The Main Family's Assignment

Early the next morning.

Zou Hyuga woke up and, while practicing Gentle Fist as usual, glanced at Oto, who was sound asleep on the tatami.

It had been very late by the time they returned to the village yesterday. As a Byakugan wielder from the Branch Family, he dared not set foot in the Uchiha Clan Compound, so after a little thought, he had brought Oto home.

The moment he set Oto down, she fell asleep on the tatami, even forgetting to take off her Goggles.

Incidentally, that cat seemed to have vanished from his little courtyard last night.

After two sets of Gentle Fist, his daily morning exercise was done. Zou Hyuga made a bowl of miso soup, explained the situation to his uncle next door, and left the residence he called home.

An Uchiha spending the night in the Hyuga Clan Compound without warning would still cause quite a bit of trouble.

Walking along the compound's paths, Zou Hyuga reflected on what he had done wrong yesterday. His excitement at finding a worthy opponent had led to Oto exhausting her chakra. If they had encountered an enemy at the level of an elite jonin, they would have been in danger.

He would have to be more careful in the future and stop counting on luck. Even near the village, he could not afford to let his guard down too much.

Putting those stray thoughts aside, Zou Hyuga remembered another headache.

Clan head Hiashi had told him to use his ANBU connections to visit the Fourth Hokage and discreetly ask when the clan could have an audience with him.

During the previous election, the Hyuga Clan had maintained its neutrality, only casting its votes for Minato Namikaze at the last moment, when his victory was assured.

Now the new Hokage had been in office for almost a month, and had even visited the Uchiha Clan.

This had left the Hyuga Main Family somewhat uneasy, though the Hyuga's standing as a powerful clan would remain secure even without the Hokage's support.

Still, they had to build a good relationship with the new Hokage. The Fourth was very young and would likely lead the village for at least several decades. If they were suppressed the way the Uchiha had been, life would become very unpleasant.

Clan head Hiashi had not said any of this outright, but Zou Hyuga could guess. He was no expert in political struggles, but he understood more than most ninja who had graduated after three years of schooling.

After leaving the compound, Zou Hyuga wandered the streets for a while before heading to Kakashi's residence.

Clearly, the Main Family wanted him to make use of his connection to Captain Kakashi. They had recognized who Kakashi was.

Zou Hyuga could only sigh inwardly and reluctantly accept the Main Family's assignment.

Before long, Zou Hyuga arrived at the Hatake Clan's residence, but Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Surely that guy had not yet reached the age of getting lost on the path of life.

Puzzled, Zou Hyuga was about to leave when he heard sounds of fighting nearby.

Turning toward the forest, Zou Hyuga's expression darkened. He might have found Kakashi, but he had also run into someone troublesome.

Entering the forest, Zou Hyuga saw two figures exchanging blows. They moved far faster than ordinary chunin, with thuds ringing out from time to time.

The white-haired figure wearing a mask was his captain, Kakashi, the future master of techniques.

He would rather not have known the other figure, dressed in green. That guy was Might Guy, Might Duy's son.

During his time at the Ninja Academy, he had met the father and son a few times. They were all ninja who loved taijutsu and were terrible at everything else.

He had once admired Duy's low profile and taken him as a role model. Both Duy and that old fellow Kosuke had been examples he wanted to follow.

The strength of a jonin, the rank of a genin, and a peaceful retirement in the village, with a lifespan twenty years longer than the average genin's.

Unfortunately, to protect Guy and live out the meaning of youth, Duy had died on the Kirigakure battlefield.

The fight in the forest did not stop because Zou Hyuga had arrived. Guy was still fighting with everything he had, while Kakashi, on the receiving end, seemed thoroughly reluctant but continued to strike back.

It seemed transplanting a Sharingan affected a ninja's mind to some extent. Kakashi had also started saying no while his body said yes.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

With a thunderous shout, Guy seemed to become a genuine green whirlwind as he lunged at Kakashi.

Kakashi stood his ground instead of dodging, activated his Sharingan, and took the blow head-on.

He then cast a genjutsu while looking directly at Guy and circled behind him.

"Genjutsu again? I won't fall for it!"

Guy immediately swept a kick behind him and continued trading blows with Kakashi.

After Kakashi had subdued him with genjutsu several times, Guy had learned to avoid looking into the Sharingan and fight without meeting his enemy's eyes.

Zou Hyuga quietly watched their battle. As a former genin, he regarded combat at this level with admiration.

After all, both Kakashi and Might Guy were geniuses far beyond his reach.

One utterly outclassed him in ninjutsu talent, and the other utterly outclassed him in taijutsu. Neither showed him any mercy.

Of course, gauging the two geniuses' true fighting strength from this sparring match was hardly possible.

After all, Kakashi had not used Chidori, and Guy had not used the forbidden technique, Eight Gates Release.

He had once entertained the idea of learning Eight Gates Release himself, but had ultimately given up. A Gentle Fist practitioner from the Hyuga Branch Family secretly learning Steel Fist Eight Gates Release?

Did that make any sense? Not at all!

Most importantly, he had no way to obtain Eight Gates Release, and he was still nowhere near the end of the Gentle Fist path.

He always felt that his clan's understanding of Gentle Fist was flawed. Take the Main Family's secret technique, Rotation, for example.

Why couldn't they simply treat it as ninjutsu and release it outward? Was that so difficult?

Just then, the area of Kakashi and Guy's battle gradually expanded, sending sand and stones flying, including rocks the size of fists.

After shattering a flying rock with his palm, Zou Hyuga backed away a few steps. He was just a spectator and had no desire to take part in a showdown of youth.

His youth had ended on his very first mission. All that remained was care and caution.

After exchanging an all-out blow, Kakashi and Guy formed the Seal of Reconciliation.

Only then did they finally notice the virtually invisible Zou Hyuga in the corner, counting on his fingers.

"Captain Kakashi..."

Zou Hyuga stood up and picked up the gift he had prepared beside him. "A small gift, hardly worthy of you!"

No one struck a smiling face. Preparing a gift in advance might earn him some extra "care" from Kakashi. If Kakashi took a dislike to him and deliberately transferred him out of ANBU, so much the better.

Kakashi remained expressionless, recalling what Asuma had told him.

As a teammate, Zou could be trusted. In every other respect, however... well, it was hard to explain.

"Is that you, Zou?!"

Guy came over excitedly. Although he had trouble recognizing faces, he remembered Zou Hyuga, who used to run laps around the village with him.

Don't come over... I don't know you.

Zou Hyuga took half a step back. He deeply regretted those laps he had run in the past. If he got tangled up with this monster of youth, he could forget about enjoying a peaceful life in ANBU.

At that moment, Guy looked toward Kakashi and finally noticed that Zou Hyuga had addressed him as captain.

"Are you on the same squad now? Zou, what about the Uchiha who used to follow you around?"