The person waiting for Might Guy outside the camp was Akimichi Choza.
The two stood facing one another in silence, one tall and one short.
"Captain."
Might Guy spoke first while revealing a mouthful of white teeth as though he were not the same person who had just been humiliated before the entire camp.
Choza looked at him quietly.
His mouth opened slightly before closing again.
Then it opened once more, but he still could not seem to say the words he wanted.
Might Guy did not urge him.
He simply stood there patiently and waited.
After a long while, Choza finally managed to squeeze out several difficult words.
"Just now... I..."
He did not continue speaking, but Might Guy already understood what he meant.
"Captain, there's no need to say any more."
Choza froze for a moment.
Might Guy looked at him while the corner of his mouth curled upward slightly again.
"When I came out just now, I noticed something."
Choza was startled.
"Noticed what?"
"The guards at the entrance."
Might Guy's voice was calm and soft.
"There were two people."
Choza still did not immediately understand.
Might Guy repeated himself.
"Before this, there was only one guard. Now there are two."
Choza instantly understood.
Might Guy looked at his expression and knew he had realized the meaning behind those words.
"Someone listened to what I said."
Might Guy's tone remained calm, but his eyes shone brightly.
"Even if they didn't dare speak during the assembly."
"Even if they could only stand there silently."
"They still listened."
Choza felt deeply shaken.
This child had just been mocked and humiliated in front of over a thousand people.
Yet what did this child notice afterward?
Not the suspicious gazes directed at him.
Not the doubt and ridicule from others.
What he noticed was that someone had listened to him.
Someone had quietly become more vigilant because of his words.
Choza silently looked at the nine-year-old boy standing before him.
He was not tall, nor broad-shouldered, and his face still carried a trace of childish roundness while his thick eyebrows were even more prominent than most people's.
But those eyes.
Those eyes were frighteningly bright.
Choza stared at Might Guy seriously before finally taking a deep breath.
"I understand."
It was only four simple words.
Yet they carried enormous weight.
Might Guy immediately smiled, and this time it was an especially happy smile.
He suddenly raised his thumb toward Choza.
"Captain, I'll leave the camp in your hands from now on!"
Choza also grinned before giving him a thumbs-up in return.
"Don't worry. I know what I should do."
Might Guy had always trusted Choza.
He knew exactly what kind of person Choza was.
He would not loudly boast.
He would not pound his chest while making promises.
Instead, he would quietly do things little by little behind the scenes.
And that was enough.
Just as Might Guy was preparing to say goodbye, Choza suddenly reached into his clothes and pulled something out.
It was a small wooden box about the size of a palm with the crest of the Akimichi Clan carved into its surface.
Choza held the box in his hand and hesitated for several moments before finally handing it to Might Guy.
"These are the Akimichi Clan's Three-Colored Pills. The Spinach Pill, the Curry Pill, and the Chili Pill."
Choza lowered his voice as he continued speaking.
"Ordinary shinobi cannot use them. Their bodies simply can't withstand the burden. At best they would become crippled, and at worst they would die."
He looked directly into Might Guy's eyes.
"But I think... you should be able to handle them."
"The Spinach Pill can triple your physical strength."
"The Curry Pill stimulates your blood and chakra flow to an extreme degree."
"As for the Chili Pill..."
Choza paused for a moment before his expression became even more serious.
"Do not eat it."
Might Guy looked up at him quietly.
Choza's face had become more solemn than ever before.
"You can use the Spinach Pill."
"But unless you absolutely have no other choice, do not touch the Curry Pill."
"And the Chili Pill... never use it."
He paused again.
"Even if you still possess that... miraculous pill of yours."
Might Guy froze briefly before quickly realizing that Choza was referring to the Small Restoration Pill.
"Remember this carefully."
Choza reminded him once more.
There was even a trace of hesitation and regret hidden in his eyes.
It was not because he felt unwilling to part with the pills.
Instead, he simply did not know whether giving the Three-Colored Pills to Might Guy was truly the correct choice.
Without the pills, Might Guy might still choose to retreat when faced with an unbeatable enemy.
But with the pills...
Would this child instead choose to fight to the death?
Yet despite those worries, Choza still could not bring himself to withhold them.
Because what if...
What if one day Might Guy encountered a desperate situation where survival depended on just one extra pill?
After hesitating repeatedly, Choza still chose to hand them over.
Might Guy reached out, accepted the wooden box, and stuffed it directly into his backpack.
"Thank you, Captain."
After saying those words, he hoisted the backpack onto his shoulder and turned to leave.
Only when he was nearly out of sight in the distance did he casually wave one hand behind him without turning around.
Choza stood there watching Might Guy's carefree departing figure, and suddenly his nose began to sting painfully.
At that moment, he unexpectedly felt the urge to cry.
"Wuwuwuwu..."
A horribly unpleasant crying sound suddenly rang out nearby.
Choza immediately turned his head and saw Ebisu standing behind him with tears and snot streaming all over his face.
Anyone unaware of the situation would probably think Might Guy had already died.
Genma stood beside Ebisu silently.
Although he was not crying, his eyes were obviously red.
Choza's mouth twitched violently as he forcefully exhaled through his nose.
The emotional atmosphere he had finally built up was instantly destroyed by Ebisu.
He roared furiously:
"What are you crying for?!"
"If you have time to cry here, then go train for me instead!"
"Starting today, your training volume is doubled!"
Ebisu sniffled loudly several times before exchanging a glance with Genma.
The two of them immediately nodded heavily at the same time.
"Yes!!"
After shouting their response, the two did not even wait for Choza to continue speaking before turning around and sprinting back toward the camp to train.
Their speed was so fast that even Choza, who had originally intended to scold them further, was momentarily stunned.
"These two idiots..."
Choza shook his head helplessly before revealing a bitter smile.
Then, just as he was about to turn around, his gaze suddenly noticed movement inside the camp.
Choza froze briefly before quickly stepping forward several paces.
He discovered that many people throughout the camp had already begun their morning training on their own initiative.
Compared to yesterday, the number of people training had increased by more than three times.
Choza quietly watched the scene before slowly turning his head toward the direction where Might Guy had disappeared.
Then he suddenly smiled.
"That kid... has he already influenced this many people...?"
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