Eight Inner Gates

Before dawn, Danzo shoved open the office door.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind the broad desk.

The Third Hokage seemed to have gone without sleep all night. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, but they remained sharp.

"Hiruzen." Danzo's voice came through clenched teeth. "I need an explanation."

The list of people slated for elimination had been finalized just last night.

Yet it had been changed beyond recognition.

The news had infuriated Danzo.

After all, the list had come from the Root.

And after Root had finished screening the candidates, Genma Shiranui had brought a team in to secretly review them again through the night.

That was why Danzo had come straight to the Third Hokage to demand an explanation.

"How can you change something that's already been decided? This is absurd!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"The list was revised at the Fourth Hokage's request."

He spoke calmly. "The Fourth Hokage believes that Orochimaru's defection doesn't mean everyone associated with him is guilty.

"An excessive purge would cause unnecessary panic in the village."

"Panic?"

Danzo sneered. "How long did those people spend with Orochimaru? How many secrets of forbidden jutsu do they know?

"Hiruzen, you and I both know what would happen if that knowledge got out!"

"That's why the Fourth Hokage arranged a second, secret screening."

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up a list from the desk and pushed it toward him.

"Genma Shiranui led the team. They used the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques to probe everyone on the list in depth.

"The results showed that only a few of them had actually considered defecting or serving as Orochimaru's informants..."

"The Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques aren't infallible!"

"Memories can be altered. They can also be sealed! Hiruzen, you're too naive!"

Silence fell over the office.

Outside the window, the sky gradually brightened. The first rays of dawn shone through the glass, illuminating dust motes drifting in the air.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the tiny particles swirl and rise in the beam of light before finally disappearing,

like the countless ordinary lives in this village.

"Danzo."

After a long while, he spoke, his voice carrying a profound weariness.

"Konoha has only just come through a war. We've already lost too many people.

"If we start another brutal internal purge... I'm afraid this village won't be able to bear it."

"Won't be able to bear it?"

Danzo stepped forward. "Hiruzen, tell me—which would be harder for Konoha to bear: eliminating these dozens of potential threats now,

or having them all triggered one day in the future, causing Konoha to collapse from within?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

"In your eyes, every uncertainty is a potential threat.

"But in mine, they're first and foremost Konoha shinobi. They're part of this village."

"Hmph."

Danzo's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Minato Namikaze and you really are cut from the same cloth—soft to the core!

"The list must be withdrawn. Then I'll arrange for Root to handle things in secret..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. He stood up, cutting Danzo off before he could finish.

"Danzo, he's the Hokage!"

At those words, Danzo's face stiffened.

Then it twisted with unmistakable resentment.

He turned and headed for the door.

Just before opening it, Danzo stopped, but didn't look back.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

The door opened, then slammed shut behind Danzo with a resounding bang.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone in the morning light, the pipe in his hand already extinguished.

As he watched Danzo storm off,

even the Third Hokage was unable to quell his doubts.

After Orochimaru's defection, the spies left behind and the possibility of forbidden jutsu leaking out...

either would be a devastating blow to the village.

But he had still chosen to trust the Fourth Hokage's judgment.

After all, the old generation would eventually pass on. This was the age of the young.

They had to trust the new generation and entrust the future to them.

Deep inside the Root Base,

Danzo flung the revised list to the ground.

"Aburame Tatsuma."

A masked shinobi silently appeared from the shadows.

"Danzo-sama."

"Proceed according to the original plan."

Danzo's voice was ice-cold.

"Prioritize everyone who took part in the Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project, whether or not their names are still on the list.

"Make sure they're dealt with before they realize what's happening."

Aburame Tatsuma lowered his head. "Understood, Danzo-sama."

Then Aburame Tatsuma vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, leaving behind only a faint wisp of white smoke.

"Eliminating potential threats and erring on the side of caution—that's what it means to truly serve the village!"

Danzo stood alone in the base. "Konoha has stood strong to this day because of roots like us, working in the darkness."

At the training ground in the early morning,

Uchiha Yatsuhashi braced himself on both hands and lowered and raised his body again and again in a perfect handstand.

Nearby, Might Guy was doing handstand push-ups too—one-handed ones.

He held his left hand behind his back, supporting his entire weight with his right.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!"

Might Guy flipped down and landed steadily on his feet, his green jumpsuit soaked with sweat.

He looked at Yatsuhashi, gave him a thumbs-up, and flashed his trademark grin.

"You're looking good today, Yatsuhashi! That's the power of youth!"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi didn't answer right away. He only flipped over and sat down after finishing his last repetition.

He panted heavily, doing his best to steady his breathing.

His body just wasn't built for this.

Might Guy made the same training look effortless, but Yatsuhashi couldn't keep up even when he gave it everything he had.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi wiped away his sweat and forced himself to stand straight.

"I want to do one more set before we have to assemble."

Might Guy watched him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Yatsuhashi, tell me honestly: what kind of mission did you get today?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi froze.

When Anbu had notified him that morning, they hadn't told him what the mission was.

They'd only said it was an urgent assignment.

And he had to assemble today, with no delays.

"I won't know the details until I get to the assembly point."

"Notified today, leaving today?"

Might Guy frowned. "That's not normal.

"Usually, shinobi are notified at least a day in advance so they have time to prepare..."

"Guy." Yatsuhashi suddenly spoke, his voice very quiet. "If I don't come back, could I ask you to do something for me?"

Might Guy's pupils contracted.

"Don't say that! You'll definitely come back! We still have to train together—"

"If I don't come back," Uchiha Yatsuhashi cut in, his gaze frighteningly calm,

"please look after my parents. If possible... take them away from Konoha."

Even civilians couldn't simply leave Konoha whenever they wanted.

And the families of shinobi were monitored and registered even more strictly.

The training ground fell silent.

The morning breeze stirred the dust on the ground.

In the distance, Konoha was beginning to wake. The faint clamor of the busy streets drifted over.

Might Guy was silent for a while. "Nothing's going to happen to you."

He paused, as if he'd made up his mind. "Your parents will be fine too. Trust me..."

After speaking, he took an old scroll from his ninja tool pouch.

"Take this."

The scroll was made of ordinary material, but the four handwritten characters on it made Uchiha Yatsuhashi's pupils contract slightly.

It was the forbidden technique that had made Might Duy famous—the Eight Inner Gates, the legendary technique he had used to defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!

It was also one of the methods Yatsuhashi had secretly longed for when he first approached Might Guy—

a way to gain power without relying on chakra.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi held the scroll tightly. "Guy, this..."

"We're friends, right?" Might Guy grinned, his teeth flashing.

"Helping each other out—that's the true spirit of youth!"

"Thank you, Guy."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi carefully tucked the scroll inside his clothes, close to his chest.

"Heh heh, that's more like it!"

Might Guy held out a fist.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi understood and bumped his own fist against it.

On the way to the mission's assembly point, Uchiha Yatsuhashi clutched the heavy scroll. His throat tightened.

Though he hadn't had the purest intentions when he first approached Might Guy,

the bond they'd formed over all these years was undeniably real.