"Let me see just how strong you are, Naruto," Might Guy thought. He hadn't come here without reason. Kakashi had asked him to test Naruto's current strength.
Might Guy might have been a little blunt, but he wasn't an idiot. He couldn't just go up to Naruto and challenge him to a match, so he'd had Rock Lee approach Naruto first. If Naruto won, Guy could ask him for a spar himself.
Naruto, of course, had no idea. Influenced by the original story, he naturally thought Might Guy was just a hot-blooded idiot.
There was nothing more romantic for a man than trading punches, and even someone like Naruto enjoyed taijutsu fights. On top of that, he couldn't get hurt, so pain only fueled his adrenaline.
Seeing Rock Lee go all out, Naruto was getting excited too.
"I'm going to get serious." Naruto's lips curled upward.
Neji activated his Byakugan. Although he usually spoke harshly to Naruto and looked down on his abilities, he didn't really think that way.
Body Flicker Technique
Naruto vanished. Four or five afterimages appeared around the arena—not Shadow Clones, but simply afterimages created by his incredible speed.
"So fast!" Neji was shocked. Even he wouldn't be able to block that kind of speed.
"Is that... Body Flicker Shisui?" No one who had made a name for themselves in the Ninja World could be underestimated. Might Guy had seen Body Flicker Shisui's speed before and had even crossed fists with him. Seeing Naruto like this, he couldn't help thinking of the prodigy known as Body Flicker Shisui.
Naruto appeared to Rock Lee's left and threw a punch.
Lee's eyes couldn't keep up, but his arm rose instinctively to block Naruto's fist.
"Lee, your speed is decent, but you need to work on your strength." By the time Naruto finished speaking, Lee had already been sent flying.
"As expected of Naruto-kun. Now it's my turn."
Eight Inner Gates: First Gate, open!
Second Gate, open!
Third Gate, open!
Lee opened three gates, and his aura became just like a Super Saiyan's.
"That aura is seriously cool." Naruto watched with envy, but he had no intention of learning the Eight Inner Gates.
The Eight Inner Gates were powerful as a purely physical fighting style, but for most people, they had a weakness that wasn't quite a weakness.
After opening the Eight Inner Gates, the chakra inside the body became too volatile to form Hand Seals and use ninjutsu. In other words, while the gates were open, it was impossible to control chakra to use ninjutsu; the user could only attack with taijutsu.
The techniques Might Guy later created to complement the Eight Inner Gates all used his own speed and strength to generate friction against the air.
So whether then or now, the Eight Inner Gates were never something Naruto considered learning.
Compared to the Eight Inner Gates, Naruto preferred the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Konoha Great Whirlwind! Lee vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, he was already to Naruto's left.
Naruto had seen it coming and raised his left arm to block.
A loud crash rang out, and Naruto staggered back three steps.
"How could he block that so easily? With just one hand?" Neji furrowed his brow. Even he wouldn't be able to block Lee's attack so effortlessly, let alone with one hand and only a few steps backward.
He often sparred with Lee, so he knew just how powerful Lee was in this state.
"Neji, don't underestimate Naruto. And have you noticed? No matter how Lee attacks, Naruto blocks ahead of time." Guy watched Naruto with a grave expression.
The two exchanged blows back and forth. Although Lee seemed to have the upper hand, none of his attacks posed the slightest threat to Naruto. Naruto blocked them all with one hand.
Fourth Gate, open!
Fifth Gate, open!
Lee could sense how strong Naruto was. He didn't hesitate and opened the fifth gate, growing even faster and more imposing.
"How is he blocking in advance? How does he do it?" Neji frowned in confusion.
"He's probably using a sensory technique to predict Lee's movements from his chakra. I just didn't expect Naruto, without a Sharingan, to be able to use sensory techniques to this extent." Might Guy saw through Naruto's moves in an instant.
He often sparred with Kakashi, so he was familiar with this style of fighting. Kakashi could observe the flow of chakra inside his opponent's body and form Hand Seals ahead of time to copy their ninjutsu. He could also anticipate physical attacks and defend against them.
He just hadn't expected Naruto to be able to do something like this at such a young age.
"So you can do that too?" Neji was stunned. He hadn't realized this was possible. Could he do it too, since he had the Byakugan?
Hinata also took a few curious steps closer, listening to what Teacher Guy had to say.
"Of course. If you train and observe carefully, you can use the Byakugan to do what Naruto is doing." Might Guy grinned as he explained.
As Naruto fought Lee, he couldn't help shaking out his left hand. Lee's attacks were getting stronger and stronger.
But Naruto was only getting more excited.
"Lee, watch out. I'm going to use a taijutsu technique I came up with myself." Riding the excitement, Naruto decided to reveal a little of his strength.
At that, both Lee in the arena and the others watching were shocked.
Shave! Naruto vanished in an instant, moving even faster. When he reappeared, he was above Lee.
"What does he mean by that? Isn't he just making himself a sitting duck?" Neji was confused. There were only a handful of ninja who could move around in the air. To him, jumping into the air was like turning yourself into a sitting duck.
"Just watch." Might Guy was thrilled.
Tempest Kick Rainstorm!
Naruto's legs blurred as countless blades of wind hurtled toward Lee.
"Lee, get out of the way!" Might Guy's expression changed when he saw this.
Lee had been about to block, but at his teacher's warning, he dodged without hesitation.
The blades of wind struck the ground, leaving it pockmarked in an instant.
"Nintaijutsu," Might Guy explained.
Hinata and Neji immediately understood. When it came to Nintaijutsu, one person came to mind: the Fourth Raikage. Unlike ordinary taijutsu, Nintaijutsu could enhance the power of physical attacks while also offering the convenience of ninjutsu without the need for Hand Seals.
This was the result of Naruto Uzumaki's research. With so many ideas and his Shadow Clones, he could experiment bit by bit. In One Piece, this move used advanced taijutsu techniques to kick the air and create slashing attacks. But in this world, even with Naruto's current strength, it was difficult for him to produce a vacuum with a kick.
But every world had its own characteristics. Here, all Naruto had to do was gather chakra in his legs and release it in a kick, changing the chakra's nature at the moment of impact. That allowed him to achieve what he'd just done.