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and wanted to seize them first, but ultimately failed.

However, that would not affect the Lightning Country's strategic plans. No one could change the Lightning Country's determination to challenge the Fire Country and become the greatest nation in the Shinobi World—not even the Raikage himself!

The wars of the Shinobi World were still far removed from Hyuga Iwa. His understanding of the Shinobi World remained only superficial, and everything he saw was its bright side. The filth beneath that brightness remained hidden within unfathomable darkness.

Early the next morning, after completing his routine training, Hyuga Iwa greeted Hyuga Yuko and headed out.

Perhaps because of what had happened yesterday, patrols by the Leaf Village Military Police Force were much more frequent today. After crossing only three streets, Hyuga Iwa had already seen two groups of Uchiha Clan members pass by.

There also seemed to be far fewer pedestrians on the streets.

Jogging through the Leaf Village's streets, Hyuga Iwa constantly examined the village's buildings, layout, and shops.

He had long wanted to spend some time touring the entire Leaf Village to see whether there were any ways to make money.

Hyuga Iwa had seen his mother take stock of the family finances more than once, and he knew their funds had always been tight. If not for Hyuga Iwa's subsidy as a ninja trainee and the compensation for his father's death in battle, their family would probably have run out of money long ago.

He had also estimated that there would only be more expenses in the future. Being a ninja consumed far too much money.

Physical training required supplements, using ninja tools cost money, and that was not to mention expensive talismans—Explosive Tags, shuriken, sealing scrolls, and the like. Without money, he could not afford any of those things!

As a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, where could he possibly get so much money to support all that spending? Even now, Hyuga Iwa had never practiced throwing shuriken even once.

So if he could find a good way to make money, it would ease his mother's burden and give himself a little more breathing room.

Scholarship came cheap; martial training came dear. It was the same everywhere!

Since Hyuga Iwa was alone today and did not need to accommodate anyone else, he quickly crossed the Leaf Village and arrived at the small river on the western side of the village.

Since this was near the edge of the village, there were not many people around. He only occasionally saw one or two passersby.

As Hyuga Iwa ran, he asked for directions. Before long, he found Might Duy's home.

Hyuga Iwa had come at a bad time. Neither Duy nor Guy was home, but that was fine. Hyuga Iwa had plenty of time, so he began practicing Gentle Fist in the open space before their house, treating it as a warm-up before they returned.

Come to think of it, perhaps influenced by his past life, Hyuga Iwa believed more strongly in the principle that all martial arts could be defeated by speed. As long as one was fast enough, even the weakest bird could unleash tremendous destructive power!

There were examples proving this in both his past life and this one!

This also caused Hyuga Iwa's Gentle Fist to become distorted and misshapen whenever he practiced it.

Over this period, Hyuga Iwa had lost count of how many times the clan's ninjas had criticized him. Yet he still did things his own way and refused to change, until rumors gradually spread through the clan that he was beyond teaching.

Only Hyuga K let bygones be bygones and continued seeking him out, though many times, his elders had warned him to stay away from Hyuga Iwa.

Hyuga Iwa's Gentle Fist was extremely casual, striking wherever his thoughts took him.

As the sun gradually rose, Hyuga Iwa's fist technique had become completely unrecognizable. There was no trace of Gentle Fist left in it.

Yet he thought it felt excellent. This was the most satisfying session he had ever had.

"Dad, look! There's someone in front of our house." A young voice reached Hyuga Iwa's ears.

Hyuga Iwa stopped moving, let out a light breath, and turned around. Duy and Guy were slowly approaching.

"Ah, it's Hyuga Iwa. He said yesterday that he would come, and he really didn't lie."

"That's right. So, Guy, when you promise someone something, you must do everything in your power to keep that promise. Otherwise, you are in the wrong."

"Yes, Dad. I understand."

"Good boy. You're the best."

"You too, Dad."

The two V-signs and the sudden affectionate gaze they exchanged made Hyuga Iwa unconsciously take a step back.

Hyuga Iwa suddenly regretted coming here.

"Hyuga Iwa, did you come to play with me today?"

His hopeful eyes sparkled as though he were yearning for someone's approval.

Hyuga Iwa nodded. "Yeah. We agreed yesterday, so I came over. But it seems I arrived a little late. You were both out."

"Ah, sorry, sorry! It's my fault. I apologize for making you wait so long." Guy kept bowing in apology, nearly bending all the way to the ground.

The young Guy seemed rather shy and lacked the approval of others. He had no confidence in himself, longed for recognition, and even more strongly longed for friendship with children his own age.

Perhaps an innocent child's heart was the best way to describe Guy as he was now.

"It's fine. I wasn't idle anyway. I practiced my fist technique, and I happened to gain some good insights today."

"Really? Then congratulations." Guy smiled from the bottom of his heart. "You're amazing. You even know fist techniques, while I don't know anything."

Hyuga Iwa glanced at Duy in surprise, then casually waved his hand. "Eh, I was just throwing a few punches."

"That's still amazing." The hope in Guy's eyes made Hyuga Iwa blush.

Duy saw Hyuga Iwa's awkwardness and came to his rescue. "You two go play. Dad needs to do missions and earn money."

"Okay, Dad. Go ahead."

Since this was only their second meeting and neither side knew the other well, Hyuga Iwa did not feel it was appropriate to ask too many questions. He said nothing and watched Duy's figure disappear into the distance.

Guy really did seem quite shy right now. The moment Duy left, he did not know what to say. He stood there scratching his head and ears, wanting to speak but not daring to, which Hyuga Iwa found amusing.

After thinking for a moment, Hyuga Iwa casually found a topic and began chatting.

"Let's introduce ourselves first! I'll go first. My name is Hyuga Iwa, and I'm from the Hyuga Branch Family of the Leaf Village's Hyuga Clan. My clan possesses the inherited Gentle Fist and the Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan. Look, this is the Byakugan. Doesn't it look a lot like cataracts?"

"Mm, it does look very similar. Ah, no, no! That's not what I meant! I mean, your Byakugan looks like... Ah, no, cataracts..." Guy stammered through his explanation, but the more he tried to explain, the more badly he stammered.

Hyuga Iwa chuckled and threw an arm around Guy's shoulders. "All right, I know. No need to explain. It really does look like that, so why are you so nervous? Come on, now it's your turn to introduce yourself."

"Ah... okay."

Encouraged by Hyuga Iwa, Guy gradually calmed down. As though he had made an enormous decision, he began his introduction. "My name is Might Guy. That was my dad just now, Might Duy. My favorite foods are curry rice and udon. The person I most want to defeat is Kakashi Hatake. The person I admire most is..."

Listening to Guy's long-winded introduction, Hyuga Iwa began to regret asking, yet he could not bear to interrupt him.

Perhaps because he had been suppressed for too long, Guy kept talking without pause, showing no sign of stopping.

Seeing that things were going wrong, Hyuga Iwa had no choice but to cut him off. "All right, all right, Guy. You can tell me about those things later. What do you think we should do now?"

"Huh? Oh." Interrupted, Guy froze for a moment. After thinking about it, he shook his head. "I don't know either."

Hyuga Iwa thought for a moment before asking, "Where did you go so early this morning? Can you tell me?"

"This morning? Dad and I went into the forest to train."

"Is your father a ninja?"

"Yeah, my dad is a Genin of the Leaf Village! I'll become a ninja of the Leaf Village too someday."

Perhaps because he did not understand what Genin meant, Guy spoke with utter reverence. At least in his mind, his father possessed a strength he could never hope to reach.

Well, it looked like Guy had not started the Ninja Academy yet. It was normal for him not to understand ninja ranks. In ordinary people's minds, any ninja was amazing anyway.

"By the way, I think I heard you say earlier that the person you most want to defeat is Kakashi Hatake. Is he your friend?"

Guy's face reddened, but he still answered, "Yeah. He's a genius, but sooner or later, I'll defeat him."

"Mm, I believe you can do it."

"Thank you."

For the first time, someone believed in him. Guy was instantly so moved that tears welled in his eyes.

"All right, all right, don't cry. In that case, let's train and strive to surpass Kakashi Hatake as soon as possible!"

"Mm!" Guy's eyes lit up at once.

Duy, who had been hiding nearby and watching, nodded in satisfaction. Then he left with a sigh. He had to work hard and take on more missions, or they would not even have money for food!