Boom...
With a low, muffled thud, the enormous black Iron Sand shield seemed to explode from within, bursting apart and scattering fine black sand across the entire field.
Only then did Hyuga Kagami flash away, retracting his fist as he panted heavily.
At the same time, the mist surrounding his body—a mixture of sweat and dissipating chakra—began to gradually disperse as he stopped moving.
After a moment, once he had caught his breath, Hyuga Kagami's expression darkened. "Still a little short..."
The Sixth Gate, the "Gate of View," and the Seventh Gate, the "Gate of Wonder," appeared to be separated by only one gate, but the difference between them was immense. It could be called an invisible threshold within the Eight Inner Gates.
Hyuga Kagami had actually mastered the Sixth Gate, the "Gate of View," some time ago. Yet whenever he tried to break through the Seventh Gate, the "Gate of Wonder," it always felt as though something was missing, causing him to fail at the final moment.
"Is my foundation insufficient, or am I lacking some kind of technique?"
Hyuga Kagami pondered this in silence.
After becoming Hokage, he had been able to access any material in Konoha's Archive, so he had long since secretly copied the Forbidden Technique Scroll of the Eight Inner Gates.
Thus, he had not sought Guy's guidance during his subsequent training.
In his view, he was already a taijutsu master, and with the Forbidden Technique Scroll of the Eight Inner Gates in hand, there should have been no obstacles to cultivating the Eight Inner Gates on his own.
The results had unfolded just as he expected. His training afterward had gone smoothly, and even though he practiced only intermittently, he had still successfully opened the Sixth Gate, the "Gate of View."
But the Seventh