Chapter 328: Powerful Thunder Flash
As the final match of the second round, and a showdown between a Mist ninja and a Konoha ninja, the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza drew intense attention.
If Zabuza won, the top four would be evenly split between Mist and Konoha. If Kakashi won, Kisame Hoshigaki would be the only Mist representative in the top four, with the rest all belonging to Konoha.
Hidden Mist naturally wanted Zabuza to win. Otherwise, it would be a blow to their pride. If Kisame also lost in the top four and the final turned into an all Konoha affair, that would look even worse. As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, they cared deeply about their reputation.
Of course, in the eyes of those familiar with Kakashi and Zabuza, or those with sharp insight, this was a match with no suspense.
"How could he possibly win? He already lost to that guy a month ago."
In Kurosawa's mind, Zabuza would be joining him in the stands in a few minutes at most.
Zabuza did not concern himself with what the spectators thought. He was not the kind to cater to expectations.
Looking at Kakashi's calm, unruffled expression, his thoughts drifted back to that battle a month ago.
Faced with a monster like Akami Hideyuki, Kakashi's squad had perfectly embodied the will of never abandoning and never giving up. Every one of them had fought to their absolute limit.
Even when Kakashi no longer had the strength to run, he had still stepped forward to shield his comrades, releasing a sword strike that Zabuza could not comprehend even now.
Zabuza truly did not understand. Kakashi had looked like he could barely walk, his entire body radiating weakness. Yet that same Kakashi had instantly killed Akami Hideyuki with one blow.
Zabuza felt that he might never fully grasp Kakashi's strength, because he could not imagine for whom he himself would fight that desperately.
"The competition between people starts before we are even born, does it not? If you had been born in Hidden Mist, you would probably be just like me now," Zabuza said.
He was not willing to admit defeat, but what he refused to accept was not the difference in strength. It was the difference between their villages.
During the month he had spent in Konoha, he had experienced the gap between Konoha and Hidden Mist very clearly.
Graduating from Konoha's academy did not require killing classmates. The atmosphere among Konoha shinobi was not as cold and soaked in blood.
Growing up with comrades in that kind of environment naturally bred bonds, and those bonds nurtured the desire to protect.
Hiruko, standing nearby, understood Zabuza's words in his own way. For him, it was not about villages, but about the gap in talent that came from birth. For example, the Sharingan. Unless you were born into the Uchiha clan, awakening it was nearly impossible.
"There are no 'ifs' in this world. It seems that sword strike back then did not completely cut away the reluctance in your heart," Kakashi replied calmly, unmoved by Zabuza's hypothesis.
To Kakashi, such conjecture had little meaning. He did not really know what life in Hidden Mist was like.
He acknowledged that environment could influence a person, but it was not everything. Obito was a perfect example.
Even though Obito was an Uchiha, his personality and behavior were completely different from ordinary clan members.
"If you think Hidden Mist is worse than Konoha, then you should work to change it, instead of imagining me as a Mist ninja," Kakashi said.
From the history of the ninja world, Kakashi had drawn a lesson. Where you are born is fixed, but what you do with that life is your choice.
Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had been born into enemy clans, yet they chose to join hands and create Konoha.
Senju Tobirama had come from a powerful clan, but for the sake of the village he was willing to weaken the clans so more civilian ninjas could rise.
"Things like that do not happen just because you talk about them," Zabuza sneered. Kakashi made it sound simple, but the Bloody Mist policy had been set by the Mizukage.
"Then do you think killing a jonin is easy?" Kakashi asked lightly.
Change was difficult, but if you did not even try, there would never be a chance. If he himself had given up because of injuries and exhaustion back then, he would never have stepped into Transparent World and delivered the strike that killed Akami Hideyuki.
Zabuza fell silent. The jonin who had died was his own instructor. He knew better than anyone how difficult that was.
"Battle start."
Hiruko steadied his emotions and gave the signal.
"Hidden Mist Technique."
To avoid being instantly killed by Kakashi's extreme speed, Zabuza immediately retreated, formed hand seals, and shrouded the arena in a thick fog while using Body Flicker to constantly shift his position.
To his surprise, Kakashi still did not move. Zabuza's careful maneuvers turned into a game of cat and mouse played entirely with empty air.
"What is that guy planning?"
Zabuza frowned, trying to read Kakashi's strategy.
This was completely different from what he had expected. He had pictured Kakashi charging straight in at blinding speed. Instead, Kakashi had not even drawn his blade. He was just walking slowly.
In truth, Zabuza's original guess had not been wrong. Kakashi had indeed planned to end this with a single Flash.
But after their brief conversation, he had abandoned that idea.
He wanted to completely overwhelm Zabuza with his newly developed Thunderclap Flash.
Kakashi pushed Thunder Breathing to its limit, dramatically boosting his physical strength and speed. At the same time, he gathered a large amount of chakra in his legs and right hand, ready to unleash it at any moment.
He tried once more to step into that clear, Transparent World.
He had attempted it many times in the past month, and every attempt had failed.
This time also ended in failure, just as he had half expected.
However, he keenly sensed that something was different. Though he could not enter that state, he could faintly feel its outline.
After a month of grueling training, this was his first real step forward.
It had to be in battle, after all.
Unable to read Kakashi's intentions, Zabuza formed a Water Clone and sent it charging toward Kakashi, while his real body remained hidden, waiting for Kakashi to make a move and expose an opening.
To sharpen that elusive feeling, Kakashi closed his eyes.
Seeing this, the Water Clone rushed straight in.
Swish.
Kakashi drew his short blade and slashed at an unimaginable speed, instantly carving the clone apart. The water body split in two, then collapsed into a harmless puddle.
Zabuza, who had been about to follow up, felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
He could not understand. Kakashi's eyes had been closed, yet he had still moved that fast and killed the clone in an instant.
While Zabuza was reconsidering his approach, Kakashi moved again, this time walking directly in Zabuza's direction.
He converted all the gathered chakra into Lightning Release. Dazzling yellow light flared around his legs and right hand.
Lightning ran from his arm into the White Fang Short Blade. Under the influence of chakra, the blade extended into a longer sword of pure lightning.
"Thunderclap Flash."
The buzzing of lightning filled the arena.
The lightning on Kakashi's body became so bright that even the thick white mist could not hide it. The audience saw a brilliant yellow glare explode inside the fog, accompanied by a crack of thunder that shook the air.
Zabuza had no idea how Kakashi had found him.
The instant the lightning flared, he wanted to dodge. But the moment that thought formed, before his body could react, his vision was already filled with yellow light.
Kakashi had arrived in front of him. The lightning blade came down in a single stroke.
"So beautiful."
Gazing at the blinding slash, that was the thought that surfaced in Zabuza's mind.
Boom.
The mist covering the field thinned rapidly, then faded entirely. The crowd finally saw what had happened.
Kakashi stood in front of Zabuza, his blade still wrapped in Lightning Chakra, his expression calm as if he had done something trivial.
Zabuza was facing him, one hand on the hilt of his broken sword. Dozens of shattered iron fragments lay at his feet, and his chest was marked with blood and scorch marks.
What shocked the spectators most was the long charred line carved into the ground beside Zabuza. Some estimated it to be at least six meters in length.
A moment later, Zabuza coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
"What kind of ninjutsu did Kakashi learn? I remember he did not fight like that before," Asuma stared, dumbfounded at the gouge Kakashi had left with a single sword stroke.
Kakashi's swordplay had always been strong, but it had merely been on par with high level taijutsu. This was something else entirely.
Hiruzen stroked his goatee and nodded.
The Kakashi in front of him shone even more brightly than the White Fang had at the same age. Their styles were similar, but Kakashi had already started carving out a path suited specifically to himself.
In the waiting room, Kisame's expression became far more serious.
This Kakashi gave him a strong sense of danger.
He took a breath and glanced at Might Guy. The top four matches were next. To face Kakashi in the final, he would first have to beat Guy.
"As expected of my best friend. That passionate youth, I feel it burning," Might Guy said, clenching his fists as tears streamed down his face. His desire to fight Kakashi only grew stronger.
"Kakashi is such a show off," Obito muttered.
He felt that Kakashi had done it on purpose, using his strongest move when a simpler one would have been enough, wasting stamina and chakra just to look cool.
When he thought about Rin in the stands, watching that Kakashi with sparkling eyes, he felt even more annoyed. In his heart, he was already plotting how hard he would hit Kakashi in their top four match.
"Are you looking down on me? You held back again," Zabuza said, spitting out blood as he lay on the ground.
Even heavily injured, he knew he had only been struck by the edge of Kakashi's slash. Kakashi had deliberately altered his angle, avoiding a direct hit.
Precisely because he had not taken the full force, Zabuza understood the gap even more clearly.
Just a fraction of that power had shattered his new weapon and left him on the verge of collapse.
If Kakashi had aimed straight at him, even Tsunade, the famed Medical Saint, might not have been able to save his life.
"I just think that as you are now, you will never be able to defeat me," Kakashi said, sheathing his blade.
"You still do not understand what true strength is."
Zabuza was silent. He raised his gaze to the bright blue sky. Kakashi had the right to say that. With only a glancing blow, he had left Zabuza completely unable to continue fighting.
"One day, I will stand before you again and defeat you," Zabuza said suddenly.
He was not the type to stay defeated. If Kakashi said he could not do it, he would prove him wrong.
Whether it was changing Hidden Mist or finding real strength, he would see it through.
Life was nothing more than death. Because of Mist missions, he had already brushed past the Gate of Death twice. There was nothing left to fear.
"If you can, then come," Kakashi replied, his tone indifferent.
"Kakashi Hatake wins."
Seeing that Zabuza was only speaking and no longer able to move, Hiruko promptly declared the result.
Medical ninjas rushed onto the field and carried the wounded Zabuza away.
Lying on the stretcher, Zabuza's thoughts were complicated.
This trip to Konoha had shaken him many times, but what he regretted most at the moment was the fight that had just ended.
He had lost before he could really display much at all.
He had a feeling Kakashi would not be satisfied with a battle like that either, and that thought left him feeling even more unwilling.
With the last match of the second round over, the exam entered a short halftime break.
Although participants could rest while others were fighting, ninja battles were extremely fast. The first round had many matches, but the second round only had four. There simply had not been much time to recover.
"Kakashi, what kind of battle wisdom was that? You could have finished it with less effort and yet…"
As soon as Kakashi stepped into the waiting room, Obito started complaining.
"It was payback for what happened in the Forest of Death. I am not allowed to?" Kakashi cut him off.
Obito fell silent.
With a personal grudge involved, being a little ruthless was hard to object to.
Now there were only four people left in the lounge. Kakashi, Obito and Might Guy sat together, resting and talking, while Kisame sat alone in a corner, eyes closed, quietly conserving his strength.
In the stands, the audience snacked and discussed the relative strength of the remaining four.
At this point, none of the Chunin Exam candidates could be called weak. Every one of them had shown overwhelming power.
Kisame Hoshigaki could flood the arena and turn any battlefield into a Water Release domain. Might Guy had displayed absurd taijutsu.
If technology in the ninja world had been more advanced, with live broadcasts, then during this short break the comment boards would already be flooded with debates about power rankings.
"Kisame Hoshigaki versus Might Guy. Contestants, enter the arena," Hiruko called once the rest period ended.
Might Guy flashed his trademark smile and strode into the arena first. Kisame opened his eyes and followed.
The spectators' expressions turned serious as they focused on the center. This match was crucial for the joint exams.
If Might Guy won, Konoha's victory would be complete. The final would be a battle between Konoha ninjas.
If Kisame won, Hidden Mist would still have saved some face. Even if they lost the title, reaching the final would prove their power.
Konoha's side cheered loudly for Might Guy. The Mist ninja quietly prayed for Kisame's victory.
"You remember me, right? This time I am at full strength. I will not lose again," Kisame said with a shark like grin.
Might Guy looked at his face and scratched his head. He vaguely remembered hearing Hiruko say a similar name earlier.
Thinking back to a similar conversation in the Forest of Death, he pieced it together.
"Sesame Boshugaku, this time I will still win," Might Guy said confidently.
Kisame stared at him, baffled.
Who was Kisame Hoshigaki supposed to be?
He had been utterly crushed by Might Guy. It had been painful enough when Guy had not remembered his name back in the forest. But today, the referee had already called his name three times, including just now, and Guy still got it wrong.
"Is he doing this on purpose to provoke me and make me lose my cool?" Kisame thought.
He suddenly felt that the broad shouldered, simple looking Might Guy might actually be using psychological warfare. That thought completely changed the image of Guy in his mind.
"Battle start."
Hiruko's shout signaled the beginning.
"Eight Gates: Gate of Opening, open. Gate of Healing, open. Gate of Life, open."
Might Guy opened three Gates in an instant. Chakra surged through his body.
"Rock Breathing, Full Concentration."
At the same time, he switched his Breathing Technique, compressing every breath to further boost his already monstrous physique.
Having fought Kisame once before, he knew roughly how strong Kisame was. There was no need to test him. He went all out from the start.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave."
Kisame knew exactly how terrifying Guy's taijutsu was.
The instant Hiruko's words fell, he retreated at high speed, formed hand signs and spat out a massive torrent of water at Guy.
Might Guy leaped upward to avoid the flood. The wave crashed out and spread across the entire arena, turning the field into a giant pool and forcing Guy to stand and fight on the surface of the water.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
Without wasting a moment after Exploding Water Colliding Wave, Kisame formed hand signs again. A thick water dragon rose and lunged toward Guy.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind."
Guy focused all his strength into one leg and unleashed a spiraling kick that carried overwhelming power.
With a single strike, he shattered the Water Dragon Bullet, turning it into a storm of spray.
The sight of the small figure, barely more than one meter and a little in height, smashing such a massive dragon with one kick made the difference in scale almost comical.
Yet despite that difference, Guy had won that clash head on.
Under the combined force of the Eight Gates and Rock Breathing, his full power was revealed. Many ninja in the stands could not help gasping in shock.
This was a pure collision between taijutsu and ninjutsu.
"Guy."
His father, Might Duy, watched his son destroy the dragon with a kick and shouted his name with pride.
All of Guy's years of relentless training from dawn to dusk had been for moments like this.
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu exchanged looks. They felt that the squad assignment that had once grouped them with Guy must have used up a lot of their luck. Having such a powerhouse on your team was the greatest possible reassurance on missions.
Even though he had fought Guy once before, Kisame's eyelids still twitched violently at the sight of that monstrous taijutsu.
Even someone born with strength far beyond ordinary people did not want to trade blows directly with Guy in this state.
Taking damage was one thing. If he got drawn into Guy's rhythm, he might lose before he even had a chance to use ninjutsu.
After shattering the water dragon, Guy charged straight at Kisame.
To the naked eye, he turned into a rapidly moving green blur skimming the surface of the water.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave."
Kisame had originally planned to drain more of Guy's stamina before using his strongest technique.
The last time, Guy had broken his giant water sphere head on. This time he had hoped to wait, weakening Guy before unleashing the full technique to avoid repeating that mistake.
But Guy's condition was too good.
If he did not use Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave now, the rest of the fight would tilt heavily against him.
For ordinary people, the arena was quite large. For a taijutsu specialist like Guy, it felt cramped.
Kisame poured out most of his chakra, converting it into water and spewing it from his mouth. The torrent that surged forth was several times more terrifying than before.
Guy immediately remembered that enormous water sphere from the Forest of Death. He stopped his advance and pulled back at top speed.
He could hold his breath underwater for five minutes with no problem, but if he wanted to maintain the power of his Breathing Technique at the same time, he had tested it before and found he could last only one minute at most.
That meant he had to defeat Kisame within sixty seconds after entering the water. If the time limit passed and his Breathing Technique weakened, he might no longer be a match for Kisame in underwater combat.
The previous Exploding Water Colliding Wave provided Kisame with a foundation of water to work with. Drawing on that flow, he rapidly expanded the sphere of Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave until it threatened to engulf the entire arena.
Although there was only one word of difference in their names, Exploding Water Colliding Wave and Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave were fundamentally different.
The former was like a larger version of Water Formation Wall, creating a lot of water to favor the user.
The latter was closer to an enormous, solid Water Prison that could envelop an entire battlefield.
Soon, Guy found himself with nowhere left to retreat. The sphere's range was simply too large.
He took a deep breath.
Holding his breath in water for five minutes was nothing to him, but holding it while sustaining Rock Breathing was a different story. One minute was the limit.
Within that minute, Kisame had to fall.
Might Guy brought his power to its peak, then let the expanding water sphere swallow him.
The confined space put him at a disadvantage, but the word retreat did not exist in his vocabulary.
Kisame's titanic Water Release drew gasps from the crowd.
To many ordinary spectators, the very sight of a vast sphere of water suspended without any container and not collapsing was a miracle.
Kakashi watched the arena without blinking.
As someone who also used Breathing Techniques, he understood how difficult Guy's situation was.
Inside the water, Kisame smiled. His sharp teeth, shark like features and the way he swam through the water made him resemble a beast of the ocean.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique."
Continuously feeding chakra into the sphere, he formed five sharks with gaping red mouths. They swam rapidly toward Guy, ready to tear into him.
This was a Water Release he had created over the last thirty days, one tailored to his fighting style and more suitable than Water Dragon Bullet.
He had other ideas for further development, using the peculiar traits of his body, but a single month had not been enough to complete them.
Facing the charging sharks, Guy did not flinch.
He unleashed his full strength and rushed straight toward Kisame, his powerful chakra briefly forcing the water away from his feet as he moved.
Bang.
One punch shattered the first Water Shark. The raw power of the blow sent violent waves surging through the water sphere.
"He is even stronger than back then," Kisame thought, his expression darkening.
In only nine seconds, Guy had destroyed all five sharks.
He did not stop. He continued to close the distance.
Kisame frantically poured more chakra into the water, creating new sharks and sending them forward.
It still was not enough to halt Guy's advance.
He moved like an unstoppable war god, step by step drawing nearer.
"Forty seconds, forty one seconds," Guy counted silently in his mind.
"Ten Shark Bullets."
Kisame burned through the last of his reserves, creating ten Water Sharks in one burst.
Even with his enormous chakra pool, repeated uses of large scale Water Release were exhausting. He began to feel hollowed out.
"Noon Leopard."
When his mental count hit fifty seconds, Guy finally let the full power of the Eight Gates explode.
Chakra roared through his body, pushing his aura to a new peak.
A volley of high speed steps, like a multi burst version of Shave, brought him to maximum speed.
The kick that followed was unrivaled. The impact alone obliterated the three sharks at the very front.
The violent turbulence inside the water sphere echoed the leopard headed chakra aura that formed around him.
At the moment his powerful kick connected with the sharks, the remaining seven disintegrated in an instant.
"Fifty three, fifty four."
As Guy counted, his flying kick drew ever closer to Kisame.
Kisame, near the edge of the water sphere, retreated as fast as he could while squeezing out one last bit of chakra to create a Water Shark three times larger than the others and sent it to intercept Guy.
Boom.
The clash between the chakra leopard and the giant shark shook the sphere again, sending ripples through the entire mass of water.
At that moment, Guy's internal count reached sixty.
Kisame clearly sensed Guy's aura weaken.
The leopard that had been about to rip his shark apart suddenly faltered.
Joy flashed across Kisame's face. He believed that this was finally his chance to counterattack.
"No way…"
Genma and Ebisu both looked anxious.
"This arena is too small. Why could they not make it bigger? It gives too much of an advantage to a ninjutsu user like Kisame," Obito complained. In his eyes, the environment itself was tilted heavily in Kisame's favor.
Kakashi's expression did not change.
He believed in Guy.
They had already promised to meet in the final.
Before Kisame's joy could last even half a second, Guy, who was close to the edge of the water sphere, used all his remaining strength and drove his head through the surface.
He took a single breath.
With that one breath, the power of his Breathing Technique surged again.
In that momentary extension of his strength, he crushed the giant shark completely and followed through, driving a kick into Kisame.
Without Kisame to maintain it, the massive sphere lost its shape.
The water collapsed, crashing back down into a sprawling flood across the arena floor.
Kisame slammed into the arena wall.
Guy landed steadily on the wet stone and spat out the water he had swallowed.
He immediately checked Kisame's condition. Only when he confirmed that Kisame was badly injured and unable to continue did he relax.
"Might Guy wins."
Hiruko quickly announced the winner.
Guy turned toward the stands, flashed a gleaming smile and gave himself a thumbs up.
Beating Kisame meant stepping into the final and moving one step closer to his goal of becoming the strongest taijutsu user.
"My best friend, it is your turn now," Might Guy said, looking toward the waiting room.
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