That green jumpsuit and bowl cut were unmistakable. Everyone knew each other, and Uchiha Kei's group immediately approached with cheerful greetings.
The mustachioed Might Duy laughed heartily as he greeted them alongside his son, Might Guy. He explained that they had been training nearby and came to investigate after noticing some commotion.
Nine-year-old Might Guy also smiled and waved at the three from Minato's squad. They had all graduated from the Academy together. However, since Guy's assigned jōnin instructor wasn't proficient in taijutsu, he often trained with his father instead.
Upon noticing the battlefield scars left behind by the clash between Kakashi and Obito, Guy looked astonished, then a little discouraged. "You guys got even better again," he muttered. "We all graduated together, so why are you two so far ahead?"
Kakashi, as usual, didn't respond—he simply gave a prideful huff. Obito, on the other hand, was fired up by Guy's passion. Laughing, he declared that he wouldn't let Guy surpass him.
The air quickly grew competitive, bringing a smile to everyone's faces.
Looking closer, these three still-young shinobi were undeniably the strongest of their generation. In the original timeline, their achievements were extraordinary—wedged between the legends of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Their fates diverged, their wills went in different directions, but all three stood at the peak of their era.
Of course, that was in the original history. With Uchiha Kei now stirring the wings of fate, who knew what the future held? Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩
Uchiha Kei smiled and addressed Might Duy. "Duy-san, you look great. You've been eating better lately, haven't you?"
Might Duy straightened up, his expression serious. "Thank you for your concern, Lord Kei. Thanks to your support and the Uchiha Clan's help, my family is doing much better. We no longer have to skimp on food. I'm truly grateful."
He even bowed formally, though Kei quickly stopped him, insisting such ceremony wasn't necessary—he had only done what he could.
Yes, Uchiha Kei had helped the Might family.
Might Duy, unlike his son, lacked top-tier talent in taijutsu. His ability was slightly above average, and his ninjutsu aptitude was close to zero. This made him a perpetual underachiever—a "dead-last" with no signs of ever rising.
Even as an adult, he remained a genin, never passing the chūnin exams.
Though he possessed the forbidden technique Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Released Formation), without risking his life, he couldn't bring out its full potential. And the chūnin exams tested sustained performance, not single bursts. Duy would explode once—then collapse for days. He never passed.
With no promotion, his missions paid little, and taijutsu training required food and supplements. It was a vicious cycle.
He could've spent all his earnings on his own training—but Duy had a son.
A son with taijutsu talent that surpassed his own.
So Duy invested everything into Might Guy: the best food, the best medicine. He ate leftovers. He gathered herbs himself. They lived in poverty. People mocked him as the eternal genin.
In the traditional shinobi system, this was his fate. Maybe he'd shine once—then vanish.
But after Kei consolidated the Uchiha Clan and began preparing for a public game launch, things changed.
The Uchiha started issuing high-paying, low-level missions en masse. Duy finally got a chance to earn real money.
Knowing how strong Duy could be when serious, Kei ordered the Uchiha to employ him long-term—as a professional enforcer for the Konoha Game Chamber of Commerce. The pay was generous.
The Uchiha didn't understand why Kei was spending so much on a genin who only knew taijutsu—but they followed orders.
Duy's life changed completely.
The Uchiha were generous to their own. With high pay and extra medicinal support on Kei's orders, Duy no longer had to worry about training costs. As an enforcer, his job required only occasional patrols or special dispatches.
Most of the time, he could train with his son. His vigor visibly improved. The tired, haggard Duy now resembled the confident man Guy would grow into.
And since the Uchiha didn't hide Kei's role, Duy knew exactly who was behind his turnaround. That's why he bowed so sincerely.
To Kei, it was just a small favor. During the hiring drive for the launch event, he had spotted Duy and remembered the "eternal genin" and father of the future Taijutsu King. He gave a quick order for special care.
When you have power and money, changing someone's life can be easy.
But Kei never grew arrogant about it. He knew he was merely borrowing momentum—plus a touch of cheat-level luck.
Without those things, he'd still be the clan's embarrassment.
So Kei always treated others as equals.
Like now—he spoke to Duy as a friend. That kindness left Duy beaming and deeply moved.
To him, Kei was a lofty figure. Even though Kei had just made jōnin, his special position in the Uchiha Clan put him leagues above 99% of the village.
That made Duy even more grateful. He felt ready to give everything for Kei—to offer his life if needed.
Watching this exchange, Minato Namikaze nodded sincerely. "Duy-san is right. Kei is truly remarkable. To be friends with him is my greatest luck and highest honor."
(Kei, you really do have a ridiculous amount of plot armor, huh?)
But Duy's loyalty sparked something else in Kei—he thought of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Their alien abilities nullified most ninja techniques. In the end, flashy powers meant nothing—Susano'o was no match for an Ōtsutsuki kick.
At that point, taijutsu became the most effective option. Even with all their buffs, Naruto and Kurama's heavy ion mode still relied on taijutsu to beat Isshiki.
So… why not prepare now?
Ōtsutsuki might not show up for years, but early prep never hurt. Taijutsu was just as useful for crushing threats within the shinobi world.
Didn't Might Guy nearly take out Madara's Six Paths form?
Even if Madara wanted to test Eight Gates Guy's strength, and only got hit due to help from others—Kei never said you had to 1v1 the Ōtsutsuki.
Against such enemies… teamwork, obviously.
The more Kei thought, the more practical it sounded.
Then he asked out of the blue: "Duy-san, would you be willing to teach your taijutsu to others? I mean, officially. A taijutsu training course—with you as the instructor."
Everyone stared in shock. Even the nearby kids paused their conversation.
It wasn't that teaching taijutsu was strange—but Duy, a genin, teaching it? That sounded absurd. The village had taijutsu experts—like the Moonlight Clan. They had history and pedigree. Having a civilian shinobi like Duy teach felt surreal.
Even Duy was stunned. Then he panicked, declaring he wasn't worthy, that it'd be irresponsible of him. He didn't dare accept such a role.