The images on the Heavenly Screen continued to play...
[Crimson steam erupted from Might Guy's body like a volcanic eruption, scorching and distorting the surrounding air. The ground beneath his feet had long since turned to dust, and every muscle fiber in his Gate of Death state emitted a tearing sound as it struggled under the immense pressure.]
"Evening Elephant--!"
Kai's roar pierced the sky as he pulled his right fist back, his muscles clenching like steel bars, and Blood Steam condensing into a ferocious elephant head shape in front of his fist. Space seemed to freeze at that moment, and all the spectators felt an invisible pressure crushing their chests.
Six Paths Madara's Rinnegan suddenly contracted; he had never imagined that anyone could make him feel threatened solely through Taijutsu. He tried to manipulate the Truth-Seeking Orb to form a defensive formation at the last moment, but it was too late.
One foot!
Kai's fist shattered the sound barrier, and the shockwave formed a visible white ripple in front of his fist. The moment Madara's hastily raised arms made contact with the fist, his magnificent Six Paths robe sleeves ripped apart inch by inch, revealing his arm muscles with bulging veins.
"What... what kind of power is this?!" Madara's pupils trembled violently, and he felt his bones groaning. The pure physical impact rendered his Rinnegan's ability to absorb Ninjutsu useless, leaving him no choice but to endure this attack that surpassed human limits.
The spectators below instinctively took a half-step back, their robes fluttering in the surging air. Kakashi's Sharingan spun wildly, yet he still couldn't quite catch Gai's movements.
"Go! Teacher Kai!" Rock Lee's shout was choked with sobs, tears streaming down his scarred face, leaving two clear streaks. His hands were clenched tightly, his knuckles white from the force. "I... I've already..."
Kai, suspended in mid-air, seemed to hear his disciple's call, and the crimson steam suddenly surged. He roared and thrust his right fist forward again, the sound of muscle fibers snapping clearly audible.
[Ban's defensive stance finally collapsed, and he plummeted from the sky like a meteor. Upon impact, the ground within a hundred-meter radius caved in perfectly, spiderweb-like cracks spreading to the horizon. Dust surged like a tsunami, obscuring half the sky.]
"Two feet!"
Kai's figure burst through the dust and mist, his left leg rising high like a battle axe. But at this decisive moment—
"Snap!"
A sickening crack of bone echoed across the battlefield. Kai's left leg suddenly bent unnaturally. The excruciating pain halted his attack, and his body began to fall uncontrollably.
[Rock Lee, watching the battle, trembled violently, blood seeping from the wound beneath his medical bandages again. "No... Evening Elephant's attacks should have been a continuous barrage from one leg to five..." His voice was fragmented, as if the broken bones were ingrained in his own body.]
As Kai fell, he gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, only to evaporate the moment it touched the Blood Steam. Through his clouded vision, he saw Ban struggling to his feet at the bottom of the pit.
"So that's how it is..." Kai forced a ferocious smile through the excruciating pain. "It really... hurts a lot." His broken leg bone emitted a horrifying grinding sound, and the muscle tissue was dying at a visible rate. "But... I'm used to it."
Rock Lee watched from below, tears blurring his vision. "Even if I only open up to the Gate of Limit Eight Gates..." he thought, recalling the horrific ordeal he suffered during the Chunin Ninja Exams. "Gate of Death of Death... is probably far beyond my imagination..."
This thought made Rock Lee's stomach cramp. He had personally witnessed the blood and sweat that Teacher Kai shed during training, but the pain he was experiencing now was probably a million times greater than that training.
During his fall, Kai suddenly twisted his waist, his remaining right leg compressing to its limit like a spring. Blood Steam condensed at the broken leg, forming a temporary support, and he managed to adjust his posture in mid-air.
"I won't give you a chance to breathe!"
The real Shinobi World...
Looking at the Heavenly Screen, the explosive sound of Gate of Death Might Guy's fist tearing through the air seemed to make the roof tiles tremble slightly. Kakashi's one eye was wide open to its limit, and he didn't even notice that his Forehead Protector had slipped down to his eyebrow.
"Hey, hey..." His voice was as dry as if he hadn't drunk water for three days, and his fingers unconsciously gripped the spine of "Icha Icha Paradise." "Kai, you... what do you mean by 'already used to it'?"
In the scene, the moment the sound of Kai's broken leg bone rang out, Kakashi felt his own calf muscles twitch.
He turned his head and looked at his best friend beside him, who was dressed entirely in green—Kai was clenching his fists, tears welling in his eyes as he looked at himself in the Heavenly Screen, his whole body trembling slightly with excitement.
"Your reckless training methods..." Kakashi's Forehead Protector suddenly felt incredibly heavy, and cold sweat trickled down his temples. "It's enough to give anyone who sees it hemophobia."
The sound of bones shattering echoed through the Heavenly Screen once more, Kakashi's thoughts suddenly drifted back to more than a decade ago. Back then, he spent his days lingering before the Memorial Stone, his Sharingan forever reflecting the images of Obito and Rin's deaths. Every time the Third encountered him, his wrinkles would deepen.
"Kakashi..." The old man's voice, puffing on his pipe, seemed to echo in my ears again. "The tender buds of Konoha need the shelter of a mature tree that has weathered storms."
What was his response? It seems he said something like, "I can't even protect myself," and then turned and left.
Until one day, this guy with a watermelon head and wearing a green bodysuit suddenly appeared on the Training Ground and dragged him into the 53rd match (which he won, of course).
"Kakashi--!" Guy's sudden shout pulled him back to reality. He saw that his opponent had somehow already struck his signature thumbs-up pose. "See that? This is the burning passion of youth!"
Kakashi stared at him with deadpan eyes. "No, I only see some idiot burning his own life."
Even so, his gaze unconsciously fell on Kai's bare arm—covered with a mix of old and new scars, some of which even hurt him to look at. Kakashi suddenly remembered a conversation his father had had years ago:
"That child..." White Fang wiped his dagger, a rare smile playing on his lips. "Maybe he'll be even stronger than you someday."
At the time, I was eight years old and scoffed dismissively. Looking back now, I realize my father's judgment of people was indeed sharp.
"Kakashi?" Guy's large face suddenly loomed close. "You weren't so stunned by my imposing figure that you lost your composure, were you?"
"... Idiot." Kakashi used a book to shield himself from the spittle flying from the other's mouth, but secretly curled his lips into a smile beneath the paper. "Once the Heavenly Screen finishes playing... shall we have a match?"
The air suddenly froze.
Kai's expression was as if he had been struck by a thousand surprising Shurikens simultaneously. His trembling lips opened and closed repeatedly, finally erupting into a roar that sent three passing Crows flying:
"Kakashi!! My dearest friend!!" Tears streamed down his face as he rushed forward to give him a bear hug. "This is the first time in eighteen years that you've challenged me to a fight! Is this the passionate cry of youth?!"
"Wait, your snot is going to get on my vest...!"
"Let's go to the Training Ground now! Immediately! Right now!" Guy had already grabbed Kakashi's arm and lifted him up. "I'm going to use my newly developed 'Konoha Whirlwind Three Thousand Six Hundred Turns' to witness this historic moment!"
Kakashi was suspended in mid-air like a dead fish, and sighed helplessly, "I meant... after watching what's in the Heavenly Screen..."