By the time Might Guy arrived at the Mountain Ridge, the sun was already hanging high in the sky.
He stood atop the ridge and looked downward.
The open ground below the mountain, which had still been bare earth one month earlier, was now covered in a layer of grass.
Perhaps it was because the weather had grown warmer.
Or perhaps it was because the soil had been nourished by the blood spilled during the great battle a month ago.
Might Guy quietly watched the field for several seconds before turning and walking eastward.
A cluster of freshly raised mounds stood there.
They had still looked newly piled a month ago, but now even grass had started growing on them.
The grass was short, sparse, and yellowish-green.
There were no gravestones.
No names.
Nothing at all.
Might Guy stood silently before the burial mounds while the mountain wind rustled his clothes loudly around him.
After standing there for a while, he finally turned and left.
From now on, he would be staying here alone for quite some time.
He needed to find himself a suitable place to rest.
The Mountain Ridge itself was barren and exposed, offering an extremely wide field of vision that made it ideal for reconnaissance.
But for the same reason, it was also far too easy to spot from afar.
It was not suitable for hiding.
Might Guy walked several hundred meters toward the left side of the ridge where there was a small patch of forest.
The trees were not particularly dense, but they were enough.
Standing at the edge of the woods, he glanced once more toward the battlefield below.
The view remained excellent.
From here, he could still clearly see the open plains and the distant direction of the Land of Grass.
Only then did he step into the woods.
Before long, he found a somewhat withered but relatively thick tree whose trunk was so wide that two adults would be needed to fully wrap their arms around it.
At the base of the trunk was a hollow opening hidden beneath a layer of fallen leaves.
Might Guy brushed the leaves aside and used his blade to enlarge the entrance slightly.
The inside of the tree had already been hollowed out by insects long ago.
He crawled inside to test it and found that the space was just large enough for him to squat comfortably, while lying diagonally also allowed him to stretch his legs.
After tossing his backpack inside, he climbed back out and gathered branches and dead leaves to conceal the opening once more.
He did not pitch a tent.
In fact, he had not even brought one.
Pitching a tent was no different from openly telling others that someone was hiding here.
Might Guy silently organized his belongings before leaning against the inner wall of the hollow tree and closing his eyes for several moments.
Then he reopened them and took out paper and a pen from his backpack.
He began drawing a map.
Mount Kikyo.
The Mountain Ridge.
The open plains.
The direction of Sunagakure.
He drew several circles across the battlefield below and added several lines along both sides of the Mountain Ridge leading back toward the Konoha encampment.
He was planning escape routes.
Yes.
Escape routes.
Might Guy was not stupid.
Coming here was not the same as waiting to die.
He already knew Sunagakure would definitely attack eventually, so he had to prepare himself as thoroughly as possible beforehand.
The moment he discovered Sunagakure's movements, he would immediately retreat.
If it were only a small reconnaissance squad, he might still be able to fight them.
But the enemy side would be led by Rasa himself.
A true Kage-level shinobi.
And behind him would be three thousand Sunagakure Ninja.
That was an absolutely terrifying number.
Even when writing his letter to Konoha's White Fang, he had only cautiously mentioned that if powerful shinobi led an elite surprise attack force to ambush Mount Kikyo, the consequences would be severe.
But deep down, he already knew the truth.
The enemy would not be sending a mere sneak attack squad at all.
It would be a full-scale army advancing directly toward them.
Such overwhelming numbers were far beyond anything he could possibly confront head-on.
Might Guy's purpose in coming here was very simple.
An army of that size would absolutely create a massive disturbance while moving.
And this route was their inevitable path.
The moment he discovered the enemy, he would immediately open the Eight Gates and rush back to the camp to report the news.
Although the camp was severely understaffed now, at the very least, his warning could buy everyone some precious time to prepare.
Sarutobi Sosuke might be arrogant and foolish.
But everyone else in the camp were still living people.
They were comrades who had fought beside him.
They should not die senselessly because of someone else's arrogance.
Nor should they die simply because someone in command disliked him.
Might Guy did not want to watch his comrades get slaughtered in an ambush without even understanding what had happened.
That was why he had chosen to come here.
To guard the frontline alone.
To buy his comrades even a little extra time.
After confirming his escape routes, he began preparing traps around the area.
Unlike his future disciple Tenten, who would one day become absurdly wealthy in ninja tools, Might Guy was extremely poor.
The only things he possessed that could truly function as traps were three explosive tags.
And he treasured them greatly.
Explosive tags were not cheap items that ordinary shinobi could casually throw around by the dozens.
Some monsters in the future might use billions of explosive tags for a single technique, but in reality, explosive tags possessed terrifying destructive power.
If an ordinary Jonin was caught at close range during an explosion, they could very well be killed instantly.
If arranged properly, these explosive tags could absolutely become life-saving tools at a critical moment.
At the very least, the sound of an explosion could also warn the camp.
Thus, the days quietly passed.
Every day, besides continuing his blade training, Might Guy spent most of his time repeatedly running along the route between the Mountain Ridge and the camp while wearing his training weights.
He wanted that path engraved directly into his muscles and instincts.
At the same time, he was also deliberately adjusting his sleeping habits.
Ambushes almost always happened at night.
And a large-scale operation like Sunagakure's would definitely occur under the cover of darkness.
Might Guy had to make sure his body remained in peak condition during nighttime hours.
The days passed one after another.
The Mountain Ridge remained peaceful throughout.
Aside from Ebisu and Genma bringing him food every three days, no one else visited often.
Within the camp itself, several groups were occasionally sent to inspect the Mountain Ridge.
On the fifth day, Sarutobi Sosuke was sitting inside his tent leisurely drinking tea when one of his subordinates entered to report.
"Commander, there's news from the Mountain Ridge."
"Speak."
"That child, Might Guy, has been running constantly these past few days."
"He keeps running back and forth between the Mountain Ridge and the camp dozens upon dozens of times every day. It also looks like he dug quite a few traps around the area."
Sarutobi Sosuke chuckled lightly while holding his teacup.
"Running?"
"Yes. He runs extremely fast, almost like he's memorizing the route."
Sarutobi Sosuke slowly put down the teacup and leaned backward in his chair.
"Memorizing the route? He's probably afraid he'll run too slowly when escaping from the enemy."
The subordinate stood there silently without responding.
Sarutobi Sosuke rose to his feet, lifted the curtain of the tent, and walked outside.
Several people were gathered near the camp entrance.
He walked over, glanced toward the distant Mountain Ridge, but naturally could not see anything from here.
"Where exactly is that child staying?"
"In the woods on the left side of the Mountain Ridge. He found a hollow tree to hide in. He didn't set up a tent."
"A hollow tree?"
Sarutobi Sosuke chuckled once more.
"He doesn't even dare pitch a tent. Is he afraid of being discovered?"
The people nearby exchanged glances with one another, but none dared to speak.
"What did I say before?"
Sarutobi Sosuke turned around and looked toward the people behind him.
"People like him are cowards."
"He killed a few Iwagakure shinobi on the supply lines and now actually thinks he's some kind of hero?"
"But once he truly reaches the frontline, the first thing he does is think about how to retreat."
He pointed toward the direction of the Mountain Ridge.
"Look at what he's been doing these past days. Running back and forth while memorizing routes. That's because he's afraid of dying."
"Hiding inside a hollow tree without daring to pitch a tent. That's because he's afraid of being discovered."
"Digging pits and laying traps. That's all to buy himself extra time while escaping."
He paused briefly before his voice became even louder.
"From beginning to end, he never intended to fight at all. He only wants to run."
At that moment, a Chunin standing farther back quietly muttered:
"But he really did kill many Iwagakure shinobi on the supply line before. He doesn't seem like someone afraid of death..."
Sarutobi Sosuke immediately turned to stare at him.
"What did you say?"
The Chunin instantly lowered his head and dared not continue speaking.
Sarutobi Sosuke stared at him coldly for several seconds before taking a step forward.
"He killed a few Iwagakure Genin under Akimichi Choza's protection. How many enemies could he really kill on his own?"
The Chunin remained silent.
Sarutobi Sosuke narrowed his eyes.
"You're speaking for him now. Do you also want to join him on the Mountain Ridge?"
The Chunin subconsciously stepped backward.
"Lord Sosuke, that's not what I meant."
"Then what exactly did you mean?"
No one answered.
Sarutobi Sosuke slowly swept his gaze across the crowd while his voice became colder and colder.
"I'm telling all of you right now."
"That child is a coward."
"I've seen far too many cowards already."
"Writing letters begging for help. Digging escape pits. Hiding inside hollow trees. These are all things cowards do."
After speaking, he turned and walked back toward his tent before suddenly stopping midway.
"If any of you think he's doing the right thing, then you can go join him yourselves. I'll approve it immediately."
No one moved.
Sarutobi Sosuke lifted the tent curtain and walked back inside.
The people gathered near the entrance looked at each other awkwardly before slowly dispersing one by one.
As the Chunin who had spoken earlier walked away, he glanced once more toward the Mountain Ridge.
Then he shook his head quietly and left without saying another word.
Naturally, Might Guy knew nothing about any of this.
And even if he did know, he would not care.
He ignored everyone else's opinions completely and simply maintained his own pace.
He had already begun treating this isolated guard duty as a special form of training.
That kind of life continued for an entire month.
During that period, enemy reconnaissance squads really did appear around the Mountain Ridge.
And every single one of them belonged to Iwagakure.
Nor was there only one squad.
There were three separate waves.
The first two groups failed to discover any trace of Might Guy at all and simply retreated after completing basic reconnaissance.
But the third wave was different.
It was a four-man Chunin squad from Iwagakure.
Among them was even a sensory-type shinobi.
That night, Might Guy was discovered.
The battle lasted for an entire hour.
When it finally ended, one Iwagakure Chunin had been kicked to death by Might Guy while the other three had all been cut down beneath his blade.
The following day, when Ebisu arrived to deliver food, he nearly fainted from fright after seeing Might Guy covered in blood and unconscious inside the hollow tree trunk.
He immediately burst into tears.
Fortunately, Might Guy had not died.
He was merely asleep from exhaustion.
"Why?! Why didn't you retreat back to the camp?!"
Ebisu grabbed Might Guy by the collar while shouting angrily.
"There were only four Chunin! With your speed, you absolutely could've escaped back to the camp's warning line!"
"They wouldn't have dared chase after you!"
Might Guy merely grinned while saying nothing.
There was a story that Ebisu might never have heard before.
But Might Guy had heard it many times since childhood.
The title of that story was:
The Boy Who Cried Wolf.