Although he had no clue what Guy was saying, Kakashi didn't dare let his guard down in the face of a Five-Gates-Opened Might Guy. He activated his Sharingan at full power, locking onto every twitch of Guy's muscles.
Whoosh!
A sharp burst of wind tore through the air, Guy vanished from in front of him.
Kakashi's instincts screamed danger. He tried to turn and block, but Guy's foot, wrapped in brilliant blue chakra, struck him square in the chest.
Bang!
Kakashi slammed hard into a tree. He looked up at Guy in disbelief.
His Sharingan had clearly seen through Guy's movements, and yet he still couldn't stop the attack.
"Has Guy gotten this strong already…?" Kakashi thought, dazed.
He suddenly remembered something, his father, Sakumo Hatake, once told him the first time he met Might Guy: "That boy may one day surpass you."
Back then, Kakashi had scoffed. After all, Guy had barely even made it into the academy, how could he possibly surpass him?
But Guy had grown stronger with each challenge.
At first, Kakashi could beat him in one hit. Then Guy could last two exchanges. Then Kakashi had to take taijutsu seriously just to keep up.
And now? His taijutsu was no match for Guy anymore. Even with ninjutsu, he couldn't guarantee a win, their matches were often evenly split.
Kakashi clenched his fists. If this kept up, Guy really would surpass him.
He stood, eyes sharpening, and formed the Chidori hand seal in one smooth motion.
"As your lifelong rival, I can't let you outpace me so easily," he muttered to himself.
Though he always acted like Guy annoyed him, deep down, he had long seen him as a true friend.
"Chidori, huh? Just what I was hoping for!" Guy grinned, flashing his dazzling teeth as he saw Kakashi ready his signature jutsu.
"This taijutsu move of mine isn't fully developed yet, but it packs a punch. Be careful, Kakashi!" Guy inhaled deeply.
"Morning Peacock!"
Boom!
A surge of powerful chakra erupted from Guy, the pressure alone bending the grass across the training ground.
He launched into the air, raining down rapid punches toward the open sky.
Each strike ignited a fireball the size of a fist, forming a blazing fan of flame that resembled a peacock unfurling its tail, every fireball aimed directly at Kakashi.
When the final strike landed, Guy dropped to the ground, panting hard.
His hands were red and trembling slightly.
This move, Morning Peacock, had a simple principle: use the explosive strength and speed from the Eight Inner Gates to create shockwaves and flames through rapid punches, resulting in a powerful, wide-range barrage.
But in truth, the Fifth Gate alone didn't provide quite enough power.
Guy had originally theorized that this move would only reach its full potential with the Sixth Gate, View Gate, open.
Unfortunately, opening the Sixth Gate now was still too dangerous for his body. Doing so might even risk his life.
The sky above lit up with waves of fireballs, casting a crimson glow across the entire training field.
The flickering blue lightning from Kakashi's Chidori lit up his face. He was unnaturally calm, thinking quickly.
Taking this kind of continuous assault head-on would be suicide.
Relying on just the Sharingan to dodge wasn't realistic either. The fireballs were too dense.
But then he glanced down at the electric glow sparking around his hand and got an idea.
While using Chidori, lightning chakra stimulates his neural pathways and cells, drastically boosting his speed.
This used to be a fatal flaw: he moved so fast that his eyes couldn't keep up, making him prone to missing targets.
But now, with the Sharingan, that weakness had turned into a strength.
On top of that, he'd recently learned a taijutsu move called Shave.
If he could combine Shave with Chidori, his burst speed at close range would skyrocket.
However, he'd only just started learning Shave yesterday. He wasn't confident he could pull off both techniques together yet.
But with fireballs raining down like a storm, he had no time to hesitate.
The moment they began falling, Kakashi turned into a flash of blue light, trying to break free from the Morning Peacock barrage.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The fireballs slammed into the training ground one after another.
Explosions rang out in a deafening, continuous rhythm.
The once smooth field was now full of blackened craters and scorched earth.
"You've lost."
Kakashi dispelled his Chidori, gently tapping his fist against Guy's chest.
Guy wasn't disappointed. He laughed heartily, scratched his head, and said,
"Haha! As expected of my eternal rival, Kakashi! To crack my best technique so easily… But that was only a prototype. Once I perfect it, it'll be way stronger!"
Kakashi chuckled bitterly. "Cracked it easily?"
He could still feel the burning pain behind him in his left hand as he replied seriously, "I believe you."
It had been his first time using Shave in combination with Chidori.
His movement wasn't smooth, and he didn't quite make it out of the blast zone.
In the end, he had to use his chakra-infused left hand to block a fireball directly.
"What an exhilarating fight!" Guy declared, raising his arm in a self-encouraging pose. "I can feel my youth burning again! After such a crushing defeat… time to double my training!"
Watching this, Hakusei Tōya quietly turned and walked away.
Since Kakashi had now mastered Shave and could even begin pairing it with Chidori, Tōya didn't need to stay.
He still had one more technique, Paper Drawing, left to invent.
Once he completed it, he could just deliver the remaining five techniques to Kakashi in one go during a future mission.
Two Days Later
At the Anbu Base
Hakusei Tōya stood before his squadmates, briefing them once again on their mission.
"This is an S-rank mission. It's extremely dangerous. If anyone has second thoughts, I won't force you. Anyone want to back out?"
The three of them shook their heads.
Tōya had already given them the choice three days ago.
Anyone who wanted to give up should've done it back then, not now.
Besides, the shinobi world was cruel.
Except for the D-rank errands handed to fresh Genin, every mission came with risk, it was just a matter of degree.
And more importantly, they trusted in Tōya's strength.
And in their own.
The mission was only to infiltrate and retrieve information from a small ninja village.
If it were one of the Five Great Nations, they might have reconsidered. But this was manageable.
Tōya nodded in approval, then smiled slightly.
"Good. Anbu Squad Seven, move out!"
The four of them put on their masks, swiftly exited the base, and raced northwest, toward the Land of Grass…
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter