Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest!

"Next, let me show you something interesting!"

At that moment, Rob Lucci suddenly had a bad premonition.

Without a word, he moved his body, using Soru to dash directly toward Natsuya.

Clearly, after sensing that something was wrong, Rob Lucci decided to resolve the situation with Natsuya immediately.

In his mind, as long as he knocked Natsuya unconscious, it wouldn't matter what trump cards Natsuya might have, right?

However, Natsuya was faster; he reached out and pressed his hand against his chest, murmuring softly.

"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Opening!"

In that instant, an invisible surge of energy suddenly rippled outward from Natsuya.

"Hmm!?"

Rob Lucci's expression changed, and that bad premonition grew even stronger.

But at this point, he couldn't retreat; he surged forward even faster and threw a fierce punch!

Seeing this, Natsuya didn't hesitate either; he clenched his fist and met the attack head-on.

Seeing this, a cold sneer appeared in Rob Lucci's eyes.

He had originally thought Natsuya was going to use some kind of ability to boost his power, but there was no change at all.

And now, he actually wanted to trade blows with him!

Heh, had Natsuya already forgotten the lesson from just a moment ago?

The massive increase in his physical fitness hadn't just boosted the power of his Rokushiki.

Even his ordinary punches and kicks had become astonishingly powerful.

In the split second before impact, Rob Lucci had already decided on his next move.

After knocking Natsuya back with a single punch, he would immediately unleash a combo to subdue him completely.

And then, as if to confirm Rob Lucci's expectations, the moment the two fists—one large and one small—collided, Natsuya's figure was instantly sent reeling backward.

But at the same time, Rob Lucci's expression shifted, and he actually stumbled back three steps himself!

In that instant, Rob Lucci's eyes widened as he stared at Natsuya, his gaze filled with unconcealable shock.

In this exchange of blows, he had actually fought Natsuya to a draw, with neither side gaining the upper hand!?

How was that possible!?

He had to remember that his physical fitness was far superior to Natsuya's!

With the same punch, such a situation should have been absolutely impossible!

The only explanation was that Natsuya's physical fitness was on par with his own!

But that situation seemed even more impossible!

"What are you spacing out for!?"

Just then, Natsuya's mocking voice suddenly came from behind Rob Lucci.

Rob Lucci's expression changed instantly.

"When!?"

He hadn't even sensed Natsuya's movement.

With no time to think, Rob Lucci quickly tensed his body.

"Tekkai!!"

"Combo: Shigan!"

Almost as soon as Rob Lucci deployed his Tekkai for defense, Natsuya's attack arrived.

The afterimages of the Shigan strikes covered almost his entire back!

Rob Lucci's expression changed again and again!

This time, although those Shigan strikes didn't pierce his back, they still brought intense pain!

What this meant went without saying!

"How is this possible!!"

Rob Lucci roared, suddenly flashing away, using Kamisori to make several turns as he began to engage Natsuya in a fierce battle.

A flurry of Rokushiki techniques appeared, colliding violently!

But the more they fought, the uglier Rob Lucci's expression became.

If the previous few attacks had just been accidents, then now, he was completely certain.

The power of Natsuya's Rokushiki had truly increased significantly, to the point where it was on par with his own!

Natsuya's Rokushiki had already been top-tier; in terms of level, it should have been impossible to improve any further.

Therefore, the only possibility was his physical constitution!

In other words, Natsuya's physical constitution had improved.

And it had happened in such a short amount of time!

"What on earth did you do!?"

"Why has your physique become so much stronger?"

After clashing for a moment and remaining at a stalemate, Rob Lucci finally couldn't help himself. He leaped back to create distance and asked Natsuya.

A smile appeared on Natsuya's face.

In fact, Rob Lucci was mistaken.

His physical constitution had not improved.

The reason he could contend with Rob Lucci in his hybrid form was that he was unleashing one hundred percent of his power!

As for why he could achieve this level, it was naturally because of the technique he had just used: the Eight Inner Gates!

That's right, the Eight Inner Gates!

Just like Rashomon, this Eight Inner Gates was also a skill from Naruto!

However, this skill was even more profound than the physical manifestation of Rashomon.

It was a technique that allowed one to open their own internal valves to release latent power!

And right now, Natsuya was using the ability of the Door-Door Fruit to open a door on his own body, unlocking the first of the Eight Inner Gates: the Gate of Opening!

The function of the Gate of Opening was precisely to remove the brain's limitations, allowing for the exertion of one hundred percent of one's physical capabilities!

One must know that when ordinary people use their strength, they never exert it at one hundred percent.

For example, in the simplest punch, you might feel you are giving it your all, but in reality, there is still a lot of power left untapped.

And the Gate of Opening solved this problem!

Of course, Natsuya would naturally not explain this to Rob Lucci.

He smiled and charged at Rob Lucci once again.

However, Rob Lucci was, after all, a genius from CP9 with astonishing combat knowledge.

So, very quickly, he figured it out.

"I understand, Natsuya. You are overloading your body's energy to unleash greater power!"

As he said this, a look of realization appeared on Rob Lucci's face.

He truly understood now.

So, Natsuya's physical constitution hadn't become stronger; he was simply bursting with one hundred percent of his physical strength.

In this way, his power would naturally become much stronger!

But such a state also had its drawbacks.

Thinking of this, Rob Lucci sneered, "This kind of power of yours shouldn't last very long, right!"

Just like an ordinary person running, if you sprint with all your might, you can certainly run much faster, but such a state obviously cannot be sustained!

In short, this was trading stamina for a short-term surge in power, but after a period of time, it would decline, leading to a period of weakness!

Realizing this, Rob Lucci immediately calmed down.

Although Natsuya's power had increased significantly, it was only on par with his own.

In this situation, the final victory would likely depend on who could hold out longer.

And as a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, he had absolute confidence in his endurance!!

"Oh, you figured it out."

However, Natsuya's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this.

Because he had known about the side effects of the Gate of Opening all along.

And for these side effects, the Eight Inner Gates had long since provided a solution.

Thinking of this, Natsuya activated the Door-Door Fruit's ability once more and pressed it against his chest.

"Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Rest!"