Bang bang!!
Guy launched several attacks at lightning speed, pushing his own strength to the limit, but still failed to achieve any results.
The Hidden Cloud Chunin he was fighting was not inferior in strength to him, and even had more battle experience. If it weren't for a slight advantage in speed, the situation could have been worse.
Guy started to feel anxious. He had to defeat his opponent quickly, or Kakashi and Obito would be in danger.
The more urgently he tried to defeat his opponent, the more openings Guy exposed himself to. He was pushed back over a meter by the Hidden Cloud Chunin.
As Guy retreated, he glanced at Kakashi and Obito. Under Bakuri's relentless pressure, the two were in a very dire situation, already sustaining injuries.
"Strength, I need stronger strength, I must open more gates..." Guy realized that this was the most critical moment he ever faced.
If he didn't quickly deal with the enemy in front of him, it wouldn't be him dealing with the enemy and then teaming up with Kakashi and Obito against Bakuri. Instead, Bakuri would finish off Kakashi and Obito and then join forces with the Hidden Cloud Chunin against him.
The first three gates of the Eight Inner Gates are a safe zone, so the pace of training can be faster compared to the later gates.
Following Mutsuki's instructions, Guy shifted his focus of training to the Eight Inner Gates. It had been nearly a month since he came close to successfully opening the first gate.
He had attempted to open the second gate before this mission, but had failed.
At that time, Guy hadn't paid much attention. His father had taken twenty years to master the forbidden jutsu; of course, it wouldn't be easy to practice.
But now was different. Faced with this dangerous moment, he had to attempt to open the second gate again and he had to succeed. He needed the power of more gates.
"In using this forbidden technique beyond your own abilities, it will harm your body, so you must impose self-restraint." Guy recalled his father's words when teaching him the Eight Inner Gates.
Guy knew that even if he managed to open the second gate, it probably wouldn't be without consequences like the first gate. However, now was the time to release that self-restraint. No matter what the cost, he needed to gain stronger power.
"True victory isn't just defeating the strong; it's protecting what's important to the very end," Guy silently recited his father's words, feeling deeply affirmed.
"Ah!"
Guy's eyes glared fiercely as he roared loudly. His entire body erupted with chakra, attempting to open the second gate of the Eight Inner Gates and gain stronger power.
Sensing Guy's movements, the Hidden Cloud Chunin cautiously retreated backwards, watching Guy vigilantly.
Perhaps his training in the Eight Inner Gates was still insufficient, or perhaps it was too soon since he opened the first gate, but no matter how hard he tried, Guy couldn't manage to open the second gate. His momentum slowly faded away.
"I got scared by you, little brat. You scared me with all that ghostly yelling, but nothing happened in the end." The Hidden Cloud Chunin who thought Guy was about to use some terrifying technique, charged forward and gave Guy a thunderous punch while mocking him.
Ironically, he had cautiously backed away a bit, only to find it was a false alarm.
Guy used Soru to the extreme to dodge, his heart sinking gradually.
Unable to open more gates to gain stronger power, he couldn't swiftly defeat the enemy before him.
Bang!!
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed. Guy glanced sideways and saw Obito's body slamming heavily into a large tree, shaking it violently as branches and leaves trembled continuously.
"Is there really no way?" Guy clenched his fists tightly, desperately searching for the key to open the door to victory.
Then, a sudden flash of insight struck Guy's mind. He thought of a way to forcefully open the second gate.
"The most important aspect of the Breathing Technique is breath control, absorbing external energy to strengthen oneself, allowing air to carry Chakra to enhance the body." Memories of Mutsuki teaching the Breathing Technique slowly surfaced in Guy's mind.
The Eight Gates are essentially eight checkpoints within the body's Chakra system, regulating and controlling the internal Chakra.
The Breathing Technique can absorb external energy to enhance the physical body and drive Chakra to strengthen various parts of the body.
Since the usual methods couldn't open the second gate, Guy decided to forcefully break through the limitation using the Breathing Technique and borrowing external force!
Guy wasn't sure of the consequences of forcefully opening the second gate, but he knew it was time to release all restrictions. Regardless of the consequences, he had to do it.
"Obito, Kakashi, let me protect you this time."
Guy's expression was unusually resolute. At this moment, his breath concentrated like never before, with absorbed air carrying Chakra rushing towards the Chakra point in his brain. The location of the second gate, the Gate of Rest of the Eight Inner Gates, is precisely at the head of the human body.
"Ahh!"
Guy felt a sudden intense pain in his head. He clenched his fist tightly, digging his nails into his flesh without noticing.
"Doing the same thing again?" The Hidden Cloud Chunin saw Guy falling into the same state as before and couldn't help but feel speechless. This time, he wouldn't be fooled.
"Thunderbolt Kick!"
The Hidden Cloud Chunin directly condensed a large amount of Chakra, using Nature Transformation to cloak his right leg in shimmering blue lightning, then swiftly charged towards Guy.
Although the Eight Gates are just metaphors and not actual gates guarding Chakra pathways within the body, when Guy forcefully broke through the second gate using the Breathing Technique, he felt as if he truly heard a cracking sound like a gate opening. This not only opened the second gate of the Eight Inner Gates but also his gateway to victory.
After opening the second restriction, Guy felt a surge of clarity in his mind. The fatigue from the previous battles vanished, and his internal Chakra increased. Opening the second gate made him even stronger!
"Eight Inner Gates, Second Gate, Gate of Rest, open!"
Guy's momentum suddenly surged. He locked onto the approaching Hidden Cloud Chunin, intent on swiftly dealing with the enemy before him.
"If I combine the Second Gate with Total Concentration Breathing, I should be able to use that move," Guy began gathering his strength, preparing to employ his own developed Taijutsu.
When teaching Guy Taijutsu, Mutsuki often encouraged him to integrate his learned knowledge and develop his own Taijutsu style.
While Guy found Mutsuki's Taijutsu techniques very suitable for him, he also believed in Mutsuki's wisdom, so he decided to give it a try.
Guy's idea was to combine Soru and Whirlwind Kick, utilizing the momentum from rapid running to explosively kick out with Soru's multiple bursts of speed and strength.
Guy named this move "Noon Leopard," because it had the explosive power of a leopard and was conceived around noon.
However, because his physical strength was insufficient previously, Guy attempted many times without success.
Sensing the continuously emerging power within his body, Guy felt confident this time.
"I originally intended to save this for Kakashi, but I'll try it out on you first!"
Harnessing the power absorbed through concentrated breathing and the strength gained from releasing restrictions, Guy poured all this power into his legs and charged towards the Hidden Cloud Ninja.
"Noon Leopard!"
With Guy's roar, the Hidden Cloud Chunin immediately sensed a change in Guy—his aura grew stronger, his speed increased.
"What's going on? How did shouting a few times make him stronger?" The Hidden Cloud Ninja was a bit bewildered; this didn't seem right.
Guy rushed at full speed towards the Hidden Cloud Ninja, who had already expended a large amount of chakra using NinTaijutsu. Not willing to give up like this, they maintained their charging state.
As they met in an instant, both quickly kicked out, their feet colliding together.
Boom!
With a loud bang, as Guy kicked, the chakra erupting from his body faintly formed the shape of a leopard's head. The kick he unleashed was like a leopard's fierce pounce with its fangs bared.
On one side, the Hidden Cloud Ninja used NinTaijutsu with full force, while on the other, Guy gathered all his Taijutsu power for this ultimate kick.
Boom!
The stalemate didn't last long.
In the next moment, the Hidden Cloud Ninja was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing through over a dozen large trees before coming to a halt. The leg that received the full force of Guy's kick couldn't withstand such power, bursting with blood, staining the entire leg red.
"How is this possible, mastering such powerful Taijutsu..." This was the Hidden Cloud Ninja's final thought before losing consciousness.
He couldn't understand how Guy could possess such strength, especially since he looked around nine years old. Moreover, at the start of the battle, Guy's strength seemed almost equal to his. Yet, with just a few shouts about protecting others, his strength soared in an instant.
"Hoo hoo." Guy gasped heavily, and the leg he used for Noon Leopard trembled slightly. This level of power was still somewhat strenuous for him at this moment.
The commotion on Guy's side also caught the attention of Kakashi, Obito, and even Bakuri.
"Guy has gotten stronger again!" Kakashi was shocked by Guy's immense strength. It surpassed the kick that defeated him back then by a large margin.
"You did well, Guy!" Obito cheered for Guy incessantly. If Guy didn't come over soon, both he and Kakashi would really be unable to hold on.
Guy didn't care about his own condition now. After glancing at the Hidden Cloud Ninja, who seemed unconscious or worse, he immediately rushed towards Kakashi and Obito.
"He actually hid his strength. But it's just futile struggling." Bakuri saw his subordinate defeated by Guy but remained calm.
He acknowledged that these brats indeed had some skills, but he wasn't a newly promoted Jonin. Bakuri had been a Jonin for ten years, an experienced veteran. He had mastered everything he could and was only limited by his talents, unable to improve further.
"Be careful of his Lightning Release NinTaijutsu and Lightning Release Kenjutsu; their power is immense." Kakashi quickly retreated to join Guy and reminded him.
Guy nodded solemnly, gazing at Bakuri with a serious expression. In just a short while, Bakuri had caused Kakashi and Obito such distress. He was indeed a formidable enemy who needed to be approached with extreme caution.
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