Vajra Whirlwind Leg! Kick Him to Death!!

"Whoosh—"

The light of the signal flare was still burning overhead.

Guy had already dashed twenty meters ahead.

The forest blurred past on both sides, the dry branches underfoot snapping and crackling with every step.

Genma and Ebisu were struggling with all their might to keep up behind him, but the distance between them only grew wider.

"Guy! Wait—"

Ebisu's voice was shredded by the wind.

Guy did not wait.

His mind was fixated on only one location.

Team 7.

The very edge.

The furthest point.

The most dangerous.

"Faster! Go faster!"

He roared in his heart.

Yijin Jing circulated frantically within his body, a warm current surging through his limbs.

His speed was already twenty percent faster than usual.

Sounds of combat drifted from ahead.

The clash of metal.

Muffled grunts.

And—

"Uzuki Yugao! Look out!"

Gekko Hayate's voice.

Hoarse, urgent, and clearly gasping for air.

Guy burst out of the forest.

Before him lay a clearing.

In the clearing, three figures were locked in a struggle.

Two small, one large.

Gekko Hayate gripped his Kunai, covered in blood, his footsteps staggering, yet he continued to lunge forward.

Uzuki Yugao stood to his rear, holding a short blade notched with gaps, her hair disheveled, blood streaking her face.

Opposite them stood a man with a Scarface.

He was in his forties, his face fleshy and cruel, the scar running diagonally from his left eyebrow to his chin looking hideous and terrifying in the firelight.

In his hand was a large machete, the blade longer than an adult's arm.

Most crucially.

His right hand glowed with an earthy yellow light.

An Earth Style ninja!

Not some ordinary bandit!

The man swung his blade down; Gekko Hayate couldn't dodge in time and could only block with his Kunai.

"Clang—"

The Kunai was knocked from his hand.

Gekko Hayate flew backward, slammed into the ground, and rolled twice.

"Gekko Hayate!"

Uzuki Yugao rushed forward, thrusting her short blade at the man's back.

The man didn't even turn his head, merely swinging his left hand backward.

Bang!

Uzuki Yugao was swatted away, crashing into a tree before sliding down, clutching her chest and coughing up blood.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Gekko Hayate propped himself up, his coughing sounds piercingly clear in the night.

But he could not stand steady.

His legs were shaking.

His chakra was bottoming out.

Guy's eyes swept across the clearing and landed on a third person lying on the ground.

That child whose name he couldn't recall.

He was lying in a pool of blood, face down, motionless.

There was a long gash across his back, the flesh torn open.

His breaths were shallow and ragged.

Blood was still seeping out.

Guy's pupils constricted sharply.

He knew that child.

He usually sat in the back row, in the corner, and never spoke.

What was his name again...

What was his name!

He couldn't remember!

But he was a classmate who attended lessons together!

He was a comrade!

Scarface held his blade, looked at Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, and grinned.

"You two brats are quite resilient."

He took a step forward.

"Too bad, resilience is useless."

Blood dripped from his blade.

"I am a missing-nin Chunin from Iwagakure. I've been hiding in this godforsaken place for three years, just waiting for the heat to die down so I can go back."

He raised his right hand, and the earthy yellow glow grew brighter.

"Today is just your bad luck."

Uzuki Yugao gritted her teeth, trying to stand up.

Her legs were weak.

Gekko Hayate leaned against a tree trunk, trying to block her path.

But he couldn't even stand straight.

The man looked at them as if they were two dying ants.

"Don't worry, I'll send you both off together."

He raised his cleaver.

Just then.

"Stop!!"

A roar exploded from the edge of the woods.

Guy charged out.

Scarface turned his head and saw a small green figure sprinting toward him.

He was stunned for a moment.

Another brat?

Then he smiled with disdain.

"Another one here to die."

He waved his right hand, and the earthy yellow glow shot out from his palm.

"Earth Style: Earth Spike!"

The light condensed into three sharp stone spikes, shooting toward Guy.

Guy sidestepped, dodging the first one.

He ducked, dodging the second.

The third grazed his shoulder, tearing away a piece of his clothing.

But he didn't stop.

He kept charging.

The man's expression shifted.

He had some skill.

He had no time to tangle with these brats.

He turned his head to glance behind him.

That was the escape route he had prepared.

As long as he shook off these two clingy brats, he could dive into the forest and vanish without a trace.

Yet these two brats were sticking to him like gum.

A fierce glint flashed in the eyes of Scarface.

He gathered light in his right hand once more, but not aimed at Guy.

Instead, it was aimed at the child lying on the ground.

That piece of trash who was breathing more air out than in.

Kill this one, and the remaining two would surely panic.

Once they panicked, he could make his escape.

The earthy-yellow glow on his right hand grew brighter and brighter.

Gekko Hayate widened his eyes.

"No!!"

Uzuki Yugao braced herself against a tree trunk to stand, wanting to rush over.

But she was too far away.

Her legs were weak, too.

It was simply too late.

The man known as Scarface grinned.

"Earth Style: Earth Spike—"

Guy also widened his eyes.

In that instant, time seemed to slow down.

He saw the child on the ground.

Lying in a pool of blood, motionless.

He saw the despair on the faces of Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao.

He saw those three earthen spears take shape, aimed at the child's back.

He saw the child's finger twitch.

Still alive.

Still alive!!

A buzz echoed in Guy's mind.

Everything else was gone.

No Yijin Jing, no rhythm, no gradual progression.

All gone.

Only one thought remained.

That child must not die!

In this moment, Guy did two things.

The first.

Man's Heaviness.

Automatic weight adjustment 0-10000 jin.

The numbers currently displayed were three hundred each.

A total of six hundred jin, weighing him down for months.

At this moment.

Reset to zero!

"Click."

A very faint sound.

Guy's entire body surged upward.

That was the sensation of six hundred jin suddenly vanishing.

Light.

Too light.

So light he felt as if he were about to float away.

But Guy did not get carried away.

He took a deep breath.

Dai's words flashed through his mind.

"The Eight Inner Gates is a forbidden technique."

"Space Gate, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, Gate of Death."

"Guy, unless it is an absolute last resort—"

Now was the absolute last resort!

He raised his hand.

He clenched his fist.

"Eight Inner Gates—"

"Third gate, Gate of Life! Open!"

There was no transition.

There was no wind-up.

He went straight to the limit of the third gate!

"Bang!"

A shockwave exploded outward.

Guy's skin turned crimson in an instant.

Veins bulged from his forehead.

Dai had said that the fourth gate, the Gate of Pain, was the watershed.

It would unleash true power, but it would also damage the body.

But—

Guy looked at the three earth spears that had already been launched.

He looked at them flying toward that child.

He looked at the desperate eyes of Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao.

"Fourth gate—"

"Gate of Pain!! Open!!!"

Bang!!!

The shockwave exploded, ten times stronger than the previous two.

The fallen leaves around him were blown away, the turf was ripped up, and gravel sprayed outward like bullets.

Green steam began to rise from Guy's body.

It was faint.

But it was undeniably there.

He vanished.

No.

He didn't vanish.

He was just too fast.

So fast that not even an afterimage could be seen.

Scarface only felt a blur before his eyes.

A green shadow streaked across the edge of his vision.

The next second.

Bang!

The three earth spears shattered into dust in mid-air.

Scarface froze.

He hadn't seen what happened at all.

He only saw that green figure, who had somehow already appeared in front of the lying child.

He held a kicking stance.

A faint golden light radiated from his right leg.

Vajra Leg!

The golden glow was exceptionally blinding amidst the green steam.

Scarface's pupils contracted violently.

What... what kind of monster is this?!

A child?!

A mere brat?!!

He shattered his earth spear with a single kick?!!

Guy retracted his leg.

He turned around.

He looked at him.

Those eyes were terrifyingly bright.

It was as if two balls of fire were burning within them.

Scarface instinctively took a step back.

But the next second, he regained his composure.

What was there to fear?

How strong could a brat possibly be?

That move just now must have been some secret technique; he couldn't keep it up for long.

He gripped his machete, and a yellowish-brown light condensed once more.

"Brat, you—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

Guy had already charged over.

This time, he was even faster.

Scarface had no time to react at all.

He only saw that green shadow enlarging before his eyes.

And then, a leg.

A leg wreathed in golden light.

And green steam.

A leg!

"Vajra Whirlwind Leg!!!"

BOOM!!!!!!!

A deafening roar shook the entire forest.

The man known as Scarface was sent flying as if he had been struck by a train.

He didn't just fly.

He was launched.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

He smashed through three trees in succession.

The first tree snapped at the waist.

The second tree split down the middle.

The third tree saw him slammed directly into the trunk, embedded half a meter deep.

The large machete flew into the air, spun seven or eight times, and plunged into the ground ten meters away.

The blade was still trembling.

Hum, hum, hum—

Dead silence.

Gekko Hayate stood with his mouth agape, forgetting to cough.

Uzuki Yugao gripped the tree trunk, forgetting to breathe.

Shiranui Genma and Ebisu had just rushed out of the woods and stood at the edge of the clearing, eyes wide, frozen in place.

Everyone stared at that green figure.

Guy stood where he was.

His right leg remained in the kicking position.

The golden light slowly faded away.

Green steam continued to rise from his body.

He slowly retracted his leg.

He stood straight.

He turned his head to glance at the Scarface man embedded in the tree.

He was motionless.

His eyes were wide open, but the light within them had already faded.

Dead.

One move.

Kicked to death!

Guy took a deep breath.

The green steam surrounding his body slowly began to dissipate.

His skin shifted from a deep crimson back to its normal tone.

The bulging veins receded.

He took two steps forward.

His legs suddenly went weak.

He nearly collapsed to the ground.

But he held himself up.

He stood straight.

He turned around.

He looked at Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao.

He grinned.

The movement tugged at the wound on the corner of his mouth, causing him to wince in pain.

Yet, he still gave a thumbs-up.

His teeth flashed.

"It's over."