Bang!!
The door slammed shut with a loud thud. Koharu Utatane visibly flinched.
Seeing this, Homura Mitokado sighed deeply—Danzo was still tightly in Hiruzen's grasp.
Hopefully, after this lesson, Danzo would learn to behave…
"By the way, Hiruzen."
As if suddenly remembering something, Homura furrowed his brows and lowered his voice. "With the village's current depleted state, is it really wise to let Jiraiya remain out in the field?"
Hearing that, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed internally at the mention of Jiraiya, who had left the village under the pretext of pursuing Orochimaru. In a flat voice, he replied, "When the time comes, he'll return."
Homura and Koharu exchanged a look, saw that Hiruzen didn't want to discuss it further, and could only shake their heads and take their leave.
Click.
As the door closed, Sarutobi remained silent for a long while. Only his breathing filled the room.
Eventually, he stiffly got up and walked to the window. His clouded gaze was obscured by smoke curling from his pipe.
After rain, Konoha always looked especially clean. Dew clung to eaves, water stains scattered like mirrors across every surface—on leaves, streetlamps, tiles—all reflecting the village's prosperity.
As Sarutobi gazed out, his mind wandered.
He thought of the hard-won peace in Konoha, of the precarious balance beneath the calm surface, of Orochimaru and Jiraiya who had both left, of Tsunade drowning herself in gambling, of the orphan Minato and Kushina had left behind, and of the longing gaze from that Hyuga child looking up at him…
"Haa…"
He took in a breath that was bittersweet and full of emotion. The tip of his pipe flared with firelight, and with it, he buried all his feelings deep in his heart.
"It's fine," he murmured hoarsely, as if to convince himself. "No matter what we must sacrifice… we must protect everything Konoha has now."
————————
At the same time, in Training Ground 44 on the outskirts of Konoha—the Forest of Death—sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering dappled gold across the shoulders of two figures.
"Senior, power begins at the ground, is transmitted through the spine, and balances between hardness and softness…"
"A'dah!"
Both Shigure and Might Guy stood before shattered wooden stakes. Shigure's stake clearly burst from within, while Guy's had been crushed with brute force.
Watching the almost chaotic, pure-power technique Guy displayed, Shigure, who had been instructing all morning, struggled to maintain his smile.
"Whew." Usually running laps around Konoha wouldn't tire him, but now Might Guy was drenched in sweat and breathing hard. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled helplessly. "Shigure, this improved version of Gentle Fist is really tough."
"Well, Senior has practiced Strong Fist for over a decade. Rewiring your body's muscle memory will take some effort," Shigure replied, shaking his head. "Let's call it a day."
In the Chuunin Exams, during the match between Neji and Hinata, Guy and Rock Lee had discussed taijutsu classifications:
Strong Fist, focused on breaking bones and causing external injuries;
Gentle Fist, aimed at disrupting chakra flow and damaging internal organs;
Nintaijutsu, like Tsunade's or the Fourth Raikage's techniques, blending taijutsu and ninjutsu.
What Shigure was now attempting was to combine the strengths of Strong and Gentle Fist, eventually creating his own taijutsu style built atop the Eight Gates.
"Alright then…"
Before Guy could finish, Shigure's expression changed—his neck hairs bristled. A terrifying chill gripped him.
His muscles tightened instantly. Veins around his eyes bulged—Byakugan activated.
Nothing. No signs of abnormality.
"No, that's not right!" His face darkened. "It's the blind spot!"
Byakugan grants nearly 360° vision, but because of the Caged Bird Seal, branch members have a blind spot—a 1° angle directly behind the spine.
At close range, this blind spot doesn't matter. But from a great distance…
That 1° angle becomes a wide cone—an enormous blind zone.
Shff!
Just as Shigure realized this, he heard an almost inaudible sound cutting through the air.
An assassination attempt—silent, deadly, and targeted.
There was no time to search or dodge.
Realizing this, Shigure's previously grim gaze turned calm. Instinct took over—he slowly closed his eyes.
"If I can't see it," he thought, "then I won't."
An invisible ripple surged from within.
Shigure felt as if he had entered another world.
All physical senses faded—only spiritual perception remained.
No wind. No insects. No breath. No heartbeat…
The world was utterly still.
Time itself seemed to pause for him.
And so… he saw it.
Shigure saw the kunai flying toward him from behind, encased in a razor-sharp wind current.
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade—a combination of shape and nature transformation. The chakra-infused weapon moved too fast for even Guy to notice.
Yet under Shigure's heightened perception, the kunai seemed to trail an infinite line of thread, moving slowly, impossibly so, through the air.
He didn't turn.
He simply raised his hand, fingers splayed like a crane's wings. Callused knuckles gleamed under the sun.
The kunai's handle landed in his grip. The wind chakra bit into his palm—yet halted as if striking steel.
He opened his eyes.
Those serene, snow-like pupils reflected Guy's tense face—and the shadowed forest where the assassin lurked.
An eye for an eye.
"Let me return the favor."
He spun, flinging the kunai. His coat flared, exposing his lean waist and taut spine like a drawn bowstring.
Whistle!
A piercing screech cut through the air, leaves shredded in the blast, and fallen foliage lifted into a whirlwind.
Thud!
From afar came the unmistakable sound of steel sinking into flesh.
Squelch.