Might Guy's assault came like a raging tide—
flashy punches, domineering kicks, each strike overflowing with momentum and passion.
Uchiha Mai responded with his self-created, knockoff version of the Yagami-style ancient martial arts, countering move for move. Though he remained under constant pressure, Guy's stamina was draining far faster. Barely—very barely—it could still be considered an even match.
Mai had long been mentally prepared for the fact that he couldn't defeat Guy after the Gate of Opening was activated.
In the flashbacks, Guy met Kakashi after a Ninja Academy exam and, from that moment on, began training like a madman with Kakashi as his benchmark—his strength skyrocketing.
And in this world, about a year ago, Guy really had become friends with Kakashi.
Leaving aside the issue of Kakashi becoming more and more unreliable as he grew older—
childhood Kakashi was nothing short of breathtakingly brilliant.
Entered the Academy at four.
Graduated the next year.
Promoted to Chūnin at five.
Once Guy set Kakashi as his target, his growth rate became comparable to Red-Haired Shanks from One Piece.
Back when he sailed with Roger, he and Buggy were busy flailing around like useless rookies. After splitting up, only a few years later—boom, Yonko.
Completely unreasonable.
It was as if Guy and Kakashi were characters in some bootleg mobile game with a hidden "bond linkage" buff.
"Boom!"
Another high whip kick slammed into Mai's raised left arm, sending numbness coursing through it.
"Mai! As a genius of the Uchiha, is this really all you've got?"
Guy shouted while attacking nonstop.
"Be crazier! Be more passionate! Use your full power and fight me head-on!"
He attacked again—without forgetting to talk trash.
He had truly mastered the essential skills of NBA players.
What's the point of fighting if you don't trash-talk?
Uchiha Mai: "..."
Uchiha genius?
Not holding back?
No, no, and absolutely not.
Mai never dared to call himself a genius.
To be worthy of that title among the Uchiha, one would at least need to compare with Shisui, Itachi, or even Madara himself.
Of course—if the benchmark was young "Second Pillar," then sure, Mai felt confident. Who isn't a genius then?
As for not using his full strength—pure slander.
If he could end this in one move, who wouldn't want to win cleanly and beautifully?
The problem was that his tactical advantage had been completely erased by raw power and speed.
What choice did he have?
All he could do was drag it out and wait for Guy to exhaust himself.
A fight only needs one thing—victory.
How you win doesn't matter.
Guy saw that Mai refused to abandon his defensive counter strategy and grew increasingly dissatisfied. He attacked even more ferociously while continuing to spit taunts.
Mai knew he would win eventually, but being provoked nonstop still irritated him. A part of him desperately wanted to go all-in and clash head-on.
Reason restrained that impulse.
At any time, in any situation, one must remember their true objective.
Mai's purpose in this fight was simple: to win.
Charging in recklessly might look cooler—but the far greater possibility was being caught by Guy and crushed in a single blow.
The reward was nowhere near worth the risk.
Still… constant provocation inevitably gnawed at his composure.
Under the relentless pressure, the gloom in Mai's heart kept accumulating.
His pitch-black eyes tracked Guy's every movement, analyzing each attack, desperately trying to maintain perfect responses until Guy collapsed from exhaustion.
Then—
A sudden burning sensation surged through his eyes.
The jet-black pupils, once like polished obsidian, slowly shifted—
turning blood-red.
A dark point emerged beside the pupil, forming into a black tomoe that began to rotate slowly.
Single-tomoe Sharingan—activated!
In that instant, the world changed.
Guy's storm-like punches and kicks seemed to slow into near-motionless frames. Every minute detail of each movement was laid bare before Mai's eyes.
Flaws he previously couldn't detect—because his perception wasn't sharp enough—now appeared one by one.
It felt as though, as long as his response was correct, he could dismantle Guy's techniques entirely.
Why were most Uchiha so flashy in taijutsu?
Because of the Sharingan's observation ability.
Most Sharingan didn't enhance speed or agility.
Instead, they produced an uncanny effect—as if time itself had slowed—dramatically increasing perception and reaction.
A normal human's reaction time hovered around 0.2 to 0.3 seconds.
For a Sharingan user, it dropped drastically.
Thus, when Uchiha ninja appeared to be fighting on the edge of danger, it wasn't recklessness.
Those "risky" moves were all made after deliberate calculation.
And now—
He'd awakened it.
So easily.
The strongest eye of the Uchiha—single tomoe.
Mai felt a surreal sense of disbelief.
Everyone knew this:
awakening a single tomoe was far harder than awakening the Mangekyō.
Fugaku and Shisui, trapped between clan and village, powerless and desperate—awakened the Mangekyō.
Itachi witnessed Shisui's death, accepted the Will of Fire, and resolved to slaughter his clan—awakening the Mangekyō.
Obito was deceived by Madara and watched Kakashi kill Rin—awakening the Mangekyō.
And Sasuke—Indra's reincarnation, hailed as the greatest prodigy in Uchiha history—
only awakened a single tomoe after witnessing the massacre of his entire clan.
Facts proven.
The single-tomoe Sharingan was the most stylish, most hardcore eye of the Uchiha—
surpassing the Mangekyō and second only to the Eternal Mangekyō!
Compared to Sasuke needing his whole family slaughtered—
Mai got it this easily.
He couldn't help but feel inflated.
Was he too strong… or was Sasuke just too weak?
That question could wait.
Right now—
He needed to win.
Mai's eyes moved rapidly, observing and analyzing Guy's motions.
He smiled.
"I originally planned to drag this out until you ran out of stamina—so you could lose with dignity.
But since you so desperately want me to defeat you head-on…
Then I'll use my full strength and make you accept it completely."
No more pretending.
I'm laying my cards on the table—I'm rich.jpg
"Exactly what I wanted!"
Guy roared, leaping into the air and unleashing another high whip kick toward Mai's head.
A man should win gloriously—and lose without regret!
The single tomoe in Mai's eyes spun rapidly.
He analyzed the technique, seized that fleeting opening.
That flaw had always existed.
Before, he simply couldn't catch it with precision.
Any premature counter would've been crushed instantly.
But now—
Everything felt effortless.
Mai gathered chakra, lowered his center of gravity, dipped his left shoulder, and charged forward in a stance resembling Iron Mountain Crash.
Mai Style · Ancient Martial Arts
Outer Form — Phoenix Qilin · Asura!
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