"I know you,"
"Red Flash!"
Might Guy caught his breath, slowly straightened his back, his gaze blazing as he looked at Roy and said, "They say your Swordsmanship is fierce—no one who's seen your blade has ever taken a second strike from you."
"I didn't expect that besides your Speed, you're also good at space–time ninjutsu…"
Might Guy sized Roy up from head to toe like he was looking at some kind of freak. His straightforward nature flared up, and he spilled all of Roy's minor battle feats like beans from a bamboo tube…
Roy hadn't expected the kid to know him even better than he'd imagined. Then he thought about it: he and Kakashi were close friends, and he usually got along well with Obito, Rin, Asuma, Kurenai and the others.
They were either classmates, in the same year, or at most two or three years apart as schoolmates. Understanding dawned, and he smiled. "Just some empty reputation others hyped up. Not worth mentioning."
Two years ago, when he'd gone with Uchiha Fugaku to the front lines as reinforcements, Roy had indeed revealed the Breathing Technique.
Back then he'd been focused on harvesting Life Energy, so he killed a bit too fast. He hadn't expected… that people would slap the title "Red Lightning" on him. Of course, some also called him "Konoha's Fast Blade," saying he never needed a second strike to kill… If Might Guy hadn't brought it up today, he'd almost have forgotten…
"That is not just hype," Might Duy's eyes shone as he looked at Roy. The boy's face—three parts like Fugaku, seven parts like Mikoto—really did resemble the head of The Uchiha Clan he'd once glimpsed from the shadows, the current head of the Police Force—Uchiha Fugaku. But unlike most Uchiha…
The boy's features were gentle, and when he smiled it was bright and sunny. He was nothing like those other Uchiha who went around all day with stiff faces, putting on that cold, aloof, keep-away-from-strangers look… You just couldn't bring yourself to dislike him…
Roy chuckled and likewise gave Might Duy a deep look. "Uncle Might, if you really got serious, you don't look like a mere Genin either."
Might Duy laughed heartily, hands on his hips, carefree. "I can't use ninjutsu, so being stuck as a Genin is only natural."
"But Uncle, you have Body Techniques!" Roy looked the man straight in the eye. "I don't agree with the village's standards for selecting Ninja."
"Talents in Body Techniques like you should be awarded the title of Elite Jonin."
Instead of being mocked as an "eternal Genin." Even though… for Konoha, in some ways, the title "Genin" isn't necessarily derogatory. In fact… there's even a bit of meaning behind it, namely—
"You're absolutely right!"
'This Uchiha Roy guy is totally my kind of person!'
Might Guy's eyes sparkled as he stared at Roy. "In my heart, Dad is the strongest Body Techniques ninja there is!"
Might Duy waved his hands again and again. Being praised by two youngsters at once made his weathered face instantly flush red… Fortunately, after over twenty years of drifting through the ninja world, he still knew his limits. He only offered Roy one line of praise: "The Uchiha Clan truly deserves to be Konoha's great clan. Compared to you, my level really isn't worth mentioning."
But… can someone who developed the Eight Gates really be "not worth mentioning"?
Looking at the original work, when Guy opened all Eight Gates, that one Night Guy kick almost killed Uchiha Madara, who had already partially mastered the power of the Six Paths. In Night Guy state, Guy was firmly at super-Kage level. No exaggeration.
"I'm just exploiting a loophole," Roy gently shook his head. "I only borrowed a bit of the convenience of Breathing…"
'Breathing?' The father and son, Might Guy and Might Duy, sharply caught the keyword in Roy's words.
In his youth, Might Guy was straightforward and hot-blooded, speaking before he thought. He blurted out, "What Breathing? Could you tell us more about it?"
That kind of "Speed" he couldn't catch up to even after opening three Gates—that was a temptation no Body Techniques ninja immersed in taijutsu could possibly resist.
Might Duy couldn't either!
But as someone born a commoner Ninja, Might Duy could still rein himself in.
The man knew very well that big Konoha clans always guarded their own ninjutsu more fiercely than anyone. If you weren't clan, or even… weren't blood kin, they would never pass it on. Just like… "Shadow" to the Nara, "Expansion" to the Akimichi, "Mind Transfer" to the Yamanaka… These were the "secret techniques" of their clans, taboos to be guarded with their lives!
"Guy!" Might Duy suddenly barked, then directly clapped his hand over Might Guy's mouth.
The man gave Roy an apologetic smile. "Sorry, my boy doesn't know any better and offended you. Please forgive him."
As soon as he finished, Might Duy pressed down on Might Guy's head.
Father and son bowed deeply to Roy in unison, sincerely apologizing… That clean, decisive honesty, that childlike heart shining like gold, made it impossible for anyone to get angry with them…
Roy quietly looked at the two "watermelon heads." He raised his hand lightly, and a wisp of Nen split off, slowly turning—through Wind Breathing—into two gentle spirals of wind that lifted Might Duy and Might Guy, helping them both up. Only then did he smile at them and say, "No need to apologize. I said it was a shortcut, so it's just a shortcut. It's nothing amazing."
As Nen flowed out, it carried two clusters of memories, which Roy gently caught in his hand.
He tapped each of them between the brows.
Then, while father and son were still in a daze, Roy's figure unfolded, and in an instant he turned into points of light that merged into the sunlight. Together with the dawn, he flashed out of the southern forest and sped toward a residence near Konoha's commercial district…
From far away, he left only one line hanging in the air: "Uncle, Guy, just call me Roy…"
Might Duy and Might Guy raised their eyes to the lush forest before them, but Roy's figure was already gone. Coming back to their senses, they glanced at each other and stared, dumbfounded…
"Dad, just now… it felt like something new appeared in my head…"