Guy's Desire to Take a Disciple

When Samu Kokaze finished cleaning up the shop and stepped outside, the sky was already bright.

Squinting at the sun hanging high in the sky, a smile appeared on his handsome little face.

"Xiaofeng, why did you get up so late today? Are you sick?" Uncle Okamoto from the breakfast shop across the street looked toward Samu when he heard the door open.

"I'm fine. I got too absorbed in carving something this morning. As soon as I finished, I came over to eat at your place, Uncle Okamoto!" Samu said with a grin as he walked over.

"You little brat!" Okamoto laughed and scolded him, setting the food he had prepared on the table. "I had it ready for you ages ago. You're just a child living on your own, so you need to be more careful. Yesterday, I saw that child everyone in the village hates lingering outside your shop for a long time. Watch yourself."

"He's my friend! He's not a monster, Uncle Okamoto!" Samu said seriously, looking up from his meal.

"Keep your voice down!" Okamoto cried, glancing toward the otherwise empty room. Only after seeing no one there did he breathe a sigh of relief and continue with a sigh.

"Sigh... I know that child can't possibly be a monster. After all, even Lord Hokage issued a gag order. But the families of those who died in that incident won't care whether he really is that monster. They've transferred their hatred for that monster onto the child. You'd better..."

"Sigh, forget it. You're such a stubborn child. Even if I said more, you probably wouldn't listen!" Okamoto muttered, then sighed again and gave Samu a headache-filled look.

Listening to Okamoto, Samu lowered his head as he ate, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, he swept the food clean and looked up with a smile. "Thanks, Uncle. I know you're looking out for me, but he's a friend I acknowledge. No matter what, I won't abandon this friendship for any other reason!"

"Thanks for the meal, Uncle! I'm off!" Samu waved behind him from the doorway, then pushed open the door and stepped onto the streets of Konoha.

Inside, Okamoto watched Samu's departing back and sighed before walking over to clear the table.

Even in winter, though the sun hung overhead and cast endless light, the weather remained bitterly cold.

Once on the street, Samu took a deep breath of icy air. Looking at the snow-covered earth, he felt a chill shoot straight to his head, instantly clearing his mind.

After loosening up, he began jogging along Konoha's roads.

The bustling sounds of the street were endless. As Samu jogged through Konoha, he watched the busy and leisurely pedestrians on both sides and smiled happily.

During his usual morning runs, he got up so early that there were few pedestrians along Konoha's streets, only the occasional passerby.

But he had come out late today, and the sights before him were quite different from usual.

Just as Samu was enjoying this time when he did not need to think about anything, when he could simply run away all his frustrations and pent-up emotions, he spotted a green figure ahead. In an instant, he felt like his whole world had gone wrong.

He hurriedly looked to either side. Tragically, there was not a single place to hide.

Watching the oversized kappa ahead run toward him with delight on his face, Samu's handsome little face twisted into a miserable expression.

"Xiaofeng! Have you been avoiding me lately?" Might Guy demanded as he ran up, looking at Samu's unhappy face.

Samu glanced up at Guy, muttering inwardly, If you already knew, why did you come looking for me? But outwardly, he said with great seriousness, "Mr. Guy, I absolutely, absolutely will not wear that outfit of yours to train with you!"

"My outfit?" Guy froze for a moment at Samu's words, then smiled. "It's fine if you don't wear it, though my clothes are very convenient for taijutsu training. Do you want to learn taijutsu from me?"

Guy had been paying attention to Samu for a long time. Ever since he had encountered Samu on a morning run and discovered that the child was also out training, he had taken a slight interest in him. As time passed, Guy saw that this child never skipped a single day of training, rain or shine. That was when the thought of taking him as a disciple arose in his heart.

After investigating Samu's family circumstances, he became even more satisfied.

However, after Guy told him to wear his outfit and train together a few days ago, the little fellow had vanished. Guy had not caught him again until today.

Judging by what Samu had just said, he probably found the outfit ugly. But Guy felt that clothes were nothing but clouds drifting by. Taking in a student with a firm mind and good character was what truly mattered. Besides, this little fellow should be quite wealthy. When the time came, Samu could pay for the medicinal materials consumed during taijutsu training himself. It was simply perfect!

At the thought of his future student defeating that Kakashi guy's student, Guy's desire to take Samu as his disciple burned even hotter.

"Taijutsu?" Samu looked up in slight surprise at Guy's words.

Seeing Guy's smile, Samu pondered for a moment before ultimately refusing.

Samu did not believe that Guy's primitive method of training the body could surpass his Nano Training Method. Of course, Guy's combat experience and the taijutsu he used in battle were immensely tempting to Samu.

But Samu had no desire to become a ninja. He had already obtained the Chakra Refinement Technique, the source of a ninja's extraordinary power. With his woodcarving shop, he could earn profits far beyond those of ordinary ninja, and he could obtain whatever items he needed by posting missions.

As for strength, for the host of the Nano Core, ninjutsu posed no difficulty at all. Whether forbidden techniques or any other kind of ninjutsu, as long as an ordinary person could use Chakra to perform it, Samu could do so without the slightest pressure.

Take Naruto Uzumaki's future signature technique, the Rasengan. Having learned its rough principles from the anime of his previous life, Samu had long since mastered it. He could even spin a miniature Rasengan at the tip of each of his five fingers. From that moment on, Samu knew that ninjutsu came to him as naturally as eating and drinking.

Only things unrelated to Chakra, things instead connected to some elusive sense or perception, presented Samu with a certain degree of difficulty—such as the Fourth Hokage's signature technique, the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Of course, some secret techniques of ninja clans might also be difficult. It could not be helped; the Naruto World was a world that relied on bloodlines. Take Choji's family's Multi-Size Jutsu, for example. Using the same amount of Chakra, Samu would be impressive if he could achieve even half of Choji's result.

As for how to obtain a vast number of ninjutsu, anyone who had watched the anime in his previous life knew when the best opportunity to acquire huge numbers of ninjutsu and forbidden techniques in Konoha would be.

"Why?!" Guy asked with a devastated face, his earlier confidence completely gone.

"I'm truly sorry." Samu looked seriously at Guy's devastated expression. "My dream isn't to become a ninja. Getting up early every day to train is just my hobby. Living the way you do, Mr. Guy, with physical training completely integrated into daily life, isn't the life I want."

"Is that so?" Guy instantly put away his devastated expression, propping his chin on his hand as he muttered to himself.

Just when Samu thought Guy had given up, Guy suddenly shouted, "This is youth! Xiaofeng, I will not give up! One day, I'll make you understand just how wonderful it feels to train your body and shed the sweat of youth!"

Watching Guy shout and flash his gleaming white teeth, Samu turned toward his shop with black lines across his face. Refusing to look at the oversized kappa behind him, he gritted his teeth and growled, "I knew it. These single-minded, hot-blooded idiots are the hardest to deal with!!!"

PS: Writing this chapter today made me want to hit someone. Every time I got a little inspiration, I was interrupted. I got interrupted seven or eight times while writing just over two thousand characters, but thankfully I finally finished it! Please keep supporting with favorites and recommendations!