Chapter 49: Chapter 49
At the same time, Guy saw that his father had recovered after Kiriya’s healing and was overjoyed.
He threw himself back into Might Duy’s arms.
"Dad, I’m so glad you’re okay!"
"Oh, I’m fine now!"
Might Duy grinned, showing off his bright white molars.
"You saw it just now, didn’t you, Guy? Was your dad’s burning youth dazzling or what?"
Those words immediately seized Guy’s attention, and his questions burst out like a volley of cannon fire.
"What was that power just now?"
"Can I become as strong as you too, Dad?"
By now, Genma Shiranui and Ebisu had also recovered from the relief of surviving.
Hearing Guy’s questions, they both looked over curiously.
"That was the taijutsu I taught you before—the Eight Gates, this is its true power! So, Guy, were you shocked?"
"Seriously? There’s really taijutsu that powerful?" Ebisu sounded doubtful.
"If it’s really that strong, wouldn’t it have spread everywhere by now?" Genma added.
Before the father and son could answer, Kiriya spoke first.
"The Eight Gates, as the name suggests, unlocks the eight limiters in the body that restrict the flow of chakra, allowing the user to temporarily gain tremendous power. If all eight gates are opened, the user can even obtain strength beyond the Kage."
"Seriously?"
"It’s that powerful?"
The two boys found it hard to believe.
They knew what the Kage represented.
Each one was the undisputed leader of their respective ninja village, a powerhouse among powerhouses.
Yet this technique could let an ordinary person gain power beyond them.
It sounded like pure fantasy.
"Then what’s the price?" Genma asked the most important question.
"When all eight gates are opened, the user reaches the brightest peak of their life," Kiriya said. "And after that comes.... death."
His words made everyone fall silent.
"Dad, you were about to..."
Might Guy remembered the resolve his father had shown just now, and tears immediately poured down his face.
He clung to Might Duy and sobbed loudly.
He had almost lost his father!
"It’s all right, Guy. If I can protect the most precious thing in my life until the very last moment, then death is nothing more than the climax of youth! That itself is the highest praise."
This scruffy, middle-aged man with stubble on his face spoke the coolest line imaginable in the calmest tone.
Might Guy cried even harder!
Genma Shiranui and Ebisu also burst into tears.
"Damn it, a brick got in my eye."
The warm, sorrowful atmosphere lasted for quite a while before Kiriya’s helpless voice finally rang out.
"Guys, if you’re going to cry, at least look at where we are. Kirigakure’s people are probably going to catch up soon. Are you planning to stay here forever?"
The group suddenly snapped awake and quickly pulled themselves together.
Then they briskly cleaned up the battlefield.
The seven ninja swords were all rare treasures, and more importantly, they were proof of what had happened here and the achievement they had earned.
Naturally, they could not leave them behind.
Genma Shiranui took out a sealing scroll and sealed the weapons away one by one.
Then he followed Kiriya and the others as they left.
Along the way, Might Duy kept trying to strike up conversation with Kiriya, and every sentence somehow circled back to how wonderful Konoha was.
Ichiraku Ramen tasted amazing.
Their leaders were wise beyond compare.
The land was full of outstanding people and talented geniuses.
The neighbors were warm, and the atmosphere was lovely.
By the time he was done, Konoha sounded like the heaven.
Its so beautiful and wonderful.
Come to Konoha and see for yourself!
That was basically what he meant.
Kiriya was finally annoyed enough by the rambling that he said, "Duy, I know what you’re trying to say. I can go to Konoha, but I have one condition."
"Please, name it."
Might Duy immediately focused with all his attention.
"Teach me the Eight Gates," Kiriya said.
"Huh?"
Might Duy froze, then looked at Kiriya in disbelief and confirmed again, "You want to learn the Eight Gates?"
"That’s right."
Kiriya nodded seriously, showing that he was not joking.
"But... why?" Might Duy could not understand. "Your swordsmanship is already so powerful. You shouldn’t need it, right?"
’Who complains about having too many powers?’
That was what Kiriya thought in his heart, but what he said aloud was something else entirely.
"Because fighting with your fists, feeling every blow land on your enemy bodies, is a man’s romance! Burning yourself to the absolute limit is the true meaning of youth."
Kiriya spoke with a perfectly serious face.
This was not entirely an excuse.
It was, in part, what he truly felt.
Morning Peacock, Daytime Tiger, Evening Elephant, Night Guy.
That blazing brilliance, blooming at the very limit of one’s life, was something Kiriya genuinely admired.
Of course, the more important reason for learning the Eight Gates was that it would give him a trump card for fighting above his level.
It would also give him the confidence to flip the table when everything came down to the final moment.
If anyone tried to leave Kiriya no way to survive, he dared to answer with Night Guy.
"Oooooooooooh!"
After hearing Kiriya’s explanation, Might Duy shouted three times and pulled his son into a tight embrace, crying with joy.
"Son, did you see that? Our ninja way has been recognized! We... we aren’t alone!"
"Yes, Dad!"
Guy cried loudly too!
"..."
Watching two thick-browed, bowl-cut men in green bodysuits hugging each other and sobbing, Kiriya, Ebisu, and Genma all turned their gazes away.
They could not look.
It was too much for their eyes!
"Hey, are you going to teach me or not? Give me a straight answer."
Kiriya finally could not bear it anymore and raised his voice.
"Of course I will."
Might Duy released his beloved son and turned back.
"As long as you join Konoha, I’ll teach you everything about the Eight Gates."
"I’m already from Konoha."
Kiriya stretched out his hand.
Under everyone’s shocked gaze, his smooth palm transformed into a piece of living wood.
"Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Senju Kiriya and I’m from Konoha."
Senju Kiriya.
That was the identity he had in Konoha.
"W-Wood Release!"
Ebisu cried out, and the way he looked at Kiriya immediately changed.
In his mind, Kiriya had become one of their own.
It was simple.
In the entire ninja world, the Wood Release kekkei genkai belonged only to Hashirama Senju.
There was no other clan who can use it.
Kiriya’s surname was Senju, and he had awakened the rare Wood Release.
Naturally, they connected it to the idea of a descendant awakening the power of their bloodline, and they believed his identity completely.
’This guy really is from Konoha!’
There was no helping it.
In a world that valued bloodline so deeply, a kekkei genkai was just that convincing.
"Hahahaha! So you’re from the Senju clan, young man! You should have said so earlier! We’re all family in the end!"
Might Duy patted Kiriya on the shoulder, laughing happily.
Then he looked a little puzzled.
"Are you living in Konoha? Why haven’t I seen you before?"
’Oh, give me a break. With your face blindness, who can you even remember?’
Kiriya rolled his eyes at him.
"The Senju clan..." Genma Shiranui rubbed his chin. "I think there’s only one left in the village, isn’t there? If I remember right, he’s kind of a dead last."
"I’m that dead last."
Kiriya’s single sentence made cold sweat pour down Genma’s back.
"Don’t be nervous. That’s all in the past."
Kiriya waved it off and looked at Might Duy.
"So, can you teach me the Eight Gates now?"
"Hahahaha, of course."
This time, Might Duy agreed readily.
"But I have to remind you, opening the Eight Gates requires extremely strict conditions. It takes years and years of training before you can control them freely."
"You don’t need to worry about that."
Kiriya smiled confidently.
"I have my own way."
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