Open the Space Gate, Open!

Uchiha Mai fought intelligently, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say his combat intellect was simply too sharp.

The common tactic of the boxing champion Mayweather was defensive counter-punching: ensuring he remained unharmed and preventing his opponent from scoring, all while waiting to catch a weakness and strike with heavy blows.

This combat philosophy was steady and mature, and Uchiha Mai had been deeply influenced by these principles when creating his own style of taijutsu.

Now, look at Guy.

At this moment, Guy certainly possessed a level of taijutsu skill, but his combat experience was lacking. He only knew how to charge headlong, again and again, in a "you die or I die" fashion.

This approach naturally had its merits; without such a mindset, Guy could never have perfected the Eight Inner Gates or developed techniques like Night Guy.

The only problem was that Guy's raw strength at this moment did not surpass Uchiha Mai's, neither in speed nor in power.

When raw strength is evenly matched, if your opponent fights smarter, you deserve to lose.

"The outcome is alre—" Might Duy had just started to say the outcome was decided when he saw Guy, who had been sprawled on the ground, struggling to slowly pull himself back up.

"I haven't... lost yet..." Guy's head was bleeding, and he shook it, gritting his teeth to hold on.

"Your head is bleeding, you know," Mai pointed at Guy, somewhat speechless. He could still hold on after that?

The force of that Iron Mace just now was even heavier than the punch that had given Asuma a concussion a few days ago, and it had landed directly on his head.

He was being a bit too much of a cockroach, wasn't he?

"I haven't lost yet..."

Guy repeated the phrase, murmuring, "I waited several days just to have this showdown with you. After waiting so long, I refuse to just give up because of one hit.

I haven't even shown you most of my taijutsu moves yet, and you must have other techniques you haven't used either. I want to see them all.

Father, please allow me to use that technique."

That technique?

Might Duy's expression grew solemn as he asked, "You only just learned that technique, and your condition right now is poor. Using it rashly might be life-threatening.

Are you sure you want to use it?"

Guy nodded firmly, his eyes resolute. "Father, you once said that youth and passion have no limits. Relying on a heart full of passion, even a loser can surpass a genius.

As long as the passion in one's heart does not die, even if life reaches its end, the fire of youth will continue to burn.

Isn't now the time to ignite the fire of youth? I want to win, I want to defeat Mai!"

"As expected of my son!

Guy, use that technique! Let Mai witness our fire of youth!" Might Duy's eyes welled up with tears once more, and he gave Guy permission to use the technique.

Uchiha Mai's expression turned grave. At this moment, the desperate move Guy was about to unleash could only be the Eight Inner Gates.

The Eight Inner Gates could unlock the channels within the human body that restricted chakra, temporarily granting immense power. It was a secret technique that almost every "Naruto transmigrator" was bound to learn.

If you didn't open the eight gates without injury, open them permanently, or practice a reverse version of the Eight Inner Gates, you wouldn't even have the nerve to call yourself a protagonist in a Naruto fanfic.

During the Chunin Exams in Shippuden, a thirteen-year-old Rock Lee could open up to the fifth gate and fight the one-tailed jinchuriki Gaara to a standstill—very strong and very impressive.

At this moment, Guy was only about eight years old; at best, he could open the second gate. But even the second gate was enough to make Uchiha Mai worry.

Mai was worried that Guy wouldn't be able to handle it and would end up kicking the bucket.

The first of the Eight Inner Gates was to unlock the brain's limitations, allowing the body to exert 100% of its power, consuming the body's strength at an overloaded rate to increase attack and speed.

The human body hides infinite potential, and in daily life, the power one can exert is minimal.

In his past life, there were always news stories about mothers flipping over cars to save their children; that was the result of unleashing power beyond human limits.

This state placed a heavy burden on the body and brain, and Guy had just been hit by an Iron Mace and suffered a mild concussion...

Using the Eight Inner Gates now was a bit of a death wish; a single sparring match wasn't worth it.

This was the characteristic of Guy's style: it was all about risking one's life. Didn't Guy risk his life in his daily training?

If an ordinary person trained that way, they wouldn't even know how they died.

Only by hovering on the forbidden line between life and death time and time again could one break through the body's limits and, as a commoner, obtain power that surpassed geniuses and bloodline ninjas.

Life was something he had long since ceased to care about!

"Mai, I might be a little strong from here on out.

Eight Inner Gates, first gate, Space Gate, open!"

Guy let out a sharp cry, surging his chakra to break through the first barrier that restricted the human body—the Space Gate.

In an instant, it was as if he had activated the Kaio-ken or Son Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan; his aura was majestic, and his entire being was transformed.

"Haaa!!!"

Guy let out a strange shout and launched himself forward, his fists bombarding Uchiha Mai like a machine gun, the speed of his strikes fierce.

Having unlocked his body's limitations and gained greater power, Guy hadn't forgotten the lesson from being KO'd by a single move earlier due to being too cocky.

The power of a punch wasn't as great as a kick, but it was relatively less likely to expose openings.

Uchiha Mai gritted his teeth and threw a punch, colliding with Guy's fist. In an instant, he felt as if he had struck a block of iron, and the bones in his four fingers throbbed with excruciating pain.

One look was enough to confirm it: this was someone he couldn't face head-on.

With just one punch, Uchiha Mai confirmed his strategy: a direct confrontation with Might Guy would certainly lead to defeat. The boost to strength and speed provided by the Eight Inner Gates was simply too great, even with only the Space Gate opened.

In Shippuden, Rock Lee failed to defeat Gaara even after opening the first five gates. This was not because the Eight Inner Gates were ineffective, but because Gaara was simply too strong.

At that time, Gaara was a genin in name but a jonin in practice, and during the subsequent pursuit of the Second Pillar, he even went head-to-head against the final user of the Shikotsumyaku, Kaguya Kimimaro.

During that period, even Kakashi might not have been able to defeat Gaara.

The fact that Rock Lee, a mere genin, could open five gates and fight Gaara to that extent is a testament to the sheer power of the Eight Inner Gates.

The situation was the same now; Uchiha Mai's raw strength was on par with Might Guy's, and he could only hope to KO Might Guy in one move by relying on his combat intelligence.

However, the speed and strength Might Guy gained after opening the Space Gate had already erased the gap in combat intelligence.

The saying that "fists fear the young and vigorous" and that "wild blows can kill a master" holds true for this very reason.

Uchiha Mai had no choice but to maintain his defensive counter-attack strategy and continue the fight against Might Guy.

With the Space Gate open, Might Guy's stamina consumption increased several times over, meaning he clearly could not drag the fight out. He pressed the attack against Uchiha Mai for a long time, his moves becoming increasingly wild and frequently utilizing kicking techniques.

More and more openings were exposed, but because his speed was fast enough and his strength powerful enough, he suppressed Uchiha Mai so thoroughly that he could not find a single opportunity to counter-attack.

To withstand Might Guy's onslaught, Uchiha Mai had to pull out all the stops, pushing his self-created Mai Style Ancient Martial Arts to the limit.

Third Form, Fourth Form, Ninth Form, Inner Ninth Form, Thirteenth Form, Inner Fifteenth Form, Sixteenth Form, Twenty-second Form...

As Uchiha Mai revealed more, the watching Might Guy became increasingly astonished. Mai's fist techniques were something he had never seen or heard of before; it was clearly a taijutsu style he had created himself.

Relying on this set of taijutsu, Mai was actually able to fight to a standstill against Might Guy, who clearly held a slight advantage in raw strength after opening the Space Gate.

This taijutsu style was truly something else.