Amid the clamorous din of voices was a sea of noise, yet at the heart of the vortex lay venomous fangs hidden with lethal intent.
Kairen's Sage Body emotion-sensing could feel the malice in the air—strands of killing intent lying in wait, steadily accumulating.
But he didn't care, arms folded, calmly gazing at Guy, whose body was brimming with fighting spirit.
In the spectator stands.
There were two beautiful women—one with long black hair, the other with a red single ponytail.
They were Uchiha Mikoto and Uzumaki Kushina.
Beside Mikoto sat Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi asked with some curiosity, "I wonder how strong Kairen really is?"
Itachi was precocious by nature and subconsciously believed Kairen was very strong, but he had never seen him make a move.
Mikoto was also full of curiosity. Kairen's strength was something she'd only heard about; all the information came from Fugaku.
She wanted to see it too… what kind of power this young man, who stirred something strange in her heart, truly possessed.
Kushina laughed boldly. "That kid is the strongest person I've ever seen!"
Even Minato and Jiraiya were helpless against the Nine-Tails, yet Kairen had subdued it by his own strength alone.
Mikoto was surprised. "Kushina, do you know Kairen well?"
Her question was met with an affirmative response.
Kushina nodded meaningfully. "Of course!"
Planning a rebellion—just thinking about it gave her a little thrill.
But her words made Mikoto uncomfortable, as if a beautiful garment she admired now had other competitors.
Mikoto quickly shook her head, dispelling the strange feeling in her heart.
...
"Guy, do your best—carry through your ninja way!"
Up above, a man with a huge bowl haircut completely ignored the awkwardness of those around him and loudly cheered Guy on.
Guy responded with a thumbs-up. "Got it, Dad. I'll show Kairen my youth."
The chief examiner said no more, only softly, "Begin."
Filled with fighting spirit, Guy shouted at Kairen, "Kairen, show me your full strength!"
Kairen smiled faintly as a layer of youth buff stacked onto him.
Suppressing the urge to go all out immediately, he planned to let Guy taste despair in a single round.
"Guy, you'd better catch this. If you miss, the entire arena will be destroyed!"
"Come on!"
Kairen smiled, and a layer of blue aura ignited around his body.
That immense chakra was like a blue sun, concentrating all the world's light onto him alone.
Those who had never understood Kairen before felt their legs tremble just from sensing that overwhelming chakra.
Kairen had never used earth element before and was more adept with fire element.
But ever since mastering Tengai Shinsei, he had begun to pay close attention to earth-attribute chakra.
After modifying Tengai Shinsei, Kairen obtained a miniature version—small in scale, yet still a meteor falling from the heavens.
The sky seemed to darken; a mass of black clouds stretched across the heavens, instantly dyeing the clear world black.
The spectators looked up at the sky. What was happening?
"One ninjutsu changing the heavens— even if Uchiha Madara were alive, he wouldn't dare dance here!"
"This child is terrifying beyond measure—he must not be left alive!"
"I proclaim him the strongest!"
A breach opened in the black clouds. A meteor, fully ten meters across, descended from the sky, trailing fiery red light, as if to lash the barren earth.
At that moment, everyone watching felt their own insignificance.
Compared to the towering majesty of the nine heavens above, they were nothing more than insects crawling on the ground.
Such a colossal attack— even elite jōnin wouldn't dare to block it!
Guy could dodge, but the meteor's range covered the entire arena. Guy either forfeited or took it head-on.
Affected by the youth buff, Kairen was currently very fond of opening big right at the start.
No particular reason— he was simply in a good mood!
Almost everyone believed Guy had no power to resist; that small frame simply couldn't stop an attack falling from the sky.
Guy stared wide-eyed at the heavens. The meteor was already close.
He had asked Kairen to show his strength, but he hadn't expected him to summon a meteor outright.
Youth… how should it face this?
"Idiot, what are you still looking at? Run!"
"That bowl-cut— does he really think he can block a meteor?"
"Let's move farther away, or we'll be caught in the blast radius!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe, silently watching the meteor descend.
It wasn't very large, and its range was within control—he could handle it.
However… a ninjutsu that summoned meteors was truly rare. Used well, it could become a battlefield super-weapon.
What a pity— not for my use!
Everyone was looking down on Guy. Only one huge bowl-cut head cheered loudly.
"Guy, don't give up! Think about why you wanted to become a ninja!"
Might Duy's voice suddenly awakened Guy's ninja way, and he seemed to see the bitterness of the past.
At first, Guy had been a normal bowl-cut kid.
He had felt ashamed of his father's embarrassing behavior and dejected over his own lack of ninja talent.
Every time he cried alone, it was Might Duy who awakened his resolve to strive!
"Guy, do your best! Youth never betrays those who work hard!"
Guy looked at his hands, wrapped all over in bandages.
Ten thousand kicks a day, ten thousand punches, ten thousand frog jumps…
I just want to prove that geniuses can be caught up to!!
"Ah—"
A low roar sounded from Guy's throat.
"Kairen, my youth will never fade!"
"First Gate—Open!"
"Second Gate—Open!"
"Third Gate—Open!"
Green energy began to emanate from Guy's body, blazing with light beneath the darkened sky.
Obito blurted out, "What the hell is this? What is this? Guy turned into light!"
Kakashi watched intently.
Guy had always been chasing his footsteps. He hadn't expected that, without realizing it, Guy had already mastered such a powerful technique.
"Not enough! Not enough!"
Relying on the boost from just three gates was nowhere near enough to stop that flame-wreathed meteor.
"Guy, do your best!" Might Duy waved the banner alone.
His spirit inspired many others, and Kairen's supporters even gave Guy a round of promotion.
"Youth, do your best!"
"Cue the BGM— cheer for youth bro!"
"Ah—"
"Fourth Gate of Injury—Open!!"
In that instant, Guy became a streak of green light, charging to meet the red meteor falling from the heavens.
Kairen looked up at Guy, who seemed like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Those who strive hard should not be mocked.
"Rumble rumble rumble…"
A massive explosion rang out. Guy blocked Kairen's meteor descent, writing the words "youth" across the sky and formally engraving this bowl-cut into everyone's memory.
A small figure fell from the sky—it was Guy, already unconscious, smoke still rising from his body, covered head to toe in shattered wounds.
To survive after blocking one of Kairen's attacks with full force was already quite impressive.
Kairen was just about to use Wood Release to catch the falling Guy.
But an even more massive green light swept across the sky, catching the unconscious Guy.
That figure then slammed heavily into the ground, blasting out a pit over a meter wide.
It was a giant bowl-cut— Guy's father, Might Duy.
In that brief instant, Might Duy had opened the Six Gates of the Eight Gates, allowing him to firmly catch Guy.
This shocked many observant people— a perpetual genin possessing such strength!
In their hearts, thoughts of exploitation began to stir once more.