The afternoon classes were more theory lessons, which Xue Ge spent cultivating with his eyes closed.
Xue Ge also noticed that a few other students weren't listening either: a white-haired boy, Cataract in white clothes, and Hedgehog Head in blue.
These students seemed worth keeping an eye on too...
Before he knew it, school was over. The children at the Ninja Academy eagerly shouldered their bags and hurried out, while Xue Ge took a little longer to pack up before leaving the classroom on his crutch.
The first-year students' parents were waiting outside to pick them up. School had only just begun, and quite a few children were still adjusting.
Xue Ge spotted a familiar figure among the parents.
The little white-haired boy he had noticed in class stood beside a grown-up white-haired man. The man seemed to have spotted Xue Ge too.
"White..." Xue Ge was about to greet him when Hatake Sakumo raised a hand to hush him.
He gave Xue Ge a gentle smile. "It's been a few days. You're looking well, Xue Ge. Just call me Sakumo."
"...Yes, Mr. Sakumo." Xue Ge nodded.
Kakashi paused, glanced at his father, then at Xue Ge, and suddenly understood.
"Father, is Xue Ge the one you mentioned..."
"Yes, Xue Ge is the boy I take out every evening," Sakumo said with a chuckle. "Hmm... Oh, so you two are classmates."
Seeing that Kakashi knew Xue Ge, Sakumo realized it too. He patted Kakashi's head. "Then you two should spend more time together."
At Kakashi's puzzled look, Sakumo said earnestly, "Xue Ge... is very strong."
"!" Kakashi's gaze sharpened slightly at those words.
Xue Ge paid little attention to the father and son's conversation. He had witnessed Sakumo's strength, and it was indeed terrifying. As for Kakashi... he had yet to see anything particularly special about him.
Still, a tiger's son was unlikely to be a weakling.
Turning his attention away from Kakashi and his father, Xue Ge scanned the crowd. He didn't have much hope, but he still wanted to see whether anyone had come to pick him up.
En had guided him through all four years of training. Suddenly starting at the Ninja Academy felt a little strange, and Xue Ge had hoped En would help him through the transition.
He didn't spot En, but he did see someone entirely unexpected.
"...Elder Danzo..." he murmured. In the distance, Danzo stood silently behind the crowd, simply watching him.
Why did he come to pick me up? In four years, aside from placing that Cursed Seal called Self-Karma Binding on me, he's barely shown his face... What's this supposed to mean?
Puzzled as he was, Xue Ge only hesitated a moment before hurrying toward Danzo.
Meanwhile, just as Kakashi was about to leave with Sakumo, someone accosted him.
"Hey, Kakashi! Come have a duel of youth with me!"
A boy in green with a bowl cut dashed in front of Kakashi like the wind and gave him a thumbs-up. His dazzling white teeth nearly blinded Kakashi.
Might Duy followed behind Might Guy and gave Sakumo a slightly apologetic smile.
"...Here we go again." Kakashi pressed a hand to his forehead. "How many times has it been now, Guy? Why haven't you given up yet?"
Kakashi deeply regretted accepting Guy's challenge on the first day of school and defeating him by an overwhelming margin.
Ever since then, Guy had sought him out for at least one fight every day, pestering Kakashi endlessly. Worse, he had performed so well in their first fight that he couldn't even throw a later match to let Guy win.
"Youth has no finish line!" Guy declared without a care. "If I can't beat Kakashi, I'll run thirty laps around Konoha!"
"Oh, Guy! That's youth!" Duy gave Guy a thumbs-up. "That's my son!"
"..." Looking at this pair of goofballs, Kakashi felt his scalp tingle.
Just as Guy was about to turn his attention back to him, Kakashi's face twitched, and an idea flashed through his mind.
He pointed at Xue Ge, who was quietly leaving nearby. "Don't keep fighting the same opponent, Guy! Beat him first, then come challenge me!"
"That's..." Guy followed Kakashi's finger and spotted Xue Ge. His eyes lit up. "Oh! It's that youthful boy!"
Under Kakashi's relieved gaze, Guy promptly forgot all about him and rushed toward Xue Ge.
"Hey, young man! Come have a duel of youth with me!"
"Hey, young man! Come have a duel of youth with me!"
Xue Ge was rather bewildered by Guy, who had darted in front of him like the wind.
That radiant smile was almost too much to look at, and his blazing enthusiasm made Xue Ge deeply uncomfortable.
Yeesh... Why does this bowl-cut kid seem like he belongs in an entirely different world?
And besides...
Xue Ge glanced at Kakashi in the distance and caught him giving him a discreet look.
What the hell... Was this guy really that easy to fool into coming over?
Xue Ge's otherwise frozen expression twitched slightly.
Kakashi's thinking was simple. Since his father had said Xue Ge was strong, why not let Might Guy test him? He could get a feel for Xue Ge's abilities and escape Might Guy's clutches at the same time-two birds with one stone.
Of course, Xue Ge might not appreciate it.
Sakumo glanced at Kakashi. Hmm, nicely done. Quite the little schemer. That's my boy.
"..." Faced with this situation, Xue Ge was undecided.
He glanced at Danzo in the distance, and Danzo nodded back.
Huh? Fight...?
Having received Danzo's clear instruction, Xue Ge narrowed his eyes, looked at Might Guy in front of him, and took a deep breath.
Come to think of it, he didn't mind having a match with this bowl-cut kid.
Although he had fought En once and passed the assessment, he could tell there was still a vast gap between their abilities. En was ANBU, after all. A ninja at that level was bound to be far stronger than him.
As things stood, Xue Ge had no clear idea of how he measured up against others his age.
He had planned to wait for a practical combat class to test himself, but now an opportunity had presented itself.
Then he stepped back twice.
Afterward, he slowly set his crutch on the ground.
Then he raised his hands slightly.
Whoosh! With a crisp flick of his hands that sliced through the air, Xue Ge immediately settled into an exceptionally flawless fighting stance.
"Fighting Might Guy barehanded?" Kakashi paused, his gaze instantly sharpening.
"Oh! So you've agreed!" Might Guy curled his outstretched thumb into a fist, then knocked his fists together and grinned. "If I don't win this duel, I'll do three thousand push-ups!"
"Here I come, young man!"