Chapter 604: Dream Truth

Saturday morning.

After an early morning half-hour run, Yamato bought a sesame cake for breakfast and headed toward the southern forest while eating.

Today was the day his seniors would hold their ranking matches.

Since starting at the Ninja Academy, Yamato had rarely trained with Kakashi and the others, and he was curious about how much stronger they had become.

For this reason, Yamato turned down a bunch of weekend play invitations from his friends.

There was a slight chill in the early morning forest; even though the sun had risen and its golden light fell on the trees, the temperature hadn't risen.

Watching the sunlight filter through the treetops, scattering in dappled golden patches along the winding forest path, Yamato paused for a moment.

These patches interwoven with the surrounding shadows untouched by sunlight created a beautiful picture of light and shadow.

"If it were Obito-senpai, he'd probably take a photo," Yamato thought to himself.

Click!

The sound of a camera shutter rang out.

Yamato instinctively looked back and happened to see Obito and Shisui waving at him.

After making hand signs and putting the camera back into the scroll, Obito smiled and walked over to Yamato with Shisui, greeting him, "Good morning, Yamato."

"Good morning, Obito-senpai, Shisui-senpai," Yamato replied.

"You've got it nice—becoming Muyue-sensei's disciple before even starting school. What's life like at the Ninja Academy anyway?" Obito recalled the scene he'd seen at the Academy not long ago and couldn't help sighing.

If he had been taught by Muyue before he even entered first grade, Kakashi wouldn't stand a chance—he'd be the greatest genius.

"Uh, just normal school days?" Yamato asked uncertainly.

It was his first time going to school, so he had no experience to compare.

"Normal, my ass—you're basically the main character of a ninja story," Obito said, patting Yamato on the back with envy.

If he could enjoy the same treatment as Yamato, he'd be willing to let Kakashi bully him every day.

As they ventured deeper, the three of them encountered Rin Nohara and Kakashi.

When the five arrived at the agreed-upon battlefield, they saw Might Guy warming up and Muyue standing beside him.

After exchanging greetings, Muyue took out a wooden box and had Obito and the others start drawing lots.

"I'll go first!" Obito volunteered.

Times had changed—his strength gave him confidence; even if he drew Might Guy, who had dominated internal matches for a long time, in the first round, he wasn't afraid.

Obito reached into the wooden box, touched a paper ball, and grabbed it out.

This was the confidence Kamui gave him!

"Number four." Obito opened the paper ball, glanced at the number, and quickly stepped aside.

The number of the first drawer meant nothing; he had to see what numbers the others drew to determine his opponent.

Kakashi quickly stepped forward, reached into the box, and grabbed a random paper ball.

"Number one." Kakashi opened the paper ball and showed it to Muyue.

Obito silently lamented—his most desired opponent for the first round was Kakashi.

Because everyone was quite strong now, unless they went all out, anyone could lose.

If he couldn't defeat Kakashi, even if he ended up as the strongest disciple, it would be an imperfect ranking battle.

"Number two!" Might Guy spread open the paper ball he had taken with his left hand and gave Kakashi a thumbs-up with his right.

"My rival, this is our bond!"

Kakashi:...

Bond, my ass—there are only four people; it's perfectly normal to meet him.

"But given the current situation, drawing Guy is a good draw," Kakashi thought.

Among Might Guy, Shisui, and Obito, the one Kakashi found most troublesome was Obito.

Obito's Kamui really counters his Thoughtless Slash too much; unless he is fast enough that Obito cannot react, or the power is strong enough to affect space, otherwise his Thoughtless Slash is useless before Obito.

Unfortunately, he can achieve neither of these two points.

Shisui's strength is not necessarily stronger than Might Guy's, but Guy's advantage lies in his information being transparent; Kakashi knows all his moves.

And after Shisui obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan, Kakashi cannot judge his overall strength.

Most importantly, Kakashi has thoroughly understood the inspiration from his battle with Uchiha Madara; now he uses "Intentional Slash," and his explosive power has reached a whole new level.

Familiar with Might Guy, he can more easily seize the openings Guy reveals and end the battle with one strike.

Although he already knew his number before drawing, Shisui still ceremoniously took out the paper ball and showed it.

After the ten-minute warm-up, Muyue, acting as a referee, announced that the battle was about to begin.

"Number one Kakashi versus number two Gai."

The two simultaneously stopped their warm-ups and walked together toward the clearing.

"Senior Shisui, do you think Senior Kakashi will win, or Senior Gai?" Yamato asked Shisui curiously.

Shisui showed a thoughtful expression and did not answer immediately.

"Gai has a better chance; he's very strong. With the Eight Gates and Rock Breathing, he has no obvious weaknesses—very all-around." Obito, sitting on the other side, analyzed for Shisui.

Until now, Obito still considered Might Guy the biggest obstacle on his path to being the strongest disciple.

He is not afraid of Kakashi's Thoughtless Slash, not afraid of Shisui's genjutsu, but when truly facing Might Guy, Obito can only fight head-on with no good tactics.

"Of course, Kakashi may not necessarily lose; he has been training very diligently recently. Maybe he has hidden some ultimate move." Obito added.

Seeing that Obito had said both sides, Shisui simply stopped talking.

At their current level of strength, it's hard to force a verdict with just words.

"I see." Yamato nodded, feeling as if he hadn't heard anything.

"Obito, how do you know this? Do you often go to hang out with Kakashi?" Rin Nohara turned and asked upon hearing their conversation.

"Not really, just happened to see a few times when passing by."

As he spoke, Obito's gaze was drawn to the two in the clearing; the battle was about to start.

"Battle start!"

With Muyue's command, both Might Guy and Kakashi focused their breathing to enhance their physical abilities.

"Eight Gates, Gate of Injury, open!"

At the same time, Might Guy directly opened the Eight Gates to the fourth gate; a large amount of chakra surged out from the gates, causing Guy's aura to rise rapidly.

Might Guy burst chakra and charged at Kakashi at extreme speed; the excessive speed stirred up gusts of strong wind, lifting dust and gravel from the ground.

Yamato only felt a flash of green light before his eyes; the next moment, Might Guy's fist, with a whistling wind, struck straight at Kakashi's head.

Faced with this dangerous scene, Kakashi remained unmoved, as if intending to take the heavy blow head-on.

But the instant the fist was about to connect, Kakashi dodged by sidestepping at an almost impossible angle, as light as a gust of wind.

The two were old rivals; Might Guy knew that Kakashi had mastered the Transparent World, and anticipated this.

He followed up with a sweeping kick aimed at Kakashi's lower body, but Kakashi leaped lightly and easily cleared the attack range, while in the air he threw three sharp kunai at Might Guy, sealing off his front and back positions. Might Guy quickly dodged to the side, successfully evading the kunai.

In the first wave of probing exchange, neither gained an advantage.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Might Guy looked around, then flashed to a nearby tree, broke it off, and kicked it toward Kakashi, trying to obstruct Kakashi's line of sight.

Kakashi decisively drew Enma from his back, infused chakra into Enma, and swung out a slash, cutting all the incoming broken wood in half.

A large amount of broken wood flew in the air, continuously crashing to the ground with booming sounds.

The falling wood and dust smoke obscured much of the view.

"Eight Gates, Gate of Life, open!"

"Finger Gun!"

At this moment, Might Guy opened the Eight Gates to the fifth gate, concentrating a huge amount of chakra on his finger, and shot an extremely fast air current at Kakashi.

Kakashi, sensing the incoming attack through changes in the dust and smoke, quickly held Enma in front of him and precisely blocked the oncoming air current. However, due to the overwhelming force, he was inevitably pushed back one meter.

Just then, Might Guy's breathing became extremely focused, and his aura suddenly turned even more terrifying.

"Yang Seal·Release!"

Kakashi decisively unsealed the Yang Seal and immediately entered Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"

In the next instant, Might Guy, rushing at incredible speed, delivered an astonishingly fast spinning kick.

With just one kick, it faintly showed a tendency to form a whirlwind, indicating the speed and power of the attack.

Sizzle!!

With the enhancement of Lightning Release Chakra, Kakashi's neural reflexes and physical abilities were both improved, allowing him to withdraw from Might Guy's attack range at lightning speed.

With the support of the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates and the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, even an ordinary spinning kick could easily shatter boulders.

It wasn't that Kakashi had no means to withstand such an attack, but he didn't want to suffer that pain.

"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"

After delivering the spinning kick, Might Guy quickly adjusted his stance and used a back spinning kick to continue kicking at Kakashi, but Kakashi dodged by sidestepping.

"As I expected, this battle looks promising." Kakashi gathered a large amount of chakra into his Lightning Breathing, pushing it to its limit.

The probing was over—now it was his turn to attack!

Zzzz!!

Blue electric arcs flickered constantly over Kakashi's body. With the enhancement of breathing techniques and the reinforcement of Lightning Release Chakra, his body reached its peak.

Kakashi gripped Enma tightly and charged forward. With electric arcs flashing on his body, he looked like a real bolt of lightning.

Might Guy, with an excited expression, clenched his fist and met him head-on.

Just as the two were about to clash, Kakashi suddenly swung his sword.

Enma, enveloped in lightning, left trails of electric arcs in the air as it traced a crescent moon slashing toward Might Guy.

Might Guy had not mastered the Transparent World, but he was very familiar with Kakashi's sword-drawing habits.

He sidestepped to avoid the blade, and at the same time, his right fist shot out directly at Kakashi's abdomen.

Just as Might Guy's fist was about to hit Kakashi's abdomen, a layer of black Armament Haki appeared on Kakashi's stomach.

At the same time, Kakashi's left hand, which was not holding the sword, shot out a bolt of lightning.

Might Guy tried his best to dodge, avoiding the vital area, but was grazed on the shoulder by the lightning. Meanwhile, even with Armament Haki protection, Kakashi was still blasted back five meters.

Neither of them paused for a moment; they almost simultaneously used the Body Flicker Technique to close in and engaged in another bout of close combat.

Kakashi's blade left scratches on Might Guy's body, but Kakashi didn't fare well either. Though nothing was visible on the surface, his entire body was wracked with sharp pain.

Their declining condition made their movements no longer as agile and swift as at the beginning; they began to slow down.

Ten seconds after their movements slowed, as if by telepathy, they suddenly sped up again and simultaneously used their strongest techniques.

"Golden Horizon Line!"

Might Guy erupted a massive amount of chakra, simultaneously extending his index and middle fingers, and slashed out a golden thread at an inconceivable speed and power.

"Thoughtless Slash: Modified!"

Kakashi poured a large amount of Lightning Release chakra into Enma, and a dazzling purple lightning enveloped the sword.

Thunder roared, and a thick slash of purple lightning flew out.

Boom!!!

The golden thread collided with the purple slash. It was like two great mountains smashing together, unleashing a terrifying shockwave.

The spectating Yamato had to use chakra just to steady himself and avoid being swept away by the terrifying aftermath.

Crack!

The next moment, the golden power shattered like broken glass, and a terrifying lightning force surged towards Might Guy.

"Fight over, Kakashi wins!"

Mu Yue flashed in front of Might Guy, entered the Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, and casually released a massive amount of lightning, neutralizing the attack while announcing the result of the match.

This result was within Mu Yue's expectations.

Name: Hatake Kakashi

Chakra: (???)

Skills: Lightning Nature Transformation (Mastery: 3400/), Earth Nature Transformation (Mastery: 1400), Hatake Sword Technique (Mastery), Lightning Breathing (Mastery: 4000), Armament Haki (Proficient: 1800/3000), Dream True Speech (Proficient: 1000)...

Name: Might Guy

Chakra: Skills: Yin Nature Transformation (Beginner: 1), Rock Breathing (Mastery: 2200/), Daytime Tiger (Proficient: 600), Golden Horizon (Proficient: 400/3000)...

From the status screen, one could see a certain gap in skills between the two.

The Eight Gates Combined Formation plus Rock Breathing is strong, but Kakashi is far ahead in skills.

Unless he really goes all out, Might Guy's chances of winning against Kakashi are slim.

Might Guy still lacks Armament Haki; even a beginner-level Armament Haki would be a very meaningful improvement for him.

"Haha, as expected of my sworn friend!"

Despite losing, Might Guy showed no sign of annoyance; instead, he gave Kakashi a thumbs-up in praise.

"But I'll catch up soon, my friend—you better be ready."

"Just as long as it's not every day," Kakashi replied, leaning on Enma like a crutch, breathing heavily.

His chakra was still insufficient; Enma was useful, but it consumed chakra excessively.

Thankfully, the 8k was completed smoothly.