The fifth day.
Evening.
The Central Tower of the Forest of Death stood quietly beneath the dim sunset while thick shadows gradually swallowed the surrounding forest.
When Might Guy finally walked out from the woods, the very first thing he noticed was not the enormous tower itself, but rather the figure standing silently at its entrance.
Umino Iruka.
He still wore his Chunin flak jacket while leaning quietly against the railing and staring toward the darkening forest ahead.
The moment his eyes landed on Guy, his entire body visibly stiffened.
Then, almost immediately afterward, he released a long breath of relief.
It was not merely surface-level relief either.
It was the kind of relief where even the tension in his shoulders visibly loosened all at once.
However, that feeling only lasted briefly before an even heavier tension replaced it again immediately.
Guy walked over naturally before grinning brightly.
"Teacher Umino."
Iruka looked directly toward him.
After spending several days inside the Forest of Death, Guy still looked exactly the same as usual.
The same green outfit.
The same oversized blade carried over his shoulder.
The only difference was that behind him now followed Anko and Shikuro.
All three of them looked dusty and exhausted, yet their spirits remained surprisingly good.
Iruka finally spoke quietly.
"You're the first."
Guy paused slightly.
"The first?"
Iruka nodded.
"You're the first group to arrive at the Central Tower."
Guy turned his head slightly before looking back toward the dark forest behind him.
The sun had almost fully set now.
Inside the woods, darkness had already swallowed nearly everything completely.
Nothing could be seen anymore.
"What about the others?"
Iruka did not answer immediately.
Instead, he simply continued staring toward the forest silently.
At that moment, Guy suddenly understood exactly what that anxious gaze meant.
The hardest part was never the waiting itself.
The hardest part began after the very first person returned safely.
Because afterward, every second naturally raised another question.
Who else would return?
And who would remain trapped inside forever?
Nobody knew.
Not even Iruka.
Guy stood there silently for nearly ten seconds.
Then suddenly, he removed the massive machete from his shoulder before driving it directly into the ground.
"Alright."
"I'm heading back."
Iruka froze instantly.
"Back where?"
Guy did not answer.
Instead, he directly turned around and began walking toward the forest again.
"Hey!"
Iruka immediately shouted after him.
"You just got out! It's already dark inside!"
"I know."
Guy's voice drifted calmly through the darkness.
Then, moments later, his figure disappeared completely into the forest once more.
Iruka remained frozen in place.
After several seconds, he slowly turned toward Anko.
"What exactly is he doing?"
Anko curled her lips slightly.
"Going back to bring people out."
"Bring people out?"
"Yeah."
Anko casually walked toward the tower entrance before sitting down heavily beside the wall.
"With so many classmates still inside, there's no way that guy can sleep peacefully."
Iruka immediately fell silent.
Can't sleep peacefully.
That's right.
He couldn't sleep either.
Iruka slowly turned his head again toward the dark forest.
According to the rules established by the Third Hokage, nobody was allowed to leave the Central Tower area once they arrived within the seven-day examination period.
As the supervising Chunin, Iruka naturally had to obey those rules strictly.
But Might Guy clearly had no intention whatsoever of following them.
Iruka sighed quietly.
"I knew it."
"That kid definitely realized some people still haven't returned yet."
"He absolutely went back inside to search for them."
The anxiety within Iruka's eyes slowly softened afterward.
Eventually, he withdrew his gaze before turning toward Anko and Shikuro nearby.
"You two should rest first."
"You've both been inside the forest for several days already."
Anko looked indifferent.
Meanwhile, Shikuro simply remained silent while staring toward the darkness where Guy had disappeared.
That green figure was already long gone from sight.
Shikuro slowly lowered his head afterward.
Deep in thought.
Night gradually deepened.
Soon afterward, a bonfire was lit near the entrance of the Central Tower.
Iruka sat beside the fire quietly while Anko leaned against the wall sleepily.
Meanwhile, Shikuro curled himself up silently in one corner while black insects continuously crawled quietly across his clothes.
The surrounding forest remained eerily quiet.
Only the rustling of leaves and occasional distant beast roars echoed through the darkness.
Then suddenly—
Movement appeared near the forest edge.
Everyone immediately raised their heads.
A figure emerged slowly from the darkness.
Might Guy.
This time, someone was slung directly across his shoulder.
The person looked covered in blood, yet his eyes remained barely open.
"Kotaro."
Guy lowered him carefully onto the ground.
"He encountered three venomous snakes and got bitten several times. I already drained most of the poisoned blood out, so he won't die."
Iruka immediately rushed over to examine the injuries personally.
The boy definitely would survive.
However, if Guy had arrived even slightly later, the situation probably would have become impossible to save.
Iruka instinctively looked back toward Guy.
Yet by that point, Guy had already turned around again.
Then, for the second time that night, he disappeared back into the forest.
An hour later, he returned once more.
This time, he brought back two people together.
Aoba Yamashiro and Shiranui Genma.
Aoba's leg carried obvious injuries while Genma supported him carefully from the side.
"We triggered a trap."
Genma spoke while chewing on his toothpick weakly.
"His leg got caught. We treated it ourselves already, but our speed became way too slow afterward."
Then he glanced toward Guy.
"Luckily we ran into him."
Iruka looked toward Guy once more.
But just like before, Guy had already turned around and disappeared into the darkness for the third time.
Late at night, Guy returned for the fourth time.
This time, he carried two classmates whose names he himself could not even remember properly.
One had broken his leg.
The other suffered from a dangerously high fever.
Then came the fifth trip.
The sixth.
And finally, just before dawn approached, Guy emerged from the forest for the seventh time.
One classmate rested across his shoulder while another leaned heavily against his arm.
All of them carried injuries.
Guy carefully lowered them onto the ground before collapsing into a seated position nearby while breathing heavily.
At that point, his body was completely covered in blood.
Some belonged to others.
Some belonged to himself.
His sleeves had been torn apart completely while several deep claw marks remained visible across his arms.
Yet despite everything, he was still smiling.
Iruka stared silently toward him.
Toward this eight-year-old child.
Within a single night, he had entered and exited the Forest of Death seven different times.
He personally carried nine injured classmates back safely.
And along the way, he also guided another seven students toward the Central Tower.
Iruka opened his mouth slowly.
He clearly wanted to say something.
However, in the end, he only spoke three simple words.
"Rest for now."
Guy nodded quietly afterward.
Then he leaned back against the wall before finally closing his eyes briefly.
However, barely five minutes later, his eyes suddenly opened again.
Then he looked directly toward the forest.
"Someone else is coming."
Everyone immediately turned their heads toward the woods.
Soon afterward, several figures stumbled out from the darkness together.
Anko.
Rin.
And behind them
Obito.
Although all three looked dirty and disheveled, they were clearly still alive and unharmed overall.
The moment they noticed Guy's injured appearance, they all froze briefly before immediately rushing over anxiously.
"Might Guy! Are you alright?!"
Obito shouted nervously while Kurenai beside him looked so worried she almost seemed ready to cry.
Guy immediately grinned brightly again before raising a massive thumbs-up.
Seeing him still capable of smiling like that, the three finally relaxed somewhat.
However, immediately afterward, they watched in shock as Guy stood up once more before turning back toward the Forest of Death again.
"Might Guy, where are you going now?"
Obito looked completely confused.
Guy grinned naturally.
"Going to find the others."
"Huh?"
Obito froze completely.
Meanwhile, Kurenai unexpectedly showed an expression that clearly said:
"I knew he'd do this."
However, instead of trying to stop him, the gentleness within her gaze only deepened further.
Then she stepped forward immediately.
"I'm coming too."
Kurenai looked directly toward Guy while speaking seriously.
Guy reached out naturally before rubbing her black curly hair lightly.
Then after meeting her stubborn gaze directly, he nodded.
"Alright."
Kurenai smiled instantly.
Then she directly grabbed Guy's hand before the two walked back toward the forest together.
"You two! Hey! Wait for me!"
Obito immediately grit his teeth before rushing after them hurriedly.
However, halfway there, he suddenly remembered something and turned back quickly.
"Rin, you should stay here and rest first! We'll come back soon!"
"No."
Rin simply smiled gently before walking past him calmly.
Then she slapped Obito lightly on the shoulder.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go."
Obito opened his mouth helplessly.
Yet in the end, he wisely swallowed every complaint before hurrying after them quickly.
The three had only just arrived at the tower.
Yet less than five minutes later, all of them had already disappeared back into the forest together.
Meanwhile, near the tower entrance, Shikuro Aburame slowly stood up quietly.
He did not say anything.
He simply walked forward silently.
Shikuro was someone with almost no presence inside the class.
Someone so forgettable that even after Guy saved him twice, Guy still failed to remember his name properly.
Yet this time, someone finally noticed him.
"Hey!"
Anko instantly jumped upright.
"Where are you going?!"
Shikuro stopped before turning around slowly.
Morning sunlight had already begun rising faintly over the horizon now.
Under that light, his extremely ordinary face suddenly carried a rare seriousness.
"I..."
"I want to help search too."
Anko immediately became anxious.
"Are you crazy?!"
"Do you even understand your own strength? What if something happens to you inside there?"
Shikuro remained silent briefly.
Then he finally answered quietly.
"I know exactly how strong I am."
"I won't go too deep."
"I'll only search nearby areas."
Then he paused briefly before continuing.
"But what if someone else is nearby too?"
"What if they're only a short distance away from safety?"
Anko immediately opened her mouth.
She clearly wanted to argue.
Yet the words stopped before they fully came out.
Instead, she simply stared toward Shikuro's face silently.
That ordinary face nobody usually noticed.
Yet at this moment, it looked incomparably earnest.
Anko suddenly grit her teeth.
"Idiot!"
She cursed loudly.
Then immediately afterward, she ran over and stood directly beside him.
"Let's go already! Why are you still standing around?!"
Shikuro froze slightly.
"You..."
"I'm worried you'll die in there!"
Anko immediately turned her head away awkwardly.
"If that happens, Might Guy will just have to go drag your body out again!"
Shikuro stared quietly toward her.
Then after several seconds, he nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Just as the two prepared to leave, footsteps suddenly sounded behind them.
Ebisu pushed his sunglasses upward before walking over casually.
"I'm not helping because I'm worried about you guys or anything."
He coughed awkwardly afterward.
"I've just been sitting around too long. Need to move a little."
Then he stood beside Anko naturally.
Soon afterward, Aoba Yamashiro walked over too.
Without saying anything, he simply adjusted his glasses before standing beside Ebisu quietly.
Gekkō Hayate followed afterward while coughing weakly several times.
Yūgao Uzuki naturally followed beside him.
Then Genma appeared too while chewing casually on his toothpick with both hands inside his pockets.
One person after another slowly stood up afterward.
Then another.
Then another.
More and more students gradually walked toward the edge of the Forest of Death.
Some still carried heavy bandages around their bodies.
Some limped visibly while walking.
Yet every single person's gaze remained firm.
Iruka stood silently at the entrance of the Central Tower while watching those students disappear into the forest one after another.
Then suddenly, he remembered six days earlier.
Back when he personally sent them into the Forest of Death one by one.
At that time, he genuinely did not know how many would return alive.
But now—
He finally knew.
"They'll all survive."
"Every single one of them will come back alive..."
Iruka's vision slowly blurred.
Then suddenly, he remembered the words Guy once shouted loudly through a megaphone outside the Academy months ago.
"In the Ninja World, those who break the rules are trash."
"But those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash."
Iruka slowly smiled.
Then while looking toward the forest quietly, he murmured softly:
"Might Guy..."
"What you said back then finally came true."
The wind blew softly through the trees.
Leaves rustled continuously.
Meanwhile, distant voices and shouts occasionally echoed faintly from somewhere inside the forest.
Iruka finally turned around before walking slowly back toward the Central Tower.
He stopped watching afterward.
Because he already knew the outcome.
Every single one of them would return alive.
The seventh day finally arrived.
Morning sunlight slowly rose from the eastern horizon before illuminating the Central Tower brightly.
The area outside the tower was now completely filled with people.
Some lay sleeping on the ground.
Some leaned quietly against the walls.
Some sat bandaged and exhausted nearby.
Some carried visible injuries.
Yet every single person there still breathed steadily.
Every single one of them remained alive.
Twenty-three students.
Not one missing.
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