https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-531-Rinnegan-vs-Eight-Inner-Gates/12558790/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-533-The-Gap-Between-Enemies-and-Allies/12558793/
Chapter 532: Might Guy's Six Gates Technique Reappears
Chapter 532: Might Guy's Six Gates Technique Reappears
Might Guy began counting silently in his mind as he sprinted forward, his path curving in an arc toward Pain.
"Morning Peacock!"
As he ran, Guy focused his strength into his fists, rapidly swinging them with immense speed.
The rapid punching created friction with the air, generating flames that surged toward Pain along with the impact force of his blows.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Pain quickly formed the necessary hand seals and created a thick wall of earth in front of him as a barrier.
Boom!
The fireballs collided with the earthen wall, causing a massive explosion that left the wall cracked and crumbling, yet it still stood firm before Pain.
Whoosh!
"Four, three," Guy counted silently, then leaped down from above the wall, charging at Pain.
"Two, one," he continued counting.
As Guy reached the end of his countdown, he found himself just one meter away from Pain.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Pain's Rinnegan eyes trembled, and a powerful repulsive force erupted once again, centered on his body.
Guy felt an invisible, irresistible force pushing against him, preventing him from moving forward.
Bang!
Guy crashed through the Mud Wall and was sent flying backward, landing roughly on the ground.
"As expected, it's ten seconds," Guy thought to himself, now certain that there was a ten-second cooldown period for Pain's Shinra Tensei.
"Ten, nine..." Guy began counting again as he charged forward, once more using the Morning Peacock technique.
A barrage of fireballs and shockwaves from his rapid punches surged toward Pain, just as they had before.
Pain, seeing Guy's actions, realized that Guy had taken the bait and was misled by the false information he had fed him.
Pain didn't change his strategy; he formed the same hand seals as before and used an Earth Style jutsu to create a solid wall of earth.
The defensive jutsu and offensive taijutsu clashed once more, and just like before, the earthen wall successfully blocked all of the Morning Peacock's attacks.
"What's Guy doing? Why is he wasting his energy on this technique again?" Asuma, sitting in the audience, was puzzled.
Since it was already evident from the previous clash that the Morning Peacock couldn't break through Pain's defensive jutsu, why waste energy on it instead of using stronger techniques like Daytime Tiger or Golden Horizon?
The latter techniques consumed more chakra, but they had a better chance of breaking through Pain's defenses. Using the Morning Peacock, while less taxing on chakra, was ultimately futile.
"This is it," Kakashi thought, his expression turning solemn as he watched Guy's relentless charge.
Kakashi, too, had noticed that there was a consistent interval between each time Pain used the Shinra Tensei.
And from that, he had guessed Guy's plan.
"Noon Tiger!"
Guy gathered all his strength in his legs, and the massive amount of chakra coursing through his body erupted. Instead of leaping onto the wall and then jumping down as he had done before, he ignored the wall and charged straight ahead with incredible speed.
Boom!
The earthen wall shattered under Guy's relentless assault, but he showed no signs of slowing down as he rushed toward Pain.
Guy's plan was simple: if his normal attacks couldn't reach Pain within the ten-second window, he would use the Noon Tiger again to accelerate and take advantage of the time gap.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Facing Guy's relentless assault, Pain remained calm and formed a single hand seal, creating a shadow clone.
"Four, three, success!"
With Pain so close, Guy believed that victory was within his grasp.
At this distance, even if Pain used other offensive jutsu, Guy could withstand the attack and deliver a devastating punch to Pain.
Pain's jutsu could injure him, but it wouldn't take him out of the fight. And Guy's punch, at this range, had a high probability of knocking Pain out cold.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Suddenly, a powerful repulsive force stopped Guy's fist just five centimeters away from Pain's chest.
Guy stared at Pain in astonishment. He had been counting silently, and according to his count, Pain's Shinra Tensei should have had another two seconds on its cooldown.
"I fell for it," Guy quickly realized the reason behind this discrepancy.
While the Shinra Tensei might have a cooldown, it certainly wasn't ten seconds, and it could even be less than eight seconds.
Pain had deliberately used the jutsu every ten seconds to feed him false information.
Bang!
Just like before, Guy was sent flying backward by the repulsive force.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
The shadow clone of Pain, wanting to ensure a hit, used a large-area jutsu, blowing a high-pressure wind ball in the direction Guy had flown.
Whoosh!
The powerful storm engulfed the area where Guy had been sent flying, even cracking the ground beneath it.
"What a troublesome opponent," Pain thought to himself, letting out a sigh of relief.
Fighting someone like Guy, who could both take a hit and dish out powerful attacks, was a nuisance, even for someone with Pain's substantial chakra reserves.
Before using his Shadow Clone Technique, he had to consider whether the clone would be effective; if not, he wouldn't waste the chakra.
After all, it was all too easy for Guy to destroy the clones. Instead of mindlessly using the technique, he opted to conserve his chakra for the Shinra Tensei, which was not only powerful but also chakra-intensive.
"It was misleading information after all. Guy didn't lose unfairly," Kakashi thought, a bit surprised to see Pain use the Shinra Tensei after only eight seconds.
Guy had thought he saw through Pain's pattern, only to realize that Pain had been deliberately feeding him false information. There was no doubt that Pain had won the mental aspect of this battle.
There was more to be gleaned from their brief exchange, however. If Pain could use the Shinra Tensei every eight seconds, or even less...
Then Pain had been holding back during their fight, and given the sheer power of the Shinra Tensei, he could have gained a much more substantial advantage by using it more frequently.
"He's a steady and cautious type of ninja," Kakashi analyzed. "Looks like there's no doubt about who will win this preliminary round."
If Pain had been in his usual Obito personality, the final match might have been more competitive. But with Pain's strength and caution combined, he was a formidable opponent.
Kakashi thought that even he would likely lose if he were in Guy's place, and both Itachi and Obito were not yet strong enough to defeat Pain.
Seeing Guy make a critical mistake and lose his chance at victory, Danzo retracted his gaze and glanced at Mu Yue from the corner of his eye.
Mu Yue's expression remained unchanged, as if everything was going according to his expectations.
Danzo felt a sense of defeat. He could manage his expressions, but he sensed that Mu Yue's composure wasn't due to emotional control; it was because he truly had everything under control.
"It should be about time," Pain thought, focusing his gaze on Guy, who was being battered by the storm.
It had been a long time since he had felt this way. The pressure Nagato exerted on him in this one-on-one battle was truly unique.
"At this rate, I'm going to lose," Guy judged, feeling the pain emanating from various parts of his body.
He had used the Noon Tiger twice within a minute, and his legs were now fatigued. Not only would he be unable to use the Noon Tiger again, but his top speed would also be slower than before.
Coupled with the impact of his injuries, even though he still had ample fighting spirit, he couldn't stop the decline in his physical capabilities.
"Obito really wants that first-place reward," Guy maintained his focused breathing, recalling their previous discussion about the Youth Ninja Combat Tournament.
Each disciple had their own reasons for participating in the tournament. Guy wanted to face off against more genius strong fighters, while the rewards themselves didn't matter much to him.
However, the same couldn't be said for Obito. Upon hearing about the first-place reward, Obito had shown a keen interest.
Guy didn't mind giving his reward to his friend, as none of the prizes were of any use to him.
But at this point, Guy felt truly helpless. In his current state, defeating Nagato was impossible.
Guy was confident but not arrogant.
"Looks like it's time to unleash the Green Beast!" Guy took a deep breath, preparing to forcefully open the sixth gate of the Eight Inner Gates, just as he had during their previous encounter.
His body was now much stronger than before, and even if he forcefully opened the sixth gate while in his Rock Lee Chakra Mode, he wouldn't suffer as severe injuries as last time.
"Gate of Joy, open!"
Guy's eyes widened, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body, enveloping him in an energy that resembled green leaves.
The opening of the sixth gate further enhanced Guy's chakra, making it even more ferocious.
"What's going on?" Nagato, with his exceptional perception, immediately noticed the change in Guy and exclaimed in surprise.
He had thought that Guy would lose his ability to fight amidst the oppressive storm, but instead, Guy became even stronger, exuding an unprecedented terrifying aura.
Due to the enhancement of his body, even though he was using the same six gates in conjunction with the Rock Lee Chakra Mode, Guy was now stronger than when he had fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
That towering, terrifying aura could even be clearly felt by the ninja spectators in the stands.
"Guy still had something up his sleeve," Asuma muttered, taken aback.
Asuma felt that Guy in his current state could punch him to death and then some.
"So, he wasn't going all out when he fought me," Kisame Hoshigaki grumbled, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
After all his efforts, his former opponent could now defeat him without even trying.
"This is crazy. It's a good thing Teacher Mu Yue is here too," Kakashi remarked, realizing that Guy had forcefully opened a higher gate upon seeing the green energy surrounding him.
Kakashi had a deep impression of Guy's Gate of Joy. During their previous encounter with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, if it weren't for Guy opening the Gate of Joy and holding off four of the swordsmen by himself, they would never have survived unscathed until Mu Yue arrived.
Of course, the price they paid was also significant. Guy had been the most severely injured during that battle, and even with Mu Yue's immediate treatment and subsequent extended recuperation, it had still taken a long time for him to fully recover.
"What a powerful aura," Huang Tu's gaze toward Guy changed.
This guy wasn't just a genius; he was a true powerhouse, a formidable ninja in the ninja world.
Even if Huang Tu were to take the field and replace Nagato in this fight, he wasn't sure he could defeat Guy in his current state.
"He still has an ace up his sleeve," Danzo's expression remained unchanged, but he was delighted inwardly. He then turned to observe Mu Yue.
However, upon seeing that Mu Yue still wore that gentle, benevolent smile, he became perplexed.
"Why isn't he worried about his techniques being spread? After all, we're dealing with a ninja from Konoha," Danzo couldn't understand Mu Yue's nonchalance.
If Konoha were to obtain these techniques, given their vast resources, it was highly likely that someone would master them, and they might even dedicate resources to studying and countering the Fire Dragon Dance.
Danzo couldn't fathom Mu Yue's thoughts, so he could only continue watching the match.
Guy channeled a large amount of chakra into his index and middle fingers, bringing them together, and then thrusting his hand behind him.
By forcefully opening the sixth gate, he was causing significant damage to his body. Coupled with the severe injuries he had already sustained, the longer the fight dragged on, the more it would favor Nagato. Guy needed to end this quickly.
Therefore, Guy intended to unleash all his power and finish the fight as soon as possible, without further testing the true cooldown period of the Shinra Tensei.
Guy didn't know much about repulsion forces, but he had witnessed Nagato using the Shinra Tensei to counter the Daytime Tiger, causing him to retreat.
In other words, Nagato's Shinra Tensei wasn't infallible. If it encountered a force stronger than itself, it might not be able to intercept it perfectly.
"Golden Horizon!"
Guy unleashed all his power and rushed towards Nagato with extreme speed.
At that moment, many of the ninja spectators could no longer clearly see Guy's figure; they only perceived a streak of green light moving at an incredible velocity.
Sensing the terror that Guy now exuded, Nagato wore an expression of utmost seriousness as he channeled all his chakra, focusing on his Rinnegan.
This version of Guy couldn't be dealt with using an ordinary Shinra Tensei; a more powerful version was required.
To give his main body more time to prepare the jutsu, Nagato's shadow clone stood in front of him and used a jutsu to intercept Guy's charge.
However, Guy was abnormally powerful at this moment, and Nagato's shadow clone was unable to effectively stop him.
In the blink of an eye, Guy was upon him. He swung his right hand, his fingers resembling a sharp, gleaming blade.
As Guy made a slashing motion, a powerful impact instantly crushed Nagato's shadow clone.
Dazzling golden light flashed, and Nagato's perception conveyed an extremely dangerous signal.
Without thinking, Nagato instinctively released the massive amount of chakra he had gathered, pushing his Rinnegan ability to the limit and unleashing the most powerful attack he had ever used since obtaining the Rinnegan.
"Shinra Tensei!"
PS: There will be another chapter later, but it will be quite late, so it's recommended to read it tomorrow.
The original plan was to finish the Combat Tournament and update the Naruto bonus chapter before the 10th, but due to taking a day off and encountering some writer's block for a couple of days, the update progress has been slower than expected, so the Naruto bonus chapter will be a bit delayed.
After all, it wouldn't be a good reading experience to abruptly interrupt the ongoing battle with a bonus chapter.
(End of Chapter)
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