[Might Duy's Green Jumpsuit]

Root.

"Minato Namikaze became Jiraiya's student?"

"Yes, sir."

Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly, a flicker of anger rising within him.

Who took on students like that?

The boy hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy.

More importantly, only a few days after he had set his sights on Minato Namikaze, the boy had become Jiraiya's student.

Was this merely a coincidence?

As Root's leader, Danzo never believed in so-called coincidences.

"Hiruzen, is this your warning to me?!"

Danzo fell silent for a moment. "Withdraw the men watching Minato Namikaze. What's the situation with Moonlight Ruyun?"

"We've reviewed Moonlight Ruyun's Ninja Academy results. His scores in several subjects are lower than Minato Namikaze's, but..." The masked Root ninja paused. "Moonlight Ruyun used the Great Fireball Technique within the past week. We can't rule out the possibility that he knows other ninjutsu."

Danzo snorted coldly. "Has he been hiding his strength? What's his relationship with Jiraiya?"

"...There is none, but he's close to Kushina Uzumaki. Moonlight Ruyun's uncle was injured on a mission today, and Kushina Uzumaki visited him."

"Kushina Uzumaki?"

Danzo looked thoughtful. Could Moonlight Ruyun be the "bond" Hiruzen had chosen for the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

If so, Moonlight Ruyun's importance went without saying.

After a moment's consideration, Danzo ordered decisively, "Stop watching him. Send someone to approach Moonlight Ruyun and bring him to Root to see me as soon as possible!"

"Yes, sir!"

With a whoosh, the Root member vanished.

The next day, before dawn in Konoha.

Might Duy put on his brand-new green jumpsuit and stretched his limbs.

His eyes brimmed with tears. "Ruyun, thank you so much. This is the first gift I've ever received."

"As long as you like it, Duy."

The Ninja Clothing Shop kept records of every custom order, and Might Duy was the only person who had ever ordered a green jumpsuit.

Finding his size hadn't been difficult.

Moonlight Ruyun watched Might Duy frantically leap into the air on his hands, holding the old, somewhat worn green jumpsuit.

He asked casually, "Could you give me this one?"

It took Might Duy two seconds to register the question. He stopped moving, ending his handstand exercises.

Feeling how perfectly his new jumpsuit fit, he scratched his head. "I've worn that one for years... That would be terribly rude of me. I should get you a new one, too."

"Uh... No need. I just want to keep it as a memento."

He refused without hesitation.

He could hardly imagine himself wearing a green jumpsuit.

It would be an eyesore.

Besides, he knew perfectly well that Might Duy had very little money. A Genin couldn't take on well-paying missions.

Ugly as the green jumpsuit looked, it certainly hadn't been cheap.

Might Duy's tears came on command, practically turning into two miniature waterfalls.

"So this is a memento of youth? How wonderful!!!"

Those tears... That's an anime-level amount.

He struggled to keep a straight face. "Yes, it's just a memento. I still prefer wearing more ordinary clothes myself."

His aunt had always bought his clothes for him.

Might Duy nodded emphatically. "All right. If you don't mind how old it is, of course you can have it!"

At that, he smiled.

He glanced down.

[Might Duy's Green Jumpsuit]

[Estimated quality: green]

[Refining cost: 30,000 ryo per attempt]

[Special conditions: personally gifted by Might Duy; he acknowledges your youth]

[Conditions met. Begin refining?]

"No."

The smile on his face grew more genuine.

Half an hour later.

"Duy, are you sure training like this won't cause any problems?"

He watched Might Duy, who was still caught up in his excitement, and asked helplessly.

Throughout the past half hour, Might Duy had periodically shouted, "This is youth!" as though he'd gone mad.

Sprints, squats, push-ups, frog jumps, running on his hands...

His speed was astonishing, and the sheer volume of training left Ruyun speechless.

Wasn't his body a little too resilient?

"Don't worry. The power of youth is limitless!"

During a break from running on his hands, Might Duy flashed a gleaming, white-toothed grin.

"..."

The Hayate Clan residence.

His aunt was keeping his uncle company at the hospital, leaving the house empty.

After finishing his training, he returned to his room and took out the green jumpsuit, his gaze burning with anticipation.

"Begin refining!"

[Refining started]

[Estimated time remaining: 10, 9, 8...]

[Refining successful]

Huh?

Another first-try success? Had his luck improved?

His gaze shifted slightly. He brought up his equipment slots and looked at his first piece of equipment.

[Kushina Uzumaki's Red Hair]

[Trait one: a girl's blessing]

[Effect: slightly increases luck]

"Luck..."

After a moment's thought, he opened his inventory and looked at his freshly produced third piece of equipment.

[Might Duy's Green Jumpsuit]

[Quality: green]

[Trait one: heavy punch]

[Effect: when using Konoha Style Taijutsu, each strike has a chance to stun the enemy. The duration depends on the difference in strength between the two sides, ranging from a minimum of 0.1 seconds to a maximum of 3 seconds]

[Trait two: Eight Gates Formation]

[Effect: increases the power of your Eight Gates Formation by 50% when used]

[Note: this is youth.]

After reading the equipment description, he stood frozen for a moment.

"A stun?"

He rubbed his eyes and read it again from beginning to end in disbelief.

Once he confirmed that he hadn't misread anything, his lips spread into a grin.

Delight filled his eyes.

The first trait's effect was simple: fighting with Konoha Style Taijutsu gave him a chance to inflict crowd control.

In a battle between ninja, a single instant of distraction was enough to decide life and death.

"No, it's not just that simple."

"Theoretically, as long as I'm lucky enough, even an Otsutsuki would be stunned once I got close..."

"A god-tier ability. Absolutely god-tier!"

"The second trait is no joke either. It boosts the power of the Eight Gates Formation by 50%."

In the original story, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Might Guy had opened the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, and nearly finished Six Paths Madara with a single kick.

That one battle had practically made him a legend.

In the world of Naruto, where bloodlines reigned supreme.

He had no connection to the Otsutsuki, nor did he possess a powerful kekkei genkai.

Through day after day of training, he had unleashed a terrifying attack capable of threatening someone at the Six Paths level.

"If Might Guy's final kick had been another 50% stronger, could Madara Uchiha still have withstood it?"

He didn't know the answer to that question.

Whatever the outcome, it didn't change the fact that the Eight Gates Formation was one of the strongest taijutsu techniques.

If he excluded Baryon Mode, which burned through the Nine-Tails' life and was especially effective against Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

He could drop the words "one of."

After rereading the equipment's traits several times, he decisively chose to equip it.

The light screen flashed, and a third green equipment icon appeared in the slots beneath the little cauldron.

Nine of his twelve equipment slots remained empty.

"Still a long road ahead."

"But if things go smoothly, the fourth piece of equipment should be coming soon..."

He took a deep breath and looked toward the Ninja Academy.

Today was the day of his scheduled fight with Minato!