"It's all right."
Only three simple words, yet at this moment, those words carried an indescribable sense of reassurance throughout the clearing.
Gekkō Hayate stared toward Guy with trembling lips while his chest rose and fell heavily. Blood still stained his clothes, and several times he opened his mouth as though wanting to say something. However, no words came out in the end.
Meanwhile, Yūgao Uzuki slowly leaned against the nearby tree trunk before sliding downward into a sitting position. Her hands still trembled uncontrollably as she lowered her gaze toward them. Just now, in that instant earlier, she had genuinely believed she was going to die. Then suddenly, this green figure appeared like a whirlwind tearing through the battlefield.
Yūgao slowly raised her head again toward Guy.
Her eyes had already become slightly red around the edges.
At that exact moment, another figure burst violently out from the forest.
"Everyone!!"
Umino Iruka arrived while panting heavily, his expression pale from rushing over at full speed.
The moment he saw the clearing before him, he froze completely.
Gekkō Hayate was covered in blood, but alive.
Yūgao Uzuki leaned weakly against the tree, but alive.
The child lying on the ground was severely injured, yet his chest still rose and fell faintly.
Then Iruka's eyes slowly shifted toward the distant tree.
A middle-aged man with a scarred face remained embedded halfway into the shattered trunk.
Motionless.
Dead.
Finally, his gaze landed on Guy.
That child was barely over seven years old. Sweat drenched his entire body while the right leg of his green training pants had already become scorched black from friction and impact. Faint traces of green Chakra steam still lingered around him.
Iruka slowly walked forward, step by step.
Eventually, he stopped before the tree containing the corpse.
He lowered his gaze toward the dead man carefully.
A rogue Chunin.
And judging from the remaining Chakra traces, an Earth Release user from Iwagakure.
Dead instantly.
Iruka's eyes slowly moved toward the shattered trees nearby.
One.
Two.
Three giant trunks had been destroyed completely.
His expression gradually stiffened.
Just how terrifying had that kick been?
Then he slowly turned back toward Guy.
Guy also happened to be looking toward him.
Then he grinned brightly as usual.
"Teacher Umino, it's all right now."
Iruka remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking slowly.
"You did this?"
Guy nodded naturally.
"Yeah."
Iruka did not continue questioning him.
Instead, he simply stared quietly at the child before him.
Barely seven years old, yet capable of killing a Chunin with one kick.
The lingering green steam surrounding Guy's body clearly indicated some kind of special Taijutsu technique, and the power displayed earlier was beyond what Iruka expected from any Academy student.
Iruka slowly inhaled deeply.
Then suddenly, he remembered the Third Hokage's words from before.
"In this class, there are several children with extraordinary talent."
At the time, Iruka believed it merely referred to gifted students.
But now, "extraordinary" no longer felt sufficient to describe what he had just witnessed.
Iruka looked toward Guy once more.
His eyes contained emotions too complicated to explain clearly.
Shock.
Appreciation.
And even a trace of awe.
Yes.
Awe.
A seven-year-old child killing a Chunin-level rogue Ninja with one kick was simply unbelievable.
Iruka opened his mouth slightly, seemingly wanting to say something more.
Yet after several seconds, he only spoke three words.
"Save people first."
Then he immediately walked toward the severely injured child lying on the ground.
Guy quietly watched Iruka's retreating figure before lowering his gaze slightly toward the System panel appearing before him.
[Mission Completed: Eradicate the Bandit Group]
[Rewards Obtained: 100 Monk Value, Random Intermediate Gift Pack x1]
[Open now?]
Guy did not rush to open it immediately.
Instead, he slowly lifted his head once more.
His gaze moved toward Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki.
Both of them still carried the relief and disbelief of surviving death.
Then Guy looked toward the wounded child currently being treated by Iruka.
Still alive.
Good.
As long as he was alive, that was enough.
Guy slowly lowered himself onto the ground.
The moment he sat down, his legs completely lost strength.
Plop.
He collapsed directly onto the dirt while breathing heavily.
The side effects from opening the Fourth Gate had finally begun appearing.
Ebisu slowly walked over before stopping beside him.
He lowered his head while staring toward Guy uncertainly.
"Are... are you okay?"
Guy raised his head immediately.
Then he grinned once more exactly like usual.
"I'm fine. My youth can still burn."
Ebisu's mouth twitched slightly.
He originally wanted to complain.
However, after seeing how pale Guy's face had become, he ultimately swallowed the words back down.
Nearby, Genma slowly bent over and picked up the toothpick that had fallen from his mouth earlier during the battle. He calmly placed it back between his lips before looking toward Guy.
For several seconds, he remained silent.
Then finally, he spoke.
"That kick earlier... it was a really good kick."
Guy immediately smiled brightly before raising a thumbs-up confidently.
"Of course."
Moonlight quietly illuminated the clearing.
In the distance, Iruka continued treating the injured child carefully.
Nearby, Guy remained sitting on the ground while Ebisu and Genma stood beside him silently.
After several moments, Yūgao slowly supported herself against the tree and stood back up.
Then she slowly walked toward Guy.
Eventually, she stopped directly in front of him while looking downward quietly.
"Thank you."
Her voice sounded soft, yet extremely sincere.
Guy raised his head toward her before smiling casually.
"No need to thank me. We're classmates."
Yūgao pressed her lips together slightly.
At that moment, Gekkō Hayate also slowly walked over while clutching his chest painfully.
He coughed several times before finally stopping in front of Guy as well.
Then he looked directly toward him.
"I owe you my life."
Guy waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't think too much about it. Just treat me to food sometime later."
Hayate froze briefly.
Then unexpectedly, he laughed softly.
"Alright."
Guy slowly turned his gaze toward the distant corpse embedded inside the broken tree trunk.
A rogue Ninja.
An Earth Release Chunin.
Someone who almost killed his classmates.
Yet now, only a corpse remained.
Guy slowly clenched both fists tightly.
Perhaps it was because of his identity as a Ninja.
Perhaps it was because he fully understood what kind of world this was.
But after killing someone for the very first time, Guy discovered there was no discomfort inside his heart at all.
Instead, he only felt that he was still not strong enough.
If he had arrived slightly later earlier, someone would already be dead.
Next time, he needed to become stronger.
Faster.
More decisive.
Because Guy understood something clearly from the very beginning.
As long as missions existed, absolute safety did not exist.
People would die.
This was reality.
Guy had already prepared himself mentally for that long ago.
However, even if death was unavoidable in war, he absolutely refused to stand there helplessly while watching his comrades die before his eyes.
After Iruka finally finished treating the wounded child, he slowly stood back up before walking toward the center of the clearing and looking around at everyone present.
"The mission is complete."
He paused briefly.
"Everyone rest where you are for now. Before dawn, we will clean the battlefield and count the captives."
Then his gaze shifted specifically toward Guy.
"And you... don't move around anymore. Rest properly."
Guy nodded immediately.
"Yes."
Iruka slowly turned around and began walking back toward the forest.
However, after several steps, he suddenly stopped.
Then he looked back over his shoulder.
Moonlight illuminated Guy's face clearly.
Iruka's expression became somewhat complicated.
"That kick earlier... I'll remember it."
Then his figure gradually disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
Guy quietly stared in that direction for several moments before suddenly grinning again.
If people remembered it, then they remembered it.
Sooner or later, he would become even stronger anyway.
The moonlight continued spilling silently across the clearing.
The wounded.
The exhausted.
The unconscious.
And the corpse embedded inside the shattered tree.
The entire battlefield had become extremely quiet.
Yet Guy understood clearly in his heart that this was only the beginning.
The war had only just begun.
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