Chapter 27 (Patreon)

“I didn’t expect today’s training to end this early,” Kurenai Yuhi said with a small smile as she looked at the group returning.

“In that case, why don’t we go eat barbecue?”

“No objection,” Yujiro replied with a nod.

After all, he really had not eaten anywhere outside in a long time.

Most of the time, it was either food Kurenai made at home, or fish he caught himself and grilled.

“Kakashi, you come too,” Kurenai said.

“Yeah,” Kakashi answered.

After that, Yujiro changed into a black martial arts uniform, and the group set out together.

Konoha Barbecue.

It was a strangely magical place.

Because every now and then, familiar faces would appear there.

Just like now.

“Yo! Kakashi! Long time no see!”

A ninja with a bowl cut and green tights was waving enthusiastically at Kakashi.

The moment Kakashi saw Might Guy, his visible eye instantly dulled.

At this point, Might Guy had already become a shinobi.

And right now, he was also the one carrying out the mission to protect Kushina.

When Yujiro first heard that Guy had been assigned to that mission, he honestly found it hard to believe.

But after thinking about it carefully, among Kakashi’s generation, Guy really was one of the strongest.

Maybe Minato Namikaze’s eye for people was just that sharp. He had directly chosen someone who would one day surpass even Kakashi in pure physical ability.

After all, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the power Guy displayed after opening the Eight Gates…

Night Guy.

That was the man who nearly kicked the story straight into its finale.

Becoming a legend in one battle.

That title was not undeserved.

“You’re Yujiro, right?” Might Guy walked over, his eyes shining. “The Fourth Hokage mentioned you to me! He said you’re an incredibly strong genius!”

Then Guy flashed his bright teeth and gave Yujiro a firm thumbs-up.

“My name is Might Guy! Please guide me!”

“Guy,” Yujiro said, a faint smile appearing on his face.

There were very few people in the Naruto world Yujiro truly admired.

But Might Guy was one of them.

A genius who had pushed hard work to its absolute limit.

That kind of person was worthy of respect.

“Everyone, the meat is here. Come sit down and grill it,” Kurenai called from the side.

Everyone took their seats.

Soon, plates of barbecue were brought over one after another.

“Kakashi!” Might Guy picked up a piece of grilled meat and looked at Kakashi with burning eyes. “Let’s compete and see who can eat more!”

Kakashi’s visible eye slowly turned into a dead-fish stare.

“Guy… there’s no need to turn eating into a competition.”

“No!” Guy said firmly. “The flame of youth must never be extinguished!”

“…”

Kakashi looked helpless.

At that moment, Yujiro, who was sitting on Kakashi’s left, suddenly spoke.

“Kakashi, if you don’t keep working hard, Guy will surpass you sooner or later.”

The sentence had nothing to do with eating.

But Kakashi knew Yujiro was not the type to judge someone casually.

If Yujiro said this, then it meant…

If Kakashi really let his guard down, Guy might truly surpass him one day.

And his father had once said something similar.

“He will definitely become a good rival for you. If you underestimate him, he may surpass you in the future, Kakashi.”

Remembering those words, Kakashi’s gaze toward Guy changed slightly.

“Fine, Guy,” Kakashi said seriously. “I accept your challenge.”

“Hahaha! That’s the spirit!” Guy laughed loudly.

These past few days, Guy had been carrying out secret missions, mostly relying on military ration pills and simple field food to fill his stomach.

Now that he finally had the chance to eat properly, of course he wanted to enjoy it.

Half an hour later, everyone was already exhausted.

Only one person was still eating barbecue at an unhurried pace.

Naturally, that person was Yujiro.

Yujiro’s appetite was enormous.

Honestly, he could probably eat enough for five people by himself.

“What?” Yujiro raised his head and looked at everyone.

“Yujiro-kun, I’m seriously jealous,” Kurenai said, resting her chin on one hand. “You eat that much and still don’t gain weight.”

“If Kurenai-neesan trained like I do, you wouldn’t gain weight no matter how much you ate,” Yujiro replied seriously.

“Hmph. Your training method isn’t training anymore. It’s torture,” Kurenai said, shrinking back slightly.

Yujiro shrugged and continued eating.

However, those words immediately caught Might Guy’s interest.

He had already heard a little about Yujiro’s training methods from Kakashi.

But in Guy’s opinion, that sounded like perfectly normal training.

After all, Might Guy himself was a training maniac.

“Yujiro!” Guy looked at him with bright eyes. “After we finish eating, how about a match?”

“Fine,” Yujiro said with a nod.

Might Guy.

A training maniac.

A taijutsu maniac.

Yujiro also wanted to know how his current taijutsu compared to Guy’s.

“How about this?” Kurenai narrowed her eyes with a smile. “Whoever loses has to treat everyone to the hot springs.”

“No problem!” Guy agreed immediately.

Yujiro clicked his tongue lightly.

Now that he thought about it, even after coming to the Naruto world, he still had not gone to a hot spring.

And since it was winter now, soaking in a hot spring would probably feel pretty good. It would also help relieve fatigue.

After the meal, Might Guy followed everyone to the Third Training Ground.

“Kakashi,” Guy said confidently, “after I win, you have to compete with me too.”

“You win?” Kakashi remembered Yujiro’s punch from earlier that afternoon.

Then he shook his head firmly and said with unusual seriousness, “Guy, you won’t win.”

Might Guy fell silent.

At that moment, Yujiro handed his black blade to Yugao Uzuki.

This was the first time Yujiro had taken the initiative to hand his blade to her.

Yugao froze for a moment, clearly surprised.

For a swordsman, a blade was no different from their own arm.

In other words…

Yujiro trusted her enough to hold it.

Yugao carefully held the sword, and a faint, pleased look appeared in her eyes.

So he did have some feelings after all.

He always kept that calm, unreadable face, but deep down, he still cared.

Yugao quietly stepped aside with the blade in her arms.

Yujiro walked into the training field and stood opposite Guy.

Then he said calmly,

“Begin.”