Senju Chen seemed to have only just snapped out of that wondrous state as well. He looked at his sword hand, then at the frozen Guy, a perfectly measured look of bewilderment and innocence appearing on his face.
He scratched his head, his clear eyes filled with childlike confusion.
"I... I don't know either."
He tilted his head and looked at Kakashi, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"It's just... when I watched Uncle Sakumo teaching you before, and when you practiced on your own... I guess... after watching enough, my body just remembered it?"
The explanation was absurd beyond belief.
Watching enough was all it took?
Then did mediocrity even exist in this world?
Yet looking at Senju Chen's innocent face, at those eyes without a trace of impurity, Kakashi found himself momentarily at a loss for how to refute him.
Right. Senju Chen.
This "companion" who, ever since his arrival, had defied all conventional understanding.
At five, he possessed chakra far beyond that of ordinary people. At five, he could outargue everyone at the Ninja Academy. At five, he could voice reasoning that even adults could not refute... and now, just by watching, he had mastered the essence of the Hatake Clan's secret swordsmanship.
Was he... even human?
Kakashi felt his entire worldview shatter at that moment.
His father's death had shackled him with the identity of a "sinner's son," driving him to desperately prove himself by following the rules. Yet this monstrous genius before him had told him, in the most unreasonable way possible, that so-called effort and so-called talent might be nothing but a joke in his presence.
An immense, indescribable sense of helplessness and self-doubt engulfed Kakashi like a tide.
He staggered back a step, picked up the wooden sword from the ground, and, without another glance at Senju Chen, turned and stumbled back into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Senju Chen watched the tightly shut door and lowered his eyelids, hiding the cold hint of a smile deep in his eyes.
Very good.
Being a "sinner's son" isn't enough to make you grow.
Then let's add the despair of being utterly crushed by an incomprehensible genius.
Hate your own weakness, envy my talent, and then... give everything you have to catch up to me.
Future Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake.
The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.
Might Guy still held the pose he had been in with the wooden sword pressed against his throat. For the first time, his face, always burning with hot-blooded passion, wore an expression mingling shock and bewilderment.
It was not that he could not accept losing. He simply could not understand how he had lost.
Bang-
The resounding crash of the door being slammed finally shattered the deathly silence.
Senju Chen seemed to start awake at the sound. His wrist loosened, and the little wooden sword fell to the ground. He looked at his empty hand, then at Might Guy, still frozen in place, a perfectly measured look of childlike surprise and helplessness surfacing on his face.
"Guy... are you all right? I... I didn't mean to..." He rubbed his eyes. "I don't know what happened either. I just saw you charging at me, and my body... my body moved on its own..."
The explanation was absurd, yet it fit his identity as a "genius" perfectly.
Might Guy's rigid body finally relaxed. Looking at Senju Chen's innocent face, the circuit in his brain called "hot-blooded passion" connected once more.
"Chen! You're so strong!" Might Guy abruptly clenched his fists, tears of emotion even glistening at the corners of his eyes. "This is talent! This is the youth of a genius, something even the body can't suppress!"
Far from being discouraged, he seemed to have found a new goal. Brimming with fighting spirit, he pointed at Senju Chen, then at the tightly shut door.
"Chen! I, Might Guy, will never be defeated by your talent! Starting today, I'm doubling my training! This is my declaration of youth as I chase after you both!"
With that, he spun around and charged out of the Hatake residence's courtyard like the wind, trailing blazing flames and leaving only a string of cries of "youth" and "effort" echoing behind him.
Senju Chen watched his retreating figure, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
So this was the future Emperor Guy, with that spirit that would never be defeated and never give up.
Night fell, at an unknown underground Root base somewhere in Konoha.
There were no windows here, only cold stone walls and dim lights. A strange smell of disinfectant mixed with earth filled the air.
Orochimaru leaned in a corner like a venomous snake lying dormant in the shadows.
Only when Senju Chen emerged from the dark passage did a gleam of excitement light up his golden snake eyes.
"This performance was quite splendid."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice echoed through the empty underground space, carrying a faint hiss like a snake flicking its tongue.
"Hatake Sakumo has already 'committed suicide' in the village, as agreed."
He paced out of the shadows, the dim light outlining his pale face and those golden eyes with their vertical slits.
"I've done what I promised you. Now, our agreement..."
Senju Chen ignored the latter half of his words and walked straight up to him.
He took a brand-new kunai with a coldly gleaming edge from the ninja tool pouch at his waist and, without even looking, lightly drew it across his fair little forearm.
The movement was clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
A bloody cut opened instantly.
The blood that welled out was not the usual dark red, but a bright red so vivid it was eerie, as though brimming with vitality.
An aura of life so rich it made Orochimaru's eyelid twitch spread through the air.
Orochimaru's breath abruptly caught, his gaze fixed on the blood flowing from Senju Chen's arm.
He extended his long tongue and swiftly licked his dry lips. The uncontainable fervor and greed in his golden snake eyes nearly took tangible form.
"The true bloodline and cells of the First..."
He murmured under his breath, as though admiring a peerless work of art.
He hurriedly produced a specially made, palm-sized container and formed hand seals with one hand. Complex sealing jutsu formulas immediately appeared on the container. He carefully aligned the formulas with the wound on Senju Chen's arm, and an invisible force drew the flowing blood into the container without missing a single drop.
Only after finishing all this did Orochimaru let out a long breath, an expression of unprecedented satisfaction on his face.
"I've made all the arrangements for Hatake Sakumo." Orochimaru put away the container, the excitement still lingering on his face. "He's now a bounty hunter operating outside the Five Great Nations, code name 'Fang.' No one will connect him to Konoha's White Fang, who has already 'died.'"
"Good." Senju Chen nodded and covered the wound with his palm. A flash of luminous green light passed, and the cut healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving not even a trace of a scar.
"But a ninja without a goal will only lose his way." Senju Chen raised his eyes, his black gaze looking particularly deep in the gloom. "We need to find him something to do."
"Oh? What do you want him to do?" Orochimaru's interest grew.
Senju Chen lightly uttered three words.
"Land of Rain."