I’m in general agreement that words which are commonly used to describe similes don’t always denote the sentence, or statement to be hyperbolic or a figure of speech. However, the fact it’s commonly used to describe similes doesn’t help with making Bee’s statement any less contentious because it’s using language which usually describes the sentence as hyperbolic. But both interpretations are valid, it’s just within a vacuum, the interpretation that denotes the statement being more likely hyperbolic, or a figure of speech in nature would usually hold more true because of specific wording used.
However we aren’t looking at this statement in a vacuum, but rather, we have supplemental evidence which supports the interpretation of Bee’s statement being literal rather than hyperbolic. So let’s get into these scans.
- We have the Kakashi scan which explains the reason behind how Kakashi’s Raikiri gained its name, as explained by Guy, as a kid, Kakashi chopped through a lightning bolt with the jutsu, which caused the jutsu to be called “Raikiri” or “Lightning Cutter”. While this is supporting evidence for the claim, it isn’t good supporting evidence since the tier which “speed of lighting”, specifically the bolt generated falls under is an extremely vast tier, with characters who are hundreds of times faster than the speed of lighting not even reaching fractions of the speed of light, much less the speed of light itself. So while slightly useful, it isn’t the best evidence for Godernet’s claim. It’s just evidence that Raikage’s faster than the general speed of a lightning bolt. Which no one disagrees with.
- We have the Mabui scans which directly imply that because of Ay’s bloodline giving him a more durable body then average, it allows him to resist the kinetic force generated by Ay’s mass/weight traveling at the speed of light (
which doesn’t even make sense from a physics standpoint, but it’s fiction, fiction does what fiction wants to do). This proves that Ay’s capable of enduring the force generated by this level of speed. I agree with this scan. Isn’t the best evidence for proving Bee’s lariat moves at speeds nearing SOL, but it’s slightly useful.
- Light Fang isn’t described to be this virtually undodgeable attack within the story, with the databook paragraph specifically explaining its cutting ability rather than its speed, with it being “unblockable”, not “undodgeable”. Just because the attack was released by Juubi Madara doesn’t mean it would hard cap the speed of specific attacks earlier on in the story, especially since the attack was casually react towards, and dodged by Six Paths Naruto. It’s like using Madara’s Sage Art: Lighting Dispatch to hard cap the speed of the verse to the speed of lighting. If zero contradictory evidence is provided then this debunk holds true imo.
- I agree with the distinction between combat speed and travel speed. Raikage and Bee could have Rel+ combat speeds with lariat, but not be capable of sustaining that level of speed for large amounts of time, or over vast amounts of distance. Rather, they can only release that level of speed within short bursts over short distances. Which is supported by the databook scan, and even the attack itself.
- If someone could provide either direct statements which connect Raikage’s speed with Mifune’s Issen Slash and Darui’s Laser Circus or deductive inferences which support Raikage being comparable, or above this level of speed then it’s usable, if we can’t do either then it isn't usable. I know the existence of the fastest shinobi statement but that’s contextually dependent. Was the statement itself made before Mifune’s Issen Slash or Darui’s Laser Circus?. Was it made by fallible characters or an omniscient narrator?. All of this should've been explained within the OP itself since it would’ve cleared up these uninformed questions i have as someone who isn't knowledgeable about Naruto.
Also to address Damage’s point regarding Darui’s Laser Circus, just because it isn’t currently accepted as SOL on wiki doesn’t mean it can’t be used as supporting evidence for one’s claim, the wiki’s ratings aren’t axiomatic, what actually matters if the ability, in actuality, has evidence for it moving at the speed of light, if it does, then it can be used as supporting evidence, if it doesn’t, or is contradicted, then it can’t be used, simple. However the burden of proof is currently on Godernet’s side since he’s making the positive claim right now, until he can provide evidence of Darui’s Laser Circus having similar properties of light, implying it moves at SOL, or has a direct statement telling such, it can’t be used as evidence for his claim.
- Edo Madara’s calc being used as support is fine.
After going through everything, and typing out this bible for over an hour now, I’ve reached my final conclusions. I’m basically in agreement with Arc, Option 3 currently makes the most sense given the evidence, I fundamentally disagree with a concrete rating since the statement has two valid interpretations, with the “it’s just a simile” interpretation usually being more likely true compared to the ladder. And the general lack of hard evidence. At best I'll agree with a “possibly” rating, it could change to a “likely” rating if more evidence is actually provided, or proven. But currently this is my stance. If more evidence is provided to the contrary then I'm also fine with disagreeing with the thread as well.
Thank you for listening to my ted talk, I didn't intend for this post to be this long, it just happens when you’re writing your thoughts down in google doc rather than on the wiki itself.
(option 3 is better)
