Might Guy

**Might Guy** (マイト・ガイ, *Maito Gai*) is a jōnin of Konohagakure. A master of taijutsu, Guy leads and passes his wisdom onto the members of Team Guy.

## Background

Guy is the son of Might Duy, who was known throughout Konoha as the "Eternal Genin". Duy was not bothered by this moniker and instead was grateful that other people cared enough to know him at all. Duy encouraged this same kind of optimism in Guy, as well as his belief that one always has youth and that they could both become taijutsu masters through diligent training. Guy did his best to embody his father's teachings, but had doubts that Duy's words were devoid of meaning. He nevertheless loved his father and fought others when they called Duy the "Eternal Genin" mockingly; when one of these fights landed him in the Konoha Hospital, Duy encouraged Guy not to be upset by this loss and to instead remember that victory is achieved by defending things that are important.

Guy applied to enter Konoha's Ninja Academy, but did not pass the entrance exam. Kakashi Hatake was not surprised due to Guy's lack of talent in ninjutsu and genjutsu, which Guy chose to take as a supportive observation. This strength of character convinced Kakashi's father, Sakumo, that Guy was not handicapped by his shortcomings and that he might be offered a position as an alternate in the year's Academy class. Guy was indeed allowed to enter the Academy with Kakashi, and upon graduation he was added to a team that, in the anime, was led by Chōza Akimichi. The team at one point entered Konoha's Chūnin Exams and passed to the final stage; Guy himself advanced to the exams' last one-on-one match, where he lost to Kakashi. Later, while on a mission with Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, Guy and his team were attacked by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They were rescued by Duy, who used the Eight Gates Released Formation to fight off the Seven Swordsmen. Duy died from opening all Eight Gates, but it satisfied his one rule for its use: giving his life to protect something precious, namely Guy.

Guy at some point (still in the academy in the anime) decided that Kakashi was his lifelong rival, driven by a desire to prove his perseverance could be just as good as Kakashi's natural genius. He would constantly challenge Kakashi to contests of skill, from eating contests to Rock, Paper, Scissors. Kakashi was indifferent to these contests, which only fuelled Guy's desire to defeat him. In the anime, Kakashi prevailed in the earlier of these competitions, but Guy soon started catching up, eventually achieving only a one point difference in their scores that has remained consistent over the years. Guy is proud of his score despite the fact that, because of how varied the contests are, it is hardly representative of anything. Through their competition, Kakashi and Guy became good friends; they were hanging out together on the night of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, yet were prevented from helping defend the village, instead being confined within a barrier to keep them safe.

In the anime, Guy was aware of the losses Kakashi experienced during and after the Third Shinobi World War and tried to help him deal with them. Following the death of Obito Uchiha, Guy filled in for Obito while Team Minato was on a mission into Iwa-territory. When they were surrounded, Guy tried giving his life to allow Kakashi to escape, but they were able to fight off their enemies until reinforcements arrived. Following the death of Rin Nohara, Kakashi's teacher, the Fourth Hokage, sent Guy to tail Kakashi on a mission in case memories of Rin started to get to him. This proved wise: when Kakashi began hyperventilating from using the Chidori - the same jutsu that killed Rin - Guy intervened in time to save Kakashi and take him home. Following the Fourth's death during the Nine-Tails' attack, Guy requested to be admitted into the Anbu so that he could help Kakashi through his growing depression. The Third Hokage refused his request, which Danzō Shimura seconded, explaining that Guy lacked the necessary darkness for Anbu-service. Guy witnessed this "darkness" when Kakashi provided backup for him during a meeting with the Land of Woods, wherein Kakashi mercilessly killed all the Land of Woods' forces. Guy asked the Third Hokage to remove Kakashi from the Anbu because these kind of acts didn't become him. When the Third eventually complied, Guy suggested that Kakashi try leading a team of genin to help him regain his lost kindness.

Guy at some point heard about a boy in the Academy who was unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. Guy approached this boy, Rock Lee, and encouraged him to use his youth to keep training. Lee was eventually added to Guy's Team Guy, along with Neji Hyūga and Tenten; in the anime, before accepting them, he required them all to demonstrate a desire to succeed no matter the odds. Guy took a particular interest in Lee after the team's first meeting, as Lee wished to become a splendid ninja who could only use taijutsu. Guy decided to dedicate his life to helping Lee achieve his dream, teaching him all he knew of taijutsu, telling him the same keys to self-improvement his father had taught him, and encouraging him to use a rivalry with Neji to push him to new heights. Lee developed well under his guidance, as did Neji and Tenten, though Guy felt it was best to have them wait a year before entering the Chūnin Exams.

## Personality

Guy is perhaps most fully represented by his "nice guy" pose: a thumbs up, wink, and winning smile - complete with the proverbial *ping*. The pose captures his optimism and confidence, as by striking the pose he is promising that whatever words accompany it are either true now or will become true in time. It represents his energy, as he will, through his understood-only-to-himself-and-select-others "Power of Youth (青春, *seishun*)", enthusiastically seek to live up to his promise no matter the personal investment doing so will require of him. It plumbs his deep emotional well because he only reserves it for the most important promises to the most important people for the most important reasons, and as such tears frequently stream down the face of *somebody* (inevitably Guy) when the pose is struck. He is a very driven and committed man, both to his principles and his training, constantly pushing himself to go beyond his limits. In the anime, it was shown that even after gaining effective use ninjutsu and genjutsu, he makes it a personal choice to rely solely on taijutsu whenever possible, even prefers unconvincing disguises rather than the Transformation Technique.

Guy can be serious at times despite his odd mannerisms, usually when engaging an enemy who threatens Konoha or one of his comrades. But even his serious moments can be undermined by one of his eccentricities: Guy has faced Kisame Hoshigaki on three separate occasions, yet on each occasion he's been fairly confident that he never met Kisame before - Guy is aware that he has a poor memory for faces. From observing the vibrancy of youth that his students possess, Guy may, in a moment of thoughtful self-reflection, wonder if his own youth has passed him by, only to immediately dismiss this as impossible because youth can never fade; if his student, Lee, should break one of his tenets of conduct, Guy will discipline him with a physical strike, only to then immediately start crying at the realisation of the harm he's inflicted and the well-intentioned passion that led Lee astray in the first place.

Guy refers to himself as "Konoha's Sublime Green/Blue Beast of Prey" (木ノ葉の気高き碧い猛獣, *Konoha no Kedakaki Aoi Mōjū*). Like many of Guy's traits, the moniker may be fitting. Lee wholeheartedly approves of Guy, modelling his own appearance and personality after Guy's so that he can become as beautiful a man as Guy is. For these similarities and their common backgrounds, Guy is in turn dedicated to Lee, doing all in his power to help Lee achieve his dream of becoming a master of taijutsu. Their almost father-son bond is so powerful as to sometimes be disturbing to others. In later years, Guy even developed a similar relationship to Lee's son Metal, becoming like a surrogate second father/uncle to him. Neji and Tenten, though they also benefit from Guy's teachings, are only willing to join in on Guy and Lee's antics up to a point, and will either rein them in or leave them to their devices if their patience has been exhausted. Kakashi shares Neji and Tenten's reservations with Guy, and is often only an unwilling or indifferent participant in their contests. Rather than discourage Guy, this further motivates him, as he wants to defeat Kakashi's "cool, hip, and trendy" personality. There is no animosity to their rivalry, however, and Kakashi in fact considers Guy to be one of his closest and most reliable friends: they work well together in the field, can understand what the other is thinking without anything being said, and are concerned for each other's well-being.

## New era / Glad you Came

Might Guy married Hatsue and would have a son, Suro

## Trivia

* Guy never was / isn't in a wheel chair in the AU