Chapter 119 (Patreon)

Konoha’s rear mountain, ANBU training grounds.

At the Third Training Ground, a black-clad figure stood in the center of the field, surrounded by numerous ANBU shinobi.

And more were still arriving.

ANBU Commander Yujiro had personally come here to spar with several of the ANBU captains.

A scene like this was exceedingly rare.

Even Minato had set aside his work and come to watch.

Since the Hokage was here, Shisui and Itachi, who were currently working at his side, naturally followed as well.

By this point, even Yujiro hadn’t expected things to become so lively.

He had only wanted to test out a new ability.

Yet somehow, nearly every important figure in Konoha had gathered here to watch.

Even Tsunade had hurried over immediately after finishing her bath.

Yujiro could only feel helpless about the situation.

He really hadn’t intended to attract this much attention.

Unfortunately, with his strength, keeping a low profile was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Kakashi, don’t leave yet. I want to give you something.”

Yujiro casually raised a finger toward him.

An unusual energy silently entered Kakashi’s body.

Yujiro had recently discovered that he no longer needed physical contact to repair another person’s genes.

As long as they were within a certain distance, he could do it directly.

That mysterious energy was invisible and completely imperceptible. It produced neither chakra fluctuations nor any other noticeable phenomenon.

To everyone watching, nothing appeared to have happened.

But Kakashi immediately felt the difference.

His entire body suddenly seemed to come alive.

Every cell felt more active than before.

More importantly, the chakra within him began increasing at an astonishing rate.

If Kakashi had previously been capable of using Raikiri six or seven times in a single day, then with his current reserves, using it sixty or seventy times would no longer be impossible.

Even his chakra recovery had improved dramatically.

And that wasn’t all.

A faint pain suddenly came from Kakashi’s left eye.

“...!”

Kakashi instinctively reached toward it.

The three tomoe within the Sharingan began spinning.

Then, before everyone’s eyes, they transformed into the pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Strictly speaking, Kakashi’s Mangekyō Sharingan had already awakened years ago.

However, because the Sharingan was not originally his and because of the tremendous strain it placed on his body, Kakashi had never been able to consciously access its true power.

Now, after the changes Yujiro had made to his body, that dormant power had finally become available to him ahead of time.

“Yujiro, I...”

Kakashi stared at him, so overwhelmed that he momentarily couldn’t find the words.

“Take your time and feel the changes in your body.”

Yujiro smiled.

For him, repairing someone’s genes had become almost effortless.

It required little more than raising a hand.

Furthermore, the power granted by his Limiter carried none of the harmful side effects such an ability might normally possess. Every aspect of it had been reinforced by the system.

No matter how freely Yujiro used it, it would not cause him any harm.

Just then, Might Guy arrived at the training ground.

The moment he saw Kakashi standing there in a daze, seemingly overwhelmed by what had happened, Guy immediately wore an expression of deep sorrow.

“Kakashi! So in the end, even you have been defeated by youth!”

“Stop shouting, Guy.”

Yujiro grinned.

“Come here. Open the Seventh Gate and fight me.”

Guy froze.

The elementalization test was already complete.

Next, Yujiro wanted to test the limits of his physical body.

Truthfully, even Yujiro himself wasn’t entirely certain how durable his body had become.

However, he believed he should be capable of enduring the power of the Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates.

And even if his judgment turned out to be wrong, he could simply elementalize his body at the critical moment.

There was no real danger.

“The Seventh Gate?!”

Guy’s expression changed immediately.

He wasn’t the only one.

Minato, standing near the edge of the training ground, also looked surprised.

Tsunade reacted even more strongly.

“Yujiro, forget it!”

She raised her voice.

“The Seventh Gate is dangerous! Not only for Guy, but for you as well!”

Tsunade had personally witnessed the power of Guy’s Sixth Gate when the Raikage had previously come to Konoha for negotiations.

She knew exactly how terrifying the Eight Gates could become.

And the Seventh Gate was on an entirely different level from the Sixth.

Its power was more than ten times greater.

Tsunade knew that Yujiro possessed overwhelming ninjutsu and several strange abilities that even she couldn’t completely understand.

But when it came to a direct contest of raw physical strength and taijutsu, she genuinely couldn’t be certain of the outcome.

Yujiro merely glanced at her.

“Have you ever seen me do something I wasn’t confident about?”

His calm voice carried across the training ground.

Everyone fell silent.

That was true.

This was Yujiro.

Ordinary common sense had stopped applying to him a long time ago.

“In that case... Yujiro, I’m coming!”

Seeing Yujiro’s confidence, Guy finally cast aside his hesitation.

His expression became completely serious.

Might Guy had never once neglected his training.

He was a man whose discipline bordered on obsession.

And Guy understood something else very clearly.

Yujiro was the same.

Perhaps even more so.

Over the past several years, Guy had witnessed just how relentlessly Yujiro trained.

His training intensity was no less extreme than Guy’s own.

Even so, when it came purely to taijutsu, Guy possessed absolute confidence in himself.

Yujiro stood motionless in the center of the training ground, the black blade resting against him as he quietly waited.

Guy planted his feet firmly against the ground.

Then—

“Eight Gates!”

His chakra surged.

“First Gate—Gate of Opening... Open!”

The restraints placed on the brain were released, allowing the body to access its full physical potential beyond its normal safety limits.

“Second Gate—Gate of Healing... Open!”

The restrictions governing physical exhaustion were released, forcing the body to restore its stamina while pushing its physical energy even further.

“Third Gate—Gate of Life... Open!”

Boom!

Green chakra erupted around Guy.

His skin gradually began turning red as blood rushed violently through his body.

“Fourth Gate—Gate of Pain... Open!”

The pressure surrounding him intensified.

“Fifth Gate—Gate of Limit... Open!”

The earth beneath Guy’s feet began to crack.

“Sixth Gate—Gate of View... Open!”

BOOM!

A terrifying wave of pressure exploded outward.

The air itself seemed to tremble.

But Guy wasn’t finished.

He was opening one final gate.

“Seventh Gate—Gate of Wonder... OPEN!”

BOOOOM—!

A monstrous shockwave erupted across the entire Third Training Ground.

Dust and shattered stone were blasted outward in every direction.

Blue vapor surged from Guy’s body.

It wasn’t chakra.

The tremendous heat generated by his body had caused his sweat to evaporate instantly, forming the blue aura surrounding him.

For a moment, it looked as though a great blue beast had awakened in the middle of the training ground.

The surrounding shinobi instinctively stepped backward beneath the overwhelming pressure.

Even experienced ANBU couldn’t help reacting.

There was only one person who remained completely still.

Yujiro.

And he was standing closer to Guy than anyone else.

Yujiro calmly held his black blade, his expression unchanged despite the violent pressure battering the surroundings.

With his extraordinary perception, he could already judge the amount of power Guy was producing.

Even Guy’s strongest attack in the Seventh Gate wouldn’t be enough to seriously harm him.

That was why Yujiro remained completely calm.

“YUJIRO!”

Guy shouted through the roaring air.

“I’M COMING!”

“Come.”

Yujiro’s quiet response spread clearly across the entire training ground.

Strangely enough, the moment everyone heard him, the tension gripping them seemed to disappear.

Even the worries they had felt only moments earlier faded away.

Just a single word from him had somehow been enough to settle everyone’s nerves.

The surrounding shinobi stared at Yujiro in astonishment.

Minato gave a helpless smile.

“So Yujiro has already reached this level...”

He shook his head slightly.

“It seems we’ve still been underestimating him.”

“The Great Toad Sage once told me that Yujiro is an existence beyond even the Child of Prophecy.”

A familiar voice suddenly came from nearby.

Everyone turned.

Jiraiya had arrived after hearing about the commotion, just in time to witness the confrontation.

He stared toward Yujiro and Guy before continuing.

“Even the Great Toad Sage couldn’t see through his fate. He warned that even beings like the sages shouldn’t casually interfere with someone like him.”

Minato’s expression changed.

The others nearby were equally stunned.

“Even the Great Toad Sage couldn’t see through him...?”

And at that exact moment—

Guy moved.

The strongest technique available to him while using the Seventh Gate was unleashed.

He drew back his fist.

The blue vapor surrounding his body erupted violently.

“Hirudora!”

Daytime Tiger!