"The fourth match! Uchiha Shigure versus Might Guy! Begin!"
The examiner's voice cut through the air like a kunai, his arm slashing down to signal the start. In an instant, Guy lunged forward without hesitation.
"Konoha Tornado!"
His body spun as fast as a cyclone, kicks whipping through the air like steel blades. To the untrained eye, his movements seemed to blur—strikes too quick to follow. But Shigure didn't even flinch. He raised his forearms, twisting into the momentum, legs bracing against the stone floor in a resounding clash.
"Bring it on!" Shigure's lips curved into a grin.
Their bodies collided, a furious storm of fists and kicks trembling through the arena floor. Gasps erupted in the crowd as it became clear—Shigure was holding his ground against Guy's onslaught.
"You… you can keep up with my taijutsu!?" Guy barked in disbelief, pushing off into a backflip to create space.
But already Shigure's fingers blurred almost faster than sight. Hand seals snapped together with a rhythm so perfect it seemed rehearsed.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A massive dragon of fire roared from his mouth, blazing scarlet and gold, surging across the arena with a ferocity that sent the front rows of spectators shielding their eyes.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows furrowed in amazement. "So powerful… That boy's ninjutsu has grown even sharper. Dangerous. Too dangerous…"
But Guy was not one to fall so easily. His silhouette flickered through the flames, weaving with lightning footwork, each afterimage dissolving into smoke as he surged closer.
"The Body Flicker Technique!?"
Amusement sparked in Shigure's eyes. "So you want speed, do you? Let's see who blinks first."
Shigure vanished.
A thunderous stillness fell over the arena. Every time Guy materialized to strike, Shigure was already gone—his flicker crisper, swifter, leaving the older boy striking only empty wind. Audience murmurs grew frantic as Guy whirled, sweat trickling down his cheek.
"He's… faster than me?" Guy's heart clenched. His trademark speed was his greatest weapon. And yet before Shigure, it faltered like a dull blade.
"You're strong, Kai," Shigure called from behind, his voice calm and steady. "But if you don't push further, this will end here."
The words stung as much as a blow. Around them, the silence deepened. Guy's teeth grit painfully. Against ninjutsu, he was overwhelmed. Against genjutsu, he was blind. Even in taijutsu—his pride, his soul—Shigure pushed him down step after step.
"There's one path left…" Guy closed his eyes briefly. And when they snapped open again, resolve glinted with fire.
"Eight Gates Release! First Gate—Gate of Opening! Open!"
A rush of force burst from his body. His leg snapped forward in an earth-shattering kick, launching Shigure high before Guy spun upward to meet him. His body coiled like a spring.
"Front Lotus!"
The assault struck like thunder, slamming Shigure to the ground with such force the arena floor cratered, dust pluming skyward. Gasps turned into uproar.
"Was that… the Eight Gates?" one chunin muttered, awestruck.
But when the smoke thinned, there was only a battered wooden stake in the pit.
"That wasn't him?" Guy's eyes went wide.
Shigure leaned casually against a pillar at the arena's edge, arms folded. "Nice hit. Too bad you only nailed my substitution."
"Impossible… He didn't even form hand seals…"
Reality sank heavier against Guy's lungs, squeezing his pride with iron weight. Yet he did not back down. His hands clenched as resolve hardened into steel.
"Second Gate—Release Gate, open!"
Blue force flared hotter, his veins bulging with unleashed energy. Speed and strength doubled in an instant, and he lunged again. His fists fell like meteors, but Shigure parried with ease, shifting weight with calm, almost lazy precision. Guy's heart pounded. Even with two gates open, he couldn't land a single clean strike.
"No… even this isn't enough," he muttered through ragged breath. "Then—!"
"Third Gate—Gate of Life! OPEN!"
A roar tore from his throat as his body ignited crimson. Energy burst skyward, dragon-shaped shockwaves curling around him. His figure became a blur of red and green streaking across the arena. This was no longer brute force—this was a storm incarnate.
The crowd could not keep up. Even Hiruzen leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "The Gate of Life… At his age? Astonishing…"
But still, no matter how Guy pushed, Shigure slipped from his grasp. Guy punched through stone, shattered air itself, but those golden eyes remained locked on him calmly, reading his movements with precision.
"You're incredible, Kai," Shigure admitted, exhaling slowly. His own hands now pressed together. "But you aren't the only one with hidden power."
Horns grew longer from his brow; his eyes burned gold, pupils sharp as blades. An aura like the wild pulse of earth itself radiated around him. The air thickened with unnatural gravity, and the spectators froze in their seats.
"That's…!" Hiruzen's pipe slipped from his lips. "Sage Mode…!?"
Stunned murmurs rippled from the council seats. Even Mitokado Homura stammered, "Sage? Could he have inherited power from the great immortal beasts?"
On the battlefield, power clashed like colliding storms. Guy launched forward, his kick roaring with the speed of a cannon shot. Shigure raised a single forearm to block—the shockwave booming outward, rattling the coliseum walls—but his expression never broke calm focus.
"You… blocked it?" Guy gasped, his voice cracking under the weight of disbelief. "No one withstands the Third Gate's strength…"
But Shigure only smiled. For the first time, he felt exhilaration. This was no casual spar—this was the beating heart of what it meant to be a shinobi of the Leaf.
"Come, Kai!" he called, golden chakra flaring like wildfire. "Show me your strongest."
Guy didn't hesitate.
"Leaf Lotus…!"
His body spiraled into his ultimate strike, every ounce of unleashed chakra fueling the lethal spin. The earth groaned beneath the pressure. Even the proctor tensed, hand half-raising, ready to intervene.
But Shigure was already moving. Golden chakra swirled, condensing into a shining sphere, crackling with the power of nature energy.
"Senjutsu—Daybreak Rasengan!"
Their attacks met mid-air.
The collision was cataclysmic. A shriek of wind cut through the stadium like knives. A thousand shards of stone and light scattered. The explosion swallowed both fighters in a blinding storm.
The arena vanished beneath the brilliance.
No one could see.
No one could even breathe.
And in the roar of devastation—no victor yet stood revealed.
--
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