Eight Inner Gates

"Let me see just how strong you really are, Naruto." Might Guy thought to himself. He hadn't come here without reason; Kakashi had personally requested that he test Naruto's current strength.

Might Guy might be a bit blunt, but he wasn't an idiot. He couldn't just jump in and challenge Naruto himself, so he had Rock Lee initiate the spar first. If Naruto won, he could then step in for a round himself.

Naruto, naturally, was unaware of this. Influenced by the original story, he simply viewed Might Guy as a hot-blooded idiot.

They say that fists meeting flesh is the romance of a man, and even someone like Naruto enjoyed taijutsu combat. Plus, with his trait of being unable to get hurt, the pain only served to further stimulate his adrenaline.

Seeing Rock Lee going all out, he began to feel genuinely excited.

"I'm getting serious now," Naruto said, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

Neji activated his Byakugan. Though he usually spoke to Naruto with a sharp tongue and looked down on his strength, his inner thoughts were quite different.

[Body Flicker Technique]

Naruto's figure vanished, and four or five afterimages appeared on the field. These weren't Shadow Clones; they were simply phantoms created by sheer speed.

"So fast!" Neji was shocked. Even he wouldn't be able to block that kind of speed.

"This feeling... is it Body Flicker Shisui?" Anyone who could make a name for themselves in the Ninja World was not to be underestimated. Might Guy had naturally witnessed the speed of Body Flicker Shisui and had even sparred with him. Seeing Naruto's current state, he couldn't help but think of the man once hailed as a genius.

Naruto's figure appeared to Rock Lee's left, throwing a punch.

Rock Lee's eyes couldn't react in time, but his arm instinctively rose to block Naruto's fist.

"Not bad speed, Rock Lee, but you need to put more power into it." As Naruto spoke, Rock Lee was already sent flying.

"As expected of Naruto-kun. Now, it's my turn."

[Eight Inner Gates: First Gate, Open]

[Second Gate, Open]

[Third Gate, Open]

Rock Lee opened three gates in succession, his aura surging like a Super Saiyan.

"That aura is really cool." Naruto watched with a hint of envy, though he had no intention of learning the Eight Inner Gates himself.

While the Eight Inner Gates were incredibly powerful for pure taijutsu, they had a weakness that wasn't exactly minor for others.

Once the gates were opened, the chakra within the body became too volatile to weave signs for ninjutsu. In other words, while the gates were open, one could not control chakra to perform ninjutsu and was restricted solely to taijutsu attacks.

Furthermore, the techniques Might Guy later created to complement the Eight Inner Gates relied on the friction between his own speed, power, and the air.

Therefore, whether in the past or the future, the Eight Inner Gates was never something Naruto considered.

Compared to the Eight Inner Gates, Naruto preferred the Raikage's Lightning Chakra Mode.

[Konoha Great Whirlwind!] Rock Lee's figure vanished instantly, reappearing to Naruto's left.

Naruto had anticipated this and raised his left hand to block.

With a loud boom, Naruto slid back three steps.

"How is it possible to block that so easily? And with only one hand?" Neji frowned. Even he wouldn't find it that simple to block Rock Lee's attack, let alone do it one-handed and only be pushed back a few steps.

Having sparred with Rock Lee often, he knew exactly how strong this state was.

"Neji, don't underestimate Naruto. And have you noticed? No matter how Rock Lee attacks, Naruto manages to block in advance." Might Guy watched Naruto with a solemn expression.

The two traded blows. Although it looked like Rock Lee had the upper hand, his attacks posed no threat to Naruto, who blocked everything with just one hand.

[Fourth Gate, Open]

[Fifth Gate, Open]

Rock Lee sensed Naruto's strength and, without hesitation, opened the fifth gate. Both his speed and aura became even more overwhelming.

"Blocking in advance... how is he doing that?" Neji frowned in confusion.

"It must be sensory perception. He's predicting the moves by reading Rock Lee's chakra. I just didn't expect that Naruto, without a Sharingan, could reach such a level using only sensory perception." Might Guy instantly saw through Naruto's technique.

Having sparred with Kakashi often, he was very familiar with this combat style. Kakashi could observe the flow of chakra in an opponent's body to preemptively weave signs or mimic ninjutsu, and he could also defend against taijutsu in advance.

He just hadn't expected Naruto to be capable of this at such a young age.

"It's possible to do that?" Neji was shocked. He hadn't realized such a thing was possible, and he wondered if he, too, could do it with his Byakugan.

Hinata also walked over curiously, listening to Might Guy's explanation.

"Naturally, you can. As long as you train more and observe more, you can reach Naruto's level using the Byakugan," Might Guy explained with a grin.

On the field, Naruto couldn't help but shake his left hand as he fought Rock Lee; the force of the attacks was growing stronger.

But the current Naruto was only becoming more excited.

"Rock Lee, be careful now. I'm going to use a taijutsu style I developed myself." A bit carried away by the excitement, Naruto decided to reveal a glimpse of his true strength.

Hearing this, both Rock Lee on the field and the others watching from the sidelines were stunned.

[Shave!] His figure vanished instantly, moving even faster than before, and reappeared directly above Rock Lee.

"What is he doing? Isn't he just a sitting duck like that?" Neji was puzzled. Very few ninja could maneuver in mid-air—you could count them on one hand. In his view, jumping into the air was no different from being a target.

"Keep watching," Might Guy said, looking very excited.

Tempest Kick Rainstorm

Naruto's legs blurred into afterimages, sending a multitude of wind blades surging toward Rock Lee.

"Rock Lee, dodge!" Might Guy's expression shifted as he witnessed the scene.

Rock Lee, who had originally intended to block, did not hesitate for a second upon hearing his teacher's command and instantly leaped out of the way.

The wind blades struck the ground, leaving it riddled with countless gashes in an instant.

"Nintaijutsu," Might Guy explained proactively.

Hinata and the other understood immediately, for when it came to Nintaijutsu, one person inevitably came to mind: the Fourth Raikage. Unlike ordinary taijutsu, Nintaijutsu not only bolstered the offensive power of physical strikes but also possessed the convenient characteristic of ninjutsu that required no hand seals.

This was the fruit of Naruto Uzumaki's research. Possessing an abundance of ideas and the aid of his Shadow Clones, he could conduct experiments bit by bit. In One Piece, this move utilized refined taijutsu techniques to kick the air and create slashes, but in this world, even with Naruto's current strength, it was difficult to kick out a vacuum.

However, every world had its own unique features, and here, that feature was chakra. By simply gathering chakra in his feet and releasing it at the moment of the kick to induce a change in the chakra's nature, Naruto was able to achieve his current state.