Guidance

"Kakashi, how about Yakiniku Q to celebrate my getting three fantastic students?" Might Guy took the opportunity to change the subject.

At that, Kakashi looked Neji and the other two over. Understanding flashed across his face and his one visible eye, and he waved a hand. "I'll pass, Guy. I've still got something to take care of."

"What a shame, Kakashi. You have no idea how outstanding they are!" Might Guy said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Kakashi, I think I've definitely won our contest over taking on students," Might Guy said smugly.

Kakashi raised his head slightly, revealing his dead-fish eye. "Guy, isn't it a little early to declare victory?"

Might Guy gave Neji a thumbs-up. "Kakashi, with Neji's ability, he'll be a full-fledged Jonin in three years at most."

"Oh?" This time, Kakashi studied Neji seriously. After giving him a few searching looks, he said, "Guy, you've found yourself a good student."

"Haha, of course I have! Kakashi, you're probably going to lose." Might Guy was delighted, convinced he had scored a victory.

"Guy, nothing's certain until the very end." Kakashi waved and turned to leave.

"Let's go. Kakashi just won't admit it. He's bound to lose this time. That's what he gets for sending his students back to the Ninja Academy again." Might Guy was in high spirits.

Neji understood now, too. Might Guy and Kakashi had entered a long-term contest: whoever's student became a Jonin first would win.

Looks like it'll take a very, very long time for your contest to reach a conclusion. It might never have one at all, Neji thought.

At ten the next morning, Team 3 gathered at Konoha's Training Ground to begin the day's training.

After putting together a physical conditioning plan for Tenten, Might Guy led the three of them to a pond in the Training Ground. "Tenten, Lee, start by practicing Water Walking here at the pond. Once you've mastered this step, move on to practicing in an actual flowing river."

He then explained some principles of chakra use to the three of them.

Although Neji had excellent chakra control, he still listened closely. After all, what he had figured out for himself might differ from what others had learned.

"All right, Teacher Guy! If I can't complete my Water Walking training today, I'll do an extra two thousand push-ups!" Brimming with enthusiasm, Rock Lee let out an excited yell and stepped into the pond.

Unsurprisingly, he sank straight down.

Beside him, Tenten pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly and sighed.

"Lee! This is youth! Keep it up!" Might Guy encouraged him.

"Neji, let's practice over here." Might Guy walked a little farther away from the pond.

"Yes, Teacher Guy." Without wasting any words, Neji moved a short distance in front of Might Guy and immediately assumed the classic Gentle Fist stance.

"Neji, here I come!" Chakra burst beneath Might Guy's feet, and he appeared directly in front of Neji with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Hi-yah!" He always got into the groove so easily.

The force of his punch rushed toward Neji's face. Neji activated his Byakugan and focused entirely on defending against Might Guy's attacks.

Thud!

With a dull impact, their fists and feet collided again and again as Neji used Gentle Fist to counter Might Guy's lightning-fast Strong Fist.

Strong Fist struck with tremendous weight and power. With every collision, Neji had to use Gentle Fist's special force-dispersing methods to shed some of the impact.

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm is still too slow to activate against him. Some of Neji's Gentle Fist techniques could not adequately handle the current situation.

Especially against a Taijutsu expert like Might Guy, some of Neji's moves took too long to wind up.

Neji found himself in an awkward position. His so-called Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams field could not restrict Might Guy at all. Guy moved in and out freely, swift as the wind yet heavy and powerful with every strike.

In that case, I'll make Gentle Fist strike like Strong Fist! Neji changed his approach, abruptly shifting from supple force to an iron-hard power that looked soft but was fierce in reality.

He had applied the force-manipulation principles of Gentle Fist's One-Hit Body and Mountain-Breaking Strike to all his Gentle Fist moves.

While ordinary Gentle Fist focused on striking chakra points and dealing penetrating damage, Neji's current Gentle Fist resembled Strong Fist. It retained a penetrating effect thanks to his Byakugan and its basis in Gentle Fist's "hard" variation, but its main focus was explosive, overwhelming power.

"Hah!" With a low shout, Neji took the offensive using the Body Flicker Technique.

Thud! Might Guy's expression shifted slightly at the dull impact. He had noticed the internal change in Neji's techniques.

They still looked like Gentle Fist, but their core had changed completely, becoming an intensely aggressive form of Strong Fist.

Gentle Fist's penetrating damage is still there... Might Guy grew a little more serious. I can't let Neji land too many Gentle Fist strikes, or I'll be in trouble.

Might Guy suddenly picked up considerable speed.

He flickered into view all around Neji, attacking from every direction. With his nearly 360-degree field of vision, Neji either dodged or raised his hands to block each attack.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"

"Air-Breaking Strike!"

Neji raised his hand, blasting a chakra air cannon from his palm into Might Guy's heel. Air currents raged in every direction.

Neji knocked Might Guy's attack off course. As soon as Guy landed, he used the Body Flicker Technique again and launched a Mighty Whirlwind Kick.

It was a spinning back kick. Neji instantly turned, chakra bursting from his hand.

"Air-Breaking Strike!"

With a bang, Might Guy's kick actually shattered the chakra shock wave Neji had fired.

"Didn't expect that, did you, Neji? My feet have protection!" Might Guy couldn't help smiling.

Seeing this, Neji did not hesitate for a moment. He instantly used Rotation, the Main Family's Flesh Cluster Secret Technique.

"Rotation!"

Neji began to spin. Vast amounts of chakra erupted from points all over his body, instantly forming a continuously rotating chakra shield.

Might Guy's kick continued with undiminished momentum, crashing straight into the blue Rotation.

Boom! With a tremendous crash, Rotation flung Might Guy high into the air.

While airborne, Might Guy twisted his body, straightening himself out of the spin before landing firmly on the ground.

By then, Neji's Rotation had also stopped. Chakra burst beneath his feet, and he rushed forward with the Body Flicker Technique.

He could not let too much distance open between them. That way, Might Guy would be unable to use his tremendously powerful Taijutsu moves.

Thud! Thud!

The two exchanged blows beside the pond in a true sparring match, moving too fast for an ordinary person to follow.

Nearby, Tenten and Rock Lee had stopped their Water Walking practice to stare in amazement.

"Is this how strong Neji is?!" Watching their dazzling movements a short distance away, Tenten found it almost unreal.

Neji was actually holding his own against a Jonin!

"So this is the ability of a genius..." Rock Lee murmured involuntarily. A sense of helplessness welled up inside him. Can hard work really surpass genius?

If hard work can't surpass genius, that just means I haven't worked hard enough! He quickly returned to his usual enthusiastic self.

Rock Lee turned back and resumed his training.

Neji and Might Guy sparred for a full hour. With Might Guy deliberately feeding him moves to respond to, Neji felt he had gained an enormous amount.

As noon approached, Might Guy stopped attacking and looked at Neji. "That's about enough. We'll stop here for today. Without using that Forbidden Technique, this is all I can do at my current level."

"Thank you, Teacher Guy," Neji said earnestly, drenched in sweat.

Might Guy wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Neji, there's no need to be so polite. Being able to spar with you at this level makes me happy. It lets me feel the power of youth!"