Explosion: The Eight Gates Released Formation

"Cherry Blossom Impact!"

"Undersea Drop!"

Kazan seized Yugito Nii by the neck, spun in midair, and slammed her down with all his strength.

I can't move!

Yugito Nii felt an invisible force wrap around her body. She couldn't move a single muscle.

Her opponent's strength was terrifying. If someone told her he could shatter a mountain, she would have believed it.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, she plummeted from the sky like a missile.

"Boom!"

A thunderous crash shook heaven and earth as Kazan slammed Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchūriki into the arena with a single move.

The entire Training Ground trembled. The impact scattered the smoke and sent shockwaves sweeping into every corner.

"Yugito Nii!"

Even the Kumogakure Ninja, who had been utterly confident in Yugito Nii, felt their hearts leap into their throats.

"Damn it. I'm never fighting him up close. What a freak!"

Asuma's jaw hung open. His body would never withstand a hit like that.

Kushina Uzumaki's eyes widened. She was just as shaken.

As a Jinchūriki herself, she knew exactly how powerful a Tailed Beast was.

Every Tailed Beast was like an inexhaustible reservoir. As long as a Jinchūriki could draw on its Tailed Beast Chakra, she would never run out of power.

"Minato, if that brat ever starts a fight in the village, use Flying Thunder God to take him to some other Shinobi Village."

Someone that extraordinary deserved to be enjoyed by the other villages.

Minato Namikaze gave a dry laugh. Whether he could do it was one thing. Dropping Kazan into someone else's village was guaranteed to cause trouble, and he couldn't possibly do that.

Kakashi felt it more keenly than any of them. Seeing that move again made his whole body ache, as though he were the one who had taken the hit.

Kazan had no intention of stopping there.

A perfect Jinchūriki couldn't be finished so easily.

"Tap!"

He planted his feet against the air as though it were solid ground, then dove after her at high speed, giving his opponent no chance to breathe.

"Fist Bone!"

He clenched his unstoppable fist again and drove it down from above.

Chakra erupted like a volcano and gathered around his right fist, forming a huge blue-white cross that fell like a meteor.

"Impact!"

An even fiercer collision erupted. Kazan's full-force punch struck Yugito Nii's two tails.

The ground, already cracked apart, burst into pieces. It couldn't withstand the blow.

"Boom!"

Power far beyond any Genin battle exploded across the arena, sending the crowd into an uproar.

Countless faces changed at the sight of Kazan's punch.

But a Jinchūriki was still a Jinchūriki. Her Chakra was inexhaustible, and her Chakra Cloak was nearly indestructible.

Yugito Nii's form changed once more.

Ominous crimson Chakra spread from her feet across her entire body.

She crouched on all fours, the two tails behind her holding off Kazan's brutal punch. Her pupils had vanished, leaving only white eyes. She looked like a Demonic Beast that brought calamity.

"Partial Tailed Beast Transformation! She's one step away from Complete Tailed Beast Transformation!" Kushina Uzumaki cried. "She can actually go this far?"

She could hardly believe Kumogakure had developed a way to control a Tailed Beast.

This was the furthest a Jinchūriki could go before fully transforming.

One step further, and Kazan wouldn't be facing Yugito Nii. He would be facing one of the Shinobi World's Nine Tailed Beasts.

It was too dangerous!

"Minato!"

"I'm watching. Don't worry."

Minato Namikaze was ready to step in at any moment.

In the arena, an idea flashed through Kazan's mind. He kicked off and retreated, quickly opening the distance.

But then—

Danger followed close behind. The moment he landed, the beastlike Yugito Nii was already at his side, raking a vicious claw at him.

"Tekkai!"

Kazan crossed his arms to block, but the blow still sent him flying into the wall again.

"Bang!"

A human-shaped dent appeared in the wall. Before Kazan could make his next move, Yugito Nii charged in again, her hands turned into razor-sharp claws that tore through the air toward him.

"Kazan!"

Kurenai and the other students were terrified.

"He's fine!"

Asuka Hyuga had already activated his Byakugan.

He could see that, although Kumogakure's Jinchūriki kept him on the defensive, Kazan remained composed. He blocked her claws again and again, sensing each threat with uncanny precision.

Fists and claws clashed repeatedly with dull thuds.

By now, every one of Yugito Nii's abilities had reached its peak.

She was fast and strong enough to match Kazan. Like a creature gone berserk, she kept swiping at him with her cat claws.

"Bang!"

Kazan met her attacks with both fists, but Yugito Nii still had two tails.

"Smack!"

Yugito Nii and Matatabi worked in perfect sync. A sweep of her tail whipped Kazan into the sky.

She really is a monster of raw power!

Kazan had no idea how high he had been launched. Even with a body as tough as his, his insides churned.

At this point, he had no other choice. If this continued, she would keep him on the defensive until he lost.

While he thought, Yugito Nii spat out a barrage of Fire Rat Balls to pursue him.

She didn't stop there. She raced along the wall on all fours, then sprang into the air, claws slashing toward Kazan.

"Keep your cat claws to yourself and get down there, beast!"

Kazan stepped through the air with Geppo, dodged her claw, and punched her back down.

"Don't think you've won."

"Second Gate of Healing, open!"

Hum—

Another surge of Chakra erupted from Kazan.

"What's he doing? Can he still get stronger?"

"It looks like he used some kind of Secret Technique. He forced open a point in his body, and Chakra is pouring out of him."

Asuka Hyuga saw it clearly.

An astonishing amount of Chakra was surging from Kazan.

But that wasn't the end.

Kazan didn't stop after opening the second gate.

"Third Gate of Life, open!"

"Fourth Gate of Pain, open!"

"Fifth Gate of Limit, open!"

Kazan opened four gates in a row. His physical power and Chakra erupted like a volcano, leaving everyone stunned.

"Kazan!"

Might Duy was there too. He would never have missed this fight.

He wasn't surprised to see Kazan open five gates in succession.

That boy was a genius far beyond himself.

The Eight Gates Released Formation was a technique that let a mortal body challenge someone at the Six Paths level. Unleashed completely, it could grant its user dozens of times their normal power.

But few ever tapped the restraints of the body's eight gates.

Only Ninja who had trained their bodies to the limit could endure the strain of forcing them open.

An ordinary Ninja might not survive opening even one. Even after decades of training, Might Duy himself felt a dull pain throughout his body whenever he opened more than six.

"But youth won't back down from a little pain!"

"Show them, Kazan! Your youth burns brighter than the sun!"

Might Duy suddenly roared.

His Goofball's Roar drew little attention. All eyes were fixed on Kazan in midair.

Kazan heard him. "I was just about to!"

"Hah!"

Hovering in midair, he let out a breath and drove all his strength toward the Sixth Gate of View.

He clenched his fists and bent forward, looking like Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan for the first time.

A moment later, he forced the Gate of View open. Vast amounts of Chakra erupted from his body and turned into emerald-green steam.

"Sixth Gate of View!"

"Open!"