Three days later, the appointment notice finally arrived.
Might Guy was sitting inside the tent gnawing on dry military rations when Ebisu suddenly threw open the curtain and rushed inside while waving an envelope high in the air. "Might Guy! Something from Konoha!"
Might Guy took the envelope from him and tore it open immediately. Inside was an official document stamped with the seal of the Hokage's Office.
"Effective immediately, Might Guy is promoted to Chunin."
Below it was the signature of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Ebisu leaned over to look at the document, and his expression instantly became complicated. "You actually got promoted..."
Might Guy calmly folded the document and stuffed it beneath his pillow. Although he did not appear especially surprised, the corners of his mouth still curled upward slightly.
The Chunin who delivered the document was still standing outside the tent. "Might Guy, there's also mail for you."
Might Guy blinked in surprise. "For me?"
"Four letters. What a coincidence, they're all addressed to you."
The Chunin pulled four envelopes from his vest, handed them over, and turned around to leave.
Might Guy sat back down on the bed with the four letters in hand while Ebisu immediately leaned over again, clearly trying to peek at them, but Might Guy casually pushed his face away with one hand. "What are you looking at?"
"Tch. Stingy."
Ebisu curled his lips unhappily, but eventually walked away anyway.
Soon, Might Guy was the only person left inside the tent.
He laid all four letters out neatly on the bed and checked the senders one by one.
The first letter was from Might Duy. The moment he saw the name, Might Guy froze briefly. It had already been more than three months, three entire months since he had last seen his old man.
After the war began, Might Duy, Konoha's Eternal Genin, had also been sent away on missions. Because his deployment location constantly changed, Might Guy had no idea what missions his father was performing or where exactly he was stationed. He only knew one thing. Might Duy was still alive.
Might Guy tore open the envelope and pulled out a thin sheet of paper.
"Guy:
Dad is doing well, so don't worry. I sent you some money, one hundred thousand ryo. It's what Dad saved up over time, so make sure to eat something good. I know your appetite. Military rations definitely aren't enough for you. The weather is getting colder lately, so buy yourself some warmer clothes. Don't be stingy with money. Dad probably won't be able to return for your birthday this year. When the war ends, Dad will definitely make it up to you. Youth means eating well and dressing warmly!
Dad."
Tucked beneath the letter was a remittance slip worth one hundred thousand ryo.
Might Guy stared silently at the crooked handwriting for a very long time. Saved up. How much could an Eternal Genin earn in one month? He honestly did not know. But he knew perfectly well how difficult it must have been for his father to save one hundred thousand ryo.
"My birthday..."
His birthday was January 1st. Counting the days carefully, there truly was not much time left.
Might Guy folded the letter carefully and placed it beneath his pillow together with the Chunin appointment notice.
Then he picked up the second letter.
The sender was Kakashi Hatake, but the envelope clearly contained three different styles of handwriting.
Might Guy tore it open. The first paragraph was written in clean and orderly handwriting, and it belonged to Kakashi.
"Guy:
Everything is fine over here in the Land of Grass. We successfully blocked Iwagakure's forces outside the border, and for now they can't break through. Our captain is extremely strong. His name is Namikaze Minato. You should already know him. His speed is at least ten times faster than ours. Obito insisted on adding his own paragraph on the back of the letter. Also, stay alive.
Kakashi."
Might Guy flipped the page over. The handwriting on the back was huge, crooked, and occupied almost the entire page.
"GUY!!! IT'S ME, OBITO!!! I'M SUPER STRONG NOW!! LAST MONTH I KILLED TWO IWAGAKURE GENIN ALL BY MYSELF!! THAT BASTARD KAKASHI ONLY KILLED THREE!! I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO CATCH UP TO HIM SOON!! CAPTAIN MINATO SAID I'M IMPROVING REALLY FAST!! ONE DAY I'LL SURPASS KAKASHI AND BECOME HOKAGE!! HOW ARE THINGS OVER THERE?! DO YOU MISS ME?! RIN TOLD ME TO SAY HI TO YOU TOO!!"
Might Guy immediately smiled.
Then he flipped the letter back over again. At the bottom was another small paragraph written in delicate handwriting, and it belonged to Rin Nohara.
"Guy, please take care of yourself and don't push your body too hard. Obito says not to worry because he will definitely become Hokage."
Might Guy folded the letter slowly and set it aside. "These guys really haven't changed at all..."
Then he picked up the third letter.
The sender was Yuhi Kurenai.
Might Guy's movements subconsciously slowed down slightly. He carefully tore open the envelope and pulled out the paper folded neatly into a small square. Once unfolded, he saw tiny handwriting arranged carefully line by line, as though every single word had been written with great care.
"Guy:
The weather here in the Land of Rice Fields is very cold lately. The Intelligence Division has been extremely busy. We go out for reconnaissance almost every day. Captain says our team has been performing very well. I recently learned two new Genjutsu techniques. When we meet again, I want to test them on you. Is that okay?
Also, I heard about your injury. The reports from Mount Kikyo said you fought in the rain for a very long time and even broke your leg. Were you pushing yourself recklessly again?
Eat properly. Rest properly. Don't spend every day thinking only about training.
When your injuries heal, I'll treat you to a meal.
Finally, you absolutely, absolutely must stay alive.
By the way, happy early birthday.
Kurenai."
Might Guy read the letter once and then read it again. "Eat properly." "Birthday." Those words were almost exactly the same as what his old man had written.
Might Guy quietly folded the letter and carefully tucked it deep beneath his pillow.
Finally, he picked up the fourth letter.
The sender was Aburame Shikuro.
Might Guy blinked in surprise. "Shikuro?"
He tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents. The moment he saw the pages, his thick eyebrows immediately twitched upward.
There were two entire sheets, and both the front and back were completely filled with dense handwriting. The tiny characters were packed together tightly as though the writer feared wasting even the smallest amount of space.
"Brother:
You told me to keep an eye on Asuma, and I have been doing exactly that. Here are the records.
October 3rd. Asuma invited Kurenai out to eat. I also went. We ate ramen. Asuma paid. Kurenai ordered miso chashu ramen. Asuma ordered soy sauce ramen. I ordered salt ramen. Originally Asuma wanted to sit across from Kurenai, but Kurenai told him, 'You sit over there,' and made him sit beside her instead. Asuma sat down obediently.
October 7th. During training, Asuma told Kurenai he wanted to teach her Wind Release. Kurenai said there was no need because she specialized in Genjutsu. Asuma said Wind Release combined with Genjutsu would be very powerful. Kurenai said she would practice by herself. Asuma left afterward.
October 11th. Rainy day. Asuma waited at the entrance to the base holding an umbrella for Kurenai. Kurenai said she already had her own umbrella. Asuma said her umbrella was too small. Kurenai said it was enough. Asuma stood there for a while before leaving.
October 15th. Asuma asked Kurenai what food she liked.
October 20th. Asuma invited Kurenai to eat again. I went too.
October 25th. Asuma asked Kurenai what color she liked. Kurenai answered green.
November 2nd. Asuma asked Kurenai when her birthday was.
...
December 21st. Kurenai seemed unhappy today. I think she probably heard about your injury, Brother. That Asuma guy has terrible social awareness. He kept asking questions nonstop.
Brother, that Asuma kid is definitely not honest. He absolutely knows Kurenai likes green because of you.
I will continue monitoring him carefully.
Good Brother, take care of yourself. I heard about your injuries, so absolutely do not die. I'm watching over Kurenai here, so you can rest assured.
Shikuro Aburame."
After reading the entire letter, Might Guy grimaced slightly. This good brother of his was honestly far too diligent and responsible.
He folded the letter carefully and placed it beneath his pillow together with the others. Then he pulled out several sheets of blank paper along with a pen and began writing replies.
The first letter was addressed to Might Duy.
"Dad:
I received the money. I'll buy clothes, and I'll make sure to eat properly too. You need to take care of yourself as well. It's okay if we couldn't celebrate my birthday this year. We can celebrate together after the war ends.
By the way, I've already been promoted to Chunin.
Guy."
The second letter was addressed to Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.
"Kakashi, Obito, Rin:
Everything is fine on my side. My leg injury will recover after a few more days of rest. Please tell Obito that I've also become a Chunin now. And tell him to stop bragging all the time and focus on training properly.
Guy."
After finishing the letter, Might Guy paused for a moment before adding another line at the bottom.
"Obito will definitely stomp his feet in anger after reading this."
Then he started the third letter addressed to Kurenai.
Might Guy held the pen silently for quite some time before slowly writing several lines.
"I received your letter. My leg is already fine, so don't worry. You should eat properly too. Don't focus only on reconnaissance work every day. Once my injury heals, I'll treat you to a meal. Just the two of us."
The fourth letter was addressed to Shikuro, and it was also the shortest.
"Good brother, keep up the hard work. When I return, I'll treat you to ramen."
After folding all four letters neatly, Might Guy walked outside the tent, found the Chunin responsible for mail delivery, and handed them over.
"So many replies?" The Chunin looked visibly stunned.
"Yeah."
"Alright then."
The man stuffed all four letters into his bag before turning around and leaving.
Might Guy remained standing quietly outside the tent while looking toward the distant Mount Kikyo.
The sun was beginning to set, and the mountain ridgeline had already been dyed deep red by the evening glow. From a distance, the entire Mount Kikyo battlefield looked strangely peaceful.
But Might Guy knew very well that this peace would not last much longer.
Within three months, the decisive battle of Mount Kikyo would completely erupt.