At precisely three-thirty in the afternoon, the referee shouted, "Number one Nagato versus number eleven Might Guy!"
Both Nagato and Might Guy stood up almost simultaneously and walked toward the battle arena.
When the two reached the arena, the venue immediately erupted in discussions.
"This Might Guy is likely no match for Nagato." Maki believed Might Guy was destined to lose.
After all, even a Puppet Master capable of performing the Ten-Machine Drill lost; how could Might Guy win against Nagato?
The Hidden Sand Ninja around Maki nodded in agreement.
"Nagato's abilities are too bizarre. If Might Guy can handle them, there's hope for him to win; otherwise, it would be difficult," Kitsuchi analyzed.
In Kitsuchi's eyes, Might Guy was actually very strong and not without hope of defeating Nagato, but Nagato's skills were unusual, and even Kitsuchi couldn't quite understand them.
Aside from discussing and analyzing the competitors' strengths and outcomes, some let their thoughts wander.
"No wonder Sosuke was willing to make his prized ninjutsu the top reward. It turns out the Ninja Sect has such a super genius. In the end, the jutsu remains within the Ninja Sect," commented one ninja.
Nagato's dominance made it seem like the Ninja Sect never intended to reward the Fire Dragon Dance to other ninjas.
"It's not like the Ninja Sect said they wouldn't participate; they still rely on strength. Do you think they'd give it out for free?" another ninja retorted.
"At least the Ninja Sect has the courage to put it forward; you don't see other ninja forces offering their top-level jutsu as contest rewards."
The rebuked ninja was momentarily speechless.
The cacophony from the spectators did nothing to disturb the two in the arena.
The referee confirmed that Nagato and Might Guy were ready and then announced, "The battle begins!"
"Eight Gates, Limit Gate, open!"
As soon as the referee's voice fell, Might Guy instantly opened the Five Gates, his chakra surging rapidly, and his aura continuously intensified.
Not only that, but Might Guy also concentrated his breathing to the extreme, entering the Breath of Rock Chakra Mode, exponentially boosting his aura again.
In Nagato's perception, Might Guy at that moment seemed like a humanoid beast, with the risk of being torn apart if one got too close.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Nagato chose to form hand seals to produce two shadow clones, continuing to make hand seals for Lightning Release thereafter.
"Lightning Release: Pseudo-Darkness!"
Calm and collected, Nagato spat out lightning, sending it hurdling towards Might Guy.
Might Guy was very strong, but Nagato had confidence in himself.
Whoosh!
Might Guy's chakra exploded, dodging the incoming lightning like a flash of green light.
He chose to meet his opponent with his full strength from the start to avoid falling into Nagato's offensive rhythm. With the Five Gates combined with the Breath of Rock Chakra Mode, Might Guy's speed was fast enough to evade even the lightning release like Pseudo-Darkness, not allowing it to touch the hem of his garment.
"Fire Release: Headache!"
"Wind Release: Pressure!"
The two Nagato shadow clones finished their hand signs, one spitting out a high-pressure fireball, the other a high-pressure wind ball.
The flames struck the ground in Might Guy's path first, creating a spreading sea of fire, while the wind ball transformed into a powerful storm, greatly accelerating the expansion of the fire.
Facing the oncoming endless flames, Might Guy showed not a hint of fear, instead, a face of excitement, punched towards the sea of fire with speed.
Whirr!!
The wind generated by Might Guy's rapid punches blocked the spread of the fire in front of him, but he only managed to hold back the flames directly before him, as the fire sea continued to spread along his sides, encircling him.
At this moment, Might Guy was like a lone boat amidst raging waves, seemingly about to be completely consumed by the fire sea in the next moment.
"Hirudora!"
Once the compressed air reached its limit, Might Guy exclaimed excitedly, altering his fists to palms and clapping his hands hard.
Roar!!
The air, compressed to the extreme, burst out entirely at this moment, a powerful blast wave forming, manifesting as a ferocious tiger.
Upon the appearance of the tiger, the tide turned. Under its terrifying impact force, the flames that surrounded Might Guy retreated rapidly, like mice encountering a cat.
The roaring flames were torn apart by the tiger, scattering the sea of fire in all directions, while the tiger charged straight at Nagato.
"Let's see if Guy's taijutsu can withstand Nagato's repulsive force," Kakashi focused intently on the battlefield.
Nagato had only used the Almighty Push once in the martial arts tournament, and Kakashi had too little information to analyze, only able to preliminarily conclude it was related to repulsive force.
Although this was just the first match of the semifinals, in Kakashi's eyes, it was practically the finals.
Kakashi didn't look down on Shisui and Obito; rather, their strength indeed had a considerable gap compared to Might Guy.
If Might Guy couldn't defeat Nagato, then they had even less of a chance.
"Almighty Push!"
Confronting the bullishly advancing tiger, Nagato merely extended his right hand calmly, activating the Rinnegan's power.
A formidable repulsive force erupted from Nagato's center, causing the tiger, which had originally ignored the sea of fire, to halt immediately, unable to advance any further.
Boom!!
In the next instant, a huge roar sounded, as the repulsive force released by Nagato fiercely collided with Hirudora, causing the mighty tiger to vanish without a trace, and Nagato retreated several steps.
"This Taijutsu isn't enough. If Might Guy doesn't have a trump card, he's going to lose." Hanzo's expression remained unchanged, but he felt a bit regretful.
If Might Guy were a few years older, the outcome would be uncertain, but for now, Nagato is indeed stronger.
Thinking about watching Sosuke's disciple claim first place tomorrow made Hanzo feel quite uneasy.
The motivation for him to continue watching was to see Sosuke's regretful expression after losing the Ninja Sect, but it was clear now that it wouldn't come to pass—all was within Sosuke's control.
"No way, that's insane, waving his hand and blocking Hirudora." Obito was greatly shocked.
He was hoping for Might Guy to take first place so they could exchange rewards, since Might Guy couldn't learn Fire Release anyway.
But now it seemed that Nagato had a greater chance of winning.
"Hirudora isn't much; there's still the Golden Horizon." Obito cheered for Might Guy in his heart.
If Might Guy uses the Golden Horizon, everything will turn out well.
Compared to Hirudora, Obito still had more faith in the Golden Horizon.
After all, since mastering the Golden Horizon, Might Guy only struggled once against Kakashi's Thoughtless Slash.
But after Kakashi used Thoughtless Slash, he didn't need anyone else to defeat him; Kakashi himself couldn't continue, whereas Might Guy, after fully releasing Golden Horizon, remained vigorous and lively. The comparison is crystal clear.
"Quite the formidable foe that my close friend has always been wary of, even Hirudora can be blocked so easily." Might Guy sighed.
Currently, the only move he possesses that can surpass Hirudora in power is the Golden Horizon, meaning that all other Taijutsu, except for the Golden Horizon, are ineffective against Nagato.
It's even possible that the Golden Horizon won't work.
"However, this is precisely the opportunity to let youth burn even more fiercely!" Might Guy laughed heartily.
Might Guy never fears challenges; Nagato's strength doesn't evoke fear but makes his heart surge with excitement.
Due to the temporary cooldown of Almighty Push, Nagato retreated behind a Shadow Clone.
Though the cooldown is only five seconds, Might Guy is very fast, so Nagato must be cautious.
Plus, Nagato has always kept Mokgetsu's advice in mind—to shuffle the release timing of Almighty Push in non-critical situations and not to release it immediately after cooling down so that enemies can't acquire cooldown information of Almighty Push.
"Gohyo!"
With a loud bellow, Might Guy channeled all his strength into his legs, and the Chakra boosted by Eight Gates erupted again, applying the multiple burst technique of Soru to the body's limit.
The next moment, Might Guy lunged at Nagato like a hunting leopard.
Gohyo was a Taijutsu Might Guy developed by synthesizing his knowledge, though back then, he was still young, and many aspects weren't perfected.
Recently, Might Guy perfected Gohyo, bestowing it with an extraordinary burst speed, making acceleration its current Taijutsu pinnacle.
However, the drawback remains, causing significant leg fatigue, allowing for only two uses within five minutes.
For ordinary ninjas, spotting Might Guy's movements might be impossible, but Nagato possesses not only excellent perception abilities but also the Rinnegan.
Despite Might Guy's speed, Nagato can still see him.
Nagato quickly calculated and found that Almighty Push has just enough time, even with an extra two seconds.
Nagato's eyes flashed, making a quick decision internally.
Whoosh!
Nagato's main body didn't immediately unleash Almighty Push but used Instant Body Jutsu to widen the distance, while the Shadow Clones performed Ninjutsu to intercept Might Guy.
Though there's a slight margin on Almighty Push's cooldown, Nagato couldn't resolve Might Guy's assault in this round.
After all, Might Guy can withstand the Explosion Release of Hidden Rock; wanting to knock out Might Guy in one hit is exceedingly difficult.
Nagato prepared to miscommunicate with Might Guy while eroding his physical stamina.
Bang bang!!
Might Guy charged through the Shadow Clones' Ninjutsu, breaking them apart.
"Almighty Push!" As the ten seconds elapsed in his mind, Nagato swiftly attacked and launched Almighty Push at Might Guy.
Boom!!
Might Guy felt a strong repulsive force descend upon him, swiftly sending his body flying uncontrollably backward, crashing into the battlefield's wall.
Just as Nagato expected, Might Guy promptly got up like nothing had happened and continued his assault.
Before the ten seconds elapsed, Nagato deployed Five Elements Ninjutsu bombardment, then promptly used Almighty Push as the ten seconds hit.
"Could it be that his repulsive force ability has a cooldown, of ten seconds?"
After enduring four consecutive Almighty Push attacks, Might Guy detected the pattern in Almighty Push usage.
If Almighty Push could be used freely, he would likely be gravely injured by now.
But Nagato hasn't been continuously using Almighty Push, suggesting that Almighty Push must have limitations. According to Nagato's current behavior, this limitation might be that it can only be used every ten seconds.
"In that case, it's time for a counterattack!" A brilliant smile appeared on Might Guy's face.
Ten seconds is enough time for a ninja like him to accomplish a great deal.