The Azure Beast, Might Duy

The Forefront of Despair

"...Konoha has become soft, hasn't it? If that man were still alive, it would never have come to this."

The implication was that the Second Hokage was incompetent, and the man's expression twisted with displeasure.

Dai endured the man's words in silence.

While it was infuriating to hear his beloved Hokage looked down upon, it was impossible to refute the claim in front of this person.

Dai could only desperately suppress his trembling body.

This was the greatest show of bravado that Dai, on the verge of succumbing to fear, could muster.

"Since you are a Konoha shinobi, you surely know of Senju Hashirama, don't you...? What is it? Are you shaking so hard you can't even speak?"

Looking down at the silent Dai, the man spoke a certain name with a cadence of dramatic emphasis.

It was the name of the First Hokage, who had passed away ten years ago.

It was impossible not to know it.

Not just in Konoha, but across the entire shinobi world, there shouldn't be a soul who didn't know the First Hokage.

Senju Hashirama was the man known as the God of Shinobi.

He was a legendary figure whose sudden passing was mourned even by his former enemies.

The name of such a hero was common knowledge, spread throughout the shinobi world.

However, the man's words seemed to contain a meaning beyond mere "confirmation of common knowledge."

It was as if he arrogantly believed that he was the one who understood Senju Hashirama the best.

"Well, never mind. There's no time for idle chatter... Boy, let me ask you something. Here... have you seen anyone possessing the Sharingan?"

First, Dai felt a sense of relief that the person the man was looking for was not Diejian.

However, what did he mean by someone possessing the Sharingan—Dai pondered internally.

The Sharingan—it was the Kekkei Genkai passed down through Konoha's Uchiha clan, one of the three great dōjutsu.

Because Dai's friend, Diejian, had a jōnin instructor and teammates who were all from the Uchiha clan, Dai had seen it from a distance a few times.

Thus, he realized.

The appearance of the Wood Dragon and this man searching for the Sharingan—inferred from these two points, it meant there was an unforgivable conspiracy to seize the "Sharingan," likely targeting Uchiha Shuri or Kagami Uchiha, both of whom were connected to Diejian.

Furthermore, this man was a demon who had attempted to destroy the village during the reign of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

If left unchecked, he would surely become a dark force hostile to Konoha.

Perhaps he was seeking the Sharingan to bolster his own combat strength.

(Diejian must have obtained information about this man through some means and tried to stop him. This barren land is surely the scar of that battle...! But this man is acting as if nothing happened, still searching for "someone with the Sharingan." Could it be... Diejian...)

Dai's reasoning was by no means wrong.

Although there was a significant misunderstanding, the essence of his thought hit the mark.

The tragic news of his friend shook Dai to his core.

Once upon a time, every shinobi in Konoha had branded Dai as talentless, mocking his "pointless" efforts.

A body incapable of using ninjutsu was merely a burden in battle, and he possessed no shining talent in taijutsu either.

The insults of "incompetent" and the ridicule of "failure" were undeniable facts.

In such an environment, only Diejian recognized not Dai's strength, but his noble spirit, calling him a friend.

For Dai, who was struggling in a darkness where he could not see the path ahead, this became the light he was meant to pursue.

During the final match of the Chūnin Exams, Diejian had sacrificed himself to protect his comrades, leading them to victory.

That was a glorious achievement worthy of a shinobi.

But then, Dai thought.

If that was the case, who would protect Diejian—?

When he thought of this, the path Dai was to take was decided.

Dai quietly clenched his fists, hardened by training.

His knobby, scarred knuckles were proof of the hundreds of straw targets he had struck, and a record of the youth he had spent running alongside his friend.

"Not saying a word, are you... Well, fine. You'll open your mouth sooner or later."

Noticing the change in Dai, the man raised an eyebrow.

His eyes were stained red, and three tomoe emerged.

He intended to use the Sharingan's genjutsu to pry Dai's mouth open.

Dai did not respond to the man's words.

He closed his eyes and turned his consciousness inward.

Before he knew it, the breathing that had been disordered by fear calmed down, and the sweat that had seeped out vanished as well.

Then, he simply gazed quietly at the youth slumbering within his own heart.

And then—.

"This is—"

The man let out a sound of surprise.

Dai's chakra surged forth abruptly, undergoing a transformation.

First—the veins on Dai's temples bulged.

Second—the muscles in his arms and legs expanded explosively.

Third—the violent chakra dyed his skin red.

He was forcibly forcing open the Eight Inner Gates.

This technique was the ultimate secret and taboo of Konoha Style Taijutsu, which forcibly dragged out all the possibilities residing within the body at the cost of one's own life.

Having learned of this technique from Diejian, Dai had honed it alongside his own principles for "that moment" that would eventually arrive.

—That back he had once sworn to stand alongside had already vanished, transformed into a phantom he could never touch again.

Dai's heart was surging.

The maddening sorrow, the anger scorching his body, the hatred that made him tremble—they truly existed within his heart.

But that was not all.

The fear of the man still smoldered in his heart, and a sense of despair burned in Dai's chest.

However, that was not the issue.

What stirred Dai's soul was not that kind of "dark will."

What drove Dai's body was not that kind of negative emotion.

It was the power of a strong will, rising up to stop the unprecedented crisis about to descend upon Konoha.

It was the pulse of a mission that must be completed even at the cost of his life, inheriting the will of his friend—to convey the news that this man, the only one capable of opposing him, was still alive—the Second Hokage.

It was the cry of a noble soul that existed beyond fear; it was a heart tethered to his comrades.

In other words, that was—.

"Fourth—Gate of Pain, open!!"

Fourth—the color faded from Dai's eyes.

But his heart bloomed with the brilliant blue radiance of youth.

Even on days when he suffered heartless words, struggling amidst insults and mockery, there was not a trace of gloom in Dai's heart.

That heart had always—been with the Will of Fire.

A gale.

As a gust of wind swept across the grassland, Dai's figure vanished.

The man showed interest and surprise at the transformation of Dai, who had suddenly disappeared.

"A drastic change in appearance, a chakra torrent like a runaway train... So this is the rumored Eight Inner Gates, interesting—"

Before the words had even faded, the man's jaw took an impact.

His neck snapped back, and his body floated into the air.

Dai, crouching beneath him, retracted the leg that had delivered the upward kick, then pushed off the ground with both arms...

Kick, kick, kick.

As if following the man, Dai leaped up while inverted on his arms, delivering continuous kicks in mid-air to drive the man even higher.

After the fourth kick, Dai's figure vanished once more.

Just as the man thought that, Dai was already pressed tightly against his back as he arched in the air.

"Shadow Dance, is it? You're quite nimble for someone without even a Sharingan."

Still arched backward, the man shifted only his eyes toward where Dai might be behind him.

Dai still did not answer; maintaining his silence, he unwound the bandages wrapped around his arms.

The next second, the bandages moved like a living thing, binding the man's body along with his arms.

Over that, Dai hugged the man's body tightly.

It was a death embrace—Dai spun his body rapidly, plummeting toward the ground as if to shatter the man's skull.

"Front Lotus!!"

The secret technique of Konoha Style Taijutsu, Front Lotus.

A move that uses Shadow Dance to track a kicked-away enemy and slam the bound target into the ground.

"Alright, just like this—"

"Don't be in such a rush."

As the man slammed violently into the ground, Dai immediately leaped away from him, flipping his body in mid-air.

His goal was to reach Konohagakure.

However, the man suddenly blocked Dai's path.

Dai's eyes widened in surprise.

He had never assumed he had already defeated his opponent.

But he hadn't expected that he wouldn't even be able to buy a single moment of time.

The man maintained a look of contempt, his voice still laced with mockery.

Dai's expression twisted in frustration, but he immediately tried to move away from the man, attempting to dash past his side--

"I told you to wait."

He had been circled and cut off again.

"Impossible... to think it would be to this extent..."

Fast.

Too fast.

Dai's full power was nothing more than child's play to this man.

Every single attack was inevitably neutralized the moment it landed, its power dissipated.

The gap in skill and strength was simply that vast.

An overwhelming disparity from which there was no escape seeped despair into Dai's heart.

But--Dai clenched his fists and assumed his stance.

He could not give up.

Dai threw a punch aimed at the man's face while simultaneously launching a kick at his torso.

Immediately following that, he pushed off the ground with his pivot foot.

His body soared into the air, transforming into a leaf.

"Leaf Hurricane!!"

A series of kicks unleashed in mid-air.

Every strike in this barrage was a full-speed attack powered by the Gate of Opening.

"Eight Inner Gates--is this all it amounts to?"

Dai's full-speed assault was completely seen through by the man's keen eyes.

Dai's attacks, the movement of his muscles, everything was being tracked by the man's gaze.

A terrifying ocular technique.

The man didn't even bother to block; he merely shifted his body slightly, dodging all of Dai's attacks by a hair's breadth.

"Boy, open the Gate of Death. I can wait for you until then."

The man shook his head, bored, and while dodging Dai's attacks, he spoke with an air of leisure, revealing that he knew the secret.

The Gate of Death--the essence of the Eight Inner Gates, and its true taboo.

The price for power that surpassed the Hokage was inevitable death--it was not a simple realm one could reach just by sacrificing their life.

It was a divine domain that only those who had spent decades of effort to reach the seventh gate could finally touch.

No matter how hard Dai tried, he could not reach it at his current stage.

Dai remained silent, but he released the fifth gate, the Gate of Limit.

This was the limit of the gates Dai could open at this moment.

"Leaf Strong Hurricane!!"

"Oh my..."

That was all.

The man said only those words.

Dai had set up a desperate last stand, relying on the sudden super-acceleration brought by the release of the Gate of Limit after the opponent had grown accustomed to the speed of the Gate of Pain, yet the blow was completely dodged by the man along with that remark.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!!"

Dai roared.

The punches he threw, the legs he kicked with, were all dodged.

The sense of powerlessness from his desperate attacks failing to even touch his opponent forced a cry from Dai.

"Not going to open it? How disappointing. In the end, trash is just trash... As expected, my opponent must be Hashirama."

"Gah--"

In the gaps of Dai's attacks, the man halted his movements with effortless ease.

The man's outstretched hand gripped Dai's throat with pinpoint precision, and Dai ceased his movements with a groan, left dangling in mid-air.

"---Now then, let me hear it."

The man drew a Kunai, bringing its tip close to Dai's eyeball.

"Closing your eyes won't help; I'll just slice the lids off anyway. It would be better for you to just speak honestly."

Dai struggled in silence, and the man brought the Kunai closer with an expressionless face--.

"Oooooooooh----!!"

Suddenly, a dragon's roar echoed through the heavens, piercing the sky.

The massive Wood Dragon, which had remained prostrate upon the earth after swallowing Kakuzu, raised its head.

The giant dragon, wearing an expression of fury, unleashed its roar upon the "enemy" attempting to harm its master's friend.

"Wood Dragon...? There is only one person in this age capable of using Wood Release. Could it be..."

The man felt no fear at the dragon's roar; instead, he saw a glimpse of the past within the lingering image of his "friend."

His expression was a complex weave of joy, anticipation, and distrust, yet he could not fully conceal his delight at the presence of such a "formidable foe" before him.

"Hashirama--!!"

As if discarding a toy that had lost its appeal, the man tossed the "thing" in his hand aside.

Dai, having been thrown, clutched his aching throat and coughed. He glanced at the man, who was trembling slightly, and felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of that ominous, ecstatic smile.

The man kicked off the ground, closing the distance to the Wood Dragon.

The Wood Dragon twisted its massive body with agility, using its long frame to encircle the man as he moved through the air.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

Forming a multitude of hand seals with blinding speed, the man attempted to incinerate the Wood Dragon's body with the explosive flames spewing from his mouth.

But only the surface of the thick body was scorched, and as the charred parts flaked away, fresh wood covered the surface once more.

Using the dragon's body as a foothold, the man surged upward, closing in on the dragon's face.

The next second, accompanied by a terrifying impact, the Wood Dragon recoiled.

A kick—it was merely a kick.

The man's kick possessed such fearsome power that it forced the giant body of the Wood Dragon to tilt backward.

"Oh my... so it still retains the property of absorbing chakra."

It happened the moment the man's foot made contact with the Wood Dragon.

Though only a trace amount, chakra had indeed flowed from his body into the Wood Dragon.

It was a strange sensation, one the man had experienced before.

Realizing he could not make direct contact, the man descended to the ground and folded his arms with a solemn air.

The Wood Dragon, having regained its stance, lunged at the man as if to say, "Now it is my turn."

The way it opened its massive jaws to swallow him was no different from the strike that had devoured Kakuzu moments ago.

---The head of the Wood Dragon went flying.

"As I thought... this isn't Hashirama's Wood Dragon. I don't know who you are, but this is truly disappointing."

The man glanced at the dragon's head as it landed with a heavy thud.

Unfolding around the man was a pale, translucent chakra armor—Susanoo.

A giant blade manifested from chakra pointed directly at the Wood Dragon.

The man, wreathed in ominous chakra, was a different person entirely, his expression darkened by disappointment.

"I cannot manifest the complete form or the final form in my current state... but it is enough to deal with an 'empty shell'."

From the neck of the severed Wood Dragon, a new head emerged.

The Wood Dragon roared once more, intent on devouring the man.

The man's description of an "empty shell" was entirely accurate.

The Wood Dragon had already fulfilled its function as a technique; to put it bluntly, it had become nothing more than a massive object.

Therefore, the fact that it could move again was a miracle that should never have occurred.

It was the faint chakra and will of Diejian, dwelling within the Wood Dragon, burning once more due to his friend's crisis.

The figure of the Wood Dragon, struggling desperately with fuel like mere dregs, was a testament to the youth summoned by the friendship between Dai and Diejian.

However--

"How unsightly..."

Once again, the dragon's head flew off.

To the man, the very existence of the Wood Dragon before him was unforgivable.

As the strongest technique controlled by the strongest man, Hashirama, it had degenerated into a mere imitation that lacked both style and power.

For a man who viewed Hashirama as peerless, how could he tolerate the existence of such a degraded product?

The Wood Dragon regenerated its head, but its body began to shrink.

Having exhausted its chakra through regeneration, it could no longer maintain its physical form.

"Pathetic..."

The man's whisper was directed at the roaring Wood Dragon.

The man felt disappointed by the emptiness that followed the collapse of his great expectations.

However, that posture of sighing from the bottom of his heart, feeling truly bored, was precisely "negligence."

How could the Wood Dragon, which harbored the will of Diejian, let such an opening pass?

"This is..."

Grass extending from beneath the man's feet coiled around his legs.

With astonishing momentum, they transformed into small dragons, draining chakra from the man with the force of a raging tide.

"Cheap tricks. Vanish, you counterfeit of Hashirama—"

Indeed, it was a cheap trick.

Facing a man with such vast chakra, even a complete Wood Dragon might not have been enough.

Using scrap-like small dragons to absorb chakra was likely just a drop in the bucket.

However, the issue was not the absorption of chakra.

The important thing was that they had made contact with the man's body.

The next second, before he could finish his sentence, the man's body was lifted horizontally.

The vines wrapped around his ankles grew rapidly, dragging the man out of his Susanoo.

As the man rolled on the ground, he immediately attempted to adjust his posture—but his body was struck by an impact.

Accompanied by vibrations traveling through the air, his body was thrown into the air once again.

Impact, impact, impact, impact, impact, impact.

An unceasing barrage of impacts.

His abdomen, face, back—the man's body, beaten continuously all over, flew wildly through the air as if colliding with invisible walls suspended in the void.

"Oooooohhhhhhh!!"

Enduring the pain eroding his flesh, Might Duy let out a roar.

Warm droplets did not even have time to stream down his cheeks before they dissipated into mist in the air.

When the battle between the Wood Dragon and the man began, a very small Wood Dragon appeared beneath Duy, who had kept his distance.

Though small, it carried a massive amount of chakra and offered it to Duy.

With that warm chakra, the pain and physical collapse caused by the release of the Eight Inner Gates were suddenly suppressed; as Duy expressed his gratitude, his cheeks were dampened by tears.

From that "warmth," Duy was convinced that Diejian was still alive.

But he also understood that the chakra was so faint it felt as if it could vanish at any moment; this was not a situation he could afford to ignore.

Therefore, Duy did not treat the Wood Dragon's battle as a way to "buy time" and flee alone; instead, he remained here, waiting for the right moment to "act."

And now was that moment.

"The Lotus of Konoha shall bloom twice."

At this very moment, Duy was about to embody those words.

"Engrave it, the pulse of youth!!---Hidden Lotus!!"

The secret art of Konoha Style Taijutsu, the pinnacle of the "Lotus," the Hidden Lotus.

A finishing blow linked by a series of god-speed attacks from ultra-high-speed taijutsu.

Binding the enemy's body with bandages and delivering a strike that was impossible to dodge—it was the strongest blow Duy could currently muster.

Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the man's body was slammed into the ground.

"Wait for me, Diejian!"

Duy landed swiftly and immediately dashed toward the direction where Diejian lay sleeping.

Upon touching the Wood Dragon, he had already sensed Diejian's location.

Escape from the man's grasp, take Diejian, and return with his friend—.

Though difficult, it had to be done—.

"That last one was a bit surprising. Is 'One-Eye' just the right level to deal with 'small fry'?... However, this is the end."

Slowly, a figure swayed within the dust.

"Was even that not enough? Damn it, hurry—"

"I've grown tired of this. Let's end it."

Confirming the man's location, Might Duy accelerated.

The man spoke in a leisurely tone, yet it carried the killing intent of an absolute ruler.

At first, it was a light jog, but he gradually picked up speed, chasing after the running Might Duy as if playing a game.

"---Rooooaaaaarrrr!!"

To block the path of the man chasing Might Duy, the Wood Dragon, sensing its friend's peril, roared once more.

However--

"Enough, you're annoying. Vanish, you wretched snake."

---Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame.

The Wood Dragon attempting to block the man was cut down in an instant.

The Wood Dragon tried to regenerate, but without being given even a moment's respite, it was swallowed by the explosive flames generated by the man's Fire Style and vanished into dust.

"Too strong..."

Might Duy whispered.

Faced with this helpless reality, he was at his wit's end.

His heart was nearly breaking, but the words the man had spoken reignited a flame within him.

"First is you, the man of the Eight Inner Gates. Then, the next one will be to find that ninja who uses a fragment of Senju Hashirama's power yet displays such an unsightly 'disgrace,' and kill him."

"---What did you say..."

The man's words made Might Duy stop in his tracks.

These words, which could not be ignored, ignited a fierce fighting spirit within Might Duy.

Being explicitly told of his friend's death once more awakened Might Duy's true resolve.

That is, the resolve to step into a realm beyond his limits.

Might Duy turned around and stared at the man.

If there was any change in the series of battles, it was merely that his clothes were stained with dirt.

Standing there unscathed, the man loomed leisurely.

There existed an overwhelming gap in strength.

What Might Duy was about to do was not some act of self-abandonment born from the thought that "I'm going to die anyway."

It did not matter if he destroyed himself.

As long as there was even a sliver of a chance to save his friend, he would bet everything to seize that tiny possibility--this was the proof of courage chosen by Might Duy's ninja way.

"Until now, I have continued to work hard for the 'moment that must come'--"

"What's wrong, all of a sudden? Have you gone mad with fear?"

Because Might Duy had stopped, the man slowly approached.

Might Duy clenched his fists tightly, ruminating on his own ninja way.

His grip was so strong that it pierced the skin of his palms, causing blood to seep out.

Might Duy fixed his gaze sharply, glaring at the man.

There was no fear in those eyes.

What resided there was a flame, as if burning.

The fire of youth.

The budding Will of Fire--.

"---The 'moment' of resolve is now!! To protect those important to me with my life--the moment to carry out my ninja way and protect them to the end!! Eight Inner Gates, Sixth Gate: Gate of View, Open!!"

Might Duy was a self-proclaimed and universally acknowledged failure.

Yet, at this moment, he had reached a deeper realm.

Although his physical prowess was not yet sufficient to withstand the Sixth Gate: Gate of View, Might Duy forced that gate open.

From the moment the Gate of View was opened, the muscle tissue in Might Duy's body began to collapse.

He knew he could not withstand it.

This was a gate that had been "impossible to open" until now.

Why he could open it now, Might Duy himself did not understand.

However, upon hearing the man's words, for some reason, he "felt he could do it."

Some say that power is a phenomenon triggered by matter.

Then, what should one call what Might Duy was displaying at this moment?

It was, without a doubt, the "Will of Fire," the "power of will" inherited from Senju Hashirama.

Regret, sorrow, pain—countless times until now, all manner of "hardships" had attempted to devour Duy's heart.

But the reason Duy endured all of this, the reason he was able to endure it all, was for the sake of protecting those who were important to him.

A gale swept across the grassland.

The man's body took the impact.

Yet, unlike before, his body was not blown away.

Impact, impact, impact, impact, impact, impact, impact.

Duy's fists, breaking through the wall of air, were wreathed in flames, generating terrifying shockwaves.

The punches, delivered without a moment's delay, were not because Duy had grown countless arms.

It was an illusion created because every single strike surpassed the speed of sound, transcending human perception.

Duy's astonishingly honed taijutsu, which physically triggered Fire Release and genjutsu, was, no matter what realm it reached, a "power of protection."

"---Morning Peacock!!"

The barrage of hundreds of punches came to an end.

Duy delivered his final, full-body strike and collapsed on the spot.

At the same time, the man's body was blown away with terrifying momentum.

He smashed through scattered wooden debris, his speed undiminished, until he slammed into a distant rock wall, triggering a landslide.

"I did it..."

Breathing raggedly, Duy turned his consciousness toward his own body.

The gates he had forcibly pried open were beyond his control, manifesting in a state of runaway power.

The disintegration of his muscle tissue showed no sign of stopping, and the unimaginable pain continued unabated.

Amidst the hellish agony of feeling his body being dismantled while still alive, Duy felt no regret.

Duy wore the expression of a man who had given his all—

"Hahaha, I almost... vanished there. It's been a long time since I've been this happy, user of the Eight Inner Gates."

"Still, still alive... damn it... damn it..."

Appearing from nowhere, the man stood before the fallen Duy.

Despite his body being unable to move due to the disintegrating muscle tissue and the ceaseless, searing pain, Duy still tried to rise, pouring strength into his entire frame.

But his body only trembled in spasms; he could not stand.

Duy's body, having surpassed the limit of limits, was already tattered and broken; it was a miracle he even retained consciousness.

Yet, Duy cursed his own incompetence.

He blamed his own lack of talent for failing to become a "protector," even after exerting power that surpassed his full strength.

The curses he spat out were all words of self-reproach.

Duy blamed himself for failing to uphold his own ninja way, for failing to even protect his friends.

Biting his lip, blood trickled down Duy's jawline.

But the reality would not change.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

---Might Duy had lost.

That was an unchangeable reality.

Overwhelmed by regret, tears fell one after another.

"As a reward for making me feel happy for the first time in a long while, tell me your name. State it."

The man drew the blade from his waist, gripped it in reverse, and raised it vertically, aiming it at Duy.

The tip of the blade pointed precisely at Duy's heart.

Duy realized his fate, but he did not close his eyes; he glared at the man.

Duy displayed his final defiance, refusing to yield to fear.

"Hmph, a good look in your eyes. ---Then, farewell, nameless ninja."

Understanding that Duy would not give his name, the man raised his arm high.

Aiming at the heart with his Sharingan, the man swung his arm down with force.

And then—.

---A discordant sound of metal clashing rang out, and the figure of the man before Duy vanished.

"Wh-what..."

When he came to his senses, the man with the Sharingan was gone, and another man stood in his place.

Duy had not noticed at all when that man had appeared.

There was no presence, nor was there any sound—it was as if he had simply appeared out of thin air, standing there.

"Are you alright? Your name is... Dai, correct?"

"Ah, ah, ahhh..."

The voice came from behind him.

That voice, Dai knew.

That broad back, Dai recognized.

The moment he realized who the figure was, Dai felt a profound sense of relief, while at the same time, tears mixed with a different sort of emotion gushed out even more violently.

"Don't cry, you brat. You're a ninja of Konoha, aren't you? Still, you did well. Leave the rest to this old man."

"Yes... yes...!!"

With his face a mess of tears, Dai nodded again and again.

---Silver hair swayed in the gale.