Uchiha Raihō was curious—was this "Eight Gates" technique really as miraculous as they claimed?
They said that mastering the Eight Gates could grant power dozens of times stronger than a Kage-level ninja.
If he could achieve such strength, even dying would be worth it—so long as it meant restoring the Uchiha clan's former glory.
Of course, the elder Yatsushiro had warned him not to get his hopes up. The difficulty of training in this technique was abnormally high.
But Raihō couldn't give up without trying.
Otherwise, he'd always carry a nagging regret in his heart.
The clan didn't possess the method to train in this technique. He knew the only two people capable of using it were Might Guy and Uchiha Ryosuke.
So the question was—who should he ask for guidance?
Though he no longer underestimated Might Guy, Ryosuke was one of his own, a fellow clansman. So naturally, Raihō leaned toward asking Ryosuke.
He entered the grove by the clan grounds and soon spotted Ryosuke, who was still training. At the moment, he was doing push-ups at a rapid pace, emanating an overwhelming intensity.
His movements were perfect. His speed was blazing.
Raihō watched for several minutes, his shock growing.
Sure, he could do push-ups too—but not at that speed or for that long.
Clearly, Ryosuke had grown stronger.
After finishing 200 push-ups, Ryosuke stood up and looked at the intruder.
"What do you want?"
Raihō had originally just wanted to check on Ryosuke's condition, but suddenly, a new thought came to mind.
"Ryosuke, how about a little sparring match?"
Hearing this, Ryosuke immediately had an idea.
A test dummy delivering itself? Why not take advantage of the opportunity? He was curious to see how strong he'd truly become.
Raihō, at the very least, was still an elite Jonin of the Uchiha. That should give him some sort of benchmark.
He waved at Raihō.
"Come on."
Raihō didn't get angry at Ryosuke's casual gesture. Instead, his expression grew serious.
His eyes sharpened and turned crimson—three tomoe spun in each pupil. He had activated his fully matured Sharingan.
Since Ryosuke specialized in taijutsu, using the Sharingan would help him gain the upper hand.
Ryosuke, seeing Raihō's Sharingan activate, also turned on his own.
But he didn't use the Eight Gates.
For an opponent like Raihō, he didn't feel the need to.
He rushed forward, raising a fist and striking toward Raihō.
Raihō was surprised by Ryosuke's sheer speed and the force behind his punch. Rather than block it head-on, he sidestepped to avoid it.
Even so, a gust of wind brushed his face—caused by the sheer force of the punch.
If that had landed directly, it would've hurt—a lot.
Raihō was just about to counter when Ryosuke's left fist followed up instantly.
With no choice, Raihō raised his arms to block.
The impact shocked him. The punch was heavy enough to make his arm go numb.
They entered close-quarters combat.
But Raihō had no chance to fight back. He was completely overwhelmed.
All he could do was defend—barely.
Finally, a hole opened in his defense, and Ryosuke sent him flying with a single blow.
Ryosuke felt satisfied. Clearly, he had become much stronger. Even without going all out, Raihō was no match for him.
Raihō slowly climbed to his feet, stunned.
Just two months ago, their taijutsu had been evenly matched. But now, Ryosuke had easily overpowered him without even using the Eight Gates.
It was overwhelming.
Ryosuke truly lived up to his reputation as one of the clan's top three prodigies—a genius in taijutsu.
Comparing ninjutsu with someone like him was pointless.
Raihō formed a hand seal quickly.
"Snake – Goat – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger!"
He gathered chakra in his chest and exhaled a blazing Great Fireball straight at Ryosuke.
Ryosuke didn't feel pressured.
He could easily dodge it at his current speed.
Still, he suspected Raihō might be using the jutsu as cover to launch a sneak attack.
He wasn't falling for that again.
As the fireball neared, a wild thought crossed his mind—what would happen if he tried to slice through it with his hand?
But on second thought, the flames would probably burn him.
Unless…
If he wrapped his hand in chakra, wouldn't that solve the problem?
His chakra reserves had grown significantly—thanks to his frequent sessions with Kurenai, even if not daily.
With plenty of chakra to spare, the idea became more tempting.
And even if it failed, his body could heal overnight anyway.
Resolved, Ryosuke channeled a strong flow of blue chakra into his right hand, trying to shape it into something sharp.
It only took a moment.
Then, with a burst of speed, he rushed toward the incoming fireball and swung down.
Whoosh!
The fireball split in half and scattered in flames on either side.
Ryosuke blinked. It worked.
His hand, protected by chakra, wasn't even burned—just felt slightly hot.
To him, pain was nothing. A little heat was barely noticeable.
Raihō stood frozen, eyes wide.
He had never seen someone deal with his Great Fireball like that.
Most opponents either dodged it or countered with another jutsu.
But this—this was brute force insanity.
And yet, Ryosuke wasn't finished.
He formed hand seals.
Poof! A cloud of smoke, and a clone appeared beside him, charging straight at Raihō.
Ryosuke's logic was simple.
He wasn't sure if Raihō had used a clone—so he responded with a clone of his own. That way, if Raihō planned a sneak attack, Ryosuke wouldn't need to risk his real body.
Besides, even if it was clone versus clone, his would win.
With his abundant chakra, Ryosuke had infused his clone with far more power.