"However, this technique was passed down to me by my father. It's a Forbidden Technique that puts a heavy strain on the body, so if you want to practice it, Sosuke, you'll have to be careful."
Sosuke simply smiled, as if it didn't matter to him at all.
Whenever he thought of that chakra surging skyward, he could barely contain his excitement. As long as he could learn a method to rapidly and dramatically increase his chakra, any side effects were a small price to pay.
Might Duy carried a sealing scroll with him. With a "poof," smoke billowed out.
A delicate, somewhat ancient ninjutsu manual appeared from the scroll. The Eight Inner Gates must have been recorded inside.
Sosuke didn't hesitate. He gently accepted the Eight Inner Gates.
Looking at Might Duy, he curled his lips into a smile and said softly,
"Dai, come here tomorrow. I'll teach you Hakuda techniques and the Nintaijutsu I developed, Flash Step, in return for this technique."
Might Duy's first instinct was to refuse, but as he waved his hands, he felt a longing well up inside him.
In his sparring match with Sosuke, he had clearly felt Sosuke's superb fighting skills. They were nothing like the broad, forceful moves he himself used!
As a Taijutsu ninja, he naturally yearned for the chance to learn such exquisite techniques.
Sosuke noticed the hesitation on Might Duy's face. Not wanting him to keep agonizing over it, he made the decision for him and said with a light laugh,
"Then it's settled! Dai, as a Taijutsu ninja, if you can only use techniques without any finesse, you'll never reach the pinnacle of Taijutsu. Trust me. Once you learn Hakuda, your strength will exceed your expectations. Don't turn down my offer so quickly."
Sosuke's voice was rich and magnetic, almost hypnotic as he spoke to Might Duy.
"Yes, Sosuke!"
How could Might Duy refuse after hearing that? He nodded firmly, his big eyes filled with anticipation for tomorrow.
After getting his answer,
the two agreed on a time and went their separate ways.
A deep smile spread across Sosuke's face. He was happy not only because he had obtained the Eight Inner Gates and solved the major problem of his limited chakra, but also for Might Duy.
He was eager to see how far Might Duy could go after practicing Hakuda. Could he surpass Sosuke himself?
In Sosuke's view, if Might Duy learned Hakuda and mastered it thoroughly, he could increase his current strength more than tenfold.
Perhaps in the eyes of the other villagers, Might Duy, who could only use Taijutsu, didn't even qualify as a ninja!
But to Sosuke, the mockery of him as a "ninjutsu failure" completely distorted and obscured Might Duy's true strength.
Feeling the slight fracture in his left arm, Sosuke could tell that if Might Duy unleashed the same strength he had shown earlier, Chunin like Morino wouldn't be able to withstand even a single blow from him!
In that state, Dai had already surpassed the limits of ordinary people's vision. Ordinary ninjutsu attacks would never be able to lock onto him!
Dai with the Eight Inner Gates open!
In Sosuke's eyes, he had taken strength to its absolute limit!
He had almost completely cast technique aside, pursuing nothing but greater speed and power!
He recklessly poured out the vast chakra within him!
Although this advantage was obvious, it came with a serious drawback: he squandered enormous amounts of chakra and stamina, making his efficiency extremely low.
If he relied entirely on overwhelming strength in battle, he would lack the finesse that came from perfectly controlling that strength!
Take Sosuke, for example.
Though he had only practiced Hakuda for a short time, his calm state of mind allowed him to master its techniques perfectly.
This was closely connected to his Slash Path as well.
Sosuke could slice a fallen leaf cleanly into two symmetrical pieces. When the halves were placed together, the delicate veins inside were still clearly visible.
He could also place a stone on a soft piece of tofu and split the stone with one strike, leaving the tofu beneath it completely untouched.
All of this came from the perfect control of his strength and body that he had gained through practicing Hakuda!
And soon, under Sosuke's guidance, Might Duy would embark on this path: pursuing the utmost precision in strength, where even the slightest excess or shortfall was unacceptable.
When he returned home,
Sosuke took off his white Shinigami Robe, revealing a firm, powerful torso with clearly defined lines. Though he was only nine, the muscles across his shoulders, chest, and abdomen were divided in perfect proportion.
He stared expressionlessly at his left arm. The middle of it was badly bruised and swollen, bright red and impossible to miss.
Yet despite the pain, he didn't complain or show any sign of suffering. Instead, a faint, rueful smile tugged at his lips as he murmured,
"What a terrifying guy. To think someone like him is called a failure. I really can't understand what the people in this village are thinking..."
After quickly bandaging his arm, Sosuke sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, straight-backed, and took out the manual containing the Taijutsu secret, the Eight Inner Gates.
As he looked at the manual, a trace of excitement appeared in his eyes.
With this, he would probably have enough chakra to practice Kido from now on.
He had possessed extraordinary talent in Hakuda and the Slash Path from the moment he started learning them, and had made rapid progress. Kido was different. As the saying went, even the most skilled cook couldn't make a meal without ingredients. If he didn't have enough chakra to cast Kido, how could he practice it?
That was why Sosuke was so eager to increase his chakra!
After briefly leafing through the Eight Inner Gates, Sosuke had a basic understanding of it.
The Eight Inner Gates was a technique that released excess energy by removing the body's restrictions on chakra.
Along the chakra pathways, there were eight points that suppressed and controlled the chakra within the body: the Opening Gate, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death.
These eight gates restricted the amount of chakra in the body, but this technique could forcibly break through those limits and draw out strength dozens of times greater than one's normal capacity.
However, using the technique also damaged the practitioner's body, which was why it was classified as a Forbidden Technique.
After thinking it over briefly, Sosuke paid no mind to the side effects mentioned in the manual. He sat cross-legged and began sensing the gates' positions.
As he carefully felt the flow of chakra in his body, Sosuke finally sensed the locations of the eight gates.
He tried using chakra to break through one, but aside from the intense pain, it had almost no effect!
Sosuke couldn't help frowning slightly.
"So I can only break through these restrictions by striking at them year after year..."
Thinking of Might Duy, he couldn't help but marvel at how astonishing his talent and perseverance must be, to have easily broken through two gates.
Just as he was frowning over the problem,
suddenly,
a certain little fellow's name appeared in his mind!
Sosuke's eyes widened. Hadn't the Hogyoku once claimed it could make any of his wishes come true? He didn't know whether he could trust it, but he might as well give it a try.
So he called softly,
"Hogyoku?"
He called twice in a row.
A childish, drowsy voice, as if it had only just woken up, entered his mind.
"Mm... Lord Aizen, were you calling me?"
Before Sosuke could say anything, the Hogyoku suddenly cried out in its childish voice,
"Lord Aizen! You're hurt! Th-the Hogyoku will heal you right away."
Hearing this, Sosuke grew curious. He didn't answer, only watched his wound with interest, wanting to see what the Hogyoku would do.
Suddenly,
to Sosuke's astonishment, the bruising on his left arm rapidly healed before his very eyes, leaving not a single mark. It was completely restored!
Sosuke tried clenching his fist and couldn't feel any pain at all!
"Healing ninjutsu? No! There's not a trace of anything unusual. I can't feel any sign of the injury at all!"
Only then
did shock truly spread across Sosuke's face.
The Hogyoku... this thing really could make the things he wished for come true.
Before you continue