The Pure Land, at a relatively "quiet" edge of the battlefield.
The ground here was elevated, seemingly part of a mountain. Its pitted surface was strewn with broken kunai, shattered puppet parts, and several enemy corpses slowly dissolving into motes of light.
The lingering heat of Morning Peacock and the faint dust left by Daytime Tiger still hung in the air.
Might Guy and his father, Might Duy-the father and son whose creed was to burn their youth and lives in pursuit of taijutsu-had just joined forces to crush a wave of powerful attackers with overwhelming speed.
Guy's breathing had barely steadied, but his eyes, sharp as a wild beast's, remained vigilant as he scanned the vast, chaotic Life-and-Death Shogi battlefield.
He saw the distant region where heaven and earth seemed to be collapsing.
Hashirama Senju's thousand-armed Wood Buddha and Madara Uchiha's wood-armored Susanoo stood like two gods of creation. Every collision threatened to tear the Pure Land itself apart.
That was a level of power he could scarcely reach, yet it set his blood boiling.
Elsewhere, he saw the blond, red-eyed young man Orochimaru had created, named Taichi, seemingly defeated by Asura, while Uchiha Hikari was locked in a desperate battle, her situation dire.
He also saw more scattered battlefields, where Konoha's ninja, both dead and living, were surrounded by the deceased Kage of various shinobi villages and their elite forces, likewise summoned to fight on the Pure Land's side.
Those were all comrades he cherished, fighting bloody battles and struggling to hold on!
Hot blood surged through Guy's chest. Responsibility and the desire to protect burned in his heart like flames.
He turned toward the man beside him, tall and likewise wreathed in blue steam, whose face always carried a passionate, encouraging smile.
His father, Might Duy.
Guy's