Crunch.
Wearing his familiar green jumpsuit, Might Guy stepped out of his house with a bun in his mouth. The warm morning sunlight kissed his face, and even the ever-energetic Guy couldn't help but let out a satisfied groan as he stretched.
The flowers along the street were in full bloom, their colors bright enough to lift anyone's mood at a glance.
"Ah, mornings truly are the finest time for youth to bloom!"
Taking a deep breath, Guy shoved the rest of the bun into his mouth and mumbled through it, "Let's greet the morning sun of Konoha! Let sweat and flower petals dance together!"
With that, he took off running toward the shopping district, dust flying in his wake. But midway through, he noticed something odd, more and more people were walking in the opposite direction. The once-spacious street was becoming crowded.
"Huh?"
Guy stopped, scratched his head, and jumped lightly onto a nearby rooftop. Using his hand to shade his eyes, he looked toward the distant streets.
People were swarming like ants, gathering in groups and heading toward Konoha's main gate.
"What's going on?"
Curiosity flickered in his eyes, but after a brief pause, he decided to keep heading toward the Hyūga compound instead of following the crowd.
Time flew quickly, two months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Konoha remained peaceful. The villagers were blissfully unaware of the border conflicts in the Land of Fire.
Only when news broke that Kumogakure was sending envoys to sign an alliance treaty with Konoha did the people finally take notice, and then rejoice. They were thrilled that their wise Third Hokage had pulled off something so monumental in secret.
Of course, calling it an "alliance treaty" sounded nice… but everyone knew it really meant that the once-proud enemy had come to seek protection.
To see one of their old wartime foes bowing their heads, that was something that filled every villager with pride.
However, for someone like Might Guy, a humble chūnin with no family backing, the political details were far beyond his concern. His world revolved around training, and he hadn't even heard about the upcoming Kumogakure visit.
All he knew was that his training partner, Hyūga Arata, had mysteriously disappeared for two whole months.
Every time Guy visited the Hyūga compound to find Arata, he was politely stopped by branch family members whose complex expressions were a stark contrast to their usual cold formality. They would always tell him that Arata was in closed-door training and to come back in two months.
'Closed-door training?'
'How do you train taijutsu without leaving your room?!'
Guy knew better than anyone that Arata was as hardworking and disciplined as himself. So his first reaction was that the guy was lying.
But those complicated looks on the Hyūga members' faces didn't seem fake… which made Guy suspect that something serious had happened inside the clan.
And now, two months later.
"Arata should be done training by now."
With Kakashi now busy in the ANBU, and Arata gone, Guy had been training alone this whole time, and he was itching for a good spar.
Now that the agreed time had come, he couldn't wait any longer.
When he arrived at the Hyūga compound, the guard on duty turned out to be the same branch member Arata had once scolded.
This time, the man didn't stop him, nor did he give Guy the usual cold stare. Instead, he politely let him through.
'His attitude changed! It really changed!'
'Arata must have done something amazing!'
"Ara-TAAAAA!"
Guy shouted excitedly as he ran toward Arata's house, "Don't pretend you can't hear me, you rascal! Let's see how much you've improved in two months! Today, I'm gonna make you shout, 'As expected of Guy-senpai!'"
Normally, there was always a barrier around Arata's house, but today, it was gone.
Too excited to care about manners, Guy noticed the door was open and stepped right in.
But the moment he crossed the threshold, it felt like he'd passed through an invisible film; the fine hairs on his arms suddenly stood up.
Not from any killing intent, but because the air itself was thick with unseen static.
"This feeling…"
A faint tingling crept across his skin. Guy frowned, moving cautiously toward Arata's training room. The closer he got, the stronger the sensation became.
When he slid the door open-
Bzzzt!
The air shimmered faintly.
All the conductive equipment in the room had been removed. In the center sat Arata, shirtless, his chiseled torso outlined by tiny arcs of blue lightning. Countless threads of electricity slithered across his body like glowing blue serpents, writhing in the air.
Hearing Guy's footsteps, Arata slowly opened his eyes, a brief flash of blue glinting in the white depths of his Byakugan.
As Guy stared, dumbfounded, the lightning around Arata began to fade, as though the serpents were being tamed, slithering back into his body until only calm remained.
"Senior Guy," Arata said evenly, "are you heading to training?"
"…"
It took a moment for Guy to regain his senses. His gaze lingered on Arata's body, where raw power practically pulsed beneath the skin.
"Arata… are you tempering your body with Lightning Release chakra?" he said in disbelief. "Are you insane?"
It wasn't a secret that Lightning Release could be used to strengthen the body; after all, Kumogakure was famous for it.
The Third Raikage had been known as the "Strongest Shield" and "Strongest Spear." The
Fourth Raikage was revered as the "Blue Lightning" for his blinding speed.
But not just anyone could pull it off. Mastery over both nature transformation and shape transformation of Lightning Release chakra was already difficult enough, and one needed a complete understanding of their own chakra network.
Why were most Lightning Release techniques ranged?
Why were there so few safe for genin or chūnin to use?
Because Lightning chakra was volatile, the most unstable of all five chakra natures.
It coursed violently through the body's meridians, and even a minor mistake could cause severe internal injury.
But then Guy paused, a realization dawning on him.
Arata could see his own chakra pathways with the Byakugan. He was, quite literally, the perfect candidate for this kind of training.
"This…"
Guy opened his mouth but said nothing, falling silent.
He could already imagine it, a Arata who had tempered his body with lightning chakra would advance through the Eight Gates training at lightning speed.
Something Guy himself, with almost no ninjutsu talent, could never achieve.
That thought only lingered for a second before being replaced by a surge of excitement and fighting spirit.
Guy's eyes burned with intensity. Finally, he grinned, flashing his trademark white teeth and raising his thumb.
"Arata," he said seriously, "congratulations."
There wasn't a hint of jealousy in his voice, only genuine happiness, for both his friend's progress and for himself.
Because now, he had a new rival.
Yes.
At that moment, Hyūga Arata was no longer just a like-minded companion… nor a promising junior to look after.
He had become, like Kakashi, a truly respected rival and cherished friend.