Chapter 427: Muyue, Who Is Never Late (6.2k)

At the very beginning of learning the Breathing Method, Might Guy learned from Muyue that there are three major stages of the Breathing Method.

The first stage is Total Concentration Breathing, which allows one to highly concentrate their breathing to enhance physical abilities. Reaching this step means one has entered the basics of the Breathing Method.

The second stage is Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, which keeps the body in a relatively concentrated state of breathing twenty-four hours a day. Mastering this step greatly improves physique, and the powerful bonuses of the Breathing Method gradually become apparent. Completing the Constant training means one is already proficient in the Breathing Method.

The third stage is the Breathing Method's corresponding Chakra Mode. Each Breathing Method's Chakra Mode has different effects. The effect of Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, which Might Guy practices, is to enhance the entire body, making strength immensely powerful. Only at this step does one truly comprehend the real power of the Breathing Method.

Muyue, in Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, merely used Finger Gun to lightly tap, blasting the river surface tens of meters away into a splash over ten meters high. This left a deep impression on Might Guy, who was still in the Ninja Academy at the time. Since then, he had trained hard in Rock Breathing to obtain the same formidable power as Muyue.

The Breathing Method is very difficult, and Rock Breathing is among the more challenging ones. Not to mention entering Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, Might Guy had long been lagging behind in his Breathing Method training.

But in the very beginning, Might Guy's training progress was ahead of others. He was the first disciple who could apply the Breathing Method in combat.

The reason he was ahead was not anything else—it was because Might Guy had comprehended the power and meaning of Rock Breathing during a battle to defend his father's dignity.

Now, Might Guy's state had returned to that day of comprehending the power of Rock Breathing—no, it was even stronger than that day!

Because in this battle, what he had to protect was more important and more numerous.

"The path of rock's power lies in protection," Might Guy silently recited in his heart.

Though he had never entered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode before, at this moment Might Guy was very certain—he could do it.

It wasn't a baseless confidence, but his breathing told him: Go for it!

"Rock Breathing Chakra Mode!"

Might Guy clenched his fists, glared with wide eyes, and his heart pounded wildly. At this moment, his breathing reached an unprecedented extreme.

Power surged. Might Guy could feel that with every breath, powerful strength was emerging throughout his body—a strength he had never felt before.

Of course, this power did not come without a price; the chakra inside Might Guy's body was burning at an alarming rate.

The first to notice the change in Might Guy was Shisui beside him.

Shisui also practiced the Breathing Method and instantly detected the shift in Might Guy's breathing.

Then came Might Guy's opponents. The moment Might Guy entered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, these experienced assassins immediately sensed that their opponent had become different.

"What's with this guy? He can still get stronger?" Qingti Fengpi was somewhat puzzled. This fight was too frustrating.

They were the esteemed Seven Ninja Swordsmen, fighting a few ten-year-old kids—one of them had almost died, and their opponent kept getting stronger and stronger like he was cheating.

It was no exaggeration to say that the Might Guy they were facing now could utterly crush the Might Guy they had faced at the start.

Qingti Fengpi performed a backflip to create distance, poured a large amount of chakra into the twin swords Hiramekarei, and aimed at Might Guy.

Kurorare manipulated the steel wire in his hands to block Might Guy's evasive space.

Meanwhile, Pipa Juzo formed hand seals and spat out a massive water dragon projectile to entangle Might Guy.

The division of labor among the three was very clear; each took on one responsibility.

"Morning Peacock!"

Might Guy punched at incredible speed—so fast that even Shisui couldn't tell how many punches he had thrown in that instant.

The immense fist force friction against the air generated flames, and due to the extreme punching speed, it instantly formed a cluster of fireballs.

The fireballs, carried by the wind of Might Guy's punches, surged toward the incoming water dragon.

Boom!!

The water dragon was engulfed by the flames, instantly evaporating completely. The residual fire forced Kurorare to abandon his wire control and retreat to dodge.

"That actually worked," Pipa Juzo said, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

It was the first time he had encountered such a situation—his Water Release was evaporated by fire created from someone else's taijutsu.

Pipa Juzo touched his sturdy body. If those fast, dense punches landed on him, his fate would probably be no better than the water dragon's.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Qingti Fengpi finished charging, raised his great sword, and fired a chakra sphere at Might Guy.

"Konoha Hand Blade!"

Might Guy poured a large amount of chakra into his palm, delivering a chopping strike with immense power against the incoming chakra sphere, splitting out a transparent air blast.

Boom!!!

A huge explosion sounded. The collision between the chakra sphere and the transparent air current left craters of varying depths on the ground. Grayish-yellow dust and haze obscured Might Guy's figure.

Kurāmisumaru noticed the disturbance within the dust. An elite Mist ninja like him had received special training; not to mention this kind of dust, even the high-concentration chakra fog created by the Mist Hiding Technique could be navigated without hindrance.

Kurāmisumaru's mind reacted, but his body could not keep up with Might Guy's speed.

Bang!

Might Guy landed a solid punch on Kurāmisumaru's chest, sending him flying backward a full ten meters.

This punch did not use any special technique; it was nothing but raw, unadorned power.

But that simple punch made Kurāmisumaru vomit a mouthful of blood, and the sharp pain contorted his face.

Qingti Fengba's expression suddenly changed—he sensed that Might Guy had become different. He never imagined Might Guy's strength could increase so much out of nowhere.

Not only had he blocked his chakra sphere with an empty palm strike, but his bursting speed had even caught Kurāmisumaru off guard.

Fuguki Suikazan's expression darkened as he saw Might Guy suddenly become incredibly brave.

It was utterly disgraceful—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, renowned throughout the ninja world, were being pushed to this point by a few ten-year-old Leaf ninja.

If word got out, they would probably become the laughingstock of the Mist, while Kakashi and the others would ride their fame to renown across the ninja world.

"What's going on with that green brat? One against three, and he can injure Kurāmisumaru." Munashi Jinpachi's sinister smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

They were no ordinary Mist jōnin; they were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, directly under the Mizukage. How could Might Guy possess such strength?

"Go help them quickly. I'll kill these brats here," Fuguki Suikazan said in a low voice.

The Leaf ninjas on their side were all injured and weakened. Fuguki Suikazan was confident he could finish them all off alone.

Munashi Jinpachi nodded, not daring to waste time, and immediately charged toward Might Guy.

"As expected, Guy is a man you can always trust," Kakashi thought to himself.

Whenever they were pushed into a corner, Might Guy always stepped up to bear the pressure.

"But can Guy's current body withstand the power of the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode and the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates?" Kakashi felt a twinge of worry.

Although Kakashi had not trained in the Eight Gates or Rock Breathing himself, he had some understanding of both—partly from his battles with Might Guy, and partly from what he had learned from Mu Yue.

After all, Mu Yue knew both the Eight Gates and Rock Breathing, so when Kakashi asked, Mu Yue naturally wouldn't hide anything.

Opening each gate beyond the Third Gate of the Eight Gates causes a certain amount of damage to the body. If the body is strong enough, the damage is small, even close to none.

Conversely, if the body is not strong enough, it will suffer great harm. Now Might Guy had not only forcibly opened the Sixth Gate, but also entered the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode to further amplify his power—Kakashi was very worried about Might Guy's body.

"I have to find a way to end this fight quickly," Kakashi thought, tightening his grip on his short blade.

The longer he maintained this state, the greater the damage to Might Guy. The sooner the battle ended, the less the injury.

Kakashi looked at Obito. Obito was not only wounded, but his chakra was almost gone. He had even deactivated his Sharingan to sustain the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.

Their current condition was terrible—that was their disadvantage, but also an opportunity, because the enemy might underestimate them because of it.

Meeting Kakashi's eyes, Obito understood what Kakashi had in mind and gathered the last bit of chakra he had left.

"It has to work…" Kakashi let out a breath.

He wasn't worried about whether Obito could carry out the plan; he was worried about whether he himself could seize the chance Obito created.

Because Kakashi really didn't have enough chakra left. He didn't know if the little chakra he had could deliver a strike capable of killing or severely wounding Fuguki Suikazan.

But Kakashi had no choice—in their current state, they couldn't afford a prolonged fight. Kakashi was the only one who had a chance to seriously injure Fuguki Suikazan, so they had to go all in.

If he failed, they could only pray that Might Guy would break through the encirclement and rescue them in time.

Facing Fuguki Suikazan approaching with his sword, Obito burned his last chakra, causing flames to burst all over his body.

"Fire Release: Blazing Impact!"

This was one of the most powerful fire release taijutsu techniques he had mastered, and also the strongest fire technique he could use at the moment.

Fuguki Suikazan tried to cut down the weakened Obito with a single slash, but Samehada sensed the extremely high temperature of the flames on Obito and immediately showed its resistance.

"Water Release: Water Whip!"

Watermelon Fugu hesitated for a moment but still gave up on killing the suddenly small flame-like Obito with Samehada. He gathered a large amount of chakra in his palm and condensed a water whip.

Just as Watermelon Fugu's water whip lashed out at the approaching Obito, the flames on Obito's body violently burst and exploded.

Boom!

With an explosion, Obito was blasted away by the shockwave and crashed to the ground. Watermelon Fugu was also caught in the explosion's aftermath.

Watermelon Fugu's expression was extremely shocked. He never expected Obito to launch such a suicidal attack. Even the Hidden Mist Village had not trained ninjas specifically for suicide missions, and Obito didn't look like any kind of suicide warrior.

What Watermelon Fugu felt relieved about was that his ninjas here had virtually no combat power left, so even with this accident, it was only a minor setback.

"Lightning Flash: Divine Speed!"

When Kakashi once again pushed his breathing to the limit, he suddenly realized that even though his chakra was almost depleted, he had successfully mustered a powerful force.

But Kakashi had no time to think further, because this was the last chance Obito could buy him. He had no time to ponder where the power came from and didn't notice that his heart was beating abnormally fast.

Shwoosh!

A flash of yellow lightning streaked by, and Watermelon Fugu instantly felt the world spinning. The next moment, he saw a large headless corpse lying on the ground.

"So fast..." A word flashed through his mind, and then Watermelon Fugu lost consciousness forever.

"Huff, huff."

After that single slash, Kakashi knelt on one knee, clutching his chest in pain and gasping heavily.

Though his body was extremely uncomfortable at this moment, Kakashi's heart was filled with joy. He had succeeded—he had protected his comrade with his own strength.

Although it was only killing one person, this result had great significance for the entire battlefield.

Because Might Duy had the advantage; the two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist facing him couldn't spare their hands, and the four members fighting Might Guy were also too occupied to deal with anything else.

Next, all Kakashi and the others needed to do was recover quickly, and they could become the force that broke the balance.

But Kakashi found that he had still underestimated the power of the Eight Gates combined with the Rock Breathing chakra mode.

"Golden Skyline!"

Might Guy extended his index and middle fingers, once again unleashing the strongest taijutsu he currently knew. He swung his fingers in the posture of swinging a sword, and a dazzling golden line bloomed across the battlefield.

The water wall was split in two by the golden line. The steel wires of Kushimaru Kuriarare snapped directly, and Jinpachi Munashi placed the Decapitating Greatsword horizontally in front of him.

Clang!

Under Jinpachi Munashi's shocked gaze, the massive Decapitating Greatsword shattered directly, becoming a broken blade.

Boom!!

The residual force struck Jinpachi Munashi, sending him flying seventeen meters away, crashing heavily to the ground.

"How is this possible? My Decapitating Greatsword was broken by taijutsu!" Jinpachi Munashi's eyes widened, his worldview severely shaken.

His Decapitating Greatsword could easily block ninjutsu, yet under multiple layers of defense, it was still broken by Might Guy's taijutsu. This gave Jinpachi Munashi the feeling that his worldview was collapsing.

Jinba Mubina, Qingti Fengba, and Kushimaru Kuriarare were all startled. If they could have a second chance, they would never have easily started a fight with Kakashi and the others; at the very least, they would have called five more Mist jōnin to join the siege.

"This is looking bad." Dōsuyo no Ebito narrowed his eyes, a thought of retreat arising in his mind.

Watermelon Fugu was killed, Jinpachi Munashi was heavily wounded and lost combat effectiveness, and Kushimaru Kuriarare was also not lightly injured. At this point, nearly half of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were down. If they continued fighting, they might all end up perishing here.

Raiga Hōzuki glanced at Dōsuyo no Ebito. The thought in his mind was similar to Dōsuyo no Ebito's—they both wanted to run.

Might Guy's performance was too terrifying. Was this a genius? This was clearly a grown powerhouse.

From now on, they didn't even need Kakashi and the others to act; Might Guy plus Might Duy could grind them down.

"Leaf Dragon God!"

After a single Golden Skyline, Might Guy used his powerful strength to kick out a massive azure dragon, severely wounding Jinba Mubina.

This Leaf Dragon God completely shattered the combat will of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The injured Jinpachi Munashi, who had been sent flying, quietly retreated toward the rear.

Qingti Fengba fired a chakra sphere at Might Guy, then retreated without looking back.

Kushimaru Kuriarare used the Body Flicker Technique, leaping back and forth among the trees, also beginning to retreat.

Jinpachi Munji, finding that the area around him had suddenly emptied, cursed under his breath, tossed out several explosive tags, and started to flee.

Raiga Kurosuki and Ebito Tōno cooperated to launch a sudden attack, temporarily repelling Might Duy, and then swiftly retreated.

Setting aside their combat coordination, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen indeed had a great understanding when it came to fleeing.

Might Guy only made a gesture of pursuit at the very beginning, then delivered a single palm strike from a distance, and did nothing more.

Because his body was already near its limit; it was enough to successfully protect his comrades, and there was no need to kill all the enemies.

Kakashi's heart finally relaxed; once again, through their efforts, they had broken free from a desperate situation.

However, Kakashi did not completely let his guard down; they were still on the battlefield, and before returning to camp, they could encounter new enemies at any time.

In their current state, they couldn't let their guard down even against an ordinary jonin squad, because once Might Guy withdrew from the Eight Gates and Rock Breathing state, the only one left in their team with any combat power would be Might Duy.

At that moment, a blue-white beam suddenly struck the retreating Jinpachi Munji, freezing him solid.

Seeing this familiar ninjutsu, Muyue's disciples immediately showed joy on their faces—this was Muyue's Ice Release ninjutsu!

Kakashi completely relaxed; with Muyue here, even if strong ninjas like Yagura came, it would be fine.

Obito, covered in black soot, also smiled; with Muyue here, all crises would be resolved.

Seeing that Kakashi and the others had received reinforcements, the remaining members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen couldn't help but run with all their might.

Jūzō Bibara's face darkened; although he had run first, he was injured and running slowly, so only Jinpachi Munji was falling behind more than him.

As Jūzō Bibara expected, the next blue-white beam shot toward him.

"Ice Release: Ice Wall!"

Just as Jūzō Bibara was recalling his life, an ice wall rose beside him, blocking the incoming cold beam.

"Lord Han, thank you." Jūzō Bibara immediately thanked Mizuzuki Han, who had appeared before him in a flash.

Mizuzuki Han nodded slightly, then looked at the frozen Jinpachi Munji with an intrigued expression. "So he also masters Ice Release? Interesting."

The sudden appearance of Mizuzuki Han made the other several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen halt their steps. Soon, a few more Mist ninjas ran from the direction Mizuzuki Han had come from and gathered beside him.

"It's that jonin whose chakra was absorbed." Jūzō Bibara recognized one of the Mist ninjas.

The Mist jonin showed a surprised expression upon seeing Jūzō Bibara and the others fleeing like stray dogs.

After having his chakra absorbed, he felt it was a bit dangerous to stay on the battlefield, so he refined a bit of chakra and left the battlefield. He happened to run into Mizuzuki Han, who was nearby hunting Leaf ninjas, and then brought Mizuzuki Han here.

The Leaf ninjas they had encountered this time were far too talented. The Mist jonin was worried that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would not be able to kill all the Leaf geniuses, and letting even one escape would be a threat.

However, the current situation was very puzzling to the Mist jonin. When he left, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had such a huge advantage, yet in just a short while, they had been beaten to this state.

"Injured ones, retreat on your own. Those who want to fight can stay and deal with the Leaf ninjas together with me," Mizuzuki Han said calmly.

The reason he did not forcibly keep the Seven Ninja Swordsmen as combat power was, on one hand, that Mizuzuki Han had no authority to command them, and on the other, he had confidence in his own strength.

Mizuzuki Han was confident he could defeat any ninja except Orochimaru, even the Ino-Shika-Cho team working together.

He had never heard of any ice release powerhouse in the Leaf, so Mizuzuki Han didn't care whether the Seven Ninja Swordsmen retreated or not.

Ebito Tōno, Raiga Kurosuki, and Seitai Hōhei stayed, while the injured Jūzō Bibara and Kushimaru Kuriarare chose to retreat.

Ebito Tōno and the others could have left if they wanted, but they felt this time was truly too disgraceful; if they didn't counterattack with Mizuzuki Han, they really might become a laughingstock among the Mist.

Of course, they were not the type to risk life and death for pride; the main reason was that Mizuzuki Han was strong enough.

This person was a famous strong ninja of the Mist, second only to Yagura in strength on the entire Mist battlefield.

With Mizuzuki Han, plus the several Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and the jonin and chunin that Mizuzuki Han brought, unless Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, came, they couldn't possibly lose.

Mizuzuki Han precisely shattered the ice block on Jinpachi Munji, freeing him from the freeze, and then walked toward Kakashi and the others.

After noticing that the Mist ninjas had stopped running, Muyue stopped attacking and instead treated his disciples together with his shadow clones.

After all, he was just an ordinary jonin with a small reputation within Konoha, so those famous strong ninjas from across the ninja world would definitely take the initiative to cause trouble.

"Teacher Muyue, good thing you're here, always arriving just in time." Obito patted the black soot off his clothes and said with a smile.

Seeing Muyue, Obito's whole person relaxed. With the all-powerful Muyue the Sage here, no crisis was unsolvable; that was the confidence Muyue the Sage gave him.

"You should thank yourselves more, thank your own persistence and hard work, otherwise you wouldn't have held out until I arrived." Muyue lightly tapped Obito's forehead with a finger and shook his head as he said.

Actually, Mu Yue had arrived long ago.

The disciples were engaged in such a heavyweight battle, and Mu Yue himself had already arrived at the battlefield via the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Mu Yue had prepared to intervene several times, after all, he couldn't just watch Might Duy open the Eight Gates or the disciples fall in battle, but the disciples were all very competitive, which caused Mu Yue to only start taking action to stop people after the battle ended.

"If my experiences were written into a book, I would probably be scolded for letting my disciples' lives walk on the edge of death," Mu Yue sighed in his heart.

He thought it was quite normal to be scolded; if Mu Yue himself had a teacher like that, he felt he would probably hate that teacher.

Even if he could guarantee they wouldn't die, the pain in their bodies still existed; clearly they could directly defeat the enemy, so why torment them like this?

Even Mu Yue himself felt that educating his disciples like this was a bit extreme, but he truly had no better method.

If there were a good alternative, he wouldn't want his disciples to kill on the battlefield; how old were they?

This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, and in the shadows, Uchiha Madara had his eyes on his disciples; Mu Yue could only do his best to help them grow stronger, so they wouldn't fall into Uchiha Madara's schemes.

In the end, it was actually because Mu Yue's strength was not yet sufficient; if he had power at the Six Paths level, then he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

"No matter how persistent you are, Teacher Mu Yue has to arrive first," Obito chuckled.

Might Guy gave a thumbs up with an expression of approval, and the rest of the disciples deeply agreed.

"Thank you for your trust. Leave the rest to me." Mu Yue showed a gentle smile to his disciples, then turned to look at the approaching Mist ninjas.