Gate of Death

The battle between Uesugi Shinji and Might Duy once again became the focal point of the entire battlefield. From the moment Might Duy opened the Gate of Wonder of the Eight Inner Gates, the powerful aura he passively radiated drew everyone's gaze. Even Kisame, an elite jonin who had recently been making a name for himself, had been beaten into a state of total helplessness by a punch or two and was still lying on the ground, gasping for his last breaths.

Yet, such an absurdly powerful guy had been dealt with by Uesugi Shinji in a single exchange, which also exceeded the comprehension of the ninjas present.

Although Uesugi Shinji was also a recognized top-tier jonin capable of going toe-to-toe with Konoha's Yellow Flash, he had never before displayed such a powerful ninjutsu. Many Kirigakure Ninja looked at the white-haired, transformed Uesugi Shinji with awe, secretly wondering if his strength had already surpassed that of the Fourth Mizukage.

At this moment, the Kirigakure side was in high spirits, while the Konoha ninjas were filled with anxiety. If Might Duy were not there, the freed Uesugi Shinji could sweep across the battlefield; if things went poorly, they might all be wiped out!

Although the situation seemed favorable for Kirigakure, the expression on Uesugi Shinji's face grew increasingly grave. He could sense that Might Duy's aura within the Ice Crystal Pillar had not diminished, and the opponent seemed to be brewing some terrifying technique.

Uesugi Shinji leaped onto the Ice Crystal Pillar and performed hand seals rapidly. A seal immediately appeared on the surface of the pillar beneath his feet.

"Inner Ice Release: White Lotus!"

As his voice fell, a massive number of ice thorns erupted from within the Ice Crystal Pillar. These thorns spread in all directions, centered on Might Duy's position, looking just like a crystal-clear white lotus blooming.

Although this ninjutsu looked beautiful, it was actually incredibly cruel. Might Duy, caught in the center of thousands of ice thorns, lacked any powerful defensive means and would be torn to shreds in an instant!

However, the moment the ice lotus bloomed, a crimson light shone through the ice, reflecting the entire lotus in red. With the appearance of this light, the once-hard ice lotus began to decompose and dissolve layer by layer from the inside. In the blink of an eye, it completely collapsed, turning into a large amount of steam that dissipated into the air.

This suddenly appearing red light originated from the chakra Might Duy released by burning his own life.

Because this chakra was too powerful, it mixed with the blood and steaming heat from his body as it erupted, forming a crimson steam around him after leaking through his pores.

His eyes and skin took on an eerie, blood-red hue. The rapid flow of chakra caused all his meridians to operate under overload, and the bulging veins all over his body looked exceptionally terrifying.

At this moment, Might Duy had opened the final gate of the Eight Inner Gates—the Gate of Death!

Although it was only one more gate, the power Might Duy gained was actually several times stronger than the sum of the previous seven gates combined!

In the future, when Guy opened the seventh gate, his strength was still within the normal range of a ninja, but when he opened the final "Gate of Death," he erupted with power capable of pummeling Six Paths Madara, coming within a hair's breadth of kicking the Hokage series into a finale.

This showed just how terrifying the boost to the user's power was when opening the Gate of Death!

It was fortunate that Might Duy's talent for taijutsu was far inferior to his son Guy's; the power he erupted after opening the Gate of Death was not on the same level as the future Night Guy. Otherwise, let alone Uesugi Shinji and the others present, even if the Five Kage were gathered together, they wouldn't be enough for him to fight with a single fist.

But even so, the current Might Duy possessed the power to crush everyone on this battlefield!

Every ninja on the battlefield stopped their ongoing combat, their gazes turning in unison toward the unstoppable Might Duy.

Even Uesugi Shinji, who had always appeared very calm, could not hide the shock in his eyes, and a drop of cold sweat slowly trickled down his forehead.

Standing in the distance with Guy on his back, Shiranui Genma dropped the senbon from his mouth in shock once again: "So, the strongest ninja in the ninja world is Uncle Duy!"

Ebisu, standing beside him with Kakashi on his back, merely nodded blankly upon hearing this, unable to say a word.

"No, this is power bought at the cost of his life!"

Guy, who had been severely injured, had somehow regained consciousness. He stared blankly at his father in the distance, who looked like a completely different person, and two lines of tears streamed down uncontrollably.

In his eyes, his father was complex—kind yet strict, clumsy yet wise, comical yet dignified—but no matter which version, none could reconcile with the ferocious image before him.

Others did not know why Might Duy possessed such powerful strength, nor did they know what price he would pay, but Guy, who was also practicing the Eight Inner Gates, knew it all too clearly.

What he never expected was that his father's first battle on the battlefield would become his last, and that he would never have the chance to fight alongside his father again.

Shiranui Genma and Ebisu, hearing this, also understood what it meant. Their previously excited moods sank to the bottom, and looking at the weeping Guy, they did not know how to comfort him.

"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, fire shall burn on!"

Just then, Might Duy's rough voice reached everyone's ears. He had spoken this sentence, which upheld the spirit of Konoha, very softly, but his powerful chakra carried his voice across the entire battlefield.

The Konoha ninjas who heard Might Duy's voice all looked up in unison, a gleam of something called faith appearing in their eyes.

Guy, hearing this, couldn't help but mutter to himself, repeating the sentence softly. When he looked up again, he found that his father was also looking at him, his gaze seemingly hiding words that could never be finished.

Yet, despite the thousands of words, what Might Duy ultimately blurted out was still the "Will of Fire" passed down through generations of Konoha people. He believed his expectations had been conveyed to his son!

Slowly raising his arm, Might Duy suddenly threw a punch toward the direction of Guy and the others. Relying solely on the air pressure generated by the chakra eruption, this punch created a massive crater in the open ground before them; the powerful destructive force left everyone dumbfounded.

Might Duy, of course, did not intend to attack his son and the juniors; he was merely reminding them to leave the battlefield quickly.

Shiranui Genma and Ebisu understood Might Duy's meaning and, without hesitation, turned to retreat. As newcomers, they could no longer play a role on such a battlefield; it was better to transfer the injured comrades out of the dangerous zone in time.

Seeing Guy and the others leave, a relieved Might Duy turned his eyes back to Uesugi Shinji.

The ninja before him was a respectable opponent, the very pinnacle among jonin. If not for the fact that he had mastered the secret technique of the Eight Inner Gates, he would not even be worthy of crossing blades with him.

However, now that the Gate of Death was open, there would be no life for either friend or foe!