Souma didn't pause for breath.
After exchanging a few words with Guy, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and lunged forward.
Might Guy suppressed his own speed so it matched Souma's.
Fists, kicks—this was a real fight.
In the next instant, Guy vanished.
Souma's instincts roared.
He immediately changed angles and whipped a kick behind him.
BOOM!!
The ground dented.
Guy's brows rose.
A kick too?
And stronger than his punches…
Interesting.
It faintly reminded him of Lady Tsunade's terrifying taijutsu.
Souma's technique indeed carried the shadow of that monstrous strength.
Guy split his focus—half dodging, half analyzing.
Just as he pondered the technique's structure—
Souma's incoming fist suddenly burst with concentrated chakra.
BANG!!
Guy was blown back.
Fortunately, only the chakra hit him.
He regained control mid-air, flipped, pushed off a tree trunk, and shot back into close range.
Rock Lee watched on the side, blood burning with excitement.
If he could already open the Gates without injury, he would've jumped in to cheer them on.
Souma had told him earlier:
"Once you master that technique, your whole body becomes a weapon—every point that can generate force can strike."
And today he was seeing it—
Shoulder, elbow, everything could be used to attack.
Each had different power,
but against a normal opponent, it would be overwhelming.
Only someone with Guy's absurd toughness could keep fighting like nothing happened—
and even get more excited.
"BURN!! YOUTH!!!!"
Guy roared and launched a flying kick.
Souma's eyes sharpened.
This speed—
wasn't even in the same league as before!
A silver-haired jonin who'd been quietly observing from the shadows immediately rushed out to intervene.
Guy had gone too far.
Using that level of speed against a child—!
But Kakashi froze.
Souma's hands extended—
two chakra needles materialized.
High-density chakra, sharpened to the extreme.
They might be called "needles," but they were as lethal as scalpels—
and Souma had some kind of uncanny perception guiding them.
A slash—
a shift—
Guy landed perfectly…
and then stopped moving.
"Guy-sensei, if you went all out, you might've injured me," Souma said calmly.
"Hahahaha! Sorry, I got carried away!"
Guy stood… or tried to.
A twitch ran down his face.
It hurt.
It really hurt.
Good kid… caught me clean at the critical moment.
He hadn't expected Souma to counterattack that precisely.
But with Lee watching, Guy couldn't show weakness.
He gave a big thumbs-up.
"Lee! You witnessed it!
Even pure taijutsu holds endless potential!
Train hard, and you too can become an outstanding shinobi!"
"Yes, Guy-sensei!"
Lee's eyes shone with admiration.
Guy took a step—
and pain shot up his leg.
His foot muscles had definitely been sliced.
"Ah! Isn't this my ETERNAL RIVAL, KAKASHI?!
Let us engage in a HOT-BLOODED HANDSTAND RACE to the hospital—first one there wins!!"
The guy suddenly flipped upside-down.
Ah.
That felt much better.
Kakashi lowered his book slightly.
Couldn't…
couldn't he just walk normally to the hospital?
He'd been injured because he got too excited fighting a kid.
Embarrassing, yes.
But understandable.
Still…
Why drag him into it?
Kakashi pretended not to hear and resumed reading.
"Kakashi! As expected of my rival!"
"I'll go with you too, Guy-sensei!"
"GOOD! LET'S RUN!"
Guy sprinted upside-down toward the hospital.
Souma could only stare wordlessly.
This…
This culture was still a bit too intense for him.
Kakashi lowered his book.
"That technique—what do you call it?"
"It doesn't have a name yet."
"Interesting," Kakashi mused.
"You're trying to imitate Tsunade-sama's secret arts, right?
Chakra reinforcement combined with muscle mechanics.
No wonder you've been studying at the Medical Division."
Kakashi wasn't a Guy.
Guy saw passion.
Kakashi saw skill.
Souma's time in the hospital finally made sense—
the chakra scalpel, chakra needle, anatomical knowledge…
Without them, the technique he used earlier could never have existed.
And Souma's reaction when Guy lost control—
That instantaneous decision, precision strike, perfect execution—
It reminded Kakashi of someone.
Orochimaru.
A genius whose thinking ran far ahead of everyone else.
"You're right," Souma said.
"But I've never seen Tsunade-sama's technique.
I only heard rumors and tried to reconstruct something similar."
Kakashi had copied a thousand jutsu.
He didn't need Souma to explain—he could see the structure immediately.
"Are you interested in joining the ANBU?"
"…ANBU?"
Souma blinked.
Kakashi hasn't resigned yet, right?
"Yes," Kakashi said.
"Assassination Tactics Special Division. You've heard of it."
Souma frowned, thought for a long moment, then shook his head.
"To be honest, I am interested…
But not now.
ANBU requires constant combat.
I'm still in the stage where I need to accumulate knowledge."
Kakashi went silent.
Most people would be ecstatic to receive an ANBU invitation.
Souma was twelve.
Not even officially a genin yet.
And his reaction wasn't excitement—
It was annoying that this might disrupt his schedule.
Even Kakashi hadn't been this calm at that age.
Too rational.
Too mature.
He had already planned out his entire path step by step.
Kakashi sighed softly.
"…If you have questions, you can come ask me.
If you manage to find me, anyway."
"Actually, Kakashi-senpai, I have one right now."
"…That fast? …Fine. If I know the answer, I'll tell you."
"I heard you're extremely skilled with the sword.
The Land of Iron is full of samurai—how is their swordsmanship different from yours?"
Souma knew very little about the Iron Country.
Outside of Mifune's techniques, he understood nothing.
But Kakashi, as a former ANBU captain, would know plenty.
Kakashi paused, then nodded.
"Samurai swordsmanship treats chakra as supplementary—speed, power, nothing more.
My father and I use both chakra and technique equally.
The Uchiha approach uses ninjutsu as its foundation…"
He went on, giving comparison after comparison.
Some things Souma already knew.
Many he didn't.
By the time Kakashi finished, Souma's horizons had broadened greatly.
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