"Haa…"
Exhaling deeply, Uchiha Yun sat down after finishing another day of taijutsu training.
Even with his body's resilience, the strain of weighted training at this intensity was almost unbearable.
But only through this kind of relentless training, day after day, could he build a body capable of opening the Eight Gates.
Getting Might Guy's blood wasn't hard, but Yun had no plans to bargain with him. The final gate, the Gate of Death, when opened, could unleash overwhelming power through the full opening of all 8 Tenketsu.
In Yun's plans, this power would become his trump card, his ultimate method of going berserk.
Everyone's body had these 8 tenketsu. In theory, anyone could open them if they were trained to withstand the strain.
But in practice, that level of training, the point where one could actually endure the Gates, was the greatest barrier.
The Eight Gates were the body's natural limiters on the chakra. When those restrictions were removed, starting from the brain's Gate of Opening and the Gate of Healing, then to the spinal cord's Gate of Life, a green aura would appear. At that point, the violent surge of chakra even interfered with using ninjutsu.
In other words-
If Yun couldn't reach the Gate of Death and achieve the same overwhelming force Guy displayed in his final battle, then this taijutsu wouldn't mean much to him.
But Guy…
Yun remembered his words clearly: twenty years of effort were what finally brought him to that level.
One thing needed to be clarified.
Might Duy, when he opened the Gate of Death, only managed to kill four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; three escaped.
Yet if Guy unleashed that power, there was absolutely no way any of the Seven would have survived.
This showed that opening the Gate of Death wasn't the end; it was only the beginning.
For Yun, reaching the Gate of Death would merely mark the starting line. To make the technique truly useful, he would need to achieve Guy's Evening Elephant and Night Guy, paired with his secret scroll techniques.
Whoosh!
A figure landed beside Yun.
"As I thought! You haven't wasted the beauty of youth!"
"Only through sweat and perseverance can youth truly bloom!"
Might Guy grinned, flashing his trademark bright smile.
Yun didn't even turn his head. Too exhausted, he simply raised a thumb.
Guy studied him for a moment before saying, "At this stage… want to give it a try?"
Yun glanced back. "Already? I thought it'd take longer."
Guy shook his head. "The Opening, Healing, and Life Gates don't cause too much damage. You can test them early, especially with your body; it's no big deal."
Clenching his fists, Guy suddenly erupted with energy.
"Eight Gates Release Formation, Gate of Opening, open!"
He tapped his forehead. "The Gate of Opening unlocks the brain's limiters, allowing your body to exert its full power. But that greatly accelerates stamina consumption. That's why you open the Gate of Healing next."
As the limiters fell away, Yun could sense Guy's body being pushed further.
"Gate of Healing removes the body's fatigue limits, with the added effect of re-energising the body's stamina, countering the Gate of Opening's drain."
The next moment, green energy burst from Guy's body, his skin flushing red.
"Gate of Healing, open!"
Even without explanation, Yun could feel Guy's speed and strength skyrocket.
"Gate of Life open!"
With a stomp, Guy vanished from sight, reappearing as he shattered a large tree with a single kick, before instantly returning.
By now, Yun had activated his Sharingan, carefully observing. At just three gates, Guy's speed was still within his dynamic vision.
"Haa…"
Closing the gates, dispersing the green aura, Guy looked smug. "Well? Want to try?"
Yun nodded, standing up. Tentatively, he began to open the brain's Gate of Opening.
Though he had trained for a long time, this was his first attempt at the Eight Gates.
With the vitality and recovery of his Sage Body, Yun was confident he could achieve results twice as fast as Guy. Still, reaching the level of Night Guy would take years.
But to match the Six Paths with a mortal body, this was a price worth paying.
Boom!
In an instant, a surge of chakra exploded from him, the green aura blazing around his body.
"What, he opened three gates instantly?!"
Guy's eyes went wide. He had expected Yun to reach three gates eventually, but this display made it obvious that Yun's power wouldn't stop there.
"Yun… do you want to keep going?"
Yun could feel it clearly: 'the third gate was still safe. Starting from the fourth, real damage would begin.'
After a pause, Guy nodded. "Go on, but take it one step at a time. I need to see how strong your will is."
'Willpower, huh?'
"Gate of Pain, open!"
Again, the green aura erupted. Yun immediately felt his speed and strength spike.
'Wait, this power…'
He crouched, fist drawing back slightly.
Swish!
BOOM!
His punch smashed into the ground, sending shockwaves ripping across the earth, fissures splitting open as Guy himself had to leap back.
Yun too retreated, landing farther away.
This power…
The Eight Gates truly removed the body's limits on chakra.
Suddenly, Yun understood.
Might Duy's training was not lighter than Guy's. But if Duy's original foundational strength was a "5," then Guy's was a "50." With his Sage Body as the base, what number would his own foundation be?
If the fourth gate was only on par with Rock Lee during the chunin exams, then his natural strength alone, without unlocking anything, already matched that level.
"Tch…"
A wave of pain tore through him.
Yun looked at his arm. The pain in his bones and muscles was sharp and searing. But after years of brutal overtraining, his will was enough to endure.
Guy spoke seriously, "Training beyond your limits isn't just for the body, it's for the will. The Eight Gates strip away the body's safety limiters. That strain will hurt. Without the will to endure that pain, even with power and speed, you'll collapse before you can land a punch."