Chapter 194 The Dragon Returns to the Sea

“Guy, how did you suddenly get so much stronger?” Before the fight, Obito humbly asked Might Guy for advice on getting stronger.

“It’s not really’suddenly stronger.’ It’s just that a Taijutsu I’m learning is now usable,” Might Guy said, scratching his head.

The Eight Gates has a total of Eight Gates, and he could only open the first Gate of Opening, so it could only be considered a preliminary application.

“Don’t worry, Obito! My youth won’t let you down. I’ll definitely put on a show with the same intensity as my fight with Kakashi to satisfy you!” Might Guy said, giving a thumbs-up.

Obito:…He was actually thinking that Might Guy shouldn’t burn his youth too brightly, so he could win and show off in front of Kakashi and Rin Nohara.

Of course, this thought only crossed Obito’s mind when he was daydreaming. If Might Guy actually went easy on him, Obito wouldn’t be happy.

“But you must be careful of my Fire Release!” Obito reminded him seriously.

Feeling the gazes of Kakashi and Rin Nohara, Obito decided that this time he would fight with all his Chakra, to seize that sliver of a chance at victory.

He had already made up his mind to complete this battle in his own style. He couldn’t imitate Kakashi and Shisui’s fighting methods, and Kakashi himself hadn’t even beaten Might Guy.

“Begin!” Muzuki shouted.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!” Obito backflipped, quickly formed hand signs, and spewed out a large fireball.

Blazing flames continuously spewed from Obito’s mouth, eventually forming a three-meter-high Great Fireball Technique that rapidly shot towards Might Guy.

Might Guy, who had originally been charging towards Obito, immediately changed direction and dodged the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

Whoosh, whoosh!!

After releasing his Ninjutsu, Obito immediately threw a large number of Shuriken towards the dodging Might Guy.

Clang, clang!!

Might Guy swung his Kunai to block the incoming Shuriken. Caught off guard, he was still cut by a few Shuriken, leaving blood marks on his tight-fitting suit.

“Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!”

Obito changed his breathing rhythm, absorbing a large amount of oxygen, strengthening his physical abilities, and increasing the speed of his Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation.

“Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!” Then Obito quickly released another Fire Release towards Might Guy.

“Rock Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing, Eight Gates, First Gate of Opening, Open!”

Seeing that Obito seemed to want to defeat him with a fast-paced attack, Might Guy no longer held back. He instantly used all his techniques. Under the enhancement of the Breathing Technique and the Eight Gates, his physical abilities rapidly increased, and both his speed and strength were greatly boosted.

The flying speed of the fire dragon was faster than the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, and it quickly rushed in front of Might Guy.

Might Guy knew that the Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique was more flexible and could be controlled to a certain extent, so he directly used Soru to retreat backward, hiding behind a nearby tree.

Boom!!

The high-speed fire dragon burned through the large tree, which then snapped and fell to the ground with a rumble, raising a cloud of dust.

“Damn it, too fast.” Seeing that his fast-paced attack had no effect, Obito knew in his heart that victory was slipping further and further away from him.

He hadn’t used much Chakra for the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, employing Muzuki’s bluffing technique, which looked powerful but actually had little destructive force. However, the Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique had genuinely used a considerable amount of Chakra.

The Total Concentration Breathing of Rock Breathing already greatly enhanced physical abilities, and with the burst from the Eight Gates, Obito had almost no ability to engage in close combat with Might Guy.

Obito tried to engage in Taijutsu with Might Guy for a moment, and was instantly disoriented, barely avoiding being eliminated by Might Guy by fully unleashing his flames.

“I can’t see clearly,” Obito thought, pondering countermeasures.

It would be better if there were no obstructions, but here, there were large trees dozens of meters high everywhere, which greatly affected Obito’s Ninjutsu accuracy.

The battle between the two sides became increasingly fierce, with ground scorched by Obito’s Fire Release and large trees kicked down by Might Guy.

Obito’s Chakra was getting lower and lower, and his body was becoming more and more exhausted. He felt like he was going to lose.

Although he usually disparaged Kakashi, Obito acknowledged Kakashi’s strength. He was the genius Ninja, Kakashi Hatake.

At the Ninja Academy, they were already close friends. Kakashi was the long-standing top genius, while he was the Uchiha clan’s dead last in everyone’s mouths.

Obito’s overall grades were actually better than Might Guy’s, but his surname was Uchiha, and in the public’s perception, Ninja from Konoha’s top clan, Uchiha, were all very outstanding.

So Obito, whose practical combat was mediocre and theoretical scores were last, became the ‘Uchiha dead last’ in everyone’s mouths.

Obito was a very optimistic person, but he couldn’t ignore everyone’s words. He envied and even yearned to be like Kakashi, praised by teachers and admired by classmates.

Even Kakashi, whom he admired, had lost, so it was only natural for him to lose, right?

“No!” Obito’s eyes suddenly firmed, denying the wavering voice in his heart.

What yearning? He didn’t want to be like Kakashi, who didn’t even dare to show his face all day. What he wanted to do was surpass Kakashi!

Obito’s breathing gradually became more focused, and his eyes were filled with a strong desire for victory.

“Extreme Leaf Hurricane!”

Might Guy concentrated all his strength, pouring it into his leg, delivering an ultimate kick, launching his final attack.

The strong wind generated by Might Guy’s immense power stirred up some pebbles and rotten leaves on the ground, blowing them towards Obito, but with his goggles, Obito didn’t need to squint.

Obito’s eyes were more serious than ever. He absorbed a large amount of external energy, unleashing all the remaining Chakra in his body.

“Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing, this is my last strength!”

Obito concentrated all his strength into his fist. He didn’t consider whether he could control the flames to avoid injuring himself. He just wanted to use this last bit of power to gamble on that barely visible light of victory.

Boom!!

Might Guy’s ultimate kick and Obito’s flame-burning fist collided, and the air blast generated by the collision of immense forces stirred up dust all around.

Kakashi looked at Obito in disbelief. He had experienced Might Guy’s kick and knew how powerful it was. Obito actually withstood it?

Bang!

In the end, Might Guy had the upper hand, kicking Obito flying backward. Might Guy’s leg was also injured, and he almost fell, but he maintained his stance through sheer willpower.

“Cough, cough, that hurts.” Obito coughed, feeling the pain in his body, and couldn’t help but gasp.

“So that’s how much it hurt when Kakashi got kicked back then,” Obito thought, guessing Kakashi’s mental state at the time, while controlling his own expression. Kakashi hadn’t cried out in pain, so he certainly couldn’t either.

Obito tried to push himself up with his hand, but found that the hand he had punched with, his right hand, had no strength left. He propped himself up with his left hand, trying to stand, attempting three times, but ultimately failing.

“I still lost,” Obito gave up trying to stand, rolled over, and lay directly on the ground, looking up at the sky.

He didn’t know how to describe his current mood.

He had tried his best, unleashed all his strength, but still lost.

As he thought, Obito suddenly laughed. He remembered Kakashi being kicked flying by Might Guy; he looked so pathetic, kicked flying with a look of disbelief.

He lost more gracefully than Kakashi. Kakashi was directly kicked flying, while he at least held his ground against Guy for a while.

After laughing, he thought about his combat record.

So far, among Muzuki’s other four disciples, Obito had not fought Rin Nohara. He had not won a single battle against Shisui and Kakashi, and his battles against Might Guy had generally resulted in more losses than wins.

Obito suddenly remembered something Muzuki had said: failure always runs through life.

This was a very Muzuki-like statement, and Obito felt it made a lot of sense, but he really wanted to win.

“What a battle, full of youth and exhilaration!” Might Guy said, giving Obito a thumbs-up and laughing.

Obito’s final counterattack was somewhat beyond Might Guy’s expectations. If it weren’t for the boost from the Eight Gates, he might have been the one to lose.

“You all performed very well. Get treatment and rest well.” Muzuki quickly appeared on the field and took Might Guy and Obito to a cool spot to rest and receive treatment.

Rin Nohara also stepped forward to help.

“Rin, wasn’t my last punch amazing? Kakashi was kicked flying with one blow, but I almost won!” Feeling Rin Nohara’s treatment, Obito’s eyes filled with smiles, and he couldn’t help but praise himself while putting down Kakashi.

Kakashi, who had just walked over, immediately had neat rows of black lines appear on his forehead. He admitted that Obito’s final explosive punch had made him look at him in a new light, but saying he ‘almost won’ was just bragging.

“I feel like my Breathing Technique has improved a bit again. Kakashi, just you wait. Once I’m familiar with my improved Breathing Technique, I’ll defeat you!” Seeing Kakashi approach, Obito said with a confident expression.

While receiving treatment, Obito continuously replayed his battle with Might Guy in his mind. He could feel that he had improved in the final moments; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to injure Might Guy.

Kakashi knew that Obito’s words were not empty. After these days of Thunder Breathing training, he also had a preliminary understanding of the Breathing Technique.

“You can try it,” Kakashi replied indifferently, seemingly not taking Obito’s challenge to heart.

Although he secretly resolved to quickly master the Breathing Technique through diligent training, Kakashi would not give Obito a chance to gloat.

Seeing that Obito still had the energy to bicker with Kakashi, Rin Nohara breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that there shouldn’t be any major problems.

Muzuki also nodded inwardly. Occasional battles indeed helped stimulate the growth in his disciples’ strength.

Obito was indeed the fastest to master Flame Breathing, and this time, he made further progress during the battle, gaining a lot of proficiency.

And Might Guy was also quite good, becoming more adept at using the Breathing Technique and the Eight Gates simultaneously.

Kakashi’s two consecutive failures, coupled with witnessing Obito’s breakthrough in battle, would surely make his subsequent training very proactive.

As for Shisui, in this battle, Shisui’s main role was to provide pressure. Currently, none of Muzuki’s disciples could put pressure on Shisui, including the current Might Guy.

Shisui’s Sharingan could not only catch Might Guy’s movements, but he also had almost no weaknesses, excelling in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Even if Might Guy used Rock Breathing and the first Gate of Opening simultaneously, he couldn’t defeat Shisui.

However, Muzuki believed that this situation would soon be broken.

The first three of the Eight Gates were the safe zone of the Eight Gates. Once one learned the first Gate of Opening, they could quickly open the third Gate of Opening.

Facing Might Guy with Rock Breathing plus the third Gate of Opening of the Eight Gates, Shisui would be difficult to deal with. Sometimes, just seeing the movements doesn’t mean you can react in time.

Muzuki was looking forward to Might Guy adding a defeat to Shisui’s undefeated record. Maintaining fixed rankings was not conducive to the growth of his disciples’ strength; they needed to put pressure on each other.

Obito’s injuries were more severe, so he didn’t train. Might Guy started exercising after his treatment, while Kakashi, after a friendly exchange with Obito, quickly began his Thunder Breathing training.

After dismissal, Kakashi also went straight home, quickly had dinner, and continued training.

In order not to be defeated by Obito, he had to quickly integrate the Breathing Technique into combat to enhance his strength… After bidding farewell to his disciples, Muzuki also returned to his home in the Main urban area.

However, that evening, an unexpected guest arrived.

“Muzuki, let me introduce you. This is my teacher, Jiraiya,” Minato said with a smile, introducing the white-haired Ninja standing next to him to Muzuki.

“Is that Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin?” Muzuki’s expression was a bit surprised, but he quickly showed a gentle smile and greeted Jiraiya.

“Hahaha, I am indeed the legendary Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin, the handsome man who can even make crying children shut up with his coolness!” Jiraiya proudly laughed and reintroduced himself.

Then Jiraiya carefully scrutinized Muzuki for a few moments, then looked at Minato, rubbed his chin, and asked, “Are you two relatives?”

“Jiraiya-sensei, didn’t I introduce Muzuki to you in my letter?” Minato said, scratching his head. Did he remember incorrectly?

“Haha, just kidding. I do think you two look somewhat alike,” Jiraiya replied with a laugh.

If he hadn’t known anything, he might have genuinely thought so upon seeing the two, but Minato had already introduced Muzuki to him in his letters. He just wanted to tease his somewhat naive student.

“It’s time for dinner, so let’s eat together. You two sit down and have some tea first; I’ll go prepare dinner,” Muzuki said, inviting them.

Currently, during the developmental stage, the more friends, the better.

“Sensei, please rest. I’ll help Muzuki,” Minato said to Jiraiya. After Jiraiya nodded, he skillfully walked into the kitchen.

“The ineffable, number one delicacy in the world, so delicious it’s like being under a Genjutsu. That’s quite an exaggeration, eating vegetables can cause Genjutsu.” Jiraiya, sitting alone in the living room, recalled Minato’s description of Muzuki’s cooking.

He had just arrived in Konoha today, and a big reason he went straight to Minato’s house was because Minato had written to him many times, praising Muzuki’s cooking as unparalleled in the world.

However, Jiraiya didn’t have high expectations. He was a person who traveled the Ninja World all day. What delicious food hadn’t he eaten? How good could cooking be?

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