19 What makes a teacher? What makes a friend?

.....

"What should I do?" Might Guy asked himself as he held himself up with one hand. The moon shining directly upon his sweat-glistening face full of frustration. He commonly took this position to rush some blood to his head. He himself thought it would help him think better.

'He can already fluidly use Strong Fist.' He thought with a frown. 'He has even invented a forbidden jutsu and keeps progressing in it. He can even jump off air which I theorized myself to do only in the gate of death.'

Might Guy stumped with himself soon came to a conclusion. Standing up, he began running to wherever his feet would take him. "If I don't figure this out. ILL JUST RUN UNTIL I CAN!"

.....

The Third Hokage after seeing Rock Lee's performance had grew more interested in him. He had always been a bit special since young and even the Academy.

And Lee was a common name that came to mind when doing anything that involves money.

"He's done the most damage to the training grounds after all." The old man mumbled, bringing his hand over his crystal ball. Looking through it, he did a quick scan over Konoha.

He saw Anbu in their usual posts. Their villages kenjutsu club having their monthly meet up. Some adults and children roamed trying to get a quick bite before they rest for the night. Nightly restaurants serving some now laid back ninja who had just returned from their missions.

A common sight however was out of place due to the current time of night. At a time he didn't usually see him running, Might Guy was doing just that with a unusually thoughtful expression.

"What could he be thinking about?" The Third would mumble as he watched over him smoking his pipe in interest. He kept watch over him and witnessed Guy mumbling to himself and sometimes even scratching his head head in frustration.

The Third looking up from his crystal ball, saw his clones doing paper work diligently. Leaning back in his chair, he took an inhale of smoke while smiling to himself. "Well, as I have free time. Why don't I go find out myself?"

Predicting where Might Guy would run too, he got up from his chair and left his office. His shadow clones would only look up with interest. "Keep the office safe, I'll be back soon." Lord Third said to his clones with a chuckle.

….

Might Guy still running in the night could only come to a haunting realization. 'I can't come up with anything!' His mind told him causing his run to slow and eventually stop and look up to the moon.

"Oh? What are you doing up so late?" An old familiar voice called out causing Guy to turn around with a surprised look. Now in front of him was the Third Hokage himself.

"What are you doing here Lord Hokage?" Might guy asked in surprise. The Hokage hearing him could only sigh.

"Guy I asked what you where doing here." He said as he grabbed his hat a bit. Looking towards Guy, he showed his eyes of interest. "I just came to see what you where thinking. I thought you would be at home by now thinking of something for your students."

Guy hearing him showed a frustrated face and said nothing. Thanks to his experience in life and even teaching, Sarutobi showed a look of understanding.

"You can't seem to find anything to teach them is it?" He said causing Guy to flinch and put his head down and nod.

The Hokage walked up to Might Guy and out a hand on his shoulder. Flashes of his past students came to being. "Guy, I understand that feeling as well. I also had some students who seemed almost too talented to work with."

Guy with a frustration could only ask in panic. "Then what did you do? If even you struggled, how am I supposed to succeed?" The thoughts of failing Lee, Neji, and TenTen plagued his mind. He had no experience with weapons minus the bare minimum. And the Hyuga technique was reliant on the byakugan. "All I know is my taijutsu."

The Third Hokage to this question would only smile and pat Guy on the shoulder carefully. "I learned to trust others with them Guy." He said causing the man to freeze under his grasp. "That doesn't mean I gave up teaching them no. I used my connections to others to had them share their knowledge with them also."

Letting his hand off his shoulder, he walked away and motioned for Guy to come with him. "Come, I'll explain as we walk. The moonlight and nightly chill will help clear your head."

Guy following him listened intently as the Hokage explained his past words in more detail. "As you know I was in charge of the three Sannin. At the time many of them had paths they wanted to take… minus one of course…."

Putting his head to his chin he seemed to be reminiscing. "Orochimaru was a brilliant mind. His brilliance of course turned out to be evil but at the time I fully believed in making him the next Hokage. " Pausing he pointed towards some side of the village. "I was frustrated by his genius and didn't know how to cultivate it. So I soon sent him to work with some of our other brilliant minds. Together, they imparted their knowledge and even had Orochimaru help them with their projects as well."

Pausing, he look towards the moon with a sad smile. "It's really a shame. Konoha would have thrived with that mans genius." He then shook his head as he looked towards Guy. "Sorry, I got off track. I'll continue now."

Coughing go collect his voice, Sarutobu continued. "Tsunade was simple honestly. She already had her goal and I simply introduced her to people in the field. Her mother had taught her some things about sealing and her father gave her the genetics to thrive." Pausing he rummaged in of his pockets and touches some Ryo. "But, her gambling addiction couldn't seem to be cured and only got worse after a certain incident. I can only hope she overcomes it with the stains of time."

Letting his hand out of his pocket, he began to chuckle. "Jiriya was honestly an extremely surprising one. I still remember the day I taught them summoning jutsu and he just so happened to accidently reverse summon himself." His chuckle turned into a laugh. "Imagine the shock on my face when he returned and said he was being taught how to handle nature energy. That's something I don't have experience in so I left it to his mentors in the reverse summon location."

Done covering his experience, he stopped talking and turned to Might Guy. "What I'm trying to say is to rely on others. We are all one village in the end and should remember to help each other."

"But who should I ask?" Might Guy asked causing the Hokage to knit his brows in contemplation before eventually softening his facial features. "Well I have some people in mind. And seeming as I owe Lee a favor for the paper work trick, I'll help you out."

"I'll grab someone experienced with Kenjutsu. You are familiar with her, her names Omari. If I remember, you sometimes dragged her to train in your youth before she got busier." Sarutobi explained his first choice. "The second one should be an experienced ninja with earth ninjutsu. I heard Neji started exploring it a little and it wouldn't harm him to explore that field. Bring him to me, I have a lot of free time on my hands and teaching a Hyuga ninjutsu would be a first."

Smirking, he would only imagine what Hiashi would say to him when they meet after the Chunnin exams. He always was stuck up about sticking to their clans techniques.

"Now the third choice will be something you'll have to handle." The Hokage said seriously causing Guy to flinch. "This man won't want to teach Lee even I say anything. Not many people know he is even alive."

"It'll be up to you to convince him."

...

Standing at a grave, an old man with sunglasses was seen sitting down pouring liquid onto a grave with a rosy texture on his face. Clearly drunk, the name man Chen haunted by both age and his past kept silent.

Footsteps arriving from behind made him turn in curiosity. The familiar face of the Third Hokage along with an unfamiliar guest took his sights.

"What do you want you old coot?" Chen rudely said causing Sarutobi's facial features to freeze. "If I'm old, what does that make you? A fossil?" Sarutobi would shoot causing Chen to chuckle.

"Perhaps…." He replied with a sad tone before turning towards the one he didn't know. "Who is this blockhead? A ninja under you?"

Sarutobi could only chuckle hollowly. "You and I both know I'm too old for that. He's a specialist I value, but I can't teach him anything." Coughing, he turned towards Guy and nodded silently. "But I'll leave him to introduce himself. I have to go make plans and room to teach a Hyuga some things."

Chen hearing the hyuga part hummed to himself. "A hyuga being taught something by you? interesting." Sarutobi in reply chuckled and slowly walked away.

With the Third now gone, Chen threw his eyes towards Guy. "Now who are you? He's not one to introduce anyone to me. Especially a muscle head."

Guy in reply took a flashy smirk before flexing. "My name is Might Guy! Konoha's Prideful Green Beast!"

Chen in reply merely sighed and took a took drink. "Ok. That's a lame title." He said with a neutral tone. "What is it you want from a dead man?"

Guy taking a serious expression gazed into his soul. "I want you to teach a student of mine taijutus my."

An eerie silence overtook the silent night for a bit before a gut wrenching crack occurred. The drink in Chen's hands cracked under his hand.

"I see." Chen said with venom before getting up. "That old brat decided to be a nuisance. Should've known he was up to no good." And with a sigh he turned around from Guy and walked away.

"I don't teach anymore." He would say calmly with a great sense of sadness. Guy not standing for a no and with great speed appeared a few feet away from him.

"Sir, you've had a student before?" Guy asked causing Chen to look at him with annoyance. But seeing his resolute gaze made him get reminded of his past student and friend.

"Yes, I did. He had that same foolish look too." Chen said as frustration overtook him. "It was that same foolishness that got him killed also. His dreams of being a great ninja despite his limitations. That was his foolishness."

"But I'm not dead now am I ?" Guy said with a smirk causing Chen to chuckle darkly as he looked past Guy. "Maybe not yet. But you'll die one day, that same mindset will kill you also. That accursed dream of his to be strong with only taijutsu."

"Master Chen." Guy said with respect as he stared into his eyes. "My student and I follow that exact same path. We have both long accepted that outcome. Death isn't the thing that scares us."

Chen looking at Guy squinted his eyebrows in aggravation. "So you ARE just like him. God damn, it's like a disease. Taijutsu isn't viable on the battlefield. You'll be drowned by enemy lines and killed, why can't you people understand that?"

Guy getting aggravated at the statement managed to calm himself. 'I'm not here to fight, I'm here to get Lee a teacher he needs.'

"Then, what was your dream? What kept you alive?" Guy said causing Chen to pause. Chen thinking about it came to a conclusion. And with that conclusion, his shoulders dropped. "It was to see him happy. To see him succeed, but I failed."

Guy hearing this had thoughts of Lee, TenTen, and Neji flash through his eyes. 'What if they die? Would I also become like this old man?'

"Then what of your students dream?" Guy asked causing Chen to chuckle. "That Brat just wanted to be a strong ninja. He wanted to prove to himself and to others that even if he was Incompetent, he could fill those gaps with taijutsu."

Guy hearing him asked more questions. "Well did he? Did he become respected? Did he prove he could be a ninja despite it all?"

Chen hearing this could only shake his head. "What good is it if your dead? Chasing that dream left everyone to cope with his death." Chuckling he would drink some liquor that had begun to leak through the cracks of the bottle.

"It means everything." Guy said causing Chen to pause. "If it's his dream, he has every right to chase after it. And if he died doing what he wanted to prove….."

"Would he not be happy?" Guy said causing Chen to go silent. "I have lived with comments and hate. I push myself everyday to the brink. My taijutsu keeps me not only alive and others I care about safe."

Guy with a hint of anger raised a clenched fist towards Chen. "You talking about our dreams is nothing short of disrespect to not only my dream but also your students. This dream keeps me with a purpose and I'm guessing it was the same for him as well."

"Shut up." Chen said with anger. "Someone like you had no right to lecture me. I put everything I had into teaching him and I failed!"

"You may be a teacher and share a similar dream. But at the end of the day, you'll end up getting not only yourself but your loved ones killed! That's not a dream! It's a weak excuse of a glorified curse!" Chen said in fury as he threw the bottle on the ground.

"Fine." Guy said he took a fighting stance. "I'll prove it. That my dream isn't a weak one but one that holds validity and deserves respect."

"So be it." Chen said with sadness as he took a stance. "If you can break this attack. I'll consider your dream valid. But if you lose, vow to retire and and tell your student to as well."

Might guy with a resolute and determination of Iron nodded his head with a smile. "I vow it."

Sighing, Chen spun as air incased him before kicking upwards. A dragon tornado made out wind took form as it began to approach Guy who was shocked.

"Leaf Dragon God!"

Guy quick to react immediately entered the 6th gate and soon the 7th. Jumping back, he put his palm towards his face before bringing his other hand on top of it with a clap. Taking a hand sign, he brought it forward with a yell.

"DAYTIME TIGER!" Guy screamed as a white tiger made out of air appeared.

The wind tiger and dragon as if alive roared and clashed against each other. And contrary to Chen's belief, the tiger was devouring the dragon with extreme viscousness.

And with a savage and effective pace. The wind dragon was soon obliterated as the white tiger flew part a terrified Chen. Trees, rocks, and ground all devoured before an extremely strong explosion erupted. When it was over, a massive crater overtook it.

In awe, Chen watched it all unfold as tears began to leak uncontrollably as he thought of his student. "Perhaps it was not a pipe dream. Maybe I've been wrong all this time." Falling to his knees he began to sob as Might Guy watched.

"He was never wrong." Guy answered him as a smile painted his face. Though that smile did show signs of agony due to his physical exertion. A long fight with 7th on was impossible to him at the moment. "He lived by his dream and died by his dream. He's was a true man."

Guy sitting next to him gave him company. He let him vent his feelings with respect. Once Chen had calmed down, he looked towards Guy with confusion.

"Why did you come to ask for me to teach your student. This alone can make him what he wants to be."

Guy with sadness but also pride answered. "It's because I have nothing else to show him. He's even invented taijutsu that rival body flicker and walking on air."

Chen hearing that could only show shock. "Walking on air? That's impossible!" Guy hearing this could only laugh before putting up a sly grin. "I take it you want to see for yourself?"

Chen hearing this went into silence. "Guy, I don't know what an old man like me could teach a young monster like that." Guy hearing that could only smirk. "You could teach him how to kick out dragons. That's something he hasn't done yet."

"Well that's a relief at least." Chen chuckled before going into silent thought. Turning towards Guy he took a solemn look.

"Tell me where to meet up. If I decide to show up, I will." He said as Guy immediately fell into tears, a rainbow appearing behind him.'

'I did it Lee. I finally found something else that'll help you to improve.' Guy thought happily as Chen looked bewildered.

'I didn't even agree? Also how is there a rainbow at night?'

….