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In Naruto: Shippūden, Might Guy opened the highest gate, the Gate of Death, in order to battle Madara and, surprisingly, it also enabled him to 'walk' on air by using kicks.

On the other hand, various characters in the One Piece universe have shown a very similar ability: members of CP-9, CP-0, some warlords, and Vinsmoke Sanji (after the 2-year time skip).

Also, I noticed that each kick has some 'musical tone', and in both cases, the style is very similar. Did Oda and Kishimoto inspire each other? Or were these ideas both inspired by someone else?

W. Are
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Lavakusa
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1 Answers1

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While their respective abilities allow them to walk or move while in midair, the methods in executing the moves are entirely different.

Guy's Eight Gates removes limiters on the body and the user is temporarily granted approximately a hundred times their normal power, far beyond that of the five Kage. Unlocking all gates, however, results to a user's death afterwards. Guy only did not die because Naruto helped him. Because of his immense power, he was able to kick the air successively until he reached Madara.

Sanji's Skywalk, on the other hand, is similar is executed by kicking the air to jump higher, giving the appearance of flight. It has no known risks, however, unlike Guy's Eight Gates. It is also not mentioned if it requires removing a body's limiters like Guy's.

So, while the techniques might sound the same, they're still different. Below is a list of significant differences:

Guy's 'Skywalk'

  • Requires the Eight Inner Gates formation so it's only possible when executing another technique
  • Is not used by other shinobi, or was not shown in the manga to be used by others as far as I know so it is unique to Guy's Eight Gates
  • The user will have to be in the final stage of the Eight Inner Gates in order to demonstrate this ability, resulting to the user's death afterwards

Sanji's Skywalk

  • Has no specifics or prerequisites at all so it is a technique that can be performed on its own
  • Does not need successive kicks to be able to stay afloat in midair, as shown here
  • Used by others so it is not unique to Sanji
  • Has no known risks mentioned or specified, nor any physical strain shown or emphasized

There is a technique in Naruto called Walking on Air Technique, which collects water under the feet while continuously releasing chakra to walk in the air. This is, however, from Fanon Canon Rebirth and from what I understand, is not written by Masashi Kishimoto.

Regarding each other's influences, I don't think they drew inspiration from each other's works, or at least it wasn't mentioned. They seem to, however, draw influence both from Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. (Source 1, Source 2)

To conclude, it would not be impossible if both characters would have similar techniques since they make use of their legs during their fights. However, the Skywalk technique demonstrated by both are entirely different from each other, especially in terms of how it benefits the user itself.

W. Are
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  • Guy doesn't normally use air-walking with his Eight Gates, but it's in his battle against Madara in particular where the air walking that I think OP is talking about comes into play. See Naruto chapter 669 / [Shippuuden episode 420 at time 04:54](https://www.crunchyroll.com/naruto-shippuden/episode-420-the-eight-inner-gates-formation-677375). Madara comments: "He's coming towards me by kicking air!" – ahiijny Dec 12 '18 at 05:49
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    @ahiijny Looks like I was wrong and I read the chapter again. He really does kick air. However, the moves are still different based on how and when they can be used, etc. I'll update my answer. Thanks for pointing this out. – W. Are Dec 12 '18 at 06:39