Chapter 420: Flame Emperor

“The battle begins!”

As Muzuki gave the command, Might Guy immediately activated the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates and focused his Breathing Technique, charging forward.

Facing Might Guy, who was going all out, Shisui dared not be careless. He immediately activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and fully concentrated his Flame Breathing.

This was the first time Shisui had used his Three-Tomoe Sharingan in a formal battle.

During the Chunin Exams, no opponent could force Shisui to use his Sharingan; he defeated all his opponents with Fire Release and taijutsu alone.

Under Shisui’s Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Might Guy’s extremely fast speed also slowed down, and his taijutsu movements became observable.

However, Shisui still chose not to engage Might Guy in taijutsu combat.

Although his dōjutsu allowed him to see through Might Guy’s movements, his body might not be able to keep up with Might Guy’s rhythm.

The Rock Breathing itself provided the greatest physical enhancement among all Breathing Techniques, and with the first four Gates of the Eight Gates open, any of Might Guy’s taijutsu attacks possessed considerable power and could not be measured by normal taijutsu standards.

Unlike Obito, Shisui treated all his disciples, except Rin Nohara, as hypothetical enemies to meticulously analyze battle plans.

Shisui believed that to defeat Might Guy, he needed to drag out the fight and wear down Might Guy’s peak period.

While the Eight Gates combined with Rock Breathing was powerful, it put immense strain on the body. The longer the fight dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for Shisui.

However, this plan was easy to say but difficult to execute.

Because Might Guy was not only strong but also extremely fast, and he wielded the terrifyingly powerful Golden Skyline, Shisui would be instantly defeated by Might Guy with even a slight mistake.

In his last battle with Might Guy, Shisui had experienced the Golden Skyline once, and even with Armament Haki, he couldn’t defend against it.

In terms of raw power, the Golden Skyline was the strongest taijutsu Shisui had ever seen.

However, Shisui also knew that Armament Haki was not bad; he just hadn’t mastered its cultivation yet.

Relying on his highly proficient Body Flicker Technique and Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Shisui didn’t let Might Guy touch a single thread of his clothes.

But such evasion was not easy for Shisui either; high-intensity use of the Body Flicker Technique would tire his legs, and intense mental concentration also consumed more stamina.

To make it easier for himself and to further exhaust Might Guy, Shisui simultaneously dodged and unleashed various Fire Release Ninjutsu.

Although his body was tough, Might Guy would not endure Ninjutsu unnecessarily, so he dodged while pursuing.

“This fight is too boring; they haven’t even touched each other once,” Obito couldn’t help but complain.

“In real combat, any tactic that leads to victory is a good tactic,” Kakashi said calmly.

If he were in Shisui’s position, Kakashi would also employ such a delaying tactic.

Because Shisui’s speed was good, his perception was strong, and he had enough Chakra, he was qualified to engage Might Guy in a war of attrition.

Kakashi himself couldn’t use this tactic when fighting Might Guy, because Kakashi would exhaust himself first; he couldn’t outlast Might Guy.

Thunder Breathing consumed a lot of Chakra and stamina. Kakashi had more Chakra than most people, but he couldn’t compare to an Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan like Shisui.

In Kakashi’s estimation, he would have to unleash an attack even stronger than Might Guy’s to defeat him.

“I didn’t say it was bad,” Obito pouted.

He was just complaining; in a real battle, he would definitely fight to win, if he could think of a way.

Shisui fled, Might Guy pursued, and their figures constantly flickered through the forest, with one large tree after another falling in their chase.

“Golden Skyline!”

Ultimately, Might Guy achieved his victory with a golden line; Shisui was still caught.

“If Obito and Shisui’s strengths were combined, it might work,” Kakashi analyzed internally.

If Obito had Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique proficiency and combat intelligence, or if Shisui had Obito’s Flame Breathing proficiency, then both would have a good chance of defeating Might Guy.

“Might Guy wins,” Muzuki announced the end of the battle.

Shisui’s loss was within Muzuki’s expectations, because Shisui was not only slightly inferior to Might Guy in overall strength but was also inherently countered by Might Guy.

Genjutsu was Shisui’s strong suit, and Might Guy happened to be one of the people least susceptible to Genjutsu. With this give and take, it was even harder for Shisui to defeat Might Guy.

Muzuki’s mid-to-late stage training plan for Shisui would gradually reduce the emphasis on Genjutsu. On the surface, Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and Genjutsu were the three indispensable abilities for a Ninja, but Muzuki, who knew the plot well, knew this only applied to ordinary Ninja.

Even Mangekyo Genjutsu would struggle to be very effective in the chaotic late stages of god-tier battles, let alone ordinary Genjutsu. The path of Genjutsu doesn’t go far, at least the Genjutsu system native to the Hokage world is like that.

“My final opponent is you, Kakashi! Is this our bond?!” The battle hadn’t even started, and Might Guy was already excited.

Kakashi looked at Might Guy with a black line on his face. Only four people participated in the battle; what bond was he talking about?

After resting and recovering their stamina, the two began to prepare for battle.

Kakashi’s eyes sharpened; this time, he had a very good chance of earning Muzuki’s strongest disciple title.

Compared to three months ago, he had completely mastered Armament Haki, while Might Guy’s Eight Gates and Rock Breathing hadn’t made much progress.

“The advantage is mine,” Kakashi’s Breathing Technique gradually focused, and the moment Muzuki shouted “Start,” he instantly entered the Transparent World state.

Kakashi knew that Might Guy’s Eight Gates was only a hair’s breadth away from full power, so he didn’t want to give Might Guy any chance, directly going all out to attack Might Guy.

Thunder Breathing fully concentrated to amplify his body and Lightning Release nature, Lightning Release Chakra enhanced his strength, followed by the perfect exertion of power from the Transparent World. Finally, Kakashi coated the blade of his White Fang Short Blade with Armament Haki, bringing his momentum to its peak.

Even though Might Guy also went all out, he still felt a huge crisis from such a Kakashi, and wounds quickly appeared on his body.

The burning, stinging slashes on his body didn’t make Might Guy retreat; instead, he laughed excitedly.

Kakashi was Might Guy’s recognized rival, and Might Guy always believed that Kakashi could catch up, just as he believed he could become the strongest in taijutsu.

Kakashi displaying such powerful suppression undoubtedly responded to Might Guy’s expectations; how could Might Guy not be excited?

“Eight Gates, Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, Open!”

Might Guy was not defeated; his strong resilience allowed him to enter the Fifth Gate in an extreme state, greatly increasing his power.

Feeling the sudden surge of Chakra within Might Guy’s body, Kakashi’s expression suddenly changed. The later the Gate of the Eight Gates, the stronger the amplification, and this boost was not just a little.

The situation instantly reversed. Might Guy not only escaped his disadvantage but also gained an even greater advantage than Kakashi had just had, pushing Kakashi, who had consumed most of his Chakra, into a desperate situation.

Kakashi had no other choice but to go all out, gambling his last strength on a single slash.

The dazzling lightning slash collided with the golden thin line, and the torn lightning silently announced the final battle result.

“Still a little short,” Kakashi, exhausted of both Chakra and stamina, slumped powerlessly to the ground.

Because he had just recently mastered it, his Armament Haki was of average strength and could not compare to the powerful Chakra increase from Might Guy’s Fifth Gate.

“Might Guy won again, how amazing,” Rin Nohara praised.

In her opinion, Kakashi and Obito were already incredibly strong, and Might Guy had defeated them twice to achieve final victory, which made Rin Nohara admire him greatly.

Listening to Rin Nohara’s praise and looking at the weak and powerless Kakashi on the ground, Obito felt incredibly frustrated inside, and his desire to defeat Might Guy grew stronger.

Shisui wondered how long he would have to train to reclaim the title of strongest disciple.

“Everyone is tired from fighting. For the rest of the time, there’s no more training. We’ll rest, have a hot pot, and then finish,” Muzuki said with a smile, taking out various tools from a scroll.

Muzuki’s words dissipated the tense atmosphere on the field, leaving only joy, and all the disciples looked happy.

Not having to train next wasn’t the main point; the main point was being able to eat hot pot together.

Muzuki opened his panel while preparing the ingredients.

【Disciple Might Guy diligently cultivated under your guidance, and his overall strength has improved. You have received a reward for this improvement — Exploding Fist (Mastery Level)】

Muzuki didn’t immediately recall which world this skill came from; it sounded too ordinary.

Only after the cultivation memory appeared in his mind did Muzuki realize that this was a fighting-type skill from pokémon.

In pokémon, it was a skill with low accuracy but guaranteed to confuse the opponent if it hit. After localization, the confusion effect became a temporary disruption of the opponent’s Chakra.

This wasn’t too special an effect; a Rasengan hitting someone could also temporarily disrupt their Chakra.

However, Muzuki was still curious about the techniques within Exploding Fist, because Rasengan was a Ninjutsu, relying on extremely compressed and rotating Chakra, while Exploding Fist was taijutsu.

After organizing his memories, Muzuki found that the two were actually somewhat similar.

It involved channeling all the body’s power into the fist while condensing a large amount of Chakra within the fist, compressing and circulating it, and finally releasing it all in an explosive burst at the moment of the punch.

“Although it’s taijutsu, it’s not very suitable for Might Guy,” Muzuki thought to himself.

After opening the Eight Gates, Might Guy’s Chakra was too violent to perform such precise Chakra manipulation.

Moreover, Exploding Fist required a certain level of proficiency. If not used skillfully, it could take some time to compress the Chakra, preventing an immediate Exploding Fist and giving the enemy a chance to defend. Muzuki thought this was probably the localized effect of its low accuracy.

“Go back and get some good rest. I have something new to teach you tomorrow,” Muzuki said, patting Kakashi’s shoulder after they finished eating hot pot.

Kakashi’s eyes instantly lit up; usually, anything Muzuki specifically mentioned was good.

“Muzuki-sensei, do I have anything?” Obito asked expectantly.

“Whack!”

Muzuki tapped Obito’s head with his finger, “First, master the Fire Release you’re currently learning.”

Learning Fire Release and taijutsu under Muzuki was very fortunate, as Muzuki possessed many highly proficient skills in both areas and had a deep understanding of them.

Perhaps spurred by Might Guy winning the strongest disciple title twice in a row, Obito and Shisui trained with exceptional enthusiasm, and before long, they also triggered breakthrough rewards.

【Disciple Uchiha Obito diligently cultivated under your guidance, and his overall strength has improved. You have received a reward for this improvement — Great Flame Ring – Flame Emperor (Mastery Level)】

【Disciple Uchiha Shisui diligently cultivated under your guidance, and his overall strength has improved. You have received a reward for this improvement — Water Instant Body Technique (Mastery Level)】