"Fortieth!"
With a passionate roar, he kicked the Sand Shinobi before him flying. The man's body spun through the air before crumpling onto the ground like a rag.
"I'd heard that young Might Guy had some fierce taijutsu, but I never imagined he was this good!"
Shikaku Nara, who followed behind Guy to handle any ambushes from the surrounding area, clicked his tongue in admiration.
Guy was different from Kakashi. Although they had been the same age during the Third Shinobi World War, Guy hadn't been strong enough to catch the attention of Konoha's higher-ups during the war.
Back then, Guy really had been nothing more than a reasonably capable Genin.
Later, his strength had earned some recognition in the village, and the Hokage had given him an exceptional promotion.
But that promotion had come during peacetime. His true strength hadn't been tested on the battlefield, so the older generation naturally regarded him as just another ordinary Jonin.
They hadn't expected such a dazzling performance.
"...Looks like Sunagakure sent too few people. There aren't even enough for Guy to warm up."
Shikaku Nara, who led the team, smiled. When Lord Jiraiya had recommended making Guy the core of their defensive line, he had still had some reservations.
Reality had proven that Lord Jiraiya truly had an exceptional eye.
Still, he hadn't expected that simply telling Guy, "Kakashi's handling a Kirigakure force of at least a hundred," would make him unstoppable.
"Wh-what kind of monsters does Konoha have?!"
"Stop him! Can nobody stop him?"
"How did they know we were here?!"
The Sand Shinobi hiding in Orochimaru's base very close to Konoha had completely lost their composure. Being trapped at the entrance was bad enough, but this bizarre beast wreathed in blue aura had charged in all alone with such brazen