Eight Gates

Might Duy clenched his fists at his waist and let out a shout. In an instant, a green aura surged around his entire body, blowing his hair upward.

Might Guy stared in shock. "Dad, this is..."

Might Duy said, "The Eight Gates, one of the forbidden techniques."

"This is the only ultimate secret technique I mastered through more than twenty years of hard training. Now, I'm passing it on to you."

Only then did Might Guy realize that his father truly was extraordinary. At the same time, he was astonished by Toru's accurate judgment.

Might Duy continued explaining, "The Eight Gates severely damage the body, and the final Gate of Death requires you to burn your life force to use it."

"So, the most important thing when learning the Eight Gates is self-restraint. You must never use it recklessly."

"Guy, remember this: only when it is time to burn your youth can you use the Eight Gates Formation."

Seeing his father's bloodshot body and whitened eyes, Guy knew his father was telling the truth. He solemnly nodded and promised, "I understand, Dad! I'll use the Eight Gates to carry out my youth!"

Might Duy smiled in gratification, then deactivated the Eight Gates.

Even though Might Duy had only kept the Eight Gates open for a short while, he was already panting heavily and drenched in sweat. It was clear just how great a burden the Eight Gates placed on his body.

After catching his breath, Might Duy began teaching Guy how to train in the Eight Gates.

Might Guy began studying with utmost seriousness, because he knew this was his best chance to surpass the geniuses.

A few days later, Toru's home received a rare visitor.

"Guy?"

As Toru opened the front gate, he was somewhat puzzled as to why Guy had suddenly come to visit.

Might Guy said excitedly, "Toru, you were right. My dad really is amazing!"

Toru raised an interested eyebrow, then led Might Guy into the courtyard and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Might Guy said excitedly, "My dad knows a forbidden technique called the Eight Gates. It can increase his strength, and its effect is incredibly powerful!"

Might Guy's words confirmed Toru's initial guess. So it really was the second possibility?

Toru had long thought the second possibility was more likely. After all, if it had been the first, the villagers would not have looked down on Might Duy so much.

Toru used the Six Eyes to observe Might Guy's body and found similar traces within him to those in his father.

However, Might Guy's special physique greatly reduced the Eight Gates' side effects, leaving almost no damage to his Chakra pathways.

"You learned the Eight Gates too?"

Though Toru already knew the answer, he still asked.

Might Guy nodded excitedly. "I did, but I only know the first gate."

Toru thus deduced that the Eight Gates was a forbidden technique that gradually increased one's strength through eight stages, and he became quite interested in it.

He asked, "The first gate? There are eight gates in total?"

Might Guy looked confused. "How did you know?"

Toru said helplessly, "Can't you tell just from the name?"

Might Guy gave a foolish laugh. "Right. I didn't even notice."

After laughing, Might Guy turned serious and began explaining the Eight Gates in detail.

"The Eight Gates has eight gates in total. From the first gate to the eighth, they gradually increase your strength: the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death."

"They gradually remove the body's restrictions on Chakra, releasing Chakra that surpasses your normal limits and allowing you to exert dozens of times your original strength. It is said that opening the Gate of Death can grant power beyond even the Hokage."

"However, opening the gates comes at the cost of harming the body. Before the Gate of Pain, the damage is relatively minor. From the Gate of Pain onward, opening every gate causes damage that is difficult to reverse. And opening the gates requires a powerful body to sustain them."

Toru was tempted by such a formidable forbidden technique. After all, a technique that could so directly increase one's strength would greatly benefit anyone.

As for those side effects, Toru felt they were nothing compared to its heaven-defying effects.

Besides, there might not be no way to reduce or even eliminate the side effects.

After finishing his introduction, Might Guy looked at Toru and asked, "Do you think this technique is worthwhile?"

Toru replied, "With a ninjutsu this powerful, it isn't a question of whether I think it's worthwhile. I'm afraid there isn't anyone in the entire ninja world who wouldn't want it."

Relieved, Might Guy said, "That's good. I came this time because I wanted to teach you this technique."

Though Toru was very tempted, he still asked why.

Might Guy explained what had happened. "I told my father what you said back then."

"When he heard that you said he was interesting and powerful, he suddenly cried. Later, he asked me to pass this technique on to you. He said you were his kindred spirit, someone who truly understood his youth."

After hearing that, Toru felt that he had gotten something for nothing.

Back then, he had only said those words on a whim, yet he never expected them to earn him such an extraordinary forbidden technique.

Toru said, "I'll accept this technique, but I'll exchange it for our Uchiha clan's Shuriken Manipulation Technique."

"Although it is far inferior to the Eight Gates you've given me, I will definitely repay you in the future."

Considering that the Might father and son lacked the talent to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, and that Gentle Fist could not be used without the Byakugan or Six Eyes, Toru could only offer Shuriken techniques in exchange.

Might Guy had initially intended to refuse and give it to him for free, but under Toru's repeated insistence, he ultimately agreed to Toru's terms.

The two began teaching each other their techniques while learning the other's.

Might Guy's taijutsu talent had never been weak, and Shuriken techniques should really be classified as taijutsu as well, so his progress in learning them was not slow.

It was simply that he lacked a pair of sharp eyes like the Six Eyes or Sharingan. Sometimes his movements were correct, but his eyes could not keep up.

By comparison, Toru's talent was a level higher. Of course, it was more than merely a level higher.

Toru had never come into contact with the Eight Gates before, but after Might Guy explained its principles, he was able to use the Six Eyes to observe the locations of the eight gates.

After Guy demonstrated the first gate, the Gate of Opening, once, Toru immediately copied it with the Six Eyes.

This allowed Toru to use the Gate of Opening with ease.

However, that was thanks to Toru's naturally strong physical constitution, which allowed him to imitate it directly. If it had been a higher gate, it likely would not have been so easy.

The method could be copied, but whether his body could endure it was another matter entirely.

Yet after learning the Eight Gates, Toru discovered that it had another flaw: the Chakra released after opening the gates was far too violent.

If an ordinary person opened the Eight Gates, they definitely would not be able to use ninjutsu—at least, not complex ninjutsu.

This limited the Eight Gates' practical power, because only taijutsu-type ninja could fully exert their strength while using the Eight Gates.

But Toru was different. Toru had the all-purpose Six Eyes, which allowed him to control Chakra with precision. Even in the Eight Gates' berserk state, he could still manipulate Chakra normally and use ninjutsu.

In a sense, the Six Eyes and the Eight Gates were a perfect match.