Natsuki pushed himself all the way to the fourth gate.
The moment the Gate of Pain opened, he began to feel sharp stinging sensations throughout his body. His skin started turning red.
But the power he gained was immense. With just a light stomp, he could create a deep crater beneath his feet. His movement speed became terrifying.
Back during the Chūnin Exams, Lee opened the fourth gate to fight Gaara, scaring him out of his wits.
Although Gaara was protected by his mother's Shukaku armor, his own reactions were too slow—he couldn't even track Lee's movements. If Lee hadn't been in so much pain from his own attacks, creating brief pauses, Gaara wouldn't have had time to activate his sand clone and would've been seriously injured by the Ura Renge.
At the time, Gaara's strength was probably comparable to that of a mid-tier jōnin.
Meaning Lee had briefly erupted with the strength of a jōnin.
"So what about me? If I open the fourth gate, do I have elite jōnin-level strength? Though I'm probably not on the same level as Kakashi or Guy yet."
Then let's keep going—after all, I won't die!
"Fifth Gate—Gate of Limit, open!"
"Sixth Gate—Gate of View, open!"
The moment he opened the sixth gate, the pain intensified drastically. His whole body felt like it was being torn apart. If not for his absurdly strong physique, he would've been shredded already. Even so, it still required immense willpower to resist the excruciating pain.
Wasting no time, Natsuki leapt into the air and began throwing rapid punches as instructed in the scroll.
Each punch generated so much friction with the air that it looked like flaming spheres erupting in midair—like a peacock spreading its fiery tail.
Beautiful, yes. But terrifying—especially if you were on the receiving end.
Isn't that right, Kisame?
Natsuki had launched Asa Kujaku (Morning Peacock) once before—and he was already addicted. He kept punching, wanting to master it fully. He couldn't die in here anyway, and with infinite stamina and chakra, he could spam it all he wanted—as long as he could bear the pain.
After an hour, he had to stop.
It hurt too much.
Even if his body wasn't damaged, the pain was very real. His body was steaming. He just couldn't endure anymore.
"Looks like I'll need to adjust my training plan—especially when it comes to pain resistance. Otherwise, opening the seventh gate might just make me pass out from pain…"
Natsuki made a mental note and rested briefly—then jumped right back in.
The Special Training Chamber was too precious to waste. Wasting even a minute felt like ruining a meal.
"Next, I need to get used to the earlier gates. I want to be able to open them instantly, not one by one. The delay wastes too much time—what if I miss an attack opportunity or get interrupted by an enemy?"
So over the next few hours, Natsuki did nothing but repeatedly open and close the gates.
From Gate of Opening to Gate of View, he opened and closed them again and again until he could activate them at will.
By the time he could instantaneously open the sixth gate, there were only ten minutes left in the Special Chamber.
That's when a crazy idea hit him.
"Double the gravity! Gate of View—open!"
Natsuki exploded with energy like a Super Saiyan. His skin flushed crimson, and his body glowed with a green aura. The increased gravity couldn't hold him down at all.
"Crank it higher! Seventh Gate… can I open it? Gravity up again! Seventh Gate—Gate of Wonder, open!"
Buzz! A wave of unbearable pain consumed his body. Natsuki almost blacked out on the spot. But he bit down on his lip, forcing himself to stay conscious. Then, using the proper technique, he began compressing air into his fists, forcing it into the shape of a tiger.
And then he punched.
"Hirudora (Daytime Tiger)!"
BOOM!
It was as if the world itself cracked.
And Natsuki… instantly passed out.
He was ejected from the training chamber, drenched in sweat, lying motionless on his bed.
When he came to, he saw Tenten sitting beside him, anxiously wiping his sweat with a damp towel. Shino stood silently nearby, worry clearly visible even behind his sunglasses.
"Natsuki, you're awake?! You scared me half to death!"
Tenten was already crying. She threw herself into his arms. "You were out for a whole day! Do you know how worried I was? The doctor said you fainted from pain—but you didn't have a single injury! What the hell did you do?!"
Natsuki gave her a guilty smile and gently stroked her hair. "Sorry… I didn't mean to make you worry."
Shino spoke calmly, "You didn't come to school today. We thought you overslept after an all-nighter, so I stopped by around noon. I used my insects to check on you—you seemed to be sleeping, so I didn't think much of it. But when I came back after school and you still weren't awake, I knew something was wrong. Tenten arrived just in time and opened the door. We rushed you to the hospital."
So that's what happened…
Natsuki looked around and realized he really was in a hospital.
He truly had worried them. That final stunt… maybe he shouldn't have done it. It was way too painful.
Once Tenten had calmed down, she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring: "Explain. Now. If you don't tell me everything, I… I won't talk to you anymore!"
Tears welled in her eyes again. Natsuki quickly sat up and pulled her into his arms to comfort her.
Even Shino said, "You really went overboard this time. I don't know what kind of research you're doing, but Tenten and I were seriously worried."
Natsuki sighed.
He thought for a moment, then lowered his voice. "Shino, check if anyone's eavesdropping."
Shino understood immediately. He sent out his insects to scout the area. After confirming the coast was clear, he nodded. Both he and Tenten turned to Natsuki, waiting.
Natsuki changed his explanation slightly: "Actually… every month, on the night of the first, I enter a dream-like space. In that space, I can't be hurt. I have infinite stamina and chakra. It's the perfect place to research ninjutsu, secret techniques, even forbidden ones. Everything I've developed so far came from there."
Tenten and Shino found it hard to believe—but looking into Natsuki's eyes, they didn't see a single trace of deception.
Tenten pressed, "And this time?"
Natsuki looked a bit embarrassed. "I was training the Eight Gates. That place doesn't allow actual injury, but pain still exists. I tried to push myself to the seventh gate and even used Guy-sensei's ultimate technique—Hirudora. The power was incredible. But the pain… it was real. I passed out. I'm really sorry I scared you both. I was terrified too."
So that's what happened!
Tenten believed him. She had secretly asked Guy-sensei about the Eight Gates before.
The first three were safe—at most, they caused exhaustion. That was why Natsuki only allowed her to open the first three.
But from the fourth gate onward, the technique damaged the body. Only those with strong physical conditioning and immense willpower could endure the pain and survive the usage. Otherwise, the pain alone could overwhelm the mind…
(End of Chapter)
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