"What are you doing?!"
Chiba frowned. He could feel the chakra gathering in the girl's palm—if that strike hit him squarely, he'd be bleeding for sure. No! Bleeding would be getting off easy.
Biting the hand that saved you, huh?!
Chiba felt a flicker of irritation.
"You insolent scoundrel!" the girl in his arms snapped. With another sharp cry, she threw a second palm strike toward his face.
Still attacking?!
Chiba dodged again, though not as cleanly this time. A sharp stinging pain flared across his right cheek—he'd probably been cut.
"You—!"
He opened his mouth in anger, but before he could say more, he felt the Gate of Life begin to close. A wave of exhaustion crashed over him, and his arms went limp. The girl slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
Gate of Life Mode: Deactivated.
His chakra level plummeted back to normal.
Though the Eight Gates Mode had significantly reduced the physical burden of the original technique, it still had its limits. And now, he understood what that limit was—his stamina.
After all, he wasn't truly changing the essence of the technique—he was simply controlling the released chakra. If his body couldn't sustain the gate's activation due to fatigue, it would naturally shut down. Just like how the Eight Gates could only be kept open as long as the body could withstand them.
So that's how it works!
There was still plenty of room to improve this mode.
Even through the fatigue, Chiba remained calm and analytical, quietly letting out a breath of relief.
He had initially thought the mode could only be sustained for a few seconds, but now it seemed—as long as he kept building up his stamina and taijutsu, it could become a regular combat mode. Like Gai, who could open the Seventh Gate with ease.
Maybe he wouldn't even need to reach the Seventh Gate before achieving that.
And if the Third Gate already gave him chakra on par with a proto-chūnin, wouldn't the Fourth Gate bring him up to a jōnin's level?
Just imagining it filled Chiba with excitement. His fatigue seemed to lessen.
Even better, now that the Gate of Life had closed, his body didn't feel any damage at all. That intense punch—bursting with chakra—had caused no backlash.
This meant... the Gate of Life Mode was completely safe!
As Chiba immersed himself in analyzing the Eight Gates Mode, the Hyuga girl he had just dropped to the ground rolled and sprang to her feet, launching another palm strike full of aggression.
Chiba suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. With the gate closed, his limbs were sore and heavy. Even though he could see the incoming strike, he didn't have the strength to dodge.
And from her posture—it was definitely Gentle Fist.
Chiba's mouth twitched. In his current state, could he survive even one clean hit?
Only one option left.
Chiba's eyes narrowed in determination.
The girl's palm came flying in, precise and deadly.
"Don't hit me! I'm an ally!" Chiba cried.
The girl—Hyuga Yukina—stopped her palm just short of his chest. Frost lingered on her pretty face, her temple veins bulged from activating her Byakugan, and her snow-white eyes sharpened with focus, the faint trace of a pupil etched within.
She stared at the hands-up Chiba for a moment—
Then glanced toward the crater behind him.
There, lying motionless, was the very ninja who had attacked her.
In an instant, she connected the dots.
This boy... saved me?
Her eyes moved to the large, one-meter-wide crater in the ground—clearly caused by a devastating impact—and then back to the pale-faced boy who looked like he was about to pass out.
Her brows furrowed.
There was no one else here. It had to have been him.
But how?! He doesn't look strong at all.
She activated her Byakugan again. Through its 360-degree vision and chakra-sensing ability, she could clearly see Chiba's chakra network.
Normal.
His chakra level was even lower than hers. His musculature was toned but unremarkable. There was absolutely no way someone like him could deliver a blow strong enough to create that crater.
And yet, the facts were right in front of her.
"That, uh… Miss Yukina… you see…" Chiba raised his hands sheepishly, smiling awkwardly as he gestured to the palm still hovering near his chest.
Hyuga Yukina frowned deeper.
This guy? He really saved me? He looks so weak.
Chiba could only smile bitterly under her suspicious gaze. He'd just risked his life to rescue her, and she still didn't believe him.
Some thanks.
Fortunately, now that she had sorted through the situation, Yukina slowly retracted her palm, the frost on her face beginning to thaw.
"…It was a misunderstanding. My apologies." She gave a polite bow. "And… thank you for saving me."
Chiba sighed in relief. Her genuine apology and thanks helped ease the sting of being wrongly attacked.
Finally having a chance to take a better look at her, Chiba couldn't help but be a little stunned.
She had a porcelain-doll face, skin like snow, and jet-black hair cascading down to her waist. There was a hint of baby fat on her cheeks, making her look youthful yet noble. She wore a white kimono-style outfit with exposed arms, and a short skirt that reached just a third down her thighs—slightly longer than her black leggings. Underneath, fishnet stockings hugged her legs, with geta sandals on her delicate, jade-like ankles.
She'd picked up a bit of dirt when she fell earlier, but it didn't diminish her grace in the slightest.
Click…
Suddenly, a faint crack sounded from the direction of the crater.
The two of them instinctively turned their heads.
What they saw made both of them freeze.
The body of the enemy ninja—collapsed at the center of the crater—was turning to earth. Yellow-brown earth.
And then it dissolved into a pile of dirt.
Earth-Style Clone!
Chiba and Hyuga Yukina thought the same thing at the same time.
"Earth Release: Fissure Palm!"
Right then, the ground behind them split open with a loud crack—a rupture racing toward them!
Almost simultaneously, the two of them leapt in opposite directions, narrowly avoiding being swallowed by the rift.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison!"
Just as Yukina landed, four slabs of stone suddenly shot up around her—locking her in place.
Damn it!
From midair, Chiba caught sight of her imprisonment and cursed silently.
It's that ninja again!
His body, still sore and exhausted, could barely handle the evasive leap. As he landed, his legs buckled and he almost collapsed.
He grit his teeth and forced himself to stand. His legs trembled beneath him.
He turned around, face grim.
Standing there, completely unharmed—was the enemy ninja he had punched earlier.
Things had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Chiba glanced at Yukina, now sealed inside the stone prison, then back at the enemy in front of him.
His Gate of Life Mode was deactivated. His stamina was spent. The Hyuga girl was trapped.
And the enemy—capable of launching multiple advanced Earth Release jutsu in quick succession—was definitely a jōnin.
This… is the worst-case scenario.