Summer had settled over Konoha.
By midmorning, the workshop felt more like an oven than a place of business.
Daichi wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.
“I swear…”
“…the sun has something against carpenters.”
Kamui pushed another plank onto the workbench.
“I thought the sun loved everyone equally.”
“It does.”
Daichi sighed.
“It equally tries to cook all of us.”
Kamui nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s fair.”
The old carpenter didn’t even look up from his plane.
“If you’re still talking…”
“…you’re not working.”
“That’s also fair.”
The afternoon delivery was small.
Only a bundle of repaired chairs for a teahouse near the training grounds.
“They’ll fit on the handcart,” Daichi said.
Kamui grabbed the handles.
“I’ll take them.”
“Try not to crash into anyone.”
“I’ve only done that once.”
“It was yesterday.”
“…Details.”
The road near the training grounds was unusually lively.
Several genin teams were practicing.
The sound of wooden weapons striking echoed across the clearing.
Kamui slowed his pace.
He enjoyed watching people become better at something.
One team struggled to coordinate.
Another argued over whose mistake had ruined the drill.
A jonin patiently corrected each movement.
“…Teaching looks exhausting.”
A blur of green suddenly shot across the road.
Kamui blinked.
The blur came back.
Then again.
Each pass stirred enough wind to rustle nearby trees.
“…Either I’m imagining things…”
“…or someone is running very fast.”
The blur stopped.
A man in a green jumpsuit stood twenty paces away.
His black hair framed an enormous grin.
Thick eyebrows.
An expression so full of life it almost seemed impossible.
He pointed dramatically toward Kamui.
“You!”
Kamui looked behind himself.
“…Me?”
“Indeed!”
The man struck another pose.
“I sensed your burning spirit from across the training field!”
Kamui looked around again.
“…Are you certain?”
“Absolutely!”
Kamui scratched his cheek.
“I was mostly thinking about lunch.”
The man froze.
“…Lunch?”
“I skipped breakfast.”
Silence.
Then—
“Hahahahaha!”
The stranger laughed so loudly that several birds flew from the trees.
“What an honest answer!”
Kamui couldn’t help laughing too.
“You have a contagious laugh.”
“As do you!”
The man marched forward and seized Kamui’s hand with both of his.
“I am Might Guy!”
“Kamui.”
“A magnificent name!”
“I’ve always been fond of it.”
Guy nodded with absolute seriousness.
“I can already tell…”
“…we shall become excellent rivals!”
Kamui stared.
“…Based on what?”
Guy pointed toward his chest.
“Spirit!”
Kamui pointed toward the handcart.
“I’m delivering chairs.”
“The chairs merely conceal your youthful passion!”
Kamui looked down at the chairs.
“I didn’t know they could do that.”
Guy gasped dramatically.
“Even your humor shines with youth!”
Kamui leaned closer and whispered,
“…Is he always like this?”
A nearby genin answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
Guy turned immediately.
“Lee!”
A boy with the same haircut and eyebrows sprinted over.
“You called, Guy-sensei?”
“Observe!”
Guy proudly gestured toward Kamui.
“This man possesses extraordinary spirit!”
Lee’s eyes widened.
“I can feel it!”
Kamui blinked.
“…Can you?”
Lee nodded earnestly.
“Your posture says…”
He paused.
“…that you lift heavy objects.”
Kamui smiled.
“That’s actually correct.”
Lee’s face lit up.
“I knew it!”
Guy placed both hands on his hips.
“Excellent observation!”
Kamui laughed.
“I like this kid.”
Lee immediately stood straighter.
“Thank you!”
Guy looked positively delighted.
“You encourage others instinctively!”
Kamui shrugged.
“It costs nothing.”
Guy’s expression softened.
Only for a moment.
“…No.”
“It doesn’t.”
For the first time since they’d met, his voice lost its theatrical edge.
“It costs attention.”
Kamui looked at him.
Guy looked back.
Neither smiled.
Neither joked.
It lasted only a heartbeat.
Then Guy clapped loudly.
“Enough seriousness!”
He pointed dramatically toward the road ahead.
“Kamui!”
“Yes?”
“Let us race to the end of the street!”
Kamui looked at the loaded handcart.
“…With the chairs?”
“OF COURSE!”
Kamui considered it.
“If I win…”
“…will you help me unload them?”
Guy’s grin became even wider.
“Done!”
“If you win…”
“You owe me one bowl of ramen!”
Kamui extended a hand.
“Deal.”
They shook.
Lee immediately produced a small notebook.
“I shall record this historic battle!”
One of the nearby genin whispered,
“Should we stop them?”
Another shrugged.
“They’re both adults.”
“…Technically.”
Three minutes later…
The entire street watched in bewilderment.
Guy sprinted forward like a green whirlwind.
Beside him—
Kamui pushed a cart full of wooden chairs while laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
“YOU’RE TAKING THIS TOO SERIOUSLY!”
Guy shouted.
“You AGREED TO THE RACE!”
“I DIDN’T EXPECT YOU TO RUN LIKE A WILD ANIMAL!”
Lee ran behind them cheering.
“GO, GUY-SENSEI!”
“GO, KAMUI-SAN!”
Shopkeepers stepped aside.
Children pointed.
One old woman asked,
“…Who is winning?”
An elderly man watched Kamui somehow keep pace despite pushing the heavy cart.
“I don’t know…”
“…but they’re enjoying themselves.”
In the end…
Guy reached the finish line first.
By less than two steps.
Both men stood bent over, catching their breath.
Guy wiped sweat from his forehead.
“A magnificent race!”
Kamui nodded between breaths.
“…Never…”
“…again…”
Guy laughed.
“I eagerly await our rematch!”
“You said that before I recovered!”
Lee hurried over carrying a bottle of water.
Kamui accepted it gratefully.
“Thank you.”
Lee smiled.
“You pushed those chairs all the way here…”
“…without giving up.”
Kamui looked at the cart.
“I couldn’t.”
“The chairs would’ve won.”
Lee blinked.
Then burst into laughter.
Even Guy laughed.
It was loud.
Unrestrained.
Completely genuine.
As Kamui finally delivered the chairs to the teahouse, Guy called after him.
“Kamui!”
He turned.
“Our next race…”
“…will have no chairs!”
Kamui smiled.
“I’ll still lose.”
Guy pointed dramatically at the sky.
“That is the spirit of youth!”
Kamui laughed all the way back to the workshop.