The Calculated "Half-Beat"

Half a day later, the trees ahead gradually thinned out.

A wide, open plain appeared before them.

The ground was covered only in short grass, with almost nowhere to hide within several hundred meters.

The Shadow Clone Technique took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped.

Lie Yang also rested his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

No one was there.

There were no obvious chakra fluctuations.

Yet from the moment they stepped onto the plain, several gazes had locked onto the two of them.

Those gazes were extremely cautious. They did not linger on either of them for long, instead constantly shifting between the original and the clone.

The Shadow Clone Technique laughed.

"Still trying to determine which one is the original?"

No one answered from the surroundings.

"The Byakugan isn't here, and ordinary sensory ninja can't tell a Shadow Clone Technique apart."

"So that only leaves the Sharingan."

The Shadow Clone Technique looked ahead.

"Shisui, you really came."

Before his words had even faded, a figure charged out from the side.

Boom!

Pale green chakra erupted from Might Guy's body.

His skin swiftly flushed red, the muscles in his legs bulged, and his speed instantly surpassed the limit that ordinary jonin could react to.

The Third Gate!

There was no probing.

No holding back.

The lesson of his previous defeat had made Might Guy completely abandon fighting in his normal state.

"Geki: Konoha Gōriki Senpū!"

His body spun at high speed.

His right leg tore through the air, sweeping toward the Shadow Clone Technique's head with crushing wind pressure!

The Shadow Clone Technique did not dodge.

Bang!

His shin struck the temple head-on.

The head and body exploded at the same time, white smoke instantly blanketing a wide area.

Might Guy's expression changed drastically.

"A Shadow Clone Technique?"

He had attacked with his full strength in the Third Gate, yet what he had kicked was only a Shadow Clone Technique!

Even more troubling was that the clone had clearly seen the attack, yet had neither blocked nor evaded.

"A trap!"

The instant Might Guy landed, he immediately pushed even more chakra through his body.

"Gate of Pain, open!"

Boom!

The Fourth Gate opened.

Even greater power surged through his chakra pathways, and the pale green chakra around Might Guy abruptly swelled.

Just as he was about to rush out of the smoke, his right foot suddenly lost its support.

Thud!

Might Guy slammed to the ground on one knee.

"Guy!"

Kurenai Yuhi, hidden in the shadows, paled.

She had not seen any attack.

The Shadow Clone Technique had already vanished, and Lie Yang himself had not approached.

Yet Guy had suddenly collapsed after opening the Fourth Gate!

"A long-range genjutsu?"

Kurenai Yuhi immediately formed hand seals.

"Don't disrupt his chakra!"

Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, and the three tomoe in his left eye spun rapidly.

"It's not genjutsu."

His gaze fell upon Might Guy's ankle.

Beneath the cover of green chakra, an extremely thin wound was slowly seeping blood.

"Guy's ankle is injured."

"When?"

"The moment he kicked the Shadow Clone Technique."

Kakashi's voice was heavy.

"Lie Yang drew his sword before the Shadow Clone Technique dispersed."

Kurenai Yuhi's breathing caught.

Guy had unleashed a full-force kick in the Third Gate.

The Shadow Clone Technique had not defended itself in order to use its final instant before dispersing to slash his ankle!

That slash had been hidden within the kick, the explosion, and the white smoke.

Even Kakashi had only seen the result.

The smoke had yet to disperse.

A sharp ring of steel suddenly sounded.

Kakashi's pupils shrank.

"Here he comes!"

Wrapped in lightning, Lie Yang burst from the white smoke.

At the same time, the ground split open.

Kakashi's Shadow Clone Technique extended a hand from underground, grabbing for Lie Yang's ankle.

As though he had expected it, Lie Yang raised his right foot before the hand could reach him.

Bang!

The sole of his shoe crushed the underground Shadow Clone Technique's head.

As white smoke burst forth, Lie Yang twisted to the side.

Several kunai skimmed past his ears.

Enduring the agonizing pain in his ankle, Might Guy supported himself on his left leg and drove his right fist upward at Lie Yang's abdomen.

"Leaf Rock-Destroying Rise!"

Lie Yang raised his sword to block.

The edge of the fist struck the side of the blade.

Clang!

The immense force bent the blade.

But Lie Yang slid backward with the impact, pressed his left hand against the back of the blade, and used the force to drive his ninja sword downward.

Might Guy's fist was immediately pulled toward the ground.

He forcibly shifted his center of gravity, but the moment his injured right foot touched down, a tearing pain shot through his ankle.

His movement slowed by half a beat.

In that half-beat, Lie Yang was already upon him.

The hilt slammed into his chest.

Bang!

Might Guy's body curled forward.

Lie Yang immediately raised his knee and smashed it heavily into his abdomen.

Might Guy flew backward, rolling across the ground for more than ten meters.

The wound at his ankle tore completely open.

The tendon that had been mostly severed could no longer hold, and the power brought by the Fourth Gate instantly lost balance.

He could only forcibly close the Gate of Pain and fall back to the Second Gate.

Cold sweat had already seeped into Kurenai Yuhi's palms.

Only a few seconds had passed from Guy's surprise attack to his severe injury.

Kakashi's underground attack, the kunai restraint, and Guy's frontal assault had occurred almost simultaneously.

Yet Lie Yang had evaded the kunai, crushed the Shadow Clone Technique, and still managed to counterattack with borrowed force while blocking Guy's punch.

Every action had been carried out at once.

Not one was unnecessary.

"He's stronger than last time."

Kakashi's Sharingan locked tightly onto Lie Yang.

It was not an increase in strength.

Nor was it merely speed.

What had truly changed was his combat rhythm.

Lie Yang seemed capable of dealing with every threat at the same time.

Who would attack first.

Where the attack would come from.

Whether he should evade or block.

Which opponent he should counterattack to disrupt the team's coordination the fastest.

Every judgment was made in an instant.

Might Guy knelt on one knee, his right foot unable to exert any strength.

He looked up at Lie Yang, his face filled only with shock.

Last time, he had still been able to keep attacking with greater speed and strength.

This time, Lie Yang had predicted his choice from the very first move.

The Shadow Clone Technique had deliberately taken the kick in exchange for his ankle.

The original had then charged through the smoke, luring him into using his injured right foot to support himself again.

Then came the pressure on the blade, the strike with the hilt, and the knee, all in one breath, completely tearing through his tendon.

The taijutsu he had always been proud of seemed to hold no secrets before Lie Yang.

Lie Yang looked at Might Guy.

Brilliant blue currents gradually crawled across the blade.

"What the Sharingan excels at most has never been seeing your movements clearly."

"It's seeing through your next move."

Might Guy gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet with both hands.

Lie Yang continued, "Similar taijutsu patterns might still be useful the first time."

"The second time will only let me see them more clearly."

Lightning continuously danced along the blade.

"The same way of exerting force, the same attacking habits, the same sequence of variations."

"Repeating them before the Mangekyō Sharingan is nothing more than presenting your openings to me over and over again."

Might Guy's breathing grew heavy.

This was the first time he had doubted his own taijutsu.

Years of bitter training.

Countless punches and kicks.

Those movements he had honed until they were almost instinct had instead become the basis for Lie Yang to predict his attacks!

He forced down the agonizing pain in his ankle and took up his stance again.

"Taijutsu isn't fixed and unchanging!"

"As long as my speed is faster and my strength is greater, I can break through your predictions!"

Might Guy shattered the ground beneath his left foot.

The Third Gate opened once more!

Pale green chakra surged into the sky.

His figure shot forward with a roar, his fist carrying violent wind pressure straight at Lie Yang's face.

Lie Yang's ninja sword slashed horizontally.

A flash of brilliant blue blade-light vanished in an instant.

Relying on instinct, Might Guy raised his wrist to block.

Clang!

Blinding sparks erupted between them.

But his fist struck empty air.

Lie Yang's blade had changed direction before the clash, grazing past Might Guy's wrist.

He did not sever his hand.

Nor did he cut open an artery.

There was only a faint sound of metal snapping.

The weight strapped to Might Guy's wrist silently fell away.

Bang!

The heavy weight slammed into the ground.

Before Might Guy could withdraw his fist, a second flash of blade-light had already grazed his forehead.

Flesh split open.

The high heat of Lightning Release instantly cauterized the wound.

A strand of hair drifted slowly down.

The green chakra swirling around Might Guy's body was peeled away layer by layer beneath that azure blade-light.