Inside the Hidden Mist Village, the newly appointed Mizukage Mei Terumī watched the clip, her face full of shock.
After taking office she had planned to reassemble the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
In Kirigakure the Seven Swordsmen were indispensable: seven blades, seven elite Jonin, together able to contend with a Kage.
More importantly, as shown in the footage, such an elite squad could slip behind enemy lines and wreak havoc,
leaving the leaders of every village with splitting headaches.
But now, seeing Might Guy open the Gate of Death, question marks popped above Mei Terumī's head; she wondered how the Swordsmen had once faced such a monster.
Their surviving at all was a miracle! Against someone who could battle Uchiha Madara, several of them had actually lived to tell the tale.
Mei muttered, 'Looks like I'll have to speed up the reformation of the Seven Swordsmen.'
Akatsuki Organization.
"What a beast!" Deidara gaped as Might Guy punched Uchiha Madara clean into the ground.
Though Deidara was arrogant and proud, he was undeniably strong; had he not defected from Iwagakure to join Akatsuki, Ōnoki might already be grooming him as the next Tsuchikage.
Even so, he couldn't help but stare at the devastation wrought by that single punch.
"Indeed, he's powerful. In a straight fight I'm no match for him," Sasori agreed—a rare concession—his tone calm. "My puppet art can't compete with that."
Close-quarters brawlers like Might Guy were the bane of Sasori's existence.
Much like his grandmother's constant complaints about the 'Slug Princess of Konoha', whose monstrous strength could shatter puppets in one blow and whose medical Ninjutsu could neutralize any poison she brewed.
"In a head-on battle, none of us here would be his opponent,"
Kisame Hoshigaki shrugged, openly declaring that everyone present was weaker than Might Guy.
At the same time Kisame was puzzled: why did the 'Madara' he knew look nothing like the one in the video?
After finishing the video, he'd have to use the multiverse projection to privately message 'Madara'.
"Not necessarily." Deidara snorted, full of confidence. "Once I bring out C4 Karura and my ultimate trump card, who wins is still up in the air!"
Though Deidara talked big, his tone still carried a hint of uncertainty.
In the video, Might Guy's speed was simply too fast—one moment he was a good distance from Uchiha Madara, the next he'd teleported right in front of him and delivered a punch.
The ground was left with a prehistoric crater from that single blow.
Deidara could pull off something similar, but he needed a bit of 'minor' prep work.
He couldn't manage it as 'lightly' as Might Guy.
"Itachi, what about you?" Within the Akatsuki Organization, the man Deidara most wanted to beat was naturally Uchiha Itachi. He shot the other a mocking smile. "Your ancestor's being pummeled like this—don't you have anything to say?"
"…"
Uchiha Itachi said nothing; he merely glanced at Deidara, then silently turned his gaze back to the multiverse projection.
That attitude of being ignored made Deidara clench his teeth in secret fury—he swore he'd show Itachi a thing or two next time.
"…" Konan didn't join the conversation either, only watched Pain at her side with worried eyes.
Pain—more accurately, Nagato—watched the scene unfold with a grave expression. Had something gone wrong in the future?
That 'Madara' had taken the initiative to fight and had even acquired the Rinnegan; what role would Akatsuki occupy in the days ahead?
The video kept playing.
At the bottom of the pit lay Uchiha Madara; though he looked uninjured, he was clearly in a sorry state.
"Striking the air to generate a shockwave-style taijutsu—an air cannon, in other words." A veteran of the Warring States period, Madara's experience was vast; he instantly analyzed Might Guy's attack method.
As he spoke, one of the horns on his head suddenly snapped off.
'If I take four or five of those hits, it'll get ugly.'
Even Six Paths Madara had no desire to confront Might Guy—who had opened the Eight Gates Formation—head-on.
Such was the power of the Eight Gates Formation.
With that thought, Madara sat up, continuing to muse: 'No matter what, I must avoid letting those fists land.'
Merely being clipped by the air cannon had produced such terrifying force; if one of those punches connected—
Even the current Madara, now wielding the power of the Six Paths Sage, couldn't help drawing a sharp breath, a flicker of excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Whoosh—!!!"
In the next instant, Madara soared into the air. The calm expression had vanished, replaced by an exhilarated grin as he regarded the blood-steaming Might Guy. "A duel with the Eight Gates Formation—how rare."
"Since it's such a rare chance, I'll be your opponent!"
Might Guy said nothing; he only stared fixedly at Uchiha Madara.
Not far away on the ground, Kakashi acted like a seasoned commentator, sounding a touch regretful. "As expected, he still didn't bring him down."
"What is Might Guy doing?" Gaara, beside him, voiced the obvious question.
He wasn't a Ninja of Konoha Village and naturally didn't understand the Eight Gates Formation—though he'd once been thrashed by Rock Lee.
But that had been ages ago, and he'd had no idea it was the Eight Gates Formation at the time.
Once Gaara voiced the question, shinobi from every village—and people from other worlds—pricked up their ears, waiting to hear what Kakashi would say.
"The Eight Gates Formation is a Ninjutsu that releases the body's innate limits, channeling power to its absolute peak."
Seeing Gaara's confusion, Kakashi naturally explained. "It's the final stage of what Lee showed you during the Chunin Exams."
"After the limits are lifted, the user's strength can surpass the Five Kage by several dozen times."
"But it's only temporary! After using it, the user will die…"
While Kakashi spoke, the camera shifted to Might Guy, who was sprinting so fast he seemed to ignore gravity, literally running up the air itself into the sky.
Yes, he literally ran up through the air, charging straight toward Uchiha Madara.
Even Madara's eyes widened slightly. "He's sprinting through the air?!"
Down below, Gaara seemed ready to comfort Rock Lee.
But Rock Lee's tone was resolute. "I'm not sad! Before a man who's prepared to die, sorrow and grief are an insult!"
The three of them fell silent for a moment.
Soon, however, Minato Namikaze looked at everyone and said, "Let's go support Guy. Listen up, everyone…"
...
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