"Idiot! It's not time for you to carry out your Ninja Way until I die!"
Might Guy smacked Lee on the head, though his eyes shone with pride. Lee had grown—more than he realized.
But he was still too young. Against an enemy like this, the only thing that could stand a chance…
Was the power that burned life itself.
"Where Konoha dances, fire will burn brightly, and its light will illuminate the sprouting young leaves. This flame, passed down from the First Hokage, shines on the next generation—the exaltation of youth!"
"Eight Gates! Gate of View—OPEN!!!"
Guy erupted forward in a blur, every shinobi's gaze drawn to him.
Years of training, countless hardships—after switching fully to Martial Arts, Guy had perfected the refinement of his internal organs and even awakened his own martial-arts-based Divine Power:
Steel Bones.
With the Eight Gates activated, his Taijutsu now stood at the absolute top of the entire shinobi world.
Even relying only on pure physical strength, Guy had already reached the level of a Kage.
And with the Eight Gates…
Its burden was no longer an obstacle for him.
"Sixth Gate—Gate of View! Morning Peacock!!!"
Guy launched a storm of punches, each blow so fast that flames burst from friction alone, forming a giant blazing peacock across the sky.
BOOM!!!
The strike hit Obito head-on, blasting him away like a fired cannon shell. He smashed into a distant cliff several kilometers away, carving a crater into the rock.
"W-who is this bushy-browed man… to wield such power!?"
Most shinobi were stunned. Those who understood Guy's strength expected something incredible—but this exceeded even their imagination.
"He's not using Ninjutsu at all!"
"Right… this is ultra-high-speed Taijutsu that compresses air into physical strikes. It counts as Taijutsu!"
"But it looks exactly like Ninjutsu!"
The shinobi outside Konoha and Umbrella were completely dumbfounded.
Was this still the Taijutsu they knew?
Even the Fourth Raikage, who used an extreme Taijutsu style, ultimately relied on Lightning Release armor—technically still Nin-Taijutsu.
Guy's power was something else entirely.
Even Guy himself didn't truly know his limits.
The shinobi world had never produced enemies beyond the Shadow level—until now.
This battlefield…
This moment…
Was the stage where Taijutsu would finally shine brightest.
Obito flew back through the air, landing steadily.
He glanced at Guy with clear surprise. Though unharmed, Guy's strike had been far beyond what he expected.
Even Madara, who had seen countless absurd things, raised an eyebrow.
"Eight Gates—Seventh Gate! Gate of Shock—OPEN!!"
A huge burst of pressure exploded as Guy pushed further. Blood-red vapor surged from his pores, and the air itself trembled under the oppressive force of his life energy.
"Vital Energy Manifestation—Evening Tiger!!"
Unlike Morning Peacock, this technique was not mere air pressure.
This was vital force—the essence of Martial Arts condensed into a single devastating blow.
Its power pierced the limits of the Super Kage level.
And because it was not Ninjutsu…
It could threaten even Six Paths-class beings.
Obito reacted instantly, shaping a Truth-Seeking Orb into a shield.
A roaring white tiger materialized, its blood-red maw gaping wide.
WHOOOOOM!!!
The collision detonated into a massive explosion, light bursting out like a supernova. Shockwaves carved gouges in the earth, reshaping the landscape in an instant.
Invisible blades of wind shredded the ground.
Shinobi scrambled to defend themselves with protective Ninjutsu.
Kakashi watched the overwhelming power, and his father's words resurfaced:
That child… will be your lifelong rival.
He remembered how arrogant he'd been back then, how he scoffed at the idea.
And only after losing Obito and Rin did he change.
Now, seeing Guy's power firsthand…
Perhaps his father had foreseen this.
"Guy… you really might be my eternal rival."
As the dust cleared, Obito stepped out of the crater.
A thin line of blood stained the corner of his mouth.
A minor wound—
Already healed.
"It seems," Obito said calmly, wiping the last trace of blood away,
"…my power is still a little lacking."
Obito's eyes glinted sharply. Since complications continued to arise, he no longer cared about perfecting the Ten-Tails. The real obstacle was the missing Nine-Tails, but even without it, the Ten-Tails' overwhelming power remained untouched.
With a single motion, Obito summoned the Ten-Tails' colossal form—
And the Divine Tree surged upward, its trunk stretching like a pillar touching the heavens.
"Hashirama! That… is the Divine Tree's husk!"
Uchiha Madara appeared beside Hashirama and the others. Whatever his personal ambitions had been, Obito was now the greatest threat.
Madara quickly explained what he had deciphered from the Uchiha Stone Tablet:
A primeval Divine Tree once bore a Chakra fruit.
A woman had eaten that fruit—awakening godlike power.
The Ten-Tails was the Divine Tree's manifested form, created to reclaim that stolen fruit.
And through those revelations, Madara had learned how to enact the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Now Obito intended to shortcut the process entirely—
By forcibly summoning the Divine Tree's shell to recover Chakra.
"When the blood-red moon covers the world… when the Divine Tree's flower fully blooms…"
Obito spread his arms, his voice filled with fanatical resolve.
"That will mark the perfect completion of the Eye of the Moon Plan!"
Meanwhile, hiding in the shadows, Black Zetsu trembled with ecstasy.
"And it will be the moment… Mother returns."
Their goals were not the same.
Obito sought to cast the world into an illusion of peace, a dream where he would become a god—
A world where Rin lived again.
Black Zetsu sought only the resurrection of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—his "mother."
Once the Divine Tree's flower bloomed, he would make his move.
Suddenly—
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
Obito screamed, his body twisting unnaturally.
Everyone immediately took notice.
The reason was obvious:
The Ten-Tails' power was too vast. Even Obito struggled to withstand it.
This was an opportunity.
The assembled shinobi didn't hesitate and launched their assault.
By now, nearly everyone who could arrive had reached the battlefield.
Only Shisui remained absent, still recovering from his injuries.
The First Hokage, Second Hokage, Fourth Hokage, and Orochimaru had all joined the fight.
Tobirama, Minato, and Hashirama—being in Edo Tensei bodies—showed no fear whatsoever.
The three exchanged a brief glance—then charged Obito head-on.
Guy prepared to follow them—
But Kakashi held him back.
Guy blinked in confusion. "Kakashi?"
Kakashi shook his head, his expression calm but firm.
"Guy… Hokage-sama and the others can't die. They're gathering intel for us."
His brow furrowed. "You shouldn't act rashly. Obito's power is far beyond ordinary limits."
Guy stared for a moment—then nodded heavily.
"Mm."
He knew Kakashi was right.
His earlier strikes hadn't been fatal.
If even the Seventh Gate couldn't injure Obito meaningfully…
There was only one technique left.
The Eight Gates Released Formation.
His father's ultimate will.
Life ignited in an instant—a flame that burned brighter the closer it came to death.
If anything could open a path to victory, it would be that.
But before using it, they needed more information—
More knowledge of Obito's Six Paths form.
The risk of death meant little to Guy.
His eyes sharpened with unshakable resolve.
Kakashi glanced at his best friend, already understanding the decision Guy had made.
A quiet, pained sigh escaped him.