Dreams

Images of Tanaka and Koromo lying injured appeared before Uzumaki Hane's eyes, and he instinctively blurted out, "No..."

Might Guy flashed forward and appeared in front of Uzumaki Hane. He kicked him straight in the stomach, sending him flying, and shouted, "Then do you think you can protect the people around you?"

Uzumaki Hane raised himself up and murmured, "Can I protect them? Is protecting them my dream? My own dream..." But the figures that appeared in his mind slowly blurred, replaced by those passionate battles of life and death, and the thrill of standing on the edge between the two. Uzumaki Hane suddenly understood what he really wanted most. That was right. He had long since grown tired of that ordinary world, where he repeated the same things and followed the same routine every day. He wanted to keep fighting spectacular battles in this world.

The confusion vanished from Uzumaki Hane's face, which shone with a dazzling light. He looked up at the sky and shouted, "I want to fight! I crave battle!"

When Might Guy heard Uzumaki Hane's words, his expression turned complicated. He murmured, "As I thought, you're like travelers passing through this world, arriving in a hurry and leaving just as quickly, never able to truly become part of it."

Might Guy said solemnly to Might Guy, "Teacher Kaido, please train me again."

Might Guy flashed both rows of his neat, white teeth and stuck out his right thumb. "Youth cannot be denied! Come with me now."

Might Guy led Uzumaki Hane to a training ground, where Rock Lee was doing squats.

Might Guy asked with concern, "Rock Lee, why have you come here to train?"

Rock Lee stopped and said earnestly, "Teacher Might Guy, I've wasted a lot of time recovering from my injuries. I have to train a hundred times harder to make up for the training I missed. That's my Ninja Way."

Tears were already streaming down Might Guy's face. "Rock Lee... my Ninja Way is to make you into a famous ninja. Let me train you! This is youth!"

Might Guy said passionately, "All right, training starts now! We'll begin with squats." With that, the three began their squat training.

Uzumaki Hane had originally thought he would be able to finish easily. After all, he had done extreme squat training not long ago. He had only just transmigrated at the time, and even as a modern man, he had managed to endure it. Now he had gradually grown accustomed to this world of Hokage, so it should have been easier still. But not long after starting, Uzumaki Hane realized he had overestimated himself and underestimated human laziness. After two hours of squats, he found himself wanting to give up. Uzumaki Hane knew this was the laziness that had developed because he had slackened off recently.

In this world, many ninja had trained in Taijutsu, and presumably many of them could complete extreme training. So why were Might Guy and his father, Might Duy, the only ones who had successfully opened the Eight Gates Released Formation? Of course, Rock Lee would do so in the future, but he had not yet managed it. It was because they persevered. They trained hard every day, day after day, without ever stopping. It was precisely this tenacity that had allowed them to successfully open the Eight Gates Released Formation.

Keep going, keep going, keep going. That was the only thought in Uzumaki Hane's mind as time quietly passed.

Might Guy saw that Uzumaki Hane had reached his limit and said, "Hane, that's enough squats for today. Now let's have another fight. But since this is Taijutsu training, there's one restriction: you can't use your Kekkei Genkai. You rely on it too much."

Uzumaki Hane said, "All right, Teacher Kaido."

Might Guy led Uzumaki Hane into the forest where they fought, and Uzumaki Hane immediately assumed a fighting stance.

Might Guy launched a flying kick at Uzumaki Hane's stomach. Uzumaki Hane quickly reached out with both hands and caught his foot, but Might Guy spun around and kicked at his neck with his left foot. Uzumaki Hane had no choice but to release his foot and block the kick with both hands. Bang! Such strength, Uzumaki Hane thought, stumbling back several steps. Without pausing, Might Guy kicked at him again with his right foot. Bang! Uzumaki Hane retreated repeatedly, and before he could regain his footing, Might Guy kicked again. This time, Uzumaki Hane could not block in time and was sent flying.

Might Guy said, "Hane, your Taijutsu lacks variety. It's easy for someone to exploit that. Again!" He charged in front of Uzumaki Hane and punched at him.

So fast, Uzumaki Hane thought. Instead of dodging, he threw a punch of his own. But as Might Guy's fist reached him, it opened into a claw and grabbed his fist. Might Guy spun around sharply, trying to throw Uzumaki Hane over his shoulder. Uzumaki Hane reacted quickly, wrapping his left arm around Might Guy's neck and using the momentum to swing around in front of him.

He then drove his knee toward Might Guy's stomach, but Might Guy was faster, quickly blocking Uzumaki Hane's knee with his right hand. He forced the knee down, then slammed his shoulder into Uzumaki Hane, knocking him back several steps.

Might Guy kicked again, and Uzumaki Hane refused to back down, raising a leg to block. He followed with a spinning back kick aimed at Might Guy's shoulder. Might Guy blocked it firmly with his hand and shoved Uzumaki Hane away. Uzumaki Hane staggered, and before he could regain his footing, Might Guy appeared beside him and kicked Uzumaki in the chin, sending Uzumaki Hane into the sky. He then leaped upward, appeared behind Uzumaki Hane, and shouted, "Front Lotus!" The bandages on his hands bound Uzumaki Hane, and he drove him toward the ground. This is bad, Uzumaki Hane thought, but he could not break free of the bandages no matter what he did. Boom! Might Guy crashed into the ground, and countless cracks spread across it.

Might Guy walked out of the dust and said, "Hane, you actually used your Kekkei Genkai. You broke the rules."

Uzumaki Hane emerged from behind a nearby tree. Earlier, when he had found himself unable to break free of the bandages, he had begun turning his body into lava and burned them away. He had then used the Substitution Technique to escape and hide behind the tree trunk.

Uzumaki Hane said to Might Guy, "Teacher Kaido, you used the Eight Gates Released Formation, but you won't let me use my Kekkei Genkai. Isn't that too unfair?"

Might Guy raised his right thumb and said, "Hane, this is passion! This is youth!"

Uzumaki Hane was speechless. Suddenly, he looked behind Might Guy in surprise and shouted, "Ah, Kakashi-sensei!"

Might Guy looked back and saw Kakashi passing by with Icha Icha Paradise in his hand. Upon seeing Might Guy, Kakashi thought himself unlucky. His figure flashed, and he vanished from the spot. Seeing Kakashi leave, Might Guy said, "That's enough training for today." He quickly chased after Kakashi, disappearing from Uzumaki Hane's sight in the blink of an eye.

That evening, Uzumaki Hane finished his training and left alone. By the time he returned to his residence, it was already dark. Standing at his front door, he was about to open it when he sensed someone inside. Uzumaki Hane immediately went on guard.