Guidance and the Eight Gates Formation

"Continue!" Yei called out. With a tap of his foot, he shot forward and struck downward with a palm wreathed in Chakra.

"Konoha Great Whirlwind!" Gai dodged Yei's blow, retreated some distance, then charged forward again. His body spun rapidly, and borrowing the force built up by the rotation, he fiercely kicked at Yei.

"Rotation!" Seeing this, Chakra burst from Yei's body as he spun at high speed. The Chakra formed a circular shield that blocked Gai's attack.

Boom!

This collision was even more violent. The solid impact caused the ground around the point where their attacks met to cave in, sending shattered stones flying.

Because of that collision, Gai was repelled by the Rotation and sent flying backward even faster than he had charged in. He crashed into a large tree behind him, shattering it into pieces!

Yei remained where he stood. Other than the crater beneath his feet created by the Rotation, he was completely unharmed. There were barely even any wrinkles in his clothes.

This outcome had not surprised him, and his expression remained calm. Gai, without activating the Eight Gates Formation, could not possibly be his match!

Looking at Gai, he slowly said, "Gai, I know you have another secret technique. Use it. Otherwise, you won't be able to satisfy me. Only by fighting you at full strength can I gain greater insight!"

Gai got to his feet, feeling agonizing pain all over his body. Having taken a Rotation head-on, he felt as though some of the bones inside him had been knocked out of place...

However, upon hearing Yei's words, he froze before shaking his head. "That power is meant to protect my companions, not to be used against them!"

"How stubborn!" Yei looked at Gai and shook his head in feigned disappointment. "Even I, a member of the Hyuga Clan, have cast aside my prejudices against other ninjutsu and Taijutsu. I chose to accept and learn techniques beyond the Gentle Fist to make myself stronger! Yet you're still clinging to such outdated ideas?"

"Any technique needs to improve through battle. A technique that can only be used at critical moments? Do you think we need your protection?" Yei said flatly.

Gai was completely thrown off by Yei's words. Was that what he meant?

He wanted to explain himself, but he was not good with words and began stammering. "No, I... I didn't mean that..."

"If you keep hiding it, you'll remain a Chunin for the rest of your life. Kakashi, Asuma, and I, your peers, will leave you further and further behind. In the end, you may not even have the chance to stand alongside us in battle. No dangerous mission would be assigned to a ninja who was merely a Chunin!" Yei did not intend to provoke Gai, though he admittedly had a selfish motive—he wanted to witness the Eight Gates Formation.

But honestly, if Gai continued to conceal the Eight Gates Formation, it would not benefit his development either!

Even Yei deliberately displayed his own abilities so that his peers and Konoha's higher-ups would come to see him as a genius and a powerhouse!

Only then would he be valued, and only then could he rise through the ranks more quickly!

Power and status were immensely useful things no matter where one was!

Yei had many ideas and plans, but all of them required him to hold a sufficiently high position in Konoha, one that would allow him to act freely without being overly constrained by others!

Take the Konoha Sannin, for example. Aside from the Third Hokage, could anyone else command them?

No. No one could!

Unless it was an emergency, even the Fourth Hokage and the elder advisors could not order them around!

Before assigning them a mission, they even had to ask for their willingness. They did not dare force them. That was the benefit brought by status and strength!

Yei needed to raise his standing within Konoha!

Of course, Yei would not blindly show off, nor would he reveal everything about himself all at once. He would gradually display his "value," make the higher-ups realize that he was worth cultivating, and steadily elevate his position!

Being merely a Special Jonin was not enough!

Unless the day came when Yei fell out with Konoha Village, the higher his status, the greater the benefits would be for him!

The same principle applied to Gai. Only by showing his talent could he be valued and cultivated!

If he wanted to carry forward the Steel Fist Style, he had to display his talent and demonstrate its power. Otherwise, he could only end up like his father—remaining a Genin for his entire life, only to burst forth in brilliant radiance at the very end before vanishing into obscurity!

For any school to flourish, it needed a powerhouse to step forward and make people recognize its strength!

Yei did not know whether Kakashi had guided Gai like this in the original story, but this time, he would be the one to guide him!

Those words seemed to strike right at Gai's weakness. He fell silent for a moment, then looked at Yei with blazing eyes. "Yei, you're right. I want to fight alongside all of you. If I keep hiding it, then just as you said, the gap between us may grow wider and wider. I don't want that!!"

It was as though Gai had untied a knot in his heart. Looking at Yei solemnly, he said, "You, like Kakashi, will be my eternal rival. I won't hide anything from you anymore. But I haven't mastered this secret technique deeply enough yet..."

Yei smiled. "Use it without worry. No matter what secret technique you use, you won't be able to defeat me!"

Gai took a deep breath and made up his mind. "Eight Gates Formation—First Gate, Gate of Opening; Second Gate, Gate of Rest; Third Gate, Gate of Life; Fourth Gate... Gate of Injury, open!!"

As Gai shouted, a powerful surge of Chakra suddenly erupted from his body. In an instant, the leaking Chakra became nearly tangible, covering the surface of Gai's body!

Gai's appearance also changed. His skin turned red from the rapid flow of blood, while veins bulged at his temples, making him look somewhat ferocious!

Sensing Gai's current strength, Yei's eyes revealed a trace of admiration.

Gai's Taijutsu had never been weak, and the Eight Gates Formation happened to enhance his physical abilities, allowing him to unleash strength beyond his usual limits for a short time!

Although he had only opened the Fourth Gate, the Gate of Injury, the aura he displayed was already formidable!

The effect of opening the Eight Gates Formation differed depending on one's strength. The stronger the person who opened it, the greater the enhancement they received!

When Gai's father, Might Dai, opened all Eight Gates and unleashed his full power, he had only managed to defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Yet when Gai opened all Eight Gates, he could unleash power beyond Kage level!

That alone showed that one's own strength remained the foundation!

The nearly tangible Chakra fluctuations around Gai faded, though his skin remained flushed red.

He looked at Yei and briefly explained, "Yei, this is the secret technique passed down by my father—the Eight Gates Formation! Right now, I can open up to the Fifth Gate, but that would severely damage my body and might even kill me. So I can only open the Fourth Gate to spar with you!"

"The Eight Gates Formation? Gai, you truly are full of surprises! If you had used this ability during the Special Jonin assessment, you definitely would have been selected!" Yei used his Byakugan and Observation Haki to carefully sense the changes in Gai's body. Through the Byakugan, he saw Chakra surging fiercely within Gai. Looking at him, Yei said, "Gai, as you are now, you are worthy of my full attention. Let me see your strength!"