Opening the Eight Gates for the First Time!

Early the next morning, the sky was barely beginning to brighten.

Tsunade climbed off Orochimaru's examination table and stretched.

Her bones cracked and popped.

She grabbed the clothes draped over the back of a chair and pulled them on.

As she buttoned them, she glanced at Orochimaru and the dark circles under his eyes.

"That's it?"

Tsunade curled her lip, disdain written all over her face.

After an entire night of work,

all he had done was draw a few tubes of blood and measure her Chakra response.

And he had made no real progress.

Orochimaru's pale face twitched.

He said nothing, merely lowering his head.

The night really had taken it out of him.

Not because the experiments were difficult, but because Tsunade...

What a madwoman.

Orochimaru muttered to himself.

She hadn't let up once since last night.

He couldn't remember ever feeling so mentally exhausted.

Tsunade watched him struggle to find words, then think better of it. She shook her head and sighed inwardly.

Orochimaru's still so green.

This was nothing.

Once he went down a darker path, he'd become a true research fanatic.

Human experimentation, forbidden techniques, immortality research—if it was twisted, he'd pursue it.

Right now?

He was an innocent virgin.

"Fine. We'll take it slow."

Tsunade didn't mind. She had plenty of time.

They had to make progress bit by bit. Nobody could swallow everything in one bite.

She finished dressing, swept her long golden hair into a high ponytail, and waved at Orochimaru.

"I'm off. I'm dead tired, so I'm going home to catch up on sleep."

"Take your time analyzing the data. Tell me when you find something."

"Oh, and keep it secret. Especially the blood draws. Tell anyone, and I'll say you were making a move on me."

Orochimaru: "..."

He watched her stroll away and remained silent for a long while.

Finally, he sighed and looked down at the blood sample in his hand, resuming his research.

The whole process had been absurd, but...

Tsunade's blood really was different from an ordinary person's.

With both Senju and Uzumaki bloodlines, her cells were frighteningly active.

Both the quality and quantity of her Chakra far exceeded normal levels.

He could even faintly sense something... "awakening"?

Orochimaru licked his lips, excitement flashing through his golden slit-pupiled eyes.

"Interesting..."

Tsunade had no idea what Orochimaru was thinking, nor did she care.

She needed Orochimaru.

And Orochimaru needed her.

That was enough.

When she left Orochimaru's house, dawn had only just broken. The streets were nearly empty.

The morning air was damp with dew and cool in her lungs.

Tsunade rolled her shoulders as she walked. Her whole body felt a little stiff.

Spending the night on a hard examination table had not been comfortable.

Halfway home, she suddenly stopped.

"Huh?"

Tsunade's eyes lit up as she looked toward Konoha's Back Mountain.

I'm already out, and I'd just sleep if I went home...

Why not find somewhere quiet and try out the Eight Gates?

Once the thought surfaced, she couldn't suppress it.

She had been studying the notes she'd "borrowed" from Might Duy on the forbidden Eight Gates technique for the past two weeks.

Combined with the original Tsunade's extraordinary talent for Chakra control and her Senju constitution,

she felt sure she could open the Gate of Opening!

"Let's do it!"

Tsunade grinned. Instead of going home, she turned and headed straight for the Back Mountain.

Few people visited the training ground on Konoha's Back Mountain even during the day.

At dawn, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Tsunade found a secluded corner.

She looked around to make sure she was alone, then drew a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

She began recalling the contents of the Eight Gates notes.

First gate, the Gate of Opening: remove the brain's restraints and draw out one hundred percent of the body's potential.

Second gate, the Gate of Healing: remove the limits imposed by fatigue, forcing the body past its limits to restore stamina.

Third gate, the Gate of Life: further increase power and Speed as the body flushes red.

Fourth gate, the Gate of Pain: increase power and Speed again, but begin damaging the body...

"Haa..."

Tsunade exhaled and snapped her eyes open!

"Eight Gates! First gate, Gate of Opening—open!"

Voom!

An invisible shockwave erupted from Tsunade!

Dust scattered across the ground, and the surrounding leaves rustled wildly.

Tsunade felt as though something had punched a hole through the restraints on her brain.

Her slightly hazy vision turned crystal clear in an instant!

The veins of leaves in the distance, dewdrops on blades of grass, even tiny motes floating in the air—

she could see it all perfectly!

Her control over her body had risen to another level.

Every muscle contracting, every tendon stretching, every beat of her heart...

She could feel them all!

"So this is... complete control over my body?"

Tsunade raised a hand and studied her palm.

She spread her fingers, then slowly curled them into a fist.

Her knuckles cracked sharply as power flowed through her fingertips.

With these hands...

A thought sprang unbidden to her mind: If I performed surgery, my precision would be terrifying!

The next moment, Tsunade shook her head hard.

"Ugh! What am I thinking?"

"I'm a woman who specializes in beautiful violence!"

"My style is punching an enemy's head clean off! Why am I thinking about Medical Ninjutsu?"

Tsunade cursed her luck.

The original owner of this body truly had been destined to become a "Medical Saint."

Her subconscious leaned far too heavily toward Medical Ninjutsu.

At the slightest opportunity, she found herself thinking about scalpels, sutures, and treatment plans.

"No, no. That has to change!"

Tsunade took a deep breath and pushed those jumbled medical plans from her mind.

"Keep going!"

Her gaze sharpened, and her Chakra surged again.

"Second gate, Gate of Healing—open!"

It felt as though shackles inside her body had fallen away.

The exhaustion built up from a sleepless night receded like a tide!

Her spirits soared, and her stamina rapidly returned.

She felt refreshed from head to toe, more energized than she would after ten hours of sleep!

"Not bad!"

Tsunade nodded in satisfaction.

Lifting the limits of fatigue was practically tailor-made for a training fanatic like her.

She could train by day, open the Gate of Healing at night to recover, then train again the next day.

A perfect perpetual-motion machine!

"And I'm not done yet!"

Tsunade grinned as her Chakra erupted once more!

"Third gate, Gate of Life—open!"

A faint red flush spread across her skin.

Her forehead, neck, arms...

Veins bulged one after another, winding beneath her skin like dragons.

A pale green Chakra aura began to radiate around her.

Even the air warped faintly in its presence.

Her strength and Speed climbed another level!

Tsunade felt as though she could punch straight through a wall!

"Still not done!"

She growled as her Chakra raced through her body!

"Fourth gate, Gate of Pain—open!"

Voom!

The red of her skin deepened rapidly to a dark crimson!

Her veins stood out even more, and she looked like a boiled shrimp!

Violent power surged through her, threatening to burst through her skin!

Thick green vapor poured from her body, shrouding her completely!

The ground began to crack. Pebbles caught in the Chakra currents rose and hovered in midair!

The fourth gate!

The dividing line of the Eight Gates!

Beyond this point lay dangerous territory.

Although her attack Speed and strength would increase enormously, her body had already begun to suffer damage.

Torn muscles, ruptured blood vessels, strain on her bones...

Tsunade could clearly feel the faint pain spreading inside her.

Could I keep going...?

She assessed her condition, hesitated, then shook her head.

"Forget it. It's my first time opening the gates. Better play it safe."

She had a feeling she could open the fifth gate, the Gate of Limit, right now.

With her Senju and Uzumaki constitution, she should be able to withstand the strain of five gates.

But this was her first attempt. She needed to let her body adjust.

Besides, she could tell—

with her current physical condition, five gates was her limit.

If she wanted to open the Sixth Gate, or the seventh,

she had a long road ahead. She'd have to keep training her body like her life depended on it!

"But..."

Tsunade grinned and looked toward a boulder half as tall as she was nearby.

"Now that I've opened four gates, it'd be a waste not to test them, wouldn't it?"

She leaned forward slightly and bent her knees.

The next second—

Whoosh!!!

An afterimage lingered where Tsunade had stood. She had turned into a streak of green light and appeared beside the boulder in an instant!

She drew back her right fist. Her muscles tightened as Chakra surged into it!

"Hah—!!!"

She threw a punch!!!

Bang!

BOOM!!!!!!!

The deafening blast echoed through the valley!

The several-meter-tall boulder, struck by that punch...

Exploded!

Fragments sprayed everywhere like rain.

The largest pieces were no bigger than a fist. Most had been reduced to powder!

Dust filled the air, and a deep crater scarred the ground.

Tsunade lowered her fist and stood amid the dust. She surveyed the result and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad!"

She grinned, delighted.

Eight Gates + Monster Strength + Senju physique.

That combination packed a punch!

"That's a wrap~"

Tsunade dusted off her hands and released the Eight Gates.

The red faded from her skin, her bulging veins receded, and the green steam dissipated.

A faint weakness washed over her.

The aftereffects of opening four gates had arrived.

But they were still manageable.

"Home for a bath, a snack, and some sleep~"

Humming a tune, Tsunade swaggered off without a care in the world.

She had been up all night and had just opened four gates.

All she wanted now was a long soak, followed by a collapse into bed and enough sleep to last an age.

As for training?

That could wait until she woke up!

Not long after Tsunade left...

A figure came jogging toward the Rear Mountain Training Ground, chanting, "One, two, one!"

A green bodysuit, a bowl cut, and thick eyebrows.

It was Might Duy, out for his early-morning training.

His routine never changed. Every day, he got up before dawn to train.

Ten laps around the Back Mountain, followed by a thousand push-ups, a thousand sit-ups, and a thousand squats.

Today was no exception.

But when he reached the clearing where he usually trained...

Might Duy froze.

He stared at the deep crater and the powdery rubble scattered across the ground.

Then he looked toward the spot where the waist-high rock he trained with should have stood.

There was nothing there.

"Huh???"

Might Duy blinked, then rubbed his eyes.

"Who... who took the rock I train with..."

"And smashed it to pieces???"

He crouched, picked up a fragment, and squeezed it.

Powder sifted through his fingers.

"What... what kind of strength would that take...?"

Might Duy muttered to himself, bewilderment flashing through his eyes. But it quickly gave way to excitement.

"Whoever it was!"

"Anyone who could do this must be a Taijutsu master!"

"A fellow devotee of youth!"

"I have to find them! Spar with them! Burn with youth together!!!"

The boy in the green bodysuit clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.