"Guy…!"
Kakashi's voice trembled with emotion as he gazed at Might Guy, who had just opened the Seventh Gate of the Eight Inner Gates. The blue-green vapor exploding off Guy's body burned with overwhelming intensity, his chakra surging like a blazing firestorm.
The crowd of shinobi watching from all directions gasped, stunned by the sheer magnitude of power emanating from him.
"Teacher Guy...!!" Rock Lee cried out, tears welling up in his eyes as he trembled with admiration.
"That power..." Neji murmured, his Byakugan activating with a pale flash. Through his clairvoyant vision, he could see just how monstrous Guy's chakra had become.
"Oh?"
Up above, Leo narrowed his eyes, once again noticing the change in Might Guy's chakra.
"Only the Seventh Gate?"
He smirked faintly.
"Still not red steam. So… you're holding back? Or is this the limit of what you can open right now?"
Leo's voice was calm—almost amused—as if he hadn't the slightest concern about the storm of chakra that was building up beneath him.
With a casual flick of his wrist, his Susanoo expanded further.
Susanoo—Phase Three.
Towering dozens of meters high, the form now had two legs, two faces, four arms, and radiated with the immense aura that had once brought chaos at the barbecue restaurant. His chakra armor shimmered with a phantom-like flame.
"This should be enough," Leo said, eyes glinting.
He looked down at Guy and spoke softly, almost mockingly:
"Then come—beast of Konoha."
"Daytime Tiger!!" Guy roared, leaping into the sky.
A colossal blast of compressed air formed around his punch, shaped like a roaring white tiger. The beast howled across the battlefield, tearing through the air toward Leo's monstrous Susanoo.
But Leo did not flinch.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
His Susanoo's four arms moved in sync, forming eight glowing chakra spheres—the Yasaka Magatama. With a mental command, four of the spinning projectiles launched toward the incoming Daytime Tiger.
BOOM!!!
The battlefield lit up like a sun exploding. The Magatama and the Daytime Tiger collided with a resounding shockwave that blasted everything around them into chaos.
"Wh-What the hell?!" a Chūnin cried out as he was thrown backward by the blast.
"Lady Tsunade, are you alright?" Shizune sprinted toward her mentor in concern.
"I'm fine, Shizune," Tsunade replied, her expression grim.
"But... the seal on your forehead—did you activate the Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration!?" Shizune gasped.
Sure enough, the diamond-shaped seal on Tsunade's forehead had disappeared. Black chakra lines coursed through her skin—an indication that she had released the stored chakra from the Byakugō Seal, triggering the ultimate medical ninjutsu.
Without answering, Tsunade kept her gaze fixed on the clash between the Yasaka Magatama and the Daytime Tiger.
The first wave of Magatama barely slowed the tiger.
But the second and third started to resist it.
By the fourth… the roaring beast of compressed air was halted mid-charge.
"It… stopped the Daytime Tiger…"
Guy hovered briefly in the air, steam pouring from his skin as his muscles strained. The disbelief in his eyes was evident. He had poured everything into that move—and it still wasn't enough.
The legend of Uchiha Madara—no, of the man now standing as Madara—Leo—was proving terrifyingly real.
"But…"
"My youth hasn't ended yet!"
"Morning Peacock!!" Guy roared again.
A flurry of red-hot air blasts surged forth from his fists, each like a burst of flame, creating the illusion of a peacock's tail. They followed the path of the Daytime Tiger and slammed into Leo's Susanoo, a constant barrage of chakra-packed punches.
Leo chuckled coldly.
His Susanoo's hands dropped the remaining Magatama and instead summoned four glowing chakra blades, each as tall as a tree. He slashed through the Morning Peacock blasts with ease.
Boom—Boom—Boom!
The continued bombardment of attacks from both sides shattered the landscape.
Houses were obliterated.
Stone and timber exploded in every direction.
Walls crumbled. Trees uprooted. Fire and smoke filled the air.
"Not good!"
"Everyone fall back!!" Tsunade ordered immediately, realizing the escalating danger.
She turned to the surrounding Konoha shinobi.
"MOVE! NOW!!"
The shinobi scattered in every direction.
Tsunade herself leapt away in a flash, shielding Shizune as debris flew in from all sides.
And then—
BOOOOMMMMM!!!
An enormous explosion consumed the entire area. The shockwave blew away everything within a one-kilometer radius.
Even Kakashi, Shikaku, Choza, Naruto, Neji and dozens of other elite shinobi couldn't escape in time. They were all thrown like rag dolls by the immense blast.
"Kakashi!!"
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were caught mid-air, but Kakashi managed to shield them, landing behind a chunk of stone wall.
"Guy…!"
His voice cracked as he looked toward the battlefield.
Ta-thump—
A moment later, Guy fell to the ground, steam still rising from his battered body. He had used his hands to block most of the explosion, but he was clearly near his limit.
"Ha… ha… ha…" Guy panted, every breath labored.
"Guy!" Kakashi called out, running to his side.
"Teacher Bushy Brows!" Naruto cried in concern, his voice shaking.
Sakura and Sasuke also looked stunned, clearly having never seen such raw power come from their eccentric sensei.
"Kakashi…" Guy murmured.
"Not even my Morning Peacock or Daytime Tiger could land a scratch on him…"
He turned toward Leo, still standing atop his massive Susanoo, not even ruffled by the battle.
"Uchiha Madara… no, Leo…"
"Truly a monster among monsters."
But even now, Guy did not yield.
His fist clenched.
He was not done.
"I'll say this one last time…" Leo's cold voice echoed from above.
"If you all leave Konoha now, I won't kill you."
His crimson Mangekyō Sharingan glowed ominously as his Susanoo looked down on Tsunade, Might Guy, Kakashi, and the rest.
Tsunade clenched her fists, looking up with gritted teeth.
"How in the world did my grandfather fight this man in a one-on-one duel?!"
Despite opening the Seventh Gate, Might Guy hadn't even cracked Susanoo's armor.
Leo stood untouched—untouched!!
It was a despairing sight.
And yet—
Swish—Swish—Swish—
A sound filled the air.
Suddenly, reinforcements arrived.
The Akamichi clan. The Nara clan. The Yamanaka clan…
And finally—
The Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward, his Byakugan active, leading dozens of Hyuga warriors into formation.
In the blink of an eye, over a thousand ninjas surrounded the battlefield.
They came from every corner of the village—Jōnin, Chūnin, and even retired shinobi—all bearing the Will of Fire.
Their eyes burned with defiance as they stared at Leo's towering Susanoo.
They would not back down.
Not today.
Not while Konoha still stood.