Naruto hasn't used his full strength yet, Kakashi thought from his perch in the trees. A smile played beneath his mask. When he does, Guy... you may find this isn't quite the youth you imagined.
The two fighters below were engaged in pure power competition—no fancy techniques, no strategic maneuvering. Just fist meeting fist with explosive force.
Naruto could tell Guy hadn't reached his limit yet. The man was still shouting enthusiastically during the fight, still radiating that burning passion. So Naruto decided to double the force behind his next punch.
His fist accelerated, moving so fast that friction with the air generated visible sparks. The knuckles glowed orange-red, trailing embers.
Guy felt the shift in power immediately. If I don't open more Gates, this punch will send me flying.
"Gate of Pain—open! Gate of Limit—open!"
The air around Guy rippled and distorted as he activated two more Gates. Five in total now—his normal maximum. The sixth Gate would not only change his skin color but impose a far greater burden on his body.
Steam poured off him in waves as he struck out with both fists, creating sonic booms. They met Naruto's single punch with a dull, meaty THWACK.
For a moment, Guy felt the full weight of Naruto's power transmitted through his arms. The force traveled up from his hands, and the sleeve on his right arm exploded into ribbons. Then the left sleeve went. Then his entire shirt detonated into confetti, the green fabric drifting down around him like snow.
"Tch!" Guy planted his feet and tried to stop his backward momentum by digging trenches in the ground. If I don't arrest this force, my pants will be destroyed too. I cannot show such indecency. It would be completely inappropriate!
Deep furrows appeared under his feet as he skidded backward. One step. Two. Three. Five. Ten—
Oh no. The pants are reaching their limit.
The force continued traveling downward into his lower body. His green pants swelled outward, the fabric stretching tight as a drum. For one horrible second, Guy was certain they would explode.
They held.
Thank goodness, Guy thought with profound relief. The material is high quality. Otherwise I'd be standing here in my underwear.
"Again!" Reinvigorated by having preserved his modesty, Guy charged forward once more. His fists fell like rain, each one carrying the full power of five Gates.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
Guy suddenly changed tactics, leaping high and spinning. Both feet lashed out in a devastating kick.
Naruto withdrew his fist into an elbow strike, lowered his body, and drove his elbow into the sole of Guy's foot. The impact deflected the kick upward. Guy spun through the air in an uncontrolled rotation before landing twenty feet away.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Guy immediately used the momentum from his awkward landing to launch another attack. His feet blurred with speed as he delivered a series of high-velocity kicks.
Naruto grabbed Guy's ankle mid-kick, yanked him off balance, and swept his legs. As Guy fell, Naruto raised his left foot and tapped Guy's nose—gently by Naruto's standards, but still enough to make cartilage crunch.
"Ow!" Guy's eyes immediately watered. Not from crying—just the automatic nervous response to having one's nose struck. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Before Guy could recover, Naruto still held his ankle. Naruto spun in place three times like a discus thrower and released.
Guy's body smashed through three large trees in succession before finally coming to a stop in a cloud of splinters and leaves.
The leaves drifted down like golden rain. Through the settling debris, Guy stood up, touched his crooked nose, and snapped it back into place with a sharp crack.
Then he accelerated, charging at Naruto once more.
The stronger Naruto is, the more excited I get! Guy's eyes blazed with enthusiasm. This is youth! Youth never gives up!
Watching the approaching figure, Naruto felt genuine satisfaction. Finally. Finally someone who can take a beating without breaking.
He hid his excitement carefully and prepared to receive Guy's next attack.
"Shadow Leaf!"
Guy appeared behind Naruto in an instant, delivering a rapid series of kicks to his back.
Naruto didn't turn around. He simply rotated his arms backward—as though his hands naturally belonged behind his body—and punched Guy twice, sending him flying. Then he casually rotated his arms back to their normal position.
Guy flipped mid-air and charged again, refusing to accept defeat.
More techniques followed—powerful taijutsu moves from Guy's extensive repertoire, thrown out with precision and devastating force. But nothing landed cleanly. Naruto resolved each attack with minimal movement, deflecting or absorbing the impacts with practiced ease.
Gradually, Guy's stamina began to flag. His punches slowed. His kicks lost their snap. Even throwing a normal-strength punch became difficult.
Naruto noticed immediately. He's reached his limit.
But there was no disappointment in that observation—only satisfaction. Guy had lasted far longer than anyone else Naruto had fought.
In an instant, Naruto closed the distance.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
One hundred rapid punches later, Guy collapsed to the ground. His face was completely unrecognizable beneath the swelling.
"Ah!" Guy managed to shout through his ruined face. "This is youth!"
"Guy-sensei, you're really strong," Naruto said sincerely, helping the exhausted man to lean against a tree trunk. "That was an excellent fight."
"Give me... a moment to rest... Naruto..." Guy panted between words. "Then let's... go again..."
The fighting spirit still burned in his voice despite his body's exhaustion.
Kakashi descended from his observation point, landing gracefully beside them. He looked at Guy's face—three times its original size, purple and swollen everywhere—and winced in sympathy.
"Well," Naruto said cheerfully, "it's about lunchtime, Guy-sensei. Why don't you eat with us?"
"Excellent!" Guy raised one swollen thumb. "Not just eating—drinking too! To celebrate our youth!"
At Guy's request, Naruto went to select a few goats that had tragically suffered from heatstroke. They built a fire beside the waterfall and set up a spit for roasting. Kakashi went to buy sake.
When the lamb was ready, Guy filled three bowls with alcohol. He raised his own high, addressing Naruto with genuine emotion.
"Naruto, thank you. Today, I am very happy. You let me experience the ultimate expression of youth. In the future, we should have many more friendly exchanges!" His voice carried absolute sincerity. "This is the youth I've been yearning for my entire life!"
"No problem, Guy-sensei!" Naruto raised his own bowl. "I'll come find you for friendly discussions often. You go ahead and drink—I'll just have a little."
"Cheers!" Guy drained his bowl in one gulp.
Naruto took a small sip—he was still too young for alcohol—and then devoted himself to eating lamb with wholehearted focus.
After lunch, Naruto requested another match. Guy agreed enthusiastically.
They spent the entire afternoon fighting.
As evening approached, Naruto finally called an end to the session. "Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei, I should get going. Let's meet again soon!"
Guy's head had swollen to three times its morning size. He peered at Naruto through tiny slits where his eyes used to be and declared boldly, "Naruto! You can find me anytime! I'll always be ready to spar with you!"
Kakashi looked at Guy's pig-headed appearance—bruised, swollen, barely able to see—and thought privately: Guy, in a few days, you might regret saying that.
After dinner at home, Naruto patted his full belly and decided a walk would aid digestion. As he stepped outside, a thought occurred to him.
Guy-sensei said I can visit anytime. So I should go now! It'll help me digest my meal.
He made his way to Guy's house and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Guy was eating dinner. He set down his bowl and opened the door, his swollen face breaking into a warm smile. "Naruto! What brings you here?"
"Didn't you say I could discuss with you anytime?" Naruto's smile was guileless. "I just finished eating, so I thought we could have a match to help with digestion."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fifteen minutes later, Guy received another dozen punches to his already brutalized face.
"Goodbye, Naruto..." Guy bid farewell through a single eye-slit. The other eye was so swollen he couldn't even open it a crack.
"See you tomorrow, Guy-sensei!" Naruto departed, completely satisfied.
The Next Morning
Guy was still sleeping soundly when a voice echoed through his house: "Guy-sensei! Are you awake yet? Let's have a match!"
Guy bolted upright, instantly alert. The fighting spirit surged through him automatically—
Then memory reasserted itself and the enthusiasm flickered.
"Guy-sensei, are you in the bathroom? Come on, let's discuss when you're done!"
Guy, who'd been mid-movement, felt everything seize up in terror.
He's here already?!
Five Days Later
By Naruto's count, he and Guy had engaged in over five hundred "friendly discussions" over five days. That averaged to more than one hundred per day.
On the morning of the sixth day, Guy woke before dawn. He moved with extreme caution, creeping to the bathroom mirror.
The reflection showed a head several times larger than normal, bruised in layers of purple, blue, and yellow. His entire body had swollen to comical proportions.
Naruto had literally beaten him fat.
"This is not my youth," Guy whispered miserably. Then his hands flew to his mouth in horror. If I speak too loudly, he might hear me and come over!
He washed up as quietly as possible, then slipped out the back door like a thief. Covering his face with a scarf, he hurried toward his favorite breakfast restaurant.
"Guy-sensei! Are you awake?"
Guy's blood turned to ice. He broke into a sprint, vanishing around the corner at top speed.
Naruto stood at Guy's front door, confused. "That's weird. Where did he go so early?"
He searched the area but found no trace. "Maybe he went for breakfast? Guy-sensei likes curry udon. I'll check the shops."
At the breakfast restaurant, Guy sat hunched at a corner table, his face hidden behind his hands. A bowl of steaming curry udon sat before him.
I'm safe here. Naruto won't think to look—
"Guy-sensei! Are you here?"
Guy's body went rigid. In one motion, he dropped to the floor and scrambled under the table, pulling the tablecloth down to hide himself.
Naruto walked through the restaurant, scanning the customers. "Strange. I don't see him. Maybe he went somewhere else?"
After Naruto left, Guy slowly emerged from under the table, trembling. He picked up his chopsticks with shaking hands and tried to continue eating.
"Hey, Guy-sensei! Why are you hiding under the table?"
A hand lifted the tablecloth.
Guy looked up, his mouth still full of noodles. The moment he saw Naruto's smiling face, tears burst from his swollen eyes. Snot ran from his nose, mixing with the broth around his lips.
"Guy-sensei, are you okay?" Naruto looked genuinely concerned. "Are you so moved by the noodles that you're crying? Is it really that good?"
He turned to the owner. "Boss! Give me what he's having!"
Then Naruto grabbed Guy's arm and pulled him out from under the table. "Guy-sensei, after we finish eating, let's have another discussion!"
"Naruto." Guy's voice broke. He slowly, deliberately, sank to his knees. Snot and tears streamed down his bruised face, creating rivulets through the swelling. His expression showed infinite grievance, like a wronged child.
"Please. I'm begging you. Let me go." His voice cracked with emotion. "I was wrong. This... this is not my youth!"
The words hung in the air—a complete surrender from Konoha's Blue Beast, the man who'd declared just days ago that he'd spar with Naruto anytime.
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