Obito plopped down onto the ground.
“Mom…” Kurenai and Rin clung to each other, trembling.
Ebisu’s whole body was shaking.
Only Guy and Kakashi hadn’t moved.
But their expressions had changed too.
The oppressive aura from this bear was ten times stronger than the first one.
The giant bear lowered its head and looked at the smaller bear lying there.
Then it raised its head and looked at this group of people.
“ROOOOOAR—” The roar was ten times louder than before, rattling their eardrums.
It raised its massive front paw and brought it down toward them.
“Scatter!” Guy and Kakashi moved at the same time.
They darted off in opposite directions.
BOOM!!!
The ground was cratered by the strike.
Kakashi landed and immediately formed hand seals.
“Clone Technique!” Poof!
Poof!
Poof!
Three clones charged at the giant bear.
The bear swatted with one paw.
Two clones burst into smoke instantly.
The remaining one went for its eye.
The kunai bent.
The bear didn’t even blink.
Its other claw swept across horizontally.
Kakashi’s real body flipped backward just in time.
The claw grazed past his scalp, the wind from it stinging his face.
“Earth Style: Mud Wall!” A half-meter-thick earthen wall rose from the ground.
CRUNCH!
The claw hit the mud wall, and the wall shattered into pieces.
Guy used the opening to charge in.
Leaping into the air.
Leaf Whirlwind!!
THUD!!!
The kick landed on the giant bear’s hind leg.
The bear’s leg wobbled, but it didn’t fall.
It turned its head, blood-red eyes locking onto Guy.
Its other paw was already swinging toward him.
Guy couldn’t dodge.
He crossed his arms and braced for impact.
CRASH— He flew backward like a rubber ball.
He crashed through one tree, then another, before slamming into the base of a third.
“GUY!!!” Kurenai screamed.
Guy pushed himself up, his whole body aching, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
At least two ribs were cracked.
But he grinned.
“I’m fine…
youth can still burn…” The bear gave him no time to recover.
It dropped to all fours and charged toward him.
Every step made the ground tremble.
Kakashi gritted his teeth and threw shuriken.
All deflected.
Clones charged in.
All swatted away.
His chakra was nearly depleted.
“Obito!!!
Get them out of here!!!” Obito was still sitting on the ground, his legs too weak to stand.
The giant bear reached Guy.
Its massive claw rose.
Coming down.
Guy gritted his teeth, trying to dodge.
His leg wouldn’t move.
The bone was broken.
He couldn’t put weight on it.
The claw was getting closer.
Bigger and bigger.
And then— A small figure rushed in, throwing herself in front of him.
Kurenai!
Her black curled hair swayed in the moonlight.
Arms spread wide, eyes squeezed shut.
“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Guy’s mind went blank.
Time seemed to slow down.
He saw Kurenai’s back—so small, so thin.
He saw that giant claw, about to come down.
He saw Obito scrambling up from the ground, his face flushed red, his eyes bulging.
He saw Kakashi charging toward them, gritting his teeth, but too far away.
He saw Rin covering her mouth, tears already streaming.
And then— He saw nothing.
Only a surge of heat, exploding from his core.
The Shaolin Muscle-Tendon Change Classic raced through his body faster than ever before.
Heat flooded his limbs, surging into his legs.
The system’s voice chimed in his ear.
[Enlightenment opportunity detected.] [Would you like to—] Guy didn’t listen.
He didn’t even hear it.
All he knew was that Kurenai was in front of him.
That claw was about to fall.
He had to kick.
He stood up.
His leg didn’t hurt anymore.
The bone had reconnected.
His blood was on fire.
His mind was blank.
Only one thought remained.
Those ten thousand kicks.
A hundred thousand kicks.
Two hundred thousand kicks.
Every single one, every moment— All of it fused together in this instant.
He stepped forward.
His right arm wrapped around Kurenai’s waist, pulling her behind him.
His left fist clenched at his side.
His right leg lifted.
A flood of images flashed through his mind.
Duy demonstrating the Leaf Whirlwind in front of the waterfall, his teeth gleaming.
That tree on the back hill snapping apart, wood chips flying.
That training target split in two, the examiner’s stunned face.
Kakashi saying “You can’t beat me,” and Guy smiling back: “But I’m not down yet.” White Fang standing at the school gate, tears streaming down his face.
And Duy’s words.
“Protecting the people you want to protect is more important than becoming a jonin.” Yes.
Protecting the people you want to protect.
His right leg— Kicked out.
It was slow.
So slow it seemed frozen.
But also fast.
So fast the air itself screamed.
In that moment, the world fell silent.
Only his heartbeat remained.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
His leg lit up in midair.
A faint golden light spread from his sole to his ankle, to his calf.
Like diamond.
Like fire.
Like some power that had been passed down for a thousand years.
[Vajra Leg — Transcendent] His right leg suddenly magnified ten times over!
A massive golden leg appeared in front of Guy, matching his kicking motion perfectly.
The golden light was blinding, illuminating the entire forest.
The air exploded.
BOOOOOOM— That wasn’t a sound.
It was the shriek of air being torn apart.
The giant bear’s claw was still mid-swing.
The golden leg had already struck its chest.
CRAAAAASH— The ten-meter-tall bear was hit like it had been slammed by a train, struck by a Tailed Beast, crushed by a mountain.
Its massive body was launched into the air.
Over the forest it had trampled.
Over that massive boulder.
Over ten meters away.
BOOM—CRASH—RUMBLE— It slammed into the hillside, carving out a massive crater.
Half the slope collapsed.
The giant bear lay in the pit, motionless.
Dead silence.
The golden leg slowly faded.
Guy was still holding his kicking stance.
His right leg trembled slightly.
He took a deep breath.
Lowered his leg.
Stood up straight.
He looked down at Kurenai.
Kurenai looked up at him, dazed.
Moonlight fell on her face, tears glistening in her eyes.
“You…
are you okay?” Guy grinned.
The movement pulled at his split lip, making him wince.
But he still gave a thumbs-up.
Teeth gleaming.
Kurenai’s tears fell.
Then she lunged forward and threw her arms around him.
“Idiot!!
Idiot!!
You scared me to death!!” Guy was frozen in her embrace.
He didn’t know where to put his hands.
“Hey…
this…” In the distance.
Obito’s mouth hung open as he looked at the collapsed hillside, then at Guy.
“Th…
this is youth…?” Kakashi stood beside a tree.
He looked at that green-clad guy being hugged.
Then he looked at the giant bear that had been sent flying dozens of meters.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“That monster…” [Congratulations!
You have achieved the pinnacle of the Low-Grade Ultimate Technique: Vajra Leg.] [Reward: Random Skill Gift Pack] [Open now?] Guy was still being hugged by Kurenai and didn’t have time to deal with the system.
But his heart stirred.
So this was the effect of reaching the pinnacle of a technique.
So this was what it felt like to protect someone.
He looked down at Kurenai’s head buried against his chest.
Her black curled hair was a little messy, trembling slightly.
He looked at the crater on the distant hillside.
He looked at his own right leg, still trembling faintly.
And he grinned.
Worth it.
So worth it.
“Guy.” Kakashi walked over.
Guy looked up.
“Yeah?” Kakashi looked at him, silent for two seconds.
“That kick—” He paused.
“Was that the Multi-Size Technique?” Guy blinked.
Then he grinned, not bothering to explain.
Instead, he gave a thumbs-up.
“That was the power of youth!!!” Kurenai finally lifted her head from his chest, her face bright red.
But she didn’t let go.
Obito finally found his voice and came charging over.
“Monster!!!
You’re an absolute monster!!!
A ten-meter bear!!!
You kicked it over ten meters!!!
What the heck are you?!” Rin nodded emphatically.
“Compared to that ninja bear, Guy’s more like a humanoid beast.” “Konoha’s humanoid beast?” Kakashi tilted his head, sizing up Guy.
“Fitting, I guess.
But it sounds a bit harsh.” “I think Konoha’s Vajra Beast sounds better.” Ebisu mumbled quietly.
That one line immediately resonated with the others.
Guy rolled his eyes helplessly.
Vajra Beast?
That nickname didn’t even sound as good as his original title, the Blue Beast.
But he didn’t mind.
The title of Blue Beast would return to him one day.
Of that, he had no doubt.
Might Guy grinned.
End of Chapter 15