Chapter 22: Testing Divine Speed
As Nan gathered a massive amount of chakra, a powerful aura erupted from his body.
Even the surrounding environment seemed to shift—an inexplicable gust of wind began swirling around him.
Pebbles near his feet were swept away by the violent chakra storm that surged from his body.
Guy felt it too—Nan was exerting a growing pressure, far greater than before.
Finally, in his first real battle, Nan successfully activated Divine Speed. And at that moment, Guy had yet to open the Eight Gates.
The Eight Inner Gates technique couldn't be used lightly—not against a comrade.
Guy needed to feel out the power of Nan's new technique with his own body first. Only then could he judge how much force to use without risking Nan's safety.
Seeing that Guy had no intention of opening the Gates yet, Nan quickly caught on to his thought process.
"Hmph, underestimate me and you'll pay for it."
With a cold snort, Nan muttered, "In that case... I'll strike first."
Without further warning, Nan activated Divine Speed at full power and launched a punch straight at Guy.
"What?!"
Guy cursed inwardly—he hadn't expected Nan to move that fast. Caught off guard, he barely had time to react.
Still, his battle instincts kicked in. Just in time, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and managed to block the punch—barely.
But the force behind the strike completely exceeded his expectations.
It felt like he'd been slammed with a sledgehammer. His arms trembled from the impact, aching sharply.
Up until now, Nan's strength hadn't been anything special. When they sparred earlier, Guy had defended easily—it was only Nan's speed that had made him tricky.
But this punch was different. Nan's speed had clearly jumped to another level. And his power had risen with it.
For the first time... Guy felt like he was facing his old teacher, Master Chen.
Nan hadn't expected the punch to do serious damage—after all, Guy had trained under Master Chen. It was natural that he could block a straightforward blow.
But seeing Guy's trembling arms and the faint grimace he tried to hide, Nan knew the hit had definitely hurt.
And that was just a regular straight punch, without any advanced taijutsu mixed in.
It confirmed what he'd suspected—Divine Speed was a terrifying enhancement.
Guy understood this too. He realized now that Nan hadn't been exaggerating—his body-enhanced taijutsu truly was exceptional.
If he didn't activate the Eight Gates, he probably wouldn't stand a chance.
So Guy didn't hesitate any longer. He began the sequence to unlock the Gates.
Nan didn't try to stop him—he wanted to see exactly where his own limits lay.
With a deep breath, Guy shouted:
"Eight Inner Gates—Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain, Open!"
His skin flushed red, and waves of chakra pressure surged outward from his body.
Nan raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I pushed him this far already?"
He hadn't expected Guy to go straight to the Fourth Gate—this was, after all, the level of power Guy used before meeting Master Chen.
During his duel with Master Chen, he'd also opened the Fourth Gate—and forced Chen-sensei to use the mighty Dragon God of Leaf technique in return.
Guy wasn't going all-out for no reason—Nan's aura right now was truly overwhelming.
If he didn't fight at full strength, he might actually lose.
And he couldn't accept defeat—not to a six-years-younger child, even if that child was a genius.
All his years of training were meant to prove one thing: even an ordinary man can surpass a genius through effort alone.
The two locked eyes—charged with energy and resolve.
In an instant, they both vanished from their spots, kicking up dust as they clashed in the center.
With the force of the collision, Guy held his ground while Nan was pushed back a single step.
It was a clear test of strength—and Nan lost this exchange.
Guy pressed the advantage, striking out with a punch. Nan dodged nimbly, using his superior agility to stay out of reach.
He quickly realized that after unlocking the Eight Gates, Guy's raw power once again exceeded his own.
But Nan still had the edge in speed—so the fight wasn't hopeless.
He just needed to keep his distance, wait for an opening, and counterattack.
Thus, their battle transformed: Guy charged in, aiming to close the gap, while Nan weaved circles around him, keeping his range.
It became a drawn-out battle of endurance.
But Guy knew this couldn't last. His Eight Gates had a time limit—Divine Speed, on the other hand, likely had much better stamina.
He needed to end this quickly.
His only option: the Dragon God of Leaf, a technique he had only recently mastered.
But he hesitated—this move was dangerous. He didn't want to risk seriously hurting Nan. So, he called out a warning:
"I'm about to use my ultimate technique! Be sure to dodge—if this hits you, you could get seriously hurt!"
Nan, unaware that Guy had already learned the Dragon God of Leaf, thought he was about to unlock the Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit.
"If he opens the Fifth Gate... that'll put his power near Kage-level, right?"
He wasn't sure if his Divine Speed-enhanced body could handle a direct hit.
Nan activated his Sharingan, sharpening his senses to the maximum as he braced for Guy's next move.
What he didn't know, however, was that Guy had only ever managed to open the Fifth Gate once—and that had been pure luck.
In his normal state, Guy couldn't open the Fifth Gate at will. It only became possible under extreme emotional stress.
But watching Guy's current stance, Nan was surprised.
It didn't look like the posture for opening the Fifth Gate.
In fact, it resembled something else—Master Chen's technique.
"Wait… is he going to use that? He already mastered it that fast?"
Nan knew exactly how powerful that technique was.
The only way he could match it... was to unleash his own Divine Speed–enhanced version of Dragon God of Leaf.
So he shifted into the same stance as Guy—ready to launch his counter.
When Guy saw Nan's form, he was taken aback.
"He knows the Dragon God of Leaf too?!"
Truly a genius—just from watching Master Chen perform it a few times, and without receiving direct instruction, Nan had managed to learn it on his own.
Though neither of them had fully mastered the true Dragon God of Leaf, each had used their own method to replicate it.
Guy's version, empowered by the Eight Gates, radiated green chakra, while Nan's Divine Speed version crackled with lightning infused from Lightning Release.
Unlike Master Chen's pure, elemental tornado, their dragons were distinct: Guy's pulsed with chakra force, Nan's sparked with speed and electricity.
Though neither dragon possessed the full might of a Kage-level technique, they were still formidable.
Once both had successfully summoned their respective Dragon God of Leafs, they exchanged a final look—one of mutual determination.
Then, in an instant, the two dragons clashed—entwining, colliding, fighting for dominance in mid-air.
Both of them knew the technique's weakness lay in the eye of the storm, the calm center of the tornado.
If one could destroy the other's core, the dragon would collapse.
They each targeted the other's vortex.
Thanks to Nan's superior speed—and the clarity of his Sharingan—his dragon moved more nimbly and struck first, biting at the vulnerable core of Guy's technique.
However, Guy's raw strength made his vortex more stable.
Nan's attack failed to fully shatter the eye of Guy's dragon.
At the same moment, Guy exploited an opening and landed a hit on Nan's weak point.
The two dragons bit each other's throats—and vanished simultaneously in a burst of energy.
The match was a draw.
As the shockwaves of the Dragon God of Leaf faded, both fighters collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, utterly exhausted.
But Nan fared slightly better.
His Divine Speed, having been refined over time, didn't carry the same heavy side effects as the Eight Gates.
Even though Guy had only opened the Fourth Gate, the Eight Gates were still a forbidden technique—not meant for regular use.
In contrast, Divine Speed placed far less strain on the body, consumed less chakra, and had far greater endurance.
From this battle, Nan finally confirmed the true value of Divine Speed—it was at least on par with the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates.
In normal conditions, Guy had superior strength, while Nan held the advantage in speed.
Once both used their enhanced forms, that dynamic remained—Guy had greater power, but Nan was faster.
The gap between them wasn't huge.
At this level, the two of them had surpassed the average jōnin, and now stood close to the level of elite jōnin.
With this, Nan realized—his plan set six months ago was now fully accomplished.
In fact, he'd even exceeded expectations, shaving off half a year from his original one-year schedule.