The Strongest Taijutsu

"First Gate! Gate of Opening! Open!"

"Second Gate! Gate of Healing! Open!"

"Third Gate! Gate of Life! Open!"

"I had no talent for ninjutsu, nor any talent for Illusion Techniques, so I devoted all my effort to taijutsu. As a Genin, I trained day after day without stopping. After nearly more than ten years, the only ultimate technique I mastered—the Eight Gates Formation." Veins bulged across Might Guy's Father's face, making him look like an Evil Ghost.

The Eight Gates Formation, the strongest taijutsu in the Hokage World. Opening all eight gates could remove every limit within the human body and grant power beyond the Kage level. Facing a fellow village ninja who recognized him, Might Guy's Father opened the first three gates. Within the first three gates, he could perfectly control his own strength. Might Guy's Father firmly believed strength was meant for protection, not for competing or fighting. The third gate, the Gate of Life, was the final safe zone of the Eight Gates Formation—safe for himself, and safe for Duke.

"Thank you for acknowledging me. Be careful. Next, I'll go all out." Centered on Might Guy's Father, visible waves of vapor churned endlessly around him. It was the sign of chakra erupting violently. The first three gates of the Eight Gates Formation removed the brain's restrictions and the limits of physical fatigue. On top of bringing out one hundred percent of the body's potential, both attack power and speed grew explosively.

Might Guy's Father did not need to remind him. Duke knew full well how terrifying the Eight Gates Formation was. Rather than wait helplessly, he moved in a flash and rushed forward, closing in on Might Guy's Father in an instant. Then Duke twisted his body, driving his fist straight down at Might Guy's Father's chest. Yet Might Guy's Father saw through it all with ease. His movements were nimble and clean, without a trace of hesitation. Using the explosive power beneath his feet, he shifted his balance to one side and narrowly dodged Duke's fierce punch.

"Konoha Evil Rising Rock!"

Might Guy's Father shouted, seizing the gap before Duke's old force had faded and his new force had yet to emerge. With his elbow aimed at Duke, he charged forward and rammed into him, sending Duke flying. That strike sounded the horn of counterattack. Might Guy's Father swiftly surged forward, closing in on Duke before he could fall from the air. Duke was greatly surprised. He forcibly steadied himself in midair and instinctively threw a punch at Might Guy's Father's approaching body.

"Bang!"

Their fists collided. After a moment of stillness, a gale swept across the arena. Might Guy's Father's eyes bulged as Duke, with nowhere to brace himself in midair, directly blasted him back several meters with a single strike.

"Although it happened too fast for me to see clearly, that final blow... no matter how I look at it, Father should have had the advantage. So why was he the one sent flying back?" In the stands, Might Guy watched the pure taijutsu clash without blinking.

"Duke is incredibly strong." Asuma and Kurenai exclaimed in amazement.

It wasn't strength. It was chakra. When our fists collided, the chakra around his fist rapidly burned and erupted. This taijutsu resembles that of Lady Tsunade, one of the Sannin. Might Guy's Father stopped his retreating steps and asked in surprise, "Was that the Monster Strength Punch?"

"Don't take it personally. I'm a Medical Ninja, so there's nothing strange about precisely controlling my own chakra." Duke flexed his stiff fingers. After only one exchange of fists, his hand had already gone numb. The Eight Gates Formation truly lived up to its reputation.

"So that's how it is. By using the shockwave from chakra's eruption, you amplified the force originally applied to an object several times over. Such exquisite chakra control—I've learned much."

The combination of physical techniques from the Pirate World and chakra from the Hokage World had given birth to a monstrous-strength taijutsu no different from Tsunade's. In that instant, Duke had used this technique, skillfully mixing inch force with a chakra eruption. Once it struck an opponent, the chakra would explode like gunpowder, using the momentum of the inch force to destroy the opponent in one blow. It was precisely this technique that allowed Duke, trapped in midair with nowhere to escape, to neutralize Might Guy's Father's assault.

"I still have plenty of tricks. You can let loose without holding back." A trace of excitement appeared between Duke's brows. His body surged forward, and under everyone's tense gazes, he arrived before Might Guy's Father. The next moment, a fist packed with chakra carved an arc through the air and smashed viciously toward Might Guy's Father's temple.

Might Guy's Father praised him inwardly. In an instant, he bent backward and dodged, then used speed far beyond Duke's to throw five punches in rapid succession. Each punch was heavy and powerful, landing solidly on Duke's shoulders, chest, and legs. Against an ordinary ninja, such heavy blows would cause severe internal injuries even if they did not prove fatal.

Duke was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the wall with a boom. Under the shocked eyes of the entire audience, he pushed aside the rubble and walked out unharmed. There was not even a bruise on his body.

"?" Might Guy's Father was stunned again. Ever since their first exchange, he had been deeply puzzled. Duke was slender, with undeveloped muscles. He was clearly not a taijutsu ninja with powerful defenses, yet no matter how many times Might Guy's Father attacked, he could not injure him.

"My defense is very strong. No matter how fast you are, if you can't break through my defense, there's nothing you can do to me." Duke imitated Gaara and covered his body in a layer of frost, copying Sand Armor to give himself Ice Armor. Might Guy's Father's fists and kicks generated immense heat from friction with the air. Once the Ice Armor was shattered, it evaporated, so Might Guy's Father never noticed it. Of course, Duke only needed to know that himself. He absolutely could not say it aloud. They had agreed on a pure taijutsu match, yet he had secretly buffed himself with ninjutsu.

"Since that's the case..."

Might Guy's Father seemed to have made up his mind. He closed in with a punch and unleashed a ****-like offensive. His figure turned into an afterimage, impossible to follow with the naked eye. He had clearly surpassed the limits of the human body.

Under that frenzied assault, so dense that not even water could pass through, Duke could not even keep up with his eyes. He was completely overwhelmed. Forget counterattacking—he struggled even to escape. Fortunately, Ice Armor would not stop as long as his chakra held out. Otherwise, Might Guy's Father would have crippled him long ago. But endlessly taking hits was not Duke's style. He had not come to experience the Eight Gates just to get beaten up. He wanted to test the results of all his years of training in the Pirate World.

"Six Powers: Iron Body!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A rapid series of crisp impacts rang out like hammers striking iron. Might Guy's Father withdrew his aching hands and feet, then leaped far away with trembling arms. His attacks just now had felt as though they were striking steel. Even a ninja like him could not endure such pain.

"Six Powers: Shave!"

Duke pressed his advantage. In an instant, he stomped the ground more than ten times, using the increased speed generated by the reactive force of chakra eruptions to charge straight at Might Guy's Father at extreme speed.

"Machine Gun Combo Punch!"

One punch, five punches, ten punches, fifty punches, one hundred punches! Countless fist shadows fell like raindrops, forming an impenetrable wall that crashed down fiercely. Caught within it, Might Guy's Father faced fists like a barrage of bullets. He could only defend in disarray, hurriedly throwing punches to meet them, yet he was struck more than a dozen times in mere moments.

Might Guy's Father's face flushed red. The intense pain forced him to retreat again and again. The moment he retreated, an opening appeared, and the situation became even more dangerous. He was struck squarely in the face, sent flying several meters before slamming into the ground.

"Phew... phew... phew..."

Duke lowered his arms. Sweat blurred his vision, while his chest heaved like a bellows. Continuously unleashing such high-speed taijutsu consumed enormous stamina. He did not have the Eight Gates Formation to break through the limits of fatigue, so he could not sustain this taijutsu for long.

"Are those two monsters really Genin?"

"Don't joke around. If I ran into them, I'd be beaten to death. What is Konoha thinking?"

"It's impossible to defeat taijutsu like that. I'm withdrawing. I don't want to die."

"..."

The Genin from other villages trembled as they clutched the railings in fear. Duke and Might Guy's Father's taijutsu battle had brutally shattered their confidence and pride. It was easy to imagine that, having lost their courage, they would likely struggle to perform at their full strength in the following matches.

"So amazing. Duke's taijutsu is actually this powerful. And... Father knows techniques like this? Then why has he always been a Genin?" Might Guy's heart was filled with questions. In his understanding, his father, Might Guy's Father, was great, but he had never possessed any outstanding talent. He was as ordinary as could be.

"So Duke is this incredible at taijutsu too... The gap between us is simply too great." Asuma gripped the railing, feeling dejected. As the Hokage's son, he had immense pride. He had regarded Duke as the goal he needed to surpass, but now he realized that goal was impossibly distant.

"Asuma..." Kurenai said worriedly.

"Don't worry, Kurenai. You don't need to comfort me. My dream is to surpass the Hokage. How could I be defeated by such a minor setback?" At that moment, Asuma matured.

Duke... you're already this strong, while I'm so far behind... Right, as long as I have the Sharingan, I'll be able to capture their movements. I won't admit defeat. Obito secretly swore to train even harder and strive to awaken the Sharingan as soon as possible.

"Skilled in both Medical Ninjutsu and taijutsu... I'll remember you, Mitarashi Duke. I need to speed up the development of Chidori. Otherwise, if I encounter him, I won't even be able to counterattack." Competitive Kakashi clenched his fists. At this moment, he held his breath and stared intently, opening his ever-unchanging Dead Fish Eye Duke. Among people his age, he had believed he would not lose to anyone, but at this moment, he hesitated.

"This kind of taijutsu... even I, a Jonin, feel inferior to it. This year's Genin are truly terrifying." Cold sweat ran down the examiner's face as he watched the two Konoha ninjas in the arena. Amid his shock, he could not help but wonder, "Mitarashi Duke is taking the Chunin Exam for the first time this year, so it can barely be explained as intelligence not being in place. But what is going on with Might Guy's Father? He's a familiar face. I don't remember him being this powerful!"

"He has taken the Chunin Exam for consecutive years, yet he has never passed. According to records and scores from previous exams, whether gathering intelligence or participating in combat matches, he performed terribly, without a single highlight. Logically, he should not possess such powerful taijutsu..." The assistant examiner adjusted his glasses. He was certain Might Guy's Father had not been this strong.

"A disguise? Is he a spy?" The chief examiner's expression immediately turned cold.

"That can't be. Might Guy's Father is a native-born Konoha ninja. We know his background inside and out. Besides, with that appearance, he doesn't look like a spy no matter how you see it."

"What I fear is that you can know a person's face but not their heart. Record their match and submit it to the Third Hokage. I refuse to believe a Genin would hide his strength for years without a purpose." The chief examiner gave the order gravely, deciding to personally report this strange matter to the Third Hokage.

"Understood!" With the matter so urgent, the assistant examiner did not dare speak up for Might Guy's Father again.

Still catching his breath in the arena, Duke had no idea that his clash with Might Guy's Father had changed history once more. Perhaps the future had, at this moment, begun heading into the unknown.