Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
Gazing at the towering peaks ahead, their summits hidden among the clouds, Kakashi and Guy stood still for a long while before following their Cloud Ninja guides into the shinobi village perched high in the mountains.
Unlike Kakashi, Guy was visiting Kumogakure on the northeastern frontier for the first time.
The slightly thin air flushed his face, but the Cloud Ninja exercising around him set his blood boiling. He could barely resist joining them and shouting about the fiery passion of youth.
Kakashi rolled his eyes at the unusually excited Guy beside him, looking rather helpless.
In a sense, Kumogakure suited Guy better than their own village. Although its ninja also practiced Lightning Release Ninjutsu, they placed greater emphasis on combining ninjutsu with taijutsu, and taijutsu happened to be Guy's greatest strength.
Even after learning Lightning Release Mode, Kakashi was no match for Guy in taijutsu, to say nothing of Guy's mastery of the Eight Gates.
Once he opened the Seventh Gate, that hot-blooded fool Guy had strength on par with the Five Kage.
That was also why the two of them had been sent to deliver the letter and meet the Fourth Raikage.
Before long, their Cloud Ninja guides led Kakashi and Guy to a training ground in Kumogakure, where they met the Fourth Raikage and the jonin accompanying him, including Darui, Mabui, and C.
Mabui was the secretary of the Raikage's Office, while Darui and C were the Fourth Raikage's personal guards.
At that moment, Darui was sparring with the Fourth Raikage, and thunderous booms like sonic blasts rang through the air.
These were not the sounds of clashing ninjutsu, but of taijutsu alone. Apart from Killer B, Darui was the only person in all of Kumogakure who could spar with the Fourth Raikage