"You think you can run in front of me?" Son Goku's voice was flat, devoid of anger, yet it carried an absolute finality. In a blur of motion too fast for the eye to register, he flickered past the four retreating figures.
A precise, casual knife-hand strike landed on the back of each of their necks. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Four bodies hit the forest floor in unison, unconscious before they knew what hit them.
Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai exchanged a silent, wide-eyed glance. "That speed…" Kakashi murmured, his lone visible eye sharp behind his mask.
"SO FAST! I couldn't even follow the movement!" Might Guy exploded with excitement, his earlier competitive fire roaring back to life. "You! You must be Son Goku, right? The Sandaime told us about you! He said your taijutsu was unparalleled! How about it? A man-to-man contest of youth and vigor?!" He struck a dynamic pose, practically vibrating with anticipation.
While Guy challenged Goku, Kakashi's team efficiently moved to secure the four downed enemies, binding them with chakra-suppressing cords.
Just then, Bulma and the other women emerged from the treeline. Goku, sensing the imminent danger to Kurenai moments earlier, had used his immense speed to arrive first, leaving them to follow at a normal pace.
"Huh? It's already over?" Saeko said, sounding a bit disappointed as she eyed the trussed-up prisoners. "And I was hoping to test out some of our new training…"
"Don't worry, there'll be plenty of chances," Goku reassured her with a smile. Then, he turned his full attention to the green-clad ninja bouncing on the balls of his feet before him. "So… you want to spar?"
"Exactly! A man's youth finds its truest expression in passionate combat!" Guy declared, his spirit blazing like a bonfire, utterly unaware of the precipice he was approaching.
"Alright. I'll even let you have the first move," Goku said, his tone relaxed. He stood casually, one hand tucked behind his back, and crooked a finger in a 'come-hither' gesture.
Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai quickly cleared a wider area, their curiosity piqued. If Guy was volunteering to be the litmus test for this mysterious powerhouse who had even the Hokage on edge, all the better for their intelligence gathering.
"He wants to fight Goku? Is he out of his mind?" Bulma whispered to the others. The women looked at Guy with expressions of genuine pity.
This only seemed to fuel Guy's enthusiasm further. "That confident, are you? Then I have no choice but to experience your strength firsthand!" He tucked his left arm behind his back, mirroring Goku's posture, and raised his right in a classic fighting stance. "Here I come!"
He vanished in a shunshin, reappearing directly in front of Goku in a blur of motion. A whirlwind of punches and kicks erupted—a flawless, high-speed display of pure taijutsu.
It was impressive. To any chūnin or even most jōnin, it would have been overwhelming.
To Son Goku, it was nothing.
He didn't move from his spot. Keeping one hand behind his back, he used only his free hand, palm open, to casually deflect, parry, and bat aside every single attack. The impacts sounded like dull slaps against leather.
"Too slow. Too soft. Did you skip breakfast?" Goku chided, his voice bored. "Put some power into it. You call this a proper match?"
"YOSHAAA! You really are the genuine article! In that case… it's time to get serious!" Guy shouted, leaping back. He held up a finger, signaling a brief time-out, and began unbuckling the heavy training weights from his legs and arms. They hit the ground with two heavy THUMPs, cratering the soft earth.
"Now—ROUND TWO! THE PASSION OF YOUTH BURNS!" Unburdened, Guy shot forward again. His speed was noticeably greater, his movements leaving faint afterimages as he zig-zagged in, his battle cry echoing.
"Better. But you're still worlds away." Goku's demeanor hadn't changed. He continued to stand firm, using that single, open palm to effortlessly neutralize the enhanced flurry of strikes. Guy's fists and feet never came within inches of their target.
"INCREDIBLE! Then, prepare yourself! For the sake of our contest… I will open the gates! First Gate, Gate of Opening, OPEN! Second Gate, Gate of Healing, OPEN! Third Gate, Gate of Life, OPEN! Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, OPEN! Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit… OPEN!"
With each shout, Guy's voice grew more strained, yet more powerful. A violent, crimson aura of raw chakra erupted from his body. His hair stood slightly on end, his skin flushed a deep red, veins bulging. The sheer, wild energy radiating from him was staggering.
"This is… the Eight Inner Gates…" Kakashi muttered, his Sharingan now active and whirling, struggling to track the proceedings.
With five gates unleashed, Guy's speed and strength increased exponentially. He became little more than a crimson-green blur, the sound of his movements reduced to sharp cracks as he broke the sound barrier with his strikes. The forest floor tore up around where Goku stood.
"A-amazing…" Kurenai breathed, though her awe was directed less at Guy and more at the immovable figure at the center of the storm. Goku remained a statue, one hand still behind his back, the other a calm, impervious shield. Not a single blow had so much as ruffled his clothes.
"No wonder the Sandaime is so cautious…" Asuma said, lighting a cigarette with a slightly trembling hand. "Someone like this actually exists."
No matter how intricate Guy's combinations, how deceptive his feints, or how blinding his speed, Goku seemed to know each move before it was thrown, meeting everything with that one, unshakable palm.
The four bound prisoners watched, their faces pale as ghosts.
"B-Boss… what kind of monster did we try to mess with? We're lucky to be alive…"
"Y-yeah…" Even their normally stoic leader was sweating profusely.
"YOSHAAAA! THE CONTEST ISN'T OVER! SIXTH GATE, GATE OF VIEW, OPEN! SEVENTH GATE, GATE OF WONDER… OPEN!" Guy's roar was now a raw scream of exertion. His body swelled further with terrifying power, the chakra aura around him turning a brilliant, pale blue. The air itself vibrated with pressure. He was now one step from the gate of certain death.
"Guy! That's enough! It's just a spar!" Kakashi shouted, genuine concern in his voice.
But the power of the seventh gate was undeniable. Guy's speed transcended mere movement; he seemed to teleport around Goku. The force of his passing kicks and punches created vacuum blades that sliced through trees dozens of meters away.
And still, not a single attack landed. The gap was not one of degree, but of kind. It was cosmic.
Watching Goku casually, almost lazily, deflect attacks from a ninja burning his very life force at the seventh gate left everyone present—except Goku's own companions—utterly speechless and stunned. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed a shinobi could possess such impossible, god-like prowess.
"Looks like that's your limit," Goku said, his tone finally shifting from bored to mildly appreciative. Then, in the split-second between Guy's world-annihilating blows, that single palm darted forward. Not as a block, but a light, almost playful tap on the center of Guy's chest.
BOOM.
The sound was like a thunderclap. The mighty Might Guy, a whirling vortex of seventh-gate power, was slammed into the earth as if hit by a falling meteor. A deep crater formed around him, dust and debris shooting into the air. When it settled, Guy lay in the center, dazed, the terrifying blue chakra extinguished, his body smoking slightly.
Goku had simply wanted to see the legendary Eight Inner Gates in action. To witness a shinobi's ultimate, self-destructive trump card. And he had concluded it was, while impressive for this world, ultimately useless against someone like him.
He dusted off his hands, the motion casual. The duel was over.
---
ChubbyChaebol here! Make sure to check out my other fic, OP Edgelord in Naruto!
Also, Milestone baby! As of this moment, this fic has 100 collections! Bonus chapter!!