Chapter 21

Hyuga Kagami stood with one hand on his hip, mimicking Orochimaru's demeanor as he chuckled lightly, "Praise from someone as weak as you brings me no joy."

Lying on the ground, Guy lowered his head immediately upon hearing that.

Seeing Guy looking a bit discouraged, Kagami thought to himself, "Uh-oh... did I overdo it with the theatrics?"

Just as he was about to awkwardly offer a few consoling words, Guy suddenly snapped out of his gloom and shouted, "I am the proud Blue Beast of the Leaf! One day, I will definitely catch up to you!"

"So I was just overthinking things..." Kagami muttered inwardly.

Then he asked, "Hey, that wasn't all your strength just now, was it?"

Guy leapt to his feet. "Of course not! I have a secret technique!"

Kagami casually tucked his arms behind his back, trying to hide the slight numbness and redness, and replied with a sneer, "A secret technique? Let's see it then."

After a moment of hesitation, Guy shook his head.

Kagami wanted to provoke Guy into using the Eight Inner Gates, so he pushed further: "Why not? Are you looking down on me?"

Guy waved his hands frantically, explaining, "My father said... this is a forbidden jutsu that must never be used on comrades!"

"Your father is a respectable ninja, no doubt," Kagami paused for effect before continuing, "But I don't believe you possess any forbidden technique capable of hurting me."

He stepped closer, his aura pressing down on Guy. "Is it that your talent surpasses mine? Your bloodline superior? If you don't go all out, how could you possibly beat me?"

"I... I..."

Seeing Guy stammer, Kagami doubled down: "Or is it that you never truly believed you could win against me? If that's the case, you can leave now. I have no interest in sparring with someone who's weak in spirit."

Guy stood there as if struck by lightning. Then slowly, he clenched his fists.

"Huh..."

In a flash, Kagami sensed a shift in Guy's aura—it had changed.

Guy looked directly at him and shouted, "Kagami, you're right! To spar with a prodigy from a noble clan like you, I must give it my all. Only then will my youth not be in vain!"

Kagami was momentarily confused. "Noble clan I can kind of claim, but when did I become a prodigy? Is my acting really that convincing?"

While Kagami was still pondering, Guy's aura surged!

"The First Gate—Gate of Opening—Open!"

A gust of wind burst from Guy's body.

"Second Gate—Gate of Rest—Open!"

The gust turned into a wind wave.

"Third Gate—Gate of Life—Open!"

Chakra visibly spilled from Guy's body, almost becoming tangible.

Kagami's face remained calm, but his heart screamed, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! He's actually going all out! That's enough! Don't open another one or someone's gonna die!"

But of course, Guy couldn't hear his inner monologue—and showed no signs of stopping.

"Fourth Gate—Gate of Pain—Open!"

The chakra now formed a dense pressure wave, enveloping Guy like a cloak of tailed beast chakra.

Maybe it was because Guy could only open up to the fourth gate at his current level, or maybe because he understood this was just a sparring match—he finally stopped there.

"Kagami, here I come!"

Without waiting for a response, Guy turned into a flash of green lightning, darting around Kagami in circles as if seeking the perfect opening.

Kagami's Rinnegan darted rapidly in its sockets, tracking Guy's movements.

With the Rinnegan's perception, Kagami could still see Guy clearly despite the speed boost from the opened gates—but seeing didn't mean reacting in time.

His heart sank. "Damn it, he's way too fast!"

Kagami's taijutsu combat experience was still at the level of a chunin. Although he'd been training in secret ever since awakening the Rinnegan, he lacked real high-level battle experience. Now that Guy had opened the Gate of Pain, the combat had stepped into jonin-tier intensity, and Kagami could feel his body struggling to keep up.

Watching Guy circle him like a green whirlwind, Kagami desperately tried to formulate a counter-strategy.

True, without using the Revolving Wish Technique or the Third Kazekage puppet, he couldn't match a jonin's level—but his chakra reserves already far exceeded a typical jonin's. That was his edge.

He made up his mind: no flashy moves, no speed contests—just outlast him.

He had to win.

Even if it meant bluffing his way through—he still had to win!

With the Rinnegan, he couldn't afford to lose even a friendly spar.

Suddenly, Guy struck.

With a powerful stomp that kicked up a storm of dust, he launched himself at Kagami from behind like a human cannonball!

BOOM!

The sheer speed created a sonic boom, shaking the entire grove as if the trees themselves cried out in protest.

Kagami's expression tightened as he instantly reacted.

Before Guy even moved, Kagami had detected the abnormal chakra flow inside his body thanks to the Rinnegan's insight. But that tiny advantage wasn't enough for a Gentle Fist counterattack.

So without hesitation, he used the Rotation technique he had barely managed to master that very morning.

BOOOOM...

Another explosive impact!

Guy was flung away by the Rotation, crashing through four or five trees before coming to a stop. The shockwaves reached far beyond, startling many villagers.

Kagami wasn't unscathed either. He felt his blood churn, his head spinning.

But within seconds, Guy was back on his feet. He transformed into another blur, leaping into the air with a series of sharp 'boom boom boom' footfalls as he moved through the air itself.

"What the..."

Watching Guy practically fly by stepping on thin air, Kagami immediately gave up the idea of attacking. He suppressed all thoughts and focused solely on defense.

Thank the heavens for his Rinnegan—if he still had the Byakugan, he wouldn't even have time to activate Rotation.

As the stomping sounds grew sharper and closer, Guy struck again.

This time, he unleashed the Leaf Whirlwind from above. His body wasn't even there yet, but the sheer force of the wind had already swept through the entire grove.

"Rotation!"

Under the Rinnegan's gaze, no matter how Guy disguised his movements, he couldn't hide them from Kagami. So by giving up attacking entirely and focusing only on defense, Kagami could barely time his Rotation just right.

BOOM!

As expected, Guy's Leaf Whirlwind was deflected once more.

He was shot out like a cannonball again, crashing far outside the grove—and nearly hitting a few passing villagers, causing quite the scene.

Inside the woods, Kagami found himself unable to move even a step.

"Did I break something...?"

Feeling the aches and pains throughout his body, Kagami was secretly alarmed.

Only now did he notice the ground beneath him: from where he stood, cracks like spiderwebs radiated outward, stretching seven or eight meters in all directions...