"I'll take him!"
Might Duy shouts, stepping forward.
Since he struggled to control his strength and speed while using the Eight Gates, and relied mostly on wide-range, high-impact moves, there was always a risk of accidentally hurting allies.
If Kosuke Maruboshi and Heiyan joined the fight, he'd have no choice but to pull his punches — and that meant holding back his full strength.
"View Gate, open!"
Might Duy crosses his arms over his chest. With a furious roar, he unlocks the sixth gate of the Eight Gates Technique — the View Gate.
Facing someone as powerful as Hanzo, he can't afford any hesitation. This is his ultimate trump card.
"So, this is the legendary Eight Gates Technique... I never thought anyone could master it to this extent..."
Hanzo keeps his calm façade, but admiration flickers in his eyes.
Boom!
Duy slams his foot into the ground and charges forward. Even with an Uchiha's Sharingan, his movement becomes impossible to track.
In the blink of an eye, he closes in on Hanzo.
[Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!]
Using the same move again, Might Duy aims to kick Hanzo into the air — where he'll unleash his final killing move: [Reverse Lotus].
But just as his foot is about to strike...
Whoosh!
Hanzo grips his sickle in one hand and forms a single seal with the other. In an instant, he vanishes. When he reappears, he's already over twenty meters away — faster than the eye can follow.
Incredible Body Flicker speed!
Watching from the sidelines, Kosuke Maruboshi and Heiyan exchange grim looks.
In the ninja world, Body Flicker techniques fall into three categories: Space–Time Ninjutsu, high-speed Taijutsu, and escape-style techniques.
Space–Time Ninjutsu is by far the rarest. The most famous is the Flying Thunder God Technique — known as "the fastest technique in the ninja world" — developed by the Second Hokage. Unfortunately, since Tobirama Senju's death, no one has ever mastered this secret art again.
High-speed Taijutsu includes Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the Eight Gates Technique. Their defining trait? No need for hand seals.
Heiyan's Chidori Shunshin functions much like the Lightning Shunshin within Lightning Release Chakra Mode — it kicks in instantly, its speed ghostly fast.
Even when Might Duy opens the sixth gate, his speed still becomes completely invisible to the naked eye.
Compared to these, escape-style Body Flickers seem far weaker.
Most shinobi use basic D-rank Body Flicker jutsu — techniques requiring seals and chakra directed to the feet for quick movement.
Yet somehow, Hanzo's escape-style Body Flicker surpasses even the Eight Gates' speed.
In the original story, Hanzo once dodged an attack from Nagato's Demonic Statue of the Outer Path when Nagato was overcome with rage.
Among later generations, only one person matched Hanzo's proficiency in escape-style Body Flickers: Uchiha Shisui's legendary Flash Movement.
No wonder he was called a demigod in the ninja world.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the battlefield, Might Duy and Hanzo clash in dazzling combat. As they move at blinding speeds, each direct hit sends shockwaves through the air, exploding like thunder.
However, Hanzo's advantage in battle experience quickly becomes clear.
Rustle!
The battle rages on.
He seized an opening in Might Duy's defense and wrapped the chain of his kusarigama tightly around the latter's body. Then he raised his sickle high and delivered a powerful downward slash!
Boom!
Might Duy took the full force of the blow and plummeted from the sky like a falling star, crashing into the ground and creating a massive crater.
Fortunately, Hanzo had held back slightly on the final strike, using the flat side of the blade instead of the edge—otherwise, Might Duy would have suffered fatal injuries.
Even so, Might Duy had lost the ability to continue fighting.
Because the aftereffects of the Eight Gates had kicked in.
"Darn it."
He clenched his teeth and tried to stand, but waves of unbearable pain surged through him. In the end, he collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
[Eight Gates]? That's all it amounts to?
Hanzo shook his head. Might Duy's performance hadn't exceeded his expectations.
Whoosh!
A figure swiftly appeared on the battlefield—Heiyan had arrived. He pressed his palms onto Might Duy's chest, channeling a surge of healing Yang Release chakra into his body.
Medical Ninjutsu was an extremely complex discipline, and naturally, Heiyan couldn't claim mastery over it.
However, over the past three years, having been treated many times by Tsunade herself, he had picked up even without formal instruction, and could now perform the most basic healing techniques.
Moreover, with the high-quality Yang Release chakra he naturally possessed, the healing effects were surprisingly effective.
"Heiyan... thank you..."
Might Duy felt a warm current surge through his body, and the intense pain eased significantly within moments.
"You gave it everything you had. Now get some rest," Heiyan said gently.
Might Duy's potential and fighting talent—no matter how hard he trained—were nowhere near as good as his son Might Guy's. Without opening the Seventh or Eighth Gate, there was no way he could match Hanzo.
Boom!
As Heiyan was treating Might Duy, another violent surge of chakra erupted on the battlefield.
Kosuke Maruboshi had made his move.
[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!]
After observing Hanzo's fight against Might Duy, Kosuke realized he could never beat Hanzo in taijutsu alone, so he decided to use his strongest Water Release technique.
Splash!
A colossal water dragon burst forth from behind him, surging forward to attack one of Hanzo's shadow clones.
"Is that the Second Hokage's Water Release?"
Well-versed in various techniques, Hanzo instantly recognized Kosuke's origins from his distinct hand seals.
But times had changed.
[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!]
Hanzo replicated the same technique himself—except it was one he personally refined and simplified. A much more powerful water dragon rose majestically behind him and collided violently with Kosuke's jutsu.
Boom!
The two dragons clashed, and surprisingly, Kosuke was outmatched as his summoned water dragon was ruthlessly torn apart by Hanzo's superior technique.
"So this is all the Second Hokage's Water Release can do?" Hanzo scoffed disdainfully, arms crossed. Layers of water began rising beneath his feet, lifting him upward.
According to the Scroll of the Ninja World: Hanzo was a ninja who had reached the peak of mastery. Wearing a specially designed mask, he moved freely through water, and no one could surpass him in his dominion over water itself.
As the leader of Ame Village in the Land of Rain—a country abundant with rivers and lakes, where drizzle lingers year-round—Hanzo's unmatched mastery of Water Release was, in fact, his greatest strength.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
With a mere flick of his hand, bypassing even the need for hand seals, he unleashed several high-pressure water streams toward Kosuke Maruboshi.
[Water Release: Water Formation Wall!]
Kosuke's face darkened. Letting out a low shout, he channeled his remaining chakra to activate the defensive ninjutsu once again.
However, having fought through multiple battles, Kosuke's chakra reserves were nearly exhausted. As a result, the Water Formation Wall barely took shape, looking unstable and on the verge of collapse.
Hiss! Hiss!
The moment the high-pressure streams struck, the wall was pierced almost instantly—Kosuke's defeat seemed certain.
Just then—
Boom!
The water formation wall surrounding Kosuke suddenly rose higher and began spinning wildly. The immense force deflected all incoming water streams outward.
"What's going on?!"
Kosuke stood stunned, quickly turning around to see Heiyan behind him completing the hand seal for the Water Formation Wall.
Combined, master and disciple became one—tripling its scale!
An unprecedented Water Formation Wall.
"Master, I'm here."
Heiyan stepped forward, supporting Kosuke as he spoke, his eyes locked forward with calm determination. "Let me handle this."
"Heiyan…"
Kosuke stood frozen, sensing from his student an air of a true warrior.
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