Crack.
Wearing his iconic green bodysuit, Might Guy stepped out of his house with a bun in his mouth. The warm morning sunlight bathed his face, and even someone as energetic as him couldn't help but stretch with a soft groan.
The flowers planted along the street had bloomed beautifully—just a glance at them could brighten one's mood.
"As expected, morning is truly the peak moment of youthful bloom!"
Guy took a deep breath and stuffed the bun into his mouth in a few big bites. With his mouth still full, he shouted loudly, "Facing the morning sun of Konoha, let sweat and flower petals dance together!"
Saying that, he charged down the road with dust rising behind him. But along the way, he noticed that more and more people were heading in the opposite direction. What was once a wide and empty road had begun to feel crowded.
"Huh?"
Guy stopped in his tracks and scratched his head. Then, with a light push of his foot, he leapt to a higher vantage point, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand as he looked out toward the other streets.
Streams of people, hurried and dense like ants, were gathering and heading toward the entrance of Konoha.
"What's going on?"
He couldn't help but feel curious at the sight, but after only a brief pause, he continued walking against the crowd toward the Hyuga Clan's compound.
Time passed quickly, and two months went by in a flash.
Konoha had remained peaceful and calm during this time, and its citizens were completely unaware of the tensions on the Fire Country's borders.
It wasn't until news broke that the Hidden Cloud Village (Kumogakure) was coming to Konoha to form an alliance that the villagers were caught off guard—then overjoyed. They were amazed that the Third Hokage had secretly pulled off such a major diplomatic move.
While the official term was "Alliance Agreement," in reality, wasn't it just Hidden Cloud trying to cling to Konoha's strength?
Faced with the submission of a former enemy from the last Great Ninja War, every Konoha citizen took pride in the village.
However, someone like Might Guy—a humble Chunin with no background—had no idea what was happening at the border. Too obsessed with his daily training, he hadn't even heard the news about the alliance.
All he knew was that Hyuga Unkawa, his training partner, had completely vanished for the past two months.
Every time he went to the Hyuga compound to look for him, he was always stopped by a branch family member with a complicated expression—yet they were unusually polite and respectful, telling him that Unkawa was in seclusion for training and wouldn't be available for two months.
Seclusion?
How could one train in taijutsu behind closed doors?
Guy knew that Unkawa was just as hardworking and disciplined as himself. So his first reaction was that this guy was lying.
But the complex look on the branch family member's face didn't seem fake, which made Guy wonder if something had happened inside the Hyuga clan.
Now, two months had passed since that day.
"Unkawa should finally be receiving visitors today."
With Kakashi now in the ANBU and always too busy, and Unkawa missing, Guy had been training alone for the past two months—and it was driving him crazy.
Now that the agreed-upon date had come, he couldn't wait any longer.
When he arrived at the Hyuga compound, he was surprised to find the same branch family member who had once been scolded by Unkawa guarding the gate.
This time, not only did the man not stop him, he didn't even glare at him. Instead, he politely let Guy in.
His attitude had changed! It definitely changed!
Unkawa must've secretly accomplished something big!
"Un—ka—wa—!"
With excitement written all over his face, Guy rushed toward Unkawa's residence and shouted, "Don't pretend you can't hear me, you bastard! Let me see how much you've improved in these two months! Today, I will make you admit, 'As expected of Senior Guy!'"
In his excitement, he forgot all manners and charged in since the door wasn't even closed.
But the moment he stepped inside, it felt like he'd passed through a thin membrane—and all the hairs on his body suddenly stood up.
Not from killing intent, but because the air seemed to be filled with invisible static charge, causing a tingling sensation across his skin.
"This is..."
Feeling the subtle numbness spreading across his body, Guy cautiously tiptoed toward the training room. The closer he got, the stronger the sensation became.
When he pushed the door open, what met his eyes was a room filled with slightly distorted air.
Zzzt zzzt!
All conductive equipment in the room had been removed. Sitting cross-legged in the center was Hyuga Unkawa, bare-chested, with defined muscles. Blue lightning arcs danced along his skin, flickering like countless little electric snakes weaving through the air.
As if sensing someone enter, Unkawa slowly opened his eyes. A brief blue gleam flashed in his pure white Byakugan.
Guy stood frozen in amazement. As he watched, the arcs of electricity surrounding Unkawa began to retract, as though a swarm of tamed serpents slithering back into his body.
"Guy-senpai, are we going to train?" Unkawa asked calmly.
"..."
Guy snapped out of it, staring dumbfounded at Unkawa's body—he could almost see the power coursing through it.
"Unkawa, you're actually using Lightning Release chakra to temper your body?" Guy's expression twisted into disbelief. He blurted out instinctively, "Are you insane?"
It wasn't a secret that Lightning Release could be used for body strengthening—in fact, it was something the Hidden Cloud Village specialized in.
The Third Raikage was known as the "Strongest Shield" and "Strongest Spear." The Fourth Raikage was famed as the "Blue Lightning" due to his speed.
But not everyone could use Lightning Release this way. It required mastery of both chakra nature transformation and shape manipulation—something that stumped even elite ninja. Moreover, one needed complete understanding of their own complex chakra network.
Why were most Lightning Release techniques long-range?
Why were there so few suitable for Chunin or Genin to learn?
Because Lightning chakra was the most unstable of the five elements. It wasn't easy to control, and any mistake in circulating it could cause serious internal damage.
Then it hit him—Unkawa, with his Byakugan capable of seeing his chakra network in full detail, might be the perfect candidate for this method.
"This…"
Guy opened his mouth but couldn't speak, falling into stunned silence.
It was clear—by tempering his body with Lightning Release, Hyuga Unkawa would make lightning-fast progress in training the Eight Gates technique.
And that was a realm someone like Guy—who lacked any talent for ninjutsu—could never reach.
But that bitter thought lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a boiling battle spirit and excitement in his chest.
Guy looked at Unkawa, his expression changing several times, until it finally turned into the same look he always gave Kakashi.
"Unkawa," he said with burning eyes, raising a thumbs-up and flashing his signature bright smile. His tone was serious. "Congratulations."
There wasn't a hint of jealousy or resentment in his voice—only genuine joy.
Joy for his friend's progress. Joy at gaining a new rival.
Yes.
At this very moment, Hyuga Unkawa was no longer just a fellow straggler he bonded with for comfort. No longer a pitiful junior to protect and encourage.
Now, just like Kakashi…
He was a true rival and dear friend Guy would forever cherish.