Collecting Data

The Chakra Meridian System distributed throughout the human body had eight points that could restrict the flow and speed of Chakra. They were called 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 normally restricted the flow and speed of Chakra. But once they were opened, the flow and volume of Chakra would surge wildly, granting strength dozens of times greater than usual, even surpassing the limits of human ability. This was the Eight Inner Gates Formation!

Take Might Duy, for example. Before opening the Eight Gates, he fought by generating power through sheer love and was mocked as a Genin who'd been one for a thousand years. After opening the Eight Gates, Might Duy was generating power with the Three Gorges Dam!

Shennong had been very fortunate. While developing the Forbidden Body Activation Technique, he had found these eight Chakra-restricting points in the Chakra Meridian System of his own body!

Shennong then discovered that although the Eight Inner Gates Formation was powerful, it required no technical skill whatsoever. As long as one trained the body until it was strong, tough, and abnormal enough, one could use Chakra to strike these points and gain far more strength than usual!

However, the Eight Inner Gates Formation also had major flaws. First, the gates couldn't be left open permanently. Second, once the technique ended, the body would suffer varying degrees of exhaustion. The third and greatest flaw was that opening all eight gates meant certain death!

Yet despite all these flaws, the Eight Inner Gates Formation was the strongest Taijutsu in the Shinobi World. There was no other!

Unfortunately, even the strongest Taijutsu in the Shinobi World was nowhere near enough to support Shennong's ambitions of taking revenge on Konoha!

Ever since Konoha had defeated and destroyed the Sky Ninja Village during the Second Shinobi World War, Shennong had kept the surviving Sky Ninja hidden away in the gutter, quietly developing their strength and biding their time. Meanwhile, he had concealed his identity and frantically increased his own power!

Shennong had developed the Forbidden Body Activation Technique and mastered the Eight Inner Gates Formation. He had grown stronger and stronger, but Konoha was even stronger!

There was Hiruzen Sarutobi, hailed as the strongest Hokage; the legendary Konoha Sannin, who were in their prime; the strongest Anbu in the Shinobi World; and powerful ninja clans like the Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, and Akimichi!

As for the Sky Ninja, it seemed Shennong was the only one they could rely on!

Faced with such formidable obstacles and pressure, would Shennong give up?

Of course not!

He would fix all three flaws of the Eight Inner Gates Formation!

He would make it possible to keep the Eight Inner Gates open permanently!

He would open all eight gates in one go and survive!

He would destroy Konoha with his own hands, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi to sit amid its ruins and weep!

He would make the Konoha Sannin and those so-called noble clans flee like stray dogs, hiding wherever they could and barely clinging to life!

Shennong would make every ninja in Konoha suffer through all the hardships the Sky Ninja had endured over the years!

And that was why Shennong had appeared here.

Data was crucial to any experiment. If Shennong wanted to fix the three flaws of the Eight Inner Gates Formation, he needed enough data to support his work. As far as he knew, Might Duy was the only ninja in the Shinobi World who practiced the Eight Inner Gates Formation!

That was why Shennong had spent all this time and effort getting close to Might Duy: he wanted to collect data on his body.

However, quietly collecting all the physical data of a Taijutsu ninja couldn't be done with a quick, cursory examination. Shennong needed a legitimate reason to keep "touching" Might Duy!

"Doctor Shennong, do I have any old injuries?"

Might Duy's voice interrupted Shennong's recollections.

"Yes, you do have a few minor old injuries. They're from years of training, but there's no need to worry. I'll give you a medicinal bath recipe. Soak in it once a day, then I'll massage and work out the kinks in your body. Keep it up for a month, and the injuries will be gone."

Shennong smiled.

"Thank you so much, Doctor Shennong!"

Might Duy stood up from the sofa and bowed solemnly. Then, looking a little embarrassed, he asked, "Doctor Shennong, is the medicinal bath recipe expensive?"

Their family's finances were limited. If it cost too much, then they could only...

Shennong smiled and waved his hand. "Don't worry. It's just some inexpensive herbs. I'll bring them by later. You don't need to worry about it, Duy."

Shennong didn't mind taking a loss or spending some money to get data on Might Duy's body.

"As expected of Doctor Shennong! Amazing!!"

Hanfu chimed in to make his presence known, then handed Shennong the backpack in his hands.

Shennong accepted it without a fuss and set it on the ground.

Hanfu's heart tightened. So casual? Could it be that the backpack didn't contain the Body Activation Scroll?

While Hanfu's mind raced, Shennong once again began teaching Might Duy the Bandage Technique, guiding his hands through the motions.

But with Might Duy's talent, mastering the perfect version of the Bandage Treatment Technique probably wouldn't happen in a day or two.

"Doctor Shennong, can I learn this too?"

Hanfu, standing nearby, snapped back to his senses and immediately called out.

"Hm?"

Shennong paused in surprise, then nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you!"

Hanfu thanked him excitedly, then deliberately began learning with clumsy movements.

Hanfu had already acquired the Bandage Treatment Technique. He still wanted to learn it for two reasons. First, he would definitely show off his perfect Bandage Treatment Technique someday. If anyone questioned him, he could say he'd learned it from Doctor Shennong, with Might Duy as his witness.

Second, Shennong had just said he would give Might Duy back massages for a month. Hanfu wanted to keep getting close to Shennong, so he needed a legitimate excuse!

An hour later.

Pant, pant...

A burst of ragged breathing came from outside. Then a young man in a green, tight-fitting training suit staggered in, drenched in sweat.

It was Might Guy, who had been training for most of the morning!

"Dad, Doctor Shennong, and... who are you?"

Though Guy was so tired he could barely catch his breath, he was still very polite.

"My name is Gekko Hayate. Pleased to meet you!"

Hayate quickly set down the bandages in his hands and introduced himself earnestly.

After all, the Blue Beast of Konoha stood right in front of him: the man who had nearly kicked his way to the ending!

"M-Moonlight Hayate? H-Hello."

As soon as Guy entered the room, he grabbed a glass of water from the living room.

"Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp..."

"Doctor Shennong, could you examine Guy too?"

Might Duy stood up and bowed to Shennong again.

"Of course."

Shennong smiled. This was nothing to him. As long as it made Might Duy trust him more, he was happy to do it!

Hearing Shennong's answer, Guy immediately put down his glass and thanked him with passionate, over-the-top enthusiasm.

After spending a few minutes examining Guy, Shennong's eyes showed a flicker of surprise. This Guy had a remarkably sturdy body.

"Doctor Shennong, how is he?" Might Duy asked.

Shennong came back to himself and smiled. "Guy's in excellent shape. He doesn't have any old injuries!"

"That's a relief." Might Duy let out a breath.

"Well, I should get going for now."

Shennong rose to his feet. "I'll prepare the herbs this afternoon and come by again."

"Sorry for the trouble, Doctor Shennong!"

"Thank you so much, Doctor Shennong!"

Might Duy and Guy hurriedly stood up and thanked him solemnly.