Might Duy's arrival did not bring the morale boost one would expect from reinforcements. Instead, what greeted him were expressions of confusion and cold indifference. Shimura Seito and Arida Sanjirō had no intention of offering aid. Shiranui Genma and Ebisu clenched their fists, while Might Guy pressed his hands together, barely stopping himself from bowing to the two jōnin in desperation.
"It's okay." Might Duy's voice came from the front. His body was already radiating a green steam.
"I will open the Eighth Gate of Death and buy you all time to retreat."
"Father! But that technique will—!"
"Self-restraint!" Duy raised his hands, crossing them in front of his chest. The moment those words left his lips, Might Guy's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Memories of the past surged through his mind.
His father, Might Duy, had been nothing more than a genin from the very beginning, forced to take on lowly physical labor just to scrape together a meager income. A single wave from a wealthy, overweight noblewoman could summon him like a servant, making him clean floors, run errands, and even search for lost pets—tasks that only fresh genin accepted. Older ninja avoided such humiliations, but his father, well into his middle years, treated every mission like a treasure. When he failed, he even got on his knees, begging for another chance.
As Guy neared graduation from the Academy, these scenes deeply wounded his pride. He couldn't understand why his father was willing to endure such disgrace. Whenever he saw Duy kneeling and pleading, he could only hide in the shadows, feeling nothing but shame.
Once, Guy confided his frustration to his closest friend, Kakashi.
But Kakashi had simply told him, "I think Might Duy is the coolest ninja I've ever seen—because he works hard every day and never stops taking care of his son."
That was the truth of the world. Not everyone was born a protagonist. Not everyone had a fate defying destiny. Some people simply weren't meant to be shinobi. No matter how much effort they put in, there was no guarantee of success.
But Might Duy had kept fighting anyway—struggling to live, to improve, to push forward, even without recognition. That was the essence of his existence.
"Father…" Tears streamed from Guy's eyes. At that moment, his father's figure looked more majestic than ever—greater than anyone else in the world.
Duy turned to his son and flashed his signature grin.
"True victory isn't about defeating strong enemies. It's about protecting what you hold dear."
He raised his thumb in a final gesture to Guy. He would burn away every last drop of his life for this.
"Burn brightly, youth!"
Whoosh—whoosh—
The green steam surrounding him suddenly transformed. Crimson flames of energy surged around Might Duy like a roaring inferno. A tidal wave of raw power burst forth, pushing back over a hundred Mist ninja, leaving those of weaker constitution flung to the ground.
"Dad!" Guy's anguished cry tore through the battlefield. He tried to rush forward, but Genma and Ebisu held him back.
Might Duy never looked back. The red steam signified the irreversible loss of life. His blood and his very cells were incinerating with every passing second. The limits of his body shattered over and over. The eternal genin was no more. Even if the Hokage himself stood before him now, he would be forced to acknowledge Duy's strength.
Guy's eyes rolled back, saliva dripping from his mouth, his hair whipping wildly in the heatwave of energy.
"Morning Peacock!!!"
For the first time since becoming a shinobi, Might Duy engaged in a true battle to the death. His movements were awkward, his techniques unrefined. Yet, when he threw a single punch—
BOOM!!!
The earth shattered. Rocks exploded in every direction. A towering cloud of dust and debris engulfed the forest, the force of the blow rivaling the detonation of a massive bomb.
...
Several minutes later.
Shimura Seito and Arida Sanjirō were drenched in sweat.
"D-Did he… did he do it?"
"I don't know… But it's been quiet for a while now…"
The two men hesitantly crawled out from the underbrush, inching toward the battlefield.
When they arrived at the scene, they were left utterly speechless.
Over a hundred Mist ninja lay scattered across the ground. Severed limbs and mangled bodies littered the area. Some were still alive but barely breathing, their lives hanging by a thread.
At the center of it all, Might Duy lay motionless. Guy and his comrades knelt beside him, tears streaming down their faces.
"Father…" Guy's voice broke as he wept uncontrollably.
Duy was too weak to speak, his life slipping away with every heartbeat. Yet, when his son's tears landed on his face, he forced his hand to rise one final time, his trembling fingers forming a thumbs-up.
"Th…Thank… you… for believing… Guy… live on… That… That is youth…"
Guy sobbed uncontrollably. Beside him, Shiranui Genma and Ebisu turned their faces away, their chests tight with sorrow.
The man they had once dismissed as a useless fool had given them the greatest lesson of all. Today, he had shown them what it truly meant to be a ninja—what it truly meant to have unbreakable will.
...
Yet, even in such a moment of grief, there were always those who failed to read the situation.
Shimura Seito and Arida Sanjirō suddenly rushed forward—
They ruthlessly finished off the remaining Kirigakure ninja who were still clinging to life. A few minutes later, after wiping the blood off their faces, they gripped their swords tightly and slowly approached Guy and the others.
Staring at the fallen Might Duy, the two couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. They had mocked and ridiculed Duy countless times in the past, but now, in hindsight, they were relieved that he had never held a grudge. If he had unleashed that terrifying Eight Gates power on them, the entire Konoha might have been shaken to its core.
But none of that mattered anymore. They could clearly sense that Duy's life force was fading fast. Right now, he was no longer a threat to them.
"Heh... Such a terrifying taijutsu. Looks like it's going to be lost in Konoha's long history."
"Hey, brats, you know what to say when we get back, right? We three stood our ground against the Kirigakure forces and wiped out over a hundred enemy ninja!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, Ebisu and Genma couldn't hold back their outrage.
"You two cowards were hiding the whole time! It was Uncle Duy who took down all those Kirigakure ninja! What does this have to do with you?!"
The moment Genma finished speaking, Sanjirō Arida slapped him across the face without hesitation.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" Arida barked. "The Eight Gates is far too powerful—this kind of technique must be classified as an S-rank secret of Konoha! We can't let outsiders know about it! Everything we're doing is for Konoha's sake. Got it?!"
Feeling the sheer pressure from these two Jonin, Genma and Ebisu clenched their teeth in frustration. If not for the vast difference in strength, they would have already taught these bastards a lesson.
Seeing their unwilling expressions, Kiyotou Shimura sighed, as if making a small concession.
"Fine, fine. When we report to the Hokage, we'll say that the two of us led the main attack, and he..." Shimura nudged Might Duy's lifeless body with his foot. "He supported us from the side and ultimately sacrificed himself, allowing us to secure victory. Understood?"
Just as Shimura finished speaking, a hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder.
"You... What did you just say?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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