Classmate Exchange

"So this was a classified incident!"

At the training ground, Tobitake Tonbo and Guy were talking.

Might Guy said, "Yeah, Lord Third told me not to tell anyone about it."

"Alright, alright. I was just curious how your dad, a Genin, managed to fight seven Jōnin."

Seeing that he was still somewhat downcast but had at least begun to move on, Tobitake Tonbo did not press him further.

It was not that he was not curious about whether the Eight Gates were real. After all, it was the Hokage's finest Taijutsu.

But those secrets were not something a mere Chunin like him had the right to access.

"Yosh! Tonbo, let's have a battle of youth!"

Might Guy was brimming with enthusiasm. His father's death seemed to have set his youth ablaze completely.

"Hm? Wasn't Kakashi your goal?"

Tobitake Tonbo asked.

Don't tell me he's changing targets. I can't handle that kind of youth.

Might Guy said seriously, "Kakashi hasn't returned to the village yet. And aren't you a Chunin now? You must be strong. I want to challenge you."

"Ah, since you've invited me so sincerely, I'll practice with you!"

Tobitake Tonbo also wanted to know just how far Guy's Taijutsu had progressed.

Swish, swish!

Without another word, the two acted with swift decisiveness.

They moved apart to a suitable distance, formed the Seal of Confrontation, and narrowed their eyes at the same time.

Nearby, Ebisu and Shiranui Genma watched the two fight with such passion, looking rather helpless.

Still, they watched the battle intently.

They both knew Guy's strength, but they did not know much about Tobitake Tonbo, their classmate.

They only knew that he had been on the battlefield and was a member of the Analysis Division.

Yet he had already become a Chunin, leaving them far behind.

Bang! Bang!

The battle began.

Guy's Taijutsu was indeed powerful. At only thirteen, he had already mastered the Leaf Style Strong Fist.

His shuriken and kunai throwing were also at an above-average level.

When facing Tobitake Tonbo's shuriken attacks, he could counter them with shuriken of his own or deflect them with kunai.

It seemed he had not been the only one to grow on the battlefield.

Tobitake Tonbo realized that without using some special techniques, he could not defeat Guy easily.

He had no intention of using ninjutsu either.

Instead, he clashed with Guy in Taijutsu.

"These two have grown so fast!" Genma felt his scalp tingle as he watched.

Ebisu nodded. "I never expected Tonbo's Taijutsu to be evenly matched with Guy's?"

Seeing Tobitake Tonbo fight Guy in Taijutsu on equal footing, they found it unbelievable.

After all, Tobitake Tonbo's academic performance had only been above average, and he was a sensory-type ninja. Logically, even if his Taijutsu was not weak, it should not have been comparable to Guy's.

"This Taijutsu feels familiar, but it isn't Konoha's Taijutsu."

Genma analyzed Tobitake Tonbo's movements.

Ebisu nodded at that. "It has the style of Iwagakure and Kumogakure."

"And it also incorporates Konoha's Strong Fist Taijutsu. He was probably influenced by the enemies when he read their memories and made improvements to his own Taijutsu."

Both of them were the scholarly type of ninja. They excelled at the knowledge taught at the Academy as well as the knowledge they had accumulated in daily life.

They immediately analyzed Tobitake Tonbo's fighting style.

Just as they had said, this was Tobitake Tonbo's improvement to his Taijutsu.

He knew that ninja could not do without Taijutsu, so he had to raise his shortcomings as much as possible.

Whether he faced enemies who could absorb ninjutsu or enemies against whom Genjutsu was ineffective, Taijutsu could greatly preserve his ability to survive.

That was why he could handle Guy's attacks with such ease.

This was the progress he had made over the past half year.

He had not merely practiced Genjutsu.

"And..."

The corner of Tobitake Tonbo's mouth curled up. With one hand blocking Guy's attack, he formed seals with the other.

Guy's pupils shrank sharply.

Illusion Clone.

In Guy's eyes, Tobitake Tonbo was suddenly everywhere around him.

They attacked him in every possible stance.

Shuriken, kunai, ninjutsu...

Bang!

Guy was overwhelmed by the spectacle and was sent flying.

After rolling across the ground several times, he got back to his feet.

His two teammates stared in shock. Had it ended that quickly?

It was as if Tobitake Tonbo had only used Taijutsu to test Guy before taking him down in one move.

And if they had not seen wrong, Guy had seemed to freeze for a moment, as though something had interfered with his vision, allowing him to be defeated in an instant.

"Haha, it's over."

"Guy, your Taijutsu has improved again!"

After forming the Seal of Reconciliation, Tobitake Tonbo laughed heartily.

But inwardly, he sighed. No matter how strong Guy would become in the future, he was still very immature now.

His Taijutsu was strong, but he lacked combat experience.

Guy should not have been defeated so easily by that Genjutsu.

Might Guy scratched his head, then gave him a thumbs-up. "Ah, as expected of Tonbo, who has already been promoted to Chunin and can serve as a team leader! I'm still far behind. I must punish myself for my slackness—starting with fifteen hundred kicks!"

Genma and Ebisu walked over to them as well.

"What happened just now? Why did you space out?"

He asked Guy.

Because of his angle, he had not seen Tobitake Tonbo form seals.

Ebisu was curious as well.

Hearing that, Might Guy set aside the idea of immediately punishing himself. "I was careless and fell for Tonbo's Clone Technique in an instant!"

"Clone Technique?"

The two were completely confused. They had not seen any clones at all.

Tobitake Tonbo explained, "Well, it was a Genjutsu clone. Only the person affected by the technique can see it. As long as you use the method taught at the Academy to dispel Genjutsu, you can break it easily."

This was the Illusion Clone he had developed based on Amegakure's Haze Clone from the original story.

Its advantage was its low chakra consumption. Its flaws were numerous: any method for dispelling Genjutsu could break it, and it was inferior to the Haze Clone's holographic-style clones.

Only then did the two understand.

At the same time, they committed it to memory, determined to think of ways to counter it.

They perfectly displayed the qualities of ninja.

After absorbing the memories of countless ninja, Tobitake Tonbo had realized the importance of intelligence.

He also knew that somewhere out there, a black-and-white fellow might be watching.

He had no Kekkei Genkai, so he should not be targeted.

But since that possibility existed, Tobitake Tonbo naturally would not act as if that person was not there.

Therefore, he had prepared corresponding countermeasures for every piece of information that came from his mouth.

Ha, maybe I'm not being watched at all.

After that, they discussed ways to ensure survival during war.

From intelligence analysis to chakra application, they covered everything in great detail.

They were all top students. Even Guy, the hot-blooded youth whom many fans of the original story believed could not use ninjutsu—

Had many insights of his own.

Tobitake Tonbo could tell that Guy was a very attentive person.

He was not the reckless brute Tobitake Tonbo had imagined.

No wonder he had been able to gradually pull Rock Lee out of his inferiority complex in the future.

And from his companions' analysis, he learned many things as well.

It made him sigh at how useful his mind was now.

While he was reflecting on that, Guy and the others' impressions of him changed drastically as well.

That was because every point Tobitake Tonbo raised struck straight at the heart of the matter and was extremely useful on the battlefield, as if he had fought hundreds of battles there.

"A genius, just like Kakashi."

This was their shared thought.