Uchiha Mai fought with remarkable composure — more than that, his combat instincts were razor-sharp.
A classic tactic used by boxing champion Mayweather was defense into counterattack: protect yourself, deny the opponent points, then strike hard the moment a weakness appears. It was a stable, mature approach, and when Mai created his own taijutsu style, he had clearly been influenced by that philosophy.
Might Guy, on the other hand?
At this point, Guy certainly had skill in taijutsu, but his real combat experience was limited. His way of fighting was simple and reckless — charge straight in, over and over, until one of you dropped.
That mindset had its strengths. Without it, Guy would never have perfected the Eight Gates or developed techniques like Night Guy in the future.
The problem was that right now, his raw strength hadn't surpassed Mai's — not in speed, not in power.
When your fundamentals are equal and the other side fights smarter, losing is only natural.
"The match is—" Might Duy was about to declare the outcome when he saw Guy, sprawled on the ground, struggling to push himself back up.
"I… haven't lost yet…" Guy muttered, blood running from the back of his head as he shook it and clenched his teeth.
"Your head is literally bleeding," Mai said, pointing at him, at a loss for words. He was still standing after that?
That iron mallet strike had hit harder than the punch that had given Asuma a concussion days ago — and this time it landed squarely on the head.
Way too stubborn.
"I haven't lost…"
Guy repeated himself, his voice low and hoarse. "I waited days just to fight you. After all that waiting, I won't accept losing to a single hit.
"I still haven't shown all my taijutsu. And you definitely still have techniques you haven't used. I want to see everything.
"Dad… please let me use that move."
That move?
Might Duy's expression darkened. "You only just learned it. You're not in good condition. Using it now could cost you your life.
"Are you sure?"
Guy nodded firmly, his gaze burning. "You always said that youth and passion have no limits — that with enough fighting spirit, even a failure can surpass a genius.
"As long as the fire in your heart hasn't gone out, even at the end of life, youth will keep burning.
"Isn't now exactly the time to ignite that fire? I want to win. I want to defeat Mai!"
"As expected of my son!" Duy cried, tears streaming down his face again. "Guy, use that move. Let Mai witness our flames of youth!"
Mai's expression turned serious. If Guy was staking everything now, there was only one possibility — the Eight Gates.
The Eight Gates Technique unlocked the pathways that restrained chakra within the body, granting explosive power for a short time. It was practically mandatory knowledge for any so-called "Naruto transmigrator protagonist."
If you couldn't open the Gates without injury, keep them permanently open, or even reverse-train them, you hardly qualified as a main character.
During the Chūnin Exams in Shippuden, a thirteen-year-old Rock Lee had opened five Gates and fought Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchūriki, head-on — overwhelmingly strong.
Guy was only about eight years old now. At best, he could open the Second Gate. Even so, it was enough to make Mai uneasy.
He was worried Guy might actually die.
The First Gate released the brain's limiter, allowing the body to operate at one hundred percent of its potential, massively increasing strength and speed at the cost of extreme physical strain.
The human body hides enormous power, most of which it can never access. Stories of mothers lifting cars to save their children were real examples of that limit being broken.
But the burden on the body — and especially the brain — was immense. And Guy had just suffered a mild concussion…
Using the Eight Gates now was gambling with his life. This fight wasn't worth that.
Then again, that was exactly Guy's path — betting his life. Had his daily training ever been anything else?
Ordinary people training like him wouldn't even know how they died.
Only by constantly standing on the line between life and death could one shatter their limits again and again, rising from a civilian background to surpass geniuses and bloodline heirs.
Life itself had long stopped being something to cling to.
"Mai," Guy said, eyes blazing, "I might get a little strong now.
"Eight Gates Technique — First Gate: Open!"
With a fierce shout, he surged his chakra through his body, smashing through the first restriction — the Gate of Opening.
In an instant, it was as if he had activated a Kaiōken or transformed into a Super Saiyan. His presence exploded, his entire being completely changed.
"Hyaaah!!"
Guy launched himself forward, fists firing like machine-gun rounds toward Mai, fast and vicious.
While the Gates granted him overwhelming power, he hadn't forgotten the lesson from being knocked out earlier. Compared to kicks, punches exposed fewer openings.
Mai clenched his teeth and threw a punch to meet his.
The moment their fists collided, it felt like striking solid iron. Agonizing pain shot through four of his finger bones.
One look was enough — this was not someone he could trade blows with.
After a single exchange, Mai adjusted his strategy. A head-on fight was guaranteed defeat. The boost to speed and power from the Eight Gates was simply too extreme, even with just one Gate open.
Rock Lee losing to Gaara after opening five Gates wasn't because the Eight Gates were weak — it was because Gaara was absurdly strong.
At that time, Gaara was a genin in name only, fighting at jōnin level. Not long after, he would even clash head-on with Kimimaro of the Shikotsumyaku.
In that period, even Kakashi might not have been able to defeat Gaara.
For a genin like Lee to push Gaara that far proved just how terrifying the Eight Gates truly were.
The same applied here. Mai and Guy were evenly matched in raw ability; Mai had only knocked him out through superior combat intelligence.
But once Guy opened the Gate of Opening, the boost erased that advantage.
When fists fly fast enough, youth overwhelms experience.
Mai could only maintain his defensive counterattack strategy and drag the fight out.
With the Gate open, Guy's stamina drained at several times the normal rate. After pressing Mai relentlessly for a long time, his moves grew wilder, relying more and more on kicks.
Openings began to appear — but his speed and power were so overwhelming that Mai couldn't capitalize on them.
To withstand the onslaught, Mai pushed himself to the limit, unleashing his self-created Mai-Style Ancient Martial Arts to their fullest.
Third Form. Fourth Form. Ninth Form. Hidden Ninth. Thirteenth. Hidden Fifteenth. Sixteenth. Twenty-Second…
The more techniques Mai revealed, the more shocked Might Duy became. His boxing style was something Duy had never seen or even heard of — clearly a taijutsu system Mai had created himself.
And with it, he was holding his own against a Gate-opened Guy whose raw power clearly surpassed his.
This taijutsu… was the real deal.
End of chapter