Kai and Kakashi: Hard Work Can Surpass Genius

Kakashi let out a yawn. He had just returned from a mission outside the village and barely rested for two days before being challenged by Guy. On his way to the training ground, he was conscripted by Kushina, who was shopping, to help carry her bags.

Upon hearing about their duel, Kushina and Mikoto became very interested and insisted on coming along to watch the spectacle.

“Let’s finish this quickly, Guy. I’m a bit busy today,” Kakashi said, waving listlessly at Guy.

In contrast to Kakashi’s lackluster state, Guy was bursting with energy, as though he had an endless supply of it.

“Kakashi, here I come!” he shouted, eyes blazing with fervor as he charged toward his friend.

So fast.

Kakashi’s pupils contracted; he had barely registered the movement before Guy was upon him, launching a heavy Leaf Whirlwind kick.

Caught unprepared, Kakashi could only cross his arms in front of himself to block, and took the full brunt of the blow.

The next instant, a powerful force sent Kakashi flying backward, slamming him into the wire fence surrounding the training ground.

“Three days apart and you must look at a man with new eyes.”

Kakashi, having suffered a disadvantage from the start, finally came to understand this truth. Guy’s speed and strength had both improved considerably.

“Are you all right, Kakashi?” Guy didn’t press his advantage, but instead approached with a look of concern.

“Not even close,” Kakashi replied coldly. To someone as proud as him, Guy’s concern felt more like mockery.

So Kakashi grew serious.

Thud, thud, thud!

On the training ground, the two young men exchanged fierce blows, each strike echoing dully. Their speed was so great it dazzled the onlookers.

Impressive.

On the stands, Kushina and Mikoto both looked astonished.

Kakashi’s abilities needed no further mention. Minato Namikaze had more than once remarked that, despite his youth, Kakashi was fully capable of serving as a jonin.

Both Kushina and Mikoto were jonin as well, but in pure taijutsu, they weren’t necessarily stronger than Kakashi.

What truly shocked them, however, was Might Guy.

Setting aside his bizarre appearance—red skin and wild, upright hair—as a so-called “dead last” genin, Guy was actually suppressing Kakashi in taijutsu?

Kakashi himself was equally stunned.

What’s going on?

He found that even when using his full strength, he couldn’t defeat Guy. The rate at which Guy had improved recently was beyond his imagination.

Moreover, Kakashi noticed something was off about Guy.

During their fight, Guy seemed to be growing more and more excited, his eyes turning a vivid blood-red, lost in some kind of fervent trance.

At that moment—

“Kakashi!” Guy roared, delivering a low roundhouse kick that sent Kakashi stumbling back.

Before Kakashi could regain his footing, Guy leapt into the air, spinning at high speed, and landed a high kick that drove Kakashi back again.

Completely off balance, Kakashi left himself open, and Guy struck him square in the chest with a high-speed heel kick, sending him flying.

Leaf Great Whirlwind.

That three-kick combination launched Kakashi like a cannonball toward the stands, where he crashed with a thunderous noise.

“Cough, cough…”

In the rubble of the collapsed stands, Kakashi coughed up blood, his eyes wide with shock. He tried to stand, but searing pain in his chest forced him back down.

All this time,

When sparring with Guy, Kakashi had rarely used ninjutsu, out of consideration for his opponent.

Even in pure taijutsu, Guy had never beaten him.

Until today.

In this moment of defeat, memories surged through Kakashi’s mind.

A few years ago, when he first saw Guy at the ninja academy gates, the latter hadn’t even managed to pass the most basic entrance test. His father, “Eternal Genin” Might Duy, had been ridiculed by two passing Leaf ninjas.

Young and impetuous, Might Guy tried to defend his father, only to be beaten up. Kakashi, unable to stand by, stepped in and swiftly defeated the two ninjas.

“Your father is mocked like that, and you can’t even fight back,” Kakashi had said scornfully at the time, looking down on Guy.

Later, Kakashi and his father, Sakumo Hatake, ran into Might Duy and his son again at the academy gates.

To Kakashi’s surprise, upon learning that Guy had failed to enroll, his own father didn’t belittle the boy but, moved by Guy’s battered body and optimistic spirit, made a bold prediction—

Might Guy, he said, might one day surpass Kakashi.

Sakumo encouraged Kakashi to ask Guy’s name and to befriend him.

A genius and an underdog—their lives had been parallel lines, but from that day on, they intersected.

Kakashi, proud and confident, had accepted Guy’s endless challenges. Though he gradually acknowledged Guy’s effort and progress, he never truly believed his father’s words.

But now, Guy had done it.

At least in taijutsu, he had surpassed Kakashi.

Hard work can surpass genius.

Of course, there was also a small contribution from Kisame.

“Kakashi, what’s wrong with you? Defeated by a genin? Get up, I’m not done watching!” Kushina called from the stands, waving her fist boisterously.

Mikoto, ever attentive, grabbed Kushina’s arm, her brow creasing. “Kushina, something’s wrong. Look at that child.”

Only then did Kushina notice that Might Guy’s eyes had turned completely red, and he was snorting twin streams of white air from his nose like an enraged bull.

Guy’s transformation didn’t escape Kisame’s notice either.

Anyone who gained great power from Monster Cells would inevitably suffer side effects.

Something would be lost.

Some lost their hair; some lost their manhood. In Might Guy’s case, it seemed to be his rationality.

Just like a Saiyan turning into a giant ape.

Kisame remembered clearly that after Guy swallowed a Monster Cell, he too fell into a berserk state, knowing only how to fight. Only after being defeated would he regain his senses.

Sure enough—

“Roar!”

In the training ground, Guy let out another bellow, his whole body erupting with surging green energy. Then, like a humanoid tyrannosaurus, he charged at Kakashi.

In this unconscious state, he had opened the Eight Gates.

What terrifying chakra.

Kakashi was stunned—this was not the Guy he knew. He wanted to flee, but his injuries left him immobilized.

“Stop him!” Kushina and Mikoto, both alarmed, leapt from the stands and moved to intercept Might Guy.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Mikoto’s hands became a blur as she hurled a barrage of shuriken. As they flew, the shuriken collided and changed course in midair, attacking Guy from all directions.

Exquisite shuriken technique was Mikoto’s specialty—an extraordinary talent she passed on to her sons, Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, who would eventually surpass her.

However,

To Mikoto’s shock, Guy made no attempt to dodge her shuriken formation but took them head-on.

Clang, clang, clang!

The shuriken struck Guy’s body, ringing out like metal on metal, leaving only faint white marks on his red skin.

In his berserk state, Guy’s strength and speed had soared, and even his skin had hardened, greatly increasing his defense.

Seeing this, Kushina shouted to her friend, “Mikoto, go protect Kakashi! Leave this guy to me!”

No sooner had she spoken than she pressed her hands together.