The details of the clash just now aren't limited to what was seen. If Nagato uses Almighty Push with intervals of eight seconds or less,
then Nagato was actually holding back part of his strength in the recent battle. Considering the powerful effect of Almighty Push, if Nagato can consistently use it at shorter intervals, he would certainly gain a greater advantage.
"Still a stable type of ninja; it seems there's no suspense for this first place." Kakashi analyzed, realizing Nagato is truly stable.
If Nagato had the normal personality of Obito, then the finals might still have some debate, but Nagato is both strong and stable, making it hard to deal with.
Kakashi considered that if he were in the battle, he would likely lose, and since Shisui and Obito are currently not as strong as him, they naturally couldn't defeat Nagato.
Witnessing Might Guy's major mistake losing the chance for victory, Hanzo withdrew his gaze and observed Mokgetsu with the corner of his eye.
Mokgetsu's expression did not change significantly from before, as if everything was within his expectations.
Hanzo felt a tinge of defeat; he could manage expressions, but sensed that Sosuke appeared to be in control, not just due to expression management.
"Probably almost there." Nagato focused his gaze on Might Guy, who was being assaulted by the storm.
At this moment, Might Guy looked extremely battered; his clothes were severely damaged, covered in dust and dirt, and his body had numerous small wounds all over.
As if sensing Nagato's gaze, Might Guy grinned towards Nagato's direction.
It had been a while since he felt this kind of pressure; in a one-on-one battle, the stress Nagato put on him was unique.
"At this rate, I'm going to lose." Feeling the pain spreading throughout his body, Might Guy made a judgment.
He used Gohyo twice within a minute, his legs were now fatigued, and he couldn't use Gohyo or even maintain maximum speed as before.
Combined with the injuries, even though he still had enough fighting spirit, he couldn't prevent the decline in his physical capabilities.
"Obito really wants the reward for first place." Maintaining highly focused breathing, Might Guy recalled discussions about the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
Each disciple joined the Youth Martial Arts Tournament for different reasons. Might Guy aimed to face more talented and strong opponents; the reward was secondary to him.
Obito, however, was notably different. After hearing about the first-place reward, Obito showed strong interest.
Might Guy didn't mind giving his reward to a friend, because none of the rankings' rewards were useful to him.
But currently, Might Guy felt truly powerless; in his current state, defeating Nagato was impossible.
Might Guy was confident but not arrogant.
"In that case, let the Green Beast take the stage!" Might Guy took a deep breath, preparing to forcibly open the Sixth Gate of Eight Gates like in the previous skirmish.
His body had become much stronger than before, and even if he forcefully used the Sixth Gate in the Breath of Rock Chakra Mode, he wouldn't suffer as severe injuries as last time.
"View Gate, open!"
Might Guy's eyes were wide open in anger, an incredibly overwhelming aura erupted from him, and his whole body was enveloped by leaf-green energy.
The opening of the Sixth Gate further strengthened Might Guy's chakra, making him even more fierce.
"Hmm? What's happening." Nagato's excellent perception instantly detected the changes in Might Guy, showing a surprised expression.
He thought Might Guy would lose his combat strength under the oppressive storm, but unexpectedly Might Guy became stronger again, exhibiting an unprecedented terrifying aura.
With his body becoming stronger, even though it was still the Sixth Gate combined with the Breath of Rock Chakra Mode, this moment's Might Guy was even stronger than when fighting the Seven-Swords Ninja.
The terrifying aura soared up, even the ninja spectators could clearly feel it from the stands.
"Guy, he still had something hidden." Asuma inhaled sharply.
Asuma felt that the current Might Guy could definitely punch him to death.
"So, he wasn't fighting with full strength against me." Hoshigaki Kisame felt a little uncomfortable.
After considerable effort, his former opponent no longer needed full strength to defeat him.
"Quite reckless; good thing Teacher Mokgetsu is here too." Kakashi saw the green energy covering Might Guy's body, knowing that Might Guy forcibly opened a higher gate.
Kakashi had a deep impression of the View Gate Might Guy, because if it weren't for Might Guy opening the View Gate to single-handedly stop four of the Seven-Swords Ninja, they absolutely couldn't have held on unharmed until Mokgetsu arrived.
Of course, the cost was truly high; Might Guy was the most severely injured, even if Mokgetsu treated him immediately, it took a long subsequent recovery period to fully heal.
"Such a strong atmosphere." Kitsuchi's gaze towards Might Guy had changed.
Not just a genius anymore; evidently a powerhouse, a strong ninja in this Ninja World like himself.
Even if Kitsuchi were to replace Nagato to fight now, he wouldn't be certain he could win against this Might Guy.
"Still has a trump card." Seeing Might Guy suddenly explode in power, Hanzo maintained a calm expression, feeling delighted inwardly, and then observed Mokgetsu.
Upon discovering Mokgetsu still wore that benevolent, gentle smile, Hanzo felt deeply puzzled.
"Isn't he worried about his ninjutsu being spread? That's Konoha Ninja." Hanzo didn't understand.
If the ninjutsu was obtained by Konoha, given Konoha's scale, someone would very likely learn it, and Konoha might even send someone to specifically research how to counter the Fire Dragon Dance.
Hanzo couldn't fathom Mokgetsu's thoughts, so he could only continue to watch the competition.
Might Guy poured a large amount of chakra into his index and middle fingers, putting the two fingers together and aiming behind him.
He was forcibly opening the Sixth Gate, which would inflict significant damage on the body, coupled with being already heavily injured; the longer the battle continues, the more unfavorable it will be for Might Guy, he needs to race against time.
Thus, Might Guy was ready to unleash all power to quickly end the fight without probing the true cooldown of Almighty Push.
Might Guy wasn't very knowledgeable about repulsive force, but he had seen Nagato using Almighty Push to deflect Hirudora and retreat.
Which shows that Nagato's Almighty Push isn't invincible; if it encounters a stronger force, then Almighty Push may not perfectly intercept it.
"Golden Horizon!"
Might Guy pushed his maximum burst, all his strength surging towards Nagato.
At this moment, many ninja spectators couldn't clearly see Might Guy's form anymore, only sensing a rapid green light on the stage.
Realizing the current terrifying Might Guy, Nagato showed a cautious expression, mobilizing all chakra concentrated on the Rinnegan.
This kind of Might Guy couldn't be handled with ordinary Almighty Push, it required an even stronger Almighty Push.
To give the main body more time to prepare ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone blocked in front of Nagato, using ninjutsu to intercept Might Guy.
But at this moment, Might Guy was exceptionally strong, Nagato's Shadow Clone couldn't effectively stop Might Guy.
In an instant, Might Guy rushed ahead, swinging his right hand's fingers as if wielding some sort of sharp blade.
The moment Might Guy performed the slashing motion, the powerful impact instantly shattered Nagato's Shadow Clone.
A dazzling golden light flashed by, Nagato's perception sent out an incredibly dangerous signal.
There was no time to think, Nagato instinctively released the large amount of gathered chakra, pushing the Rinnegan's capabilities to the limit, executing the strongest attack since acquiring the Rinnegan.
"Almighty Push!"
PS: There's another chapter forthcoming, but it will be quite late, it's recommended to read it tomorrow.
The original plan was to finish the Martial Arts Tournament by the tenth, updating Naruto's side story, but due to a day off and two days of writer's block, there weren't many updates, so the progress is slightly slower than expected; thus, Naruto's side story will take a bit longer to come out.
After all, one can't have the main storyline in the heat of battle suddenly interrupted by a side story, the viewing experience would be terrible.