"Konoha… do you intend to escape the quagmire of war alone?"
Faced with the Third Tsuchikage's accusation, Tsunade frowned deeply.
"Aren't we trying to prevent a war for all of you? Can't you see that? Konoha's shinobi are risking their names and lives to stop exactly what you're afraid of."
Onoki snorted coldly.
"Trading the life of one Konoha shinobi so that your village avoids war entirely? I believe any village would agree to such a convenient arrangement."
Tsunade clenched her jaw.
She didn't care if they doubted Konoha—but doubting Guy's intent made her blood boil.
Guy wasn't acting for politics. He was acting to protect the entire world from destruction.
Before she could argue back—
A sudden explosion of chakra erupted.
"Eight Gates Released Formation—!"
First Gate: Open!"
A violent surge of chakra blasted outward.
But Guy didn't stop there—
He continued unlocking the gates one after another, opening six gates in a single breath.
The shockwaves made Onoki's attention snap away from Tsunade.
Is this… the Blue Beast of Konoha?
Kakashi's expression tightened.
"Guy! Opening six gates immediately—your body won't hold—"
"Kakashi!"
Guy grinned fiercely.
"Shigure is your disciple. You should know better than anyone—using fewer than six gates means I wouldn't even qualify to stand in front of him!"
Kakashi fell silent.
He knew Guy was right.
Shigure, feeling the surge of chakra, smiled with genuine excitement.
It had been a long time since something stirred him like this.
Deep inside him, the Great Sage began its analysis, breaking down the full structure of the Eight Gates Released Formation.
Shigure lifted his ninja blade.
"Then come, Might Guy!"
In the next moment—
Shigure's body erupted with tailed beast chakra.
Everyone froze.
"That's… tailed beast chakra!?"
"And not from just one beast… that pressure… I've never felt chakra this dense," Darui muttered, his expression darkening.
Gaara spoke grimly.
"I received intel earlier—Shigure can contain multiple tailed beasts at once. Don't tell me he's absorbed the power of every beast he captured…"
If true, then Shigure was the strongest jinchūriki ever recorded.
A human who could withstand the power of multiple tailed beasts—
It defied reason.
Guy tightened his stance.
"Ordinary techniques won't work on you. So let's end the warm-up!"
"Shigure!"
The veins on Guy's forehead bulged as he roared:
"Morning Peacock!!"
His fists vanished into a blur of afterimages, each punch igniting the air.
Flames exploded into existence, fusing with the compressed shockwaves—
A massive flaming peacock fanned out toward Shigure.
"Good!"
Shigure grinned.
He raised his blade—
Chakra flooding its edge—
And the black-red lightning of his evolved Six Paths–infused Haki crackled along the steel.
He swung once.
A single cut.
The flames of the Peacock vanished instantly, crushed beneath the descending black-red thunder.
Everyone inhaled sharply.
Kakashi muttered, stunned,
"He blocked Guy's Morning Peacock… just like that."
"As expected of a true monster."
Guy, panting heavily, actually smiled.
He had assumed Shigure would at least be forced back for a moment.
But Shigure had swatted aside a technique of the Sixth Gate as if it were nothing.
Just as the shock settled—
Swoosh!
Shigure's blade tore through the air again.
Shigure did not stand still and let Guy attack freely.
The black-red lightning that erupted from his blade streaked forward, grazing Guy's shoulder as it tore through the air.
Guy narrowly avoided the full strike, twisting away at the last moment.
Bang! Bang!
The ground split open under the impact.
Chunks of earth shot upward, only to be instantly disintegrated by the crackling black-red thunder.
Shigure steadied himself, ninja blade raised, his gaze shifting toward Guy—who had just landed, chest heaving.
Guy breathed hard—once, twice—then clenched his teeth.
"Eight Gates Released Formation…"
"Seventh Gate…"
"Gate of Shock—OPEN!!"
Blue chakra exploded from Guy's body, swirling wildly as his power surged yet again.
Onoki felt his breath catch.
The force of the Seventh Gate was far beyond anything he had imagined.
Konoha's Blue Beast possessed power on par with a Kage—perhaps even surpassing some.
He had misjudged Konoha badly.
This wasn't about escaping war.
They truly meant to prevent a world-scale catastrophe.
And Guy's overwhelming aura was proof.
"Good!"
Shigure shot forward like a flash of sparks and lightning.
But at that same instant—
Guy formed a peculiar hand motion.
"HIRUDORA!!"
The surrounding air compressed violently, drawn inward at an impossible rate.
Before the technique even manifested, Gaara's eyes widened.
Could he even block something like this?
Even with all his sand, Gaara wasn't certain.
This was the power of a single Konoha shinobi—
not even the Hokage.
The gap between villages suddenly felt terrifyingly clear.
ROAR!!!
The massive white tiger—formed by ultra-compressed air—burst forward with a thunderous howl, hurtling straight toward Shigure.
It closed the distance instantly.
Hinata clenched her fists so tightly they trembled.
She could barely breathe.
Lord Shigure… please be careful!
But Shigure made no attempt to dodge.
Instead, he drew back his fist and struck forward directly into the roaring attack.
Kakashi's expression tightened in disbelief.
"Shigure… you aren't seriously planning to clash head-on with Hirudora!?"
Shigure's physical strength was immense—but compared to Guy's Seventh Gate Hirudora, there was no comparison—
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening roar tore through the battlefield.
Crackle!!
Shigure's fist stopped half a meter short of the white tiger's head—
yet the black-red lightning erupting from his arm manifested a force without form, blocking Hirudora entirely.
The world itself seemed to distort.
The sky darkened.
A black thunderbolt crashed down beside Shigure.
Then another.
And another.
Black-red lightning arced outward in all directions as the heavens churned.
Above them—
a colossal black vortex spiraled into existence, its power rippling through the air.
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM—
The battlefield trembled.
...
TN:
Hirudora is Guy's techinque "Daytime tiger".
(End of Chapter)
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