Neji opened his mouth to speak, then stopped.
He couldn't just blurt out the truth, couldn't simply say, "Sensei is taking you to get beaten within an inch of your life." That would humiliate Guy in front of his favorite student. Neji would gain a reputation for disrespecting his sensei, and the Hyūga clan elders would have his head.
The words died in his throat. After a long pause, Neji could only manage: "Lee, listen to my advice. Don't go."
"Neji, you don't understand." Guy straightened his battered posture slightly, trying to inject some authority into his voice. "I'm taking Lee to experience true youth."
Lee nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with complete trust. "That's right, Neji! Sensei is doing this for my own good." He turned to his teammate with a bright smile. "Hey, do you want to come along?"
Neji's eyes widened in horror. He waved his hands frantically, backing up a step. "No! Absolutely not! You go ahead. You go. I just... I hope you don't regret it."
"Don't worry, I won't regret it!" Lee's voice rang with determination. "I'm really looking forward to it! If it's truly like Sensei said, a chance to experience youth, then there's no way I'll regret it." With that declaration, he turned and followed Guy toward the forest path.
Neji stood frozen in place, watching Lee's retreating back. The boy practically bounced with each step, radiating enthusiasm.
Neji sighed deeply and shook his head.
You poor, innocent fool.
Naruto arrived at the forest clearing right on time. This was the same spot where he'd had all those "friendly discussions" with Guy over the past five days. He settled onto the grass cross-legged, hands resting on his knees, and waited patiently.
The afternoon sun filtered through the canopy above, dappling the clearing with shifting patterns of light and shadow. Birds chirped in the distance. A pleasant breeze rustled the leaves.
After about half an hour, Naruto spotted two figures approaching from the tree line. One tall, one short. Both with the same distinctive silhouette, moving with identical gaits, their postures mirror images of each other.
Naruto's exceptional eyesight picked out details long before they came close. The shorter figure had thick eyebrows, large round eyes, and a bowl-cut hairstyle that looked exactly like Guy's. The resemblance was so striking that Naruto's first thought was: Is that Guy-sensei's son?
The two were practically carved from the same mold.
"Naruto!" Guy called out from a distance, waving. As they drew closer, he gestured toward the blonde genin. "Lee, that's Naruto. His taijutsu skills are incredibly powerful. I brought you here because sparring with him will be tremendously beneficial to your training."
Lee's eyebrows rose, his attention focusing completely on Naruto.
The moment Naruto stood up, Lee felt something shift in the air. It was like watching a sleeping beast wake and rise to its feet. The sheer presence radiating from Naruto drew Lee in like a moth to flame. This wasn't just physical strength; it was something deeper, a vitality and energy that called out to every cell in Lee's body.
Lee realized immediately that Guy had made the right decision bringing him here. Fighting an opponent like Naruto truly would be experiencing youth in its purest form.
He glanced at his sensei with profound gratitude. Guy had always been so kind to him, treating him like a father treats a son.
Actually, that thought had occurred to Lee more than once. Every morning when he looked in the mirror, he saw a younger version of Guy staring back at him. The resemblance was uncanny. At one point, Lee had genuinely wondered if he might be Guy's illegitimate child. He'd even worked up the courage to ask directly.
Guy had denied it immediately, explaining that sometimes two people simply looked alike by coincidence. Their similarity was fate, he'd said, a connection that had led him to find Lee and take him as a student.
From that day forward, Lee had stopped questioning it. Whatever the truth, he treated Guy as his father in his heart.
"Guy-sensei, you're finally here!" Naruto's face lit up with genuine happiness. His gaze shifted to the young ninja beside his sensei. "You must be Guy-sensei's student."
Lee stepped forward and bowed formally. "My name is Rock Lee. I am Guy-sensei's disciple."
Naruto returned the gesture with a slight bow of his own. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, student of Konoha's Copy Ninja, Kakashi. Guy-sensei told me your taijutsu skills are very strong."
Lee's head snapped up, pride swelling in his chest. "Yes! Among Konoha's younger generation, I believe no one is better at taijutsu than me." His voice grew passionate, hands clenching into fists at his sides. "I have no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu whatsoever. I can't perform them at all. Therefore, the path of taijutsu is my only option."
He took a breath, his dark eyes burning with intensity. "The reason I excel at taijutsu is twofold. First, because of Guy-sensei's patient teaching and guidance. Second, because I have no other path to walk. I can only move forward on this road, never looking back, even if I bleed and cry the entire way. I will walk this path to its very end!"
The raw emotion in Lee's voice stirred something in Naruto's chest. He heard the purity there, the absolute dedication of someone who had committed everything to a single goal. Lee wouldn't disappoint him.
"Lee." Naruto's expression grew serious. "From your words, I can tell you're someone who works incredibly hard. You're pure in your pursuit. That's very similar to me."
He paused, his blue eyes distant for a moment. "When I was young, people ridiculed me. They treated me with cold indifference, like I was something dirty. But I never lost hope. I thought: I can't give up. I want to make lots of friends. To do that, I need to become stronger. Only by becoming stronger could I make my dream come true."
Naruto's hands opened and closed at his sides. "So I kept moving forward. My body is everything. I kept training, never stopping, never giving up. Slowly, I became stronger. I successfully made many friends." His gaze locked onto Lee's. "Lee, I like you. You think the same way I do. So... would you like to be my friend?"
Guy stood off to the side, barely paying attention to the heartfelt exchange happening before him. Both young men were going on and on, bragging about their accomplishments, sharing their philosophies like old comrades meeting on a battlefield.
Why are they talking so much? Guy's eyelids drooped. Just fight already. I need to go home and sleep.
"Lee, Naruto." Guy interrupted before either could launch into another speech. "You two take your time learning from each other. I have something urgent to attend to. I'll be going now."
"Goodbye, Sensei!" Lee called out.
"Guy-sensei, thank you for bringing Lee to me!" Naruto waved enthusiastically.
Guy turned and practically fled, not trusting himself to maintain his composure any longer. Freedom was so close he could taste it.
After Guy disappeared into the trees, Lee turned back to Naruto, his expression determined. "Naruto, I like you too. But if you want me to become your friend, you need to defeat me first."
Something clicked in Naruto's mind. Lee understood the same thing Naruto had learned through experience: true friendship was forged through combat. Every friend Naruto had ever made, he'd defeated first. Some he'd defeated multiple times.
According to the System, as long as you kept fighting someone, kept pushing them, eventually they'd become your friend. It was just a matter of persistence.
[Where there's a will, there's a way,] the System had told him.
"Very well." Naruto's stance shifted, his body settling into a ready position. "I'll defeat you, Lee. And then you'll become my friend."
Lee dropped into his own fighting stance, fists raised, legs positioned perfectly.
"Konoha Senpū! Leaf Whirlwind!"
Lee's leg shot out in a spinning kick aimed at Naruto's upper body. The technique was pure Guy, one of his signature moves. Naruto had fought Guy no less than five hundred times over the past five days. He knew every variation of this attack.
His hand came up almost lazily, catching Lee's ankle mid-strike.
Half an hour later, Lee lay on his back in the grass, his face swollen and bruised, breathing hard.
Naruto stood over him, nodding with satisfaction. Yes. He lasted half an hour. That's much better.
All his previous friends had gone down in less than ten minutes. Before Naruto could even work up a sweat, they'd collapse. It was never any fun. Guy had been the exception, lasting days, but even he'd eventually broken.
Now, although Naruto still hadn't used his full strength, he'd at least enjoyed himself a bit.
"Lee." Naruto looked down at his fallen opponent. "Now, are you willing to be my friend?"
Lee pushed himself up on his elbows, grinning despite the pain radiating through every part of his body. He didn't feel defeated at all. Being beaten by Naruto was just another setback in his life's journey. As long as he worked hard, one day he'd overcome it.
Naruto was strong, incredibly strong. But that strength would spur Lee to train harder, to push further.
"Yes!" Lee's voice rang with enthusiasm. "I'm honored to be your friend, Naruto!"
"That's great!" Naruto reached down and hauled Lee to his feet with surprising gentleness. "Lee, we'll have friendly exchanges frequently from now on."
The words were deliberate. Naruto didn't want Lee to become the next Guy, growing melancholy after just five days. Better to establish expectations from the start.
"I love sparring with you, Naruto!" Lee's eyes sparkled despite the swelling. "If we compete frequently, I'll improve even faster. This kind of challenge is exactly what I need!"
"Really? You mean it?" Naruto's face broke into a huge smile. "Perfect! Lee, I'll come find you anytime from now on. We can spar whenever we want!"
Better lock this down now, Naruto thought. Make sure he can't back out later.
"No problem!" Lee thrust his fist into the air triumphantly, not noticing the parallel between his current enthusiasm and Guy's initial excitement five days ago. "I welcome it, Naruto! Let's push each other to become stronger together!"
Somewhere in the distance, lying in his bed with the curtains drawn, Might Guy suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
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