Under the pale moonlight, the father and son stood facing one another quietly along the forest path. Guy looked at Duy's unusually excited expression and had already guessed the answer in his heart long before the words were spoken aloud. The Eight Gates. The forbidden Taijutsu that allowed Might Duy to burn away his own life force and cripple the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The supreme forbidden art that would one day allow Might Guy himself to shake the entire Ninja World with a single kick. At last, it was finally coming.
Duy cautiously glanced around before instinctively lowering his voice. "Not here. There are too many people nearby." Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Guy's wrist directly and said, "Come with Dad!"
The two immediately moved deeper into the back mountain forest. They passed by the waterfall where Guy trained every day before entering a narrow mountain trail that even Guy himself had never noticed before. The path twisted continuously through steep terrain, winding deeper and deeper into the mountain. After walking for quite a while, the father and son finally arrived inside a secluded valley surrounded by towering cliffs on every side. There was only a single narrow entrance leading in, while the ground itself was covered entirely in rough gravel without even a blade of grass growing there.
Only after stopping did Duy slowly turn around to face Guy. This time, he did not flash his usual bright thumbs-up. His expression was incomparably serious, so serious that Guy actually felt somewhat unfamiliar with it.
"Guy."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know why your father remained a Genin for twenty years?"
Guy remained silent, and Duy answered the question himself.
"Because your father spent those twenty years pursuing only one thing."
As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand and clenched it tightly into a fist.
"Taijutsu."
He paused briefly before continuing in a low voice.
"Not ordinary Taijutsu."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"It's the Eight Gates."
Moonlight spread across Duy's face, and at that moment, it almost felt as though a secret buried for twenty long years had finally been unveiled completely.
"Guy, inside the human body exist Eight Gates. The Gate of Opening, the Gate of Healing, the Gate of Life, the Gate of Pain, the Gate of Limit, the Gate of View, the Gate of Wonder, and finally... the Gate of Death."
His voice gradually became heavier.
"Every gate acts as a restriction placed upon the human body. They exist to prevent us from releasing our true strength."
Duy clenched his fist harder.
"Because once those restrictions are forcibly removed, the body can no longer withstand the burden. You'll be injured. You'll destroy yourself. You'll die."
Guy nodded quietly. Naturally, he already understood all these things from his previous life, but he still remained silent and simply listened carefully.
"Your father spent twenty years on this. For twenty years, I only trained one thing, and that was learning how to open the gates."
As he spoke, Duy slowly lowered his body into a horse stance while tightening both fists at his waist.
"The first gate... the Gate of Opening."
Duy inhaled deeply before his eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Watch carefully."
The next moment, he roared loudly.
"Eight Gates! First Gate: Gate of Opening! OPEN!!!"
Boom!!!
A violent burst of air exploded outward from Duy's body instantly, blowing the gravel across the ground backward from the pressure wave. Guy's eyes narrowed immediately. Duy's skin had turned faintly red, while several veins bulged visibly across his forehead. Yet despite that, his expression remained calm and controlled.
"The Gate of Opening removes the brain's restrictions on the body. It allows someone to forcibly use one hundred percent of their physical strength."
The moment he finished speaking, he vanished.
No, it was not disappearance. He was simply too fast.
Before Guy's eyes could fully react, Duy had already appeared beside a giant boulder over ten meters away.
"Front Lotus!"
Duy's body shot upward violently into the air before spinning rapidly midair. The terrifying rotational speed generated a visible whirlwind around him.
Boom!!!
A devastating kick smashed directly into the boulder, causing the entire rock to explode apart instantly. Fragments of shattered stone blasted outward in every direction, and the largest chunk flew over twenty meters away before crashing heavily into the cliff wall.
Duy landed lightly on the ground. His breathing remained stable, and his face was not even flushed. Then he slowly turned back toward Guy.
"Did you see clearly?"
Guy subconsciously swallowed.
He had seen everything clearly, but that speed and power left his heart trembling. And this was only the First Gate?
Duy calmly walked back toward him.
"The Second Gate, the Gate of Healing, removes the body's restrictions on fatigue."
He inhaled deeply once more.
"Eight Gates! Second Gate: Gate of Healing! OPEN!!!"
Boom!!!
The resulting air wave was even stronger than before. Duy's muscles visibly swelled beneath his skin, while the veins along his forehead extended downward toward his neck.
Then he vanished again.
This time, his speed was so terrifying that even Guy could barely perceive anything clearly. Only the sound of tearing wind remained behind.
"Hidden Lotus!"
Boom!!!
Another massive boulder exploded apart instantly. However, unlike before, this one did not merely shatter. It directly burst apart into countless fragments of powder that filled the valley with dust.
Duy stood quietly within the dust cloud. This time, his breathing had become slightly heavier. He slowly walked outward before looking toward Guy once more.
"The Third Gate... the Gate of Life."
Duy's expression gradually became serious again.
"Opening the Gate of Life allows the body to release true power. But from this point onward, the body also begins destroying itself."
Guy quietly looked at him, and at that moment, a strange light flashed briefly through Duy's eyes. It was not hesitation or fear. It was only seriousness.
"Guy, this next part is the result of twenty years of your father's effort."
Duy inhaled deeply once more, even deeper than before.
Then he roared.
"Eight Gates! Third Gate: Gate of Life! OPEN!!!"
BOOM!!!
A terrifying shockwave erupted violently outward. This time, it did not merely blow away gravel. The entire surrounding ground was swept clean instantly. Guy immediately raised his arm to shield his eyes, but through the gaps between his fingers, he stared directly toward Duy's figure.
Duy's skin had become even redder than before. Bulging veins spread visibly from his forehead down across his neck, arms, chest, and eventually his entire body. Every strand of his hair stood upward, while green Chakra erupted outward around him like boiling steam.
Guy's pupils contracted slightly.
"This..."
He muttered unconsciously.
"The Green Steam..."
Duy moved.
This time, it was not merely speed. The moment he stepped forward, the air itself seemed to explode apart.
Boom!!!
The ground where Duy originally stood shattered instantly into a crater. Then, in the very next second, he appeared at the opposite end of the valley where an enormous boulder nearly three times larger than the previous ones stood waiting.
Duy casually raised one fist and punched forward.
BOOM!!!
The enormous boulder split directly down the middle. A clean fracture line separated the massive stone into two gigantic halves.
Then Duy suddenly spun midair before unleashing a devastating kick.
"Leaf Great Hurricane!"
Whoosh!!!
The wind pressure generated from that kick alone swept directly through the split boulder.
Boom!!!
Both halves exploded apart simultaneously into countless fragments. Stone debris rained down throughout the valley like a storm while Duy stood silently amidst the falling rubble. Green steam continuously rose from his body, making him look both like a demon emerging from Hell and a war god descending from the heavens.
Guy was completely stunned.
This was the Eight Gates.
Only the Third Gate alone could already shatter a boulder several meters tall with a single punch. Then what about the Sixth Gate? The Seventh Gate? Or even the final Eighth Gate?
Duy slowly walked back toward him. This time, his breathing had clearly become heavier, while his skin remained red and green steam still rose continuously from his body.
"Just now, that was the Third Gate, the Gate of Life. Beyond it are the Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain, the Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit, the Sixth Gate: Gate of View, the Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder..."
Then his expression became incomparably solemn.
"And finally... the Eighth Gate. The Gate of Death."
Duy slowly exhaled.
"Your father can open that gate too."
Guy's eyes immediately changed.
"But..."
Duy suddenly scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.
"I can't continue opening more gates tonight."
Guy frowned slightly.
"Why?"
Duy grinned sheepishly.
"If I continue opening more gates, my body will suffer serious damage. You still haven't learned it yet, so your father can't just cripple himself before teaching you properly."
Guy fell silent.
This was Might Duy.
For twenty years, he had hidden the Eight Gates completely from the world. Even after mastering such terrifying power, he still willingly endured being mocked as Konoha's Eternal Genin.
All because he wanted to pass this power down to his son.
Duy slowly walked closer before crouching directly in front of Guy. Then he looked straight into his son's eyes.
"Guy, it took your father twenty years to master the Eight Gates. But you..."
Duy's expression softened.
"You can definitely surpass me faster because your talent is greater than mine."
Guy subconsciously opened his mouth slightly, but before he could speak, Duy suddenly placed one hand firmly onto his shoulder.
"But there is one thing you absolutely must remember. The Eight Gates is a forbidden technique not because it lacks power..."
His voice gradually became heavy once more.
"But because the more gates you open, the closer you move toward death."
Guy's heart tightened slightly.
Of course he understood. In the original story, Duy opened the Eighth Gate: Gate of Death, destroyed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and afterward burned himself completely into ashes.
Duy quietly looked at his son, his gaze incomparably gentle.
"Your father is teaching you this not because I want you to use it recklessly. It's because I want you to understand something."
Guy looked directly toward him.
"Understand what?"
Duy slowly stood up before raising his head toward the moon above. After several seconds, he finally answered softly.
"Understand that there are some things in this world more important than your own life."
Then he lowered his head once more and looked directly into Guy's eyes.
"When the day finally comes that you truly want to protect someone, and when the day comes that you're willing to trade your life for theirs, the Eight Gates..."
"...will become your final trump card."