In the middle of a sun-drenched training ground, a man with a bowl-cut and a brilliant smile stood before his three new Genin students: Lee, Neji, and Tenten.
"A pleasure to meet you all! And that includes you, Lee!" he boomed, his voice full of energy. "I am Might Guy, your Jōnin sensei. To mark the beginning of our journey together, I'd like you to introduce yourselves to me."
"Allow me to go first, Sensei!" Lee burst out, practically vibrating with excitement. "As your first student, I wish to set a fiery example for my comrades!"
*Thwack.*
Guy's knuckle connected gently but firmly with the top of Lee's head. Lee yelped and clutched his skull.
"You shouldn't be so proud of being 'first,'" Guy chided, his smile softening into a look of gentle instruction. "There is no first or last here. In my eyes, you are all equal. Remember that. These are your teammates and your friends."
"I understand, Sensei," Lee said, his enthusiasm momentarily tempered by the lesson.
Tenten watched the exchange with wide eyes, swallowing nervously. 'Is he going to hit us for every little thing?'
Regaining his composure, Lee struck a determined pose. "I will begin! I am Rock Lee! I like training and my nunchaku! I dislike giving up and people who look down on others! My hobby is training! And my dream is to prove that a ninja can succeed through the power of Taijutsu alone!"
Guy gave a firm, approving nod.
"I'll go next," Tenten said, stepping forward. "My name is Tenten. I like fortune-telling. I dislike indecisive people and being overly dependent on others. My dream is to become a legendary kunoichi, like Lady Tsunade."
"An excellent dream! Dream big!" Guy cheered, then turned his gaze to the final member. "And you?"
Neji spoke with calm composure. "My name is Hyūga Neji. I like eating delicious food. I dislike wasting time. My dream is to become the strongest."
"Everyone has such wonderful dreams!" Guy clapped his hands together, his smile radiant. But then, his expression shifted, becoming serious and focused. "However... you have not passed yet."
"What?" Tenten blurted out, confused. Lee looked equally startled.
Only Neji remained unfazed, as if he had been expecting this.
"I will give you a test," Guy announced, his voice dropping to a challenging tone. "Your task is simple: fight me with everything you have. Then, and only then, will I make my decision."
As Neji began his warm-up, Lee immediately followed suit. Tenten was the last to react, her body tensing as she saw the other two prepare for a fight.
A smile spread across Guy's face as he watched them. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee declared.
Tenten gave a firm nod.
Neji leaned in and whispered, "Buy me some time. I need to analyze Guy-sensei's taijutsu."
Tenten nodded in understanding, and Lee shot him a confident thumbs-up.
The sight of their coordination filled Guy with joy and excitement. He dropped into his signature fighting stance. In response, Lee mirrored his pose, while Tenten got ready to charge.
Guy initiated the exchange with a feinted charge. Tenten took the bait and rushed him, with Lee moving in tandem to provide support.
In one fluid motion, she hurled three kunai from her pouch and, without breaking stride, drew a fourth. Guy batted the projectiles away just as she arrived, thrusting her kunai toward him. He responded with a sharp kick aimed at her head, but Lee's foot flashed out to parry the blow. The successful block left Guy momentarily open.
Seizing the chance, Tenten pressed her attack. But Guy simply pivoted on his standing leg and hopped backward, creating several meters of distance. He didn't retreat for long, instantly surging forward to target Lee with a powerful punch. Lee barely had time to cross his arms in a guard.
The impact forced a pained "Urgh!" from Lee as he stumbled backward.
Sensing movement, Guy turned to see Tenten closing in once more, another shuriken whistling through the air which he casually swatted aside.
"You okay, Lee?" Tenten called out.
"Yeah," Lee affirmed, shaking out his stinging arms.
At the same time, Guy noticed that Neji was observing him intently, as if counting something, it was the tempo of the battle.
Tenten and Lee rushed Guy again. Lee moved first, launching a Konoha Senpu, a jumping roundhouse kick. Guy blocked it and shoved the leg aside, but he held back, waiting for Tenten. She darted in, kunai in an icepick grip, and attempted a punch. Guy caught her fist, drove an elbow into her, and followed up with an upward kick that connected squarely with her chin, sending her flying backward.
Lee, who was moving in to attack, changed course to catch her. The moment Lee had her secure in his grasp, Guy rushed forward and aimed a kick at his face. But Neji intervened, catching Guy's foot before it could land.
Guy smiled. Neji had finally arrived to save the day.
Guy knew something was wrong the moment Neji snagged his leg. With a sharp tug, Neji yanked him off-balance and followed up with a punch aimed at his face.
Staggering, Guy dug his other leg deep into the ground and shoved himself backward, barely avoiding the strike. But as soon as he found stable footing, Neji had already closed the distance.
Guy braced for the Gentle Fist, his hands flying up in a defensive stance. To his confusion, Neji drove a simple, powerful punch toward him. Guy blocked it, his forearms stinging from the surprising impact. He was shocked to learn that this raw power was Neji's baseline.
Guy retaliated with a swift kick to Neji's head, but Neji flowed backward, letting the kick whistle past. He immediately surged forward again with a flying knee that Guy was forced to twist away from.
From the sidelines, Lee and Tenten watched in astonishment at the complete transformation of Neji's approach. Even Guy, who had studied the reports, was stunned by this new method.
"Is this a new fighting style you've created?" Guy grunted, firing off a straight right punch.
Neji gave a curt nod as he slipped past the punch and dove for a single-leg takedown. Guy reacted instantly, springing into a backflip that broke the hold and forced Neji to disengage.
As they reset, a thought struck Guy: 'This style is incomplete. Is he holding back? No... he isn't pulling his punches. He's conserving his energy.'
Just then, Lee and Tenten moved forward to stand beside their teammate. Tenten winced, one hand gently cradling her jaw where a brutal elbow and kick had landed.
"What's the plan, Neji?" she asked, her voice tight with pain.
Lee nodded, his usual exuberance tempered by grim assessment. "Yes. As it stands, we cannot achieve victory through direct assault."
"Just do your best," Neji said, his gaze never wavering from their opponent. "I will support you. Let me borrow a kunai."
"You should have brought your own pouch," Tenten chided, though her tone was more worried than scolding as she handed him the blade.
A faint, appreciative smile touched Neji's lips. "Thanks."
He took the kunai, flipping it into a forward grip. A moment later, a visible surge of chakra enveloped the steel.
He took the kunai, flipping it into a forward grip. A moment later, a visible surge of chakra enveloped the steel, humming with latent power.
Guy watched their approach, analyzing their new strategy. Neji led the charge, with Lee and Tenten flanking him. Immediately, Guy recognized the threat, the chakra-coated kunai in Neji's hand had become a lethal asset. He couldn't risk a direct kick; a single misstep could lead to a severe cut. Forced onto the defensive, he focused on evasion, waiting for an opening to disarm his pupil.
As Neji closed in, he thrust the kunai in a series of sharp, controlled strikes. Guy gave ground, retreating step by step until Lee and Tenten struck from the sides. Lee launched a high kick toward Guy's head, while Tenten lunged with her own kunai.
In one fluid motion, Guy deflected Lee's punch, then sidestepped Tenten's thrust, using her own momentum to send her stumbling toward Lee. To avoid impaling his teammate, Lee aborted his kick and Tenten was forced to drop her weapon. The two collided, tumbling to the ground in a heap.
The pattern repeated. Neji advanced with the chakra-bladed kunai, forcing Guy back, while his teammates harried from the flanks. But this time, Guy adapted. He blocked Lee's punch, took a precise step back, and delivered a sharp kick to Tenten's side, sending her careening toward Neji to disrupt his assault.
Yet Neji simply sidestepped the stumbling Tenten without breaking his advance. This cycle of attack, deflection, and recovery continued, pushing Tenten to her limit until she could barely stand, her energy completely spent.
Lee, Neji, and Guy were all slick with sweat, but far from exhausted. Their expressions were set in masks of intense concentration. For them, this could go on for hours.
And so it continued for hours, until Tenten collapsed to the floor, utterly drained of energy and unable to move. With her support gone, Lee was left to flank Guy alone, while Neji's relentless, chakra-enhanced assaults continued to force their teacher onto the defensive.
The entire display was a testament to Guy's immense control. He had not even tapped into his real strength, still holding back significantly to avoid inflicting a serious injury that could hamper their development.
A wide, excited smile spread across Guy's face, his earlier focus on the test long forgotten in the heat of this exhilarating challenge. His students were showing him the true, fiery spirit of youth.
"SHOW ME MORE OF YOUR PASSIONATE YOUTH!" he roared, his voice booming across the training ground.
"I will, Sensei! My power of youth will shine brighter than ever!" Lee shouted back, his spirit undimmed by fatigue.
Neji, however, remained silent, his Byakugan eyes fixed on Guy. He observed the subtle shifts of muscle, the minute telegraphing of movement, reading his teacher's body. He was searching for an opening that mere force could not create.
It was a stalemate. This fight would not end until one side was down, and yet, with their current power, none of them could put the other down.