Eight Gates (3)

Hyuga Iwa did not leave until Might Duy had returned home. When he learned from Might Duy that he had become a Chunin, Hyuga Iwa was sincerely happy for him.

The moment he got home, his mother, Hyuga Yuko, came over to fuss over him, deeply worried. She already knew about the sudden incident in the woods outside the village, and she knew even more than that. From that location, she could tell it had been in the direction of Might Guy's home.

Not wanting her to worry, Hyuga Iwa casually brushed her off with a few words and made up an excuse, hoping only that she would feel better.

"Oh, right. Did you eat dinner? Do you want me to heat some more food up for you?"

"Yeah, I'll have a little more!" Hyuga Iwa rubbed his stomach and smiled sheepishly.

"There's no need to be embarrassed. Mom knows you're still growing, so you eat more and get hungry faster. That's a good thing. My Iwa will definitely grow into a handsome young man someday, and lots of girls will like you!" Hyuga Yuko secretly covered her mouth as she laughed, teasing him proudly.

"Uh..."

He had better not respond to that. Otherwise, he would definitely be the one to die.

Hyuga Iwa sat at the dining table with his head propped on one hand, thinking about the Eight Gates and Might Duy's treatment. Before long, he fell into deep thought.

Might Duy's condition was far worse than he had imagined. Decades of taijutsu training had inflicted far more serious damage on his body than was visible on the surface.

Although he had received initial treatment, Hyuga Iwa had only dealt with some superficial wounds for the time being. There were still countless hidden injuries inside his body.

Furthermore, if Might Duy intended to continue training in the Eight Gates in the future, those hidden injuries would inevitably worsen. Even with Hyuga Iwa's treatment, it might not achieve much. After all, Hyuga Iwa's current medical skills were still far behind those of true masters.

Thinking of the Eight Gates, Hyuga Iwa recalled the scene of Might Guy opening the Open Gate earlier. What would happen if he did it himself?

That thought suddenly surfaced in Hyuga Iwa's mind.

Why not give it a try?

Though a voice in his heart kept telling him that the Eight Gates were still incomplete and that he was too young to try them for now, Hyuga Iwa felt as though a cat had scratched at his heart. It itched unbearably, leaving him with an urge he had to satisfy.

"Try it?"

"Don't try it!"

"Try..."

"Don't try it."

"Forget it. I'll just try it." After struggling with himself for a long while, Hyuga Iwa ultimately failed to overcome his desire and made his decision.

Hyuga Iwa recalled the technique Might Duy had described for opening the Open Gate. He gathered his chakra and, using a special method, instantly poured a massive amount of chakra into the Open Gate. In that instant, he felt as though his senses had suddenly slowed. Everything around him seemed to freeze in an illusion that nevertheless felt utterly real. Even the sounds he heard were stretched out dramatically.

The surging chakra made Hyuga Iwa feel as though his whole body were filled with strength, while his consciousness seemed to speed up tremendously. Thoughts he had never had before came flooding in, as though inspiration had struck him out of nowhere. It was wonderfully strange.

Open Gate: Removes the brain's limitations in order to unleash 100% of the body's abilities. It overdraws the body's energy, increasing attack power and speed. Once opened, it also allows the use of "Front Lotus."

Might Duy's words echoed in Hyuga Iwa's mind.

So this was what it felt like to remove the brain's limitations?

Hyuga Iwa felt that this was more like an ability that accelerated his thoughts!

Hyuga Iwa spread his fingers and looked down at his palms. After sensing his condition for a while longer, he suddenly noticed from the corner of his eye that his current state seemed slightly different from the conditions Might Guy and Might Duy had been in before.

Hyuga Iwa carefully recalled what had happened earlier, comparing the possible differences between them over and over in his mind. Then, he seemed to think of something. He instantly looked at his hands and saw a faint layer of chakra wrapping around the chakra inside his body, keeping it contained within him with almost no loss at all.

The technique of using Nen!

Hyuga Iwa immediately thought of the Nen techniques used by Hunters in Hunter x Hunter. Wasn't this something he had been practicing all along?

Come to think of it, through constant practice, Hyuga Iwa had already become able to maintain this chakra Binding technique for a fairly long time. Moreover, doing so caused almost no chakra loss.

Then, what would happen if he could completely control the wildly surging chakra after using the Eight Gates?

Once the thought occurred to him, he acted on it. Hyuga Iwa calmed himself, relaxed his body, and shifted all his attention inward.

Hyuga Iwa discovered that once the Open Gate had been opened, huge amounts of chakra appeared out of nowhere from within it, flowing rapidly through his body along his chakra pathways.

But that chakra was incredibly violent and almost completely beyond his control.

However, once Hyuga Iwa focused all his attention inside his body, he began fighting those violent chakras for control.

Using the chakra he had originally been able to control completely, he guided it to sort through the others little by little.

One chakra pathway, then two...

As time passed, the surging chakra within Hyuga Iwa's body gradually calmed down. Like naughty children, it fell back into orderly lines under Hyuga Iwa's guidance and flowed obediently through his chakra pathways.

At the same time, new chakra continued pouring from the Open Gate. Yet it was quickly brought under Hyuga Iwa's control. Then he suddenly discovered that when the chakra already in his pathways passed through the Open Gate, it also flowed into it and inexplicably vanished within it.

The discovery made Hyuga Iwa curious, but just as he wanted to investigate further, an inexplicable exhaustion surged through him. Irritability welled up in his heart, and he abruptly exited the Eight Gates state!

"Huh~"

Hyuga Iwa let out a soft sound of surprise. Though his heart was filled with curiosity, he forcibly held himself back when he discovered his mother standing before him, watching him worriedly.

When Hyuga Iwa noticed her, Hyuga Yuko instantly pulled a stern face. The anger in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Training, training, all you know is training! You can't even sit still long enough to eat a meal. I suppose you don't want to eat anymore, do you?!"

Hyuga Iwa awkwardly scratched his cheek, blinking up at his mother with an innocent expression.

"Don't try to look pitiful. Hurry up and wash your hands, then come back and eat." Though Hyuga Yuko looked furious, she quickly surrendered under Hyuga Iwa's adorable attack and softened in the end.

"Yes, madam!"

Hyuga Iwa sprang to his feet and ran toward the kitchen.

After quickly washing his hands, Hyuga Iwa returned to the table and began wolfing down his food.

Perhaps because he had just opened the first gate, Hyuga Iwa suddenly realized that he was especially hungry, as if he had not eaten anything at Might Guy's house earlier.

After finishing all the food his mother had prepared, Hyuga Iwa rubbed his stomach and stretched comfortably. "Mom Yuko, I'm going to take a bath."

More than ten minutes later, Hyuga Iwa lay comfortably in the bathtub. The water was neither too hot nor too cold, and it felt so good that he could not help letting out a soft moan.

After playing around for a while, Hyuga Iwa thought back to what had just happened. He had a feeling that his earlier approach might be the true way to master the Eight Gates!

Control. Only what one could control truly belonged to oneself!

With that thought, Hyuga Iwa lay quietly in the bathtub and slowly closed his eyes.

Very soon, Hyuga Iwa entered a state of Zen Meditation, sensing a hazy feeling within his consciousness.

This time, he focused all his attention completely inside his body. His consciousness seemed to arrive in a small river, and he himself was the water flowing through that river.

Hyuga Iwa's consciousness surged through the chakra pathways throughout his body along with the current!

Hyuga Iwa suddenly discovered that his ability to control chakra seemed to have grown much stronger than before.

The suddenly surging chakra had not affected his control. On the contrary, as he controlled that surging chakra, his ability to control his original chakra rose to an even higher level!

"Hehe~"

Hyuga Iwa could not help grinning foolishly. He had not expected this attempt to bring him so many gains. Sure enough, good people were rewarded!

After admiring himself for a while, Hyuga Iwa dried himself off, put on his pajamas, and climbed into bed.

Sleepiness soon washed over him. Before falling asleep, he once again consciously entered a state of Zen Contemplation.

The night grew deeper, but the events of the day left many people in Leaf Village unable to sleep.

For the first time, the name Eight Gates entered the eyes of every high-ranking official—and caused an enormous stir!