"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Might Duy stood up from the edge of the metal bed, his feet suddenly sinking into the ground.
Two two-inch-deep footprints were left on the lead plate.
He clenched his fists tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging like thick ropes.
"Boom!"
A violent gust of air exploded outwards from him.
The dissection table, weighing several hundred kilograms, was blown away.
The iron bed flipped twice in mid-air before crashing into a supporting column five meters away.
The massive steel frame snapped in half and fell to the ground.
" Gate of Opening! Gate of Healing! Gate of Life..."
There were no Hand Seals on the garment.
He relies solely on his powerful muscles to compress the Chakra pathways within his body.
Each restriction in the brain and body was forcibly broken through, and the bones emitted a dull popping sound.
A green Chakra flame shot into the sky.
It directly dispersed the white mist of liquid nitrogen that filled the basement.
The strong wind whipped up scraps of sheet metal from the ground, which clanged against the walls.
" Gate of Pain! Gate of Limit! Gate of View! Gate of Wonder!"
He sped along without stopping at all.
This is an instinct he's honed over decades.
The green flames on his body instantly turned into a ghostly blue, like a burning will-o'-the-wisp.
The blue sweat just seeped out of the pores and was evaporated by the high temperature on the skin.
The muscles in his face were completely contorted. His teeth were clenched so tightly they were making a clicking sound.
Blood dripped from the bitten corner of his mouth, turning into vapor before it hit the ground.
He closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to his experiences in the village over the past few decades.
Walking down the street, the Chunin looked at him was like they were looking at a monkey that could only do somersaults.
Might Guy, standing at the entrance of the Ninja Academy, was told by someone pointing a finger at him and saying, "Your father is a piece of trash."
He gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger. Every night, he did a thousand frog jumps around the training field.
This pent-up frustration was transformed into the power to break through the Gate of Death.
" The Eighth Gate - The Gate of Death!"
He tilted his head back. The major artery in his neck bulged as if it were about to burst.
A furious roar, tearing through his vocal cords, escaped his throat.
"Open!"
The air froze for half a second.
The cold air inside the liquid nitrogen tube was forcibly forced back.
The red blood steam erupted instantly like a volcano.
The sodium lamp light in the basement was obscured by a red mist.
The entire space turned a suffocating blood red.
Blood mist billowed. Dai was completely enveloped in dark red steam.
This should have been the final blow, burning away all of life's energy.
Blood evaporates, meridians carbonize. This is the ironclad rule of the Gate of Death in the Eight Gates Released Formation.
Orochimaru stood beside the control panel.
My hands, holding the recorder, were shaking uncontrollably.
The ballpoint pen, which was tucked between my fingers, fell to the ground and rolled into the nearby drain.
He ignored it.
Two yellowish eyes stared wide-eyed at the red light.
A miracle happened.
On the surface of Dai's skin, a layer of grayish-black dead skin had just begun to emerge.
The carbonization marks hadn't even spread to half of the back of his hand yet.
Beneath the skin, a faint, eerie green light flickered.
The First cloning agent operated like a madman.
The carbonized dead flesh was forcibly pushed off.
Newly formed pink flesh instantly covered the bones.
Peeling off. Rebirth.
Carbonization. Re-healing.
Through tens of thousands of tears and stitches, Dai's body reached a bizarre dynamic equilibrium.
The consumption of the Gate of Death is tightly gripped by the proliferation of cloned cells.
He didn't die.
The bones weren't broken into ash. The internal organs weren't burned to charcoal.
The devastating red steam remained steadily on his body.
It was like wearing a burning red gauze dress.
Constant. Persistent.
The Eight Gates Released Formation in its normalized form.
On the monitor screen on the control panel.
The heart rate indicator was a jumbled mess. The red warning lights were flashing wildly.
"My metabolic rate has exceeded the critical threshold."
Orochimaru swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
"There is a limit to the number of cells an average person can divide."
He muttered to himself, his fingers scratching at the metal table, his nails making a harsh scraping sound.
"But the First cells broke this boundary. They were forcibly prolonging Dai's life."
He gazed at the figure within the red mist as if looking at a perfect work of art.
" The Chakra pathways are burned away, but new ones grow back the next second—thicker and stronger."
Dai lowered his head and took a deep breath.
The jet of air burned a black mark onto the lead-plated floor.
He turned his head and looked at the test target fifty meters away.
A solid manganese steel plate, half a meter thick, was firmly welded to the rock face.
The right leg is slightly bent.
"Bang."
A ring of white sonic boom cloud followed where he exploded. He was gone.
Only two crushed thick lead plates remained, spinning in place.
The air in front of the manganese steel target distorted slightly.
Dai's fist had already smashed into the very center of the steel plate.
There were no unnecessary preparatory movements. There were no complicated Chakra effects.
A simple straight punch.
Thump!
A dull thud that made your heart skip a beat.
A half-meter-thick manganese steel plate. There wasn't even a bending or cushioning process.
A transparent hole the size of a water tank burst open directly in the center.
The metal at the edge of the hole melted from the high temperature, dripping down like red syrup.
"Sizzle." Molten iron dripped onto the lead plate, producing a puff of white smoke.
The broken steel slag sprayed backward like shot.
It drove deep into the rock wall behind it, sending rubble flying everywhere.
The force of the punch penetrated the target.
A ten-meter-long trench was carved into the thick wall of the basement.
The rock face could not withstand the force.
Thick cracks, about the thickness of a finger, spread wildly outwards from the point of impact.
"Click-clack-click."
Large chunks of rock broke off from the dome and smashed to pieces on the floor.
The entire basement was shaking slightly.
The sodium lamp at the top swayed back and forth with the vibration, creating a jumbled effect of light and shadow.
Wind pressure causes it to roll backward.
The wind made Shu Shiraishi's black trench coat flutter loudly.
Orochimaru was pushed back two steps by the blast of air, his lower back slamming against the control panel. He gasped.
The only sound in the basement was the hissing of the leaking liquid nitrogen pipe.
Dai slowly withdrew his fist.
He lowered his head, looking at his large, rough hands.
His knuckles had a bluish tinge, like cast iron. A speck of manganese steel powder was stuck between his fingers.
He clenched his fist tightly.
A muffled hissing sound filled the air. Power surged through every muscle.
"This..."
Dai's voice was terribly hoarse, with a heavy nasal tone.
He looked up. Red steam was still billowing out.
Her eyes welled up with tears.
It's not because of the burden of the Eight Gates Released Formation.
It's because of the pent-up frustration that's been building up in my chest for decades.
He always thought that he would live his whole life...
It can only die like a firework after it has finished its run, leaving behind a pile of ashes, when it is protecting its comrades.
But now.
He doesn't need to die.
He not only survived, but also made this deadly power a part of his own body.
Two lines of tears welled up in Dai's eyes.
The liquid, barely reaching my cheeks, was instantly evaporated into two wisps of white smoke by the intense heat of my skin.
He turned around abruptly.
Facing Shu Shiraishi.
"Thump."
His knees slammed heavily onto the lead plate floor.
The two thick lead plates were smashed, leaving two deep dents. The edges were curled up.
" Lord Hokage!"
Dai yelled at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the spacious basement.
The snot was running down my nose, but it dried up before it could drip and stuck to my lips.
He braced himself firmly on the ground with both hands, his back ramrod straight.
The red steam scorched the surroundings.
"I... I'm not dead!"
He was rambling incoherently, biting his lower lip with his large front teeth.
His fingers were digging into the lead plate on the ground, his fingernails curling up and bleeding.
The blood dried as soon as it started to flow.
"They said I'm just trash who only knows Taijutsu."
Dai's voice cracked.
"They say I'll never amount to anything in my life. I can't even get a C-level mission."
He suddenly raised his head.
" Lord Hokage, it was you who gave me this medicine!"
"You didn't look down on me because I'm a good-for-nothing who can't even Ninjutsu!"
He slammed his forehead hard against the lead plate.
"Bang!"
"From this day forward, my life, Might Duy's life, is Kunai in your hands!"
"Wherever you point, I'll shoot; I won't even blink if I'm shattered to pieces!"
"I'm already Superman!"
Shu Shiraishi looked at Dai, who was kneeling on the ground.
He had his hands in the pockets of his black trench coat.
Get moving.
He strode forward, his military boots crunching through the white mist on the ground.
There are still two meters between them and Dai.
Red blood steam billowed out.
The temperature was so high it was scalding hot. The air was distorted and warped by the heat, and everything in sight was swaying.
Shu Shiraishi did not dodge.
The hem of the trench coat was slightly curled up by the heat, and a burnt smell emanated from the corner.
Shu Shiraishi didn't even pause for a moment.
He walked up to Dai.
He extended his right hand, which was wearing a black leather glove.
Under the scalding spray of blood.
He slapped Dai Jianru on the shoulder.
"Snap."
The glove sizzled and emitted a burnt rubber smell.
Shu Shiraishi didn't pay attention. His palm was firmly pressed on the red muscle.
"Very good."
Shu Shiraishi looked down at the living, humanoid weapon.
"With you protecting it, the launch site won't melt down."
Shu Shiraishi withdrew his hand and turned his head.
He looked at Orochimaru, who was standing by the control panel, still staring intently at the target wreckage.
Orochimaru.
His voice was cold and hard, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"Railgun mounted."
"Prepare for test firing."