The First Gate of the Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Opening!
Once opened, it lifted the restrictions imposed by the brain, allowing the body to unleash its full potential. It consumed the body's energy beyond its limits to increase speed and strength.
It also granted access to the accompanying technique, Front Lotus!
Following the training method for the Eight Inner Gates, Gong Yi tried to open the first gate.
There was almost no resistance. He succeeded.
No Chakra flowed around his body in a colored aura. After succeeding, Gong Yi simply felt as if his entire body had changed.
He seemed able to control every part of his body, every joint. Any part of him could become a weapon.
Gong Yi understood that this was the state brought about by lifting the restrictions imposed by the brain.
Wanting to test it, Gong Yi got up and first ran a lap around the forest. Then he kicked a huge tree in front of him with all his strength.
After calculating how long he had run and assessing the damage to the tree, Gong Yi frowned.
"The results don't seem as good as I expected!"
Suddenly, Gong Yi realized something.
The Eight Inner Gates wasn't a Taijutsu technique that simply added power on top of what someone already had.
It was an advanced Taijutsu technique that opened as many gates as possible, based on the body's strength and ability to withstand the strain.
In other words, Gate of Opening only benefited him by lifting the restrictions imposed by his brain. Other improvements, such as increased strength and speed, weren't significant.
His body was already at the level required to open Gate of Opening.
Frowning, Gong Yi recalled the events of Naruto.
He remembered that during the Chunin Ninja Exams, Rock Lee could open four gates without much difficulty. When he finally risked everything, he managed to open the fifth.
He had even nearly defeated Gaara.
Clearly, Gaara was at Jonin level at the time.
Since Rock Lee couldn't master Ninjutsu, his overall strength was only at Chunin level.
But at that stage, his physical prowess should already have reached Jonin level. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to beat Gaara so badly.
After all, even Sasuke's Sharingan with two Tomoe couldn't keep up with his speed.
"My physical prowess is definitely greater than Rock Lee's was back then. So my limit can't possibly be four gates."
Having figured that out, Gong Yi's doubts vanished.
It wasn't that the Eight Inner Gates were too weak. His foundation was simply too formidable.
In fact, opening Gate of Opening had improved him somewhat, but the difference wasn't all that noticeable compared to his original speed and strength.
It was like Might Guy in the later stages of Naruto. With a strong enough foundation, he often skipped opening the lower gates in battle and jumped straight to a higher one.
The reason was that the first few gates didn't improve him by much, yet still caused plenty of side effects. It was better to open a stronger gate directly and suffer less backlash.
Except when opening all Eight Gates and using the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates!
Gong Yi tried to open the second gate: Gate of Healing!
Gate of Healing: Removes the body's limits on physical fatigue and pushes its energy beyond its limits to restore stamina, offsetting the fatigue caused by Gate of Opening's energy consumption.
Two hours later, a cracking sound came from somewhere inside his body. Gong Yi opened his eyes.
He threw a punch into the air, but felt nothing special.
Just as the description said, Gate of Healing only served to support Gate of Opening.
Gong Yi took in the feeling. The restrictions imposed by his brain and his limits on physical fatigue were both gone. Though the improvement wasn't obvious, he could fully mobilize every joint in his body, and his Chakra extraction speed had increased.
The effect lasted about ten minutes.
He had only just mastered it, so with enough practice, he should be able to extend that time.
"According to the description, the third gate is the last safe zone. The fourth gate will damage the body. If that's true, then in ordinary circumstances, when there's no grave danger, keeping the first three gates open should make for a more effective fighting style. From that perspective, the first three gates of the Eight Inner Gates serve as combat support. The middle three are for relatively normal combat. And the final two..."
"The ultimate Taijutsu technique for a desperate fight!"
Gong Yi considered it. He didn't think his reasoning was wrong.
Ding!
The familiar system voice suddenly rang out.
"Research Topic: Analyze the Eight Inner Gates. Current progress: /100. Reward: Fifty Scholar Points!"
"Research Topic: Master the Eight Inner Gates. Current progress: Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing. Reward: Fifty Scholar Points!"
Gong Yi grinned. He'd expected Ninjutsu research to come with research topics, but he hadn't thought Taijutsu research would have them too—and two topics had appeared at once.
Especially the reward!
It was five times what he'd get for researching a C-rank Ninjutsu!
Gong Yi had to admit, he was tempted!
There was no point in wanting something without acting on it. Gong Yi stepped up his training in the Eight Inner Gates.
The third gate: Gate of Life!
Open!
His body began to flush red, and a green aura of energy swirled around him!
That wasn't the color of Wood Style. It was the glow of his body's energy leaking out.
As the last safe zone of the Eight Inner Gates, this was the first time Gong Yi had felt such a clear increase in strength.
Feeling out his body's condition, Gong Yi nodded.
"Sure enough, with my foundation, opening the first three gates is no strain at all!"
"But that's enough training for the Eight Inner Gates today! My body has lost a substantial amount of energy. I haven't hurt myself, but the loss of bodily energy will affect Chakra extraction. I need to keep the two under control and within a reasonable balance."
Gong Yi released the Eight Inner Gates and used a Healing Technique on himself. In an instant, he was back to full strength!
The Healing Technique was what gave Gong Yi the confidence to train in the Eight Inner Gates!
He wasn't afraid of getting hurt, especially during training.
The Healing Technique would let him get through the training period safely. Even after a battle, he wouldn't end up in a state like Rock Lee's.
Of course, Gong Yi was still a little hesitant about opening all Eight Gates and forming the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates.
According to the description, after using the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates, the user's body would collapse and they would die.
The Healing Technique might not be able to heal him quickly enough.
But by then, he should have upgraded it to an advanced Scholar Skill and acquired Creation Regeneration. That ought to get him through it.
Besides, he didn't intend to rely solely on the advanced Taijutsu of the Eight Inner Gates to make his way in the world. He didn't want to end up disabled like Might Guy in the future.
As for what he'd said to the Third Hokage:
"If Konoha doesn't betray me, then why shouldn't I become Konoha's last line of defense?"
Before you continue