The might of the Eight Gates of Death

"Come out."

Might Duy suddenly looked toward Chihane's hiding place and spoke.

He spotted me...

Chihane stepped out, looking a little embarrassed. He hadn't expected to be discovered.

Getting caught secretly learning someone else's training methods was awkward enough, especially after doing it for so long.

Still, he had come to watch for a while every day over the past month. Duy had probably noticed him long ago.

But Might Duy wasn't angry about Chihane spying on him. Instead, he gave Chihane a thumbs-up!

Flash!

Two dazzling gleams flashed!

"Young man, you've been working hard!"

Looking at the father and son before him, their two raised thumbs and those two dazzling gleams, Chihane was utterly speechless.

Sure enough, putting any hope in them was a mistake. But seriously, did they use Darlie toothpaste to get their teeth that bright?

"Sorry... I've been secretly learning from you this whole time," Chihane said awkwardly.

"It's fine. You have my permission."

As he spoke, Might Guy and Might Duy suddenly hugged each other and burst into tears.

"Guy! Do you see this? Someone finally wants to learn taijutsu with me! My youth hasn't faded yet! Waaah! Waaah!! Waaah!!!"

"Father, I see it. I really do! And he's a classmate of mine! Waaah! Waaah!! Waaah!!!"

Even with Chihane's firm resolve, he was having trouble keeping his composure. Was this the curse of their thick-browed clan?!

"Hahaha!"

Might Duy walked over, laughing, and patted Chihane's shoulder, his entire body trembling with excitement.

"Kid, do you want to learn taijutsu from me? Unfortunately, that's impossible..."

"I'm a genin. I'm not qualified to take on students." Might Duy gave a self-deprecating smile.

Seeing this, Chihane shrugged. "I've already been learning from you for a month."

"Yes, and you've seen that these taijutsu moves are the only things I'm any good at. I don't have anything else to teach you."

Might Duy looked at Chihane, certain the boy would leave in disappointment.

"No. I firmly believe that while ninjutsu has its strengths, taijutsu can't be inferior. I believe taijutsu specialists can be just as good as ninjutsu specialists!" Chihane looked at Might Duy and spoke with conviction, a flame seeming to burn in his eyes.

"I'm going to become the world's greatest, strongest swordsman."

Chihane looked at Duy and declared his ambition.

Might Duy and Might Guy stared blankly at the boy before them, as though they had seen something in him.

"Ahem. Actually, I have no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. In other words, I can barely even mold chakra, so taijutsu is all I can train in." Seeing their stunned expressions, Chihane instinctively offered an explanation.

"Is that so?!"

Might Duy immediately grew excited at those words, then scooped Chihane into a hug.

Chihane instinctively tried to dodge, but failed.

"Boohoo! This is wonderful, wonderful! You're a true brother!"

Hearing him repeat "wonderful" left Chihane utterly exasperated.

"Don't worry, don't worry!"

Might Duy set Chihane down and looked at him resolutely. "Even without a talent for ninjutsu, you can still become a good ninja!"

"Yes, I believe that!"

Listening to Might Duy and feeling his conviction, Chihane nodded firmly.

"Young man, let me show you my taijutsu."

With that, Might Duy walked toward the clearing.

"Chihane, watch closely. This is my father's ninja way," Might Guy told him.

Chihane watched Might Duy ahead of him.

Boom!!

Might Duy stood in the middle of the clearing, green light shining all over his body.

An overwhelmingly powerful, oppressive aura surged outward from him in all directions.

Eight Gates of Death!

Chihane stood there, stunned.

His eyes shone as he watched. That's it. This has to be the ultimate forbidden taijutsu technique that amazed countless people-the Eight Gates of Death. It was the ultimate forbidden technique, temporarily granting immense power by unlocking the pathways that restricted chakra within the human body.

He remembered how, in the original story, Might Duy had used it to kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist down to just three survivors.

Might Guy had used it to nearly kick Six Paths Madara to death, almost kicking the story straight to its finale! The thought set Chihane's heart ablaze.

Today, he had finally seen the technique he had always wanted to learn.

"Hah!"

Might Duy stood still, let out a shout, then abruptly stamped one foot against the ground.

Crack!!

Spiderweb-like cracks instantly appeared around his foot and spread across the ground in every direction.

"Fifth gate, Gate of Limit, open!!!"

Boom!!

As the fifth gate opened, his aura surged. The battered earth began cracking farther outward, and stones shattered!

Whoosh!!

The next instant, Might Duy seemed to become a blur. He appeared before a massive, man-sized boulder nearby and threw a punch.

Boom!!

With an explosive crash, the man-sized boulder shattered into several pieces!

Having done that, Might Duy turned and walked back. The green light around him faded with every step, disappearing entirely by the time he reached Chihane.

"What do you think, young man? This is the ultimate forbidden technique that unleashes the body, the Eight Gates of Death. By opening the first through eighth gates in sequence, you unlock the pathways that restrict chakra within the body and temporarily gain immense power. When all eight gates are open, it's called the Eight Gates Released Formation. Want to learn it?"

"Of course! I can hardly imagine how strong you'd be with all eight gates open." After witnessing Might Duy's tremendous strength, Chihane looked at him excitedly.

Seeing this, Might Duy excitedly raised his fist as well. "With all eight gates open, you can unleash power that rivals Lord Hokage's... However... opening all eight burns away your life. That power is only to be used to protect the people most important to you."

"So? Now that you know opening all eight gates will kill you, do you still want to learn?"

Looking at Might Duy's expression, which practically said he would cry if Chihane refused, Chihane nodded without hesitation.

"Yes. Please, you have to teach me!"

Chihane thought of the war that would engulf the shinobi world a year later, of Kakashi losing his eye, and of a future where Kage-level fighters were everywhere and jonin were a dime a dozen. Mastering the Eight Gates of Death would give him far more confidence in the days ahead.

After all, this was a real world. His own experiences since arriving had taught him that it wasn't all sunshine and fiery passion like the manga. Behind the sunshine lay far more darkness.

And people as straightforward and kindhearted as Might Duy and Might Guy were even rarer.

What Chihane liked was precisely Might Duy's sincerity and kindness. He stood in stark, unmistakable contrast to the Konoha High Command, the Hokage's adviser Danzo, and even the domineering, arrogant Uchiha Clan.

Chihane knew full well about this world's dark side, but he still hoped to see more people who shone as brightly as Duy.

"Wonderful!!"

Seeing Chihane agree, Might Duy's face lit up with excitement.

But a moment later, his expression turned solemn as he looked at Chihane.