Forcing Open the Eight Gates

Fifty meters.

Lie Yang stopped.

That faint, almost imperceptible sensation of being watched had now locked onto him completely from afar.

Two presences lay directly ahead.

One person stood to his left, and another behind him.

Farther away, several more chakra signatures had been deliberately suppressed.

These were not ordinary pursuers.

They did not rush to attack. Instead, they slowly tightened the encirclement, waiting for him to expose an opening.

Lie Yang did not look for a way out.

He stood among the trees, his right hand hanging naturally at his waist as sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell across him.

"Since you're here, make your move."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly through the forest.

Kurenai Yuhi, hidden behind a tree, caught her breath.

"He really has us pinned down."

Veins bulged around Hinata Yota's temples as his Byakugan vision locked tightly onto Lie Yang.

"No Shadow Clone Technique."

"No chakra underground either."

"Confirmed. It's the real body."

Kakashi did not respond.

His Sharingan stared at Lie Yang's right shoulder, waist, abdomen, and legs, missing not the slightest movement.

The next instant, Kakashi violently swung his right hand.

Buzz!

A giant shuriken tore through the leaves, spinning forward with a heavy howl through the air.

Lie Yang did not move his feet.

Halfway through its flight, white smoke suddenly burst from the surface of the giant shuriken.

"Shadow Shuriken Technique!"

One became four!

The four giant shuriken crisscrossed above and below, locking onto Lie Yang's head, chest, waist, abdomen, and legs.

Within the shadow of the uppermost shuriken, a second glint of cold light lay hidden!

Four in plain sight.

One in the shadows.

The five blades concealed one another, sealing off every possible direction of escape.

Hinata Yota warned in a low voice, "He's going to form hand seals!"

Lie Yang raised his left hand.

His fingers moved so fast they left only afterimages.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

Rumble!

The ground shook repeatedly.

Four thick stone pillars burst from the earth, their angles perfectly precise.

The first stone pillar slammed into the lowest giant shuriken. The hard rock was cut nearly in half by the blade, but the shuriken's trajectory was forced upward as well.

The second pillar struck the center of another shuriken from the side.

Clang!

The giant shuriken shuddered violently and flew sideways to the left.

The remaining two stone pillars rose in a crossing pattern, precisely wedging themselves between the two shuriken.

One was knocked toward the treetops.

The other spun past Lie Yang's shoulder, cutting down several trees behind him.

The final shuriken hidden in the shadows was forced into the open as well, streaking past the edge of a stone pillar at high speed.

The attack, which had originally left no gaps at all, was forcibly torn open by four stone pillars!

Kakashi's pupils contracted slightly.

Earth Rising Spears was normally used to pierce enemies from below.

Yet Lie Yang had turned it into the most precise defensive ninjutsu.

Four stone pillars.

Four angles.

Not only had they knocked away the giant shuriken, they had also caused every attack to interfere with the others.

That speed of judgment had already surpassed the ordinary insight granted by the Sharingan!

"He's breaking through!"

Before Hinata Yota could finish speaking, blue-white lightning exploded beneath Lie Yang's feet.

Crackle!

Lie Yang became a streak of lightning, instantly passing through the gap between the stone pillars.

At the same time, his right hand gripped the hilt of his blade.

He drew it!

Cold light poured from the sheath.

His target was neither Kurenai Yuhi nor Hinata Yota.

It was Kakashi, who had just thrown the giant shuriken!

The three tomoe in Kakashi's left eye spun madly.

He saw it.

Lie Yang within the lightning was adjusting his center of gravity.

Before his foot even touched the ground, his waist and abdomen had already begun to twist.

The blade would slash diagonally upward from the lower right, cutting through his left ribs before piercing straight through his heart!

Kakashi saw everything clearly.

But his body could not keep up!

"Kakashi!"

A furious roar came from overhead.

Might Guy leaped down from the treetops.

His green figure spun rapidly through the air, his right leg carrying crushing wind pressure as it smashed head-on toward the advancing streak of lightning.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Lie Yang looked up.

But Kakashi's expression suddenly changed.

Something was wrong!

Guy should not have intercepted from above!

Lie Yang had used Earth Rising Spears to knock the shuriken off course. It looked as though he had broken the attack, but those shuriken had not disappeared completely.

The four giant shuriken knocked aside by the stone pillars were still spinning at high speed!

After changing direction, two of them had already gone around Lie Yang and were flying toward Kurenai Yuhi and Hinata Yota behind him!

The shuriken hidden in the shadows was skimming close to the ground, circling behind Hinata Yota from beneath the Byakugan's field of vision.

Guy had originally been stationed high up, where he could see every trajectory.

But in order to intercept Lie Yang, he had abandoned his position!

"Yuhi! Yota!"

Kakashi shouted hoarsely, "Behind you!"

Might Guy had no time to retract his leg.

Lie Yang held his ninja blade horizontally before him.

Clang!

His shin collided head-on with the blade.

Violent force blasted the air away, sending dead leaves on the ground exploding in every direction.

Might Guy's pupils shrank.

The blade had not cut into his leg.

At the instant before impact, Lie Yang had adjusted the blade, using its flat side to receive the kick.

But then a sharp vibration erupted from the point of contact.

Buzz!

The ninja blade vibrated at a frequency too fast for the naked eye to discern.

That was not ninjutsu.

It was simply Lie Yang's ultimate control over his muscles, wrist, and blade!

The blade slid along the shin guard on Might Guy's lower leg.

Crack!

The metal buckles securing the weights snapped apart at once.

Two heavy weights fell from his lower legs and crashed toward the ground.

Boom! Boom!

Two deep craters were blasted directly into the earth.

Might Guy used the force to flip and land. Looking at the broken buckles, unconcealed shock appeared on his face for the first time.

"With just one clash, he cut apart the weight restraints?"

Lie Yang tapped the ground with his toes, his ninja blade thrusting toward Might Guy's throat.

"Getting distracted in battle will get you killed."

Might Guy tilted his head aside, then drove his fist heavily toward Lie Yang's chest.

Lie Yang raised his left hand and precisely seized his wrist.

Might Guy immediately changed his fist into an elbow strike.

But Lie Yang seemed to have been waiting for that move. He shifted half a step sideways, and the hilt of his blade struck upward into Guy's armpit.

Bang!

Might Guy's right arm instantly went numb.

The two moved faster and faster.

Fists, elbows, knees, legs, and blades collided repeatedly within a cramped space.

Kurenai Yuhi could not even make out the full sequence. She could only see two figures constantly crossing paths, the clang of metal and dull impacts merging into one continuous barrage.

"Guy is being suppressed?"

Hinata Yota saw more clearly, cold sweat constantly seeping from his forehead.

It was not a difference in strength.

At least, not yet.

What was truly terrifying was that every time Lie Yang attacked, he moved before Might Guy could complete his exertion.

The moment Guy raised his shoulder, Lie Yang had already judged the path of his punch.

The moment Guy turned his hips, Lie Yang's blade had already sealed off the kick in advance.

Even if Guy changed moves at the last moment, Lie Yang could instantly adjust his center of gravity and counterattack with a shorter motion.

"This isn't ordinary swordsmanship."

"He's seen through all of Guy's movements!"

Might Guy felt the pressure as well.

In his normal state, he could not break through Lie Yang's blade.

If this continued, his defenses would only be cut apart bit by bit.

He no longer hesitated and clenched both fists.

"Gate of Healing, open!"