章 251: Exploding Youth!

Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Hidden Leaf Ravine.

November, x784.

After being blasted through the cave ceiling, Kabuto stopped himself from falling by using his magic power to stick to the top of the hole he created. Then, after noticing that Guy was approaching, he ran through a short series of hand signs.

"[Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu]." Kabuto chanted quietly as his body sank into the top of the hole and began burrowing towards the surface.

Meanwhile, Guy, fueled by his anger and sense of justice, traveled up the hole and arrive near its end just in time to see Kabuto fuse with the surrounding earth.

Realizing that Kabuto was most likely headed to the surface, Guy punched at the end of the hole.

*Bang!*

As a result of Guy's punch, another stretch of earth was destroyed, extending his path to the surface.

About a minute later, Kabuto, without disturbing the ground, rose from the top of the ravine somewhere over the hideout.

"Good, I should have a minute or so before he arrives here." Kabuto said, recasting the [Mystical Palm Jutsu] and healing the damage from Guy's first two attacks.

All the while, Kabuto could feel the ground shaking and hear the crashes from Guy's attacks that created his path to the surface.

"Indeed, once I capture Guy, Lord Orochimaru will be pleased with the valuable research material." Kabuto said to himself, taking a bit of distance from where he emerged from the ground. "And considering his low amount of magic power combined with the fact that he has no ninjutsu or genjutsu at his disposal, this shouldn't be very hard."

Though the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf village are also considered wizards, their system of magic has evolved differently than that of the common wizard. Like all wizards, they refine magic power in their bodies from the ethernano in the air. However, instead of using imagination to cast their spells, they use a series of hand signs to manipulate the magic power in their bodies and mold it into seven basic elements.

Those elements consist of Earth , Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Yin, and Yang. And to be able to use spells, or Jutsu as they call them, of other elements, such as wood, poison, ice, etc., they must have a certain genetic mutation they refer to as a [Kekkei Genkai] that helps them to combine two of the basic elements. In fact, these [Kekkei Genkai] can provide much more than just more advanced element usage when casting spell.

For example, there are two shinobi clans in the Village Hidden in the Leaves that have eye magic specific to their clans. Another example would be the nearly extinct clan who used to live off the coast of Fiore that could produce chains made of magic power from their backs.

As for the terms Ninjutsu and Genjutsu Kabuto mentioned a moment ago, they refer to the use of magic power to cast spells. While most ninjutsu focuses around casting elemental attack spells, there are exceptions. Meanwhile, genjutsu is the use of one's magic power to influence another's placing them in an illusion, if cast successfully.

"[Dynamic Entry]." Guy's voice could be heard from underground as the ground began to rumble more intensely.

*Boom!*

A moment later, pulverized rocks and debris shot upward as Guy, with one leg extended in a kick shot out of a hole in the ground.

"Good, you're still here." Guy said with a confident smile that sparkled momentarily. "Now, I will show you the power of my youth."

"Uh… sure." Kabuto replied in an unsure tone as he took his fighting stance.

Immediately afterward, Kabuto charged forward with his hands covered in blue magic power.

"[Healing Magic: Magic Scalpel]." Kabuto chanted quietly.

In the next instant, Kabuto slashed his right hand at Guy's left chest. Instinctively, Guy turned his body by a quarter turn, evading Kabuto' strike while simultaneously pushing away Kabuto's wrist with his right palm. Then, he followed up by whipping a back fist into Kabuto's face.

Taking the hit squarely, Kabuto's head was whipped to the left. However, instead of flying back, he used his magic power to anchor himself to the ground. At the same time, using his left hand, he chopped at Guy's wrist.

Sensing the danger behind the attack, Guy kicked upward at the underside of Kabuto's left wrist, raising his left arm upward. Crouching low a moment later, Guy spun on his pivot foot with his right leg extended away from his body.

'[Leaf Gale]!" Guy shouted sweeping Kabuto's legs out from under him.

Then, as Kabuto was falling to the ground, Guy leapt up into the air, summersaulting forward with is right leg still extended.

"[Leaf Drop].!" Guy shouted as he brought his right heel down on Kabuto's chest.

*Bang!*

*Cough*

As a result of Guy's kick, Kabuto's eyes widened as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. At the same time, Guy used Kabuto's chest as a springboard to summersault away from Kabuto's hands that were still covered in magic power.

After landing, Guy looked down from just outside of Kabuto's reach. And what he saw was exactly what he expected. Kabuto, after receiving three attacks form him lay on the ground with a broken jaw, a broken wrist, and a caved in chest.

"Good." Guy muttered quietly, relaxing his muscles. "I only had to open the [First Gate]." Guy muttered to himself as he regulated his breathing.

"Is that really what you think?" Kabuto, in a weak tone, asked from his spot on the ground.

Surprised that Kabuto could even speak, Guy's eyes widened as he looked at his downed foe. To his surprise, Kabuto's sunken in chest was regenerating at a visible speed. On top of that, his jaw had already healed. And he was pretty sure the same was true about his wrist.

"How?" Guy asked in disbelief. "I didn't give you enough time to use the [Mystical Palm Jutsu] to heal by that much."

Instead of responding immediately, Kabuto slowly rolled over and picked himself up from the ground. By the time he was standing upright again, there was no visible evidence of the injuries he just received.

"Do you really think, that after all the experiments and research we've completed, that we haven't found ways to improve our own bodies?" Kabuto asked, recasting the [Magic Scalpel] as he spoke. "As it so happens, I've gained quite the regenerative healing factor for myself. And if that's all you've got, then there is no way you'll be able to defeat me. In fact, I think it's better this way. Tiring you out enough that capturing you is easy sounds wonderful. Then, we'll have a perfect specimen for experimentation."

Frowning at the new revelation, Guy once again took his fighting stance.

"Then, it looks like I'll just have to hit you hard enough that your healing will be ineffective." Guy replied before vanishing from where he stood in a burst of speed.

Once again, Guy appeared in front of Kabuto with his right foot shooting up at kabuto's chin. Unlike last time, however, Kabuto was prepared for Guys' high-speed movements. As a result, Kabuto, with is hands still wearing the [Magic Scalpel] raised both his hands to block Guy's kick.

Stopping his kick quickly after seeing Kabuto's defense, Guy once again spun on his left leg.

"[Leaf Great Whirlwind]!" Guy shouted as his right heel lashed out at Kabuto's head.

At a speed that Kabuto could not follow with his eyes, Guy kicked him so hard that he was blown away. At the same time, due to the speed at which he spun, a whirlwind was produced around Guy, sweeping up any surrounding pebbles as it raged around him.

*Boom!*

A moment later, kabuto slammed into the ground a distance away. At first glance, it was clear that his skull had been cracked and the teeth on the left side of his mouth had all been shattered. Still, He started stirring nearly immediately after hitting the ground.

Once again, Kabuto's hand lit up with green magic power as he applied the [Mystical Palm Jutsu] on his injuries while slowly standing to his feet.

"Impressive." Kabuto praised once he was back on his feet. "I couldn't even see that one coming. And you've completely destroyed my glasses… what a pity. Those held significant sentimental value. Oh well, I can always get another. But if that's all you have, You'll never be able to defeat me."

"*Sigh* I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this." Guy said, once again relaxing his muscles as the whirlwind surrounding him died down. "But I guess I'll have to allow my youth to explode in full. [Limit Breaking Magic: Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Life, Open]!"

With Guy's chant, his magic power swelled while his skin turned as red as if he had been boiled. At the same time, his hair stood on end while his veins bulged all over his body.

The [Eight Inner Gates Guy referred to are natural limiters in the human body, with each person having eight in total, as the name would suggest. These limiters are in place to keep each person from harming him or herself inadvertently with their strength.

With the use of [Limit Breaking Magic], however, these gates can be opened temporarily, granting the user an exponential growth in both physical strength and magic power depending on how many are opened.

At first, Guy had only opened the [First Gate, the Gate of Opening]. And with only the first of the [Eight Gates] open, Guy was able to kick fast enough to create a localized whirlwind. But now, by opening the [Third Gate, the Gate of Life], Guy's power increased by two whole magnitutdes.

In the next instant, Guy was no longer standing in his previous location. At the same time, Kabuto had been rocketed up into the air. Then, from different angles, Guy repeated struck the grey-haired young man with a multitude of punches and kicks.

"Ahh… The [Eight Gates]." Kabuto muttered while being rag dolled in the air. "Though I'm impressed you can open three gates, this will be far from enough to defeat me."

"You make it seem as if three is my limit." Guy replied while continuing his onslaught. "[Gate of Pain, Open!]"

As soon as Guy opened the next gate, his speed and power increased once again. Still, it seemed as if it would not be enough to defeat kabuto, as his regeneration was still keeping up with the damage inflicted.

"[Gate of Limit, Open]!" Guy shouted his chant as his speed and power increased once more.

By this point, Kabuto was feeling a strain on his healing factor. Still, he felt as if he could handle this amount of damage.. At least until Guy tired himself out.

"Just give up." Kabuto said with a sneer, despite all the broken bones and blood covering his body. "A failure like you just doesn't have what it takes."

"Ha! I thought I'd gotten rid of that title." Guy said with a smile, despite the pain he was feeling from surpassing his body's natural limits by so much. "Then again, from the perspective of most shinobi, having no talent when it comes to Ninjutsu and Genjutsu would make me a failure. Still, if this isn't enough to erase that from your mind, then let the limits of my youth do so. [Gate of View, Open]!"

Hearing Guy mention the sixth of the [Eight Gates] in his latest chant, Kabuto's eyes widened in both surprise and concern. With only five gates open, Kabuto's healing factor was just barely able to break even with the damage Guy was inflicting.

Instead of continuing to pummel the beaten and battered Kabuto, Guy finally allowed him to fall to the ground. Before he could regenerate by too much, however, Guy leapt straight up into the air and pulled his fists back.

"[Morning Peacock]!" Guy shouted.

With Guy's shout, he began throwing punches towards the spot Kabuto fell. However, these punches were so fast that flames were created on Guy's fists from the air friction. Then, at the end of each punch, the fire that had accumulated on Guy's fists, along with an air bullet produced by the power behind his punches, was launched downward at Kabuto.

"Argh~~~~~!" kabuto's pain screams echoed over the surroundings once he was engulfed in flames.

With Guy's punch only lasting for a few seconds, eventually falling back to the ground. Meanwhile, Kabuto's screams last for much longer as he was burned severely even after the air bullets ceased. Eventually, Kabuto lost consciousness, right around the time the flames went out.

Noticing this, Guy slowly made his way over to Kabuto, closing all the open [Eight Inner Gates] as he moved.

"Oh man, I'm gonna be feeling this for weeks." Guy said as he slapped a pair of anti-magic cuffs onto kabuto's wrists. As soon as that was done, he fell onto his back. Then, with a wide smile on his face, he continued speaking. "But that's just a sign of my youth burning brightly."