Eight Inner Gates

Hyuga Kagami stood with one hand on his hip, imitating Orochimaru's manner as he chuckled. "Being praised by a weakling like you brings me no joy at all."

Guy, who was lying on the ground, immediately lowered his head.

Seeing Guy looking somewhat dejected, Hyuga Kagami thought, Uh... did I overdo the act?

Just as Hyuga Kagami was about to offer Guy some roundabout comfort, Guy suddenly cast off his dejection and shouted, "I am Konoha's proud Blue Beast! One day, I'll definitely catch up to you!"

Looks like I overthought it... Hyuga Kagami muttered inwardly before saying, "Hey, that wasn't all you had, was it?"

Guy immediately sprang to his feet. "Of course not! I've got a secret technique!"

As he tucked his faintly red, swollen, and numb arms behind his back, Hyuga Kagami said disdainfully, "A secret technique? Then use it and let me see."

After hesitating briefly, Guy shook his head.

Hyuga Kagami wanted to force Guy to use the Eight Inner Gates, so he deliberately asked, "Why? Are you looking down on me?"

Guy hurriedly waved his hands in explanation. "My father said this is a forbidden technique that must never be used on comrades!"

"While your father was a ninja worthy of respect, I don't believe you possess any forbidden technique capable of hurting me." After a pause, Hyuga Kagami continued, "You seem to have no understanding of the gap between us. Against me, you have no right to hold anything back."

Guy was still hesitant. "But... but it really is a very powerful forbidden technique. I still haven't fully mastered it!"

Hyuga Kagami stepped forward, his bearing imposing. "Is your talent greater than mine? Or is your bloodline superior to mine? If you don't give it everything you have, what makes you think you can beat me?"

Staring at the stammering Guy, Hyuga Kagami continued to apply pressure. "Or perhaps you never thought you could defeat me. If that's the case, you can leave. I have no interest in sparring with someone as weak-hearted as you!"

Guy looked as though he had been struck by lightning. Then, slowly, he clenched his fists.

"Huh..."

In an instant, Hyuga Kagami sensed that Guy's presence had changed.

At that moment, Guy looked at Hyuga Kagami and shouted, "Kagami, you're right! Sparring with a genius from a prestigious clan like you, I should give it everything I have. Only then will my youth not be wasted!"

Hyuga Kagami was utterly baffled. I can barely count as being from a prestigious clan, but since when did genius have anything to do with me? Did my act work that well? Did it make him think I was a genius right away?

While Hyuga Kagami was mulling it over, Guy's aura suddenly surged!

"First Gate, Gate of Opening, open!"

A current of air formed around Guy.

"Second Gate, Gate of Healing, open!"

The air current gradually became a wave of air.

"Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!"

Chakra drifted out of Guy's body as though it had substance.

Hyuga Kagami's expression remained calm, but inwardly he cried out, Hey, hey, hey, he's really going all out! That's enough! Don't open any more! If he keeps going, someone's going to die!

Naturally, Guy could not hear Hyuga Kagami's thoughts, so he showed no sign of stopping.

"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open!"

The dispersing chakra seemed to grow denser, rising into a thick wave of air that enveloped Guy's entire body like a Tailed Beast chakra cloak.

Perhaps Guy could only open up to the fourth gate at present, or perhaps he knew this was merely a spar between comrades. In any case, he stopped after opening the Gate of Pain.

"Kagami, here I come!"

With that, without waiting for Hyuga Kagami's reply, Guy turned into a green bolt of lightning and began racing around him, seemingly searching for the best chance to strike.

Tracking Guy's figure, Hyuga Kagami's Tenseigan darted rapidly from side to side within his eye sockets.

With the Tenseigan's perception, capturing the movements of Guy after opening four gates was still easy enough. But being able to see Guy did not mean Hyuga Kagami could keep up with his movements.

His heart sank. Damn it, he's too fast!

Hyuga Kagami's Taijutsu combat experience was still at the Chunin level. Although he had been secretly training ever since obtaining the Tenseigan, he lacked actual combat experience beyond the Chunin level. Thus, as Guy opened the Gate of Pain and the battle rose into the realm of Jonin, he immediately keenly sensed that his body was struggling to keep up with the pace.

Watching Guy continue to circle him at high speed in search of an opening, Hyuga Kagami racked his brains for a solution despite his anxiety.

Admittedly, without using Rotation or the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, Hyuga Kagami had yet to reach Jonin level. However, his chakra reserves already exceeded those of an ordinary Jonin, and that was his advantage. He quickly made up his mind: he would not compete in techniques or speed, but only in chakra consumption.

He had to win this match!

Even if he had to put on a brave face, he had to win!

After gaining the Tenseigan, he could not allow himself to have a defeat in the village, not even in an ordinary spar!

Suddenly, Guy made his move.

He kicked off the ground, kicking up dust that filled the sky as the tremendous recoil launched him like a cannonball straight toward Hyuga Kagami's back!

Boom...

He moved so fast that it seemed to create a sonic boom. The entire grove trembled as though it were wailing!

Hyuga Kagami's expression sharpened, and he reacted at once.

In truth, before Guy attacked, Hyuga Kagami had already keenly detected the abnormal flow of chakra within Guy through the Tenseigan. But that minuscule advance warning was not enough for him to counter with Gentle Fist, so without hesitation, he used the Kaiten that he had only barely mastered that morning.

Rumble...

Another solid collision followed. Guy was sent flying by the Kaiten, crashing through four or five large trees in succession. The commotion carried far and wide, alarming quite a few villagers.

Hyuga Kagami did not fare well either. At that moment, he felt his blood and energy churning within him, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

Yet only a few breaths later, Guy flipped to his feet and once more became an afterimage, stepping through the air as he rose. Amid repeated bang, bang, bang sounds of stomping, he shifted rapidly through the air.

"This..."

Seeing Guy rapidly move through the low air merely by stepping on it, Hyuga Kagami immediately abandoned any thought of taking the initiative. He suppressed every other idea and focused entirely on defense.

Fortunately, Hyuga Kagami possessed the Tenseigan. Had he still only had the Byakugan, he likely would not even have had time to activate Kaiten.

Amid increasingly rapid air-stepping sounds, Guy attacked again. This time, he launched a Leaf Whirlwind from above. Before his body even arrived, the gale had already swept through the entire grove.

"Kaiten!"

Under the Tenseigan, no matter how Guy concealed his attack trajectory, he could not escape Hyuga Kagami's perception. Therefore, if he completely abandoned attacking and focused solely on defense, Hyuga Kagami could barely grasp the timing to activate Kaiten.

Boom...

As expected, Guy's Leaf Whirlwind was blocked once again by Hyuga Kagami's Kaiten.

Guy was flung away like a cannonball, landing far beyond the grove. He nearly smashed into several passing villagers, causing quite a commotion.

Within the grove, Hyuga Kagami felt as though he could not move even a single step.

My bones aren't broken, are they?!

Feeling soreness and pain throughout his body, Hyuga Kagami was secretly alarmed.

Only then did he notice the ground beneath his feet. With his position as the center, spiderweb-like cracks spread endlessly outward across the ground, extending seven or eight meters away...