Guy counted the seconds in his head as he sprinted at full speed, circling around Nagato.
"Morning Peacock!"
Even as he ran, Guy focused all his strength into his fists and launched a rapid barrage of punches.
His fists moved so quickly that friction with the air ignited flas, which surged toward Nagato together with the impact force generated by his strikes.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Nagato swiftly ford a hand seal and raised a thick earthen wall in front of himself to block the attack.
Rumble!
A large number of flas slamd into the wall and exploded. The earth wall was badly damaged, yet it still remained standing in front of Nagato.
Whoosh!
"Four… three…" Guy counted silently in his heart as he leaped over the top of the earth wall and descended on Nagato.
"Two… one."
When Guy counted down to one, he had already closed the distance to a single ter.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato's Rinnegan suddenly trembled, and a powerful repulsive force erupted once more from his body.
Guy instantly felt an invisible, irresistible force stop his advance cold.
Bang!
He was blasted straight through the Earth Flow Wall, his body flying backward before crashing heavily to the ground.
"So it really is ten seconds."
After that exchange, Guy was completely certain that Nagato's Shinra Tensei had a ten second cooldown.
"Ten… nine…"
Counting silently again, Guy charged forward once more and unleashed Morning Peacock again.
A shower of fireballs and shockwaves created by his rapid punches roared toward Nagato just as before.
When Nagato saw Guy repeat the sa pattern, he imdiately understood that Guy had fallen for the false information he had been feeding him.
Nagato did not change his response. He ford hand seals again and used Earth Release to raise another thick earth wall, just like monts earlier.
The result of taijutsu colliding with defensive Ninjutsu was the sa as before. The wall withstood the full force of Morning Peacock.
"What's wrong with Guy? Why is he still wasting stamina on that move?" Asuma asked from the stands, completely confused.
Since the last exchange had already proven that Morning Peacock could not break through Nagato's defensive Ninjutsu, why was Guy still using it instead of switching to a stronger technique like Dayti Tiger or Golden Skyline?
Yes, those consud more stamina, but at least they could break through the enemy's defense. Morning Peacock cost less, but if it could not even get through the wall, then that stamina was simply being thrown away.
"Everything depends on this one move." Kakashi watched the charging Guy with a grave expression.
After observing carefully, Kakashi had also noticed that the interval between each of Nagato's Shinra Tensei releases had been identical.
Because of that, he could more or less guess what Guy was planning.
"Noon Leopard!"
Guy poured all his power into his legs, and the massive chakra surging within him exploded outward. Instead of climbing the wall and descending like last ti, he ignored the earth wall entirely and charged straight through it.
Boom!
The wall was smashed apart, leaving a huge hole, and Guy burst through without losing any montum, racing straight toward Nagato.
His plan was simple. Since ordinary speed was not enough to reach Nagato within ten seconds, he would use Noon Leopard again to create a ti gap through sheer acceleration.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Faced with Guy bursting through the wall and closing in, Nagato remained calm and created a shadow clone.
"Four… three… success!"
Looking at Nagato now within striking range, Guy believed victory was already in his grasp.
At this distance, even if Nagato tried to use another offensive Ninjutsu, Guy could tank it and still land a punch.
Nagato's Ninjutsu might injure him, but it would not knock him out. Guy's punch, on the other hand, would most likely end the fight instantly.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A sudden, overwhelming repulsive force erupted.
Guy's fist, which had been driving toward Nagato's chest, stopped just five centiters away.
He stared at Nagato in shock. He had never stopped counting in his head, and by all logic, Nagato's Shinra Tensei should still have had two seconds of cooldown left.
"So I fell for it."
Guy imdiately understood what had happened.
Shinra Tensei might have a cooldown, but it definitely was not ten seconds. It might not even be eight.
Nagato had deliberately released it every ten seconds before to feed him false information.
Bang!
Once again, Guy was blasted backward by the repulsive force.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
To guarantee the hit, Nagato had his shadow clone use Pressure Damage, a wide area Ninjutsu. As Guy was blown back, the clone spat a high pressure wind sphere right into his path.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A raging storm engulfed the area where Guy had been thrown. Even the ground cracked under the wind's violent assault.
"What a troubleso opponent." Nagato let out a breath.
Fighting a ninja like Guy, who could take punishnt and keep pressing forward, was genuinely exhausting. Even with Nagato's reserves, he could not afford to waste chakra recklessly.
Every ti he used Shadow Clone Technique, he had to weigh whether the clone would actually create value. If it would not, then there was no point in summoning one.
After all, Guy could destroy shadow clones too easily. It was far better to conserve chakra for Shinra Tensei. The technique was devastatingly powerful, but it also consud a great deal of chakra.
"That false timing cost Guy his chance. His loss wouldn't be unjust," Kakashi murmured, surprised when Nagato released Shinra Tensei after only eight seconds.
Just now, Guy had believed he had seen through Nagato. In truth, he had only seen the version Nagato wanted him to see.
There was no doubt about it. In terms of battle awareness, Nagato had taken this exchange cleanly.
And that wasn't the only thing revealed just now. If Nagato could release Shinra Tensei every eight seconds, or even less, then it ant Nagato had still been hiding part of his strength in the earlier battle.
Given how powerful Shinra Tensei was, shortening its cooldown in actual combat would only make Nagato even more monstrous.
"He's the cautious type too. There really isn't much suspense left for first place," Kakashi analyzed, only to feel a headache coming on.
Nagato was not just strong. He was careful as well.
If Nagato had Obito's usual personality, then the final result might still be open to debate. But a Nagato who was both powerful and steady was an absolute nightmare to deal with.
Putting himself in Nagato's position, Kakashi felt that even he would most likely lose. Since Shisui and Obito were currently a step below him, they naturally would not fare any better.
When Hanzo saw Guy make a fatal misjudgnt and seemingly lose his best chance to turn the fight around, he withdrew his gaze and glanced sidelong at Mugetsu.
Mugetsu's expression had not changed in the slightest. He still wore that faint, gentle smile, as though everything remained exactly within his expectations.
Hanzo felt a surge of frustration.
He could control his expressions because he had to. But Mugetsu did not look like a man forcing himself to stay composed. He looked like soone who genuinely had everything under control.
"It should be about ti." Nagato fixed his gaze on Guy, who was still trapped within the storm.
At the mont, Guy looked thoroughly battered. His clothes were badly torn, his body was covered in mud and dust, and countless small wounds marked his skin.
As if he had felt Nagato's gaze, Guy grinned back at him through the storm.
He had not felt this kind of pressure in a one on one fight for a very long ti. Among all the opponents he had faced, Nagato was the only one who had pushed him this far.
"If this keeps going, I'm going to lose."
Feeling pain erupt from every part of his body, Guy made the judgnt with complete clarity.
He had used Noon Leopard twice in less than a minute, and his legs were already beginning to ache from fatigue. Not only could he no longer use Noon Leopard again, even his maximum speed had already started to drop.
Combined with the injuries he had already sustained, his body was steadily declining no matter how fiercely his fighting spirit burned.
"Obito really wanted that first place prize," Guy thought, recalling their earlier conversation about the Youth Martial Arts Tournant.
Each disciple had his own reason for entering the competition. Guy had joined because he wanted to face talented opponents and powerful fighters from across the world. He did not care about the prize at all.
Obito, however, had clearly been very interested from the mont he heard what the first place prize would be.
Guy would not have minded handing his reward to a friend. The prizes for every ranking were useless to him anyway.
But right now, he truly had the will and no power. In his current state, defeating Nagato was impossible.
Guy was confident, but he was never blindly arrogant.
"In that case, the Green Beast can only appear again!"
He took a deep breath and prepared to force open the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, just as he had during their encounter with the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist.
His body was far stronger now than it had been back then. Even if he forcibly opened the Sixth Gate while stacked with Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, the recoil would not be nearly as catastrophic as last ti.
"Gate of View, open!"
Guy's eyes widened violently, and a terrifying aura exploded from his body. Green, leaf like energy enveloped his entire fra.
The mont the Sixth Gate opened, his chakra swelled again and beca even more violent.
Nagato's expression changed instantly.
Even with his exceptional perception, he had not expected Guy to beco even stronger after taking that much damage.
This version of Guy, with the Sixth Gate stacked on top of Rock Breathing Chakra Mode and backed by a stronger physique than before, had already surpassed the monstrous state he had reached when facing the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist.
Even the spectators in the stands could now clearly feel the terrifying aura shooting skyward from his body.
"So Guy was still hiding another card." Asuma sucked in a breath.
At that mont, he felt that Guy could punch him to death in one strike.
"So he still wasn't using his full strength against ." Kisa lowered his gaze in frustration.
He had worked hard all this ti, only to discover that his forr opponent had not even needed his strongest state to defeat him.
"He really is reckless. Good thing Teacher Mugetsu is here," Kakashi muttered under his breath.
The mont he saw that green aura, Kakashi knew Guy had forcibly opened a higher gate.
He rembered the last ti all too clearly. If Guy had not opened the Sixth Gate and held back four of the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist by himself, then there was no way they would have lasted uninjured until Mugetsu arrived.
Of course, the price back then had been absurd. Guy had been the most badly injured out of all of them, and even after Mugetsu had treated him imdiately, he had still needed a long period of rest before he was fully recovered.
"What an incredible aura." Kitsuchi's gaze toward Guy changed completely.
This was no longer the aura of a re genius.
This was the aura of a true powerhouse, the kind of ninja who could stand on the stage of the entire world.
If he entered the arena right now and took Nagato's place, Kitsuchi was not even sure he could defeat the current Guy.
"He still had sothing like this hidden." Hanzo's face remained expressionless, but inside, he felt a rush of delight.
Then he glanced at Mugetsu again.
Mugetsu still wore the sa faint smile.
Hanzo could not understand it at all.
"Doesn't he care if his Ninjutsu gets taken? That's a Konoha ninja down there," Hanzo thought bitterly.
If the prize fell into Konoha's hands, then with Konoha's scale and depth, there was a very real possibility that soone would eventually master it. Konoha might even specifically send people to research how to counter Fire Dragon Dance afterward.
But Hanzo could not make sense of Mugetsu's thoughts, so he could only continue watching.
Guy poured a massive amount of chakra into his index and middle fingers, joining them together before drawing his hand back.
He had forcibly opened the Sixth Gate, and the burden on his body would only continue to grow. Combined with the injuries he had already taken, the longer the battle dragged on, the worse his situation would beco.
He needed to make every second count.
That ant no more testing. No more probing the true cooldown of Shinra Tensei.
Guy did not understand the principles behind repulsion very well, but he had personally seen Nagato take several steps back while neutralizing Morning Tiger.
That ant Shinra Tensei was not omnipotent.
If it encountered a force stronger than what it could cleanly repel, then it might fail to stop the attack completely.
"Golden Skyline!"
Guy unleashed every ounce of power in his body and charged toward Nagato at terrifying speed.
At that mont, many ninja in the stands could no longer track his body at all. All they could see was a streak of green light racing across the arena.
Sensing the sheer danger of the current Guy, Nagato's expression turned serious. He mobilized all his chakra and poured it into the Rinnegan.
This was no longer an opponent he could deal with using ordinary Shinra Tensei. He would need the strongest repulsive force he had used since obtaining the Rinnegan.
To buy the main body more ti, the shadow clone stepped forward and tried to intercept with Ninjutsu.
But Guy, in this state, had already crossed into a different realm altogether.
Nagato's shadow clone could not stop him.
In the blink of an eye, Guy had already burst through. His right hand slashed forward, his joined fingers moving like a blade.
The mont he made the motion, the resulting impact obliterated Nagato's shadow clone on the spot.
A brilliant golden flash erupted.
At that instant, Nagato's senses scread danger.
Without even the ti to think, he instinctively released every bit of chakra he had gathered, pushing the power of the Rinnegan to its absolute limit and unleashing the strongest attack he had used since awakening it.
"Shinra Tensei!"
.....
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