Hyuga Hizashi leaned weakly against the tree. Without anyone to support him, he couldn't even stand, so he had no choice but to sit under the tree, watching the battle between Guy and Darui. No, to be precise, it was the battle between Guy and the more than ten elite Cloud Village ninjas led by Darui.
These Cloud ninjas weren't all jonin.
If you relaxed the standards a bit and compared them to villages like Hot Springs or Frost, their strength would be enough to earn them the title of jonin. But in the Hidden Cloud Village, they were caught in the middle, not quite jonin, known as "Special Jonin."
Originally, the ninja ranks only had three levels: jonin, chunin, and genin. The Hokage was technically still a jonin, but with the additional title of village leader. The rank of Special Jonin didn't exist initially; it was later created as a new rank.
As for who created it?
Such an innovative concept could only have come from the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Just like the ANBU and the Ninja Academy, the four major ninja villages copied Tobirama's ideas, spreading the Special Jonin rank just as quickly as the ANBU structure.
A Special Jonin refers to a ninja whose strength is between chunin and jonin. They are much stronger than regular chunin, but their overall power still falls short of true jonin. They might only excel in specific skills at the jonin level.
These Cloud ninjas had mastered certain jutsu to the jonin level.
Under Darui's command, they indeed caused Guy a bit of trouble. But just a bit. Guy's strength surpassed Darui's expectations and also shocked Hyuga Hizashi. After all, Might Duy once fought and crippled the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, but that came at the cost of decades of grueling training and his life.
Five years ago, during the Third Ninja War, Guy was still just a genin. In Hizashi's mind, it would take Guy another ten or twenty years to reach his father's level. But now, the reality before him made Hizashi doubt his assumptions.
"Eight Gates: Sixth Gate, open!"
Guy's beast-like intuition sensed an attack coming from behind, and he made an unexpected choice.
He opened the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates.
The speed from the Fifth Gate wasn't enough!
Darui was fast, and just moving at Fifth Gate speed wasn't enough to suppress him.
So, Guy chose to open the Sixth Gate.
The mere shockwave generated by opening the Sixth Gate caused Darui's thrust toward Guy's back to hesitate for a split second, giving Darui an immediate sense of foreboding. Sure enough, his kunai missed its target—Guy had disappeared from his sight.
Darui's face grew serious.
Having missed his strike, Darui didn't hesitate to retreat. In that instant, a fierce wind swept behind him, and though he barely dodged the direct punch, the mere graze on his back sent waves of pain through him. If he had been slower, his spine might have been shattered.
But while Darui could dodge Guy's counterattack, his subordinates weren't so lucky.
Konoha Bad Rock Ascension!
Guy's elbow strike, powerful enough to shatter large rocks, landed heavily on one of the Cloud ninjas. The sound of bones breaking echoed as the ninja flew like a ragdoll, spewing blood mid-air before falling lifeless to the ground.
"That's the first one."
Guy whispered softly, then charged toward the next target.
In the Sixth Gate state, Guy's body was surrounded by a visible green energy. Just moving at high speed created shockwaves, tearing up the ground. His speed and power were overwhelming for these Special Jonin.
In just five or six seconds, Guy had already counted to "four."
Darui could barely keep up with Guy's speed, let alone stop him from picking off his subordinates one by one. Seeing his men fall repeatedly fueled Darui's growing rage. Despite his typically laid-back nature, he couldn't stop the burning anger within him, boiling like lava.
At just under seventeen years old, Darui couldn't yet remain indifferent to sacrificing his subordinates' lives to wear down the enemy's chakra and stamina.
The fiery impulsiveness of youth was hard to avoid.
"I'm not the only one with a weakness. Let's see what you'll do." Darui gave up on chasing Guy, his eyes filled with killing intent as he turned toward the wounded Hizashi sitting under the tree.
Ignoring his pain, Darui quickly formed hand signs.
Storm Release: Laser Circus!
The technique's name was difficult to pronounce, but its power was undeniable. A white circular energy form appeared in Darui's hands, from which countless lasers shot out, all aimed at the immobilized Hizashi. Fresh chapters posted on novel~fire~net
Hizashi watched the blinding lasers fill his vision and closed his eyes.
But instead of feeling the pain of being pierced, Hizashi felt like he was flying. Opening his eyes, he found himself hoisted onto Guy's back, being carried at high speed through the forest. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Guy came to a sudden halt. Lasers curved from above, narrowly missing them and burning a circular hole in the branches.
Hizashi's face twitched as he looked at the hole.
If Guy had been a bit slower, that hole would be in both of them.
"Storm Release lasers can curve and change direction," Hizashi explained to the puzzled Guy. "Guy, put me down! Storm Release has a wide attack range and incredible speed. You won't be able to last much longer carrying me, and your Eight Gates can't—"
But before he could finish,
The ground began to shake.
Even Hizashi, carried on Guy's back, could feel the tremors. At the same time, he noticed an enormous chakra presence glowing in the distance, as bright as the moon against the night sky. His gaze locked onto the figure of the Two-Tailed Beast, shrouded in blue flames.
Hizashi gasped in shock.
Before he could feel despair, another giant figure rose. A green Susanoo stood tall in the forest, clad in tengu armor, wielding a massive spiral sword, confronting the two-tailed beast.
"Th-this... Susanoo?"
Hizashi's eyes widened, his head spinning, overwhelmed with confusion..