"...So that's how it works."
Kiyohara muttered under his breath.
"The First Gate releases the brain's chakra limiter—basically overclocking the brain."
But the cost was obvious.
That chakra flooding into the brain boosted performance, but also imposed a heavy load.
Might Guy's brain temperature was rising. Not by much, but if he maintained it too long, it could damage brain cells.
Next came the Second Gate, the Gate of Healing, also located in the head.
When the second gate opened, Kiyohara saw even greater changes in chakra flow.
Once the Healing Gate's restriction was forced open, chakra surged in large quantities into the heart and lungs.
Kiyohara could only infer which organs were involved from where chakra concentrated.
He couldn't directly see the heart's beat, the lungs expanding, or oxygen levels in the blood—those were domains only the Byakugan's "X-ray vision" could reach.
Still, if chakra gathered around the heart and lungs, it would definitely accelerate metabolism.
That explained why opening the Healing Gate sped up stamina recovery.
"Removing fatigue limits… but the price is load."
Kiyohara frowned.
If you used it and then rested for a while, fine.
But if you kept it up long-term… would it shorten lifespan?
Hashirama Senju died early—was it possible his "seal-less healing" was too strong, forcing too many cell divisions, and combined with his battle with Madara, led to a shorter life?
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
If you maintained this state too long, cells would age prematurely.
Finally came the Third Gate, the Gate of Life. Based on chakra flow, Kiyohara pegged it slightly above the center of the chest.
The instant the third gate opened, his Sharingan caught subtle changes.
Guy's chakra no longer only flowed through the pathways—it began seeping into muscle tissue.
It spread out like countless fine needles, distributing everywhere.
From the dispersion pattern, Kiyohara inferred chakra was stabbing into every cell of the muscle fibers.
With that stimulation, muscle fibers violently contracted and expanded, unleashing terrifying power.
But at the same time, micro-tears began forming in the fibers.
Cell membranes ruptured under overload; myoglobin and enzymes leaked.
Guy's skin wasn't red only because blood flow increased—those tiny muscle injuries were part of it too.
Three gates open… the burden is already huge.
Kiyohara assessed silently.
Guy can maintain this because his muscle fiber density and toughness far exceed normal people, and his recovery is stronger too.
No wonder the Eight Gates demanded constant, brutal physical training and a body built for endurance.
A normal person forcing it open would probably end up with muscle breakdown in minutes.
Who else—without even being a ninja yet—could run five thousand laps around a field?
Guy simply wasn't normal.
But… neither was Kiyohara.
A faint smile tugged at Kiyohara's lips.
If the Eight Gates were a fixed multiplier—
If someone's base stat was 100, a 3× boost becomes 300.
But if another person's base stat was 1,000, 3× becomes 3,000.
The latter could treat the former like a soccer ball.
And if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya could use the Eight Gates—dumping her mountain-range chakra into a full burst—how absurd would that attack be?
After all, Guy's chakra might only be "10" on the scale.
Some people are "10" because that's the cap, but they'd really overflow into 15 or 20.
Others are "10" because they barely reached it.
Guy wasn't just barely there—but he also wasn't the "tons of chakra" type.
So who had more chakra—Guy or Kiyohara?
You could answer that with your knees.
And the Sharingan, in a way, was the natural predator of taijutsu specialists.
Kiyohara could see Guy's chakra flow and movement lines, then dodge, imitate, and copy.
That was… a taijutsu "perfect body."
Life with the Sharingan and a huge chakra pool really is plain and boring.
Kiyohara sighed internally.
This world ran on bloodlines.
If he couldn't change the meta, he'd just become the meta.
He watched a little longer.
Guy's skin was turning even more red-green—red skin mixed with green steam.
He held the Life Gate open, green chakra vapor flickering like flames.
His breathing grew heavier, sweat beading faster.
Even at minimum output, three gates open still burned chakra hard.
"Alright. That's enough," Kiyohara said.
"Guy, you can stop now."
Guy exhaled, and the green steam slowly dissipated.
The redness faded, but his muscles stayed tense—clearly the load wasn't light.
"So? Did you get it?" Guy asked, wiping sweat, breathing slightly rough.
If Kiyohara didn't understand something, Guy was ready to explain.
"I've basically got the principle," Kiyohara said, eyes closed. He could still replay the chakra routes in his mind.
With stronger mental energy, his memory had become sharper. He was starting to leave deep imprints after seeing something once.
If he inherited another future, he felt like he might actually reach true "photographic memory."
"Let me try," Kiyohara said.
He copied Guy's motions from memory.
"First Gate—Opening… OPEN!"
Kiyohara shouted low.
In the next instant, his chakra blasted through the "Opening Gate" restriction.
His body jolted.
The sensation was hard to describe.
The world seemed to slow down—
No, not the world. His reaction speed had sped up.
He could hear leaves rubbing far away, and even feel the path of blood moving through his vessels with each heartbeat.
His senses sharpened dramatically.
But the burden hit immediately too.
His brain overclocked, bringing a faint dizziness.
The chakra in his head boosted him—but also pressed in like a stone squeezing his skull.
Kiyohara instantly adjusted the chakra flow to reduce pressure, so his head didn't end up pointy.
Then he opened his eyes.
The tomoe in his pupils still spun—maybe even faster.
Everything looked painfully clear, rich with detail.
"Did it work?" Kurenai asked tensely.
She saw green steam curling around Kiyohara and felt like he'd succeeded.
Kiyohara slowly moved his limbs, feeling the changes.
Not raw strength or speed—
But a higher level of body control.
He could precisely sense every muscle's state, predict each motion's result.
"Opening Gate removes the brain limiter. It boosts reaction speed and body control," Kiyohara said.
"I get what you meant by that 'special feeling' now. It really does feel like… a shackle came off."
Guy's eyes went wide.
"You… you got it on your first try?!"
He circled Kiyohara twice like he was staring at a monster.
"Kiyohara, you're a taijutsu prodigy—no, you're a freak!"
Guy had trained a long time before mastering the Eight Gates.
Kiyohara cracking the First Gate so easily hit him hard.
Would Kiyohara learn the later gates just as fast?
Kiyohara shook his head.
"I'm just barely in the door. My control of the Eight Gates won't compare to someone like you who's used it for years."
"That's still insane!"
Guy slapped Kiyohara's shoulder excitedly.
"When I learned the Opening Gate, I failed over ten times! Every failure gave me a headache from hell, and you just—"
Then his eyes lit up.
"Kiyohara! Since you've opened the gate, want to test it in practice? Let's do a taijutsu match! No ninjutsu—pure taijutsu!"
Kiyohara glanced at Guy's excitement, then Kurenai's worried eyes, and nodded.
"Fine. But to be clear: I'm only using Opening Gate. No Magnet Release stuff."
"No problem! I'll only use Opening Gate too!"
Guy grinned.
"Let's clash with pure taijutsu—youth versus youth!"
They walked to the center and faced each other.
Kurenai retreated to the edge, hands clasped tight at her chest.
She could feel their pressure rising—no chakra flare, but the air still grew heavy.
"Start!" Guy said, moving first.
No flourish—just a straight flying kick.
"Dynamic Entry!"
With Opening Gate, it blurred into a green afterimage.
The leg wind tore the air with a sharp screech.
He aimed at Kiyohara's chest—classic probing strike.
Kiyohara didn't dodge.
With Opening Gate boosting his reactions—and the Sharingan—he could track every detail.
Trajectory, speed, force: it was slow-motion to him.
He chose to take it head-on.
Not with Steel Release or Earth Spear hardening—pure body, using Opening Gate's control to hit the best defensive posture at the best moment.
Left foot half-step back. Center of gravity lowered. Arms crossed in front of his chest.
Right before impact, he pulled his forearms back slightly—an unloading motion.
THUD!
The collision rang across the training ground.
Kiyohara slid back half a step, soles carving shallow grooves.
But he took it cleanly—no injury.
Guy landed, surprised.
"Great unloading technique!"
He praised him.
"Most people would snap their arms taking that kick! Your body control is terrifying!"
Kiyohara shook out his arms.
"Opening Gate lets me feel force transmission precisely, so I can unload at contact. But your power really is scary."
Guy's training was relentless—day and night, rain or shine.
And his body itself was abnormal. Of course his strength would be huge.
"Haha! That was just the start!"
Guy rushed again, chaining combos.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
A vicious low sweep aimed at Kiyohara's shins—enough to break bone on a normal shinobi.
Kiyohara hopped, dodging at the last instant, twisting midair into a counter roundhouse.
Guy blocked—another dull impact as limb met limb.
Guy kept pressing.
"Leaf Rising Wind!"
He launched upward, spinning, dropping an elbow smash toward Kiyohara's head.
The strike combined weight, rotation, and chakra—strong enough to crack stone.
Kiyohara stayed calm.
With Opening Gate plus Sharingan, the "core" of the strike was obvious.
Not the elbow—the waist rotation and leg drive.
Break the power chain and the strike weakens.
Kiyohara chopped a hand toward Guy's waist—right at the force node.
Guy's face shifted. He twisted in air to avoid the chop, but the power of Rising Wind got interrupted; he landed a little off.
"Nice!"
Guy stabilized, battle spirit burning brighter.
"You saw my power weakness? Sharingan really is something!"
"Just technique," Kiyohara said. "Keep going, Guy."
For the next few minutes, they exploded into a high-speed taijutsu duel.
Guy poured out techniques—Leaf Great Whirlwind, Leaf Strong Whirlwind, and more.
Kiyohara's Sharingan tracked every movement. Opening Gate control let him micro-adjust like a machine: instant tension, instant release, tiny weight shifts, perfect timing.
Kurenai watched, wide-eyed.
She'd never seen pure taijutsu at this level.
Their speeds created afterimages; each collision hit like a muffled cannon.
Shockwaves rolled outward, kicking dust and leaves into the air.
"So fast…"
Kurenai whispered.
"But Kiyohara dodges everything… no, he's not just dodging—he's learning."
She noticed Kiyohara's style changing.
At first he defended and evaded completely.
Then he started weaving attacks in—attacks that looked exactly like Guy's earlier techniques.
Leaf Whirlwind. Dynamic Entry. Even Rising Wind.
Kiyohara was copying Guy's taijutsu in real time.
"That jerk…"
Kurenai couldn't help smiling, weirdly proud without knowing why.
Seeing Kiyohara shine made her happy.
In the field, Guy realized something was wrong.
Kiyohara predicted everything.
And he didn't just mimic—he improved, adapting Guy's moves into a new rhythm.
Was this truly even? Or was Kiyohara just using him as a live training dummy?
Pressure.
Guy felt real pressure—rare for him since his father died.
This "non-taijutsu specialist" was matching him through the Sharingan and Opening Gate.
Not just matching him—
Kiyohara was starting to take the edge.
That precise pre-read and countering made Guy's attacks feel like punching cotton, while Kiyohara's counters always hit the most uncomfortable angles.
This won't work…
Almost instinctively, Guy's chakra surged toward the Second Gate.
He wanted Healing Gate—more speed and strength to break the stalemate.
But at the moment he was about to hit it, he snapped awake.
Wait… we said only Opening Gate…
He forcibly cut the chakra flow, and his movement stuttered for the tiniest fraction.
For Kiyohara, that was plenty.
Kiyohara ghosted into the opening and stopped a hand-knife at Guy's throat—two centimeters from skin.
Guy's pupils tightened.
That hand-knife carried just enough chakra to cut his throat.
If this were real combat, he'd be dead.
Kiyohara pulled back and stepped away.
"Guy. You were about to open the Healing Gate, right?"
Guy froze, then slapped his own head.
"Damn it! I lost!"
He shouted.
"We agreed to stay at the First Gate—and I almost opened the Second! That breaks the rules!"
He bowed deeply.
"Kiyohara—you win. Under equal conditions, your taijutsu skill and combat intelligence beat mine!"
Kiyohara shook his head.
"No. That opening only existed because you honored the agreement and cut your chakra mid-flow. A real fight wouldn't look like that."
"But a promise is a promise!"
Guy straightened, serious.
"Loss is loss! Kiyohara, you're absurdly strong. Just Opening Gate and you can fight me like this—if you went full taijutsu, you'd become a master!"
Then his eyes lit again.
"Kiyohara! Want to do hell training with me? I can feel it—if we train together, we'll break limits and reach heights nobody's ever seen!"
He even ran off and brought back a spare green jumpsuit.
Kiyohara looked at Guy's burning eyes—and the impossible green spandex—and immediately refused.
"Guy… my path is too broad. Taijutsu is only one part. No outfit needed. But we can train together sometimes."
"Awesome!"
Guy flashed a thumbs-up.
"Then it's settled—train together whenever you can!"
Kurenai walked over and handed Kiyohara a towel.
"That was intense. I got nervous just watching."
Kiyohara took it and wiped sweat. He could feel Opening Gate's mental fatigue now—normal after overclocking.
But unlike Guy, Kiyohara had White Snake Power helping him recover. A short rest would stabilize him.
"Kurenai, want to try the First Gate too?" Guy asked eagerly.
"Even as a genjutsu specialist, faster reactions help!"
Kurenai shook her head fast.
"I'll pass… just watching you guys felt scary. It looks painful."
"It's not that bad," Kiyohara said.
"If your body's strong enough, Opening Gate is easier and hurts less. But you don't need to rush it. Build basic taijutsu first."
They chatted a bit more until the sun started dropping, then left the training ground.
On the way back, Kiyohara glanced at the sky and asked Kurenai:
"Want to grab something to eat? After training, nutrition matters."
Kurenai touched her stomach—she was hungry.
Then she narrowed her eyes at him.
"It's not going to be three-colored dango, is it?"
Kiyohara laughed.
"It can be something else."
He had thought about taking her for dango just to see her reaction.
"Good…"
Kurenai sighed in relief, then quietly added, ears warm:
"But… I really can't eat too many sweets lately. What if I actually turn into that 'Yuhi sweet potato' you said…"
Kiyohara smiled.
"You'll be fine. One once in a while won't make you fat—and you burned a lot today. A bit of sugar is good."
Kurenai thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Then… just this once."
They ate a simple, healthier dinner at a street-side shop.
Not dango.
While they ate, Kurenai asked about Kiyohara's Eight Gates "insights," and he shared what he'd observed.
"The key to Opening Gate is precision control," Kiyohara said.
"It's better not to brute-force the tenketsu open. Find the weak point and open the channel with minimal cost. That needs strong chakra control and a solid understanding of your body."
"That sounds hard…"
Kurenai bit her chopsticks and tilted her head, face pale in the lamplight.
"But it feels like nothing is hard for you, Kiyohara."
"Tricks," Kiyohara shook his head.
"My Sharingan lets me see chakra flow—that's a huge advantage. For normal people, it could take months or years of conditioning before they can even attempt the First Gate."
After dinner, they split at the intersection.
When Kiyohara got home, Tsunade was back, sitting in the living room reading medical scrolls.
Hearing the door, she looked up.
"Back? Training this late?"
"Taijutsu training with Guy," Kiyohara said, changing shoes.
"Sensei, are you busy today?"
"Not too bad. Went to the hospital to lecture the juniors on some advanced theory… then gambled a couple rounds."
Tsunade put down the scroll and rubbed her brow.
"Just got word: there's an emergency jonin meeting at the Hokage Tower tomorrow. All jonin and special jonin attend. Since you're my student, you'll sit in too."
Kiyohara paused.
"Emergency meeting? What happened?"
"Border news."
Tsunade's expression turned serious.
"At Kikyo Pass, Suna's offensive suddenly intensified. Jiraiya's holding that line. It doesn't sound good."
Kiyohara's heart tightened.
So the war clouds were gathering again.
"Suna's trying to punch through and threaten the Land of Fire interior?"
"Could be."
Tsunade nodded.
"But I'm more worried it's a probe. Suna's pressuring both Konoha and Kiri—trying to find the weaker line. Once they find a crack, they'll pour everything into it."
Kiyohara fell quiet.
If that was true, Konoha would be under huge pressure soon.
A lot of shinobi would be redeployed—including him, fresh into Anbu.
"After tomorrow's meeting, I may need to head to the front," Tsunade continued.
"Kiyohara, you're a medical squad sub-leader. You'll probably be assigned under my medical corps."
"I understand, Sensei."
"Go rest," Tsunade said at last. "We'll plan after the meeting."
Kiyohara nodded and went upstairs.
If Suna pushed hard, Rasa and Pakura might show up.
Maybe he could use the chance to steal the method for controlling gold dust.
Iron sand alone still felt… not enough.
Gold dust was the real quiet luxury—useful in a fight, and you could sell it too.
~~~
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