Looking at the number of Gai threads popping up, I decided I might as well make one which I had been planning for just a short while. First , let me clear up any doubts and misconceptions, I think Gai is physically the most powerful ninja in Narutoverse. By this, I do not mean to say he is the most powerful over-all or even that he is in the top tier of power levels (lol). This thread is a direct response to all those who think Naruto, Pain and HM Jiraiya are as fast or faster than Gai, or more powerful physically. This would also include said character's power-ups, with sage mode. Remember, I am not talking about who can win in a fight, or who is more effective in their battle style, merely that Gai is still on a different level of physical combat from at least SM Naruto, and definitely Pain.
First, let me say that Gai is the trademark for speed in the manga. Hes fashioned after Bruce Lee, the guy who gets paid tribute to in several anime and action video-games, the characters based on him being the among the fastest in their anime or game (Fei-long comes to mind). Sure Naruto is the main character, and Gai's role can be considered more or less trivial to the plot, that does not mean Naruto can simply surpass the guy who represents physical combat in the manga. This reason is just the premise, now I start with databook and manga evidence.
I have to say that so far nothing that Naruto has done physically is on the same level of what we have seen from Gai in the manga, save of course the rhino tossing . I have already made threads on why Naruto is not mach speed, and still not close to Gai speed. I think its important to understand that Naruto's base skills (other than his intelligence) did not increase dramatically (if at all) during his training. This is because Naruto's training was to improve the effects of sage mode, not his base stats. It shows, Naruto is a monster in sage mode. The power up is incredible. But unfortunately for Naruto, his databook stats are still abysmal, and sage mode can only enhance the base stats. Heres where the difference comes in with Jiraiya and Gai, who are already super-powerful in base mode physically :
Naruto: Taijutsu - 3.5
Strength- 3.5
Speed - 3.5
Stamina - 5
Jiraiya: Taijutsu -4.5
Strength- 4.5
Speed - 4.5
Stamina - 5
Gai : Taijutsu - 5
Strength- 5
Speed - 5
Stamina- 5
Notice how Gai has the top stat in all categories related to physical combat, whereas Jiraiya is close, and Naruto is far off. Now lets look at the power up. Jiraiya's sage mode was incomplete , but he still received a power up that let him speedblitz Pain a couple of times , and increased his power over-all. HOWEVER, we do not know by how much Jiraiya improved, its pretty obvious he'd get 5's in all categories but how far we dont know. Looking at Naruto, Sage Mode has turned him into one of the strongest ninjas in the manga, but from comparing his exchange with Pain to Jiraiya's, we can find his speed relative to Jiraiya. The best example I think, is when Pain tried attacking the two, both with different outcomes :
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/377/07/
Jiraiya is able to speedblitz Pain.
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/431/13/
Pain is able to evade
The difference here, is that Pain tried sneak attacking Jiraiya while he was distracted, whereas Naruto clearly saw Pain apporach him. If you think each individual Pain has their own speed and strength ( I dont) then notice that Jiraiya wouldve taken out the faster Pain body. So HM Jiraiya is still clearly faster than SM Naruto. This is the best example I could choose, becuase clearly both Pains are attacking , and both Konoha shinobis countering.
Now Gai's power-up is arguably even crazier than SM, if you can believe it. Manga fact is that a genin can surpass the power of a hokage (hokage at the time being Sarutobi the God of shinobi)when opening all 8 gates:
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/85/10/
Logically, someone more powerful than Lee can surpass hokage level before the 8th gate, as its still just a powerup adding to the base stats. Base Gai is arguably hokage level (if you consider Kakashi hokage level that is). I'll leave it to your imagination the power boost he'd receive. And remember, Gai has enough stamina to use 6 gates without causing intense damage to his body. We know this cuz he wasnt exhausted after his Kisame fight, and took on a clone of himself ! Hell he ran from the sand to Konoha with Kakashi on his back ! So in terms of power-up, Gai not only has greater physical base stats but his own power-up surpasses that of the scary Sage Mode. Pain cannot possibly hope to compete in speed with these monsters.
I've already posted the links for Naruto's and Jiraiya's speeds. Just to confirm that Pain's taijutsu is lacking at the very least, remember that his kic was evaded by Kakashi and Konohamaru, his blade stab evaded by Naruto, and he couldnt even reach Jiraiya in time to land a move ! Now, heres Gai's speed feat :
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/258/14/
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/258/15/
The amazing thing about this feat is not only the fact that Kisame had no time to think before Gai landed the kick, but that Kisame had actually attacked much earlier than Gai but Gai's kick was just too fast. In fact, you can see his foot is on freakin fire cuz of the speed ! Clearly Gai is faster than HM Jiraiya and SM Naruto, cuz so far both of them were pretty damn fast, but their body parts werent igniting with every move they made. And seeing as hes able to connect with his moves, I'd say his taijutsu surpasses their's as well (seeing as hes the Taijutsu god).
Now for strength. This is one area where Gai does not hold a distinct advantage I admit. Naruto's tossing rhinos, Jiraiya smashing bulls (I used to deny this but I had to take it as an inconsistency), and Pain enters the frame as well for blocking Jiraiya's punch and Naruto's kick. Remember, what Deva Pain did was no easy feat, Naruto has the power to lift freakin giant summons. But Gai is still at least the same level of these dudes. Even after using the Gates, and in base form Gai was fully confident of breaking a giant boulder :
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/262/03/
Notice the crazy noise of impact that follows
Also, he hit Kisame so hard that the impact on the water was similar to Itachi's bunshin explosion :
Itachi -http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/142/12/
Gai -http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/258/19/
Notice that Kisame was set in flames, and at least part of the water evaporated off the heat given by the body. This means that Gai hits his foe so hard its comparable to an explosion ! In any case, in terms of strength
Gai is at least equal to if not more powerful than the others.
And finally, a point more on the future of Gai. Notice that out of all the people not in Konoha during Pain's invasion, only Team Gai was specifically out of the village. Notice that even though Team Gai has been reduced to near fodder level, compared to the rest of the cast Gai still has a vibrant history in the manga, and a rivalry that isnt finished. I really think Kishi is gonna bring these two monsters together. I mean, Kisame has outlived Itachi, who was more important to the plot. And its not for for fodder related purposes. Remember that as the series progresses the fights become more intense and crazy, Naruto's current fight being the biggest proof. Remember that Kisame has still not shown us even HALF of his power, and Gai not his full potential. It makes sense then, that a fight between these bijuu level monsters could only be postponed till after the Main characters get at least a little action so that side characters like Gai and Kisame dont steal their thunder. And this fight is gonna be physical on Gai's side, indicating hes still got more power than what hes shown us (which seems pretty mad). So yeah, those are my reasons, discuss !
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