Chapter 464: Hyuga Hizashi's Request
This was pure, unadulterated physical strength. A barrage of punches thrown at such an extreme velocity that the sheer friction against the air ignited into roaring flames.
"Asakujaku!"
Might Guy hovered in mid-air, defying gravity through sheer kinetic force. His fists blurred into countless afterimages, fanning out like the burning tail of a majestic peacock.
With every punch thrown, a dazzling fireball plummeted toward the earth like a meteor. They covered the sky, painting the gloomy battlefield in blinding crimson. Dense, deafening explosions resounded in rapid succession. The heavy curtain of rain was forcibly evaporated in an instant, the terrifying high temperature turning the downpour into hissing steam. White water vapor had barely risen before it was swallowed whole by the raging firelight.
Down on the ground, Hyuga Hizashi maintained the high-speed spin of his Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. A perfect dome of blue chakra encased him, deflecting the initial wave of flames.
'What kind of... monstrous strength is this...' Hizashi thought, his Byakugan straining to track the incoming assault.
The defensive principle of the Kaiten relied on expelling chakra from every tenketsu in the body, using centrifugal force to repel any incoming threat. Theoretically, it was the absolute defense of the Hyuga.
However, theory meant nothing in the face of absolute violence.
The frequency of the flaming meteors was simply too fast. The Kaiten could not spin fast enough to deflect them all. The sheer concussive force behind each flaming fist was so overwhelming that the expelled chakra began to warp and dissipate. Against this level of physical dominance, absolute defense became a fragile joke.
One punch. Two punches. A hundred punches rained down in the span of a single breath.
"Shatter for me!" Guy let out a thunderous roar from the sky, pouring every ounce of his stamina into the final volley.
A crisp, agonizing sound of cracking pierced through the booming explosions. Hizashi's pale pupils shrank to pinpricks. A jagged fissure appeared right down the center of his blue chakra shield. Immediately after, the fracture spread rapidly, webbing across the dome like shattered glass.
'I cannot block it...'
The thought had barely formed in his mind before the Kaiten completely collapsed, bursting into scattered motes of blue light. The sky full of fire meteors lost their final hindrance and slammed solidly into Hizashi's body. He let out a miserable scream as the intense flames engulfed him, burning through the paper-like ash of his Edo Tensei vessel and completely blasting his form apart.
High above, Guy's momentum finally waned. He forcibly adjusted his posture mid-air, plummeting down to land heavily on the scorched earth.
"Huff... huff..."
Guy took several deep, ragged breaths, his chest heaving as steam rolled off his sweat-drenched skin. He slowly straightened his back, looking across the cratered wasteland at the fallen Hyuga.
"This is... what I wanted to prove." Guy's voice was steady, carrying over the hissing steam. "As long as you put in the hard work, there are no barriers in this world that cannot be broken!"
In the distance, Hizashi lay broken among the smoldering craters. The paper-like debris of his resurrected body fluttered in the hot wind, slowly gathering to repair his missing limbs.
"Hard work... is it?" Hizashi muttered to himself, his voice hollow.
He slowly raised a trembling hand, pressing his fingers against his bare forehead. Because this vessel was a mere reanimation, the Caged Bird cursed seal—the ultimate symbol of his humiliation and lifelong restraint—did not physically manifest on his skin. Yet, the phantom weight of it remained. That cursed seal was carved far deeper than flesh; it was branded into his very soul. It was the inescapable fate etched into the bones of every member of the Hyuga Branch House.
"Truly... such a dazzling light." Hizashi gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile. He pushed his reforming hands against the scorched dirt, propping himself up into a sitting position.
"Might Guy..." His voice was raspy, carrying a strange sense of peace. "You have won."
Guy grinned broadly, the exhaustion fading from his face as he flashed a brilliant row of white teeth.
"This is the ultimate victory of youth!"
Looking at the man standing before him, radiating such blinding optimism, the dark resentment that had festered in Hizashi's heart for decades miraculously began to dissipate. The heavy, suffocating chains of his past melted away, replaced by an unmatched sense of relief.
"If it is you... perhaps it really is possible," Hizashi murmured in a low, reverent tone.
Guy blinked, stunned for a moment by the sudden shift in the Hyuga's demeanor.
Hizashi did not elaborate immediately. Instead, he struggled to his feet, brushing the ash from his robes. His pale Byakugan locked onto Guy, his gaze becoming exceptionally serious.
"I have a request."
Recognizing the weight of the moment, Guy instantly put away his bright smile. He stood tall, his expression solemn and attentive. "Please speak! As a worthy opponent, I will give you my utmost respect!"
Hizashi took a deep, steadying breath, looking past Guy toward the distant horizon where Konoha lay.
"In the village, there is a child. He is my son... and a genius of the Hyuga Clan's Branch House."
Guy gave a slow, understanding nod.
"The current him is exactly as I was back then," Hizashi continued, his voice laced with sorrow. "Trapped inside that invisible cage. He resents the Main House, he resents his fate, and he resents this entirely unfair world. He truly believes that a person's destiny is set in stone from the exact moment they are born. He thinks that no matter how hard a bird struggles, it can never escape its cage."
At this point, Hizashi let out a soft laugh.
"What a pathetic line of thought. Just like the thoughts I harbored only moments ago." Hizashi lifted his chin, staring straight into Guy's dark, unwavering eyes. "But you are different. You just used your own two fists to prove to me that there is no fate in this world that cannot be shattered."
Guy remained silent. Although he usually presented himself as a carefree, boisterous fool, he was far from stupid. He could feel the immense, crushing weight of a father's dying entrustment in the man's words.
"What do you want me to do?" Guy asked quietly.
Hizashi slowly bent his waist, lowering his head in a deep, formal bow of absolute submission.
"Please... in my stead. Go and guide that child." Hizashi's voice trembled with suppressed emotion. "Tell him that even for a bird locked inside a cage, as long as its wings remain unbroken, as long as its heart is still beating... one day, it will be able to tear through the iron bars and fly into that vast, endless sky! I beg of you!"
Guy looked down at the bowing Hyuga. A massive surge of hot, righteous blood rushed straight to his heart. His jaw set with absolute determination. He thrust his arm forward, giving Hizashi a firm thumbs-up.
"Leave it to me!" Guy's voice boomed across the wasteland, loud and clear as a ringing bell. "Although I am not his teacher yet, I, Might Guy, swear this in the name of Konoha's Noble Blue Beast! I will make him understand that this so-called fate is nothing more than a pathetic excuse the weak invent for themselves!"
Listening to Guy's fiercely passionate, almost theatrical oath, Hizashi slowly straightened up. A genuine, long-lost smile graced his pale features.
"Thank you," Hizashi whispered. "This way... I can finally return to the Pure Land in peace."
Just then, the sharp rustle of movement broke the quiet. Several Konoha shinobi responsible for containment bounded into the clearing.
"Sealing Squad! Move in, quickly!"
Several giant paper talismans were slapped onto Hizashi's regenerating shoulders and chest. Thick black ink spread rapidly from the tags, crawling across his pale skin like living vines, instantly paralyzing his movements.
Hizashi did not resist. He simply turned his head, taking one last, longing look in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Fly..." he murmured to the wind. "Go find the freedom that belongs to you."
Guy stood rooted in place for a long time, watching as the sealing jutsu completely encased the fallen father. He slowly lowered his raised thumb, his expression hardening into absolute resolve.
"This is... a man's unbreakable promise," Guy muttered to himself, his fists clenching tightly. "The flames of youth have not been extinguished yet!"
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the apocalyptic clash between Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi raged on.
The two colossal Susanoo entities collided fiercely once again, their massive frames shaking the very foundations of the earth. Violent purple chakra and ethereal crimson flames strangled each other frantically across the ruined wasteland. With every titanic collision, the ground wailed and splintered.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Sasuke screamed, his eyes completely bloodshot. At this moment, he was no longer a calculating shinobi; he was a feral beast completely stripped of his sanity. In his mind, there was only one looping, agonizing image: the sight of his father falling in a pool of blood.
He had to kill Itachi.
He had to tear this man completely to pieces.
"Inferno Style: Kagutsuchi!" Sasuke roared, the complex Mangekyo pattern in his left eye spinning frantically, bleeding from the strain.
In the massive hand of his purple Susanoo, a jagged longsword forged entirely of pitch-black Amaterasu flames materialized instantly. Driven by a heart overflowing with pure, unadulterated hatred, the Susanoo swung the black blade down with world-cleaving force.
Across from him, the crimson Yata Mirror was raised high, forcefully parrying the descending blade of black fire.
A blinding shockwave erupted. Black and crimson sparks rained down in all directions like a dying star. The terrifying counter-shock force of the impact caused the bedrock beneath the two Susanoos to instantly cave in, collapsing into a massive, craterous pit.
'Is this... the extent of your strength, Sasuke?'Itachi whispered in his heart. Standing safely behind the red chakra light screen of his shield, he looked calmly at his younger brother, who thrashed and screamed like a mad demon.'Just one more push. Just a little further... and you will truly be able to spread your wings and fly high.'
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