Gate of Opening

Konoha Training Ground.

The setting sun had baked the dirt in the clearing hard, and faint cracks could be heard underfoot. The shadows of the trees in the distance stretched long, reaching the wooden posts at the edge of the training ground.

Might Guy stood there, uncharacteristically without striking his signature pose. His expression was more serious than usual, his arms at his sides and his gaze fixed on Baiye. His green jumpsuit looked a few shades darker in the sunset.

"Baiye." Guy's voice was lower than usual. "Are you sure you want to learn the Eight Gates?"

Baiye unfastened the Tachi from his waist and leaned it against a tree stump. He didn't answer, only turning to face Guy.

Guy looked into his eyes and fell silent for a moment. Then he grinned.

"All right."

Guy walked to the center of the training ground and motioned for Baiye to stand opposite him.

Rather than start right away, he sat cross-legged on the ground and patted the empty space in front of him. Baiye sat down across from him.

"The Eight Gates," Guy said, holding up one finger, "are eight key nodes in the body's Chakra pathway system. Like gates, they limit the flow of Chakra."

He drew a simple outline of a human body in the dirt with his finger and marked eight positions: two on the head, the throat, the chest, the abdomen, the waist, the lower back, and the heart.

"Normally, these gates are closed. It's the body's way of protecting itself. If all the gates were opened, Chakra would burst through the pathways like a flood through a broken dam, and a person would burn out completely within minutes."

Guy raised his head and looked at Baiye.

"But if you open only a few of them, you can drastically increase the flow of Chakra without putting your life in danger. Strength, speed, reactions—they'll all rise to another level."

Baiye looked at the marks on the ground.

"What's the cost?"

Guy didn't dodge the question. His finger touched the head of the outline—the first mark.

"Opening each gate damages the body. Torn muscles, damaged pathways, broken bones—all of them are possible. The more gates you open, the worse the damage. They say the Eighth Gate—"

His finger stopped over the heart.

"The Gate of Death. Open it and you'll die... without fail."

The training ground fell quiet for a few seconds.

"So you need to think this through." Guy's voice was soft, but every word was steady. "If you learn the Eight Gates, you must have enough willpower. Because the moment you open a gate, the pain will be beyond anything you can imagine."

Baiye said nothing. He sat where he was, looking at the eight marks on the ground, his gaze traveling down from the top of the head to the heart.

"How do I open it?"

Guy froze for a moment.

"Are you sure you don't need more time to think?"

Baiye stood and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"I've thought it through. Don't worry."

He had to learn the Eight Gates and find out whether Guy's self-repair and enhancement came from it. If they did, it would be an enormous help in making up for his own shortcomings.

Guy looked at his face and fell silent for a few seconds.

Then he laughed again, this time with his familiar booming laugh, his teeth gleaming once more in the sunset.

"In that case, I won't try to talk you out of it anymore!"

He sprang to his feet, walked to the center of the training ground, and turned to face Baiye. He clenched his right hand into a fist and pressed it against his chest.

"The first of the Eight Gates—the Gate of Opening. It's located in the brain. This gate controls the upper limit of the body's abilities. Normally, to keep you from using up too much energy, the brain automatically suppresses the strength your muscles can exert. Opening the Gate of Opening removes that suppression."

Guy took a deep breath.

"To open the Gate of Opening, you use willpower to find it, then use Chakra to 'push' it open."

"Willpower?"

"Right," Guy said. "The gates aren't opened with Hand Seals, but with willpower. You need to find the Gate of Opening in your own pathway system. It's deep in the brain, like a taut string. Find it, then use whatever Chakra you can muster to force it open."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Through Reiatsu Detection, Baiye "saw" Guy's soul begin to contract inward, gathering at a certain deep-seated node, compressing, then gathering again.

Then, as though an invisible hand had pushed open a heavy door, a surge of violent Chakra erupted from Guy's body.

Guy opened his eyes. A few fine veins appeared around them, the muscles beneath his skin swelled slightly, and his whole presence changed.

"This is the Gate of Opening."

Guy spoke, his voice a little lower than before, as though he were suppressing something. "It feels like pain. Your whole body hurts. But strength also keeps surging through you."

He took a step. His foot struck the ground much harder than usual, leaving a distinct depression in the dirt.

"Watch carefully."

Guy pushed off, shooting forward like a cannonball. He didn't use the Body Flicker Technique; it was pure explosive physical strength. He charged toward a large tree at the edge of the training ground, abruptly checked his momentum when he was less than a foot away, spun on the spot, and threw a punch.

The wind from his fist howled. The leaves shook and rustled.

Guy withdrew his fist, turned, and returned to Baiye. His breathing was twice as rapid as usual, but his expression remained calm.

"That's the Gate of Opening. With just this one gate open, my speed and strength increased by about half."

He knelt down, closed his eyes, and slowly drew back his Chakra. The violent Chakra returned to the pathways behind the gate, and Guy's body returned to normal.

Guy opened his eyes and looked at Baiye.

"Give it a try."

Baiye stood in the center of the training ground and closed his eyes. He sank his consciousness into his body and extended both his Reiatsu and Chakra at once. Together, they allowed him to "see" the state of his body more clearly than an ordinary ninja.

His pathway system slowly unfolded in his consciousness. Pale blue Chakra flowed through the pathways at a gentle pace, like a quiet river.

The Gate of Opening. Deep in the brain. The gate that controlled the upper limit of the body's abilities.

Baiye's consciousness moved upward. His forehead, the top of his head... neither was right. He let his consciousness sink farther, deep into the core of his brain, into the darkness enclosed by his skull.

Then he felt a "tightness."

A fundamental constraint.

It was as though an invisible hand had been pressing down on the upper limit of his strength, keeping his muscles from ever reaching their full potential.

This is the Gate of Opening. Understanding dawned on Baiye.

Chakra began to gather at the node, and Baiye controlled its flow.

I can't go too fast, or it'll damage the pathways; but I can't go too slowly, or the gate won't open. The Chakra swirled around the node, searching for a gap it could seep into.

He found one.

The Chakra thrust in. Bit by bit, it forced open a gap in the restraint pressing down on his strength, until the restraint shattered with a crash.

Eight Gates, first gate: Gate of Opening!

Open!