Asuma's wish was ultimately destined to fail.
Only three days passed after the previous ergency assembly.
On the evening of the third day, while Guy was still forging iron inside Uchiha Taoye's forge, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the courtyard.
Kurenai rushed through the entrance while panting heavily.
Compared to the previous ti, she looked even more anxious now.
"Guy! The Academy is calling another ergency assembly!"
Guy imdiately stopped hamring iron before turning toward her.
"Another assembly?"
Kurenai nodded quickly, her face pale.
"Sothing serious happened."
Guy's expression gradually beca serious as well.
...
Inside the classroom, attendance was even more complete than before.
Almost nobody was absent.
The atmosphere felt so heavy that even breathing sounds were intentionally suppressed.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody whispered.
Everyone simply sat quietly in their seats while staring toward the podium.
Iruka stood silently at the front of the classroom.
Compared to the previous assembly, his expression looked even worse this ti.
His face carried obvious exhaustion and heaviness.
He slowly swept his gaze across the children seated below him.
Six years old.
Seven years old.
The oldest students were only eight.
Yet in less than a year, many of them would already beco official Ninja.
Iruka remained silent for a long ti before finally speaking.
"Early this morning..."
He paused briefly.
"Kumogakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha's border garrison stationed near the Land of Rice Fields."
The classroom instantly beca deathly silent.
Iruka continued speaking slowly.
"The three stationed squads..."
"Twelve people in total..."
"...were all killed in action."
Soone imdiately sucked in a cold breath.
Soone covered their mouth tightly.
Several children's faces turned completely pale.
Yet Iruka's words still continued.
"At nearly the sa ti, Konoha's border forces near the Land of Earth were ambushed as well."
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"Sixteen people."
"No survivors."
Iruka's hands slowly pressed against the podium.
He pressed so hard that his knuckles gradually turned white.
"When people start dying..."
"There is no longer room left for negotiation."
He slowly raised his head again.
"Kumogakure has officially declared war against the Land of Fire."
"Iwagakure has also declared war against the Land of Fire."
"As for Sunagakure..."
Iruka paused briefly.
"They still haven't formally moved yet. However, over three thousand Shinobi have already gathered near the border."
His voice gradually beca heavier.
"The war..."
"...has officially begun."
The classroom beca so silent that heartbeats almost seed audible.
Obito slowly opened his mouth as though wanting to say sothing.
But no words ca out.
Rin lowered her head quietly while her shoulders trembled slightly.
Beside Guy, Kurenai instinctively grabbed tightly onto his sleeve.
No one spoke.
After several seconds of silence, Iruka slowly inhaled once more before turning toward the blackboard.
Then he picked up a piece of chalk and wrote several large words across it.
[Graduation Ti Advanced]
A nervous voice quietly sounded from sowhere in the classroom.
"Advanced... to when?"
Iruka slowly turned around again.
He looked toward everyone present.
"Originally, due to the warti situation, your six-year curriculum had already been compressed into three years."
He paused briefly.
"But now..."
"...that schedule will be shortened by half again."
Obito instantly raised his head.
"Half?! Then doesn't that an—"
"One and a half years," Iruka answered directly.
"You have already studied for more than half a year."
"That ans..."
His voice gradually lowered.
"There is now less than one year remaining before graduation."
The classroom instantly exploded into chaos.
"One year?!"
"We're only seven years old!"
"Graduating in less than a year ans we're going to the battlefield!"
"This is insane!"
Fear imdiately spread across nearly every student's face.
However, Iruka simply stood quietly at the podium while watching them.
Only after the classroom gradually beca quiet again did he continue speaking.
"Yes."
"In less than one year, all of you will officially graduate."
"After graduation, you will imdiately enter warti combat assignnts."
"The fortunate ones may remain behind in Konoha for defensive duties."
He paused briefly.
"As for the unfortunate ones..."
Iruka did not finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Everyone already understood the aning.
The front lines.
The battlefield.
The place where people died.
Obito's face instantly turned pale.
Kurenai's fingers tightened around Guy's sleeve until even her knuckles beca white.
Rin lowered her head further while tears quietly gathered inside her eyes.
Ebisu's sunglasses slipped completely off his face and dropped onto the floor with a light sound, yet he did not even notice.
Guy sat silently near the back window.
He neither spoke nor moved.
However, both of his hands had already clenched tightly into fists.
One year.
Less than one year.
These children beside him...
Obito.
Kurenai.
Rin.
Ebisu.
Asuma.
All of them would eventually be pushed toward the battlefield.
And even if so of them survived...
Guy's gaze slowly swept toward several other classmates nearby.
Classmates whose nas he could barely rember.
Children who never appeared again in the original story.
So of them would die.
Sowhere.
Quietly.
Without anyone rembering them afterward.
Konoha's so-called "Golden Generation" had never consisted of only fourteen people.
Those fourteen were simply the ones who survived long enough to be rembered.
No.
Even fewer than that survived in the end.
Guy slowly inhaled deeply before opening the System panel silently.
[Muscle-Tendon Change Classic: 832 (Mastery Realm)]
[Great Vajra Leg: 1000 (Perfection Realm)]
[Great Vajra Finger: 1000 (Perfection Realm)]
[Precept-Breaking Blade: 316 (Proficient Realm)]
[Golden Bell Shield: 3 (Initial Mastery Realm)]
Still not enough.
Far from enough.
He needed to beco stronger.
Strong enough to protect everyone around him.
...
After the assembly ended and everyone gradually left the classroom, Guy quietly headed toward the back mountain alone.
However, halfway there, a figure suddenly appeared silently before him.
An Anbu.
"Might Guy?"
Guy stopped walking imdiately.
"Yes."
The Anbu extended a letter toward him.
"This is from Kakashi Hatake."
Guy accepted the letter silently.
The Anbu disappeared instantly afterward.
Guy lowered his head before opening the letter beneath the moonlight.
The contents were extrely brief.
[Guy:
I've already been promoted to Chunin.
Because of the warti situation and my battlefield performance, an exception was made.
The Third Hokage said Konoha has never before had a seven-year-old Chunin.
But honestly...
There's nothing worth being proud of.
On the battlefield, there isn't much difference between a Chunin and a Genin.
Both can die at any ti.
A few days ago, the squad stationed beside mine was completely wiped out.
So of the people there were Ninja I personally knew.
Now they're gone.
I don't want you to end up like that too.
So beco stronger.
I'll wait for you on the battlefield.
Kakashi]
Guy quietly stared at the final sentence for a long ti.
"I'll wait for you on the battlefield."
Slowly, he folded the letter neatly before tucking it carefully into his clothes.
Then he raised his head.
The moon tonight was extrely bright.
Its pale light shone directly across his face.
At that mont, Guy suddenly rembered the Kakashi from the original tiline.
The genius who beca a Chunin at seven years old.
The genius who later lost Obito at Kannabi Bridge.
The genius who completely closed off his heart after Rin's death.
This ti...
Those things would not happen again.
Guy slowly turned around before continuing toward the back mountain.
However, after only taking two steps
"GUY!!!"
A familiar loud voice suddenly exploded from behind him.
Guy imdiately turned around.
Under the moonlight stood a familiar green figure.
Thick eyebrows.
Large eyes.
A faded green jumpsuit.
Might Duy.
Duy quickly ran over before stopping directly in front of Guy.
His eyes shone with terrifying intensity.
"Guy!"
Duy took a deep breath.
"There is sothing your father has been thinking about for a very long ti..."
"And tonight, I've finally decided."
Guy's heart imdiately skipped a beat.
At a mont like this...
Could it really be…Duy suddenly raised a bright thumbs-up.
His white teeth flashed brilliantly beneath the moonlight.
"Son!"
"Dad has decided to teach you a forbidden technique!"
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