Chapter 426: The Green Beast and the Blue Beast (6k)

Samehada bit directly into the Mist Jonin's body like a shark, absorbing his chakra.

Although he didn't understand what they were doing, Might Guy certainly couldn't just stand by, so he immediately rushed forward to interrupt the process.

Suddenly a chakra orb shot toward Might Guy's path, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

Boom!!

The chakra orb hit the ground, causing another violent explosion, sending up dusk dust.

Samehada injected the absorbed chakra through the hilt into Fuguki Suikazan's body, stimulating cell regeneration.

With Samehada's help, the blood holes on Fuguki Suikazan's body healed rapidly, while the Mist Jonin whose chakra had been absorbed collapsed weakly to the ground, as if drained dry.

After receiving treatment, Fuguki Suikazan immediately got up, swung Samehada to repel the attacking Might Guy, and pulled back while lifting the Mist Jonin with one hand.

"He recovered that quickly." Might Guy was somewhat surprised.

Even if Rin Nohara healed him with all her might, such severe injuries couldn't have healed this fast.

"Damn it, I picked the wrong target." Noticing the situation on Might Guy's side, Kakashi's expression turned grim.

His expectation was that Might Guy would go all out and kill or defeat one opponent to the point of losing combat ability, making the rest of the fight much easier and increasing their chances of survival.

But they lacked intelligence on the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, not knowing that Fuguki Suikazan had such a recovery method, so Might Guy used the Golden Horizon but failed to kill one of the Swordsmen, only causing one Mist Jonin to lose combat capability.

One wrong step led to another, and the situation on the field had completely slipped out of Kakashi's control—he could no longer see any hope of survival.

Might Guy had expended a lot of physical strength and chakra to create this result; due to concentrated breathing and the Transparent World, he now had less than half his chakra and stamina, and Obito had achieved nothing and could only hold on for a few more minutes.

Their side was already at the end of its strength, while the enemy showed no signs of fatigue—the scales of victory had completely tilted toward the Mist.

Even though they were in a desperate situation, Kakashi hadn't given up; he calmly dealt with the pincer attack from Raiga Kurosuki and Jinpachi Munashi.

This wasn't the first time they had been in such danger. When Obito and Might Guy weren't yet official ninjas, they were cornered by a Cloud Jonin, and back then Kakashi truly thought it was a death sentence, so he only wanted to save whoever could escape.

But Obito and Might Guy personally showed him that miracles always happen if you don't give up: Might Guy broke through higher gates, Obito awakened the Sharingan, and finally Kakashi understood his heart and together with his teammates defeated the Cloud Jonin.

During the Chunin Exam, after an exhausting battle with the Kisame squad, they encountered a Mist Jonin who had infiltrated the Forest of Death.

That time, everyone's physical strength and chakra were at their limit, while the enemy was a powerful Jonin at full condition.

In a fight between a group of exhausted genin and a jonin, even an ordinary person could easily predict the outcome, but it was in that seemingly unbreakable deadlock that Kakashi finally comprehended the Transparent World and instantly killed the Mist Jonin.

Persistence may not guarantee survival, but giving up definitely means death—Kakashi will protect his comrades until he expends his last ounce of strength.

Might Guy chose not to pursue Fuguki Suikazan; Shisui was badly injured, and he wanted to take Shisui to Rin Nohara for treatment.

Seeing this, Kushimaru Kuriarare immediately launched an attack. He wouldn't dare attack recklessly on his own, after all, Fuguki Suikazan had just been severely wounded, and Kushimaru Kuriarare didn't have Samehada to heal him.

It was Kisame Hoshigaki who came to help; Raiga Kurosuki and Jinpachi Munashi defeating Kakashi was only a matter of time, so Kisame Hoshigaki wanted to help Kushimaru Kuriarare eliminate the most dangerous threat, Might Guy.

Might Guy had to give up the idea of taking Shisui for treatment and barely managed to fend off the combined assault of the two opponents, preventing them from inflicting new injuries on Shisui.

Might Guy glanced sideways in Obito's direction; going directly over was impossible, so he subconsciously moved the battlefield closer.

Obito also wished he could go over and let Rin heal Shisui, but the initiative in their own battle wasn't in their hands; all they could do was minimize their own injuries.

"Looks like I have to become the green beast." Might Guy took a deep breath, his eyes resolute—he would attempt to forcibly open the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates.

Currently, it hadn't even been a month since he could normally use the Fifth Gate, so even if he successfully entered the Sixth Gate, it would cause severe damage to his body; because of the higher gate number, it might even lead to irreversible internal injuries.

But the situation was too critical; Might Guy knew this wasn't the time to consider consequences. The team urgently needed powerful combat strength now, and consequences were for after they survived.

Moreover, given the current situation, it was uncertain whether the Sixth Gate could turn the tide, so there was no point in thinking too far ahead.

"Eight Gates, Sixth Gate, Gate of Rest, Open!"

Along with a shout full of youth, a green figure appeared on the battlefield, using a spinning kick to force back the enemies in front of Might Guy.

Might Guy stared in shock at the familiar green figure before him, and because of his surprise, he failed to open the Sixth Gate.

"We've really run into some tough opponents." Seeing the miserable state of Kakashi, Might Guy, and the others, Might Duy remarked.

He was on a mission nearby, and the big commotion here caught his attention; he never expected the ones in danger to be his son's squad.

"Dad..." After his initial surprise, Might Guy felt joy, and then worry.

They really needed reinforcements right now, but if it was just Might Duy alone, Might Guy would rather Might Duy hadn't found them.

At some point, a child believes his father is omnipotent, but as he grows older, he gradually realizes that his father is also human and there are many things he cannot do.

Might Guy knew very well Might Duy's strength. If neither of them used the Eight Gates, Might Guy could easily defeat Might Duy.

Even if they both opened the Eight Gates, under the same gate, Might Guy could still beat Might Duy effortlessly.

That is to say, Might Duy with seven gates open was not much stronger than Might Guy with five gates, but the current battle situation could not be changed by a slightly stronger Might Guy with five gates.

Shisui was injured, Obito and Kakashi were severely exhausted, and the battle situation would soon change drastically. Their side was sorely lacking in combat power.

"So it's Guy's father..." Kakashi felt somewhat melancholy.

He didn't know how strong Might Guy's father was, but he certainly wasn't as powerful as Mu Yue. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken so long to become a chunin. Konoha generally didn't hold back chunin promotions; anyone with enough seniority could be promoted.

However, based on Might Duy's current performance, he was stronger than an ordinary Konoha jonin.

Seeing someone coming to reinforce them, Shiranui Genma and Ebisu's faces lit up with joy. But after recognizing who it was, their expressions froze.

It wasn't that they looked down on Might Duy, but the enemies they encountered this time were truly strong. An ordinary ninja coming here would just be throwing their life away.

Munashi Jinpachi and the others felt a moment of tension when they saw a ninja suddenly approaching. But when they saw it was an unfamiliar ninja, they relaxed and revealed smiles.

Every ninja village had a limited number of strong ninja. Given Might Duy's age, if he were strong, he should have become famous long ago.

"To be able to fight like this against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Guy, you've grown faster than I expected." Might Duy gave Might Guy a thumbs up.

Being on the battlefield against the Mist, Might Duy was naturally familiar with the renowned Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He knew how strong the enemies Kakashi and the others were facing.

"Leave the rest to me. Now is the time to release my self-restraint!" Might Duy clenched his fist and said to Might Guy with a serious expression.

Might Guy immediately understood Might Duy's meaning. Might Duy wanted to open the eighth gate, the Gate of Death, to help them defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The Gate of Death is the most powerful and crucial gate of the Eight Gates. When all other gates are opened and then the Gate of Death is opened, this state can be called the Eight Gates Formation, unleashing immensely powerful chakra within the body.

It could be said that the power gained by opening this final gate exceeds the combined power of gates one through seven.

But this tremendous power does not come from the void. The Gate of Death consumes the user's life force, and once opened, it cannot be closed until the user dies completely.

Might Guy did not doubt Might Duy's ability to open the Gate of Death. Might Duy had spent a full twenty years on the Eight Gates, and for that, he had not learned any other taijutsu or ninjutsu.

"Self-restraint? You mean you can be strong if you don't restrain yourself?" Kurozuchi Raiga used lightning to assist Tsuchigumo Mozuku in injuring the exhausted Kakashi, glancing at Might Duy from the corner of his eye.

The moment he looked at Might Duy, he thought this guy looked very foolish and strange. Not only did he have green chakra emanating from his body, but he also dressed all in green, and that bowl cut with thick eyebrows was really dumb.

Might Duy did not respond to Kurozuchi Raiga's words. He didn't even care about the words of people inside Konoha, so why would he care about an enemy's words?

"Dad, don't open the Gate of Death. The seventh gate is enough. Please believe in our strength." Might Guy couldn't help but say.

Might Guy believed that Might Duy with the Gate of Death open had the strength to kill the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but the cost was too heavy. Might Guy couldn't bear to watch his father burn to death.

To prove his own strength, Might Guy decisively tried to forcibly open the sixth gate again.

Looking at Shisui's clothes soaked in blood, at Kakashi who was injured and weakened, and imagining the tragic sight of Might Duy opening the Gate of Death, Might Guy's gaze became incredibly resolute. He needed to become stronger to protect everything he wanted to protect.

"Gate of Joy, open!" Might Guy roared angrily, unleashing a terrifying aura, his entire body radiating energy like green leaves.

Opening the sixth gate caused Might Guy's chakra to surge again. He could feel chakra continuously rising, and his strength reached an unprecedented peak.

Hoo! Hoo!

The sudden burst of powerful chakra caused the leaves around Might Guy to rustle without wind. Suikazan Hoshigaki and Kuriarare Kushimaru, who were closest to Might Guy, showed expressions of shock.

They could not imagine that such a terrifying aura was being erupted by a ten-year-old boy.

Juzo Biwa used his large sword to send Rin flying, then turned to look at Might Guy with a serious expression.

Even though Might Guy had already been listed as a priority target for assassination, Juzo Biwa still felt that the Mist had severely underestimated Might Guy.

Might Guy should be a genius who must be assassinated. With such strength at age ten, if allowed to grow, he could surpass the Sannin.

"Hahaha, as expected of my son! Gate of Wonder, open!" Might Duy laughed heartily as he opened the seventh gate of the Eight Gates, also unleashing a powerful aura.

The Gate of Wonder is the last gate before the Gate of Death. Although it does not have the enormous cost of the Gate of Death, it still has terrifying side effects. Opening the Gate of Wonder causes severe damage to the body, and even after it is closed, the user feels excruciating pain from the slightest touch.

Might Duy chose to trust his son. If he had a choice, Might Duy certainly did not want to die. He still wanted to see Might Guy step by step become the strongest in taijutsu.

The powerful chakra of Might Guy and Might Duy swept across the entire battlefield. At this moment, no Mist ninja dared to underestimate these two taijutsu ninja in green tight suits. Their strength was visible to the naked eye.

Swoosh!

Might Duy's entire body burned with blue steam as he burst out chakra and headed straight for Kakashi's direction. Currently, the most dangerous person on the battlefield was Kakashi—no teammates nearby, injured, and under attack from both sides.

Jūzō swung his hammer with immense power to strike the incoming Might Duy, but Might Duy extended his right hand and, to Jūzō's astonishment, firmly caught the hammerhead.

Bang!

Might Duy flung Jūzō away, sending him crashing into a nearby large tree.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"

Raiga infused chakra into his lightning swords and fired a dazzling lightning ball at Might Duy.

With the Seventh Gate opened, Might Duy was incredibly fast. He leaped into the air, tapped off a nearby large tree a few times, easily dodged the lightning ball, and arrived beside Kakashi.

"Thanks, Uncle Duy." Kakashi took a couple of short breaths and thanked him.

His condition was indeed quite poor right now; if Might Duy hadn't come, he wouldn't have lasted much longer.

For a mere chunin, it was no easy feat to simultaneously hold off two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. If not for the strong defensive capabilities of the Transparent World, Kakashi wouldn't have lasted this long.

Just as Might Duy was about to say something, Jūzō and Raiga immediately charged again, forcing Might Duy to engage in battle.

Instead of hiding behind Might Duy to recover, Kakashi chose to close the Transparent World and assist Might Duy in combat.

"If only I could have come a little earlier," Kakashi thought to himself.

If he were at his peak, teaming up with seven-gate Might Duy would have a chance to quickly kill one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

That thought only appeared in Kakashi's mind for a split second before disappearing.

It was already no easy feat for Might Guy's father to come and support; how could he expect him to arrive at the perfect time?

After assisting Might Duy in battle for a couple of exchanges, Kakashi noticed a problem: although Might Duy's body with the Seventh Gate was powerful, his taijutsu was actually inferior to Might Guy's.

This led to a problem—they had a significant advantage but couldn't inflict too much damage on Jūzō and Raiga.

After all, Jūzō and Raiga were often teammates on missions; their coordination was not bad, much better than Kakashi and Might Duy's.

Kakashi kept thinking about how to break the deadlock while paying attention to the others' situations.

Although he had opened the Sixth Gate, Might Guy's situation wasn't much better because he was essentially fighting one against three.

After dealing with the Mist jonin, Fuguki chose to go after Obito, while Mangetsu joined the battle against Might Guy.

Because Might Guy hadn't used a single ninjutsu from start to finish, Fuguki felt his Samehada couldn't play a significant role, so he switched opponents with Mangetsu—as the advantaged side, they could easily do that.

The massive blade of the Decapitation Sword was not clumsy in Mangetsu's hands; it always accurately aimed for Might Guy's vulnerable spots. Coupled with the pincer attack from Hiramekarei and Kushimaru, Might Guy was under considerable pressure.

Shisui's situation was even more difficult. Without timely treatment, his wound caused severe loss of stamina, making his body weaker and his movements and reactions dull.

By now, Shisui could no longer be considered an asset to Might Guy; instead, he required Might Guy to spare extra attention.

"Obito, that sword with barbs can absorb chakra, and it doesn't like fire," Shisui shouted, passing on the information he had gained from his fight with Fuguki.

Obito immediately activated his chakra, setting his body on fire. Every punch and kick carried high-temperature flames, causing Fuguki's injured Samehada to very reluctantly tap the hilt against Fuguki's arm.

Fuguki's face darkened. He retreated to create distance, formed hand seals, and used Water Release to attack Obito.

Samehada is the only one of the seven ninja swords with self-awareness. If Fuguki insisted on using Samehada to block flames, once or twice was fine, but after many times, Samehada would throw a little tantrum and then go through the motions without putting in effort.

In a serious case, Samehada might even stop recognizing him—this was a picky sword.

Boom!!

Mujiro swung the Explosion Sword Shibuki, and suddenly more than a dozen explosive tags shot out from the blade toward Rin Nohara.

"Water Instant Body Technique!"

Rin reacted and tried to dodge with Water Instant Body, but she couldn't escape the explosion range in time. She was caught in the blast, suffering black explosive burns on her body.

Even with the assistance of Shiranui Genma and Ebisu, it was still a bit of a stretch for her to fight against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen with her strength.

Seeing this, Obito's eyes widened with rage, the red of his Sharingan growing deeper. He wanted to help but was blocked by Fuguki.

Mujiro took the opportunity to swing his large sword toward Rin, who had been blown to the ground.

Clang!

Shiranui Genma held a kunai and rushed forward to block this strike for Rin.

Bang!

Muryō Shinpachi kicked out violently with his right foot, sending the Tokimae Genma in front of him flying five meters away.

Next, Muryō Shinpachi did not turn to look at Nohara Rin; instead, he changed direction and slashed to his left, forcing back Ebisu who was stabbing at his left waist.

"So this is the strength of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? If I can get out of here alive, I swear I'll match Guy's training schedule!" Tokimae Genma trembled as he got to his feet.

When facing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen head-on, Tokimae Genma realized just how wide the gap was between them and Nohara Rin. Rin could at least put up a fight for a while, but in front of Muryō Shinpachi, they were as easy to handle as toddlers who had just learned to walk.

Rising to his feet, Tokimae Genma and Ebisu charged at Muryō Shinpachi together once more.

Bang! Bang!!

Tokimae Genma and Ebisu were both sent flying backward, slamming hard into the ground.

Muryō Shinpachi once again raised his large sword toward Nohara Rin. His sword was about as tall as Rin herself; one swing would definitely cut her clean in two—even Tsunade couldn't save her.

Zzz! Zzz!

Just as Muryō Shinpachi's large sword was coming down, a short blade crackling with lightning appeared in front of him.

It was Kakashi's White Fang short sword.

After Kakashi judged that even with his help, Might Dai could not quickly inflict effective damage on the enemy, he redefined his role as a firefighter—saving whoever was in danger, since he was the fastest in burst speed.

However, Kakashi only had one chance to put out a fire, because his chakra was running low. If he had enough chakra, he wouldn't need to rescue—he could just cooperate with Might Dai to kill.

The anxiety in Obito's heart eased slightly, but because he was too focused on Nohara Rin's situation, he was wounded by Suikazan Hebihei who seized the opportunity.

Sensing Obito's disadvantage, Might Guy was burning with anxiety but could do nothing.

The three—Biba Jūzō, Seitai Hōhei, and Toriame Kushimaru—were not ordinary jonin. Seitai Hōhei's Samehada had tremendous destructive power; without having cultivated Armament Haki, Might Guy could not physically endure it.

Toriame Kushimaru's long sword, Nuibari, had a wire that was tricky and hard to defend against; a single misstep and one could lose a chunk of flesh.

Although Biba Jūzō's Decapitating Sword did not show any obvious special features, his own skill was solid, making him the strongest of the three.

Under siege by these three, Might Guy truly could not break away to help the others. Protecting Shisui was already the best he could do with his current strength.

"Guy, do you remember what I once told you? Youth has no limits. Death does not erase youth. Dying to protect what is important—that is the climax of youth!" Might Dai said earnestly.

Even though he didn't want to part from Might Guy, now was the time he had to open the Gate of Death.

If he did not open the Gate of Death, as Kakashi and Obito were defeated, the next one in danger would be Might Guy.

Only by opening the Gate of Death and gaining enough power to crush the enemy could he resolve the current predicament.

"I remember, but you also said that for truly important things—no matter the pain or sorrow—you must persevere to the end, and even if you lose your life, use your hands to protect them to the very end! For me, Dad, you are also a truly important existence!" Might Guy roared.

Might Guy understood very well what Might Dai was thinking and feeling. If he could open the Eighth Gate, Might Guy would rather be the one to open it.

Might Guy wanted to protect his father and his comrades, no matter the cost.

With this resolve, Might Guy's breathing gradually began to change.

Might Dai showed a relieved expression. Might Guy had truly grown a lot, both in strength and in other aspects.

"I'm glad you have this resolve, but right now, only I can open the final gate of the Eight Gates to change the situation." Might Dai prepared to open the final Gate of Death.

Might Dai could speak his last words to Might Guy during battle because one had opened seven gates and the other six, but Kakashi and Obito's side didn't have that luxury; the battle had reached its most critical moment.

"No, I still have one technique—Stone Breathing." In that instant, Might Guy had a realization.