Outside a ward at Konoha Hospital.
"Make way! Make way! Stretcher coming through!"
A group of medical ninja came rushing along with a stretcher trolley, followed by a breathless Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten.
Though Might Guy lay on the stretcher wrapped in bandages, both arms encased in thick casts, he stubbornly raised his right hand, gave a thumbs-up, and flashed his gleaming teeth.
"Don't worry! These injuries are nothing but a trivial test of youth! Once I'm better, I'll have my one thousand and first match with Genya! This time, I'll open the Eighth-"
"Shut up, you!"
The head of the medical team unceremoniously smacked him on the forehead.
"The Eighth Gate? Do you want to die? Shut your mouth right now and stay quiet, or don't blame me if your injuries get worse!"
Guy was wheeled into the ward, but just before the door closed, his weak yet excited voice still rang out from inside.
"Kakashi! You have to pull yourself together! On the road of youth, we sometimes fall so we can leap even higher! Once I'm better, we'll burn bright together!"
Outside the ward, Kakashi, who had hurried over after hearing the news, leaned against the wall.
His dead-fish eyes watched through the window as the battered figure in green kept chattering away, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"...Which of us actually needs to pull himself together right now?"
He rolled his eyes, turned to lean back against the wall, and looked up at the ceiling with a weary sigh.
"Only you could get this excited after losing a fight, Guy..."
Still, he had to admit that the idiot's fiery enthusiasm had stirred the nearly extinguished flame in his heart.
Kakashi looked through the window at the end of the corridor toward Konoha outside.