Chapter 186
“Chen?”
Guy’s heart stirred with surprise.
“Could it really be… him?”
Minato Namikaze stepped forward with his usual gentle smile. Reaching into his flak jacket, he took out a sealed letter and handed it to Guy.
“When you arrive, give this letter to Master Chen.”
“I’ve known him for many years. Perhaps he’ll be willing to give you some guidance in Taijutsu.”
Guy immediately looked up, meeting Minato Namikaze’s calm blue eyes.
In that instant, everything became clear.
Their transfer to the Land of Rivers had most likely been arranged by Minato himself.
Not only was it a relatively stable battlefield, but Konoha’s greatest Taijutsu master was stationed there.
Master Chen.
After their sparring match, Minato Namikaze had mentioned introducing Guy to a teacher.
Several days had passed without another word, and Guy had assumed the matter had simply been forgotten.
He never imagined that Minato had quietly prepared such a surprise.
Master Chen was publicly acknowledged throughout Konoha as its foremost Taijutsu master.
For someone who specialized in Taijutsu like Guy, receiving guidance from such a master would undoubtedly bring tremendous benefits.
Guy respectfully accepted the envelope with both hands before bowing deeply.
“Captain Minato, thank you very much.”
Minato smiled and waved dismissively.
“It’s only a letter of introduction.”
“I can’t promise Master Chen will actually agree to teach you.”
Guy nodded firmly.
Even so, this thoughtful arrangement alone proved that Minato Namikaze had genuinely kept the matter in mind.
“It’s getting late today.”
Minato glanced toward the sky before continuing.
“Go back, make your preparations, and set out tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, right.”
“The war merit from your campaign in the Land of Rice Fields has already been transferred here.”
“Go exchange whatever supplies you need before leaving.”
Finally, his gaze shifted toward Genma.
“Genma, once you’ve finished exchanging your war merit, come find me.”
“I’ll finish explaining the remaining basic theory behind the Flying Thunder God Technique today.”
“Yes, Captain Minato!”
Genma immediately answered, unable to conceal his excitement.
Over the past five days, he had visited Minato every evening to study.
He had already learned nearly all of the fundamental theories and principles behind the Flying Thunder God Technique.
What remained was constant practice, mastering the Flying Thunder God Formula, and eventually applying it in real combat.
“Alright.”
“You may all go.”
The group bowed before leaving.
The moment they stepped outside Minato’s tent, Obito immediately grabbed Guy’s arm.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“To the war merit exchange office!”
His eyes sparkled with excitement.
“I want to see exactly what you guys accomplished in the Land of Rice Fields and how much war merit you earned!”
Kakashi quietly followed behind them with both hands tucked into his pockets.
Although he remained silent, the curiosity in his eyes was obvious.
Rin smiled softly.
“I want to see too.”
“Guy-kun and the others must have fought incredibly hard in the Land of Rice Fields.”
Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses, doing his best to maintain an expression that said, “I’m perfectly calm.”
Unfortunately, the corners of his mouth kept trying to rise.
“It was…”
“Nothing special.”
Genma bit down lightly on the senbon in his mouth and calmly added,
“It’ll also be a good opportunity to replenish our supplies.”
Even Guy himself was somewhat curious.
Especially the battles at Outpost No. 8.
In particular, helping seal the Four Tails and assisting in Roshi’s defeat.
Everything had happened so quickly during the battle that none of them had time to think about war merit.
Still…
Akimichi Torifu would certainly have reported everything afterward.
“I wonder how much it’ll actually be.”
Together, the six of them headed toward the camp’s war merit exchange office.
Along the way, Obito continued guessing excitedly.
“I heard the fighting in the Land of Rice Fields was incredibly fierce.”
“You even fought Roshi again.”
“No matter what…”
“You guys should’ve earned at least one or two hundred points, right?”
He looked expectantly at Guy.
Guy simply shook his head.
“I don’t know the exact number.”
“War merit is calculated by headquarters after the battle.”
“But it definitely won’t be a small amount.”
Ebisu finally couldn’t suppress himself any longer.
He proudly lifted his chin.
“We accomplished some major feats during that battle.”
“Helping seal the Four Tails…”
Suddenly realizing he probably shouldn’t continue, he coughed awkwardly before putting on a solemn expression.
“Cough…”
“Anyway, the process was complicated.”
“But the outcome was glorious.”
Genma merely glanced sideways at him without exposing his excitement.
Soon afterward, they arrived at the war merit exchange office.
The registration desk was managed by a stern-looking veteran Chunin.
He accepted Guy’s identification documents and carefully verified them.
After opening the record scroll and seeing the total amount of accumulated war merit…
The serious expression on his face visibly froze.
He slowly raised his head and stared at Guy’s trio in disbelief.
His voice even stuttered.
“Ebisu… total war merit, 450 points.”
“Shiranui Genma… total war merit, 440 points.”
“Might Guy… total war merit…”
“Seven hundred and eighty-eight points.”
“HOW MUCH?!”
Obito’s voice instantly cracked.
“Seven… seven hundred and eighty-eight points?!”
“That’s impossible!”
“That has to be fake!”
Even Kakashi was deeply shaken.
He had already prepared himself mentally.
Even if Guy had earned three hundred points, he wouldn’t have found it surprising.
But…
Seven hundred and eighty-eight?
One had to know that killing an ordinary enemy Jonin on the battlefield generally earned around two hundred war merit points.
Seven hundred and eighty-eight?
Did Guy kill four enemy Jonin?
But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.
Ebisu and Genma had each earned over four hundred points as well!
“Did those two also defeat two Jonin each?”
“How is that possible?!”
Obito immediately snatched the record scroll away.
The numbers were clearly written there.
However…
There were no detailed records explaining where those points came from.
That was highly unusual.
Under normal circumstances, every contribution would be listed separately.
When Guy and the others served in the Land of Waves, every mission had been carefully recorded.
Occupation of the Land of Waves.
Routine patrol missions.
The diversion operation.
Every contribution had its own detailed entry.
Yet this time…
There was only a single number.
Nothing else.
The veteran Chunin behind the desk also found it extremely strange.
Still, after years of experience, he wasn’t completely surprised.
Situations like this generally occurred only when classified or confidential missions were involved.
The achievements themselves weren’t suitable for public disclosure.
“But…”
“What kind of classified mission did these three complete to receive such unbelievable war merit?”
Such enormous rewards…
Simply shouldn’t have been possible for one Chunin leading two Genin.
Forget the total amount.
Even the last two digits alone exceeded what many Genin accumulated during an entire deployment.
The veteran Chunin was almost green with envy.
Guy, Ebisu, and Genma were equally surprised.
After exchanging glances, however, they immediately understood the reason.
Most likely…
Uchiha Feiquan had transferred a large portion of the war merit from Roshi’s defeat onto the three of them.
Defeating a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki was worth well over one thousand war merit points.
Divided among them…
Each person would receive more than three hundred points.
Then there was the basic war merit accumulated throughout the bloody campaign against Iwagakure.
Along with months of ordinary missions completed in the Land of Rice Fields.
Adding everything together…
The total made perfect sense.
As for why Guy had nearly three hundred additional points…
It was most likely the extra war merit awarded for rescuing more than a dozen Konoha Shinobi from Ōnoki’s Dust Release during the decisive battle in the Land of Rice Fields.
Naturally…
None of those matters could be spoken about openly.
After Roshi had relentlessly sought revenge because his disciple, Iwami Jūzō, had been killed…
They had all learned one important lesson.
Before possessing overwhelming strength…
Keeping a low profile was always the wiser choice.
Seeing the three remain silent, Obito ground his teeth in frustration.
Although reality was difficult to believe…
The evidence was right before his eyes.
He had no choice but to accept it.
However…
Accepting reality didn’t mean he would forgive them.
“You three bastards!”
Obito pointed accusingly at Guy, Ebisu, and Genma.
“You’re filthy rich!”
“So filthy rich!”
“And you still tricked me into buying your meals!”
“You even ate so much grilled fish and grilled meat!”
“I don’t care!”
“When we get back to Konoha…”
“You have to treat me!”
“You absolutely have to!”
Guy, Ebisu, and Genma exchanged knowing glances.
Without saying a word, the three simultaneously turned around.
Each casually picked up a thick war merit exchange catalogue from the nearby shelf.
They began browsing it with exaggerated seriousness.
“Hmm… let’s see what unique ninja tools the Land of Grass has.”
“We’ll need plenty of supplies before heading out.”
“We should stock up on military ration pills.”
“There’s also Chakra metal…”
“And explosive tags…”
The three chatted enthusiastically as though they were completely immersed in serious discussion.
Obito’s furious shouting became nothing more than background noise.
“Hey!”
“Are you three even listening to me?!”
Obito roared through gritted teeth.
His newly awakened Sharingan even activated from sheer frustration.
Unfortunately…
Not a single person paid him any attention.