The story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf was about a shepherd boy who stood on a hillside shouting "Wolf!" every single day.
The first time he shouted, the villagers rushed over, only to discover there was no wolf at all.
The second time, the villagers came again, yet there was still no wolf.
Then, on the third time, the wolf truly appeared.
But by then, no one came anymore.
In the end, the boy was eaten alive.
Although Might Guy did not expect the people in the camp to come save him, his current situation was actually very similar to that shepherd boy's.
Iwagakure reconnaissance squads kept appearing one after another around the Mountain Ridge.
Yet every single one of them clearly feared crossing the ridge and approaching Konoha's new defensive line.
If Might Guy ran back to camp every single time he encountered enemy scouts, there would only be one final result.
The people in the camp would become even more convinced that Iwagakure did not dare attack anymore.
And once that thought settled into their minds, their vigilance would gradually continue to weaken.
If even Iwagakure did not dare advance, then how much less likely would the still-unseen Sunagakure be to attack?
In such a situation, Sarutobi Sosuke would definitely mock him again.
"They're only a few scouts. There's no need to make such a fuss."
And afterward, he would probably add another sarcastic remark.
"As expected of a coward. You're already frightened by a few scouts."
Might Guy did not care what Sarutobi Sosuke said about him.
Mock him if he wanted.
Insult him if he wanted.
But he absolutely could not allow the people in the camp to truly believe that nothing was happening anymore.
Human beings were often creatures with very little initiative of their own.
When faced with something that looked like an established fact, they were extremely easy to influence.
Especially people living in this era.
Sarutobi Sosuke would laugh at him for fearing death and ridicule him for being overly nervous.
And then what?
Then the people in the camp would slowly start laughing too.
After enough laughter, no one would take Sunagakure seriously anymore.
Then when Sunagakure truly arrived, people would still think:
So what if they came?
Would they really dare attack the camp?
Their vigilance would be dismantled little by little until nothing remained.
Might Guy could not allow them to believe the war had already ended.
He could not allow them to relax.
What he wanted was simple.
He wanted someone to know.
To know that the enemy still existed.
To know that the war had never stopped.
To know that battles were still taking place beyond the Mountain Ridge.
And the one now delivering this message was none other than Ebisu, who was standing before him crying like a child.
Might Guy reached out, accepted the rice ball Ebisu had brought, and then pulled a folded note from his clothes.
Several lines were written on the back.
The date.
The number of enemies.
The enemy's condition.
Everything was simple and concise.
Might Guy handed the note over.
"For the Captain."
Ebisu accepted it and glanced down briefly before raising his head again to look at Might Guy's miserable condition.
His nose instantly turned sore again.
"Might Guy, why don't you just come back with me? You've already killed so many enemies. If you return now, Commander Sarutobi mightβ¦"
"Might what?"
Might Guy interrupted him immediately.
Then, while imitating Sarutobi Sosuke's mocking tone, he said:
"They're only a few scouts, and you're already this scared? As expected of a coward."
Hearing those words, although Ebisu really did not want to admit it, he knew perfectly well that those were exactly the kinds of things Sarutobi Sosuke would say.
"But you can't stay here forever!"
"I won't."
Might Guy interrupted him again.
Then he walked out from behind the hollow tree and looked toward the distant direction of Sunagakure.
"I have a feeling."
His voice became quieter.
"The day Sunagakure attacks isn't far away anymore."
Ebisu's heart suddenly sank.
To be honest, he had never truly believed before that Sunagakure would launch a sneak attack.
But now, after seeing Might Guy like this, his thoughts had begun to change.
No.
It could no longer even be called doubt.
He completely believed it now.
Might Guy was practically risking his own life on the certainty that the enemy would attack.
This was his comrade.
Ebisu trusted Might Guy's instincts completely.
"Might Guy! Then tell me, what can I do?"
Ebisu sniffed loudly while staring at him with an unusually serious expression.
Might Guy grinned while stuffing the rice ball into his mouth.
He chewed several times before swallowing it down.
Then he walked over toward a nearby pile of hay and dragged four fresh corpses out from underneath it.
"Take these four corpses back to the camp."
Ebisu lowered his head and looked at them.
Some had clearly been cut down by blades.
Others had necks bent at horrifying angles, obviously kicked to death.
Might Guy dragged all four corpses fully into view before speaking again.
"Bring them to the entrance of the camp. Somewhere everyone can see them clearly."
"And then?"
Ebisu raised his head.
"There is no 'then.'"
Might Guy spoke seriously.
"Just let everyone see them. That's enough."
Ebisu still looked confused, so Might Guy patiently explained further.
"If I personally run back asking for help, some people will only think I'm making trouble."
"But if you bring these corpses back instead, then everyone will see the truth with their own eyes."
"They'll understand that the war hasn't ended yet."
"They'll understand people are still fighting and dying out here."
"And they'll remember not to lower their guard."
Ebisu stared silently at the four corpses while tightly pressing his lips together.
He finally understood what Might Guy meant.
The exact same situation could create entirely different effects depending on the method used.
If Might Guy ran back reporting enemy scouts, some people would only call him a coward afraid of dying.
But if Might Guy personally killed those scouts and Ebisu carried the corpses back to camp afterward, no one could continue saying he feared death anymore.
Instead, people would begin worrying about Might Guy's safety.
They would start wondering when the next Iwagakure reconnaissance squad might appear.
And they would begin wondering whether another large-scale sneak attack could happen at any moment.
Ebisu looked at Might Guy while his nose twitched repeatedly again.
Naturally, he did not believe Might Guy was doing this merely to protect his own reputation.
Might Guy was using this method to force everyone in the camp to remain vigilant at all times.
"We graduated from the same Ninja Academy... so why is he this incredible?"
That thought suddenly surfaced uncontrollably in Ebisu's mind.
Might Guy saw the strange constipated expression on Ebisu's face and rolled his eyes, too lazy to care what nonsense he was thinking about.
It was actually quite convenient having Ebisu here.
Might Guy directly lay down on the ground before casually saying:
"I'm going to sleep a bit more."
Then, almost instantly, he fell deeply asleep.
Ebisu watched him drift off in barely a second and carefully tucked the note into his clothes.
Afterward, he gathered several vines nearby and tied the four corpses together securely by their wrists.
Then he silently remained there, standing guard for Might Guy.
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