The might of the Eight Gates

Kazuhiko Uchiha faltered mid-stride when he heard Kaori Ikemoto's dying scream. Then, without further hesitation, he burst into even greater speed and fled the forest.

"Damn it, that brat's getting away."

Seeing Kazuhiko Uchiha about to outpace the rogue ninja grunts pursuing him, the one-eyed jonin turned to the black-clad jonin. "Araki, leave this jonin to me. Hurry after that brat."

"All right, he's yours." The black-clad jonin drove the battered Captain Tōma back with a slash, then turned and pursued Kazuhiko Uchiha.

"You're not going anywhere! Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome!"

Captain Tōma would never stand by and watch the black-clad jonin hunt down Kazuhiko Uchiha. Gathering what little chakra he had left, he cast a large earth release barrier, enclosing himself and both jonin in a chakra-infused earthen prison to give Kazuhiko Uchiha a better chance of escaping.

The black-clad jonin channeled chakra into his blade and hacked at the prison wall. He failed to cut through it, leaving only a slash four fingers wide.

"Wind Slash: Cross Cut!"

Having tested the prison's defenses, the black-clad jonin formed several one-handed seals. A layer of violent wind chakra enveloped his tachi, and he unleashed a cross-shaped slash that cut deep into the prison, tearing a massive opening in it.

"Urgh!"

Captain Tōma, who was pouring everything into maintaining the prison barrier, suffered the backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood. He then used the Substitution Technique to evade the one-eyed jonin's attack.

"Haha, I'll be going ahead. Araki, finish him quickly, or that brat's head will be my trophy." The black-clad jonin laughed, glanced at Captain Tōma struggling desperately under the one-eyed jonin's attacks, and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Captain Tōma wanted to stop him, but there was nothing he could do. He could only fight with everything he had to hold out against the one-eyed jonin for as long as possible.

"Heh, Konoha ninja. Let me show you the power that lord bestowed upon me."

Unable to finish Captain Tōma off and impatient to pursue Kazuhiko Uchiha, the one-eyed jonin halted his assault, unwound the bandages around his head, and removed his shirt.

"You!!!"

At the sight of the one-eyed jonin's true appearance, Captain Tōma shuddered involuntarily. He pointed at the man, unable to speak.

"Heh, this is the price of power."

The one-eyed jonin stroked the half of his face covered in an unidentified black substance and his upper body, which was coated in dark red scales. Then he fixed Captain Tōma with a hateful stare.

"What a madman..." Captain Tōma quickly regained his composure and murmured softly.

Though Captain Tōma had spoken quietly, the one-eyed jonin still heard him. His face twisted with madness. "Heh, what does it matter if I've gone mad? As long as I can avenge Jirō, it's all worth it."

Knowing he was about to die in battle, Captain Tōma remained perfectly calm. Drawing on the last of his chakra, he said evenly, "Come on, then. Show me this power of yours."

"As you wish. Secret Technique: Blood Scale Scatter Kill!"

The one-eyed jonin tore a handful of dark red scales from his body and infused them with black chakra. Once they had absorbed enough, they spun toward Captain Tōma like shuriken.

"Earth Release: Double Mud Wall! Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!"

Unsure how powerful the one-eyed jonin's attack was, Captain Tōma raised two earthen walls in front of himself. At the same time, he molded chakra into sharp spikes that thrust up beneath the one-eyed jonin.

"Secret Technique: Blood Scale Shield!"

The one-eyed jonin sneered and tore off more scales, forming a thick shield that blocked the earthen spikes.

Meanwhile, the speeding blood-red scales had already pierced the earthen walls. Captain Tōma knocked them away with a kunai, but instead of falling to the ground, they continued circling him, trapping him inside.

"Hahaha, it's over." Seeing Captain Tōma surrounded by scales, the one-eyed jonin laughed wildly. The black substance on his face writhed incessantly, spreading down to his chest as an even denser surge of black chakra emerged within his body.

"Secret Technique: Blood Kirin Poison Formation."

As the one-eyed jonin activated his new Secret Technique, the blood-red scales stopped in midair. They emitted blood-red chakra threads that linked together into a vast, web-like barrier, then released clouds of black gas that enveloped Captain Tōma.

Trapped inside, Captain Tōma immediately held his breath and prepared to escape with an earth release technique. But the countless wisps of black poison gas seeping through his pores had bound his chakra, leaving him unable to wield it.

More black poison gas entered his body, turning his blood into black poison. It spread through his internal organs with his circulation, bringing pain and suffocation in its wake. His vision darkened in waves, and he spat out a mouthful of blackened blood. Within moments, the poison killed him.

"Jirō, there's only one left. Your big brother will avenge you."

The one-eyed jonin let out a ragged breath and put his shirt back on. Then he used a Secret Technique to locate Kazuhiko Uchiha and pursued him at full speed.

At the very moment Captain Tōma was killed by the one-eyed jonin, the black-clad jonin cornered Kazuhiko Uchiha in a valley more than ten kilometers away.

"Hah... hah..." The black-clad jonin panted heavily as he looked at Kazuhiko Uchiha, who had hidden his tachi away. Both surprised and relieved, he said, "Brat, I never imagined you could move so fast. If I didn't have my Secret Technique, you really would have escaped today."

"Eight Gates Released Formation, Gate of Pain, open!"

Kazuhiko Uchiha had no idea when the other enemies would catch up. To break through as quickly as possible, he opened the Gate of Pain, even though his body could not yet fully withstand it.

The violent power of the Gate of Pain turned Kazuhiko Uchiha's skin as red as a cooked lobster. His muscles began to suffer damage as he truly entered the Eight Gates Released Formation, surging past the chunin level and reaching the strength of a jonin.

"Oh, using a forbidden technique? Quite an impressive aura. Too bad you ran into me. You're destined to die here."

The black-clad jonin knew nothing about the power of the Eight Gates Released Formation. Still, the violent energy coursing around Kazuhiko Uchiha made him a little more wary.

"You talk too much."

After adjusting to the Gate of Pain's power, Kazuhiko Uchiha gave the black-clad jonin a cold look. He bent slightly and charged at full speed, appearing before him in an instant.

"What? How can you be so fast?!"

Even with the black-clad jonin's keen eyesight, all he saw was an impossibly fast dark blur rushing toward him. Before he could defend himself, Kazuhiko Uchiha's kick struck him and sent him flying helplessly into the air.

"Substitution Technique!"

The airborne black-clad jonin used the Substitution Technique to escape, but Kazuhiko Uchiha saw through it. His figure blurred as he rushed in front of him and knocked him skyward again.

This time, the black-clad jonin could no longer evade with the Substitution Technique. He could only endure Kazuhiko Uchiha's ensuing onslaught.

"Reverse Lotus!"

Kazuhiko Uchiha gave a sharp cry and pushed hard off the ground with both feet, leaping above the black-clad jonin. He hammered a fist into the man's chest, knocking him down from midair. Then Kazuhiko Uchiha flashed to the spot where the black-clad jonin was about to land and kicked him back into the sky.

The Reverse Lotus was a high-speed chain of attacks that left an opponent unable to so much as touch its user. Faced with such terrifying speed, the black-clad jonin had no way to fight back. He could only endure Kazuhiko Uchiha's relentless, crushing blows, coughing up blood in torrents.

Sensing that his body was nearing its limit, Kazuhiko Uchiha appeared above the black-clad jonin once more and delivered the final blow.

With a thunderous boom, the black-clad jonin hurtled toward the ground at a terrifying speed. The instant he struck, his body smashed a human-shaped crater into the hard earth, sending dust billowing into the air.

Once the dust settled, Kazuhiko Uchiha stood panting at the edge of the crater, having released the Eight Gates Released Formation. He was just about to step forward and check whether the black-clad jonin was alive when more than a dozen blood-red scales flew toward him and pierced his heart.