"Huh, why is Kakashi late today? Could it be that he was hit hard after losing to Seiryū yesterday?"
Did I fall under Izanami? Hearing these familiar, almost identical words, Seiryū was stunned for a moment, thinking he had been caught in a genjutsu.
And the Uchiha Clan's forbidden jutsu, Izanami!
He looked up and saw Asuma walking into the classroom. Seiryū let out a sigh of relief. Good, the timeline wasn't messed up. Uchiha Itachi didn't suddenly appear!
Obito shook his head. "I don't know. Something must have delayed him, right?"
Asuma returned to his seat and sat down, clicking his tongue. "Helping an old lady cross the road?"
The seats had been rearranged for the new semester, and their familiar group was still seated close to one another. Hm, that was clearly no coincidence.
Seiryū looked at Asuma with some surprise.
Not bad. That comeback was pretty sharp.
He had been about to say the same thing!
Obito froze for a moment, then realized Asuma was provoking him and immediately got angry. "Hey, Asuma, what do you mean by that?"
"Ahaha, sorry." Asuma laughed and pointed at Seiryū beside him. "I learned it from Seiryū. I had a feeling that if I didn't say it first, he definitely would have!"
Asuma thought for a moment, then added, "In Seiryū's words, um… I think it's called 'teasing'?"
Kurenai and Rin both found it funny after hearing that.
It really did sound like something Seiryū would say.
Seiryū: "…"
Your intuition is spot on!
But Seiryū naturally wouldn't admit it. If he didn't do it, then he didn't do it. "Don't push it. I'm still sitting right here. You guys are really acting like I don't exist."
These people were getting more and more outrageous. Once they got familiar, they started talking nonsense and twisting the truth.
His reputation was suffering.
Seiryū continued, "I think Kakashi trained too hard yesterday, so he's probably not feeling well today and took a day off."
This Kakashi is so weak!
Not only did he fail to last yesterday, he even had to take a day off today.
Forget Kakashi. Even Seiryū himself had a special physique, yet he still felt sore today. It was normal that Kakashi couldn't handle it.
"Training?"
Obito and Asuma were both stunned.
What kind of training would make Kakashi skip school?
Asuma asked, "With you?"
Seiryū nodded. "Yeah. Kakashi, Guy, and I trained in taijutsu at Training Ground Two after school yesterday."
Asuma said angrily, "You didn't call me?!"
Seiryū spread his hands. "You didn't say anything either."
Obito suddenly remembered Guy's words from yesterday and hesitated. "With Guy… you didn't run twenty kilometers in one go, did you?"
Seiryū replied, "Oh, that was just a warm-up."
"Warm-up?!"
Hearing this, the people around them all looked at each other.
Running twenty kilometers in one go was just a warm-up?
Asuma sized Seiryū up. "Then why are you fine? You didn't give up halfway, did you?"
Seiryū shrugged. "I'm a genius. Geniuses can't be judged by common sense."
Obito clicked his tongue. "You say you're not arrogant, but go look in a mirror at your expression right now."
Seiryū: "…"
He noticed that Obito was unusually active today. Was it because he wasn't late and felt a bit smug?
"What are you all talking about?"
At that moment, Guy walked into the classroom with his school bag, wearing his green jumpsuit. His eyes swept the room, but he didn't see his rival Kakashi.
He was immediately surprised. "Huh, why is Kakashi late today…"
Seiryū's mouth twitched.
Alright, Kakashi wasn't bad. So many people cared about him. Unfortunately, they were all guys.
After hearing the explanation, Guy joined the discussion. "It should be just like Seiryū said. How about we go to his house after school this afternoon? I brought a medicinal packet that helps recover from physical fatigue."
When he first started training with his father, he would be sore all over the next morning. His legs would shake when he walked, and he couldn't even hold a bowl while eating.
Seiryū's guess should be correct.
They should go check on Kakashi after school and bring him the medicinal packet. It could relieve the fatigue from overtraining.
Seiryū perked up. "A medicinal packet for recovering physical fatigue?"
Honestly, with the life-threatening training intensity of the Might father and son, it would be strange if their bodies didn't suffer damage.
Long-term, high-intensity training could easily leave lasting aftereffects.
One of them opened the Eight Gates and sent four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist straight to the afterlife, dealing a heavy blow to Kirigakure. The other opened the Eight Gates and unleashed Night Guy on Six Paths Madara, nearly kicking him out of the story entirely.
The price the father and son paid for opening the Eight Gates was the same.
Yet their combat power was vastly different.
It must be this medicinal packet that played a role, reducing the aftereffects left behind by Guy's extreme training.
"This is it." Guy took a medicinal packet out of his school bag, and a strong medicinal scent immediately spread. He handed it to Seiryū. "My father told me to give this to you. Um, Kakashi has one too."
"Uncle Duy is really thoughtful." Seiryū immediately understood, but he didn't take it and instead shook his head. "But I can't accept it. This doesn't look cheap, does it?"
Duy had clearly considered the strain that high-intensity training placed on the body, which was why he had Guy bring these medicinal packets.
The Might family's financial situation wasn't very good, and Duy was just a Genin.
Genin mission rewards weren't much.
Yet he still had Guy send these medicinal packets, which showed how kind he was to his juniors. Medicinal herbs in Konoha weren't cheap.
Seiryū couldn't accept it for free.
"I don't know." Guy flashed a bright smile and gave a thumbs-up. "But this is what my father told me to do!"
Guy was very persistent and wouldn't stop until Seiryū accepted it.
Left with no choice, Seiryū took the packet.
Sitting in class, looking at the medicinal packet Guy had forced into his hands, Seiryū thought quietly, I'll have to find a chance to repay this favor later…
In the original story, Duy had been a perpetual Genin, looked down upon by many, with no one even willing to team up with him.
He could only take on the hardest and most exhausting missions, and the pay was low.
It wasn't until the Third Great Ninja War, when he activated the Eight Gates Formation and crippled four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, that he finally regained some reputation in Konoha.
He needed to find an opportunity to let others realize Might Duy's true strength.
Even without genjutsu or ninjutsu, taijutsu alone could reach the pinnacle!
Perpetual Genin, huh.
Do you understand the value of Konoha's Genin!!
Is the strongest in Konoha the Kage?
No.
It's the Genin!!
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)