Eight Gates - Modified

"The prerequisite for opening the Eight Gates is intense, excessive training that pushes you beyond your limits for a long time. As long as you don't give up, you can reach that point. Anyone can learn the Eight Gates if they manage it..." After hearing Kai's explanation, Zi Xu had gained some understanding of the so-called Eight Gates.

Just as Kai had said, the Eight Gates weren't some secret technique. In fact, everyone in the entire ninja world knew about this Taijutsu. The "Eight Gates" were common knowledge among ninjas, but few people tried to train in them. The reason was simple: they didn't think it was worth it. Imagine having to train rigorously every day, with no results in the short term, only to end up with a Taijutsu style that had major limitations in actual combat. On the other hand, a little effort was all it took to learn flashy, dazzling Ninjutsu. What would most people choose?

"Besides, the power of the Eight Gates depends on the user's body. Its power varies according to the user's physique, so the strength of the Eight Gates differs from person to person." Kai generously shared the knowledge he had accumulated over the years. He rather liked seeing youngsters like Zi Xu take an interest in Taijutsu. After all, whether it was Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, their creators wanted their techniques to be passed down.

"Listen up, kid. Perhaps Taijutsu is the way for ordinary people to become strong." Kai smiled and ruffled the boy's hair, nearly shaking his brains loose. The boy's mother realized that the ninjas seemed to be planning to teach her son something, so she stopped interrupting. She felt this might be the moment that changed their family's fate.

"Using the Eight Gates also requires Chakra. Everyone has Chakra in their bodies, but ninjas learn how to use it through training, while ordinary people don't know how. Still, with day-after-day training, ordinary people have a chance to learn the Eight Gates, since it's a form of Taijutsu..." Kai's next words dimmed the light in the boy's eyes. The unbridgeable gulf between civilians and ninjas had appeared before him once more.

"This technique removes the body's restrictions on Chakra, allowing excess energy to be released. In the Chakra pathway system, there are eight points that suppress and control the Chakra within the body: the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death. These 'Eight Gates' limit the amount of Chakra in the body, but this technique forces Chakra beyond those limits, drawing out power dozens of times greater than one's original strength. However, the user's body is damaged in the process..."

"That's why the farther back the opened Gate is, the greater the damage to the body. The Eight Gates are classified as a forbidden technique. I can only teach you the basic training method. What comes after that will depend on your own ability to understand it."

Zi Xu scratched his head, not quite understanding why Kai would say that. If it was a forbidden technique, why was he teaching it to them so casually? Was he confident they wouldn't be able to learn it? Or was this so-called "forbidden technique" not really considered forbidden in the ninja world, just a technique everyone knew about but no one wanted to train in?

Zi Xu didn't care about any of that. Whatever Kai's reasons, he was the one teaching them, and Zi Xu was the one learning. How could he be blamed for it?

And so, the inquisitive Zi Xu and the somewhat dejected boy listened to Kai's explanation. After spending some time sorting through the knowledge in his mind, Zi Xu bowed slightly to Kai to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, Teacher Kai!" Zi Xu was sincerely grateful. He had always held those who taught him in good faith in the highest regard. He hadn't understood why Kai had stressed that this was a forbidden technique, but now he did.

Although Kai had called it a forbidden technique and said he wouldn't teach them much, he answered every question Zi Xu asked about the Eight Gates. Without even realizing it, he had also taught Zi Xu how to train in all the other "Seven Gates" besides the Gate of Death. Now Zi Xu understood: Kai had only decided to teach him because he saw his excellent physique and his strong interest in Taijutsu. Kai didn't want the Eight Gates to be lost. Rock Lee had already mastered them, but another person would make things more secure, and the two of them could discuss Taijutsu together.

Rock Lee and the others waved goodbye to the boy's family. It was already afternoon, and the breeze did nothing to ease the scorching heat. The boy watched the three depart, clenched his fists, and swore to himself:

"Even if my chances are slim, I'll train hard! I'll change my fate!"

Kai, already walking away, seemed to sense the boy's resolve and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Excellent! That's youth!"

While Zi Xu was still thinking about how to make a training plan for himself, he saw another notification from the system.

[The host has changed the course of the world]

[The host has completed the fate-changing mission—The Budding of Youth]

[You have received 2000 reward points]

"...So how exactly does it decide what counts as changing the course of events..." Since Zi Xu didn't know the plot, the system's notifications often startled him.

"Hey, Zi Xu, you're so good at Taijutsu. You're definitely going to take part in the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams, right? I'm looking forward to fighting you in the arena!" Rock Lee asked from beside Zi Xu, making no effort to hide the fighting spirit in his eyes.

Zi Xu reached out and pushed Rock Lee away. With him standing so close, it felt like there was a furnace right beside him. He was too hot.

"Ah, probably." After spending a short time with Rock Lee, Zi Xu had come to understand his personality. He wasn't a bad guy. He was straightforward, said whatever came to mind, and worked hard—an out-and-out overachiever.

After returning to the inner part of the village, Zi Xu said goodbye to the two. He didn't go looking for Chino and the others. Now that he knew about the Eight Gates, he was even more interested in them.

According to Kai, they needed to train each part of their bodies and their organs to withstand the strain of opening the Gates, minimizing the damage caused by the immense energy released. Only after this process could they successfully open the Eight Gates. Zi Xu's advantage was his powerful physique. He could push himself as hard as he wanted; he and the Eight Gates were a perfect match.

Rather than call it incredible luck, it was practically inevitable. In the Naruto World, where Taijutsu was in decline, his physique meant he was bound to encounter the Eight Gates sooner or later.

Most people in the Naruto World had high attack and low health, while people in the world of pirates had extraordinary physiques. Every one of them looked like they'd eaten the Sit-Up Fruit and unlocked an invincibility cheat.

"Since the Eight Gates are so widely known, does that mean those three snakes in Ryūchi Cave know about them too? Maybe I should ask them to help me practice. They might even be able to give me some guidance..."

Ichikishimahime, in Ryūchi Cave, suddenly sneezed.

"What's wrong?" Tagorihime looked at Ichikishimahime, who was suspiciously eyeing her surroundings, and tapped her on the head with her tail.

"Nothing. I just have a bad feeling." She flicked her little tongue, as if trying to shake off her unpleasant mood.

But according to Murphy's law, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Everything takes longer than you expect, anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and if you're worried that something might happen, it's more likely to happen. The Goddess's feeling was right. The very next second, Zi Xu's red hair—which stood out even in Ryūchi Cave—appeared in front of them.

"Emmmmmmm..."

"Mm..."

Zi Xu and Ichikishimahime stared at each other for a long time, until Zi Xu finally spoke after coiling the little white snake, who had been in Ryūchi Cave the whole time, around himself several times.

"Um, do you know about the Eight Gates?"

Ichikishimahime and Tagorihime looked at him in surprise. Had this kid somehow learned the Eight Gates?

In the end, Tagorihime licked her lips, restored her snake-like body to human form, and explained to him.

"Of course. The Eight Gates aren't a secret. In fact, there are basically no secret techniques when it comes to Taijutsu. It all takes great determination and a long time training to see results."

"Can ordinary people become as strong as ninjas through training like the Eight Gates?"

"Huh? What are you thinking? How could that be possible? Even if there were a chance, it'd be tiny. You'd be better off learning swordsmanship from the samurai in the Land of Iron..." Ichikishimahime floated through the air and snatched away the little white snake whose scales Zi Xu had nearly polished smooth by coiling it around himself.

Zi Xu scratched his head. Another path had been ruled out, which left him a little disappointed. It seemed it would be difficult to liberate the common people in the future. For now, it looked like civilians could only serve as laborers or intelligence operatives.

"Forget that for now. Someone just taught me how to use the Eight Gates, but I've tried for ages and still can't open the first Gate." Zi Xu knew exactly where the acupoints corresponding to the "Eight Gates" in his body were. According to Kai, once he had trained to his limit, he only needed to use Chakra to break through the "Eight Gates" in the pathway system that suppressed and controlled the Chakra in his body.

Once the Eight Gates were broken through, the restrictions on the Chakra in his body would be forcibly lifted, allowing it to exceed its limits. The awkward thing was that Zi Xu couldn't even manage the first step.

"Huh? So you do have things you're bad at when it comes to Taijutsu! Hahahaha—ow..." Ichikishimahime had finally found something Zi Xu wasn't good at, and naturally she had to tease him about it. He'd learned the Taijutsu they taught him as easily as if he were playing around, which had made her wonder whether all her past hard training had been wasted.

Tagitsuhime appeared out of thin air and gently tapped Ichikishimahime, who was laughing uproariously nearby. The latter accidentally bit her tongue.

"Listen, Zi Xu. I don't know much about the Eight Gates either. I can only try to explain how we understand them. How you use them is up to you. After all, many Taijutsu experts in history have used techniques that were modified from the original..."

Zi Xu listened carefully to what Tagitsuhime said. As she talked, he took notes, but before long, the two of them were wearing the same expression:

"What is she talking about?"

"What am I talking about?"

In the end, Tagorihime couldn't bear to watch anymore and decided to explain it to Zi Xu herself. She was the most skilled of the three snakes when it came to Taijutsu.

But all Three Divine Maidens were the practical sort. They were good at fighting, but not at teaching. To give you an idea of how bad they were: Ichikishimahime had actually seen the Eight Gates in action before, but after hearing Tagorihime's explanation, even she was confused. Her expression clearly said, "What? So that's how it works? Then what was that Eight Gates technique I saw before?"

Though he felt the Three Divine Maidens' explanation was a little unreliable, when he considered Kai's guidance—that he should "burn with youth and just work hard"—he could only grit his teeth and give it a try.

Zi Xu circulated the Chakra in his body. The pale blue Chakra flowed along the route he had planned, but it wasn't easy.

The Chakra was like a stream, and his body was like the earth. Zi Xu now had to guide the stream along its intended course through ground that had nearly hardened into granite.

The stream wasn't very forceful, but it kept flowing without end. It wasn't that his Chakra was weak; his body was simply too powerful, and that was turning into a problem.

"With this much Chakra, there's no way I can't open this Gate today." Zi Xu's stubborn streak kicked in. He usually took things as they came, but once he made up his mind, he would stick to it no matter what. In other words, his mule-like stubbornness had surfaced.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Zi Xu's forehead. Under his stubborn assault, the solid granite ground finally broke apart in one place. The first step was always the hardest. Once he'd taken it, everything else became much easier. The stream used the momentum of its first breakthrough to forge ahead, carving its way through the terrain along the meridians and acupoints the Goddesses and Kai had described. Soon, it reached its first obstacle.

The obstacles that Rock Lee and the others had faced before couldn't even be called obstacles, because their bodies weren't as terrifying as Zi Xu's. With training, they could reach the first Gate relatively "easily."

Tagitsuhime smiled approvingly, apparently satisfied with Zi Xu's aptitude. Tagorihime nodded too, looking as if to say, "See? I'm a good teacher." But beneath their calm, confident exteriors, their hearts were panicking like mad.

"What's going on?"

"I made it up. How is he actually doing it?"

"That doesn't make sense!"

Meanwhile, Ichikishimahime, who had always been at odds with Zi Xu, sheepishly crouched off to one side without saying a word. She didn't know whether the Gate of Opening always felt like this, but it seemed quite different from what she remembered... Yet seeing the confident smiles on Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime's faces made her doubt herself.

"Did I remember it wrong?"

The Three Divine Maidens each had their own thoughts as Zi Xu finally broke through that first barrier. His earlier guess had been right: his physical condition had long since met the standard for the Gate of Opening. He had simply lacked a path to open it.

Though it was only the first Gate, he felt as if he'd just surfaced from the deep sea. Sweat poured off him, most of his Chakra was gone, and every cell and muscle in his body felt like a lemon squeezed dry.

"Is opening the Eight Gates always this hard? Tsk, why doesn't this feel right? Hmm... Hmm?... Hm! What the hell kind of Gate did I open? Why does this feel like the path of the Conception and Governor Vessels?" Zi Xu sensed something was wrong, but when he turned around, he saw Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime smiling confidently and calmly. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he'd opened the wrong Gate.

... mbilu