A violent gale surged forward as Might Guy charged in again, his right leg sweeping sideways—clearly aiming to cut Hagoromo down at the waist.
Now this was worth watching.
Hagoromo didn't panic in the slightest.
After all, his figure—
…ahem, his movement technique—was flexible.
His upper body bent backward, almost folding in half.
That move alone demanded terrifying core control. Fold too far, and it wasn't "flexibility"—it was career-ending.
Guy's kick naturally sliced through empty air.
Hagoromo slapped one hand to the ground, kicked up into a handstand, and hooked one leg cleanly over Guy's shoulder.
His limbs tensed like a drawn bow. Both palms struck the ground again, and he retreated rapidly.
What made Hagoromo truly annoying wasn't his killing power.
It was the fact that once you got close to him, those threads of Lightning Release made it impossible to attack normally.
First, enjoy a complimentary course of paralysis.
Guy had no choice—he forcibly tore himself away with sheer power.
By now, the clash had gone on for quite some time. Long enough that they could've watched the moon climb into the sky together.
Lightning flickered across Hagoromo's body.
His chakra reserves were thinning. If the fight dragged on much longer, he'd need to switch modes—
Specifically, swap in the high-capacity battery with the energy-accumulating ring mounted underneath.
A sparring match was still a sparring match.
Hagoromo couldn't kill Guy.
So the battle had naturally devolved into a war of attrition.
Opportunities to finish things had appeared countless times—no matter how fast Guy was, Hagoromo could have driven a Chidori or Chidori Spear straight through him.
But of course, he didn't.
Guy wasn't an enemy. Even Chidori Stream was being carefully restrained.
"Can you still open the Fifth Gate?" Hagoromo asked.
Guy froze for a moment, then realized what Hagoromo meant.
"The Fifth Gate can be opened," he replied seriously, "but it cannot be used."
In a sparring match between comrades, the Fourth Gate was already the absolute limit.
Opening the Fifth—the Gate of Limit—was strictly forbidden.
In fact, at this stage, Guy could already barely force open the Sixth Gate and use Morning Peacock.
But those techniques were completely off-limits.
If he used them, how would that be any different from Hagoromo using Raikiri?
"Then how about we call this a draw?" Hagoromo suggested.
"I don't see much point in continuing… my chakra won't last much longer."
At the root of it all, shinobi measured strength by one simple standard:
Who could kill the other first.
A sparring match always carried an element of performance. After all, a shinobi's profession revolved around one-hit kills, assassination, and striking from the shadows—not honorable duels in broad daylight.
Truthfully, despite how fierce the exchange looked, both of them were heavily restrained.
In this state, Hagoromo couldn't overwhelm Guy—but he'd learned enough to understand Guy's current level.
The same was true in reverse.
For Guy, even using the Reverse Lotus was pushing his limits. Stronger techniques were off-limits, and he had already achieved his goal—
Ultimate taijutsu truly worked against shinobi like Hagoromo.
Hagoromo was nearing chakra exhaustion.
Guy's body, meanwhile, was approaching its tolerance limit.
From either perspective, there was no reason to continue.
Hagoromo withdrew his Lightning Release.
Guy closed his Gates.
"Then… this should be your victory," Guy said.
"After all, you didn't use any other ninjutsu."
Guy might be obsessed with winning—but what he wanted was a fair victory.
"That's not how it works," Hagoromo replied calmly.
"With both of us holding back under restrictions, we've already given it our all. A draw is a draw. You didn't use all Eight Gates either."
This wasn't comfort.
If he spoke that way, he'd be looking down on Guy.
He genuinely believed it.
Hagoromo didn't obsess over wins or losses—and quickly changed the subject:
"Still… the Chūnin Exams are about to begin. With the strain Eight Gates put on your body, you probably won't be able to fight at full strength during the exams."
The moment he said it, he realized—
He'd messed up.
Because Guy was already smiling.
That confident, blazing smile.
He struck a familiar, overly dramatic pose—and began delivering his signature philosophy.
Hagoromo could guess the first two words instantly.
"Youth is—"
Yep. Nailed it.
After enduring a solid stretch of Youth Doctrine Assault, Guy finally departed.
Eight Gates injured the user before the enemy—after fighting, Guy's exhaustion was on an entirely different level from Hagoromo's.
He looked fine.
He absolutely wasn't.
Willpower could handle some things—but not everything.
So, honestly, Hagoromo wasn't optimistic about Guy's performance in this Chūnin Exam.
Hagoromo began collecting the iron sand, lifting the gourd.
The training field had been utterly wrecked.
Hopefully, the maintenance staff—upon seeing terrain destroyed purely by taijutsu violence—would still believe life was beautiful.
Once everything was recovered, Hagoromo slung the gourd back onto his back.
But he didn't leave.
Instead, he spoke toward an empty direction.
"Third Hokage… you can come out now."
It sounded like he was calling into the void.
Yet from the shadows emerged a figure wearing a hat and holding a pipe.
"Heh… so you noticed," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile.
Third Hokage.
War ongoing.
And you still had time to watch a sparring match—was that really okay?
Sadly, Hagoromo's eyes weren't expressive enough to convey that exact sentiment.
Truthfully, he'd noticed someone arrive shortly after the fight began.
The noise alone guaranteed Konoha wouldn't ignore it.
As for whether it was the Third Hokage—Hagoromo had only guessed.
Turns out, he guessed right.
Hiruzen was likely there to intervene if things escalated.
Instead, despite both sides using high-powered techniques, they'd stopped cleanly—without serious injury.
That was good.
Hiruzen didn't comment on the spar.
Instead, he spoke directly.
"The information you brought back… after discussion, we've decided it will be conveyed to Sunagakure."
So it would be treated as confirmed intelligence.
Hagoromo nodded.
At least his effort hadn't been wasted.
But something else was on his mind.
He extended one arm toward the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen blinked.
"…Doctor?" he said slowly.
Only then did he realize—
Doctor was referring to him.
Legend said the Third Hokage knew every jutsu.
"So… you know medical ninjutsu?" Hagoromo asked seriously.
"I think I fractured a bone."
He wasn't being polite about it at all.
If the Third Hokage truly knew medical ninjutsu, Hagoromo absolutely wanted him to check—anything Hiruzen knew, he knew well.
Hagoromo stared at him intently.
Sarutobi.
Thin frame.
Short stature.
…Wait.
Wasn't that what people called petite?
Hagoromo's gaze drifted to the Hokage hat.
Medical ninjutsu.
Hat.
In his imagination, the hat seamlessly transformed into a Nightingale nurse cap.
Control your imagination.
Too late.
In his mind, the Third Hokage was already wearing a pink nurse uniform.
And then—
"Urgh—"
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