Guy's invitation

"What do you think? Should we intervene? Ah, that suspicious guy just laid hands on the Young Lady." Watching the man with the bowl cut grab Hinata, the Hyuga Clan guard hidden in the shadows instinctively moved to rush out.

"Wait. I know him. That's Might Guy, who was recently promoted to Special Jōnin by the village. He's a little odd, but there won't be any trouble." The other Hyuga guard stopped his companion, then jerked his chin toward them, signaling him not to act rashly.

"Ugh, I really don't understand why the Young Lady never gets tired of following that brat every day. And why does the clan head not only turn a blind eye, but also have us protect her the entire time?" After hearing his companion's explanation, the Guard who had been about to rush out stopped and grumbled.

"Heh, who told you to botch your job and fail to stop that Demon Fox brat?" his companion teased. "Maybe the clan head saw how stupid you looked back then, decided the kid was hiding his abilities, and sent us to follow the Young Lady and investigate."

"You—I told you, it wasn't that I couldn't stop him. I just don't know how he..." Hyuga Hengzuo bristled and was about to defend himself, but he soon fell silent.

Something had changed over there.

"Huh? Hinata?" Only then did Naruto notice little Hinata, whom Might Guy had hauled out of hiding.

But the shy Hinata could only stare at Naruto standing so close to her. Her flushed face hissed like a boiling kettle, and then she seemed to hear a soft "pong" beside her ear.

She fainted, smoke rising from her head.

"Hey, Hinata, what's wrong? You! What did you do to Hinata?" But what could little Naruto understand? He had only glanced at Hinata before her face turned scarlet and her little head tipped back as she lost consciousness. He immediately looked up and shouted at Might Guy.

"Huh?" Guy looked just as innocent, but before he could explain, little Naruto suddenly pivoted on the spot, twisting against the hand holding him. He slipped free of Guy's grip in an instant, then pulled Hinata toward him and began shaking her. "Hinata, wake up! Are you okay?"

This kid...?

Guy instinctively glanced at his palm. Although he had barely used any strength for fear of hurting the two children, and had even let go of his own accord, Naruto's instinctive escape maneuver had been textbook-perfect. Without sufficient training, he could never have executed it so cleanly.

Unlike Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, Taijutsu required sweat and effort for every bit of progress. If Naruto had escaped Guy's grip through astonishing strength or speed, he would not have been nearly so shocked. After all, the rumored jinchūriki could draw upon tailed beast Chakra.

But that nearly instinctive escape maneuver was certainly not a matter of innate strength or some natural talent. His movements were extremely precise; he had received specific training for this. But who in the village had been spending time with him? Or... had he trained himself?

If he had trained himself, just how far had he progressed?

Guy had already been planning to leave, but as he watched Naruto shaking Hinata over and over, an idea suddenly struck him. He thrust his hand toward the unsuspecting boy.

His movement was swift as lightning. Before Naruto could react, Guy's palm had landed on his shoulder and pulled him away. "All right, if you keep shaking her, you'll scramble that little girl's brains. Just let her sit off to the side for a while."

"Ah, okay." Naruto, who clearly did not quite understand what was happening, finally realized that his concern had made him panic. Watching Might Guy settle Hinata off to the side, he thanked him. "Thanks a lot! You're weird, but you're a good guy!"

"A good guy? Hahahahaha!" Hearing Naruto's assessment, Might Guy broke into a hearty grin, his two rows of gleaming white teeth flashing with a startling light. "Of course! Konoha's friendliest, finest ninja, Konoha's Blue Beast—that's me, Might Guy!"

"...Is this guy really a Special Jōnin from our village?" Hidden nearby, Hyuga Hengzuo's mouth twitched. This clown looked like he had something wrong with his head.

"We were in the same class. He really has always been like this, but he's strong. Back then, he even beat that Uchiha Clan classmate of ours, named... Obito Uchiha, I think. Not only that, he's always been rivals with Kakashi Hatake, too," the other Hyuga guard said, as though recalling his childhood. "Anyway, he's a pretty good guy."

"That Kakashi Hatake?" Hearing the name of the village's renowned Jonin, Hyuga Hengzuo smacked his lips. Kakashi, the Konoha Technician and Copy Ninja, was famous throughout the shinobi world. This freak, who seemed like some exotic beast, was actually his rival?

Meanwhile, Might Guy looked at Naruto. "What do you say, kid? Looks like you came here to train, too. Unfortunately, I accidentally wrecked this training ground. To make it up to you, I'll show you an even better place to practice. How about we get some good Training in over there?"

Naruto recalled the breathtaking sight of Guy training earlier. Naturally, he was delighted at the chance to train with someone so powerful. His eyes sparkled with excitement, and he threw both hands and feet up in agreement.

Still, he looked at Hinata lying nearby and asked with some concern, "Bushy-browed old man, can I take her home first and then come back? Isn't it kind of bad to just leave her here?"

Bushy-browed... old man?

The nickname left Might Guy a little helpless, but he was not the type to care much about such things. He simply looked at Hinata Hyuga and rubbed his chin, his gaze shifting between Naruto and Hinata. Then he suddenly laughed. "Ah, youth! You don't need to worry about her. Two people from her household are watching over there. But... Young Lady of the Hyuga Clan, and you two back there, would you like to come work up a sweat with us?"

That last remark was no longer directed at Naruto, but at Hinata, who lay off to the side, still pretending to be unconscious because she was too embarrassed to face them after what had just happened.

"W-we've been spotted..." Hinata, lying on the ground, and the two Hyuga bodyguards behind her were mortified.