CHAPTER 172
The six of them arrived at the training ground located on the edge of the camp.
The area was wide and open.
Aside from a handful of curious Konoha Shinobi who had followed them over after hearing there would be a spar, the surroundings were empty.
Before Kakashi could even step into the arena, Obito suddenly leaped into the center with a loud thud.
He rolled his shoulders, cracked his knuckles loudly, then confidently pointed at Guy.
"Come on, Guy!"
"Let me show you how much I've improved over the last two years!"
Obito puffed out his chest proudly, his voice echoing across the training ground.
Guy stood calmly at the edge of the field before raising an eyebrow.
"You're challenging me?"
"What?"
Obito immediately widened his eyes.
"Don't underestimate me!"
"I haven't been slacking off these past two years!"
Standing nearby, Rin couldn't help speaking up.
"Obito... maybe you should forget it."
"Rin!"
Obito stubbornly straightened his neck.
"Stay out of this!"
"I have to fight this guy today!"
"I'll show him how strong I've become!"
Guy turned toward Kakashi.
Kakashi merely shrugged.
"If Obito wants another beating..."
"Let him."
His tone was as calm and blunt as ever.
Ebisu and Genma both nodded in complete agreement.
In their eyes...
Obito challenging Guy was simply asking to be beaten.
Guy smiled helplessly before walking into the center of the training ground.
Standing opposite Obito, he carefully looked him up and down.
A trace of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
"You still haven't awakened your Sharingan?"
"When we graduated from the Academy, it looked like you were already on the verge of awakening it."
Obito's confident expression immediately stiffened.
His lips twitched before he spoke somewhat dejectedly.
"I don't understand either."
"Whenever my emotions become intense during battle..."
"My eyes always feel hot."
"It feels like they're about to awaken."
"But every single time..."
"I'm still just missing that final step."
"I can clearly feel it..."
"But they just won't awaken."
Guy couldn't help grinning.
"Then you're really a little slow."
"I've met an Uchiha who reportedly awakened his three tomoe Sharingan at only nine years old."
"You're already over ten..."
"And you still haven't awakened even a single tomoe."
Obito's face immediately turned bright red.
"Hmph!"
"You're talking about Shisui!"
"That guy's a monster!"
"The Clan Elders all say he's a once in a century genius!"
"How am I supposed to compare with someone like him?"
Hearing that, Guy suddenly remembered something.
A playful smile gradually spread across his face.
"In that case..."
"How about I help you awaken your Sharingan?"
Obito blinked in confusion.
"You?"
"Help me awaken my Sharingan?"
He immediately curled his lips in disbelief.
"Stop joking."
"The Sharingan isn't something you can awaken whenever you feel like it."
"Enough talking."
"Even without my Sharingan..."
"I can still beat you!"
The instant those words left his mouth...
Obito stomped heavily on the ground.
Boom!
His body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The spar officially began.
Compared to two years ago...
Obito's speed had improved tremendously.
It was obvious he had devoted considerable effort to Taijutsu training.
Rather than using Ninjutsu immediately, he chose to close the distance before throwing a straight punch directly toward Guy's face.
The fist sliced through the air with tremendous force.
Guy merely shifted one step sideways.
The punch brushed harmlessly past the tip of his nose.
"I'm not finished yet!"
Obito roared.
Using the momentum from the missed punch, he spun his body before launching a sweeping kick toward Guy's legs.
Guy lightly jumped into the air.
His body leaned backward naturally while effortlessly avoiding the kick.
The instant he landed...
Obito attacked again.
Three consecutive punches.
Chest.
Abdomen.
Ribs.
Each strike flowed naturally into the next.
Guy's body swayed gently among the incoming fists.
Every attack narrowly missed by mere centimetres.
The wind generated by the punches even caused his hair to flutter slightly.
Yet...
Not one punch connected.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Seeing his Taijutsu proving ineffective, Obito immediately leaped backward while rapidly forming hand seals.
Several small fireballs burst from his mouth.
The flames spread outward in a fan shaped formation, completely blocking Guy's escape routes.
Guy calmly altered his footwork.
His movements resembled drifting leaves carried by the wind as he slipped effortlessly through the tiny gaps separating the fireballs.
The flames barely brushed the edge of his clothing before exploding against the ground behind him.
Several blackened craters immediately appeared across the training field.
Yet...
Not even the corner of Guy's clothes had caught fire.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Obito rapidly formed another set of hand seals.
A gigantic fireball surged toward Guy with overwhelming momentum.
The intense heat caused even the spectators watching from the edge of the field to instinctively retreat several steps.
Facing the massive sea of flames...
Guy remained completely calm.
His speed suddenly increased.
His body glided sideways like a fish swimming through water.
Just before the fireball reached him...
He slipped past its outer edge by less than a finger's width.
Boom!
The enormous fireball crashed into the empty ground.
The resulting explosion blasted a huge crater into the training field while clouds of dust filled the air.
Obito refused to stop.
Taijutsu.
Shuriken.
Fire Release.
Every attack flowed naturally into the next.
His coordination had become remarkably polished.
Compared with two years earlier...
His strength had improved enormously.
Although he had yet to become a Chunin...
His overall combat ability had already reached the level of an ordinary Chunin.
Once he awakened even a single tomoe Sharingan...
His strength would immediately reach the level of an elite Chunin.
Unfortunately...
That was his current limit.
Throughout the entire exchange...
Guy never even reached for the nunchaku strapped across his back.
He relied solely on the Four Direction Wandering Stake Technique to weave effortlessly through every one of Obito's attacks.
His movements looked as casual as someone strolling through a peaceful garden.
Obito's punches always missed by the slightest margin.
His shuriken always flew just a little wide.
His Fire Release techniques always arrived just a fraction too late.
Every attack looked certain to land.
Yet at the final instant...
Guy would evade in ways that seemed almost impossible.
The Four Direction Wandering Stake Technique had been displayed to its fullest extent.
"Damn it!"
Obito finally couldn't endure it anymore.
Panting heavily, he stopped attacking.
Sweat continuously dripped from his forehead.
"Can't you just stand still for one second?!"
"Would it kill you to let me land one punch?"
"What kind of fight is this if you only dodge?!"
Guy finally stopped moving.
Standing roughly ten metres away, he smiled mischievously.
"Fine."
"I won't dodge anymore."
The moment he heard that...
Obito's eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, he rushed forward again with his fist raised.
Just before the punch reached Guy...
Guy casually extended one foot.
Thump!
Obito tripped over it.
His body immediately lost balance and pitched forward.
At the very same instant...
Guy disappeared.
Before Obito could recover...
Guy had already appeared directly behind him.
He slightly lowered his body.
Then...
He brought both hands together.
His index and middle fingers extended straight while the remaining fingers curled inward.
A familiar Tiger hand seal instantly formed.
Golden Chakra faintly gathered around his fingertips.
His fingers pointed directly toward a certain location behind Obito.
The moment Rin saw the hand seal...
Her expression immediately changed.
"The Tiger Seal!"
"That's the starting hand seal for a high level Fire Release technique!"
Ebisu and Genma also froze.
They recognized it immediately.
Only three days earlier...
They had witnessed that exact opening stance.
"But..."
"When did Guy learn this?"
"And why does it seem... different?"
The two exchanged bewildered glances.
Nearby...
Kakashi's expression also became serious.
Then...
As if suddenly realizing something...
His face stiffened.
The corner of one eye twitched violently.
"That posture..."
"It can't possibly be..."
His suspicion was confirmed in the next instant.
Guy's hands shifted slightly downward.
The glowing fingertips adjusted their angle.
They locked onto Obito's...
Most vulnerable location.
"Hehehe..."
Guy tilted his head before flashing Kakashi an incredibly bright smile.
For some reason...
That innocent smile sent an icy chill running down Kakashi's spine.
"Taijutsu Secret Technique..."
"One Thousand Years of Death!"
There was no Lightning Release.
No Fire Release.
Only Chakra infused into two perfectly aligned fingers.
Combined with some of the principles behind the Great Vajra Finger technique.
His index and middle fingers became as rigid as a sword before thrusting forward with flawless precision.
"Puchi!"
A direct hit!