Chapter 233: Seal-less Fire Release?

"After watching this fight, you can leave; the winner will definitely be first place."

"I heard that both of them went on a practical training with Teacher Muyue. Obito's taijutsu has clearly improved. Might Guy hasn't shown it, but he should have improved too; just not sure if the improvement is as big as Obito's."

The watching students were all looking forward to their fight.

Because fights between Might Guy and Obito often went either way, and their strength far surpassed the other students, it was full of exciting points.

"Guy, you haven't forgotten the restrictions, right? Don't get too excited and directly open the Second Gate." Before the fight started, Obito reminded him.

He could ensure that he himself would not use the Sharingan; he was worried that Might Guy might get carried away and forget the restrictions and open the Second Gate.

"Don't underestimate me in this regard; I've already taken it as a self-restraint and kept it in my heart!" Might Guy said with a smile, giving himself a thumbs-up.

After a brief exchange, both made the opposing hand seal and were ready to start the fight at any moment.

The proctor saw that the two had taken their stances, and after about twenty seconds, shouted, "Fight begin!"

The moment the proctor's voice fell, both Obito and Might Guy quickly changed their breathing and entered the Breathing Method state.

"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!" Obito even directly entered the highly stamina-consuming concentrated breathing state.

After a period of constant training, Obito felt that his endurance in the Breathing Method should be stronger.

Bang! Bang!

The two figures kept flickering, throwing punches and kicks with extreme speed.

Although they were old rivals who had fought countless times, not only often battling in school practical exams but also frequently arranged by Muyue for various sparring sessions, they tacitly launched a wave of probing attacks first.

Because both knew the other had improved a lot; Obito, though unable to use the Sharingan, could still use his increased chakra, and his progress in Breathing Method and Yin Release was solid.

Although Might Guy could not use the Second Gate of the Eight Gates, his Breathing Method had also improved, and his physique had become stronger.

After a round of probing, both sides had a bit of a baseline in mind.

"Eight Gates: First Gate, Opening Gate, open!" Might Guy directly activated the Eight Gates, further enhancing his physical strength.

Obito, having finished probing, quickly sidestepped to create distance.

Because it was a flat open area and not very large, he had to maintain enough distance to have time to release ninjutsu, so as not to be instantly defeated by a full-power kick from Might Guy.

With a disadvantage in the terrain, he had to be fully prepared.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Obito gathered chakra in his throat, quickly changed its nature, and a huge fireball blazing with fierce flames.

Seeing the approaching Great Fireball, Might Guy remained expressionless; he knew this technique was just a feint, and he needed to be careful of what came after.

Whoosh!

Might Guy burst chakra in his legs, increasing his already fast speed, and dodged the huge fireball rushing at him at extreme speed.

"So fast! It feels like he appears in another place in the blink of an eye!" The watching students marveled at the terror of Might Guy's physique.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!

Obito continuously threw shuriken with his right hand to interfere with Might Guy's movements, but Might Guy dodged them all with incredible speed and kept closing in on Obito.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Suddenly, Obito opened his mouth and spat out a series of small fireballs that rapidly struck at Might Guy.

Might Guy was slightly surprised inwardly; he knew this technique was not a no-hand-seal ninjutsu.

But when he saw Obito's left hand hidden behind his back, he immediately understood everything.

Previously, Obito liked to use a kunai to perform single-hand seals for the Phoenix Flower Crimson Claw; this time he chose not to combine with ninja tools, changing his habits to catch Might Guy off guard.

Might Guy understood, but the watching students below were immediately shocked by Obito's method.

"What's going on? I didn't see Obito making hand seals. How did he release Fire Release? Don't all ninjutsu require hand seals?" The watching students said in surprise.

"Yeah, I saw him still throwing shuriken, how could he suddenly spit out fireballs?" Shiranui Genma showed a thoughtful expression.

Not only were the students surprised and confused, but even the teachers looked baffled, not knowing what had happened.

"How is Uchiha Obito able to release Fire Release ninjutsu without hand seals?" A teacher asked in utter bewilderment.

"Teacher Iketani, he's a student in your class, do you know?" the teacher next to Iketani Isamu asked Iketani Isamu.

"Uh, his current strength is mainly due to his own efforts. Maybe it's an advanced application technique of the Uchiha's Fire Release." Iketani Isamu thought for a moment and then replied.

Others asked him, but he didn't understand either, so he could only make up something plausible.

"That could be true, after all, the Uchiha clan is very skilled in Fire Release." The teacher who asked felt that Iketani Isamu made a good point.

"Calling it a Fire Release application technique is somewhat correct, but this is not a seal-less ninjutsu; it's one-handed hand sealing. You can recall, didn't Obito just use only one hand to throw shuriken?" Mu Yue stepped forward to explain.

"The essence of hand seals is to guide chakra. If one has sufficient understanding of a ninjutsu, one-hand hand seals are possible, though it may affect the technique's power."

This is a bit of obscure knowledge in the ninja world, but not too outlandish. The main advantage of one-handed hand seals is the stealth of initiating a technique. True masters form seals very quickly and are strong in taijutsu; they rarely find themselves unable to use a technique. Even stronger ones can simplify seals or skip them without affecting power.

Obito's method was actually a trick; he had the enhancement of Flame Breathing.

"As expected, Teacher Mu Yue, you observe meticulously." Iketani Isamu thought it over and felt that Mu Yue made a lot of sense.

"By the way, isn't Uchiha Obito the intern under your supervision, Director Mu Yue? Could it be that this technique..." The chunin teacher next to him looked at Mu Yue with surprise.

"Actually, it's not too amazing a technique. With enough practice, everyone has a chance to learn it." Mu Yue smiled and replied.

Times had changed; he needed to gradually strengthen his overt power. When an opportunity arose, he could step forward to explain a bit of combat, demonstrating his ninja knowledge.

"Rock Breathing: Total Concentration Breathing!"

At close range, facing the incoming small fireballs, Might Guy could only concentrate his breathing to enhance his physical strength.

At this point, aside from the second gate of the Eight Gates, he had already unleashed his full power.

As soon as he used Total Concentration Breathing, the aura around Might Guy immediately became stronger.

The power boost from Total Concentration Breathing was not fixed; it grew stronger as one's breathing technique improved. Might Guy's current breathing technique was already much stronger than when he first started.

Might Guy concentrated chakra on his feet, kicked the first two fireballs and exploded them, then burst into extreme speed to dodge the following fireballs, and forcibly struck those he couldn't avoid.

Rock Breathing greatly strengthens the body, not only in strength and speed, but in all aspects, so the body's defense ability also increases. In gaming terms, it adds not only attack power but also health and defense.

Relying on chakra enhancement and the boost from Rock Breathing, Might Guy looked ragged on the surface, but in fact had not suffered damage that could affect the battle.

"Guy's body is so strong! He even kicked out several fireballs and can still run that fast. Isn't he burned by the Fire Release?"

Obito's one-handed hand seal Fire Release surprised everyone, and Might Guy's direct resistance to the Fire Release also shocked the watching students.

Just as everyone thought the situation was about to change, Obito retreated while quickly forming hand seals.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

Obito immediately used this genjutsu on Might Guy, which he had learned not long ago.

Everything was still within his control. The Great Fireball forced movement, and the sudden Phoenix Sage Fire forced Might Guy to use full power and get injured; now was the perfect time to use genjutsu.

Might Guy felt a large tree suddenly emerge from the ground, tightly binding him, making him unable to move.

"Haha, I've been saving this for the grade-level spar to take first place in the grade." Obito couldn't help but reveal a smug smile.

Yesterday during the class spar against Might Guy, he deliberately held back this technique to use in the grade-level spar.

Obito walked towards Might Guy holding a kunai. The large tree did not exist in the eyes of others; in the spectators' view, Might Guy was running and then suddenly stopped moving.

When he put the kunai to Might Guy's neck, the proctor would declare his victory.

"What's going on? Why did Guy suddenly stop moving?" Shiranui Genma felt the fight between the two had become strange.

"He must have been hit by a genjutsu. It seems Obito is about to win." Ebisu guessed.

Although his practical combat ability was average, his theoretical knowledge was very good, and he immediately thought that Might Guy was hit by a genjutsu.

"Genjutsu: Release!"

Just as Obito was internally popping champagne, Might Guy, who had appeared dazed, suddenly had clarity return to his eyes.

"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"

Might Guy burst his chakra and kicked out a whirlwind kick at extreme speed.

Having suffered from genjutsu before, he later specifically sought out Mu Yue to learn how to deal with genjutsu-type ninjas and how to release genjutsu.

Might Guy's sudden burst caught Obito, who thought he had already won, off guard, and he could only cross his arms in front of his chest to block Might Guy's attack.

Bang!

Under Might Guy's powerful kick, Obito was sent flying backwards. Might Guy, not letting up, leaped directly and delivered an aerial elbow strike to Obito, sending him plummeting rapidly.

Boom!

Obito crashed heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Obito lay on the ground, unable to rise, while Might Guy stood beside him — the battle was already decided.

"Might Guy wins!" the proctor announced Might Guy's victory.

"It seems Obito's combat sense still needs improvement," Muyue thought to himself.

Although the terrain was advantageous to Might Guy, Obito had gained an advantage through some unexpected moves midway and had a good chance of winning, but in the final exchange he directly threw it away by being reckless.

Wait, there's still a 3k.