Upon hearing Might Duy's declaration, even those from Konoha who had initially hoped for him were left speechless.
Why does it seem like Guy's old man is even more unreliable than Guy himself?
"Kitties and puppies?" Jinin Akebino muttered to himself before suddenly exploding in rage. "Damn bastard! How dare you compare us to such creatures!"
Might Duy scratched the back of his head, defending cats and dogs alike. "You aren't even as cute as them!"
"Cute? You dare insult me with such a degrading word!" The killing intent pouring from Jinin Akebino's eyes was overwhelming. For a true Mist ninja, strength and cruelty were the most appropriate traits.
"Die!" Roaring furiously, Jinin Akebino leapt forward, swinging his cleaver sword as if trying to crush everyone inside the underground cave.
"Opportunity!" Might Duy felt his right foot itching uncontrollably. True, he struggled to control powers beyond his own limits—but when an opponent practically jumps straight at you, isn't that clearly inviting a kick directly into his face?
Without hesitation, Might Duy immediately opened the Seventh Gate.
An enormous chakra surged skyward as Might Duy, wrapped in a blue aura, leaped high into the air and unleashed one mighty kick.
Crack! Boom! Thud!
Struck dead-on, Jinin Akebino spat blood violently, his body even bursting into a red mist from the impact.
In that moment, he felt as though his body had been struck by a raging Bijuu, crushed repeatedly under its brutal force until every bone within seemed ready to shatter. Then, before everyone's astonished gazes, he soared skyward like a shooting star flying backward.
Seeing this, the Konoha ninja could hardly believe their eyes.
"S-so powerful! So Guy's father really is this strong!"
"To still burn with passion despite being mocked by so many—Guy's father truly is incredible!"
The remaining members of the Six-Man Group also wore expressions of shock.
"What the #%*δ?! This guy is just a Konoha genin?"
"This is outrageous! Pretending to be a low-ranking ninja while hiding such power? What happened to your pride as a warrior?"
Just as the Six-Man Group stood gaping, instinctively watching Jinin Akebino fly upward, Seiki performed an ultra-fast hand seal sequence.
Suddenly, everything went pitch black. Did they really not realize it right away—they'd fallen victim to another genjutsu?
Fortunately, thanks to previous experience, they didn't panic but instead calmly broke free from the illusion.
Yet once their eyes reopened, the world before them had completely changed.
A square transparent barrier had expanded outward, engulfed in violet flames, effectively trapping them inside like a cage.
"Huh? Is this... a barrier?"
"Wait a second… Could this bastard actually be planning on taking us down one by one?"
"Tch, how laughable! As if brats like this could possibly contain us?"
"We're seriously being underestimated here! Hurry up and break through this prison so we can teach them a lesson!"
Of course, only five of them received this treatment.
The moment Biwa Juzo broke free from the illusion, he saw Seiki charging straight toward him.
Caught off guard and unable to dodge in time, he could only barely raise the Cleaver Sword horizontally across his chest.
Cling!
A tremendous, unstoppable force smashed into him, so great that the blade itself bent.
The next instant, Biwa Juzo flew backwards like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the distance.
Seiki followed up instantly with [Heavenly Foot of Pain], snapping a chunk off the Cleaver Sword Juzo used to block the attack.
Biwa Juzo barely had time to register the loss of his weapon before fleeing for his life.
Seeing how much danger Biwa Juzo had fallen into within just one or two seconds—without even space to form seals for a counterattack—the five remaining inside the barrier all felt extreme fear.
This guy's power is just too insane!
Recalling how they'd underestimated Seiki earlier, unease gripped them even more tightly. What were they thinking—believing anyone could take him one-on-one? Even if two or three of them fought him together, they'd still probably end up losing.
The five exchanged glances and silently increased their chakra input into maintaining the barrier.
Equally frightened was Jinin Akebino, who had just crashed down from the sky.
The moment he crashed into the ground, he spotted Might Duy charging toward him like lightning.
"Darn, no time!" Jinin Akebino inwardly sighed, turning his body resignedly as if accepting his fate.
Then he watched Might Duy burst past him with a gust of wind, charging straight through where he stood!
"Huh? What just happened?" Jinin Akebino stood there in confusion.
Even seasoned taijutsu masters had lightning-fast reflexes. At full strength, he wouldn't dare try dodging an attack from such a taijutsu expert—let alone while gravely injured now.
"Could this be it…?" A sudden realization struck Jinin Akebino. As Might Duy lunged again, Jinin Akebino leapt aside without hesitation.
And once again, he dodged!
Spitting blood while laughing hysterically, Jinin Akebino shouted, "Haha! Now I get it! So you're nothing special after all—an empty shell with power you can't control!"
"I don't know how you obtained this strength, but trash remains trash! You're still far from killing me, kid!"
Hearing his arrogant laugh, the Konoha shinobi felt uneasy—had their plan really gone awry?
But immediately, they dismissed such thoughts.
Just as Seiki placed trust in them, they would never doubt Seiki either.
The so-called 'five elite fighters,' who had been scanning for mental cracks to exploit, were stunned to discover the young Konoha shinobi had rock-solid minds, offering not even a sliver of an opening.
Facing off against Jinin Akebino, Might Duy gave a solemn nod. "You're right. Compared to powerful warriors like you, I'm still far behind. Therefore, let me open the final Gate now!"
Jinin Akebino turned pale with fright. If this incomplete power was already so terrifying, what would happen if this opponent unleashed his full strength—even if he couldn't control it properly, it would easily kill him!
Yet suddenly, Shō's voice echoed from another side of the battlefield.
"Master Duy, please don't resist starting now."
Still puzzled, Might Duy instantly felt something strange entering his body. Instinctively, he wanted to fight back, but remembering Seiki's words, he relaxed instead.
Toward Seiki—who was the only one who truly cherished their father-and-son bond and offered help unconditionally—Might Duy felt deep gratitude.
While laughing maniacally, Jinin Akebino suddenly noticed the thick-browed opponent's eyes changed expression.
From looking so honest and plain, he suddenly radiated overwhelming aggression.
"What raw power! I guess I really didn't give [Eight Gates] enough credit!" Seiki, who now controlled Might Duy's body, felt somewhat shaken. He originally believed that using Sage Mode in combination with opening five gates would be enough to rival the power of the seventh gate.
But now it seemed that, with the Eight Gates, each subsequent gate opened provided a greater boost than the combined strength of Sage Mode.
Of course, it's possible that his current grasp of Sage Mode simply wasn't deep enough yet.
"Even so, getting to feel the seventh gate's power early is already a huge boost!"
"Might Duy," he said coldly, his eyes sharp as he glared at Jinin Akebino, "Next, have you decided how you're going to die?"
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