Observation Haki fully activated!
Naraku Shihouin, suspended in mid-air, clearly saw both opponents rushing toward him.
Without any leverage, he flipped over in the air.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Instantly, Naraku spewed a mighty storm of fire from his throat. The scorching flames, like surging seawater, poured down with overwhelming force.
In seconds, everything around them transformed into a sea of fire.
The surging waves of flame swept in like thousands of soldiers charging into battle. The roaring inferno carried a scorching heat as if it would set the very earth ablaze.
The terrifying temperature hit Kakashi and Guy head-on, burning them so intensely that their breathing stopped momentarily. The air around them had been superheated to the point of being as unbearable as purgatory itself.
The massive sea of fire covered all directions, leaving no path for escape.
"Naraku's Fire Style... How can it be this powerful?"
Kakashi stared at the scene before him in complete disbelief. "And why can Naraku release such terrifyingly powerful Fire Style jutsu without any hand signs?"
Kakashi knew that becoming familiar with the hand signs of certain ninjutsu could allow a shinobi to speed up casting or simplify the required signs.
But Naraku had released this Fire Style with no hand signs at all—Kakashi had seen it clearly.
"AHHHH!"
With an angry roar, Guy stomped his feet, jumped into the air, and began swinging his fists wildly at the oncoming sea of fire.
"BAM! BAM! BAM!"
With the Sixth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates now open, Guy possessed tremendous power and terrifying speed as he continued throwing punches.
The violent friction between his high-speed punches and the air produced fireballs like cannonballs. Simultaneously, the shock waves formed by his strikes enveloped these fireballs, which then collided violently with the pouring sea of fire.
Countless flames and shock waves bloomed in the air like a peacock spreading its tail—beautiful to behold but concealing terrible destructive power.
"Morning, Peacock!"
The sea of fire surged forward like a wave, but Guy's continuous shock waves blasted open a passage through it.
"Well done, Guy!"
"CRACKLE!"
Lightning flashed as Kakashi rushed through the opening.
All around them, flames continued to release their blazing power, reducing everything in their path to ashes.
As a result, the spectators outside the training ground could now see the three shinobi fighting fiercely.
"Look, there they are!"
"Who's fighting who?"
"Is it true that Kakashi and Guy are teaming up against Naraku?"
"Who released that Fire Style jutsu?"
"It has to be Naraku! He's the best with Fire Style. Kakashi doesn't have that much chakra, and Guy isn't good with ninjutsu at all! Only Naraku could unleash Fire Style on this scale!"
"Unbelievable..."
"..."
...
"CRACK!"
Naraku channelled the chakra into his feet. The ground beneath him suddenly split into branch-like fissures. He stomped down with all his might.
"BOOM!"
A deep crater exploded outward as Naraku, holding Kurikara tightly, rushed toward Kakashi like a cannonball tearing through the air.
"God of Fire Kagura: Biroten!"
Kurikara traced a beautiful circle of fire from top to bottom. The picturesque fire rings enveloped Kakashi, cutting off all escape routes.
"THUD!"
The Raikiri in Kakashi's hand suddenly pierced the ground. He crouched down as Guy appeared from behind him as if teleporting, launching a powerful kick at Naraku.
The pitch-black blade tip increased in speed, rising suddenly from below and stabbing toward Guy's ankle with deadly precision.
However, Guy's speed increased again. He twisted his body forcefully in mid-air despite having nothing to push against, redirected himself toward the ground, and narrowly avoided the blade that sliced through the air.
Guy landed firmly, bent his knees slightly, gripped his nunchaku with both hands, surged forward with renewed strength, and rushed toward the nearby Naraku. The nunchaku whistled through the air as they aimed for Naraku's abdomen.
"CRACK!"
"WHAM!"
Kakashi, who had somehow gone underground, burst upward and aimed his Raikiri at Naraku from below.
Trapped!
Working together, Kakashi and Guy had placed Naraku in serious danger!
"God of Fire Kagura: Burning Red Mirror!"
Naraku held the pitch-black Kurikara as sparks danced along its blade. The straight sword flipped over as a red sun reflected in a mirror, and two slashes tore through the air, targeting Guy as they cut downward!
At the same time, using the momentum from his slash, Naraku leaned to the side and dodged Kakashi's Raikiri as it emerged from the ground.
Taking advantage of this movement, while his body was still leaning forward, Naraku's right leg whipped out like a striking snake, kicking Kakashi hard in the side.
Without waiting for his opponent to fly away, Naraku cleverly placed his right foot on Kakashi's body and suddenly pushed off!
"CLANG!"
"THUD!"
Blade and nunchaku collided, showering sparks everywhere!
With a dull sound, Kakashi was pinned under Naraku's foot.
Naraku, holding Kurikara with one hand, blocked Guy's nunchaku attack while stepping on Kakashi with his right foot. The three shinobi were now locked in a desperate struggle!
...
Everyone outside the training ground was dumbfounded!
What kind of insane display of power were they witnessing?
"Naraku, is that strong? He's really that powerful?!"
"Today's young shinobi are truly amazing—each one more impressive than the last!"
"I can't believe this. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I still can't accept it's real."
"Kakashi and Guy are both incredibly strong, but even working together, they're being overpowered like this?"
Kurenai Yuhi was too shocked to speak, but she was surprised to notice an envious look on her lover Asuma Sarutobi's face.
"What's wrong? Are you jealous of their fight?"
"No, I'm envious of their ability to break through their limits!"
Asuma made no attempt to hide his feelings. Gazing at the three shinobi battling in the distance, he said, "Not all Jōnin are created equal. I'll never reach the level of those three. The path they've taken leads to heights that others can never achieve in their lifetime."
Although there was no definitive ranking system for Kage-level strength, Kurenai, as a Jōnin, simply couldn't compare to Guy and Kakashi.
The same was true for Asuma. He was confident he could fight either of them one-on-one, but he would never emerge victorious in the end.
As for Naraku, Asuma suspected he had already broken through the limits of Jōnin and reached an entirely new level of power.
"The talents of these shinobi are truly terrifying!"
...
Naraku was in high spirits, competing with Kakashi and Guy, when suddenly, he felt something change beneath his foot. To his surprise, he discovered that Kakashi had lost consciousness.
Oops!
He'd gotten too caught up in the battle...
With a light kick of his right foot, Naraku sent Kakashi flying out of the combat zone. Asuma quickly jumped up and caught him.
"Damn..."
Tattered clothes, burn marks, bleeding wounds—and an unconscious Kakashi.
"Is this a friendly sparring match between shinobi or a fight to the death?!"
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