Due to the persistent interference of Ui's flying iron sand projectiles, Guy was forced to abandon his straight-line charge in favor of a serpentine, high-speed maneuver.
In reality, Ui's projectiles weren't fast enough to land a clean hit on a ninja with four gates open. His goal was never to wound; it was to disrupt. And in that regard, it worked—at least for a heartbeat.
But even with Ui backpedaling, the absolute speed of the Eight Inner Gates was simply too much. In the blink of an eye, Guy was there.
The earthy-red skin, the wide, frantic eyes, the ridiculous green spandex, and the upturned bowl cut—all of it wreathed in a violent, overflowing aura of blue chakra.
And with him came a fighting spirit that felt as if it could crush anything in its path. To stand directly in front of that required a spirit of equal measure.
The Proud, Sublime Green Beast of Konoha, indeed.
Guy closed the final distance, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.
"Boom!"
His left foot slammed into the earth with bone-shattering force, serving as a pivot. His body spun with the momentum of his charge, his right leg whipping around like a steel cable with enough power to split stone.
Leaf Strong Whirlwind!
Now that they were in close quarters, Ui stopped his retreat. Guy's leg came crashing down at an oblique angle, moving with the lethal precision of an Iai strike—meant to cleave the target in two the moment it "unsheathed."
Ui chose to take it head-on. He needed to feel the weight of Guy's resolve to truly understand his progress.
Iron sand formed the first layer of defense, followed by a concentrated shell of Lightning Style, and finally, Ui's own arms crossed in a rigid X-block.
"BOOM!"
The lightning exploded upon contact, scattering outward in a brilliant, spherical storm of sparks. In the dimming twilight, the technique looked like a work of radiant art.
It's an undeniable fact: lightning and electricity come with an inherent "cool" buff. If the user were a girl, the coolness index would jump by 300%—much like a certain "Railgun" from another world. However, Ui didn't look particularly cool in the next second, as he was sent skidding across the ground like a soccer ball.
On this flat terrain with nowhere to anchor himself, Ui couldn't fully negate the inertia of Guy's kick. The power exceeded his expectations.
He skipped across the dirt like a stone on water. Just as his back was about to slam into the ground, the iron gourd behind him ruptured. The sand flowed out like soft silken ribbons, bracing against the earth and acting like a series of springs to bounce him back into the air. After a few rhythmic rebounds, he flipped gracefully and landed on his feet.
Raiden Mei... looks more like a tentacle monster now, doesn't it?
Still, it was a perfect display of kinetic redirection. Any onlooker would have marveled at the precision—it was hard to believe Ui had only possessed this "tool" for a short time.
But he looked disheveled. His arms were trembling.
That strike was no probe; Guy had put his entire weight behind it. Usually, it was Ui who left his enemies numb and paralyzed; he hadn't expected to be on the receiving end of such a "tingling" sensation today.
Lightning flickered across Ui's forearms, his fingers twitching rhythmically. He was self-administering small shocks to flush out the paralysis caused by the physical impact.
His expression turned grim. He'd have to find a Hyuga later for an "X-ray" to make sure his ulna wasn't cracked. The contact had been too brief for his lightning to paralyze Guy—and truthfully, he hadn't tried to. A full-output shock would have ended the spar instantly, and what would be the point of that?
Ui reached up and unbuckled the broken straps on his chest. The iron gourd fell to the dirt with a heavy thud, carving out a shallow crater. Against this version of Guy, the "Gaara-style" defense was a hindrance.
"Are you done with Raiden Mei?" Guy asked, his voice strained by the pressure of the gates.
"Yeah. Well... 'Mei' isn't really meant for this. It's not suited for a fight with you."
Ui shook his arms, and the Lightning Style armor crawled back over his body. The high-pitched chirping of the lightning settled into a steady, rhythmic hum.
"Now, it's my turn."
"No more Ninjutsu?" Guy asked.
"No. From here on, I'm using Taijutsu. Full power."
The Jet-Propelled Counter
He kept his arms loose, hanging naturally at his sides as he regulated his breathing.
Inhale...
Then, Ui lunged!
His charge was linear like Guy's, but far more buoyant. He skipped across the surface of the ground like a dragonfly on water, hitting high velocity in a heartbeat.
He executed a hard stop, braced his hand against the ground, and spun into a high-speed kick. The lightning at his heel flared violently, creating a "jet-propulsion" effect that mimicked a rocket booster.
His rhythm shifted from light to explosive. By using Nin-Taijutsu, he supplemented his natural physical strength with the raw kinetic energy of his lightning. He could discard the gourd, but the lightning was a part of him he had no reason to leave behind.
Guy had used the Leaf Strong Whirlwind; Ui returned the favor with a Leaf Strong Whirlwind of his own.
Guy didn't dodge. In a spar like this, you don't evade—you meet force with force. He dropped into a semi-crouch, bracing himself for the impact. He had seen this "rhythm-shift" from Ui back in the academy. Ui was smarter, but Guy had the instincts of a thousand repetitions. He predicted the hit.
"BANG!"
The impact was thunderous. The ground beneath Guy's feet acted like the surface of a lake hit by a flat palm; dirt and dust sprayed upward in the direction of the force.
Guy's right hand, with his ring and pinky fingers curled in, clamped onto Ui's ankle like an eagle's claw. His left fist pulled back, ready to drive into Ui's midsection.
Guy's brow furrowed, the red veins on his face bulging. He was in direct contact with Ui's lightning armor now. To keep moving while being electrocuted was a feat of sheer, conditioned willpower.
But his counter—the start of a Primary Lotus—was something Ui couldn't afford to take.
Are you kidding? Primary Lotus? That's only one step below the 'Renge' of the inner palace!
Ui's lightning flared in a massive burst of outward pressure!
Guy's grip was forced loose by the electrical discharge. His follow-up strike was aborted, and his body blurred backward out of the lightning's reach.
Ui landed, watching Guy as sparks continued to dance across his green suit. He couldn't relax for a second.
What came next? The answer was clear.
Exhale...