Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist present, no one expected Jinpachi to be kicked to death by Might Duy. However, Jinpachi's lifeless body forced them to accept the fact.
Jinpachi's death also enraged Hōzuki Kari, the strongest among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who wielded the Hiramekarei, the Twin Swords, and whose name was rarely known to others.
Within the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kari was the only one who had already surpassed Kage level.
In Kirigakure, aside from the Fourth Mizukage, few knew his true strength; the other six members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were no exception.
They only knew that MKari's strength was consistently above theirs. Though they had their suspicions, they lacked concrete evidence.
"Attack together! Kill him!"
Kari's roar immediately spurred him to lead the charge, attacking Might Duy.
In an instant, Kari and Might Duy were locked in combat. Although Might Duy had opened the Seventh Gate and his power was infinitely close to Kage level, it was still not true Kage-level power.
A fine line separated them, like an uncrossable chasm.
Kisame, who had been lingering behind everyone, felt a growing unease rather than relaxation when he saw Kari suppressing Might Duy.
Kisame, with his shark-like face and menacing appearance, possessed a remarkably keen mind.
With a quick thought, he understood the source of his unease.
Might Duy had just explicitly mentioned the Eight Gates, and currently, Might Duy had only opened the Seventh Gate.
This meant Might Duy still had one final gate left to open; the forbidden jutsu on his body was not yet in its complete form.
At this realization, Kisame's heart sank, and the thought of fleeing for his life immediately arose.
He didn't want to die here in obscurity!
"Kill!"
Seeing Might Duy falling behind under Kari's continuous assaults, Fuguki and the others once again joined the encirclement of Might Duy.
On the other side, Veigar, who had been rushing towards them since Might Duy unleashed the Seventh Gate, constantly urged himself to go faster, unleashing his full speed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Veigar's figure flashed through the forest, covering vast distances in an instant.
He knew he was already late; Might Duy had very likely already opened the Eight Gates Formation.
However, Veigar had not given up.
He hoped that his Ultra-Fast Regeneration Technique could save Might Duy's life.
Even if the chances were slim, he still wanted to try his best.
Since the future Might Guy could be saved by Naruto using the Six Paths Yang Power after opening the Eight Gates Formation and fighting Madara Uchiha, he also wanted to attempt it.
He wondered if his Ultra-Fast Regeneration Technique, combined with his chakra that possessed eleven times the quality of ordinary chakra, could pull Might Duy back from the brink of death.
His reasons for doing this were:
Firstly, deep down, he didn't want Might Duy, whom he had never met, to die.
Secondly, Might Guy was one of his few friends and his only family in this world.
Most importantly, Veigar also wanted to learn the Eight Gates Formation. If Might Duy lived, he would be his best teacher.
Nearly twenty years of study would allow him to avoid many detours.
Currently, Veigar still had a Phenomenal Evil Power fragment in his possession. In terms of the ninjutsu he currently had, it was also very suitable for fusion.
However, Veigar was not content with just that; he wanted more.
The Eight Gates Formation was one of the forbidden jutsu he needed.
Getting closer and closer to Might Duy, Veigar's fleeting figure in the forest saw Might Guy, Genma, and Ebisu fleeing.
At the same time, Might Duy, who was being suppressed by Kari and simultaneously attacked by the other five Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, temporarily broke free from their encirclement after taking a kick from Kari.
"Such beast-like combat is exhilarating!"
Although Might Duy had killed Jinpachi, reducing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist by one, which infuriated Kari, Might Duy's strength had earned his recognition.
Despite Kari unleashing his full power, Might Duy was still able to exchange multiple blows with him, which Kari found incredibly impressive.
It didn't matter that Jinpachi of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was dead; they could simply choose another successor.
After all, their swords were inheritable, and Kisame, who had always desired the Samehada, was a good candidate.
After glancing back at Kisame, Kari's gaze turned to Might Duy, filled with killing intent.
"A strong individual deserves respect."
"I will personally send you to your end with my Hiramekarei, the Twin Swords."
"Don't forget, the one who kills you will be me, Hōzuki Kari."
The burden of the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, was incredibly heavy. At this point, Might Duy was almost at his limit, but he didn't feel discouraged.
Because he had already made his resolve:
The resolve to die.
"Eighth Gate, Gate of Death, Eight Gates Formation, open!"
Watching Kari attack him once more, Might Duy not only didn't retreat but charged directly forward.
At the same time, he opened the final gate of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Death, located in his heart.
The Eight Gates Formation, the ultimate blossoming of youth.
"Haaah!!!"
Might Duy, having opened the Eight Gates Formation, couldn't help but let out a roar to the sky. The vibrant blue chakra that enveloped him transformed into a blood-red.
An unimaginable pain was eroding every inch of Might Duy's nerves, and the air around him was intensely heated by the blood-flame chakra.
Boom...
The moment Might Duy activated the Eight Gates Formation, Might Guy, who was fleeing, felt something and looked back. Seeing the dazzling blood-flame, he shouted with determination:
"Dad, I will definitely uphold the ninja way of youth!"
This was Might Guy assuring Might Duy of the inheritance of his will, and also him telling Might Duy that he had found his own ninja way.
At this moment, Veigar also saw the dazzling, blood-red chakra flames that made the surroundings incredibly hot. His already anxious expression turned grim, and he felt a pang of discomfort in his heart.
He was still too late.
Might Duy had still activated the Eight Gates Formation at the cost of his life.
Upon seeing Might Duy finally complete the Eight Gates, Kisame, awestruck by the astonishing aura, immediately chose to retreat, retreat, and retreat further.
He wanted to escape, but he dared not.
If he fled first, he would become a rogue ninja of Kirigakure, and this was unacceptable to him before he could obtain the Samehada.
Therefore, he could only choose to fall back as much as possible.
He needed to maximize the distance between himself and Might Duy and get away from the battlefield.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]