Chapter 346: Lightning Eight Gates
Fewer and fewer people remained on the training ground until only a handful were left.
Yoshitoki stood there in a daze, seemingly pondering a problem, but the occasional bulging movements under his clothes proved he wasn't just thinking.
Nagato looked constipated, seemingly trying to force something out.
Apart from the two freaks, Tobirama Senju and Yoshitoki, it seemed the Eight Inner Gates wasn't that easy to master.
Might Duy felt slightly balanced internally and said, "In short, whether you can master the Eight Inner Gates depends on your daily efforts. As for the effect after opening, it varies for each person. No need to rush."
Just then, Nagato raised his hand. "Um... I think I opened the First Gate!"
Nagato was already very keen on training his body. Or rather, his focus had always been different from most ninja.
What he cared about was... muscle mass.
Even though he wasn't a Taijutsu specialist, his enthusiasm for physical training allowed him to meet the minimum requirements for the Eight Inner Gates. Coupled with his talent and the Rinnegan boost, he successfully opened the First Gate on the very first day.
Nagato carefully experienced the state of his body. The feeling was magical, as if some limit within him had been unlocked, accompanied by a slight stinging sensation.
"Stamina consumption is faster, strength increased quite a bit... about 30%?"
However, at the very front, Yotsuki Dana, who should have the highest physical quality here, showed no reaction.
Another hour passed. The Third Raikage, sitting beside Dana, suddenly opened his eyes. A powerful aura surged from his body.
"This old man succeeded too..."
The Third Raikage opened his eyes, savoring the feeling.
He clenched his fist abruptly, producing a faint sonic boom.
"Improved this much?..."
As an experienced Taijutsu master, the Third Raikage clearly knew how much his strength had increased. Just opening the First Gate, he felt his strength boosted by 60%.
Although Might Duy felt defeated, he patiently explained, "The stronger the body, the stronger the boost from the Eight Inner Gates. And the further the gates go, the greater the amplification. The final gate, the Gate of Death, can even reach dozens of times amplification."
It was easy to understand. The Third Raikage had a huge base to begin with. Increasing it by 60% was already a terrifying magnitude.
Nagato's 30% boost versus the Third Raikage's 60% boost might not seem like a huge difference now, but when opening the Second and Third Gates, the gap would widen until it became a decisive difference.
So ultimately, the Eight Inner Gates was a jutsu where "to forge iron, one must be strong."
"In battle, there won't be time to sit and adjust your state to open the Eight Inner Gates. So even if you open the gate successfully, it's just the beginning. You need day-after-day training to achieve instantaneous opening of all gates to use it in combat."
It could be said that the Eight Inner Gates was a quintessential "hard work genius" jutsu.
Not everyone could open the Gate of Death and become godlike. Without a body forged through thousands of trials and daily bitter training, opening the Gate of Death would just be setting off a firework for the enemy.
Hope a certain someone currently in the Pure Land doesn't get angry...
Fortunately, the Third Raikage's physical quality was even stronger than Might Duy's. If he could truly master the Eight Inner Gates to a high level in the future, it would be terrifying...
I wonder if the Six Paths Dancer can tank it.
No... accurately speaking, what would he tank it with?
Of course, Dana definitely didn't want his Old Man to open the Gate of Death...
Two hours passed. Dana still had no reaction, while his Old Man was already attempting to open the Second Gate.
Finally, Dana had to give up on the idea of cultivating the Eight Inner Gates using the conventional method...
Every time it was like this. When a jutsu reached him, it had to be modified to be mastered. The Yin Seal was like this; Sage Mode was like this.
Whenever he touched advanced ninjutsu using non-attribute chakra, he would get stuck. Calling it difficult was an understatement. It made him suspect that without his Lightning Release, he was just mediocre talent-wise.
Fortunately, he had his cheat code. With Lightning Chakra in hand, he could do whatever he wanted.
Abandoning the conventional method, Dana began to condense a strand of Lightning Chakra in his body, directing it toward the First Gate, the Gate of Opening, located in the brain.
Although the Gate of Opening was the easiest to open, its location in the brain carried some risk.
A strand of Lightning Chakra slowly surged up along the meridian.
A moment later, Dana succeeded on the first try. His body suddenly began to discharge dense electricity. The ground around him turned scorched black, and the smell of ozone filled the air, attracting others' attention.
"That commotion... did Dana-sama succeed?"
"But why is he discharging electricity?"
"Did something go wrong like with Tobirama Senju?"
Many people became nervous. The Third Raikage stopped his training and looked at Dana, who was sitting cross-legged.
Dana opened his eyes. Fine lightning flickered continuously around him, and an unknown magnetic field rotated on his body surface, causing small stones to float inexplicably, slowly orbiting him.
Dana looked down. The stones orbited like an asteroid belt, caused by the magnetic fluctuations around him.
The lightning should correspond to the first stage ability of his spine (Lumbar), while the orbiting stones corresponded to the second stage ability (Thoracic magnetic field).
It seemed his Lightning Release modified Eight Inner Gates had a positive reaction with his body's other abilities.
Unconsciously clenching his right fist, it produced a sonic boom louder than the Third Raikage's.
Strength increased by nearly double...
Meaning Dana's boost from opening one gate was comparable to Yoshitoki opening four gates.
And Dana's base stats were far beyond Yoshitoki's...
So satisfying!
Dana couldn't help but punch the empty air violently.
BOOM! His fist flickered with lightning.
Powerful force churned the air. The punch wind was strong and forceful. Although he didn't touch the ground, the wind pressure alone sent sand and stones flying.
Dana was very satisfied that such a simple punch could have this effect.
However, thinking of Might Guy's terrifying kick in his memory—stirring the air like a dragon and tiger, suppressing Six Paths Madara so he couldn't even lift his head—he felt his punch wind was still far off.
"After all, this is only the First Gate. Step by step... It's already a pleasant surprise."
Thinking of this, Dana patted the bowl-cut head of the green-skinned boy beside him.
"Guy, remember: in the future, when kicking people, aim for the head. Don't kick crookedly."
Might Guy: "???"
Konoha.
Minato Namikaze was preparing to clock out and head to Cloud City to cook when he suddenly received an emergency notification. With no choice, he teleported via Flying Thunder God to the underground base and found Orochimaru.
Minato's sudden appearance made Orochimaru's hand shake, nearly dropping a test tube.
Having a guilty conscience, Orochimaru tightened up at Minato's unpredictable teleportation.
But Minato was the Hokage. theoretically, he had the right to leave Flying Thunder God marks anywhere in Konoha except the Inspectorate...
"There is a special mission, Orochimaru-senpai. I need you to use Edo Tensei."
Orochimaru paused. "Reanimate whom?"
"The Second Hokage."
Orochimaru: "Hah??"
Half an hour later, preparations were complete. As Orochimaru slapped the ground, the sacrifice was slowly swallowed, and Tobirama Senju appeared in the center of the Edo Tensei formation.
Tobirama's face was extremely ugly—uglier than it had been in the thirty years he was dead.
Looking at the curious gazes of Orochimaru and Minato, Tobirama raised a hand.
"Don't speak! Don't ask! Don't inquire!"
Swish! He vanished.
Minato and Orochimaru looked at each other. Then Minato scratched his head and said, "Well then, I'll withdraw first. The pork chops need to be marinated and defrosted in advance; any later and I won't make it. Farewell."
Swish! Only Orochimaru was left.
Orochimaru looked left and right, then curled his lip. So what if you know Flying Thunder God!
He silently cleaned up the mess.
After a while, Orochimaru closed his eyes to sense, confirming no one else was in the underground lab. He reached out to a hidden switch on the wall, entering a secret laboratory within the secret laboratory.
He had excavated and built this place himself. The most dangerous place was also the safest. The Edo Tensei site was rarely used; opening a secret room next to it was hard to discover if hidden well.
Walking into the secret room, a huge glass tank emitted a fluorescent glow.
Inside, a tall, white-haired man floated naked in the liquid.
Orochimaru looked up and muttered to himself, "Truly a stupid face..."