The Eye Forced to Evolve

Boom!

Chakra erupted from within his body.

Might Guy's skin rapidly turned red, and his aura surged in an instant.

Second Gate!

Both his speed and strength rose at once, and the ground beneath his feet exploded.

He threw a punch, producing a dull boom in the air.

Lie Yang raised his sword to block.

Clang!

The blade bent violently.

Lie Yang slid several meters backward, his feet carving two deep furrows into the ground.

Might Guy gave him no chance to pause. He rushed forward low to the ground, sweeping his right leg at Lie Yang's waist.

But Kakashi was not watching the battle in front of him.

Three shuriken had already closed in on Hinata Yota and Kurenai Yuhi!

Kurenai Yuhi had just turned around when the spinning blades reached her.

"Kurenai, duck!"

Lightning flared fiercely in Kakashi's right hand.

The blinding current instantly lit up the forest.

"Lightning Cutter!"

He charged out without hesitation.

Lightning pierced through the first giant shuriken.

Boom!

Steel fragments blasted outward in every direction.

Kakashi forcibly twisted his body, sweeping Lightning Cutter across the second shuriken.

Amid an earsplitting scrape, the giant shuriken was split apart down the middle.

But the final shuriken, concealed low to the ground, had already circled behind Hinata Yota!

Chakra erupted beneath Kakashi's feet once more.

"Too late!"

Hinata Yota spun around sharply.

Yet Kakashi was already in front of him, Lightning Cutter striking the final shuriken head-on.

Boom!

A thunderous blast erupted.

The blade shattered.

The immense recoil also threw Kakashi off balance, sending him crashing forward.

His Lightning Cutter had yet to dissipate.

His right hand was aimed directly at Hinata Yota's chest!

"Yota, move!"

But they were too close.

If Hinata Yota dodged, the out-of-control Kakashi would charge directly into the battle between Lie Yang and Might Guy.

With Lie Yang's speed, that opening would be fatal!

Hinata Yota gritted his teeth, his Byakugan locking onto the flow of chakra in Kakashi's back.

He did not dodge.

His right palm shot out.

"Gentle Fist!"

His palm struck Kakashi's back.

It did not target his chakra points.

Instead, it redirected the force sideways along the direction of Kakashi's charge!

Kakashi's body was forcibly shoved aside. Lightning Cutter grazed past Hinata Yota's shoulder, tearing a long, narrow trench through the ground.

"Yota!"

Kurenai Yuhi had just regained her footing when her face turned deathly pale.

To save Kakashi, Hinata Yota had completely exposed himself before Lie Yang.

Lie Yang blocked Might Guy's kick head-on, using the force of the collision to slide backward.

And the direction in which he retreated happened to be where Hinata Yota stood!

Hinata Yota's Byakugan caught the blade.

He also saw Lie Yang's wrist turn.

But his palm had only just struck Kakashi, and his center of gravity had not yet recovered.

There was no time for Rotation.

Even less time to dodge.

Lie Yang swept past him.

A flash of steel.

Splat!

Hinata Yota's head flew into the air.

His headless body took half a step forward before blood burst from his severed neck.

"Yota!"

Kurenai Yuhi's voice changed completely.

Kakashi fell to his knees, his Sharingan fixed on the falling head.

Hinata Yota had deliberately stood there to save him.

If he had not redirected the impact for him, Yota would not have been exposed.

If Kakashi had not insisted on destroying the shuriken, he would not have lost his balance.

From the moment Guy left the treetop, the entire ambush had spiraled out of control!

"Lie Yang!"

Might Guy let out a furious roar.

Chakra erupted from within him once again.

"Gate of Life, open!"

Boom!

The Third Gate opened!

Even greater power surged through his meridians. The air around Might Guy churned wildly, and his skin turned completely red.

He shattered the ground with one step and shot toward Lie Yang like a cannonball.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"

His right leg swept out.

The violent wind from the kick crushed through the forest first.

Nearby grass and trees were ripped apart at the waist. Great stretches of ground cracked open, and stones were pulverized by the wind pressure before they could even fly up.

Kurenai Yuhi stopped breathing.

If that kick landed on a person, it would be enough to smash every bone and internal organ on the spot!

Lie Yang did not retreat.

He put away his ninja sword and raised his left arm before him.

Bang!

Might Guy's shin slammed heavily into Lie Yang's arm.

The muffled impact sounded like a massive boulder shattering.

The ground beneath Lie Yang's feet caved in with a boom.

Cracks spread madly outward from beneath his legs.

Yet his body did not retreat even half a step.

Might Guy stared hard at Lie Yang.

"Impossible!"

The Leaf Great Whirlwind in the Third Gate state had actually been blocked head-on by a single arm!

Lie Yang's five fingers clamped around Might Guy's lower leg, and the muscles in his arm flexed instantly.

"Not bad strength."

"Terrible control."

Might Guy suddenly lost his balance.

Lie Yang twisted at the waist, turned his arm, and swung his entire body toward the ground.

Might Guy braced himself with both hands in time, forcibly flipping his body around as his other leg kicked straight at Lie Yang's jaw.

Lie Yang tilted his head aside to avoid it.

His elbow drove downward, striking the back of Might Guy's knee.

Might Guy's assault faltered.

Lie Yang's fist had already landed on his chest.

Bang!

Might Guy flew backward, crashing through a large tree. After landing, he rolled several more times.

"Guy!"

Kakashi was just about to move in to help when Lie Yang turned to look at him.

The three tomoe in his scarlet pupils suddenly stretched.

Black markings extended and intertwined, forming three distinct wheat-awn-like patterns.

Mangekyō Sharingan!

Kakashi's body froze.

With a single exchange of gazes, his consciousness was forcibly dragged into boundless darkness.

Countless black whirlpools surged in from every direction, tearing at his mind.

Kakashi tried to disrupt his chakra.

It was useless!

That ocular power pressed directly into the depths of his mind, giving him no chance to dispel the genjutsu.

"Release!"

Kurenai Yuhi rushed to Kakashi's side and pressed a palm to his shoulder, pouring her own chakra into his body.

But blood suddenly flowed from Kakashi's left eye.

The three tomoe spun madly.

The ocular power slumbering deep within that eye began to run wild under the pressure of Lie Yang's genjutsu!

The black tomoe gradually stretched, faintly warping toward a new form.

Lie Yang paused for half a moment as he watched.

His fate had shifted.

He had crushed Kakashi's mind with a Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu to completely strip him of his fighting ability.

Yet under the pressure of life and death, Kakashi's Sharingan, which had come from Uchiha Obito, had actually touched the threshold of the Mangekyō Sharingan ahead of time.

"So I became your whetstone."

Kakashi could not hear those words.

His consciousness had already sunk completely into the whirlpools.

Kurenai Yuhi disrupted his chakra several times in succession, but she still could not wake him.

"Kakashi!"

Might Guy charged out from between the shattered trees.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth, and only fury remained in his eyes.

The power granted by the Third Gate was driven to its limit as his fist shot straight at Lie Yang's temple.

Lie Yang raised a hand to block it.

Might Guy immediately bent his elbow and drove it downward.

Lie Yang's palm pressed against his arm and pulled outward, causing the elbow strike to graze past his shoulder.

A knee strike followed immediately after.

Lie Yang sealed off the point where he could exert force half a step in advance, blocking it with his shin.

Might Guy shifted his center of gravity and unleashed more than ten consecutive kicks.

Lie Yang stood where he was, raising his arms again and again.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every collision stirred up violent gusts.

But no matter which angle Might Guy attacked from, Lie Yang could seal him off beforehand.

A front kick was pressed down by an elbow.

A side kick was knocked aside by a shoulder.

A sweeping kick was intercepted by a knee.

Might Guy's speed had already surpassed the limits of an ordinary jonin's vision, yet Lie Yang's reactions remained a step faster than his.

"Faster!"

Might Guy roared and threw a punch.

Lie Yang sidestepped, clamped five fingers around his wrist, and twisted hard with the momentum of the punch.

Crack!

The muscles in Might Guy's arm tore on the spot.

Blood quickly soaked the bandages red.

He did not retreat. His other fist continued forward.

Lie Yang slapped the side of the fist, redirecting its force into empty air, then drove his shoulder heavily into Might Guy's chest.

Bang!

Might Guy's chest tightened, and he staggered backward.

Lie Yang did not pursue.

"Your taijutsu is good."

"But anger makes your movements more obvious."

Might Guy gritted his teeth and charged again.

"Shut up!"

Lie Yang raised a hand to block the punch, his gaze passing over him to Kakashi, who was kneeling on the ground.

Blood was still flowing from Kakashi's left eye.

His body twitched from time to time.

Kurenai Yuhi's skill in genjutsu was unable to shake the Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power. She could only barely keep his mind from being torn apart further.

Lie Yang spoke calmly. "If this continues, Kakashi will die."

Might Guy's fist paused for the briefest instant.

"What did you say?"

"His mental sea has already been eroded by the genjutsu."

Lie Yang dodged the kick and sent Might Guy flying back with a palm strike.

"Take him back to Konoha now, and he might still survive."

"Delay any longer, and he'll suffer complete mental death."

Might Guy turned to look at Kakashi.

In that instant, Lie Yang had already seized his arm and slammed him hard into the ground.

Boom!

The ground caved in.

Might Guy flipped back to his feet, but his assault became even more violent than before.

Every punch and every kick frantically squeezed out the power of the Third Gate.

"Release the genjutsu!"

"Beat me."

"Then I'll let you release it!"

Might Guy shattered the ground beneath his feet and hurled a heavy punch at Lie Yang's face.

Lie Yang tilted his head aside and avoided it.

The force of the punch tore apart the tree trunk behind him.

The second punch followed immediately.

Lie Yang raised an arm to block it, using the force to slide several meters backward.

Might Guy continued his pursuit.

But Lie Yang suddenly stopped clashing with him head-on.

Lightning flashed beneath his feet, and his figure vanished before Might Guy's fist. In the next instant, he had leaped high into the forest canopy.