Haku's Regard

"Lord Hatake!"

"It's the White Fang of Konoha!"

"Strange, why would he appear here?"

Ninjas in the mission hall nodded respectfully as Hatake Sakumo suddenly appeared, though some from the noble clans cast him strange looks.

The reputation of the White Fang of Konoha shook the ninja world, and now, as the head of the Anbu and the right-hand man of the Third Hokage, he held great power. While some wanted to curry favor with him, others resented his position, yet fearing his terrifying strength, no one dared to confront him openly.

"Lord Hatake!"

Might Duy had met Hatake Sakumo last year when Guy enrolled in the academy; Hatake Sakumo had been enrolling Kakashi at the time, so they were nodding acquaintances.

"I happened to see you, so I came over to say hello." Hatake Sakumo smiled gently, looking nothing like the ruthless warrior he was on the battlefield.

Might Duy said, "Lord Hatake, you are too kind."

Hatake Sakumo smiled and said, "Let's go outside to talk."

The two walked one after the other, stopping by a utility pole beneath the Hokage Building.

"Did you need something from me, Lord Hatake?" Might Duy asked.

"Nothing in particular." Hatake Sakumo sighed suddenly. "Actually, I have been proposing to the Third Hokage that we reform the ninja promotion system, but I've faced obstacles from certain people and haven't succeeded."

Might Duy looked confused.

"I can sense your strength, Duy. You are an excellent Taijutsu ninja; I noticed that the very first time I saw you!" Hatake Sakumo said solemnly.

Might Duy was stunned, then gave a bitter smile. "No, Lord Hatake, I really am just a genin-level ninja. I... I have simply practiced a forbidden technique."

"A forbidden technique?" Hatake Sakumo did have an intuition that Might Duy was strong—an instinct honed from years on the battlefield—but he couldn't gauge exactly how strong.

"I call it... the Eight Inner Gates!" Might Duy said seriously. "It's just that I haven't fully mastered this technique yet."

"The Eight Inner Gates?" Hatake Sakumo pondered for a moment, confirming he had never heard of this forbidden technique before. Could it be something Might Duy developed himself?

"I look forward to seeing this technique." Hatake Sakumo stopped overthinking and smiled. "If you need any help, just ask."

"Huh? Really?" Might Duy looked excited.

"Of course. After all, our sons are very good friends." Hatake Sakumo laughed heartily.

"That's wonderful! Lord Hatake, I was wondering... could you teach me the Shadow Clone Technique?" Might Duy asked.

"No problem," Hatake Sakumo said. "Wait here for a moment."

In the next instant, Hatake Sakumo's figure vanished.

Might Duy's pupils constricted: So fast!

Such terrifying speed was beyond the reach of even Might Duy, who had practiced Taijutsu for over twenty years, unless he used the Eight Inner Gates.

About half a minute later, Hatake Sakumo reappeared with a small scroll in his hand, handing it to Might Duy: "This is the Shadow Clone Technique."

"Thank you so much!" Might Duy said gratefully.

"This technique was created by the Second Hokage and has spread throughout the ninja world after several great wars, so it's nothing to worry about." Hatake Sakumo said dismissively. "Well, I still have to see the Third Hokage, so I'll take my leave."

In the evening, after the ninja school let out, Houka and Guy ran straight toward the small woods.

After a day of study—or rather, a day of rest—both had recovered their energy well. Especially Houka, who had a foundation in Medical Ninjutsu and used Chakra to relax his muscles; combined with his naturally fast recovery constitution, his stamina was fully restored!

In the woods, Might Duy was already training ahead of time.

In front of him stood the thickest tree in the woods, wide enough for a person to wrap their arms around.

Might Duy stood there with his eyes closed, the flow of his Chakra gradually accelerating until it sounded like a rushing river. His blood flowed at high speed, and his skin took on an eerie, blood-red hue that looked terrifying. At the same time, a blue, flame-like aura of Chakra burned around his body, and a powerful pressure swept out from him, causing the grass to flatten and birds and beasts to flee.

Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit... Open!

Finally, Might Duy snapped his eyes open, and the air pressure around him surged, forming ripples in the air.

Just as Might Duy was about to throw a punch, his ears twitched, and he heard the footsteps of Houka and Guy.

Whoosh!

Might Duy slowly relaxed his fists, and the five gates he had opened within his meridians closed one by one. His Chakra flow returned to normal, and the strange appearance on his skin quickly vanished.

Not far away, Houka suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking ahead thoughtfully.

"Houka, what's wrong?" Guy asked curiously when he saw Houka stop.

"Didn't you feel that?" Houka asked back.

"Feel what?"

"Uh, nothing. Let's keep going."

Houka ran ahead, his heart burning. That was definitely not a hallucination; that powerful aura that had suddenly appeared and vanished, like a primordial beast—it was definitely Might Duy performing the Eight Inner Gates!

"You two, you're late again!"

Seeing Houka and Guy, Might Duy immediately flew into a rage. "Go run laps!"

The terrifying warm-up training began once more.

Houka finished running twenty laps around the small woods, panting like an ox, his chest feeling as if it were about to burst.

"Houka, three hundred side kicks!" Might Duy transformed into a devilish coach, his expression cold and merciless.

Houka dragged his heavy feet to a tree stump, extended his left leg, and kicked the top of the wood—once, twice, ten times...

Hiss!

Houka suddenly gasped as his left foot cramped!

Although he had been using Chakra to constantly soothe the muscles in his legs, the sheer volume of exercise was still more than he could handle.

Nearby, Guy was already clutching his foot and wailing on the ground.

Might Duy watched coldly; though his heart ached, he remained stoic.

Once the cramp subsided, Houka began his side kicks again, one by one. After fifty kicks, blood began to seep from his left ankle, but he felt nothing and continued to kick, and soon, the wood of the stump was stained red with blood.

"Persist, you must persist! You absolutely cannot give up here!"

Houka gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. The pain in his left foot was driving him mad, but he still lifted his leg again and again to strike the stump.

Sixty-one!

Seventy-two!

One hundred!

Finally, upon reaching the one hundred and twenty-fifth kick, Houka could no longer lift his left leg.

"Continue with your right leg!" Might Duy's voice came from behind him.

Houka gritted his teeth, shifted his entire body weight onto his left leg, and began side-kicking with his right.

Guy's training was identical to Houka's; after the left-leg side kicks, he switched to his right. Soon, both boys had bleeding feet and were shaking like jelly, eventually collapsing onto the ground in a wretched state.

"If you can't finish the side kicks, do one hundred squats!" Might Duy roared, his face expressionless.

"Yes!" Houka and Guy shouted. Even though they had long since reached their limits, they did not give up, did not complain, and certainly did not ask for a break.

The two gritted their teeth and stood up, hands behind their heads, and began to squat in place.

As a result, after just one, Guy couldn't hold himself up and collapsed to the ground, clutching his feet and suppressing his cries of pain.

Houka wasn't doing much better; the wounds from the side kicks had reopened and were bleeding again.

Houka wanted to use the Hemostasis Technique to treat his wounds, but when he reached out his hands, he realized his Chakra was completely exhausted.

The extreme training had forced him to constantly use Chakra to recover his body, and he had unknowingly drained it all.

"Sigh, alright, that's enough for today."

Seeing that both boys had reached their limits again, Might Duy finally stopped the training. In the next second, he leaped over to Guy's side, tears streaming down his face, and hugged him tightly, crying out, "Guy, you are my greatest pride!"

"Father, you are also my greatest pride."

The father and son hugged and wept again, their tears falling like raindrops, splashing onto Houka's face.

Houka lay on the ground, unable to move or dodge, feeling so awkward he just wanted to bury himself.