Chapter 331 – Kakashi's Eight Gates Formation
Everyone stared at Kaguya in stunned silence.
They had never imagined that someone as calm and composed as her would show such a look of panic. Their instincts screamed at them at the same time.
Something was very, very wrong.
"What is it, Senior Kaguya?" Sakumo asked, his eyes fixed on her.
Kaguya glanced at Sakumo briefly, and there was a trace of displeasure in her gaze. As for why she felt that way, no one knew. Only Black Zetsu watched her with a deeply contemplative expression.
"An Expanded Truth-Seeking Orb is, at its core, still a Truth-Seeking Orb," Kaguya said slowly. "It expands without limit, until it reaches the nature of total annihilation—returning the world to nothingness. At the same time, it seals the power of Banshō Ten'in and all forms of spatial manipulation."
Her words only left everyone even more confused. Instead of clarifying things, they felt like they were sinking deeper into the fog. Kaguya didn't continue explaining.
"What it means to seal the power of Banshō Ten'in is to lock down the space itself," Black Zetsu continued in a low, serious tone. "In other words, spatial power becomes completely unusable. Lord Madara fused multiple Truth-Seeking Orbs together and forced them to expand. The level of destruction even surpasses Mother's. Meanwhile, Lord Yusuke only used a single Truth-Seeking Orb, yet its power is even greater. If those two giant orbs collide, the residual shockwave alone will be enough to wipe out the Origin Space in an instant."
"Damn it… that bastard," someone muttered.
On the battlefield, Hatake Yusuke naturally noticed everyone's reactions.
And that was exactly why his mischievous side kicked in.
"Run! Hurry, run!" Yusuke shouted, deliberately putting panic into his voice.
In the next instant, everyone actually panicked.
Not long after, the two gigantic Truth-Seeking Orbs slammed into each other.
A blinding white light exploded outward, and everything around them began to vanish bit by bit.
"Damn it, I should've known better than to come here!" Shinku yelled, his face pale with fear.
Kurenai looked at her father, who was clearly on the verge of losing it. She gave a small smile and said helplessly, "Dad, it's fine. Nothing's going to happen. Yusuke is just messing with you."
Aside from Yusuke's women, the one who understood Yusuke's strength best was Kaguya herself.
She wasn't panicking at all.
"Damn it, you almost scared me to death. Sakumo, can't you teach your son some proper manners?" Shinku snapped, glaring at Sakumo. But Sakumo himself still looked shaken.
They had both been through countless battlefields and weren't afraid of death. But dying in such a miserable way—who could accept that? And the people around them were their own family.
No wonder the two of them were losing their composure.
"Damn it… I don't even know who that brat learned this from. His personality is seriously rotten," Sakumo said, his face turning red. In front of his daughters-in-law—and especially in front of Kaguya as a senior—he felt like he had completely lost face.
Shinku could only roll his eyes at him.
The answer was obvious.
Yusuke's annoying personality and Kakashi's sly side were clearly inherited from Sakumo. Back when Sakumo was an ANBU captain, he was always on missions, so to outsiders he looked cold and quiet. But in truth, his level of cunning was not low at all.
Shinku was the one who had experienced that firsthand.
Back on the battlefield—
The white light was stopped by a black barrier that looked almost like thick mud. Everything behind that barrier showed no signs of damage at all.
"What is this? Even a Truth-Seeking Orb can be isolated?" Kaguya reached out and carefully touched the barrier in front of her.
This barrier was Yusuke's Barrier Fruit ability.
Even so, it should have been impossible to block the total annihilation power of a Truth-Seeking Orb. But Yusuke had infused it with Yin-Yang chakra, and as a result, the attack was actually held back.
The white light slowly faded away.
The space on the battlefield had turned into pure emptiness, filled with chaotic remnants.
Madara's face clearly showed exhaustion.
He truly hadn't expected Yusuke to be able to withstand a full-force attack like that.
At that moment, Kakashi opened his eyes.
The blue steam around his body slowly turned red.
"Eight Gates Formation—Open!"
Kakashi roared in pain.
The blue vapor instantly became blood-red steam, and even his silver hair was dyed crimson by the energy surging from within him.
"You damn brat, are you trying to make me die from anger?"
Yusuke glared at Kakashi, his face filled with fury. To him, this was just a simple spar. Was it really necessary to risk his life over something like this?
What he didn't realize was that, for Madara and Kakashi, this had been a life-and-death battle from the very beginning.
He was the only one treating it like a game.
"What the hell is that kid doing? This was just a simple spar, and he opened the Death Gate!" Sakumo was genuinely furious.
He knew better than anyone what kind of price had to be paid to open the Death Gate. Guy had done it once before. If he hadn't been held back, Sakumo would have already rushed into the battlefield.
"Uncle Sakumo, you don't need to worry. Yusuke can restore the damage caused by opening the Death Gate," Konan said gently, trying to calm him down.
Hearing that, Sakumo finally relaxed a little.
Madara, on the other hand, looked shocked.
He hadn't expected Kakashi to go this far—to actually open the Death Gate.
The difference between the Death Gate and the Gate of Wonder was only one gate, but the gap in power between them was enormous. Opening the Death Gate wasn't something that could be done through sheer effort alone. One also needed extraordinary achievements in taijutsu.
On the battlefield, Kakashi's face was twisted in pain.
The red steam around his body slowly drew back inside him. Around him, energy scattered through the air like falling cherry blossom petals—only these petals were far redder than any sakura.
Yusuke watched Kakashi carefully.
He could see Kakashi's chakra gathering little by little around his heart. At the same time, all the tissues surrounding that heart were wrapped in a layer of black energy.
"So that's how it is… He's using Armament Haki to protect his heart, forcing his blood flow and energy to be completely restrained inside his body. This doesn't just suppress the backlash of the Death Gate—it also pushes his durability to an even higher level," Yusuke muttered softly.
He gave a small nod.
The anger in his eyes faded away.
With Kaguya's help, Tsunade and the others could also see Kakashi's condition.
"Even so, this technique is incredibly difficult to pull off," Tsunade said. "It requires extremely precise control and a deep understanding of the heart's structure. It seems Kakashi's mastery of Armament Haki has improved by a huge margin."
"No wonder… some time ago, Kakashi kept asking me about things related to the heart. He even started studying medical ninjutsu," Shizune added.
"It looks like Kakashi, who's been constantly pressured by Yusuke, really hasn't stopped trying to improve," Kurenai said softly.
"This kid actually thought of a way to neutralize the Eight Gates' backlash like this. I thought he was just playing with his own life. Hahaha," Shinku laughed.
"You're wrong," Tsunade said, her expression serious.
Everyone turned to look at her in confusion.
"This technique is far more dangerous than the Eight Gates Formation itself," Tsunade continued.
"That can't be true, right?" Shinku said.
"The heart is an extremely fragile organ. Armament Haki can harden it, but the heart is also incredibly complex. If even a single part is damaged, the body can die instantly. The heart itself could collapse in just a moment," Tsunade explained, her voice heavy.
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