[No matter how hard Lee trained, he still couldn't defeat Neji. That invisible sense of loss and the sting of comparison always lingered in Lee's heart. He wanted to cry, but didn't dare dwell on it. It was Guy's encouragement and guidance that constantly helped Lee find his footing again.]
[Guy: "You really are different from Neji. You can't use ninjutsu, you can't use genjutsu, and you're not a taijutsu prodigy either. But Lee, you're a genius with the potential and possibility to surpass even Neji. To put it simply, you're a genius of hard work. That's your strength—two words: hard work!"]
[Guy warned Lee: If you don't believe in yourself, then there's no point or value in even trying.]
[Those words were in stark contrast to Guy's rough appearance and goofy personality. As a teacher, Guy was unexpectedly meticulous—almost heavenly.]
[Lee had something he was willing to prove and protect, even at the cost of his life. That unwavering determination was what made Guy break precedent and teach him the Eight Gates.]
[During the Chunin Exams, when Lee opened the Fifth Gate against Gaara, he had wanted to say to Neji: "This is the ultimate move I prepared for you."]
[Similarly, during the final battle of the Fourth Great Ninja War, when Guy opened the Eighth Gate, he also wanted to say to Kakashi: "Did you see that, Kakashi? These Eight Gates... I originally prepared them for you." (laughs)]
"Uhh, that really wasn't necessary."
In the third timeline, everyone was once again smiling and looking teasingly at Kakashi. Kakashi, meanwhile, was mentally screaming, mmP [T/N: expression of silent frustration].
After witnessing the battle between the Eight Gates and Six Paths Madara, everyone now had a vivid understanding of what the final gate—the Gate of Death—meant.
They understood that once that last gate opened, it unleashed power beyond even a Kage, enough to seriously injure Six Paths Madara.
And to think that Guy said he had prepared such insane power for Kakashi… that left Kakashi with enormous pressure.
He didn't know whether he should be grateful for Guy's faith in him, or saddened by the fact that he might not be worthy of such trust.
This was just too complicated.
"Kakashi, I think next time Guy comes to challenge you, you'd better handle it more cleverly. If you piss him off and he hits you with Night Guy, you won't even have a chance to run. Hahaha."
Kakashi rubbed his forehead, too tired to respond to Asuma's sarcasm.
Given what he knew about Guy, even if he did somehow anger him, there's no way Guy would ever actually use Night Guy on him.
...Probably.
As Kakashi mulled it over, his gaze shifted to his father.
His old man, Sakumo Hatake, had been a top-tier taijutsu (sword) user too. Surely, he'd save his own son, right?
Sakumo: "Don't look at me. Who do you think I am? You think I'd dare step in under the force of Night Guy? If you die, at best I'll give you a grand funeral."
"..."
What the hell? Are you saying I don't even get a chance to be revived?
"Heh... Little Guy is just throwing a tantrum. The mere Eight Inner Gates—under the gaze of my Double Kamui Sharingan—is no stronger than a chicken or a dog."
Fifth Hokage timeline.
Because of Tobirama Senju's intervention, Might Guy hadn't ended up using the final Eighth Gate against Six Paths Madara.
But thanks to Kakashi's recap video, they had all learned just how terrifying Night Guy kick truly was.
So, when Kakashi said that line, Tsunade and the others stared at him with even weirder expressions.
"Kakashi-kun, once I fully master the Resurrection Jutsu, how about I set up a life-or-death match between you and Guy?"
"No need. Guy would never beat me anyway."
"...You haven't even fought him. How do you know he wouldn't beat you?"
Kakashi pointed to his eyes wrapped in black cloth and replied seriously, "Ever since I got these eyes, Guy already lost."
"...You really think you can take on Night Guy?"
"Didn't I say it already? Guy is definitely not my match. It's just Night Guy—we're talking easy win here."
"..."
Even someone as scheming and composed as Orochimaru was left speechless by Kakashi's words.
This wasn't arrogance anymore—this was full-blown madness.
Yes, with both Mangekyō Sharingan of Kamui, Kakashi could phase through almost any attack.
But Night Guy was a clear exception.
Because Night Guy's technique distorted space itself.
If Kakashi tried to use Kamui's phasing to dodge it, he would 100% get kicked to death.
"Don't compare my intangibility to Obito's. I have both Kamui Sharingan. Obito? That bastard? He's nothing compared to me!"
Obito: "Kakashi, you **********"
[To someone who pins all hope on perishing together, the heavens won't let him win forever.]
[The battle with Gaara nearly crippled Lee. If you ask Guy whether he regrets it, of course he regrets not stopping him. But when it comes to helping Lee walk the path of a true shinobi—he has absolutely no regrets.]
[To heal his beloved student, Guy tried everything: Youth Elixirs, Youth Pills... Lee almost coughed up blood from it all.]
[When the doctors said Lee was finished, Guy didn't care. That grown man ground up the medicine himself for him.]
[Naruto once said to Lee: "If you've got the guts to keep drinking something that nasty, then this injury is nothing."]
[Later, when there was really no other option, Guy pinned all his hopes on the medical genius Tsunade—even going as far as praising her chest size every day.]
[But the truth was, Lee's injuries weren't something that could be healed just by Guy's flattery or silliness.]
[The nerves around Lee's wounds were surrounded by shattered bone fragments. Even with Tsunade's skills, performing surgery came with a high risk of death.]
[In other words, he was no longer fit to be a ninja.]
[This was something even Guy had never experienced before, so one could only imagine how devastating it was for Lee.]
"Indeed, Lee's injuries are extremely complicated, even for me. At best, I can only just barely save him."
In the current timeline, Tsunade had the most authority when it came to evaluating Lee's condition.
Kabuto Yakushi might be considered a medical prodigy too, but all he could do was prevent Lee's injuries from getting worse.
Compared to the original timeline, Lee's condition here was actually much better. Even so, Tsunade still couldn't fully cure him.
Just like she told Jiraiya after returning to Konoha and taking over Lee's treatment, there was a high chance Lee would never be able to master the final Gate of the Eight Gates technique.
"Did you already tell Guy about Lee's situation, Tsunade?"
Glancing at Jiraiya, who had just spoken, Tsunade nodded and replied, "Of course I told him. But I didn't say anything about the cloning."
"Why not?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not the Hokage. Anything involving classified secrets like that should obviously come from you, the Hokage."
Jiraiya gave a sheepish smile, deciding he would talk to Guy about it tomorrow.
It would be a huge shame if the one with the potential to inherit everything from Guy ended up losing that chance because of his injuries.
"Jiraiya, when you go inform Guy about the cloning, ask him if he wants to enhance Lee's clone a bit—maybe give him a kekkei genkai like Steel Release or something. The price is negotiable."
"...You'd better discuss that with Guy yourself."
"Fine by me."
****
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