https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-530-A-Brainstorming-Session-with-Obito/12558789/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-532-Might-Guy-s-Six-Gates-Technique-Reappears/12558791/
Chapter 531: Rinnegan vs. Eight Inner Gates
Chapter 531: Rinnegan vs. Eight Inner Gates
As time struck 3:30 in the afternoon, the referee promptly announced, "Number 1, Nagato, versus Number 11, Might Guy!"
Nagato and Might Guy almost stood up simultaneously and made their way towards the combat area.
The moment the two reached the battle grounds, the audience erupted into a frenzy of discussions.
"Might Guy won't stand a chance against Nagato," predicted Makki, certain of Guy's impending loss.
After all, if a puppeteer capable of performing the Ten Puppets Performance had lost, how could Might Guy possibly emerge victorious against Nagato?
The Sunagakure ninjas surrounding Makki nodded in agreement.
"Nagato's abilities are just too bizarre," analyzed Yellow Earth. "If Might Guy can counter them, then he has a chance. Otherwise, it'll be difficult."
In Yellow Earth's opinion, Might Guy was actually very strong, and it wasn't impossible for him to defeat Nagato. However, Nagato's abilities were peculiar, so peculiar that even Yellow Earth found them challenging to decipher.
Apart from discussing the strengths and predicting the outcomes of the combatants, some in the audience let their imaginations wander.
"No wonder Souzouke was willing to offer his signature ninjutsu as the first prize. It turns out the Ninja Sect has such a super genius in their midst. In the end, the ninjutsu remains within the Ninja Sect," a ninja commented sarcastically.
Nagato's relentless domination led him to believe that the Ninja Sect never intended to let the Fire Dragon Riot be rewarded to any other ninja.
"The Ninja Sect never said they wouldn't participate. It still boils down to skill, don't expect them to just hand it over to you for free," a nearby ninja immediately retorted.
"At least the Ninja Sect has the guts to put their best techniques forward. I don't see any other ninja forces offering their top-tier ninjutsu as competition prizes."
The rebutted ninja was left speechless.
However, the commotion in the audience stands did little to affect the two combatants in the arena.
Once the referee confirmed that Nagato and Might Guy were ready, he shouted, "Begin!"
"Eight Inner Gates, Du Gate, Open!"
As soon as the referee finished speaking, Might Guy instantly opened five gates, causing his chakra to surge and his aura to intensify.
Not only that, Might Guy also concentrated his breathing to the extreme, entering the Chakra Mode of Rock Breathing, further amplifying the aura around him.
In Nagato's perception, Might Guy resembled a humanoid beast at this moment, exuding an aura that suggested approaching him would result in being ripped apart.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Nagato opted to begin by forming hand seals and creating two shadow clones, followed by the use of lightning release.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Nagato calmly unleashed a lightning bolt that sped towards the oncoming Might Guy.
Might Guy was strong, but Nagato was confident in his own abilities.
Swish!
Might Guy's chakra erupted, and he dodged the lightning spear like a flash of green light.
He had entered the battle in full power mode from the start because he was concerned about falling into Nagato's offensive rhythm. With the five gates and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, Might Guy's speed was more than sufficient to evade even a technique like False Darkness.
"Fire Release: Headache!"
"Wind Release: Oppression!"
The two shadow clones of Nagato formed hand seals, and one spat out a high-pressure fireball while the other unleashed a high-pressure windball.
The flames took the lead, crashing onto the ground in front of the direction Might Guy was charging from, creating a sea of fire that continued to spread. Meanwhile, the windball transformed into a powerful storm that drastically increased the rate at which the fire spread.
Facing the relentless sea of flames, Might Guy did not show a trace of fear. Instead, he eagerly rushed towards the fire, throwing a rapid punch.
Hoo!
The wind pressure generated by Might Guy's rapid punch blocked the advancing fire in front of him, but it only protected his immediate front. The fire continued to spread to his sides, engulfing him.
At that moment, Might Guy resembled a solitary boat amidst turbulent waves, as if he would be completely devoured by the fire at any second.
"Day Tiger!"
When the compressed air had reached its limit, Might Guy excitedly shouted, changing his punch to a palm strike and forcefully clapping his hands together.
Roar!
The highly compressed air erupted with tremendous force, forming a powerful wave of energy that took the shape of a tiger.
With the tiger's appearance, the situation reversed. The surrounding flames, which had seemed unstoppable, rapidly retreated under the tiger's terrifying impact, as if a mouse had encountered a cat.
The surging flames were torn apart by the tiger, scattering in all directions, while the tiger itself charged straight towards Nagato.
"It all depends on whether Guy's taijutsu can withstand Nagato's repulsive force," Kakashi intently observed the battle, his eyes glued to the arena.
Nagato had only used the Divine Judgment once during the Ninja War, so Kakashi had very limited information to analyze. He could only preliminarily deduce that it was related to repulsive force.
Although this was just the first match of the semifinals, in Kakashi's eyes, this battle was as crucial as the final.
It wasn't that Kakashi looked down on Itachi or Deidara; it was just that their strengths paled in comparison to Might Guy's.
If Might Guy couldn't defeat Nagato, then they stood no chance either.
"Divine Judgment!"
Facing the fierce tiger, Nagato remained calm and simply extended his right hand, unleashing the power of the Rinnegan.
A powerful repulsive force erupted from Nagato, causing the tiger, which had easily dispersed the sea of flames, to come to an abrupt halt. It could no longer advance any further.
Boom!
In the next instant, a deafening explosion rang out as the repulsive force released by Nagato collided violently with the Day Tiger's impact, causing the tiger to dissipate into nothingness, and Nagato to stumble back several steps.
Thinking that he would have to watch Souzouke's disciple claim the first prize tomorrow, Danzo felt a sour taste in his mouth.
The only thing that kept him watching was the hope of seeing the Ninja Sect lose and Souzouke revealing a look of unexpected regret. Now, it seemed that hope would not be fulfilled, as everything was under Souzouke's control.
"No way! It's so freakish that he can just wave his hand and block the Day Tiger," Obito exclaimed, shocked.
He had been thinking that Might Guy would win first place and then they could exchange rewards, as Might Guy couldn't learn Fire Release anyway.
But now, it seemed that Nagato had a higher chance of winning.
"The Day Tiger is nothing. He hasn't used the Golden Skyline yet," Obito cheered for Might Guy in his heart.
As long as Might Guy used the Golden Skyline, everything would be fine.
Obito had more faith in the Golden Skyline than the Day Tiger.
After all, the only time Might Guy had stumbled with the Golden Skyline was against Kakashi's One-Inch Punch.
But after Kakashi unleashed that move, he didn't even need anyone else to defeat him; he would be out of commission on his own. In contrast, Might Guy remained full of vigor after using the Golden Skyline, clearly demonstrating which was the stronger technique.
"No wonder my best friend has always been wary of you as a formidable enemy. To think you could so easily block the Day Tiger," Might Guy marveled.
Currently, the only offensive technique he had that was stronger than the Day Tiger was the Golden Skyline, which meant that aside from that, his taijutsu would be useless against Nagato.
There was even a possibility that the Golden Skyline wouldn't work either.
"But this is precisely the opportunity to burn my youth even more fiercely!" Might Guy burst out laughing.
He had never shied away from a challenge, and Nagato's strength only served to excite him further, not instill fear.
Due to the temporary cooldown of the Divine Judgment, Nagato retreated behind his shadow clone.
Although the cooldown was only five seconds, Might Guy was extremely fast, and Nagato had to be cautious.
Moreover, Nagato kept Mu Yue's words in mind, intentionally disrupting the release timing of the Divine Judgment when it wasn't necessary, to avoid giving away the cooldown information to his enemies.
"Noon Leopard!"
Might Guy roared and channeled all his power into his legs. The chakra enhanced by the Eight Inner Gates erupted once more, pushing his leg techniques to the limit of what his body could endure.
In the next moment, Might Guy pounced like a hunting leopard, rushing towards Nagato.
The Noon Leopard was a taijutsu Might Guy had developed earlier by combining his knowledge of taijutsu. However, he had been less experienced back then, and there were many aspects that he hadn't perfected.
Recently, he had refined the Noon Leopard, giving it an extraordinary burst of speed that was unmatched by any of his other taijutsu.
Nevertheless, the technique still had its drawbacks. It caused significant fatigue in his legs, limiting him to using it only twice within five minutes.
If it were an ordinary ninja, they might not have been able to observe Might Guy's movements, but Nagato possessed excellent perception abilities and the Rinnegan.
While Might Guy was fast, he couldn't move faster than Nagato could see.
Nagato quickly calculated the time and determined that he had enough time to use the Divine Judgment, with a couple of seconds to spare.
Nagato's eyes flickered as he made a swift decision.
Swish! Nagato's original body didn't immediately use the Divine Judgment. Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique to create distance, while his two shadow clones cast ninjutsu to intercept Might Guy.
Although there was some leeway with the cooldown of the Divine Judgment, Nagato couldn't finish off Might Guy in this clash.
After all, Might Guy was capable of withstanding the Explosion Release of Iwagakure, so knocking him out in one hit would be extremely difficult.
Nagato intended to mislead Might Guy about his abilities while simultaneously wearing down his body.
Boom! Boom! Might Guy directly plowed through the ninjutsu of the shadow clones, crushing them.
"Divine Judgment!" Nagato silently mouthed, and after ten seconds, he unleashed the Divine Judgment on Might Guy.
Boom!
Might Guy felt a powerful repulsive force descend upon him, and his body flew uncontrollably backward, crashing into the wall at the edge of the battlefield.
Just as Nagato had expected, Might Guy quickly got up as if nothing had happened and continued his relentless offense.
Nagato didn't wait for the full ten seconds to elapse. Instead, he bombarded Might Guy with the Five Elements Ninjutsu and then immediately followed up with the Divine Judgment as soon as the ten seconds were up.
"Could it be that this ability of his that repels forces has a cooldown time, and it's ten seconds?"
After taking four consecutive hits from the Divine Judgment, Might Guy finally grasped the pattern.
If the Divine Judgment could be used freely, he would likely be severely injured by now.
However, Nagato hadn't been using it constantly, and Might Guy suspected that there must be a restriction. Based on Nagato's current performance, he deduced that the ability could only be used once every ten seconds.
"Since that's the case, it's time for a counterattack!" A brilliant smile appeared on Might Guy's face.
Ten seconds was more than enough time for a speedster like him to do many things.
(End of Chapter)
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