Gaï Maito

Gai Maito is a ninja of jônin rank from Konoha village. He is also the leader of the Gai Team composed of Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga and Tenten.

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History

Gai's love for taijutsu comes from his father Dai, who was also a master of hand-to-hand combat. Gai trained tirelessly to impress his father, even though he was only a genin. At one point, Gai became frustrated that his father was being mocked and attacked two older ninjas, ending up in a hospital bed. Fearing that he would never become a good ninja because of his ineptitude in ninjutsu or genjutsu, and that he would remain a genin like his father for the rest of his life, Dai decided to teach him the technique of opening the Eight Heavenly Doors, on the sole condition that he would only use it to protect what was most important to him. Later, he and his team were trapped by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, but his father arrived in time and opened the eighth and final gate, sacrificing his life to give Gai and his teammates enough time to escape.

Gai considers his very close friend Kakashi Hatake as his eternal rival. They used to fight regularly even in the moments before Kyubi's attack on Konoha. During this attack, he and the other young shinobi were forbidden to participate in the defense of the village by Kurenai's father and other older ninjas. A few years later, before Gai became a jonin-sensei, he heard rumors about a student at the academy who was determined to become a ninja even though he was told that he could not. When this student, Rock Lee, finally became his own student, Gai became determined to help Lee become a master of taijutsu, as Lee did not have the ability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. When he was just a Genin, Gai teamed up with Ebisu and Genma in the Chûnin examination.

Personality

Known for his big eyebrows, green jumpsuit, and bowl cut, Gai often refers to himself as the "Jade Panther Shade of Konoha". He has many unique features in the series that should be seen as silly or old-fashioned, a reference to the classic "youth" clichés in anime. Gai is also known to encourage "Youthful Strength".

Gai has problems remembering the faces of people he doesn't meet frequently, such as during his frequent fights against Kisame Hoshigaki and also during his fight against the Three Ryudôin Brothers. Tobi even mentioned this flaw of Gai.

He is best known for his "nice guy" pose, which consists in raising his thumb, winking and smiling with his teeth so white that they shine, accompanied by a "ding" sound. This posture is often used by both Gai and Lee to show their commitment to a statement they have just made, their highest form of promise. Despite these strange traits, Gai showed that he was capable of being serious, ruthless and decisive in the success of a mission if necessary, as shown during the invasion of Konoha and his fights against Kisame Hoshigaki. He is described as scary when he gets "serious", but very reliable.

Gai is on good terms with all of his students, but has a special interest in Rock Lee, which was reminiscent of his younger self, in that they were both considered losers and had to learn everything by working hard. Because of this, Gai was more interested in Lee's training than Neji's or Tenten's, continuing to train Lee long after the others had given up for the rest of the day. Because of this and Lee's unyielding desire to become a taijutsu master, the two developed a father-son relationship that led Gai to teach Lee several dangerous and forbidden techniques, on the condition that Lee only use them under certain circumstances. Although Gai is aware of the dangers of teaching Lee these techniques, Gai wants Lee to prove himself a formidable ninja and therefore turns a blind eye to the repercussions. However, in general, Gai is a very caring, dedicated and protective instructor who would do anything in his power to make sure that his three precious students are taught appropriately in their own areas.

Gai showed to be more easily excited compared to the more relaxed Kakashi. He also relies mainly on taijutsu, unlike Kakashi's specialty of ninjutsu, and had to work very hard to reach his level of prowess, whereas Kakashi's natural talent and Sharingan allow him to progress more easily. However, these two men are great friends and also have a blind trust for each other, as shown during the Fourth Great Shinobi War when they entrusted the protection of their blind spots to each other. This was also developed in the anime as well, where Kakashi told Tsunade that he would need a second-in-command during the war and he wanted Gai to serve in that position. The level of friendship between Gai and Kakashi was such that when they faced five fully transformed biju preparing to launch their Tailed Demon Orbs nearby, he did not hesitate to activate the last of the Eight Heavenly Gates to protect Kakashi, despite the fatal repercussions.

Gai can't stand walking on the sea and gets seasick easily when he has to travel by boat. After overcoming this and taking the Falls of Truth test, the "inner self" reproached him for being too old to continue with hyperactive behavior, adding that it was not healthy for old men like him to push their limits so hard.

Apparence

Gai is a tall, well-built man with flawed cheekbones, thick eyebrows and bowl cut black hair. Gai also wears a green jumpsuit, orange striped leggings and the standard Konoha ninja protective vest, although normally open, it was only seen closed during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. His headband is red in color and he wears it around his waist like a belt. When he was younger, he did not wear a shinin jacket, but he had bandages wrapped around his hands in a similar way to Rock Lee in Part I.

His protégé Rock Lee took Gai as a model to the point that they both look surprisingly similar: both naturally have thick eyebrows and the same haircut.

Skills

Gai is the most powerful taijutsu practitioner in Konoha. He never seemed to be in trouble during his fights except against Kisame where he had to use his most powerful techniques. His fighting style makes him almost unbeatable in hand-to-hand combat, his punches and kicks are very fast and powerful, enough to kill an Oto shûnin with one blow. His speed is also impressive. Sasuke was very surprised that Gai's speed surpassed Kakashi's. He mastered the technique of opening the eight heavenly doors. He can go all the way to the eighth gate. The only time he had to use the gate technique was against Kisame and during the Shinobi war. He used the 6th and 7th gates against Kisame Hoshigaki where he defeated him in one hit each time. In the 7th, his sweat turned green and evaporated much more strongly. But like that, each of his blows was accompanied by flames and deflagration thanks to the friction of the air. He has a technique called "Morning Peacock" where he gives dozens of blows, which burns everything in his path. But his most powerful technique is the "Zenith Tiger" where he compresses a gigantic mass of air and throws it at his opponent which gave him the victory against Kisame Hoshigaki. And since this technique is not made of chakra, the chakra absorption techniques of Kisame or Gakidô had no effect on it. However, after using the 7th door, his muscles are torn and he has post-traumatic pain. When he opens the eighth door, blood steam escapes from his skin and he can launch his "Night Elephant" attack. Every touch on his body causes him terrible pain. He is then obliged to rest and to be looked after by a ninja doctor. However Gaï is like Lee and he can only use his taijutsu in his fights. But, he is still one of the most powerful ninja of Konoha and his fame has reached even Itachi's ears who qualifies him as "very powerful and dangerous". He can also summon Ningame. 15 years after the great war, even if he is handicapped by his leg injury, Gai is still formidable in taijutsu because he is able to fight with only one leg.

Taijutsu

Despite his ridiculousness, Gai is the most formidable taijutsu expert of Konoha and he always dominates his opponents with a disconcerting ease. The first time we see him in trouble in the manga, it's against the Akatsuki member Kisame Hoshigaki, against whom he showed the most powerful taijutsu techniques seen so far in Naruto. Although he almost always fights with his fists and feet, he used his ultimate weapon against Kisame: a nunchaku, which he uses with such mastery, that with it he can compete with the most powerful swords. Brave and determined Jônin, he always goes to the end of himself and has a great sense of team spirit. To push himself further, Gai practices a system of self-objectification. Before doing something, he challenges himself, if he fails, to do something even more ambitious, and so on, until he succeeds.

Part I

Chûnin exam

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura met Gai the first time before the first test. He came to punish Lee for fighting before the exam although he forgave him very quickly. He welcomed his team after the second round and attended the qualifying fights for the last round. He noticed the resemblance between Sasuke Uchiwa and his master Kakashi Hatake. When Neji fought against his cousin Hinata, he tried to kill her forcing Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai and Hayate Gekko to intervene to stop the fight. He encouraged Lee for his fight against Gaara but had to intervene to prevent Gaara from killing Lee once this one out of combat after the use of the Verso Lotus Flower. He was told at the end of the fight that Lee could certainly not be a ninja anymore which shocked Gai. He visited Lee often during the month of training before the final test.

He and Lee arrived just before the fight of Sasuke against Gaara where Gai explained the Chidori to Sakura, Ino, Chôji and Lee. He also criticized Kakashi for teaching Sasuke such a dangerous technique but Sasuke gently replied that he was not in a position to make such a remark, knowing that Kakashi had taught Lee an equally dangerous technique.

Konoha Invasion

Gai realized the genjutsu thrown by Kabuto and cancelled it. He defended the stadium together with Kakashi, Kurenai and other jonin. He took advantage of this battle to challenge Kakashi: "Who will defeat the most enemies".

Search for Tsunade

Gai intervened during the fight between Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai against the Akatsuki members Itachi Uchiwa and Kisame Hoshigaki. He hit Kisame who took it very badly. He announced that Anbu ninjas were coming forcing the two criminals to flee Konoha.

He was present when Sasuke heard that his brother was back. He also left and met Jiraya, Naruto and Sasuke who had fainted after dealing with Itachi and Kisame. He took Sasuke back to Konoha and gave Naruto an outfit similar to his own.

When Tsunade was back in Konoha, Gai asked her to examine Lee and she announced that he could undergo an operation but that he had a 50-50 chance of staying there. Gai gave Lee the courage to undergo the operation which was now safer because Tsunade had perfected it after long research.

Part II

Rescue of the Kazekage

After a bad feeling from Tsunade, she sent Team Gai to assist Team Kakashi. They met Pakkun who guided them to the Akatsuki's hideout but they came across Kisame Hoshigaki whom Gai didn't remember at all. Kisame confronted Gai and when his students joined them, he used water clones to lock them in water prisons. Gai then took his nunchaku and confronted Kisame seriously. Trapped underwater with chakra sharks, he opened the first six heavenly gates and used the Morning Peacock to finish off Kisame who turned out to be a clone created by Nagato with Kisame's chakra.

Once they reached their destination, Gai and his team were charged with finding the seals that closed the entrance. Once removed, a trap was triggered and everyone had to face a clone with the exact same appearance, strength and no fatigue. Gai overcame the clone by overcoming his own strength.

They found Gaara dead and Chiyo using a forbidden technique to bring him back to life in exchange for his own. They returned to Suna together and attended the funeral of the old woman. When they returned afterwards, Gai was carrying Kakashi who was weakened after the excessive use of his Mangekyô Sharingan.

Bread Invasion

Gai and his team were returning from a mission when Pain attacked the village. They found Gamabunta who could not move and explained the situation. Then they found Hinata still alive and Neji went to look for a doctor. They stayed there until Naruto returned to Konoha where they welcomed him with the other inhabitants of the village.

Containment of jinchuri

Gai went with Yamato, Naruto and Aoba Yamashiro to an island in the Land of Lightning. It was learned that Gai was seasick. After Naruto passed the test of the Falls of Truth and defeated his dark side, Gai went to the same falls with Aoba and Motoi. He tried the test and he saw Kisame and Samehada coming out of the falls and thinking that it was his dark side, he attacked him.

Kisame managed to escape and Gai was sent after him by Killer Bee in the air. He managed to intercept the runaway and opened the six heavenly gates to make all the sharks that were thrown at him disappear. He then opened the seventh gate and threw the Noon Tiger against Kisame's big water shark. The tiger pushed the shark away because the tiger was nothing more than a punch with the effect of a cannonball. So Gai stopped Kisame and got the scroll back.

Captured, Aoba could read Kisame's thoughts and memories. He woke up and bit his tongue to regain consciousness. Preferring to commit suicide than to give information to the enemy, he was eaten by his sharks, Gaï said then that he would never forget him. Wanting to know what information Kisame had managed to recover, he opened the scroll but it was trapped and they found themselves trapped in watery prisons with a shark in each of them. A shark took the opportunity to bring the scroll to Tobi.

Gai was exhausted and could not move without feeling excruciating pain throughout his body. He remained in this state until the island arrived at the alliance headquarters where he was treated by Sakura.

Fourth Great Ninja War

Gai was part of the Third Division led by Kakashi, which was made up of short and medium range ninjas. He had to face with his division the ninjas resurrected by the Edo Tensei, namely Zabuza Momochi, Haku, Pakura and Gari. Then came the previous generation of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist against whom they had a hard time because of Zabuza's mist. Finally, Kakashi managed to seal Zabuza and dispel his mist.

Afterwards, Gai and Kakashi saved Naruto and faced with Kakashi the jinchuri, transformed into biju, controlled by Tobi. He was ready to open the last door, deadly for its user, but did not do it thanks to Naruto's arrival. He continued the confrontation by attacking with Kakashi the Gedô Mazô until Tobi decided to resurrect Jûbi. To stop him, Kakashi had a plan and asked Naruto and Gai to make a diversion by attacking Tobi. Gai then used the best of his taijustu to avoid being tricked by Tobi. He also got Kakashi back on his feet when Kakashi was disturbed by Tobi's revelations about his right Sharingan, taken from Obito Uchiwa, Kakashi's best friend.

During the fight against Madara Uchiwa, he threw his Zenith Tiger technique against him but Madara managed to escape. He then decided to open all the doors, including the door of death, remembering his past with his father and prepared to use the night elephant. After the failure of this technique, he used an ultimate technique, Night Gai, the most powerful taijutsu technique of Gai. But Madara survived and Gai was on the verge of death. He was saved by Naruto who diverted Madara's attack to finish him off and used his new powers to stop the technique that would have killed him.

Epilogue

Years later in Konoha, Gai was talking with Kakashi about the new Hokage and remembering the good old days. Appearing in a wheelchair, he seems to have lost the use of his legs after the Fourth Great Shinobi War. However, despite his disability, Gai worked hard in his rehabilitation to maintain his body which allowed him to remain the best shinobi in taijutsu. He was able to beat Metal Lee and his teammate Iwabee Yuino while standing on one leg with great ease, which proves that Gai is still as formidable as when he was still standing on his two legs. Gai is also a kind of mentor for Metal Lee, the son of his student Rock Lee, because like Lee, Metal greatly admires Gai.

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