“Hm?”

  Might Duy, a master of taijutsu—though he humbly sidered himself just a Genin—sensed a shift in Kyoichi’s aura. The sensation was strikingly simir to the Eight Gates Release Formation!

  Could Kyoichi also know the Eight Gates?

  Curiosity piqued, Duy’s gaze lingered on Kyoichi.

  No…

  It’s different. This isn’t the Eight Gates.

  “Kanda-sensei, what teique is this?”

  Duy’s voice carried genuine surprise.

  The Eight Gates was something he had spent over two decades researg, pieg together from aexts and trial-and-error training. Yet Kyoichi, only fifteen years old, seemed to have created something strikingly simir.

  “This is a teique I’ve developed called the Seven Heavens Breathihod,” Kyoichi expined openly.

  He had iionally dispyed the teique, hoping to catch Duy’s attention.

  “Seven Heavens Breathihod?”

  Duy was stunned.

  So, it wasn’t the Eight Gates.

  Uhe Eight Gates, which revolved around the cept of unlog the body’s eight chakra gates, this method appeared to ter around something else entirely—breathing.

  Despite Duy’s single-minded dedication to the Eight Gates, his uanding of taijutsu rofound. Just from the name, he grasped the method’s core principle.

  Still, how it worked remained a mystery to him.

  “Lightning Release chakra stimute cellur activity, and simirly, taking in rge amounts of oxygen achieve the same effect,” Kyoichi expined.

  This was the essence of the Seven Heavens Breathihod.

  pared to the cellur stimution caused by Lightning Release, the Breathihod was cruder but resulted in eveer increases in speed and strength. However, it came at a steeper cost.

  “This… it seems to have much fewer side effects than my teique.”

  While Duy cked formal education, his years of experieh the Eight Gates gave him an intimate uanding of the human body. He immediately reized the Breathihod’s adva pced less strain on the user’s body.

  “You created this yourself?”

  “Kanda-seo be ho, I’ve spent over twenty years developing a taijutsu teique called the Eight Gates Release Formation!”

  Duy then briefly expihe principles of the Eight Gates.

  As he spoke, his admiration for Kyoichi grew.

  The body’s eight gates were protective meisms that limited chakra flow to prevent self-harm. Unlog these gates unleashed immense power but came with devastating side effects, including muscle tearing and bodily colpse.

  While the Seven Heavens Breathihod didn’t reach the same explosive limits as the Eight Gates, it was far more practical for widespread use. It demanded less of the body and only carried the cost of accelerated cellur division—a minor pripared to the Eight Gates’ risks.

  This made it a potentially life-saving teique otlefield.

  Moreover, it only activated the body’s cells without interfering with chakra flow, another advantage over the Eight Gates.

  “Kanda-sensei, my Eight Gates teique is based on the body’s chakra gates. That’s why it’s called Eight Gates. What about your Seven Heavens Breathihod?”

  “I envision it having seven levels of activatiht now, I’ve only developed the third level,” Kyoichi replied.

  Might Guy, who had been listening, was utterly lost.

  Although he had started training in the Eight Gates, he didn’t uand the deeper meics of taijutsu or the human body. Uo follow the versation, he decided to practice his taijutsu moves on his own.

  “The third level…”

  Duy’s curiosity was growing.

  Stimuting cellur activity was a novel cept—one he had never sidered.

  “So far, the method involves inhaling an increased amount of oxygen. Right now, I intake four times the normal amount. But for future development, it’ll require more than that,” Kyoichi tinued.

  “Wait! This is all your owion. I ’t just listen for free. Let’s trade—I’ll teach you the Eight Gates, and you share the Seven Heavens Breathihod with me. But… no, there’s o worry. With your character, I know you’ll use the Eight Gates wisely.”

  Duy had initially wao emphasize the importance of responsibility, much like he did with his son.

  However, after a moment’s thought, he realized there was no need.

  Kyoichi’s character was evident—he would undoubtedly use the teique for prote rather tharu.

  “Thank you, Duy-senpai. To be ho, I’m very ied in the Eight Gates, though I uand it’s a forbidden teique that should only be used sparingly.”

  “As expected of Kanda-sensei! You didn’t even need me to say it,” Duy ughed heartily before whispering the details of the Eight Gates to Kyoichi.

  Iurn, Kyoichi taught him the Seven Heavens Breathihod.

  However, the Breathihod’s development beyond the third level was inplete. Unless Kyoichi’s system could miraculously create the remaining levels, he would have to rely on his own research to adva.

  Betweewo teiques, the Eight Gates was undoubtedly the more refined and powerful one.

  Yet Duy didn’t feel shortged.

  The Breathihod opened his eyes to airely neroach. While it wasn’t practical to bi with the Eight Gates, it had incredible potential for widespread application.

  “Kanda-sensei, if the first level of activation could be simplified, wouldn’t it make an excellent foundational taijutsu for most ninja?”

  “I’ve had that thought. It’s still under research,” Kyoichi admitted.

  “I may be a mere Genin, but I’d be happy to help if I .”

  “That would be fantastic!” Kyoichi replied, feeling both excited and a bit embarrassed.

  He had inteo trade for the Eight Gates but found that Duy’s selflessness and vision far exceeded his own.

  The fact that Duy regarded him so highly also left Kyoichi refleg on his own character.

  After their exge, Kyoichi couldn’t help but sigh.

  Keeping someone like Duy relegated to the rank of Geni like such a waste.

  Konoha wasn’t g talent—it was crippled by the shhtedness of the Third Hokage and Danzō.

  pared to Senju Tobirama, their ability to identify and nurture potential was severely g.

  That day, Kyoichi and Duy spent hours discussing aing their teiques.

  The Eight Gates and the Seven Heavens Breathihod were fually different systems, but both were powerful forbidden arts.

  By the end of their session, Duy had already mastered the first level of the Breathihod.

  “I think I have an idea, but… I ’t quite put it into words,” Duy admitted, his face reddening with frustration.

  Duy’s training was rooted in sheer repetition rather than theory. While he could expin the Eight Gates, he struggled to articute his uanding of the Breathihod.

  “Duy-senpai, there’s o rush. If necessary, we release the first level to the public. Its universal application would be enough. As for the Eight Gates, I think it could be from its own specialized teiques.”

  “Specialized teiques? Why?”

  Gcell