After the memorial service, Takuno also returned to his home.
As a meritorious figure, his house was naturally among the first to be repaired these past few days, and he didn't have any extra expenses; everything was reimbursed by the treasury.
Upon returning home, Takuno also cast aside his lingering sadness; these past few days hadn't been without good news.
The Spirit Transformation Jutsu could still be practiced using Shadow Clones; although Shadow Clones couldn't sustain themselves purely on physical energy, the separated spiritual body could indeed return directly to the main body.
Of course, that wasn't the most important thing.
The most important thing was that he truly had a talent for learning the Spirit Transformation Jutsu!
He could successfully separate his spiritual body, even if the separated spiritual body couldn't be maintained or used for attack right now. But the fact that he could separate it proved that with continued practice, he could master this Ninjutsu!
However, the learning progress was indeed a bit slow; a single Shadow Clone couldn't practice repeatedly, which significantly slowed down the efficiency.
Takuno rubbed his head. His Ninjutsu talent was excellent, but it wasn't among the very top tier.
So he could only rely on time and quantity.
Fortunately, he didn't have many urgent power-related tasks at the moment, so he wasn't too rushed.
Takuno looked at the sky. He wouldn't go to the experimental base today; he would just train at home.
And so, he put on his custom weighted suit and began training again.
This was a necessary process for practicing the Eight Gates. It demanded extremely high physical strength from the user; even if the Eight Gates were forced open through other methods, their power would be greatly diminished.
Just like that old man in a movie, the power he unleashed by opening the Eight Gates with unique methods wasn't even fit to hold Might Guy's shoes.
Moreover, the stronger the body, the smaller the side effects of the Eight Gates.
It was like the difference between Rock Lee and Might Guy.
Rock Lee could open the Fifth Gate during the Chunin Exams, but in the finale, he could only open the Sixth Gate. It seemed like a small improvement, but the implications were different.
One must know that from the Fourth Gate onwards, the Eight Gates would cause damage to the user's body.
Rock Lee during the Chunin Exams clearly forced open the Fifth Gate; in fact, even if Gaara hadn't broken Rock Lee's leg with sand, he would have needed a period of recovery due to opening the Fifth Gate.
By the finale, Rock Lee could apparently open the Sixth Gate with relative ease. At that point, if he again risked his life, the Seventh Gate might also be barely opened, though the side effects afterward would be severe.
Rock Lee's limit should be between the Fifth and Seventh Gates. His progress was actually not small, but unfortunately, he couldn't compare to his cheat-enabled companions.
Therefore, to safely use the Eight Gates, one must use unconventional, overloaded, and extreme long-term training to condition various body parts and organs to adapt to the load sustained after opening, minimizing the immense energy's damage to the body.
However, the difficulty of this is self-evident. Even Might Guy, acknowledged by Madara, would show obvious shortness of breath after using the Sixth Gate, even if his body wasn't injured.
And this also indicated that Might Guy's body might still not have reached the most perfect physical requirements.
Even with his Uzumaki bloodline and the aid of the Gelel Stone, Takuno couldn't guarantee that his body would necessarily be stronger than Might Guy's; Might Guy was an incredibly diligent existence.
However, Takuno didn't have a great need for the Eight Gates; if he were to use it, he would only choose to use the first two gates.
These two gates do not cause obvious damage to the body and can also remove brain region restrictions to achieve 100% of the body's capabilities, over-consuming physical energy to increase attack and speed.
At the same time, it also removes physical fatigue restrictions, over-squeezing physical energy to restore stamina, and counteracts the fatigue caused by the energy consumption rate of opening the gates.
As for the ultimate Eight Gates, which is opening the Eighth Gate of Death, Takuno certainly wouldn't use it until he mastered Six Paths-level Yang Release.
In the original work, Six Paths Naruto used Yang Release to pull Might Guy back from the brink of death. So, if he mastered Six Paths-level Yang Release, he would also be able to resist the damage the Eight Gates inflicts on the body, thereby fully utilizing this strongest Taijutsu.
It could be said that this is a Taijutsu with no upper limit to its power, only the user's physical strength has an upper limit.
Takuno thought while performing various forms of exercise. Sweat poured down as if it were free. He could already open the first two gates, but he still wanted to continue.
Because this was not only preparation for opening the gates but also increased physical energy, thereby increasing Chakra volume.
Even in the world of Naruto, as long as one's talent hasn't been exhausted, training will not lie!
"Senpai, you've arrived." In the Hokage Office, Minato said with a smile as he looked at Takuno.
Takuno looked at Minato and was startled by his face. Was this really the always bright and sunny Minato?
He looked completely like an overworked corporate drone.
At this moment, he became even more firm in his inner conviction: he would never take on a troublesome position like Hokage.
"Minato, how many days have you been without rest?" Takuno asked with some concern.
Minato sighed and said, "After the Nine-Tails Attack, all the big and small matters in Konoha need me to handle, and many previous key points have also had problems."
He also felt very bitter. If it weren't for that man in black, he would now be at home with his child and wife.
As for the Hokage's duties, naturally, the Third Hokage would help him for a few days.
But now, the Third Hokage wasn't idle, and neither were the two Advisors; they were all incredibly busy, yet there still seemed to be an endless stream of tasks.
Additionally, Kushina, as he expected, didn't want to stay in the hospital, so he had to persuade her with good words to stay in the hospital with little Naruto to recuperate.
"You've worked hard." Takuno looked at his rather poor complexion and said.
"This is my duty as Hokage, and it was also my fault that Konoha suffered such great losses this time. No matter how hard I try, I cannot compensate for the damage this incident caused to Konoha." Minato sighed again as he spoke.
"This isn't your fault; don't bear it alone." Takuno comforted him.
Minato smiled and shook his head, saying, "Alright, no more complaining to Senpai. I didn't ask Senpai to come here just to listen to my complaints."
"Is that so? Then, Hokage-sama, what do you need me for?" Takuno asked, sensing that his reward might be coming.
"Senpai is still a Special Jonin, correct?" Minato inquired.
Takuno nodded.
"I plan to promote Senpai to the rank of Jonin. Senpai's Sealing Jutsu is worthy of this Jonin rank." Minato said seriously.
"Uh, is that really important? You just need to give the order." Takuno asked, a bit strangely.
Minato suddenly smiled, and Takuno felt a bad premonition looking at his smile.
"Senpai, I plan to hold a promotion ceremony for you." Minato said with a grin.
"Is being promoted to Jonin something that warrants such a big fuss?" Takuno asked with wide eyes, questioning him.
"Normally, being promoted to Jonin only requires my approval and then following a procedure, but Konoha isn't the same now." Minato said, his expression becoming serious, "Konoha needs a hero to stand up!"
"A hero? Me?" Takuno looked at Minato with a hint of disbelief, his eyes seemingly asking, 'Are you sure you're not joking?'
One must know that in the original work, the hero of this Nine-Tails Attack was Minato. Of course, that was because he died. Now he was still alive, but even so, why would this position fall to him?
"Yes, Senpai is undoubtedly Konoha's hero." Minato stated with certainty.
"I've also heard about Senpai's actions. The moment the Nine-Tails Attack occurred, you mobilized your team members to evacuate the civilians, doing your part for Konoha. And after evacuating the civilians, you disregarded the danger and went to the Nine-Tails' location to seek an opportunity to seal it. In the end, you not only successfully sealed the Nine-Tails but also saved me and Kushina."
Minato said this. He had heard about it from an Anbu member who reported to him, and that Anbu was the one who had questioned Takuno at the time.
Takuno opened his mouth, listening to it and thinking that it did sound quite impressive. He actually did these things only for his own benefit. Would anyone believe him if he said that?
However, he certainly couldn't reveal that he stole the Scroll of Seals.
"Um, can we not hold a promotion ceremony?" Takuno said helplessly. He wasn't someone who liked crowds.
If possible, he would rather not have the Jonin position than attend this promotion ceremony.
Minato smiled and shook his head, then said, "No, I've already sent people to spread Senpai's deeds, and many of the people saved were indeed by Senpai's team members, so the effect is even better than I imagined."
"So, is it already too late to say anything?" Takuno was silent for a while. Why hadn't he heard about these things?
Then he thought again: he had been busy cultivating Ninjutsu and Taijutsu these past few days, so he hadn't paid attention to these matters.
"That's right, the date of the ceremony has also been set, and the Third Hokage and the two Advisors will also attend on time." Minato said. This was no small affair, almost the highest-level ceremony below that of the Hokage.
It was precisely to establish a role model during this period of turmoil!
Takuno looked at the roof of the Hokage Building speechlessly. How did he, a Konoha ninja who could become a rogue ninja at any moment, end up becoming Konoha's hero?
Who was he supposed to complain to about this?