Eight Gates Mode, Activate!

Konoha, Ninja Academy.

As the dismissal bell rang, batches of students poured out of the school like fledglings escaping a cage, chattering about where to play or where to eat. Some fretted over their poor grades and the beating they would get.

Chiba was among them, but compared to the others, he stood out.

A vacuum seemed to surround Chiba. No one came within a meter of him, and no one spoke to him.

Following the crowd, Chiba arrived at the bustling district, the only route home.

When pedestrians saw Chiba, disgust appeared on their faces. Some parents even hurried over to pull their children away from him from more than a meter away, scolding them as they sternly warned them never to approach Chiba again.

As Chiba walked, whispers gradually rose along the way.

"Tch! Why is he still in our village? What is the Third Lord thinking, keeping him here?"

"That child is the son of that criminal, right... He looks so gloomy. You can tell he's no good just by looking at him."

"What an eyesore. Hurry up and leave!"

Listening to the whispers around him, Chiba showed no reaction. His brows remained faintly furrowed, though countless thoughts raced through his mind.

It had been seven years since he transmigrated here. Kakashi was already eight. According to the original story, Kakashi became a Jonin at twelve, around the time of the Kannabi Bridge battle, near the end of the Third Great Ninja War. He did not know the exact timing, but the Third Shinobi World War was about to erupt.

If he did not have the ability to protect himself, he might very well die in the Third Shinobi World War. No! Dying in that war was practically a certainty.

Unlike the Fourth Shinobi World War, where the entire shinobi alliance fought two cheat-level bosses, the Third Shinobi World War should have been far more brutal.

Having already experienced death once, Chiba did not want to experience it again!

And who knew whether death this time would mean another transmigration, or simply the end of everything?

No, time was growing more urgent. That idea had to be completed! Frowning as he considered his problem, Chiba unknowingly left the bustling district and entered a quiet forest, following the path deeper inside.

At the very edge of the forest surrounding the village stood a solitary little house. It was Chiba's home.

Chiba had transmigrated into the Naruto World and been born into an ordinary family. His mother had died in childbirth, while his father had already died before Chiba was born. As far as Chiba knew, his father had been a traitor of Konoha who had once stolen Konoha's Defense Map for Iwagakure. The Third Hokage caught him red-handed at the exchange site, but Iwagakure shinobi killed him on the spot to prevent him from leaking information harmful to Iwagakure. The enemy shinobi were also slain by the Third Hokage, and the Defense Map was recovered unharmed.

Although the Defense Map was recovered unharmed, Chiba's father was hated and despised by everyone in Konoha, branded a "criminal." Chiba suffered undeserved misfortune because he was that man's son, enduring rejection and disgust throughout the village.

After setting down his schoolbag, Chiba walked to the shaded area behind the house. Three wooden posts stood there. Two had been battered beyond recognition by punches and kicks, while the third seemed newly installed.

Chiba silently stepped forward and began practicing side kicks and straight punches.

As a transmigrator, Chiba's treatment was worlds apart from the protagonists of fanfiction novels from his previous life. He possessed neither the Three Great Dojutsu nor a Kekkei Genkai.

Chiba's Chakra reserves were also extremely ordinary. Both his extraction speed and total amount were pitiful. Chiba estimated that even if he trained tirelessly, reaching Chunin would be his limit!

The only thing that gave Chiba some comfort was his exceptionally precise Chakra control. He could even use the small amount of Chakra in his body to stand on a tree for an entire day and night without falling. Nearly all the Chakra in his body could be controlled and used without wasting the slightest bit.

But that was completely useless.

Chakra was the foundation of the Naruto World and everything within it. Even the Naruto World itself had been transformed by the Sage of Six Paths using Yin-Yang Release.

The power of every ninjutsu was closely tied to Chakra. The greater one's Chakra reserves, the stronger the ninjutsu one could perform. The faster one could refine Chakra, the more assured one's endurance in battle would be.

The same Great Fireball Technique, when used by Madara Uchiha versus an ordinary shinobi, was the difference between heaven and earth. An ordinary shinobi could only produce a fireball, while Madara Uchiha could cover an entire area and burn large numbers of Allied Shinobi Forces.

The reason was naturally the vast difference in Chakra reserves.

To become strong, one had to possess enormous Chakra reserves.

After all, Naruto, the protagonist of Naruto, relied on his immense Nine-Tails Chakra reserves to overcome every obstacle and level up with cheats. Even Sasuke, the second male lead, though inferior to Naruto, still possessed enormous Chakra reserves compared to everyone else.

Chiba's pitiful Chakra reserves had practically sealed his miserable fate in the Naruto World.

Because of this, Chiba had raged, despaired, and even given up on himself. In the end, he persevered and resolved to obtain power at any cost.

Perhaps the god of transmigration had finally favored him once. Chiba had actually discovered a basement in this little wooden house. There was only a stone platform inside, and atop it lay a scroll.

When he opened it, he found that the scroll recorded Konoha's Forbidden Jutsu: the Eight Gates! Even now, Chiba could remember how excited he had been, nearly fainting on the spot.

As the ultimate secret of taijutsu, the Eight Gates, when the Gate of Death was opened, could grant power dozens of times greater than a Kage-level expert. Someone with willpower like Might Guy could even suppress Madara, who possessed the power of the Sage of Six Paths. Its might was obvious.

Mastering the Eight Gates would be enough for self-preservation!

But it carried enormous risks. During the Chunin Exams, after Rock Lee opened five gates against Gaara, he would likely have become crippled if not for Tsunade's miraculous medical skills. And when Might Guy eventually opened the Gate of Death, he would certainly have died without Naruto's Yang Release preserving his life. Even with Yang Release saving him, he would be unable to leave his wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Chiba did not want such fleeting power. If he became crippled, then in this Naruto World he loved, he might as well kill himself! Chiba feared death, but he feared being weak and powerless, at the mercy of others, even more!

He had suffered enough of that feeling in his previous life! In this life, he would become strong! So he came up with an idea—a crazy idea!

Control the power of the Eight Gates! Control the berserk Chakra after opening the gates, and turn the fleeting Eight Gates into Eight Gates Mode! The amount of Chakra after opening the gates would also be immense!

Controlling the power of the Eight Gates had never been done before. If he told anyone, they would probably laugh their teeth out and call him an idiot.

But Chiba was not simply dreaming without any basis. His Chakra control was exceptionally precise, and his control was astonishing. It might not be entirely impossible!

Bang!

Under the setting sun, Chiba slammed a fist into the newly erected wooden post. Small wood chips fluttered down. He had obtained the Eight Gates scroll three years ago and trained relentlessly for those three years. Aside from eating, sleeping, and attending class, he spent all his time practicing the Eight Gates.

For three years, he had constantly trained and tempered his body. The self-punishing exercises of Rock Lee and Might Guy drained every last drop of his strength every day. He did not even know how he managed to finish all his classes the next day.

Yet through such constant training and torment, hard work finally paid off. A year ago, Chiba had mastered the first three gates of the Eight Gates!

"Five hundred straight punches, five hundred side kicks." Chiba withdrew his fist and let out a long breath, feeling utterly exhausted.

Then Chiba untied the weights from his hands and feet and gently set them on the ground. Although he placed them down lightly, the weights still made a dull thud as they hit the ground.

He had begun weight training two years ago. Every month, Chiba increased the weights to the limit he could barely bear, then trained with them until he could carry them easily. The following month, he increased them again.

Clearly, Chiba had not yet fully adapted to his current weights.

After taking several breaths, Chiba inhaled slightly and clenched his fists.

The First Gate, the Opening Gate, open!

The Second Gate, the Gate of Healing, open!

It was as though two switches had been flipped in his mind. Endless stamina surged forth, sweeping away his previous fatigue.

Then came the Third Gate, the Gate of Life, open!

Chiba could feel an acupoint in his chest open abruptly like a sealed throttle valve. The Chakra that had flowed through his body like a thin stream suddenly surged. A vast amount of Chakra rushed through every meridian like a flood while continuously dispersing from his body.

Chiba's body slowly became engorged and red, while strands of green Chakra gradually seeped out from his skin. His entire body brimmed with surging strength! At the same time, the small stones on the ground began to bounce as they were drawn by the Chakra leaking from Chiba.

Then Chiba closed his eyes and formed hand seals, making a seal to gather Chakra.

Today, I have to succeed!

He poured his entire being into restraining the uncontrollable Chakra within his body.

He had been able to open the third gate a year ago, but over the past year, he had not succeeded even once in restraining the Chakra in his body and turning it into obedient, usable Chakra. The Gate of Life's Chakra was incomparably violent. It only passively strengthened his body before pouring from his pores, and could not be used to perform ninjutsu.

Only by controlling it could he use it to perform ninjutsu! Chiba stood with his hands sealed, almost holding his breath. As time passed, his hands gradually began to tremble.

Yet the green Chakra dispersing from his body and vanishing into the air slowly began to draw back, covering his body instead of leaking away.

A smile curled at the corner of Chiba's lips.

The violent Chakra within him seemed to slow down, gradually ceasing to leak out as it was slowly gathered within his meridians.

Chiba, Chiba, don't relax! This is when things went wrong before! Be careful—then be even more careful!

Chiba reminded himself.

At the same time, the Gate of Life's Chakra had completely been gathered within his meridians and no longer dispersed outward. However, it began racing through his meridians at extreme speed, still a wild horse that had broken free of the reins.

Almost! Just a little more! Sweat had already beaded on Chiba's forehead, and waves of mental exhaustion washed over him. Chakra was the perfect mixture of physical cellular energy and spiritual energy. Strictly speaking, the Gate of Life's Chakra contained none of Chiba's spiritual energy. It was completely Chakra stimulated by the Eight Gates. Restraining the Gate of Life's Chakra required him to invest a considerable amount of spiritual energy. How much of his spiritual energy he could mix into it depended on his Chakra control! This was, in truth, a battle of will!

After countless failures, Chiba knew that each failure had come because he could no longer endure. But this time, he could not retreat, and he could not give up! He no longer wanted to be at the mercy of others! Scenes of being bullied in his previous life flooded into his mind. That regretful, unwilling emotion completely ignited the fury in Chiba's heart! How could he be so powerless again?

That fury, carrying intense spiritual energy, blended into the Gate of Life's Chakra under Chiba's calm control.

Boom! A silent roar echoed within Chiba's body.

The blood-red flush of his skin instantly faded, and the green Chakra surrounding his body vanished as well.

Chiba suddenly opened his eyes, wild with joy.

At this moment, the Gate of Life remained open, and blue Chakra surged like a river. This was his Chakra! Not the Gate of Life's green Chakra! He had succeeded.

This amount of Chakra was enough to reach the level of a quasi-Chunin! This was not the Eight Gates. This was Eight Gates Mode!

Excited, Chiba punched the wooden post. To his surprise, it snapped with a crack, breaking directly in half and rolling onto the ground.

His strength had increased too! Though it was nowhere near the enhancement of the Eight Gates, it had still increased considerably!

"Who's there?"

Just as Chiba was celebrating, a figure suddenly flashed through the dense forest beside the house. He had only caught a casual glimpse and could not see clearly, but one thing was certain: someone had just been watching him!

Almost instinctively, Chiba rushed into the forest.