Might Guy

The caravan had slowly rolled out of the town, moving forward along the main road toward the Land of Lightning. At this pace, it would take about a month to reach the Land of Lightning.

Tall, towering giant trees lined both sides of the main road, and the lush forest stretched out endlessly where the eye couldn't reach. No matter how many times Miao saw it, he still couldn't help marveling in his heart at how well-greened this world truly was. Such primeval forests were already hard to find in his original world, yet they could be seen everywhere in this world, especially in the Land of Fire.

Ahead at the very front of the procession, Might Guy was bouncing around like a monkey, one moment standing on a branch to overlook the distance, and the next shouting and hollering on a boulder by the roadside.

Hah, what an energetic beast, no wonder he calls himself the Azure Beast, Miao thought, watching Guy's antics from the tail end of the procession with an involuntary smile.

Matsumoto Akira and the remaining few guards couldn't help wiping the sweat from their brows when they saw Guy's behavior, casting questioning glances toward Kurenai Yuhi, who walked on the left flank of the procession.

"Please don't mind it, Mr. Matsumoto; he's usually like that, but he's still very reliable at critical moments," Kurenai Yuhi waved her hands and smiled awkwardly at Matsumoto Akira.

"Heh heh, is that so," Matsumoto Akira also smiled awkwardly, his face clearly showing disbelief. The expressions of the other Konoha Chunin were likewise exceptionally awkward, as they were well aware of Guy's personality.

Guy's actions could be considered to have dispelled a small fraction of the tense atmosphere. After all, along this road they had to guard against bandits, outlaws, and even rogue ninjas who might launch a sneak attack at any moment, leaving everyone with tightly drawn nerves.

However, the gazes of those Konoha ninjas drifted from time to time toward Miao walking at the rear, their eyes somewhat unkind and disdainful. After all, to ninjas from these major ninja villages, bounty hunter ninjas were inferior entities not recognized by the general public; the way they viewed bounty hunters resembled nobles looking down upon commoners.

Yet now, this inferior bounty hunter had a tendency to suppress them and was beginning to make a name for himself in the ninja world. Due to his exceptionally high mission completion rate, even their village's mercenary business had taken quite a hit.

So it was not without reason that their unkind gazes fell upon Miao. Of course Miao noticed the ill-intentioned looks from these Konoha ninjas; having wandered the ninja world for several years, he naturally understood the meaning behind their stares. Beneath his mask, however, the corner of his mouth curved into a disdainful smirk. Someday, I, this bounty hunter, will make you witness true terror!!

By this time, the procession had gradually crossed the border of the Land of Fire and was slowly advancing along a main road within a stretch of forest. From this point onward, everyone knew that the real test was about to begin.

Inside the borders of the Land of Fire, those bandits and rogue ninjas were unlikely and dared not raid a caravan escorted by Konoha ninjas, but once they left the Land of Fire, it would be a different story.

Occasionally, the calls of birds and the chirping of cicadas could be heard among the woods. No one spoke, especially the group of Konoha ninjas, who gazed vigilantly all around. Miao, on the other hand, appeared quite relaxed and at ease. Possessing the Sharingan, his perceptivity was simply not something these ninjas could compare to; he didn't know if there were enemies, but he knew that at least no enemies had appeared yet.

Several days slowly passed just like this. During these days the procession traveled by day and stopped to rest in the wilderness at night, and the entire group was already far away from the Land of Fire. Even on the road, Guy's energy remained as boundless as ever, jumping up and down all day and shouting loudly at the top of his lungs, "Youth does not allow for rest!!!"

Everyone in the caravan had gone from initial shock and helplessness to numbness regarding Guy's eccentric behavior, and they had more or less grown used to his antics.

At that moment, goodness knows what madness struck Guy as he suddenly appeared by Miao's side, flashed his gleaming white teeth, and said with a smile, "Young man, don't be so gloomy all day long! You won't get anywhere without a shred of youthful aura!! You should smile and face the morning sun of youth just like me!!!"

Miao slowly turned his white-masked face, staring motionlessly at Guy. The eerie, enigmatic half-smile features on the mask made Guy feel somewhat creeped out. "Is there a problem, young man?"

Indeed, although Miao deliberately lowered his voice, one could still tell that his voice was extremely young, entirely lacking an adult's huskiness and resonance. Because of this, Kai was able to realize that the mysterious ninja before him was not a middle-aged man like himself, but rather a youth in the prime of his youth.

After a long while, a single sentence slowly drifted out from beneath the mask: "Idiot!" The moment those words fell, Guy instantly petrified, his mouth gaping wide open in a thoroughly comical look.

Miao slowly brushed past Guy, ignoring the petrified ninja. Damnable!! Why are they all just like that guy Kakashi!! Why?!! Tears instantly welled up in Guy's eyes as he roared toward the sky, seemingly condemning the unfairness of this world.

Hearing Guy's voice, Miao secretly found it amusing. Maybe it's just your personality that's different from everyone else's.

Right at that moment, Miao's body trembled slightly, and his eyes instantly narrowed. This is strange!! It's way too quiet around here!!

The procession was on the verge of walking out of the forest, but at some unknown point, the surrounding woods had grown incomparably silent, and even the calls of birds and cicadas had completely vanished.

Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and the few Chunin likewise discovered the abnormality around them. This was the experience accumulated from constantly undertaking missions; ordinary freshly graduated rookie Genin would find it hard to notice such a situation, but typical Chunin could quickly spot the unusualness of it, and Jonin went without saying.