In the early morning, Kakashi got up early, quickly finished washing up, made a simple breakfast, and then headed to the southern forest to train.
"Kakashi."
While walking along the road, Kakashi was suddenly called out. He turned around and saw a few unfamiliar ninjas.
"Thanks to you and your teammates last time in the Land of Grass, we might not have made it back otherwise," the Konoha ninja said with a smile.
Hearing this, Kakashi understood that during their mission in the Land of Grass, they had indeed rescued some ninjas.
"Before, I heard someone say there was a ninja named Kakashi who was ruthless and didn't care about his comrades, but I guess that must be a rumor," the Konoha ninja continued.
Kakashi fell silent. This was not a rumor; during that time, he indeed prioritized missions over his teammates, which led to their injuries.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you; it's actually the truth," Kakashi said after some thought.
No matter what he had done back then, he was still Hatake Kakashi. He didn't want to deny it and felt there was no need to.
"Huh?" The Konoha ninjas looked at Kakashi in confusion, somewhat unable to comprehend.
They were trying to defend Kakashi, but his words felt like a slap in the face to himself.
"I didn't recognize myself back then, so I did some wrong things," Kakashi continued.
After the fog had lifted, he could face what he had done before, so Kakashi felt indifferent about it.
The Konoha ninjas all gave Kakashi a thumbs up. Although they were slightly older than him, they felt that Kakashi was more mature.
"No matter what you were like before, the Hatake Kakashi I know is a talented ninja who values his companions and is very strong," one of the Konoha ninjas said earnestly.
Before being saved by Kakashi, he didn't know Kakashi at all. Those rumors were something he learned about later when he inquired about Kakashi. From his perspective, Kakashi was a great companion.
The other Konoha ninjas also expressed their gratitude.
Kakashi smiled lightly and said goodbye, "Goodbye, I need to get back to my training."
At that moment, he felt very good—not because of the praise, but because he felt he was walking a path that was both right and enjoyable for him.
"Goodbye! By the way, I watched the Chunin exams, and your Kenjutsu is really impressive. If I have the chance in the future, can I ask you for some pointers?" the Konoha ninja waved goodbye.
Kakashi paused and replied, "If I have time, sure."
If he had enough free time, he wouldn't mind giving others some guidance.
"My name is Shiroki Ryoichi," Shiroki Ryoichi said excitedly when he saw Kakashi agree.
Kakashi nodded slightly and then continued walking towards the southern forest.
Since Kakashi woke up relatively early, he didn't arrive late despite wasting a bit of time on the road.
"Hey, Kakashi! Let's have an intense battle filled with youthful passion!" As soon as Kakashi approached, Guy immediately dashed in front of him, shouting with excitement.
His Konoha Dragon God technique had already become much more proficient, and his body was stronger than before.
"A battle? Right now?" Kakashi showed a thoughtful expression.
"That's right, right now!" Guy replied, giving Kakashi a thumbs up and flashing his bright white teeth.
"Okay," Kakashi agreed to Guy's challenge, as he had spent quite a bit of time training and felt it was a good opportunity to test his progress through battle.
Obito had originally prepared to start his own training, but when he saw Guy and Kakashi getting ready to fight, he immediately came over to watch.
"Go, Guy! I believe you can do it!" Obito cheered, hoping that Guy would be able to deliver a good beating to Kakashi.
Although he wouldn't be the one to defeat Kakashi himself, watching Kakashi get beaten up by someone else had its own kind of amusement.
Shisui also set aside what he was doing and walked over. He wanted to gauge the gap between himself, Kakashi, and Guy through their battle.
"Let's hold off on training for now and watch their fight," Mutsuki called out to stop Shizune, who was about to begin practicing her Breathing Technique.
Since both Guy and Kakashi were excellent in Taijutsu, Shizune might learn something from watching.
Obediently, Shizune nodded and walked over with Mutsuki.
Both Kakashi and Guy were very familiar with the battle process. After distancing themselves, they performed the Seal of Confrontation.
Seeing that they were ready, Mutsuki, acting as a temporary referee, shouted, "Begin the battle!"
"Thunder Breathing, Total Concentration!"
As soon as Mutsuki finished speaking, Kakashi immediately focused his breathing, concentrating further to enhance his physical strength.
"Stone Breathing, Total Concentration! Eight Inner Gates, Open... Gate of Life, open!"
Guy directly maxed out his state, not only concentrating his breathing to the extreme but also opening the first three gates of the Eight Inner Gates.
At this moment, the aura surrounding Guy had become incredibly powerful; the terrifying pressure made nearby fallen leaves move as if stirred by a wind, causing the air to feel solemn.
During the previous Chunin exams, Shizune hadn't felt much due to the distance, but now, at this close range, she deeply sensed the strength of Guy's current state.
"Did he really open up to the third gate right away?" Feeling Guy's aura now, Kakashi's expression became even more serious.
Whoosh!
With a loud laugh, Guy charged toward Kakashi at high speed.
Kakashi met him head-on without hesitation.
Bang! Bang!!
After colliding, the two quickly exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks, making it difficult to determine who had the upper hand.
Although Guy had greater physical strength, Kakashi was more agile and managed to evade many of Guy's attacks.
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
After a wave of tentative attacks, Guy decisively concentrated his chakra in his legs and delivered a powerful kick.
The timing of this kick was perfect; Kakashi could only brace himself with his arm and couldn't evade.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Kakashi was sent stumbling back three meters.
Guy no longer hesitated and immediately summoned all his strength to unleash his strongest Taijutsu.
"Konoha Dragon God!"
As chakra exploded forth, a terrifying aura rose around Guy, and a cyan-green dragon quickly took form.
"Trying to catch me off guard? Guy, you have indeed grown stronger, but so have I."
Kakashi instantly entered the state of Transparent World and swiftly retreated while drawing the White Fang Tanto from his back.
"Huh." Kakashi's breathing changed rapidly, and everything about his body became transparent and controllable in his mind.
Zzzz!
With the enhancement of Thunder Breathing, Kakashi rapidly converted a large amount of chakra into lightning attribute chakra, causing his body to shimmer with yellow electrical light.
Yellow lightning flowed from Kakashi's arm to his palm, ultimately covering the White Fang Tanto with electrical light and extending into a blade of light.
"Thunder Flash!"
Boom!
A thunderous roar erupted, and the arena was filled with yellow light as Kakashi transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged forward.
Obito watched intently, hoping the Green Dragon would bite through the electrical light.
Boom, boom, boom!!
The Green Dragon collided with the lightning, resulting in a violent explosion.
The immense power of the two fighters caused the ground beneath them to shatter, sending stones and dust flying in all directions.
"Both of them are very strong; I can't defeat them right now," Shisui thought solemnly.
"However, Kakashi's attack seems to be a bit stronger." After activating his Sharingan for a more detailed observation, Shisui was almost certain of the battle's outcome.
As if to confirm Shisui's thoughts, the next moment, the dragon shattered, and blood appeared on Guy, while Kakashi only retreated a few meters, looking somewhat fatigued but showing no obvious injuries.
In a true life-and-death struggle, Shisui couldn't say for sure, but if it was just sparring, it was clear that Kakashi was indeed stronger at this moment, as Kakashi's Thunder Flash had tremendous power.
"You're truly my best friend; you are still a bit stronger than me," Guy said with a hearty laugh, showing no signs of frustration from his defeat.
Although he lost, Guy felt that the battle held significance, as he learned about the areas where he needed to improve. He just needed to work harder in that direction moving forward.
Kakashi didn't speak but felt a growing sense of urgency within him.
During the Chunin exams, Guy had to forcibly enter the fourth gate to fight him to a standstill, but now Guy could do it at the third gate. This meant that if Guy were to forcibly enter the fourth gate, he might not be able to compete.
"I really can't let my guard down for even a moment," Kakashi thought.
He felt that maintaining his position as the strongest among Mutsuki's disciples was incredibly difficult; no one, except for Rin, was easy to deal with.
"Yumi-sensei, are these the techniques I need to learn in the future?" Shizune asked, looking somewhat bewildered at Mutsuki.
Thanks to Mutsuki's words, she was watching the battle with a very serious attitude, hoping to learn something. However, she found that aside from the initial tentative attacks, she couldn't understand anything afterward.
Mutsuki shook his head; it's hard to say about Thunder Breathing for now, but Eight Inner Gates is definitely out of the question.
Guy and Kakashi didn't follow the usual path in this battle; they skipped the basics and went straight to unleashing their big moves, so there wasn't much to learn from it.
"What a pity; if Guy could have opened the four gates normally, he probably would have won," Obito thought with a sense of regret upon seeing Kakashi's victory, which solidified his determination to train harder.
Having watched this battle, he had a good grasp of Kakashi's current strength—very strong, but it was the kind of strength that he could catch up to with effort.
If his Sharingan evolved to Three Tomoe and he further refined his Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, then if Kakashi didn't make significant progress, he would definitely not be his opponent.
"If I fully master Armament Haki and improve my Body Flicker Jutsu, maybe I can do it," Shisui found a direction for his future efforts.
Since Kakashi had made him lose—something that had never happened before—Kakashi would be the first he challenges once he got stronger.
After the battle, everyone was filled with motivation to train, including the exchange student Shizune.
"No wonder Rin-chan has become so strong; with a good sensei like Yumi-sensei and friends like Kakashi and Guy around her," Shizune began to understand Rin's growth in strength.
In fact, during their first special training, she had been slightly stronger than Rin. Rin was initially placed in Group B, while she was placed in Group A from the start.
But now, Rin had become a Chunin who mastered Medical Ninjutsu and Water Release, while she was still just a Genin who excelled in medical skills.
Although Shizune wasn't one to enjoy comparisons, this situation naturally sparked her competitive spirit. The atmosphere for training here was so good that being idle felt almost sinful.
"Guy, come here for a moment; I'll teach you a new Taijutsu," Mutsuki called out to Guy, who was preparing to continue practicing Konoha Dragon God.
Now that Guy had learned Konoha Dragon God, he could officially teach him Golden Skyline.
Golden Skyline is quite different from regular Taijutsu; it requires a long time to hone in order to unleash its tremendous power. Teaching Guy early on would give him more time to practice.
Upon hearing Mutsuki's words, Guy quickly ran to stand in front of him.
"Could it be the Daytime Tiger that fought against Chen-sensei's Konoha Dragon God last time?" Guy asked curiously.
Mutsuki's previous use of Daytime Tiger had left a deep impression on him. It was a Taijutsu that was completely different from Konoha Dragon God, yet equally powerful.
Mutsuki shook his head and smiled. "If you master the Taijutsu I'm about to teach you, it will be even stronger than Daytime Tiger!"
He had already mastered many powerful Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and Golden Skyline was among the top.
Guy's eyes widened. He had witnessed Mutsuki using Daytime Tiger, and even the aftermath had nearly blown them away from a distance. The idea that this new Taijutsu could be even stronger was hard for him to imagine. The strongest Taijutsu he had seen so far were Daytime Tiger and Konoha Dragon God.
"This move is called Legend of Mi Long·Blade and Sword·Golden Skyline!" As he spoke, Mutsuki took out a nunchaku, preparing to demonstrate it for Guy.
With his right hand gripping the chain, he placed his left hand behind his waist and extended his middle and index fingers.
This move is stronger when using the middle and index fingers; Mi Long II uses the weaker ring and little fingers for a special reason.
Guy focused intently on Mutsuki, sensing the growing aura around him. He instinctively held his breath and fixated on the fingers extended from Mutsuki's right hand.
"Golden Skyline!"
Mutsuki unleashed Stone Breathing to the utmost and entered the Transparent World state, then suddenly dashed forward. During the sprint, Mutsuki performed a draw-like motion with his left hand, leading his right hand in a smooth slicing motion forward until it was fully extended, creating a fine line parallel to the ground before swiftly cutting through.
A beautiful golden line flashed by.
Boom!!
An incredibly violent explosion erupted, shattering the ground beneath Mutsuki and forming a massive crater. At the same time, the surrounding trees were all cut down after the golden flash, and even the slightly taller boulders were sliced in half as if Mutsuki was surrounded by an invisible sword aura.
"Such powerful force!" Guy exclaimed as he looked at the devastated ground and the chaotic surroundings.
He felt that if there had been a small mountain in front of Mutsuki just now, it would have likely been cut down.
The commotion was louder than Orochinagi's, catching the attention of all the disciples.
"Looks like we need to change locations again," Obito thought, scratching his head while looking at the empty forest.
Kakashi's expression grew serious because he knew who would be the first person to face Guy after he learned this move.
"Is it my turn tomorrow?" Kakashi felt he needed to learn something new as well.
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