Despite his hilarious appearance, Might Guy ranks among the absolute strongest characters in Naruto. Employing his supreme physical prowess, Guy defeated a major Akatsuki member, fought impressively against the mightiest antagonists in the series, and even cornered a Ten Tails-enhanced Madara Uchiha.
Inspired by his father, Guy trained strenuously until he became able to perform unreal attacks with just his martial arts. The eternal rival and friend of Kakashi Hatake, as well as the mentor of Rock Lee, Guy is a true legend of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Naruto world.
He achieved insane levels of might without having innate powers, but only through his dedication and hard work. As such, Guy is not just a fearsome fighter but also an inspirational character who communicates positive values.
Might Guy is the strongest taijutsu fighter in the entire Naruto series
From zero to hero
Guy deeply respected the teachings of his father, Might Duy, who lectured him that true victory is not just defeating a strong foe but that is is achieved by protecting someone or something that is truly precious. Lacking any skill with ninjutsu and genjutsu, Guy trained his taijutsu relentlessly.
Aiming to prove that he could be just as good as the natural genius Kakashi, Guy rendered the future "Copy Ninja" his lifelong rival. The two eventually became great friends. Throughout the Naruto series, they are portrayed as equals in power, with the strongest of the two being left open to speculation.
In Naruto Shippuden, Kakashi and Guy are depicted as stronger than most members of the Akatsuki. By the time of the Fourth Ninja War, they showcased even greater capabilities against the Tailed Beasts, Obito, and Madara. As Guy unleashed his full power with the Eighth Gate, Kakashi declared that the former surpassed him.
Still, Kakashi later received an immense powerup. Owing to his newfound visual powers, Kakashi was able to fight impressively against Kaguya Otsutsuki, fending off her much better than even Six Paths-enhanced Naruto and Sasuke. Hence, he may have surpassed Guy yet again.
Throughout the Naruto series, Guy's strength was hyped several times:
- The White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo Hatake, who saw Guy as a child, immediately recognized his future potential and claimed that he could surpass even that of his genius son, Kakashi.
- Itachi Uchiha praised Guy as a fearsome fighter and warned the Akatsuki to never underestimate his power.
- After seeing him fight, Gaara was in awe of his capabilities, calling him "inhuman."
- Madara Uchiha declared Guy the strongest taijutsu fighter and the only opponent to ever entertain him since the days of his battles with Hashirama Senju.
Guy's unreal might was teased since the beginning of Naruto. He was shown to casually outspeed Gaara's sand, brushing it aside with a mere flick of his wrist, all that while in his base form. Given that Rock Lee needed to use several of the Eight Gates to fight Gaara, it was clear from the start that the "Green Beast" was a true monster.
Naruto Shippuden finally delved into Guy's real capabilities, showcasing his exceptional speed, stamina, and physical strength, which he can further enhance by releasing the Eight Inner Gates. Even in his base form, Guy countered Kamui, preventing Obito from even touching him, which is impressive given that the Uchiha could overwhelm a Nine Tails-enhanced Naruto.
How powerful is Guy with the Sixth Gate?
With the Sixth Gate opened, Guy totally wrecked a clone who had the 30% of Kisame's overall power. He entered this form again to fight against the original Kisame. Using the Sixth Gate, he was also able to single-handedly fend off the Six Tails, a Tailed Beast.
In addition, the Sixth Gate allowed Guy to use Morning Peacock, a series of punches so fast that their supersonic speed ignites the air itself. It's a certain-kill move that destroy the opponent through a combination of raw power and burning flames.
A testament to its effectiveness, Morning Peacock wiped away a giant puff of corrosive gas created by the Six Tails. It also overpowered Kisame's second strongest move, the Water Style: 1000 Hungry Sharks, evaporating the enormous wave of water even in the sea.
How powerful is Guy with the Seventh Gate?
Using the Seventh Gate, Guy annihilated the real Kisame. Impressively enough, the Hidden Leaf jonin beat the Akatsuki member despite fighting him in the sea, an environment extremely favorable to Kisame, who is a powerful Water Style user.
Guy defeated Kisame while holding himself back to not kill him so that they could interrogate him later. The fact that he captivated a fighter of Kisame's caliber without suffering any injury in the process, except for the repercussions of having used the Seventh Gate, is telling, as capturing someone alive is even harder than killing him.
In this form, Guy can punch so fast that he creates an air-pressure bomb. This devastating blow, called Afternoon Tiger, is even stronger than Morning Peacock. Even when performed underwater, which logically diminished its effectiveness, Afternoon Tiger overpowered Kisame's strongest move, the Water Style: Giant Shark Projectile, and then severely injured the Akatsuki member.
Moreover, with the same move, Guy was able to smash Madara's Susanoo. The Uchiha's Wood Style, which was binding the Eight Tails, immediately lost power, and it's well known that techniques only weaken when the user is beaten. After the strike, Madara only reappeared after a long time. Most likely, his Susanoo was destroyed, and his Edo Tensei body was damaged, which forced him to regenerate.
Madara reacted and blocked the Fourth Raikage's quickest strike, but Guy's Afternoon Tiger was too fast for him to react. Guy crushing Madara's Susanoo with a single hit was also impressive. To take down a lower stage of Susanoo, the Five Kage had to join their efforts, with two hits from a Byakugo-enhanced Tsunade plus one strike from the Raikage that was further empowered by Onoki's special technique.
Using the Seventh Gate, Guy was fast enough to pressure Madara in his Ten Tails jinchuriki form. The latter had to overpower him, as he couldn't beat him at speed. In comparison, when Minato engaged Madara, the Uchiha easily counterattacked him. Minato couldn't finish the attack he started and didn't even make in time to use the Flying Thunder God.
When Madara tried to do the same against Guy, he couldn't stop him from completing an entire sequence of strikes. While they were ineffective, he was fast enough to land them. Objectively, Guy's combat speed was far more impressive than Minato's, which is telling, given that the Fourth Hokage is renowned for his quickness.
Another testament to Guy's incredible quickness is that Gaara was never impressed by the Raikage's speed, despite having witnessed him using his Lightning Chakra Mode. Instead, when he saw Guy fighting in his Seventh Gate form, Gaara was astonished at how fast he was, calling him "inhuman."
How powerful is Guy with the Eighth Gate?
Upon releasing the final gate, Guy's capabilities rose to godly levels. He became fast and powerful enough to corner and almost kill a Ten Tails-enhanced Madara. Using the Evening Elephant, Guy could create cannons of pressurized air. He overpowered Ten Tails jinchuriki Madara, smashing through his Truth-Seeking Ball Shield and greatly injuring him.
In this form, Guy could even propel himself in mid-air by kicking the air at great speed, just like some One Piece characters do. His strongest move, unironically called "Night Guy," was the most devastating taijutsu in the entire Naruto series. After exerting his chakra as a red burning dragon, Guy dashed at such speed that his movements literally bent the surrounding space.
Leaving Madara unable to react, Guy hit him with a kick so powerful that it completely vaporized half of his torso, leaving him almost dead. Only the combined properties of the Ten Tails and Hashirama's DNA enabled Madara to survive the strike. Moreover, no one knows what would have happened if Guy decided to kick the Uchiha on his head rather than on his chest.
In his Eighth Gate form, Guy is undoubtedly one of the strongest Naruto characters. His Evening Elephant smashed Ten Tails jinchuriki Madara's Truth-Seeking Ball, a defense superior to Obito's. This technique was tough enough to block the explosion of four Ten Tails Tailed Beast Balls, whose firepower upstages that of Hashirama Senju.
Considering this comparison and the fact that Night Guy is even more powerful than Evening Elephant, it's evident that the "Green Beast" could destroy even the legendary First Hokage.
Other notable capabilities of the "Sublime Green Beast"
Unlike Rock Lee, Guy can perform ninjutsu and genjutsu. During the fight with Kisame, he jumped in the air and performed the Summoning Technique to evoke Ningame, his ninja turtle, using it as a platform to jump again. This enabled him to travel the entire turtle island of the Hidden Cloud in just two jumps, which is astonishing, given that the island is miles and miles long.
Guy never used genjutsu but was shown to easily dispel one. Furthermore, he has a special fighting style created especially to avoid being caught in a visual genjutsu. In the worst case scenario, Guy could always release the Gates to mess up his chakra flow and break the illusion.
A testament to Guy's willpower and physical might, he can endure the usage of the Eight Gates, despite the great distress they pose for the user's body. Up until the Sixth Gate, he doesn't feel any drawback at all, only suffering some aftereffects many times after having used the Seventh Gate.
By the time of the Fourth Ninja War, Guy further increased his stamina and was able to withstand repeated usages of the Seventh Gate. Moreover, his endurance is immense, as he withstood his own Afternoon Tiger, a Susanoo-breaking move that Madara sent back at him with a hit of his staff, with just a few broken ribs.
He then proceeded to open the Eighth Gate, which causes unbelievable pain to the user, and keep it active for dozens of minutes while using moves such as Evening Elephant and Night Guy that put extreme strain to his body.
Final thoughts about Naruto's Might Guy
Despite involving only taijutsu, Guy's skillset is formidable. His speed and physical strength are unreal, and his destructive attacks are extremely effective at both close and long ranges. The "Green Beast" not only shows how an individual can rise up through sheer determination but is also able to teach others to do the same.
Like his father did with him, Guy taught Rock Lee not just taijutsu but life values and self-improvement principles as well. People said that Lee would never become a ninja, but with his hardwork and encouragement from Guy's passionate teachings, he became a splendid ninja by solely relying on taijutsu.
Guy's typical pose represents his optimism and confidence, based on the"Power of Youth," which he enthusiastically believes in. Even after the aftereffects of using the Eighth Gate left him permanently confined to a wheelchair, Guy pushed himself to go beyond his limits. He adapted to the situation and managed to remain a capable ninja nevertheless.