Chapter 73: Eight Gates
"Found them! Over there!"
Hyuga Mine's gaze locked onto the distance, veins bulging prominently beside his Byakugan as he pushed his visual prowess to its absolute limit.
The shinobi beside him immediately pulled a signal flare from his vest, igniting and launching it skyward.
"The main force will arrive shortly. We'll head over first to stall them!"
"Yes!"
The squad members responded in unison, rushing swiftly toward that location.
After receiving Itachi's intelligence, the Third Hokage had dispatched search teams, sending numerous squads to scour the village's perimeter. They had to locate Nagato's position.
With targeted searching, a Hyuga clan member quickly detected an unusual chakra signature and summoned the main force to converge on Nagato's location.
The core leader of these search teams was none other than Might Guy!
He was among the first to arrive after receiving the signal.
When he reached Nagato's position, he found only corpses scattered everywhere. Every Konoha shinobi who'd arrived before him had been killed by Nagato.
Nagato withdrew a black rod from the final shinobi's body, casually flicking the blood onto the ground before turning his indifferent gaze toward Might Guy.
"You're Might Guy?"
"The shinobi who specializes in the Eight Gates?"
Guy and his team immediately assumed defensive stances, facing this threat with utmost vigilance.
"Nagato, we know all about the Akatsuki's intelligence. Your plan can never succeed."
"Where the leaves dance, fire will continue to burn! You cannot defeat Konoha!"
"Heh..." Nagato smiled faintly, speaking with arrogant confidence. "Yasushi praised your Eight Gates extravagantly, calling it the strongest taijutsu in the shinobi world."
"But I truly don't care about such things."
"Before a god, all human power is insignificant."
"Yasushi fears your strength purely because he's never witnessed how mighty divine power truly is."
"Trying to comprehend divine might with a human heart is like an ant attempting to see the heavens, or a mayfly trying to shake a mighty tree—utterly meaningless behavior."
"Still, since he did heal my injuries, I couldn't refuse his request. I reluctantly agreed to execute this so-called 'bait plan.'"
"Now that the plan has failed and you've come to me, I might as well let you witness what divine power truly means."
After finishing his speech, Nagato clapped his hands together. The Summoning Jutsu activated, and the Six Paths of Pain vanished from their various positions, reappearing at Nagato's side.
Konan finally descended from above, continuing to stand beside Nagato.
Nagato waved dismissively at Konan. She nodded in understanding and disappeared along with all Six Paths of Pain.
"I've recalled the Six Paths of Pain. Your Konoha reinforcements will arrive here soon."
"This is your final opportunity. Display your Eight Gates properly!"
"Let me see just how far this so-called strongest taijutsu in the shinobi world can go."
"If you satisfy me, I'll grant you a swift death."
After hearing Nagato's words, Guy's expression immediately darkened.
He hadn't fully mastered the Gate of Death's power. He couldn't use the complete Eight Gates Formation at all.
But the arrow was already nocked—there was no turning back. He took a deep breath. Every muscle in his body tightened like steel cables, veins writhing beneath his skin like earthworms. Even his bones groaned under the unbearable strain.
"Eight Gates! Sixth Gate, Gate of View, Open!"
With his explosive roar, the restrictions within his body broke open one by one.
A powerful chakra aura suddenly erupted from every pore across his body. Emerald-green chakra formed steam that created vortex-like currents around him, lifting everything nearby against gravity.
Debris and dust were swept into the high-speed rotating airflow, causing his clothing and hair to billow and rise skyward. His entire form appeared wrapped in green flames.
Accompanying this tremendous chakra flow came equally immense pain. Every nerve burned, every muscle fiber tore.
"Ahhh..."
Guy shouted loudly, pushing off hard with his legs toward Nagato.
BOOM! The massive recoil force carved a deep crater beneath Guy's feet. His figure vanished from its original position, leaving a green afterimage through the air along with a trail of sonic boom clouds.
The next instant, Guy appeared before Nagato, fist raised high. The punch compressed the air into visible ripples as it drove heavily toward Nagato.
Nagato didn't even lift an eyelid, casually raising his palm with effortless ease.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The original body attacking—no need for the Six Paths of Pain to divide his chakra. The effect wasn't simply six times stronger, but exponentially amplified.
A massive repulsive force instantly slammed into Guy. The invisible power struck like ten-thousand-ton waves, forcing Guy back with absolutely irresistible authority.
"Ahhh..."
Guy roared at the top of his lungs, feet planted firmly on the ground, body bent forward, back muscles bulging in distinct blocks. He used every ounce of strength trying to stabilize his position. But it had no effect whatsoever. The repulsive force pushed him relentlessly backward, carving two deep trenches in the ground that extended far into the distance.
When the repulsive force finally dissipated, Guy's knees weakened and he nearly collapsed.
"Such overwhelming power!"
Guy's pupils constricted sharply as he gasped for breath, his entire body trembling continuously.
But he couldn't afford to stop. Forcing himself through his body's distress, he charged forward again, each step exploding craters in the ground. In an instant, he was back in front of Nagato.
Five seconds. He had to defeat him within five seconds!
With that determination, Guy squeezed out every ounce of strength, unleashing a continuous barrage of rapid heavy punches.
"Hmph!" Nagato snorted coldly. A black rod emerged from his sleeve, deflecting and parrying with elegant ease, effortlessly blocking Guy's assault.
"Is this all?"
"Or are you deliberately showing weakness, hoping I'll underestimate you?"
"If so, you needn't bother."
"Because in a god's eyes, there are no enemies!"
"You'd better unleashyour full power quickly. Otherwise, you may never get another chance."
Guy took a deep breath and suddenly leaped into the air, spreading his arms like a great eagle. Then his arms became a blur, transforming into afterimages as he launched a flurry of rapid punches.
"Ata-ta-ta-ta..."
This combination was both fast and heavy, swift as meteors. In moments, it broke the sound barrier, producing sonic booms as the punches rapidly compressed the air.
The air deformed and recovered multiple times in quick succession, producing visible ripples and releasing tremendous energy. Following Guy's assault, a continuous stream of flaming shockwaves formed, densely covering the area around Nagato.
"Gate of View: Morning Peacock!"
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