[TL: From now on, I'm going to translate the justu in Romaji and English.]
Begin.
So fast! Neji and Lee were both shocked.
Guy also focused his energy, suddenly grounding himself in a solid horse stance. He raised his right arm to block—Bang!—Natsuki's whip-like leg slammed into Guy's arm, and the sweeping wind from the impact sent stones and dust flying from the ground.
Even though Guy had braced himself in time, the force still pushed him back several meters.
"Nice power! Keep going!"
Guy was clearly pleased. He immediately retaliated with a sweeping kick of his own. "Konoha Dai Senpū (Leaf Great Whirlwind)!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their fists and legs collided again and again, producing thunderous booms. The sheer force of their blows created shockwaves that made the air tremble and kicked up more dust and debris. The two of them darted through the swirling sand and rock, their movements so fast that only Neji could track them with his Byakugan.
Way too fast! There's no way to follow with the naked eye!
Natsuki didn't use any ninjutsu either. Since Guy wanted to test his physical strength, he would go with pure taijutsu.
Over the past few years, Natsuki hadn't just been delivering milk, digging, and mining inside the gravity training room—he had also been relentlessly honing his strikes. The techniques taught at the Academy had long become insufficient, so he turned to the library, digging through books for detailed records of hand-to-hand combat techniques to continue improving.
In truth, learning moves was also about learning how to generate and apply force.
Many techniques gained their power not just from raw strength, but from mastery of kinetic principles—making movements powerful, efficient, and fluid. This formed what people called a fighting style.
To put it in gaming terms: it's not just about maximizing damage—you also need proper cooldown management and fluid combos to ensure continuous attack cycles.
Through years of training, Natsuki had developed his own personal fighting style. Without even using Rokushiki (Six Powers), he was far from weak. But he still needed polishing—and, more importantly, real combat experience.
Going up against a taijutsu-specialist jōnin like Guy, it was only natural to be outmatched. But Natsuki had incredible stamina and didn't fear taking a beating.
After half an hour of intense combat, the taijutsu bout finally came to a satisfying end.
Guy wore a radiant smile—clearly very satisfied with Natsuki's physical condition. He also saw that Natsuki had solid battle instincts—able to improve during combat and gradually cover up the gaps in his technique.
Such a promising student aspiring to learn the Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Released Formation)? Guy certainly wouldn't turn him away.
As for Natsuki's character—Guy trusted his intuition. Or rather, he trusted fists and kicks.
True men speak through battle. Guy believed every punch and kick Natsuki threw was filled with determination and sincerity. And over the past few days, after learning more about Tenten—a kind, smart girl—Guy figured that anyone she liked couldn't be a bad person.
Assessment complete!
"HAHAHA! Now that's youth! Isn't it, Natsuki?!" Guy gave him a powerful thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
"Oh! What a passionate and youthful fight, Guy-sensei!" Natsuki gave a thumbs-up too.
Tenten, however, felt like alarms were going off. She had a horrible feeling her boyfriend was getting converted by this kappa-sensei. This was going south fast. She wasn't planning to marry a kappa!
Unfortunately, Guy wasn't done yet.
He suddenly asked, "Natsuki, you want to learn the Eight Gates to grow stronger. But why do you want to become strong?"
Natsuki understood that this was another test. He looked Guy straight in the eyes and said, "To protect Tenten. And to protect my friends. That's why I need strength. The path of a ninja is never safe. We'll face enemies someday—but if I'm strong enough, the people I care about won't be in danger. I believe in that."
Guy gave a firm nod—then broke into tears.
Thumb held high once more, he cried, "Well said! That's youth right there! Very well, I'll pass the secret of the Eight Gates to you!"
Natsuki also gave a big thumbs-up. "Thank you, Guy-sensei! I won't let you down!"
Lee, beside them, cried even harder: "Waaaah! That was so moving and hot-blooded! Natsuki, you're amazing!"
"Why are you all morphing into the same person?!" Tenten mumbled in exasperation. She was nearly brought to tears herself—but seriously, she didn't want her boyfriend to become another kappa!
Fortunately, the mood soon returned to normal.
Guy handed Natsuki a scroll. "While it'd be ideal for me to teach you personally, you're not my student—and I'm mainly responsible for training these three. So I'll give you the Eight Gates scroll. You're a smart one—you should be able to study it on your own. If you run into any trouble, just ask Tenten to pass along a message. Or wait until I'm free, and I'll help answer your questions."
Natsuki accepted the scroll and bowed slightly. "Thank you very much, Guy-sensei!"
Guy waved it off cheerfully. He was in a great mood—after all, the Eight Gates now had another successor.
He didn't care much about keeping techniques to himself. Besides, the origin of the Eight Gates was unclear. He'd learned it from his father, but even his father wasn't the original creator.
Passing it down wouldn't cause any issues. And it wasn't like he was teaching it to someone outside the village.
But Natsuki wasn't finished yet. He pushed his luck a bit further. "Guy-sensei, I actually have another favor. I'd like you to introduce me to Kakashi-senpai."
"You want to meet Kakashi?" Guy's eyes lit up. "He's my eternal rival! You want to learn ninjutsu from him? You've got good taste! Kakashi's a genius known throughout the village!"
Natsuki shook his head. "No, no—hear me out, Guy-sensei. Let me tell you my training plan. I've done some digging. Not just about your father, but also about Kakashi-senpai's father. Sakumo—the White Fang of Konoha—was once more renowned than the Sannin. His Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu (Hatake-style Swordsmanship) struck fear into all the shinobi villages. My plan is to master both the Eight Gates and the Hatake Sword Style!"
That response caught Guy completely off guard.
Neji and Lee exchanged looks—they had never even heard the name Sakumo before.
Even Tenten was surprised. Natsuki had never brought it up—not Sakumo, not his sword style, not even the name "Hatake."
But when she remembered the demon blade Thousand Edge Natsuki had designed, she figured it actually made sense for him to pursue a powerful sword style.
"I didn't expect you to learn about Sakumo-senpai."
Guy sighed emotionally. "You're right. Back then, Sakumo-senpai's swordsmanship was absolutely terrifying. They called him the White Fang of Konoha. His reputation even outshone the Sannin's and shook the entire ninja world. If you want to learn his sword techniques, I totally understand. If I had the talent for swordsmanship, I'd want to learn too!"
Guy, a veteran of that era, naturally had a deeper understanding of the White Fang's strength and renown.
Though those days had passed, true power never fades with time.
He thought of his dear friend Kakashi, who had abandoned the Hatake sword style after Sakumo's death. A new successor of the blade might not be such a bad thing...
(End of Chapter)
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