CHAPTER 182
Boom!
Guy's fist missed once again.
The impact shattered the ground beneath it, sending rocks and debris flying in every direction.
This time, however, Guy didn't continue his relentless pursuit.
Although he had successfully forced Minato Namikaze into a situation where he could do nothing except continuously evade with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he still hadn't managed to land a single decisive hit.
If this dragged on any longer, the first person to reach his limit would undoubtedly be himself.
After all, the burden placed on the body by the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates was far greater than the Chakra consumption required to use the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Seeing Guy suddenly stop, Minato's figure appeared once more several dozen meters away.
Without wasting a single moment, both of his hands blurred.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More than a dozen Flying Thunder God Kunai shot across the battlefield, embedding themselves into trees, rocks, and the ground at various locations.
Many of his previous Flying Thunder God markers had already been destroyed during Guy's earlier assault.
Moreover, Guy had memorized every single one of those locations.
Minato naturally needed to establish a completely new network of teleportation points to restore the unpredictability of his movements.
Azure steam surged around Guy like raging waves, the violent aura surrounding him resembling a volcano on the verge of erupting.
Yet despite that overwhelming presence...
His expression remained incomparably calm.
His pure white eyes swept across the battlefield only once.
Every newly landed Flying Thunder God Kunai was immediately engraved into his memory.
The duration of the Sixth Gate was limited.
He had to end this battle as quickly as possible.
"So..."
"I'll have to use that technique."
The thought flashed through Guy's mind.
His expression became even more solemn.
Looking directly at Minato Namikaze, he finally spoke for the first time since activating the Eight Gates.
"Captain Minato."
"You'd better be careful."
"My next attack won't be easy to deal with."
Hearing those words, Minato's blue eyes narrowed instantly.
He never once believed Guy was speaking out of arrogance.
Throughout the battle, Guy had barely spoken at all.
Now that he was deliberately issuing a warning...
It could only mean one thing.
The next move would be unimaginably powerful.
It might even exceed Guy's own ability to completely restrain its destructive force.
Minato immediately became completely serious.
Without hesitation, he nodded.
The Chakra within his body began circulating at full speed.
His muscles subtly tightened as he prepared himself for the strongest attack yet.
Guy said nothing more.
He inhaled deeply.
Crack!!
The earth beneath his feet split apart.
Wrapped in azure steam, his body transformed into a bolt of blue lightning that tore across the battlefield once again.
He charged directly toward Minato Namikaze.
At first glance...
This attack appeared no different from all the previous assaults.
Yet Minato's battle instincts screamed otherwise.
Something was different.
As Guy rushed forward...
The terrifying pressure surrounding him continued to rise.
His power wasn't becoming chaotic.
Instead...
It was being compressed.
Condensed.
Perfectly guided toward a single point.
As though it were approaching a critical threshold.
Just as Guy's fist, carrying enough force to crush mountains, was about to reach Minato's face...
Minato disappeared once again.
This time, instead of teleporting to the nearest Flying Thunder God marker...
He deliberately chose the Kunai located at the very edge of the battlefield.
The furthest possible teleportation point.
It was undoubtedly the safest choice.
It would also allow him to carefully observe Guy's next technique from the greatest possible distance.
However...
At the exact instant Minato vanished...
The azure steam surrounding Guy suddenly erupted.
The already dense Chakra steam became so concentrated that it resembled blazing blue flames.
Then...
Guy's body began to move.
No.
It began to dance.
His arms blurred into countless afterimages.
He no longer attacked with ordinary punches.
Instead, both hands spread apart.
His index and middle fingers remained pressed together while the remaining fingers curled naturally.
Brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from his fingertips.
The Tiger Seal.
Golden light.
Watching from afar with his newly awakened One-Tomoe Sharingan...
Obito immediately recognized the familiar posture.
His eyes widened dramatically.
"Minato-sensei!"
"Watch out!"
"Guy's using that move again!"
Obito shouted instinctively.
Unfortunately...
He guessed wrong.
This wasn't the One Thousand Years of Death.
It was another technique altogether.
The supreme technique Guy had cultivated continuously for four entire years.
The Great Vajra Finger.
The instant Obito finished shouting...
Guy's arms exploded into motion.
His hands thrust in every direction at a speed impossible for ordinary eyes to follow.
The countless afterimages formed an enormous wall before him.
It resembled the Thousand-Armed Kannon.
Even more...
It resembled a magnificent peacock spreading its tail feathers.
Whoosh!!!!
The next instant...
Golden flame-like shockwaves erupted endlessly from Guy's fingertips.
Every thrust.
Every swing.
Every finger strike released another blazing wave.
The attacks exploded outward in every direction.
This was no longer a single-target technique.
It had become an indiscriminate area attack.
An overwhelming tide of golden flame shockwaves that resembled a peacock displaying its magnificent tail.
The countless fiery afterimages...
Combined with Guy's rapidly dancing azure figure...
Created a scene so breathtaking that everyone present forgot to breathe.
It was as though a divine peacock born from flames had descended upon the battlefield.
"Morning Peacock..."
Guy's thunderous roar echoed throughout the forest.
"Vajra Wild Dance!!!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!!
Countless golden flame shockwaves erupted in every direction.
The sound of the air being torn apart echoed endlessly.
This wasn't Fire Release Ninjutsu.
It was the terrifying speed produced by the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates.
It was the penetrating and explosive force of the Great Vajra Finger.
By swinging both arms at a frequency beyond ordinary human limits and continuously striking the atmosphere...
Guy generated blazing flames through overwhelming friction.
Those flames merged with the compressed shockwaves before exploding outward.
A supreme Taijutsu secret technique.
However...
If one observed carefully...
The seemingly random bombardment wasn't random at all.
Most of the strongest flame shockwaves...
Were aimed precisely at every Flying Thunder God marker Minato had placed throughout the battlefield.
Including every newly thrown Flying Thunder God Kunai.
Every coordinate.
Every possible teleportation point.
Nothing was spared.
A complete bombardment.
An attack without a single blind spot.
The very spatial anchors Minato relied upon for survival...
Had instantly become deadly targets.
Minato, who had just reappeared beside the furthest Flying Thunder God marker...
Immediately realized the situation.
For the first time since this battle began...
His expression truly changed.
Shock erupted within those normally calm azure eyes.
"This..."
"He actually saw through the core principle behind my battle style..."
"He memorized every marker..."
"And in such a short amount of time, he already devised a countermeasure..."
"Using a continuous, wide-area bombardment to cover every possible landing point..."
"Forcing me to keep teleporting without pause..."
"And even destroying every Flying Thunder God Kunai..."
There wasn't even enough time for another thought.
The instant his body finished materializing...
A blazing golden flame shockwave had already arrived.
Whoosh!!
Minato disappeared once again.
At nearly the same instant...
The Flying Thunder God Kunai beneath him was engulfed by the golden flames.
It was instantly shattered and vaporized.
But the assault wasn't over.
The entire battlefield had already transformed into an endless inferno.
Golden flames intertwined with azure steam.
The two terrifying forces merged together into an enormous sea of destruction.
Minato Namikaze's figure vanished completely inside that blazing storm.
Not even the slightest trace of him remained visible.
"Minato-sensei!!!"
Obito screamed in panic.
His newly awakened Sharingan spun rapidly as he desperately searched through the sea of flames.
But he couldn't find Minato anywhere.
Kakashi's expression was equally shaken.
Never...
Not once...
Had he ever witnessed someone force his teacher into such a desperate situation.
Nor had he ever seen Minato Namikaze disappear so completely during a battle.
Rin instinctively covered her mouth.
Her crimson eyes were filled with fear.
Ebisu and Genma stood frozen in place.
They had always known Guy was incredibly powerful.
But never in their wildest imaginations had they believed his full-power eruption would reach such a terrifying level.
Even the Yellow Flash...
The destructive flames continued roaring across the battlefield.
At that moment...
The same thought surfaced within everyone's minds.
It grew clearer with every passing second.
And colder.
"Captain Minato..."
"He couldn't have actually..."
"Been killed by Guy... right?"
Ebisu's lips twitched as he voiced the terrifying thought everyone had been desperately avoiding.
It was the very first time since this spar began...
That everyone genuinely believed such a possibility existed.
Minato Namikaze could lose.
He might even die.
The thought sounded absurd.
Ridiculous.
Yet faced with this battlefield-consuming inferno...
No one could deny that it had become a frighteningly realistic possibility.
Every face turned pale.
Some even began showing traces of fear.
No one had imagined...
That what had started as nothing more than a spar intended to offer guidance...
Would evolve into a clash teetering on the edge between life and death.
The flames continued raging across the battlefield.
And with every passing second...
The unease inside everyone's hearts only grew heavier.