Although Might Duy had a goofy personality, Yuya actually found him kind of likable.
How should he put it?
He might be ridiculous, but he was genuine!
Yuya could tell what kind of person Might Duy was—straightforward, warm-hearted.
Ever since coming to this world, Yuya had experienced firsthand that it wasn't all sunshine and shonen hype like in the manga. Behind all that light, there was a deep, hidden darkness.
As a child from another village, his experience in Konoha wasn't as tragic as Naruto's in the original story, but it wasn't exactly a picnic either.
Might Duy stood in sharp contrast to all those shady Konoha higher-ups—the Hokage's advisors, Danzō, even the arrogant and domineering Uchiha clan.
No matter how goofy he seemed, Might Duy was pure-hearted, full of light—not a single trace of darkness!
Yuya knew this world had its darkness, but even so, he still wanted to see people like Might Duy shine bright.
"Awesome!!"
Seeing Yuya nod in agreement, Might Duy's face lit up with excitement, his eyes almost overflowing with tears again.
But the very next second, he wiped away his tears and looked dead serious.
"Young man, this technique is powerful… but it's a forbidden jutsu. You understand what that means, right?"
"I do."
Yuya nodded.
Might Duy rarely showed such a solemn aura. He stared intently at Yuya and said, "Using forbidden jutsu always comes with risks!"
"I'm willing to bear them."
Yuya responded calmly.
Might Duy kept staring at him, dead serious.
Then...
"Waaahhh! This is just… amazing!! I feel like we were meant to meet!!"
Cue another round of Duy bawling like a baby.
Yuya could only respond with a look full of exasperated dread.
Seriously, enough already!
…
"This is how you train the Eight Gates technique."
Might Duy sat upright, raising one finger as he explained.
"You've probably already met the prerequisites… but I still recommend strengthening your body more before attempting to open the First Gate."
"Because the side effects are tied to your physical condition—the stronger your body, the less impact they have. Starting from the Third Gate, the backlash gets really intense."
Yuya mostly understood what Duy was saying, but he still listened quietly.
When Duy got to the Eighth Gate, Yuya's expression turned much more serious. Thoughts swirled rapidly in his mind.
He also kept asking questions along the way.
Might Duy was honestly surprised by some of Yuya's questions—they were sharp and hit all the right points. Some even stumped him. But for those he could answer, he did so thoroughly.
As Yuya gathered more answers, a new idea slowly began to form in his mind.
If it were a typical ninja in this world, they'd probably just follow the standard method and learn the technique step by step.
But Yuya was different.
His soul came from a world of vastly more open and creative thinking!
So Yuya dared to think bolder, more unorthodox ideas!
"The Eight Gates… is still a technique created by a ninja."
"If it was created, not something innate, then that means… it can be improved, even changed!"
Yuya thought to himself, his eyes gleaming with resolve.
Sure, the Eight Gates as shown in the original story were powerful—but once all eight were opened, death was guaranteed. That was an outcome Yuya absolutely wanted to avoid.
He wanted to change that!
After learning the Eight Gates training method from Duy, Yuya didn't start training right away. Instead, he went straight home.
That night, he spent the entire time lost in thought over the Eight Gates.
The Eight Gates release the body's natural limits, pushing beyond what's normally possible.
Starting from the head: Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, Gate of Death.
Eight gates in total, aligned from the top down—through the head, chest, abdomen, and finally back to the heart.
The fully opened Eight Gates unleashes all bodily limits, and the final surge strikes the heart, breaking through its ultimate barrier—this is the fully unleashed state, also known as the Eight Gates Formation.
"The heart… is the final gate of power. Break through all the limits before it, then slam open the gate in the heart—and boom, you unleash everything your body has left. And then, you die."
"But… what if the heart could be the starting point?"
That was the question Yuya kept pondering.
If the heart was the final destination, then naturally, the last blast of power came from activating your remaining life force.
But what if the heart could be the origin? What if you started strengthening your body from the heart outward—could that reduce or even avoid the devastating side effects?
Figuring out how to make the heart the origin was a challenge.
But Yuya was starting to form an idea. He wasn't about to rush into it recklessly. He planned to talk it over with Might Duy again—this kind of thing was no joke.
…
The next morning.
Just barely dawn, Yuya was still fast asleep when someone came in yelling and woke him up.
And really, the only person who would barge into Yuya's home and cause that kind of racket… was definitely Kushina.
Yuya's brain, foggy from a night of intense thinking, was now completely fried from Kushina's shouting. He felt like his whole soul was being nagged into oblivion.
Still, he got the gist of what she was saying.
It was about his challenge to Uchiha Han.
A ninja academy student who hadn't even graduated yet, challenging a Chūnin from the Uchiha clan—and a duel to the death at that! It was absolutely insane.
There'd never been anything like it in history.
Word spread fast. In just one day, practically the whole village knew. Of course Kushina heard about it too, and she had been up all night worrying.
Before the sun even rose, she ran straight to Yuya's place.
Even though she was driving him nuts, Yuya couldn't help but feel touched.
"Ugh, seriously—were you even listening to me?! I told you to cancel that stupid duel! I'll figure out a way to get you into the Senju clan's compound—then the Uchiha won't dare mess with you!"
Kushina grabbed Yuya by the shoulders and shook him like crazy.
Yuya gave a helpless smile.
"Okay, okay, if you keep shaking me like this, I'll be dead before the duel even starts."
"Hmph! Who knows what the hell you were thinking, challenging a Chūnin. Were you running a fever or something?!"
"Kushina."
Yuya looked her dead in the eyes, serious as hell. "This… is something I've decided for myself. Please stay out of it."
"How could I possibly stay out of it?!!"
Kushina's voice nearly gave Yuya a concussion.
His mouth twitched. Another bitter smile.
"I believe in myself. Three months from now, I'll beat him. That's it."
Yuya spoke with conviction, but when he looked up, he saw Kushina giving him the classic "are you stupid" face.
"Three months to beat a Chūnin… What, are you living in a dream world or something?!" Her voice was basically weaponized again.
But honestly, that just showed how worried she was. There was no way she could sit back and watch Yuya walk into a death sentence.
(TL.n): I know many have said this has already been translated, but since it was abandoned and left incomplete, I'll continue translating it in my own way.