Saiyan Transformation

"I've never seen taijutsu like this. You withstood the Eight Gates Formation head-on. Young man, your hard work has earned my respect." Dai climbed to his feet, ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, his face alight with joy. He had spent nearly twenty years feeling his way across the river stones as he trained in the Eight Gates Formation, finally reaching the last step. The blood and sweat he had poured into it were beyond what outsiders could imagine. In body and spirit, he had silently endured hardships ordinary people could never bear. Alone, he had never lost heart, all for the ability to protect what mattered most. Today, he had seen an equally powerful taijutsu forged through countless drops of sweat. It was worth breaking his own rules just once, both out of respect for his opponent and for himself.

"Youth! Bloom, just this once!" Dai erupted with powerful chakra once more. Scorching air blasted his hair upward as he shouted, "Fourth Gate! Gate of Pain! Open!"

"His chakra reserves... even Saiyan Transformation only has effects like this, right?" Duke raised an arm to block the rocks blown toward him. The visible chakra made him instinctively use Six Powers: Iron Body.

"Konoha Taijutsu Style: Dynamic Entry!"

Dai kicked off with his rear foot and took one step forward. Twisting cracks spread across the examination ground like a spiderweb, expanding in every direction. After opening four gates, Dai's speed and strength had risen to terrifying heights. With taijutsu alone, he could rival Zixiao's Wind Shunpo Technique. Duke barely caught the afterimage left as Dai turned. He crossed his arms, trying to block the kick from the front, but the instant it struck, Duke sensed something was wrong. Dai had vanished.

It's an afterimage! My eyes can no longer follow his movement trajectory, just like during the bell-grabbing test... Alarm bells rang in Duke's mind. He turned and retreated into a defensive stance, his movements smooth and fluid, but before he could finish, Dai kicked him from behind and sent him flying.

Duke forcibly shifted his center of gravity in midair, stabilizing himself. Dai caught up again and launched a relentless assault. Duke had no choice but to defend passively, relying on the absolute hardness of Iron Body to keep himself from being injured.

Smack! Smack!

The muscles in Dai's legs tore with anguished cries. His body faltered under the intense pain, and Duke seized the opening to engage him in close combat. When fighting a taijutsu ninja using the Eight Gates Formation, one absolutely could not give them room to accelerate and charge, or they would show you what despair truly meant.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

Duke and Dai traded blows, attacking each other with fists and kicks. Moving at such high speeds, the audience could see only two flashing afterimages. The aftershocks of their battle whipped up gust after gust of wind. The entire examination ground looked as though it had been bombarded by artillery fire, with not a single safe place to stand.

Six Powers: Iron Body! Chakra was pumped into a rigorously trained body, accelerating the flow of blood and tightening the muscles, granting them the hardness of steel. Even bullets and blades could not breach its defense. Unfortunately, Duke had not yet fully mastered this technique and could only use it while standing still. In other words, once he moved, he lost his defense.

Duke came to a stop, gasping for breath. After that brief battle, he had expended much of his stamina again. In contrast, Dai's green jumpsuit had only suffered minor damage. There were barely any injuries on his body, and his chakra remained abundant. The difference was obvious! Unless Duke still had another trump card, he was bound to lose this contest of taijutsu.

Damn, the situation is unfavorable! I never expected four gates alone would leave me helpless... It's a shame I've only mastered Iron Body and Shave from the Navy Six Powers. If I had learned them all and mastered their applications, I wouldn't be in such a miserable state. Duke adjusted his breathing, his eyes fixed tightly on Dai.

The physical techniques of the Pirate World haven't been trained to perfection. Holding out stubbornly won't turn this around. In that case, I'll switch to a skill from the Pokémon world. Articuno's level isn't high, and I haven't fully mastered this move yet, but I can only gamble on it now.

"Agility!"

He relaxed his body and abandoned defense in exchange for a massive increase in speed. Duke's figure vanished in an instant, leaving behind a field of afterimages. Unlike Dai's high-speed charges, Duke moved with greater lightness, like a bird skimming across a lake, able to take flight at any moment.

"So fast!" Even Dai had to acknowledge Duke's speed now. Though Duke was still slower than him, he could barely keep up and would no longer lag behind and be beaten helplessly.

Dai twisted his neck, and his stiff bones crackled. With a whoosh, his figure vanished again, and he kicked toward Duke's abdomen. Duke's expression sharpened as he caught the kick with both hands, only to be instantly sent flying far away.

"His speed has caught up, but the gap in strength is even more obvious." His entire arm still numb, Duke's mind flashed with the realization that he could not confront Dai head-on. He gave a bitter smile.

Smack!

With a powerful flying kick, Dai sent Duke soaring into the air. What followed was another inhumane barrage of rapid strikes. Duke defended passively as burning pain spread across his body. He had no idea how many blows he had taken. His speed and strength could not match Dai's, but Dai could not break through his defense either. The two seemed deadlocked. But appearances were deceiving. Duke had already revealed every trump card he had, while Dai still had four gates unopened.

"I've had four gates open for too long. This is the final move!" His muscles continued to tear, and Dai knew he could not hold on much longer. After speaking, he opened the fifth gate of the Eight Gates Formation.

"Fifth Gate! Gate of Limit! Open!"

"Take this, Reverse Lotus!" Dai leaped into the air, slicing through the atmosphere and creating a brief vacuum. Only after his afterimage disappeared did the ground let out a groan, splitting inch by inch into powder. The muscles of Dai's right arm bulged, veins standing out one after another. His fist carried a scorching, frenzied aura, his whole body wrapped in green flames as his knuckles pointed directly at Duke.

"Six Powers: Shave!"

"Megaton Kick!"

Duke charged forward to meet him, stirring the air and lifting the ground beneath him as he sprinted. He twisted at the waist, turned sideways, and opened his body like a drawn bow before lashing out with a fierce side kick. Explosive chakra transformed into an ice-blue bird in midair. Blade-like force took physical form, and the crystalline beak flashed with light. The impact of extreme speed, combined with the strongest kick, formed absolute physical power. This kick contained the last of Duke's strength. Win or lose, everything rested on it.

Bang!

The green aura collided with the blue bird. One cold and one hot, the two storms crushed against each other. The air buzzed and erupted with piercing detonations as terrifying winds raged through the arena!

Boom!

Enormous force burst from the point where their fist and kick met. A massive impact crater, ten meters in diameter and of unfathomable depth, appeared in the ground. Flying sand and gravel became a shockwave, while spiderweb cracks covered the surrounding walls. The entire examination building shook.

Cough!

A mouthful of hot blood sprayed from Duke's mouth. Like a cannonball freshly fired from its barrel, he shot backward. The hard ground shattered like tofu beneath him as he plowed a trench through it, smashing through the wall at the edge of the arena and leaving a huge hole.

Dai stood in the middle of the massive crater. His green jumpsuit had been torn into strips, exposing his scar-covered, terrifying body to the air. He withdrew the Eight Gates Formation and panted heavily, his eyes half-open. His weakened body no longer had the strength to fight.

Silence! The entire examination ground was utterly silent, so quiet that a falling needle could be heard! Everyone stared fearfully at the ridiculous-looking green watermelon below. Yet now, no one could laugh. They were all stunned by Dai's overwhelmingly powerful strength. The examiner was drenched in sweat, his face filled with terror. This was the first time in his life he had seen taijutsu this powerful.

Crash!

Duke pushed away the rubble covering him and rose to his feet, coughing blood. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, blood flowing freely. He had lost the final clash to Dai's Reverse Lotus. Neither of them was in good condition now. Dai had torn muscles in many places, while Duke had exhausted all his stamina.

"So strong!" The Konoha Genin looked at one another in speechless dismay. Though they were all Genin, there was not the slightest basis for comparison. They had suffered a severe blow.

"Are these two Konoha Genin really human?" The Genin from other villages who had come to take the exam trembled in fear, frightened by the terrifying power Duke and Dai had displayed.

"Who won? Father?" Might Guy asked nervously.

"This match..." The examiner stood atop a collapsed statue. He looked at the two taijutsu monsters and hesitated, uncertain how to rule.

"I lost!" Duke and Dai spoke in unison. Afterward, they looked at each other and revealed bitter smiles before collapsing to the ground at the same time.

Duke knew that Dai could have held on for a while longer if he had continued opening the sixth gate, but Dai had given up. To be fair, Duke had lost in taijutsu. That was an indisputable fact, with nothing to argue about. He respected Dai's convictions, but a victory gained because his opponent forfeited was not what he wanted. Dai had meant well, but Duke's pride could not accept a victory that felt like charity. So he calmly admitted defeat.

"This match... is a draw... There is no winner." Caught in a dilemma, the examiner discussed it with the assistant examiner for a while before giving that ambiguous ruling. Neither man had the strength to continue fighting, and they certainly would not be able to participate in the second round. It was better to end things with a draw.

Duke raised a hand and used Medical Ninjutsu to treat himself, tacitly accepting the ruling without another word. Once his body could more or less move again, he walked over to Dai, picked him up, jumped into the stands, and began treating his wounds.

The Konoha Genin all ran over and gathered around them. Might Guy and Kakashi supported Dai, making it easier for Duke to treat the muscle damage in his back.

"This Medical Ninjutsu is even better than the doctors at Konoha Hospital." Dai grimaced in pain as he asked, "Why did you admit defeat? You can heal yourself, but I can't do that. The winner should have been you."

"Uncle Dai, how many gates can you open in the Eight Gates Formation?" Duke asked casually. Without waiting for Dai's answer, he continued, "Definitely more than five. You had a chance to win but gave it up, so how could I have the nerve to claim the fruits of victory?"

"Oh—" Tears streamed down Dai's face like water from an opened faucet. With snot and tears running together, he hugged Might Guy and said emotionally, "Did you see that, Guy? This is Youth! You must become a man like this in the future!"

"Don't worry, Father. I won't disappoint you!" Might Guy also shed tears of Youth. Father and son embraced and agreed that after the match, they would run five hundred laps around Konoha.

"Uncle Dai!" Duke's face darkened as he interrupted, "I don't want to interrupt your Youth, but your muscles are torn, and you have several bone fractures... Doesn't moving around like that hurt?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Dai sniffled. The moment Duke said that, boundless pain surged into his brain. His face turned green, and he tilted his head before passing out.

"Father!" Might Guy cried out in alarm. He held Dai and began shaking him, trying to wake him.

"If you keep shaking him, he's going to die." Duke pointed at Dai, who was foaming at the mouth, the corner of his eye twitching.

"Ugh, it hurts!" Duke shook his head and muttered to himself, "I actually lost to someone like this... Youth... is truly terrifying..."