Eight Gates (1)

Because of Hatake Sakumo, Hyuga Iwa had not gone to see Danzo, nor did he know what Orochimaru had said to Danzo. Yet after several days had passed, Danzo had not sent anyone after him again!

Hyuga Iwa had even less idea where the Root base was located. He was happy to be left in peace, and within a few days, he had more or less forgotten what had happened that day.

Hyuga Iwa's monotonous daily routine—unwavering training, Zen Contemplation, Medical Ninjutsu study, and Byakugan and chakra training and research—filled every day to the brim, leaving him almost no free time.

His strength also rose rapidly as he grew older.

In Hyuga Iwa's plan, this stage was purely for laying foundations. The entire foundational stage would last until his body had fully developed, around the age of fifteen or sixteen. Only then would it be considered preliminarily complete, and only after that would Hyuga Iwa's true plan begin.

Of course, a plan was only a plan. It was not set in stone and would need continual adjustments based on his own circumstances and development.

For that plan, Hyuga Iwa still had much to prepare: substantial research funding, all kinds of supporting equipment, and ninjutsu and Sealing Jutsu designed to work alongside them. There were countless matters that he needed to resolve one by one. Honestly, if he relied on himself alone, Hyuga Iwa had no confidence that he could accomplish it all.

Hyuga Iwa needed companions, at least companions whose ideals aligned with his own. He had several candidates in mind, but he still needed more contact and understanding.

That day, Hyuga Iwa had just left the Academy when he saw Might Guy standing at the school gate, constantly peering inside.

His father, Might Duy, stood beside him.

When Guy spotted Hyuga Iwa, delight appeared on his face. Waving his hands, he rushed over.

"Rock, I'm back! Hahaha, I missed you so much! Let me tell you, we completed several D-rank missions this time, and even finished a C-rank mission."

"Congratulations, Guy." Hyuga Iwa sincerely congratulated him. "You'll be resting for a while next, right?"

"Yeah! This time, Teacher Minato said we could rest for seven days!" Guy scratched his head, but the smile on his face could not be hidden.

"Mm." Hyuga Iwa was genuinely happy for Guy, and even more surprised that he had become Minato's student.

Yes, that was right! Guy's team leader was Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage!

Honestly, Hyuga Iwa had been stunned for quite some time when he learned the news. Team 7 under Minato already had Uchiha Clan Obito, Kakashi Hatake, and Lin. Now, they had actually added Guy too!

However, according to Guy, he had only temporarily joined Minato's team. There had happened to be no other graduates when he graduated, so the Hokage had arranged a temporary squad for him. Once he had teammates in the future, they would form a new team. Even the team leader had already been decided: his father, Might Duy.

Even so, Guy was still overjoyed.

As long as he could team up with Kakashi Hatake, it was the best opportunity possible. During this time, he had challenged Kakashi Hatake every so often, and his practical combat experience had improved rapidly as well.

But for Kakashi Hatake, Guy's temporary addition could only be described as the beginning of a nightmare.

There had already been one troublemaker in the team, Uchiha Clan Obito. Now another had been added, and both of them kept coming to challenge him. It made his life miserable.

Hyuga Iwa could imagine the scene of the two disliking each other while challenging Kakashi Hatake at the same time, and he could not help laughing.

"Rock, what are you laughing about?" Guy, who had been talking nonstop, heard Hyuga Iwa suddenly laugh and immediately became curious.

"Oh, I just thought of something amusing." Hyuga Iwa cleared his throat, hiding his embarrassment a little before continuing, "Guy, what are you doing at the Academy today?"

As Hyuga Iwa spoke, he glanced at Duy, who was walking over, and greeted him. "Hello, Uncle Duy."

"Mm, Rock, you're too polite. We came mainly to see whether Guy had been assigned new teammates, and also because I needed to talk to you about something." Duy smiled as he explained. "Come on, let's talk when we get back."

"Oh? Has Guy's team been decided?" Hyuga Iwa's eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked.

"Not yet, but I heard it will be decided after this graduation assessment. Speaking of which, Rock, you should be graduating soon too, right?"

"Me? I don't think so? I'm not very clear on that either, but according to the normal curriculum, I don't think our group has reached graduation age yet."

"Perhaps the situation has been tense lately, and there's a shortage of ninjas. Those are decisions from the village higher-ups. I'm not sure of the specifics either." Duy thought for a moment and guessed.

"Uncle Duy, are the conflicts on the front lines serious now?"

"Mm, I heard that a squad was wiped out a few days ago. Even the Jonin sent to support them nearly died."

"Wow, that is pretty serious." Hyuga Iwa's expression darkened. So it seems I really have been caught up in this Third Shinobi World War. But I don't want this outcome at all!

The village had already begun making Academy students graduate early. It seemed the situation in the Shinobi World was truly grim.

That was indeed the case. Because the Second Shinobi World War had ended anticlimactically, the major nations other than the Fire Country were dissatisfied with its outcome.

The Wind Country had not obtained the land it had always wanted, and the casualties from the previous war had not been as severe as expected. The militant faction within the Wind Country had not suffered much of a blow either. After recuperating, it swiftly rose again and had been secretly pushing for the outbreak of the Third Shinobi War.

The Lightning Country, meanwhile, had always hoped to replace the Fire Country as the greatest nation in the Shinobi World. Thus, it had been continuously developing its military strength ever since the First Shinobi War. By now, the number of ninjas in the Lightning Country was not much lower than that of the Fire Country.

Its overall national strength had also drawn close to that of the Fire Country, even surpassing it in some aspects!

The Earth Country remained as conservative as ever. Surrounded by high mountains, it was difficult for enemies to invade its interior. Yet likewise, it was difficult for it to communicate with the outside world. Thus, the Earth Country had always acted only when the opportunity arose, refusing to move without seeing a benefit. However, it had maintained ties with the Underground Gold Exchange and caused incidents along the Fire Country's borders.

Although the Water Country had not participated in the Second Shinobi World War on a large scale due to its distance from the mainland, its strength had been greatly damaged for certain reasons, and it had spent all this time licking its wounds. Perhaps its strength had now recovered somewhat, for it kept causing disturbances along the Fire Country's borders. It had always desired a piece of land on the mainland, so it constantly eyed the neighboring Fire Country with greed.

The Academy had covered some of this information, but more of it came from Hyuga Iwa's analysis based on memories from his previous life and current intelligence.

But overall, if this tense situation continued, war would sooner or later erupt in the Shinobi World again.

No, it should be said that war was certain to break out!

Hyuga Iwa thought for a moment, then said, "Uncle Duy, it looks like we need to use these next few years to find a way to further increase our strength."

"Yes. That's why I came to see you this time. I think I can teach you the Eight Gates now. What do you think?"

"That works, but Guy needs restrictions. He's still too impulsive." Hyuga Iwa nodded in agreement, though he voiced his own thoughts.

"Alright."

"Hey, why aren't either of you asking what I think? I'm already a ninja!" Guy immediately became dissatisfied when Hyuga Iwa and his father decided his fate in just a few words.

"Objection denied!"

"I think Rock is right."

"..."

"Damn it, am I even your son?"

"..."

"Hahahaha..."

The three chatted as they walked, sharing amusing stories from their missions, and laughter never stopped.

Before long, they arrived at their usual training ground.

Duy stood before the two of them, his expression solemn as he began teaching them the Eight Gates.

"You should know that each of our bodies has Eight Gates. These gates are distributed throughout the chakra circulation pathway system, setting limits on the amount of chakra within the body and suppressing and controlling it.

"The Eight Gates technique, as its name suggests, forcibly surpasses those limits, allowing one to draw out strength dozens of times greater than one's original power.

"However, while gaining that power, the user must also endure immense pressure and suffer damage.

"And when all Eight Gates are opened, that state is called the Eight Gates Formation. It can instantly grant power more than ten times greater than the Five Kage, but it will also cause death when one's life force burns out completely!

"So even if you learn the Eight Gates, do not use them carelessly. Doing so will only damage your body. Every use must be approached with the utmost caution! Understood?"

"Understood!" x2

Hyuga Iwa and Guy nodded at the same time, both unconsciously turning solemn.

Based on their past experiences, Duy had always trusted Hyuga Iwa and Guy's self-discipline. He continued, "Guy, the reason I always made you train your body was to lay the foundations for the Eight Gates. Only a sturdy body can effectively offset the side effects brought by opening the gates."

Guy muttered to himself, "So this is the Eight Gates..."

Guy had known about the Eight Gates for a long time, but only today did he learn what the true Eight Gates were!

"Uncle Duy, can you tell us which gate you've opened up to?"

Guy's eyes instantly burned as he looked at his father, anticipation written all over his face.

Duy pondered for a moment before agreeing.

"Watch closely!"

Duy took a deep breath and shouted, "First Gate, Open Gate!"

As Duy's voice fell, an enormous amount of chakra abruptly surged from within his body, flowing wildly through his chakra pathways.

"Second Gate, Gate of Healing!"

"Third Gate, Gate of Life!"

"Sixth Gate, Gate of View!"

As Duy opened more and more gates, the violent chakra became almost tangible, forming a green chakra cloak around his body, as though he were a Jinchuriki!

The burst of chakra even created gusts of fierce wind, making the corners of their clothes flap loudly.

At that moment, Hyuga Iwa felt as though a ferocious dragon stood before him rather than a man!

In terms of sheer quantity alone, this amount of chakra was probably no less than that of the Five Kage!

Unfortunately, his control was insufficient!

Hyuga Iwa silently sighed inwardly.

Guy watched Duy's violent stance from the side, his heart stirred as he stared in astonishment.

So this was his father! The man everyone called the Eternal Genin!

Guy could sense that his father at this moment seemed no weaker than most Jonin!

Not to mention that above the Sixth Gate, Gate of View, there were still the Gate of Wonder and the Gate of Death! If the Eight Gates' full power were unleashed, perhaps even the Third Hokage might not be able to compare!

Fortunately, Hyuga Iwa did not hear Guy's thoughts. Otherwise, he would certainly have scoffed at them.

How could the power unleashed after opening the Eight Gates possibly be matched by a mere Third Hokage?

While the two were lost in thought, Duy furrowed his brows, his eyes flashing as he shouted, "Morning Peacock!"

Duy rapidly unleashed countless straight punches at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive. Countless flames appeared out of thin air before them, spreading like a peacock displaying its tail before flying rapidly forward after a brief pause!

"Rumble, rumble, rumble~" Wherever the flames danced, trees were uprooted and immediately burst into blazing fire, spreading onward for an unknown distance!

When everything finally settled, an endlessly long path of flames appeared before them!

"Gasp~" x2

Even though they had known its power was tremendous, nothing could compare to seeing it with their own eyes.

Such power was no longer something an ordinary ninja could contend with!

"Whew~"

Duy let out a deep breath and closed every gate. In an instant, beads of sweat the size of beans streamed down his cheeks, soaking his clothes all over before long.

Just that one attack had consumed more than half his stamina!

"Uncle Duy, are you alright?"

"Dad!"

Duy staggered slightly, but quickly recovered. He waved his hand and said, "It's fine. I'm just a little exhausted."

Soon, Duy continued, "Sigh, opening the Sixth Gate is already my limit. Any further, and it won't be something I can control in my current state."

I see! So it really is a matter of chakra control? Hyuga Iwa silently guessed after hearing that.

"Uncle Duy, take a break." Hyuga Iwa paused, scratching his head somewhat awkwardly as he pointed at the flaming path ahead. "We should also come up with a better excuse. It looks like ANBU are coming."

"Huh?" x2

Duy and Guy were instantly dumbfounded. They exchanged a glance and laughed awkwardly.

"Rock, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Mm-hm!"

"You two! Sigh~"

Hyuga Iwa gave a bitter smile. After pondering for a moment, an idea came to him.

Hyuga Iwa quickly explained it, then the three promptly lay on the ground and pretended to be injured.

Before long, two ninjas dressed in ANBU attire appeared before them.

The two frowned as they looked at the long path of flames before them.

What kind of attack could create such a long path of flames? And more unusually, they could not sense any trace of Fire Release chakra within it!

The two looked toward the three lying on the ground, and even more questions surged through their minds. How had two Genin and one person who was not even a ninja survived an attack like that, and apparently without suffering much injury?

One of the ANBU, wearing a fox mask, walked over and asked, "What happened here just now?"

Duy glanced at the two of them, then explained things as Hyuga Iwa had told him to. Basically, a masked person had attacked them, then another masked person had suddenly appeared and protected them. This path of flames had been burned out by one of those people's Fire Release!

The two ANBU exchanged glances, their eyes full of disbelief. It sounded like they were being told a story.

Though they were indeed telling a story, Hyuga Iwa and Guy still nodded in agreement without hesitation.

After conducting a rough inspection, one ANBU left, while the other remained behind to examine the area more carefully.

The three watched the two busy ANBU and awkwardly rubbed their noses.

"Rock, isn't this a little bad?" Guy held it in for a long time before finally leaning over to ask in a low voice.

"Mm! Since you can't bear it, go explain it yourself."

"Uh, forget it..."

"Then why are you talking so much nonsense?"

"Rock, you've become bad!"

"No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!"

Hyuga Iwa kept glaring at Guy until he covered his mouth, only then letting him off.

"Uncle Duy, let's continue learning the Eight Gates!"

Duy froze for a moment, then smiled. "Alright!"