The Hesitation of Might Duy

In the early hours of the morning, within a small grove, two figures were trading blows in a frenzy. Powerful gusts of wind swept away countless withered leaves until, accompanied by a slightly pained cry, the battle came to an end.

"Guy, you need to keep working harder, otherwise you'll be left further and further behind by Houka." Might Duy stood with his arms crossed, looking at Guy with a serious expression.

"Understood, Father!" Guy stood up, grimacing in pain. He was bruised and battered, and his thick, bushy eyebrows were quite crooked.

Might Duy looked toward Houka, his eyes filled with envy. During these past six months of training, he had discovered that Houka was simply a natural-born Taijutsu ninja!

No matter how insane, extreme, or brutal the day's training was, after a single night's sleep, Houka would be fully recovered, his stamina restored to its peak, ready to continue the frantic training. Over these six months, Houka's progress had only accelerated, and in terms of Taijutsu alone, he could absolutely rival a Chunin from the Hyuga clan!

As for Guy, he gave his all to catch up, yet only fell further behind. If it were anyone else, they would have lost confidence long ago; only Guy could be so persistent and unwavering!

"Son, youth never admits defeat, Ganbatte!" Tears welled up in Might Duy's eyes.

"Father, I will definitely become an excellent ninja and will not let you down!"

The father and son hugged and wept, while Houka, leaning against a tree nearby, frowned in deep thought.

A moment later, Might Duy waved for Guy to go do his "warm-up training" and then walked over to Houka.

"Houka, you seem to have something on your mind." Might Duy smiled. "That's not an expression a seven-year-old should have."

Seven years old?

Houka was startled, then nodded. That's right, half a year had passed; it was now the year 40 of Konoha.

"Are you worried about things back at your clan?" Might Duy had also heard about Uchiha Yeshing and tried to console him. "Hasn't the Uchiha clan already thrown him into prison? He won't come to cause you trouble again."

Houka sighed. Uchiha Yeshing was merely a pawn; the key was the person who was playing this piece.

But even to Might Duy, he couldn't speak of these things.

"Uncle Duy, I'm fine. I'll adjust my state of mind as soon as possible." Houka took a deep breath and pulled himself together.

Might Duy nodded, then showed a look of hesitation, as if he were struggling with something.

"What's wrong, Uncle Duy?" Houka looked at him curiously.

"Ah, it's nothing. Go do your warm-up training."

Might Duy watched Houka's retreating back, hesitating in his heart: Should I pass the forbidden technique, the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates, to Houka?

Houka's special constitution was practically tailor-made for the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates, but because of that, Might Duy was very hesitant.

Because this forbidden technique varied from person to person, and the further one went, the more terrifying it became!!!

The Formation of the Eight Inner Gates, by opening the eight gates—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—sequentially accelerates the flow of Chakra. Once all eight gates are opened, one can instantly release all the Chakra in their body, gaining terrifying power; both speed and strength reach unimaginable levels!

And opening all eight gates is the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates!

In the original story, two people used the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates. One was Might Duy, who relied on it to fight the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, killing four of them before his own Chakra was exhausted and he died.

The second was Guy, who opened the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates and nearly killed Six Paths Madara!!!

So, was the strength of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist equal to that of Six Paths Madara?

That was obviously impossible; Six Paths Madara could probably take down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in a minute!

Although both used the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates, their results were vastly different. The reason for this difference lay in Chakra.

Opening all eight gates allows for the instantaneous release of all the Chakra in the body. Might Duy was a Genin; how much Chakra could he have? At most, it was at the Chunin level, so opening all eight gates could only kill four swordsmen. But Guy was an elite Jonin; the Chakra in his body was definitely far beyond Might Duy's, and only after a total eruption could his power instantly overwhelm Six Paths Madara!

In Might Duy's view, whether Guy could possess Jonin-level Chakra was still an unknown, but Houka—this child's talent was too great, and he was from the Uchiha clan. As long as he was willing to put in the hard work, becoming a Jonin was a certainty. By then, with the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates and the Kekkei Genkai Sharingan...

Might Duy didn't even dare to imagine how terrifying Houka would be at that time.

It was too scary; it scared little Duy to death.

Better to wait a while longer.

Might Duy sighed silently.

In the Hokage building, inside the office of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the morning sun spilled in from the window, spreading across the desk and bringing a faint warmth.

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was working, occasionally taking a puff from his pipe, looking quite content.

Suddenly.

Bang!

"Old man, why did you call me over so early in the morning?"

Tsunade, with her short blonde hair, kicked the door open and stormed in, looking thoroughly annoyed. Although it was winter, Tsunade was still dressed in a revealing outfit, her arms crossed, pushing up a large expanse of snow-white skin that shimmered in the sunlight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said angrily, "Tsunade, you are becoming more and more insolent. This is the Hokage's office!"

Tsunade sat on the desk without ceremony and huffed, "Old man, say what you have to say!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head with a bitter smile, then asked, "Tsunade, do you still have an impression of that child, Uchiha Houka?"

"Who?" Tsunade tilted her head to think, then nodded. "Oh, that ambitious little brat."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "You mentioned him to me half a year ago, haha."

"What, did that brat cause trouble?" Tsunade asked casually. At the time, she had indeed been a bit interested in Houka, but as time passed, she had forgotten about him. If Hiruzen hadn't brought him up today, she would have almost forgotten him entirely.

"This child is not simple." Hiruzen Sarutobi told Tsunade about Houka using a Shadow Clone to attend school and the duel that followed.

"To think he could hold his own against a chunin using Shadow Clone?" Tsunade raised her heroic eyebrows and let out a cold snort. "This brat certainly has big ambitions. I didn't pay attention for a moment, and he's already grown to this extent!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eye twitched as he said, "I've looked into this child. His personality is firm and peaceful, and he has been training in Taijutsu very diligently with Might Duy. It reminds me of my old friend Kagami."

Kagami Uchiha and Hiruzen Sarutobi were both students of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and they shared a very close bond.

As for Tsunade, she was raised by Hiruzen Sarutobi himself; she knew exactly what he was up to the moment he opened his mouth.

"Old man, are you thinking of recruiting him? Don't forget, he's from the Uchiha clan!" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and replied, "He is also a ninja of Konoha, isn't he?"

"Do whatever you want... wait, you aren't planning on making me recruit this brat, are you?!" Tsunade glared at him fiercely.

"Uh, just give it a try. After all, you've met him before. Tsunade, for the sake of my old age, please handle this matter. Cough, cough-cough-cough!" Hiruzen Sarutobi began to cough violently.

"That's too fake, old man!" Tsunade exposed him immediately.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was so embarrassed that he became angry, his face turning red.

"Fine, fine, I'll go, but don't get your hopes up." Tsunade waved her hand and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.