"Nii-san~"
The sliding door was pushed open from the outside, and a head quietly poked in.
"Shisui-nii…" Itachi looked up and greeted him.
Uchiha Shisui smiled brightly at Itachi. When he heard Roy casually say, "Come in," he ducked inside and shut the door behind him.
"Go on. What is it?"
Shisui was not the type to show up without a reason. He was proud. Even though both his parents had died and life as a war orphan had not been easy, he still insisted on living alone and had never troubled Uchiha Fugaku or the other elders in the village.
Because of that, Roy rarely saw him come to the house right at mealtime. He gave Shisui a casual glance.
The boy had a short blade strapped to his back. His expression turned serious as he quietly leaned closer and whispered into Roy's ear, "They contacted me again, Nii-san. What should I do?"
Danzo, huh…
Roy stretched his arms wide, then yawned without much concern. "Just follow your heart. Join if you want to join. Say whatever you want to say."
"But he already hinted that he wants me to gather information on you, Nii-san." Shisui hesitated, then looked carefully at Roy. "I suspect they mean to harm you."
"They dare?" Itachi suddenly shot Shisui an icy glare. "Whoever hurts Nii-san, I'll kill them."
"That's why I came." Shisui sat upright, his expression solemn. "There's no need for you to act. As long as Nii-san gives the word, I'll go kill him right now."
Whoosh—
A gust of wind swept through, stirring the boys' bangs.
It was clearly summer, yet because of the killing intent that had suddenly erupted, the air seemed to grow cold.
Should one say that Root and Danzo were fortunate or unfortunate to have been marked by both Itachi and Shisui in succession?
In any case, just the fact that he had conspired with Orochimaru to steal Sharingan for the sake of Izanagi, desecrating the heroic spirits of the Uchiha clan, meant that in the original story, dying at Sasuke's hands had truly been a death he had brought upon himself.
"Shisui."
"Itachi."
"Have you two ever seen fireflies?"
Roy lay with his head on Itachi's knees. He raised his right hand to his forehead and looked through the gaps between his fingers at the red sun rising into the sky, casting ten thousand rays of morning light and dyeing half the heavens crimson. Instead of answering directly, he asked the two of them that question.
Shisui and Itachi exchanged a confused glance, then nodded.
"Since you've seen them, then compared to the sun, do you think fireflies are bright?"
"No."
"Exactly…"
Roy pinched a strand of sunrise glow between two fingers and smiled at them. "The sun doesn't care what a little firefly thinks. Just like how a clown jumping around is nothing but a joke in the face of absolute strength."
"Let him jump."
Roy narrowed his eyes, then suddenly snapped the strand of dawn light between his fingers and said faintly, "The higher he jumps, the faster he dies."
On the sliding door, a tall shadow faintly passed by.
Then Uchiha Fugaku's steady, low voice rang out.
"Breakfast is ready."
Roy patted himself off and stood up. With one hand each, he ruffled Shisui's and Itachi's little heads. "Coming."
He reached out, slid the door open, and walked out.
Itachi and Shisui silently exchanged another glance, then followed without a word.
Soon, a simple but nutritious breakfast came to an end.
As usual, Uchiha Fugaku was the first to stand. He put on his jonin vest and prepared to head to the Police Force for work.
Creak.
The front door opened, and from the entryway came his brief, quiet remark.
"The other party is the Hokage's advisor. Don't be careless."
Shisui and Itachi froze slightly, then looked toward the entryway. But the door had already opened and closed, and Fugaku was gone.
"What are you staring at? Let's go."
Roy wiped his mouth and stood expressionlessly.
Itachi and Shisui snapped back to themselves and quickly followed. As usual, the three of them set off for the southern forest. Only after reaching the training ground did they split up.
Today was the weekend. Roy had promised Sarutobi Hiruzen that he would visit his residence and take a look at the Scroll of Seals.
Roy gave Itachi and Shisui a simple instruction to continue practicing their swordsmanship, then glanced at the sun. After loosening up his limbs a little, he prepared to go for a short run like he did on Kukuroo Mountain, so he would not arrive too early and seem rude. Then he stepped into the southern forest and began moving through it.
Tap… tap…
His footsteps rang out unhurriedly in the morning light.
A cool wind whistled past his ears, lightly stirring the boy's thick black hair.
At a certain moment, near the edge of the village, where the sensory barrier covered the area, Roy's eyes shifted. In the distance, he saw one large and one small watermelon head shouting as they ran laps around the southern forest.
The bright green training suits they wore were so vivid under the morning light and sweat that they were practically impossible to miss.
Roy sped up and caught up to them. Once he got closer, he saw that it was indeed Might Duy training with Might Guy.
The boy gave the two of them a faint smile. Stepping on a small whirlwind, he instantly brushed past their shoulders and shot deeper into the southern forest.
"Dad, that guy is fast!" With that hurried glance, Might Guy barely even saw Roy's face clearly. He froze for a second, then shouted excitedly, "Hey! Wait for me!"
Then he moved his feet, swinging his arms violently like a hurricane as he chased after Roy's back.
In the blink of an eye, only Might Duy was left standing where he was, watching Guy and Roy from afar. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of shining teeth.
"Youth… This is youth…"
"Guy, unnamed young man…"
"You must know that adults were young once too!"
A gust of wind suddenly rose. Might Duy laughed, reached up to stroke the thick black mustache above his lip, and flashed after them.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Visible to the naked eye, three streams of light—two green and one dark blue—began chasing one another along the lush edge of the southern forest.
'They caught up?'
'Their speed isn't bad…'
Roy ran at the front. Two slivers of his attention glanced backward.
Might Guy and Might Duy swung their arms, their forearms driven by their upper arms, their feet alternating as if they were stepping on twin wheels of wind and fire. They charged after him with such burning determination to compete that it was impossible not to take notice.
Roy's lips curved upward. Quietly, two blazing suns surfaced in his pupils.
The [True Eyes] appeared, seeing through [blood vitality].
Then two streams of information emerged in Roy's mind.
[Name: Might Guy]
[Species: Ninja]
[Physique: C]
[Manifest Chakra: C- (54,781/100,000) (Note: roughly 0.4 Kakashi)]
[Potential Chakra: B (700,000/1,000,000)]
[Rating: C]
…
[Name: Might Duy]
[Species: Ninja]
[Physique: C+]
[Manifest Chakra: C (74,158/100,000) (Note: roughly 0.6 Kakashi)]
[Potential Chakra: C+ (85,642/100,000)]
[Rating: C+]
Roy's eyes flickered. Without showing it, he quickened his pace.
At once, his monstrous physique of nearly forty Kakashi began to reveal a hint of its edge. The boy took one long stride forward, then shot into the dense forest at twice his previous speed.
In an instant, he widened the distance between himself and the father-son pair behind him.
Visible to the naked eye, Might Guy and Might Duy both paused, stunned. When they came back to themselves, their blood boiled. They roared and accelerated after him. The cloth shoes under their feet rubbed against the ground so violently that sparks faintly flew!
"Hahaha! Dad, this guy is so fast!"
"Hey! Can you go even faster?"
As the watermelon-headed boy raced like the wind, excitement surged into his face, and without him noticing, two flushes of red climbed onto his cheeks.
Hiss, hiss—
Steam rose from the top of his head, making him look like an engine burning at full power. With a roar, he twisted the throttle, explosively caught up to Roy, and closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
'Can he go even faster?'
A faint smile hung on Roy's lips. His gaze passed over Might Guy and glanced at Might Duy, who was following behind Guy at an unhurried pace.
The man's face was not red, and his breathing was steady. He seemed completely at ease, strolling as if this were nothing. Compared to Guy, he was clearly much more composed.
As expected of the creator of the Eight Gates, huh?
Roy thought of Might Duy's glorious battle record in the original story.
Before long, on the front lines of the Third Shinobi World War, he would be surrounded by the Hidden Mist. To save Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and Ebisu, he successfully covered their retreat, opened all Eight Gates without hesitation, and fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, killing four of them on the spot and turning the Seven Swords into Three.
He truly lived up to the name of "Konoha's greatest, most indomitable genin."
Roy looked back at Might Guy and Might Duy with a carefree smile.
"Then that depends on how fast you can run."
Then he increased his stride once more. His speed doubled again in an instant. In the space of a single breath, he dragged out afterimages through the forest, surpassing the limit of what the eye's dynamic vision could capture.
Might Guy was visibly stunned for a moment. Then brilliant light burst from his eyes. His blood surged like a tide, rushing upward wildly. Unable to hold back, he roared.
"Eight Gates! First Gate, Gate of Opening—open!"
Boom!
A powerful burst of chakra suddenly erupted from Might Guy's body.
Driven by it, he shot forward with a whoosh like an arrow leaving the bowstring, piercing the air as he frantically chased Roy.
[Notice: Detected abnormal state in observed target… data updating…]
[Name: Might Guy]
[Species: Ninja]
[Physique: C → C+]
[Manifest Chakra: C- (54,781/100,000) → C (1,427/100,000+) (Note: roughly 0.4 Kakashi)]
[Potential Chakra: B (700,000/1,000,000)]
[Rating: C → C+]
Pff—
As the [True Eyes] trembled, the revised data slowly flowed into Roy's mind.
Roy narrowed his eyes. Sensing the beast-like chakra rising behind him, he moved his feet and lengthened his stride again. His speed instantly climbed another level.
With a sharp whoosh, he once again pulled away from Guy, who had just been about to catch up.
Already fired up, Might Guy's thick eyebrows twisted. Refusing to lose, he took a deep breath and roared.
"Second Gate, Gate of Healing! Third Gate, Gate of Life! Open!"
One, two, three.
Three Gates opened in succession.
Green chakra instantly wrapped around the boy like a whirlwind.
Might Guy's nostrils flared, and two long streams of steam erupted from his nose. With one foot forward and one foot back, his waist bent like a bowstring being drawn. In that instant, he launched himself forward once more.
This time, even Might Duy, who had been following calmly behind him, could no longer maintain his relaxed posture. He looked toward Guy and Roy from afar and gradually realized—
Something was not right.
"That child…"
"Which family is he from?"
"He looks even younger than Guy. How is his physical ability this absurd?"
No one knew a son better than his father.
Might Duy knew perfectly well how fast and strong Guy was after opening three Gates. He was absolutely not weak.
And yet, just as Might Guy was about to draw close to Roy again, Roy raised his speed once more and calmly threw Guy behind him again.
Might Duy's thoughts churned, and shock rose in his heart.
Whoosh…
Whoosh…
Two streams of light flew through the forest, one ahead and one behind.
Noticing that Roy had sped up again, Might Guy's eyes blazed.
'Damn it! Still not enough?'
He gritted his teeth.
Pouring all his strength in, he decided to release even more.
But then a large hand suddenly reached him from behind and came down on him first, pressing him down.
"Guy, stop!"
Might Duy had opened the First Gate and caught up. He slowly shook his head at Might Guy.
"You're still not proficient with the Fourth Gate. Don't rush it!"
Might Guy looked forward. Roy was still like a streak of light, with no way of knowing where the limit of his speed truly lay. Guy's head drooped in frustration, and he closed the chakra points in his body.
Hiss… hiss…
Strands of hot air vanished together with the chakra lingering around his body.
Might Guy bent over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
His watermelon-cut hair was soaked with sweat, plastered wetly against his scalp. Still, he forced out an ugly smile and said to Might Duy, "Father, is this youth?"
Might Duy swung a fist and thumped the boy on the shoulder.
"Nonsense! Of course this is youth!"
The man encouraged him loudly. "Youth that has never tasted failure cannot be called youth! And you—"
"My child—"
"You have already done more than enough!"
"That's right."
Just as Might Duy finished speaking, a series of footsteps rang out in reverse, slowly reaching the ears of the father and son.
Might Guy and Might Duy both looked toward the sound.
The boy who had already vanished into the southern forest at high speed had, at some point, turned back around. He stepped out of the sunlight as if performing a magic trick, breaking past the limits of space itself, and slowly descended in front of Might Guy.
At once, the father and son's eyes widened, and their mouths opened in surprise.
'This is… the Flying Thunder God Technique?!'
At present, the "Yellow Flash" had not yet made his name famous, but that did not mean Konoha was unaware of Namikaze Minato.
Especially Might Guy, who regarded Kakashi as his lifelong rival and best friend.
He knew Namikaze Minato.
He understood—had even seen with his own eyes—the terror of talent in space-time ninjutsu such as the Flying Thunder God Technique.
That was no longer merely "fast."
That was teleportation.
A forbidden technique on a monstrous level that ignored space itself.
Tap.
Both feet touched the ground.
The boy's black hair fell across his shoulders. With a faint smile at the corner of his lips, he extended his right hand toward Might Guy.
"Let's introduce ourselves."
"Uchiha Ren."
Might Guy and Might Duy froze.
Their eyes swept Roy up and down. Only then did they notice that on the back of the dark blue, high-collared shirt he wore, there was a faint emblem.
It was…
A red-and-white fan.
The symbol of the Uchiha clan.