Might Guy attacked in a relentless tide, throwing all kinds of flashy punches and badass kicks, fighting with utter exhilaration.
Using his self-created knockoff Yagami-Style Ancient Martial Arts, Uchiha Mai countered every move as it came. Though he had been suppressed the entire time, Guy was burning through far more stamina, so it could barely be considered an even match.
Mai had long been mentally prepared for the fact that he could not defeat Guy after he opened the Gate.
In the flashback arc, Guy met Kakashi after a Ninja Academy exam. From then on, he worked himself to the bone, trained frantically with Kakashi as the target he sought to surpass, and his strength improved by leaps and bounds.
And in this world, Guy had indeed become friends with Kakashi a little over a year ago.
Leaving aside how Kakashi only got more washed up as he grew older, childhood Kakashi had been an outright prodigy. He entered the academy at four, graduated the following year, and became a Chunin at five.
Ever since he had begun measuring himself against Kakashi, Guy's rate of improvement had rivaled Red-Haired Shanks from One Piece.
Back when he and Buggy the Clown had both been crewmen on Roger's ship, they had been two worthless scrubs pecking at each other like rotten fish and shrimp. Yet only a few years after they went their separate ways, Shanks had become one of the Four Emperors. It was fucking absurd.
It made Guy and Kakashi seem like characters from some cheap mobile game with a special combo bond.
"Boom!"
Guy unleashed another high whip kick, striking Mai's left arm, which he had raised in advance. The blow left Mai's arm numb.
"Mai, as a genius of the Uchiha, is this all you can do?
"Get crazier. Get more fired up. Use all your strength and fight me in an upright, decisive battle."
Guy launched another attack while still finding time to spit out trash talk. He had truly mastered the essential techniques of an NBA player.
What was the point of fighting if you did not trash-talk?
Uchiha Mai: "..."
A genius of the Uchiha? Not using his full strength?
I'm not. I didn't. Don't make things up!
Mai did not dare call himself an Uchiha genius. An Uchiha worthy of being called a genius had to at least not be too far behind Shisui, Itachi, or their ancestor Madara at the same age, right?
Of course, if he were being compared to Uchiha Sasuke as a child, then Mai was confident. Who among them was not a genius?
As for not using his full strength... that was even more baseless.
If one's abilities were sufficient, who would not want to KO their opponent in a single move and win to their heart's content? It was just that advantages in technique, tactics, and combat wisdom had been flattened by sheer strength and speed.
What could he do? He could only keep dragging things out and wait for Guy to exhaust himself, winning automatically.
It was a fight. Winning was all that mattered; who cared how he won?
Seeing that Uchiha Mai remained unmoved and stubbornly stuck to his defensive counterattack strategy, Guy found it utterly boring. He attacked even more wildly while continuing to spew trash talk.
Mai knew he could win, but being provoked nonstop truly did leave him irritated. He desperately wanted to go wild and trade blows head-on with Guy.
However, Mai's rationality restrained that impulse.
No matter when or what one did, one had to be clear about one's true purpose. Mai's purpose in this match was to win.
Losing his composure and trying to fight head-on might indeed let him win more spectacularly, but it was even more likely that Guy would seize an opening and crush him in one strike.
The benefits of recklessness were nowhere near worth the risks. Mai would not do such a thing.
Still, being constantly provoked would inevitably unsettle him.
Uchiha Mai struggled to hold on, the stifled resentment in his heart growing heavier and heavier.
His pitch-black eyes constantly watched Guy's movements, striving to catch the intent behind each of Guy's attacks and counter them as they came, dragging things out until Guy collapsed from exhaustion.
Suddenly, Uchiha Mai felt a wave of soreness in his eyes.
His beautiful, gleaming eyes, black as ink and like obsidian, slowly changed color, turning blood-red.
A black speck emerged outside each pupil and eventually formed a black tomoe, slowly rotating around the pupil.
One Tomoe in both eyes, awakened!
In that instant, Uchiha Mai felt as though the entire world had changed. Guy's storm-like barrage of punches and kicks seemed to move in slow motion, every detail of every movement laid bare before his eyes.
The openings he had previously missed due to insufficient perception were revealed one by one. It was as though, so long as his responses were appropriate, he could break every one of Guy's moves.
Why were most Uchiha ninja so flashy in taijutsu? Naturally, it was because of the Sharingan's observational ability.
Most Sharingan could not enhance the user's speed or agility, but they could strangely improve the user's perception as though time itself had slowed, allowing them to catch their enemy's openings.
The reaction speed of an ordinary person's brain was around 0.2 to 0.3 seconds. A ninja who had awakened the Sharingan would see their reaction speed greatly improve.
Thus, Uchiha ninja looked as flashy as a monk playing Master Yi or a child playing Zed. In truth, they were not walking a tightrope at all. Their seemingly risky movements were only made after "careful consideration."
He had awakened the Uchiha's trendiest and toughest One Tomoe so easily? Mai immediately felt that it was unreal.
As everyone knew, awakening a One Tomoe was far more difficult than awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Fugaku and Shisui had been caught between the village and the clan, wanting to save the clan but unable to find a way. After feeling despair and helplessness, they awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Itachi witnessed the death of his close friend Shisui, comprehended the Will of Fire, resolved to massacre the Uchiha for the sake of the village, and awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Obito had been tricked by their ancestor Madara and witnessed his best friend Kakashi kill the woman he loved, Rin Nohara, awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan.
And Uchiha Sasuke, the greatest genius in Uchiha history and the reincarnation of Indra Chakra, watched his biological elder brother wipe out their entire clan before angrily awakening a One Tomoe.
It was confirmed: the One Tomoe was the Uchiha's trendiest and toughest eye, surpassing the Mangekyo Sharingan and second only to the Eternal Eye!
Having obtained so easily the eye that Uchiha Sasuke had only awakened after his entire clan was exterminated, Uchiha Mai was becoming a little inflated. Was I too strong, or was Uchiha Sasuke just too weak?
He could think about the question of talent later. The urgent matter was defeating Guy first.
Uchiha Mai's eyes moved from side to side as he observed and analyzed Guy's movements. He smiled. "I originally planned to drag this out until your stamina ran dry, so that you could lose with a little dignity.
"But since you so desperately want me to defeat you head-on, I'll show you my full strength and make you admit defeat wholeheartedly."
No more pretending. I was laying my cards on the table: I was a billionaire.jpg
"Just what I wanted!"
Guy shouted and leaped into the air again, whipping a high kick toward Mai. A man had to win gloriously and lose openly!
The One Tomoe in Uchiha Mai's eyes spun rapidly, observing and analyzing Guy's attack as he caught that fleeting opening.
That opening had existed from beginning to end. Previously, Mai could not accurately catch it, nor could he counter at the right moment. If he struck rashly, he would only be hit head-on.
Now, everything came effortlessly.
Uchiha Mai drew out chakra, bent slightly to lower his center of gravity, sank his left shoulder, and charged forward in a posture resembling the Iron Mountain Lean.
Mai Style Ancient Martial Arts · Outer Style · Phoenix Kirin · Asura!
Before you continue