"…Alright."
Might Guy hesitated for a moment. Seeing the unquestionable look on Yusuke's face, he finally nodded.
He knew very well that Uchiha Yusuke was no ordinary opponent.
The battle in which Yusuke defeated Uchiha Fugaku had already spread throughout Konoha.
Guy had originally planned that if he lost this time, he'd make a pact with Yusuke and keep fighting again and again—but it was clear Yusuke had no intention of giving him that chance.
Still uneasy, Yusuke cleared his throat and continued.
"Ahem. Konoha is about to go to war with Kumogakure.
It's better if this sparring match stays at 'point-stop,' don't you think?"
If Guy got carried away and opened the Seventh Gate, Yusuke couldn't guarantee he'd walk away unscathed.
"Don't worry, don't worry—I know," Guy said with an awkward grin as he made his promise.
"Taijutsu is basically useless against you anyway. I won't make a mess of things."
Yusuke's Fire Release Chakra Mode allowed his body to become elemental.
A taijutsu specialist like Guy had virtually no chance of defeating him.
Of course, Guy understood Yusuke's real concern—he was worried Guy might go too far.
Might Duy, a mere genin, had once opened the Eight Gates and turned the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist into a tragic joke.
The power of the Eight Gates Technique spoke for itself.
And the side effects of the Eight Gates were no secret to Yusuke either.
Atop a mountain overlooking Konoha.
Uchiha Yusuke and Might Guy stood facing each other.
Given the destructive power of their techniques, even a restrained sparring match would be far too much for an ordinary training ground.
Severely damaging a training field meant paying repair fees.
And financially speaking, neither of them was exactly rolling in money.
Konoha had already entered a state of war readiness.
Elite ninja who were out on missions had mostly been recalled.
The moment the two arrived at the mountaintop, quite a few Konoha ninja had already followed.
A match between Uchiha Yusuke and Might Guy was impossible to hide.
Asuma Sarutobi, Yūhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, and other elite Konoha ninja also came to observe.
"Guy's as hot-blooded as ever," Asuma said with a shake of his head.
"But challenging Uchiha Yusuke this time… he's probably going to suffer."
Asuma knew Guy's strength well.
The title Proud Blue Beast of Konoha had been spreading over the past couple of years.
But Guy only used taijutsu.
Everyone knew that Uchiha Yusuke's Fire Release Chakra Mode was essentially immune to physical attacks.
From that alone, Guy's chances looked extremely slim.
Yamashiro Aoba, Gekkō Hayate, and Shiranui Genma all nodded in agreement.
They also believed Guy was almost certainly going to lose.
The reactions of Yūhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, and Uzuki Yūgao were completely different from the men's.
"Yusuke-kun, go for it!"
"Lord Yusuke, show him some color!"
"Wearing such a disgusting green outfit and daring to challenge Yusuke—heitui!"
…
The shrill cheers of the female ninja rang out nonstop, making Asuma and the others feel like they'd swallowed lemons.
Back in the Academy days, girls had already been flocking around Uchiha Yusuke like fangirls.
Time had passed, yet Yusuke was still just as popular.
So what if you're handsome?
"Ahem. Everyone, step back. You might get hurt accidentally."
Guy looked around and shouted a warning.
With his youth burning hot, the power surging inside him was already difficult to contain.
Kakashi refused to act as a sparring partner.
Uchiha Yusuke was the same.
Guy had initiated this duel not only out of hot-blooded passion, but also to gain more experience fighting ninjutsu users and Sharingan wielders.
From a certain perspective, Yusuke and Kakashi were quite similar—both specialized in ninjutsu and dōjutsu.
Of course, Yusuke's taijutsu wasn't weak either.
Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—he excelled in all of them.
Compared to Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Yusuke was more like a flawless all-rounder with no weaknesses.
"Let's end this quickly."
Yusuke made a hand gesture, signaling Guy to attack first.
Guy didn't hesitate and immediately assumed a combat stance.
"Eight Gates—First Gate, Gate of Opening, open!"
"Eight Gates—Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!"
"Eight Gates—Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, open!"
Guy gave Yusuke full respect—he opened the Fifth Gate right from the start.
Yusuke returned the courtesy by firing off a ninjutsu without hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Flames roared skyward as the attack skimmed across the ground straight toward Guy.
But with the Fifth Gate open, Guy's speed was terrifying.
Using a taijutsu Body Flicker, he dodged the fireball entirely.
"Reverse Lotus!"
Guy countered with a powerful technique.
Yusuke remained calm, dispersing his body into elemental form and effortlessly avoiding the damage.
"To be able to use chakra at this level… in today's ninja world, only Yusuke and Kumogakure's Fourth Raikage can probably do this,"
an old veteran jōnin remarked with a sigh.
Yusuke's Fire Release Chakra Mode and the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode were both paragons of no-hand-seal techniques.
Back then, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had also created the no-hand-seal Rasengan based on the Tailed Beast Ball.
It was a pity that Minato had died so young.
"Try my swordsmanship."
Yusuke drew the blade from his waist and lightly swung it twice.
His sword resembled Orochimaru's collected Kusanagi Sword and had been custom-forged at great expense over the past six months.
To complement his new sword style, he had spared no cost.
Three years' worth of mission rewards—spent in one go.
"Uchiha Style: Explosive Flame Blade!"
Yusuke narrowed his eyes, seeming to merge with nature itself.
With a single swing, a crescent-shaped flaming slash roared forward.
What carried its might wasn't the blade itself, but a flying slash formed from condensed energy.
This newly awakened technique of Yusuke's was somewhat reminiscent of the sword skills from the pirate world.
It possessed not only the intense burning heat of flames, but also terrifying cutting power.
The flying slash was incredibly fast—ordinary ninja would find it nearly impossible to dodge.
Over the past six months, Yusuke's strength had risen yet again.
[Fire Release Chakra Mode — Proficiency: 57.4%]
[Mangekyō Sharingan — Proficiency: 12.8%]
[Konoha-Style Taijutsu — Proficiency: 82.6%]
[Swordmaster-Level Swordsmanship — Proficiency: 7.4%]
Uchiha-style swordsmanship had reached full mastery and evolved into swordmaster-level swordsmanship.
Combined with Fire Release Chakra Mode, Yusuke could now rival Kage-level opponents even without relying on the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The speed of Yusuke's slash was frightening.
By the time Guy reacted—
the sword energy was already right in front of him.
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