Might Guy's assault came like a tidal wave. Flashy punches, devastating kicks, every strike overflowing with momentum, every movement burning with exhilaration.
Uchiha Mai responded with his self-created, improvised version of the Yagami-style ancient martial arts, countering move for move. He remained under constant pressure, but Guy's stamina was draining far faster. Barely, the battle still hovered at an even split.
Mai had long been mentally prepared for the fact that he could not overpower a Guy who had opened the Gate of Opening.
In the original storyline, Guy met Kakashi after a Ninja Academy exam and, from that moment on, trained like a man possessed chasing Kakashi's back as his goal and skyrocketing in strength.
In this world, about a year earlier, Guy had indeed become friends with Kakashi.
Putting aside the fact that Kakashi grew more laid-back as he aged, his childhood self was nothing short of a prodigy entering the Academy at four, graduating the following year, and becoming a chūnin at five.
Once Guy set Kakashi as his benchmark, his rate of growth became downright absurd, comparable to Red-Haired Shanks from One Piece.
Back when Shanks and Buggy were both crew members under Roger, they were equally mediocre. After going their separate ways, Shanks somehow became a Yonko within a few years. Completely ridiculous.
It was as if Guy and Kakashi were characters in some cheap mobile game, bound together by a special synergy buff.
Boom!
Guy unleashed another high whip kick, smashing into Mai's already raised left arm and sending a wave of numbness through it.
"Mai!" Guy shouted. "As a so-called Uchiha genius, is this all you've got? Get crazier! Get more passionate! Use your full strength and fight me head-on!"
He launched another attack without forgetting to trash-talk at the same time. Clearly, he had mastered the NBA player's core technique.
What's the point of fighting if you don't talk trash?
Uchiha Mai: "..."
Uchiha genius? Not using his full strength?
No. Absolutely not. Don't make things up.
Mai never dared to call himself a genius. Any Uchiha worthy of that title, at the same age, would at least have to be comparable to Shisui, Itachi, or their ancestor Madara.
Of course, if the comparison was young Sasuke, then sureMai had confidence. Who wasn't a genius then?
As for holding back? That was even more absurd.
If brute strength were enough, who wouldn't want to knock out their opponent in a single blow and win cleanly? The only reason Mai couldn't do that was because his technical and tactical advantages had been completely erased by raw speed and power.
What could he do? All he could do was drag the fight out until Guy exhausted himself.
In battle, victory is what matters. How you win is secondary.
Seeing that Mai remained unmoved and stubbornly clung to his defensive counterattack strategy, Guy grew irritated. His attacks became even more ferocious, his trash talk even louder.
Mai knew he could win, but being provoked nonstop still stirred his emotions. A reckless urge rose within him to abandon defense and clash head-on.
His reason barely managed to suppress it.
No matter the situation, one must always remember their true objective. In this fight, Mai's goal was simple: victory.
Charging in recklessly might look heroic, but the odds were far higher that Guy would seize an opening and crush him in a single blow.
The reward didn't even come close to justifying the risk. That wasn't a gamble Mai would take.
Still, constant provocation inevitably wore on his nerves.
As he struggled to endure, a heavy, stifling pressure built up in his chest.
His pitch-black eyes tracked every movement Guy made, desperately searching for intent and openingsendure, endure, endure, until Guy's stamina ran dry.
Suddenly, his eyes began to sting.
Those obsidian-black pupils slowly shifted in color, turning a deep, blood-red.
Near the edge of each pupil, a dark point emerged forming into a black tomoe that began to rotate slowly.
Single-tomoe Sharinganactivated!
In that instant, the entire world changed.
Guy's storm-like barrage of punches and kicks slowed dramatically, as if the world itself had entered slow motion. Every subtle detail of his movements became crystal clear.
Openings that Mai could not perceive before now lay fully exposed so clear that a properly timed response could dismantle Guy's techniques entirely.
This was why Uchiha taijutsu appeared so flashy.
The Sharingan did not directly enhance speed or physical power. Instead, it created the terrifying illusion that time itself had slowed, vastly amplifying perception and reaction speed.
An ordinary person's brain reacted in roughly 0.2 to 0.3 seconds. A ninja with the Sharingan reacted far faster.
That was why Uchiha fighters seemed to dance on a razor's edge. In reality, every "risky" movement was the result of precise calculation.
Awakening the single-tomoe Sharingan so effortlessly felt unreal to Mai.
Everyone knew that awakening the single tomoe was far harder than awakening the Mangekyō.
Fugaku and Shisui awakened the Mangekyō while trapped between the village and the clan, desperate yet powerless.
Itachi awakened it after witnessing Shisui's death and resolving to massacre his own clan for the village's sake.
Obito awakened it after being deceived by Madara and witnessing Kakashi kill Nohara Rin.
And Sasuke the greatest prodigy in Uchiha history and the reincarnation of Indra's chakra only awakened a single tomoe after witnessing his clan's massacre.
Case closed.
The single tomoe was the strongest, coolest Uchiha eyesecond only to the Eternal Mangekyō.
Gaining so easily what Sasuke only awakened through tragedy made Mai feel momentarily inflated. Was he really that strong or was Sasuke just that weak?
He could think about that later.
Right now, he needed to defeat Guy.
Mai's eyes darted as he analyzed Guy's movements. He smiled.
"I originally planned to let you lose with some dignity by waiting until your stamina ran out.
"But since you're so eager for me to defeat you head-on, I'll use everything I've got and make you accept it completely."
No more hiding. No more pretending.
"Exactly what I wanted!" Guy roared.
He leapt into the air, unleashing another high whip kick toward Mai. A man should win with thunder and lose without regret!
The single tomoe spun rapidly as Mai dissected the technique, locking onto a fleeting opening.
That opening had always existed. Before, he simply couldn't grasp it with enough precision.
Now, everything felt effortless.
Mai drew chakra through his body, lowered his center of gravity, dipped his left shoulder, and charged forward in a stance reminiscent of an iron shoulder check.
Mai-Style Ancient Martial Arts Outer Form Phoenix Qilin Asura!
(End of Chapter)