Chapter 662: Dreams Come True
Saturday morning.
Yamato woke up early and went for a half hour run. Afterward, he bought a flatbread for breakfast and ate it while walking toward the South Border Forest.
Today was the day his seniors would be holding their ranking battles.
Ever since starting at the Ninja Academy, Yamato rarely trained with Kakashi and the others anymore, so he was curious about how much his seniors' strength had changed.
Because of that, Yamato had turned down a whole bunch of weekend invitations from his friends.
The forest in the early morning was somewhat chilly. Although the sun had already risen, casting golden light across the forest, it did not raise the temperature much.
Watching the sunlight filter through the treetops and scatter across the winding forest path in patches of gold, Yamato paused slightly.
Those patches of light intertwined with the shadows that had not yet been touched by the sun, creating a beautiful scene of dappled light and shade.
"If it were Obito senpai, he would probably take a picture," Yamato thought to himself.
Click!
The camera shutter sounded.
Yamato instinctively turned his head and saw Obito and Shisui waving at him.
After forming a hand seal and sealing the camera back into his scroll, Obito smiled and walked over to Yamato with Shisui.
"Yamato, good morning."
"Good morning, Obito senpai, Shisui senpai," Yamato replied.
"You're so lucky. You became Teacher Mugetsu's disciple before even starting school. What kind of life must you be living at the Ninja Academy?" Obito could not help sighing as he recalled what he had recently seen at the Ninja Academy.
If he had been taught by Mugetsu before even entering first grade, Kakashi would not have stood a chance. He would have been the strongest genius.
"Uh, a normal school life?" Yamato asked uncertainly.
It was his first time attending school, so he had no prior experience to compare it with.
"Normal, my foot! That's definitely the treatment of a ninja novel protagonist!" Obito said, patting Yamato on the back with envy.
If he could enjoy Yamato's treatment, he would even be willing to let Kakashi bully him every day.
As the three went deeper into the forest, they ran into Rin and Kakashi.
When the five of them arrived at the designated battle location, they saw Guy warming up while Mugetsu stood beside him.
After everyone exchanged greetings, Mugetsu took out a wooden box and had Obito and the others draw lots.
"I'll go!" Obito volunteered to draw first.
He was no longer what he used to be. His strength gave him confidence. Even if he faced Guy, who had dominated their internal battles for a long time, he was not afraid.
Obito reached his hand into the wooden box, grabbed a paper ball as soon as he felt one, and pulled it out.
This was the confidence Kamui gave him.
"Number Four." Obito opened the paper ball, glanced at the number, and quickly moved aside.
The number drawn by the first person did not matter much. They had to see what numbers the others drew before determining their opponents.
Kakashi quickly stepped forward, reached into the wooden box, and casually picked a paper ball.
"Number One." Kakashi opened the paper ball and showed it to Mugetsu for inspection.
Obito secretly felt it was a pity. His most desired first round opponent was Kakashi.
Everyone's strength was no longer weak now. If they could not go all out, then anyone could lose.
If he could not defeat Kakashi, then even if he eventually became the strongest disciple, this ranking battle would still feel incomplete.
"Number Two!" Guy unfolded the paper ball in his left hand and gave Kakashi a thumbs up with his right.
"My rival, this is the bond between us!"
Kakashi was silent.
Bond, his foot. There were only four people in total. Wasn't it normal for them to run into each other?
"However, given the current situation, drawing Guy is a good result," Kakashi thought to himself.
Among Guy, Shisui, and Obito, Kakashi found Obito the most difficult to deal with.
Obito's Kamui countered his Thoughtless One-Slash too much. Unless Kakashi was so fast that Obito could not react, or his power was strong enough to affect space, Thoughtless One-Slash would be useless against Obito.
Unfortunately, he could not achieve either of those.
Shisui's strength might not necessarily be stronger than Guy's, but Guy had one advantage. His information was transparent. Kakashi knew all of his techniques.
However, after Shisui obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan, Kakashi could no longer properly assess his overall strength.
Most importantly, Kakashi had thoroughly grasped the inspiration he gained from his battle with Uchiha Madara. Now that he could use One Thought Cut, his explosive power had reached an entirely new level.
Since he was familiar with Guy, it would be easier for him to spot Guy's weakness and end the battle with a single strike.
Although Shisui already knew his number before drawing, he still ceremoniously took out the last paper ball and displayed it.
After ten minutes of warm up time, Mugetsu, acting as the referee, announced that the battle was about to begin.
"Number One, Kakashi, versus Number Two, Guy."
The two stopped warming up at the same time and walked toward the open battlefield.
"Shisui senpai, do you think Kakashi senpai will win, or Guy senpai?" Yamato asked Shisui curiously.
Shisui showed a thoughtful expression and did not answer immediately.
"Guy has a better chance of winning. He's very strong. Eight Gates plus Rock Breathing gives him no obvious weaknesses and makes him very versatile," Obito, who was sitting on the other side, analyzed in Shisui's place.
Even now, Obito still believed that Guy was the biggest obstacle on his path to becoming the strongest disciple.
He was not afraid of Kakashi's Thoughtless One-Slash, nor was he afraid of Shisui's Genjutsu. But when facing Guy, Obito could only fight head on. He had no good tactics.
"Of course, Kakashi might not necessarily lose. He's been training very diligently recently, and he might be hiding some big move," Obito added.
Seeing that Obito had spoken for both sides, Shisui simply said nothing.
At their current level of strength, it was very difficult to determine a winner just by talking.
"I see," Yamato nodded, feeling as if he had not heard anything useful at all.
"Obito, how do you know that? Do you often go play with Kakashi?" Rin turned her head and asked after hearing their conversation.
"Not really. I just happened to pass by and saw him a few times."
As he spoke, Obito's gaze was drawn toward the two figures in the open space.
The battle was about to begin.
"Battle start!"
With Mugetsu's command, both Guy and Kakashi focused their Breathing Techniques and enhanced their physical abilities.
"Eight Gates, Gate of Pain, open!"
At the same time, Guy directly opened the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates. A large amount of chakra surged out from the gate, causing Guy's aura to rise rapidly.
Whoosh!
Guy erupted with chakra and rushed toward Kakashi at an incredible speed. His excessive speed stirred up fierce gusts of wind, kicking dust and sand from the ground.
Whoosh!
Yamato only saw a green flash pass before his eyes.
In the next moment, Guy's fist, carrying a whistling wind, smashed straight toward Kakashi's head.
Facing this dangerous moment, Kakashi remained unmoved, as if he intended to take the powerful punch head on.
But just as the fist was about to make contact, Kakashi dodged sideways at an almost impossible angle, light as a wisp of wind.
They were old rivals, and Guy knew Kakashi had mastered the Transparent World, so he had already anticipated this.
He immediately followed up with a sweeping kick toward Kakashi's lower body. Kakashi lightly leaped out of the attack range with ease, while simultaneously throwing three sharp kunai at Guy in midair, blocking both his front and rear positions.
Guy quickly flashed to the side and successfully dodged the kunai.
In the first probing exchange, neither side gained an advantage.
Bang, bang, bang!
Guy scanned his surroundings, then used the Body Flicker Technique to reach a nearby tree. He broke it and kicked it toward Kakashi, trying to obstruct Kakashi's vision.
Swish!
Kakashi decisively drew Yama from his back, infused chakra into it, and unleashed a slash, cutting all the incoming broken wood in half.
A large amount of broken wood flew through the air, constantly crashing to the ground with roaring sounds.
The falling wood and dust obscured much of the battlefield.
"Eight Gates, Gate of Limit, open!"
"Shigan!"
At that moment, Guy opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, concentrated a massive amount of chakra on his fingertip, and thrust out a rapidly flying blast of energy toward Kakashi.
Clang!
Kakashi judged the incoming attack through the changes in the dust and quickly held Yama horizontally in front of him, accurately blocking the energy blast. However, because of its immense power, he was still inevitably pushed back by a meter.
Just then, Guy's Breathing Technique became incredibly focused, and his aura suddenly grew even more terrifying.
"Yang Seal, release!"
Kakashi immediately released his Yang Seal, instantly entering Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
The next moment, Guy rushed forward at high speed and delivered an incredibly swift whirlwind kick.
With just a single kick, there was already a faint tendency for a whirlwind to form, showing just how fast and powerful it was.
Zzzzt!
Under the enhancement of Lightning Release chakra, Kakashi's nerve reactions and physical abilities were both boosted. He retreated from Guy's attack range at lightning speed.
Under the combined enhancement of the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, even an ordinary whirlwind kick from Guy was enough to easily shatter a giant rock.
Kakashi did have methods to withstand such an attack, but he did not want to suffer the pain.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
After delivering the whirlwind kick, Guy quickly adjusted his stance and used a spinning back kick to continue attacking Kakashi, but Kakashi sidestepped and dodged it.
"Just as expected, this battle has a lot of promise."
Kakashi condensed a large amount of chakra to empower his Thunder Breathing, operating it to its absolute limit.
The probing was over.
Now it was his turn to attack.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Blue arcs of electricity constantly flashed around Kakashi. Under the enhancement of his Breathing Technique and Lightning Release chakra, his body reached its peak.
Kakashi gripped Yama tightly and lunged forward. With electric arcs flickering around him, he looked like a true bolt of lightning.
Guy clenched his fist with an excited expression and met him head on.
Just as the two were about to make contact, Kakashi suddenly swung his sword.
Yama, wrapped in lightning, left trails of electricity in the air, carving out a crescent moon shape as it slashed toward Guy.
Guy had not mastered the Transparent World, but he understood Kakashi's sword drawing habits very well.
He sidestepped to avoid the blade, and at the same time, his right fist punched out fiercely, aiming straight for Kakashi's abdomen.
Thud!
Just as Guy's fist was about to strike Kakashi's abdomen, a layer of black Armament Haki appeared over Kakashi's stomach.
Zzzzt!
At the same time, Kakashi's left hand, the one not holding the sword, shot out a bolt of lightning.
Guy desperately dodged, avoiding a vital point, but his shoulder was still grazed by the electric light.
Even with the protection of Armament Haki, Kakashi was still knocked back five meters.
Whoosh!
Without even a moment of pause, the two used the Body Flicker Technique almost simultaneously and engaged in another round of close quarters combat.
Kakashi's blade left scratches on Guy's body, and Kakashi was not faring well either. Although nothing was visible on the surface, sharp pain radiated from various parts of his body.
The decline in their condition caused their movements to lose their initial agility and speed, gradually beginning to slow.
Then, ten seconds after their movements slowed, as if they had communicated telepathically, their movements suddenly sped up again, and they simultaneously used their strongest techniques.
"Golden Horizon!"
Guy unleashed a massive amount of chakra, extending his index and middle fingers at the same time as he cut out a thin golden line with incredible speed and power.
"One Thought Cut: Release!"
Kakashi infused a large amount of Lightning Release chakra into Yama, and dazzling purple lightning enveloped the blade.
The roar of lightning erupted, and a thick purple lightning slash flew out.
Rumble!
The thin golden line collided with the purple slash as if two great mountains had crashed into each other, unleashing a terrifying impact.
Yamato, who was watching the battle, had to use chakra just to steady himself and avoid being swept away by the terrifying aftermath.
Crack!
In the next moment, the golden power shattered like a broken mirror, and terrifying lightning power surged toward Guy.
"Battle over. Kakashi wins!"
Mugetsu used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Guy, entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and casually released a massive amount of lightning to counteract the attack while announcing the battle result.
This outcome was within Mugetsu's expectations.
[Name: Kakashi Hatake]
[Chakra: 15,500 (???)]
[Skills: Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation, Mastery, 3400/15000. Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation, Mastery, 1400. Hatake Swordsmanship, Mastery. Thunder Breathing, Mastery, 4000. Armament Haki, Proficient, 1800/3000. Dream Manifestation, Proficient, 1000...]
[Name: Might Guy]
[Chakra: 18,000]
[Skills: Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation, Beginner, 1. Rock Breathing, Mastery, 2200/15000. Morning Tiger, Proficient, 600. Golden Horizon, Proficient, 400/3000...]
From the panel, it was clear that there was still a difference in their skills.
Eight Gates plus Rock Breathing was strong, but Kakashi had too much of a lead in terms of technique.
Unless Guy truly went all out, the current him had a smaller chance of winning against Kakashi.
Guy still lacked Armament Haki. Even beginner level Armament Haki would be a very significant improvement for him.
"Haha, as expected of my rival!"
The defeated Guy did not show any annoyance. Instead, he gave Kakashi a thumbs up in praise.
"But I'll catch up very soon, my rival. You had better be prepared."
"Just don't make it a daily thing." Kakashi used Yama as a crutch, propping himself against the ground as he replied breathlessly.
His chakra was still a bit insufficient. Yama was useful, but it consumed an extraordinary amount of chakra.
.....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]