CHAPTER 89
Leaving the War Merit Exchange Office, Guy found himself with nothing else to do, so he headed to the back mountain to practice the Shaolin Nunchaku.
Holding the dark-gold nunchaku in his hands, he slowly assumed a stance.
Opening Stance: Embracing the Staff to Observe the Wind!
His gaze was calm, and the aura around his body became completely focused.
In the next second, he burst forward with large strides.
Second Form: Advancing Step to Storm the Camp!
His figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, while the dark-gold nunchaku instantly transformed into countless afterimages in his hands.
Left strike, right strike, sweeping through enemy ranks, Immortal Circling the Waist, directly charging into the enemy camp.
The nunchaku produced sharp whistling sounds as it tore through the air, tracing trajectories that were both tricky and lightning-fast.
The more he practiced, the smoother his movements became.
The nunchaku seemed alive in his hands.
At times, it wrapped around his arms with eerie agility.
At times, it unleashed horizontal sweeps that were fierce and domineering.
At times, it flew from his hand, drawing a sharp arc before landing perfectly back in his palm.
Under the sunlight, streaks of dark-gold light intertwined one after another, merging perfectly with Guy's vigorous figure.
For the final move, he channeled strength through both arms.
The weapon rotated along with his body, carrying an irresistible force.
He smashed it fiercely against a mountain rock nearly half a man's height.
Boom!
The giant stone exploded instantly, fragments flying in every direction.
Guy stopped moving and withdrew the weapon.
Closing Stance: Recalling Troops to the Camp!
His breathing was slightly heavy, but his eyes shone brightly.
He was pleasantly surprised, and not merely because of the power of this new Supreme Technique.
Guy lowered his head and looked at the dark-gold nunchaku in his hand.
The light in his eyes became even brighter.
The durability of this weapon far exceeded his expectations.
Its quality was more than a full level above his previous youth blade.
Just now, he had deliberately poured Chakra into it with brute force.
The weapon merely became slightly warm.
Not only did it show no signs of strain, but it actually felt smoother, more powerful, and more natural to wield.
Four words came to his mind.
An extension of himself.
"Can something like this really be exchanged for only four hundred and eighty merit points?"
Guy felt slightly suspicious.
Judging by his experience and perception of the material, the actual value of this weapon should have exceeded that amount.
"Could Captain Choza have helped me out behind the scenes?"
He didn't dwell on it.
Regardless, the weapon's power and comfort made it impossible for him to put down.
At that moment, footsteps and voices sounded from the distance.
"As expected, he's here!"
"There was nobody at your house, so we guessed you'd run off to the back mountain."
Ebisu and Genma walked over.
They weren't alone.
Following behind them were two familiar faces.
Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki.
"Why are you all here?"
Guy put away the nunchaku and looked toward them.
Genma, with a senbon hanging from his mouth, replied in his usual flat tone.
"We heard your dad went back to his assignment."
"So we came to check on you."
Guy smiled.
He knew these two had wanted to visit him for quite a while.
However, they had deliberately held back because they knew Guy should spend more time with Might Duy.
Now that Duy had just left today, they could no longer resist coming over.
Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses and added,
"On the way, we happened to run into Hayate and Yūgao. They just returned to the Village for a short rest."
"When they heard you were back, they decided to come along."
Gekkō Hayate stood not far away.
Compared to half a year ago, his complexion looked somewhat healthier.
Yet he still carried that familiar sickly paleness and occasionally let out a light cough.
Standing beside him was Yūgao Uzuki.
Her long purple hair was tied neatly behind her head.
A short sword rested at her waist.
The two stood extremely close together.
Yūgao's hand was almost touching Hayate's arm.
"Guy."
Hayate greeted him with a faint smile.
His voice remained slightly hoarse.
Yūgao also nodded gently.
Guy returned the greeting with a smile.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Hayate seemed to remember something.
He hesitated briefly before asking,
"Guy, what exactly happened at Mount Kikyo?"
"There are all kinds of rumors spreading throughout the Village right now."
Before Guy could answer, Ebisu exploded.
He pushed up his glasses and spoke with obvious resentment.
"Don't even mention it!"
"It's all because of that Sarutobi Sosuke!"
Like a floodgate opening, he recounted the entire story from beginning to end.
From Guy being punished and sent to guard the Mountain Ridge after writing a request for reinforcements.
To standing guard alone for sixty-eight days.
To discovering the Sunagakure army and risking his life to rush back with the information, only to be questioned.
To seizing the signal whistle and issuing the warning.
To Akimichi Choza taking command during the crisis.
And finally, to Sarutobi Sosuke's cowardly performance during the battle and his behavior after victory was secured.
"That bastard has been going around Konoha talking about how he 'heroically lost an arm' and 'led the charge from the front!'"
"A lot of people who don't know the truth actually believe him!"
The more Ebisu spoke, the angrier he became.
His face turned red.
Genma coldly added from the side,
"Everyone who survived Mount Kikyo knows what really happened."
"But because of his status and the way the first version is being promoted, it's difficult to fight back."
Ebisu clenched his fists.
"If it weren't for you, Captain Choza, and all those people who fought with their lives on the line, the camp would've fallen long ago."
"And that guy still has the nerve to act like some kind of savior."
Guy looked at his two indignant friends and waved his hand.
"Forget about him."
"It's pointless."
He truly did not care very much.
Sarutobi Sosuke was only trying to salvage what remained of his reputation.
But there had been too many witnesses.
The truth was not something that could be completely rewritten.
Besides, Choza had already said that the Akimichi Clan and the other captains would step forward.
If the punishment ended up being insignificant, what would happen to the reputation of the Sarutobi Clan?
How could the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, continue to maintain authority?
So Guy wasn't worried in the slightest.
He kept those thoughts to himself and instead asked Hayate and Yūgao,
"How have things been on your side?"
"You just came back to rest today?"
Hayate nodded.
He briefly described their missions patrolling the borders and dealing with small groups of enemy raiders.
His tone was calm, but the danger behind those missions was obvious.
Yūgao remained mostly silent.
Whenever Hayate coughed, concern would immediately appear in her eyes.
At that moment, Ebisu's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Everyone hasn't seen each other for ages."
"Let's go out and eat together today!"
The suggestion immediately received Genma's approval.
Hearing that, Hayate looked seriously at Guy.
"This time, it's my treat."
"I've wanted to properly thank you for what happened during the bandit incident."
"I just never got the chance."
Yūgao softly nodded in agreement.
"Yeah."
"If Guy hadn't arrived in time, Hayate and I..."
Guy waved his hand and flashed his familiar wide grin.
"We're all classmates."
"There's no need to be so formal."
Then he paused.
A perfectly timed look of slight embarrassment appeared on his face.
"But... are you really paying?"
"Just so you know, I have a pretty big appetite."
Hayate immediately patted the wallet hanging at his waist.
Although his face remained somewhat pale, there was rare confidence in his expression.
"Don't worry."
"I exchanged quite a bit of money from this mission's merit rewards."
"It's definitely enough."
Guy's eyes instantly lit up.
The corners of his mouth curled upward.
It was absolutely not because he had just found a free meal ticket.
Definitely not.
It was purely because he was happy to see his companions again.
And because there would be good food.
Ebisu and Genma exchanged a glance.
Without saying a word, they immediately understood each other's thoughts.
Someone was about to suffer.
Gekkō Hayate. Yūgao Uzuki.