Chapter 563: Orochimaru’s Taijutsu Data

"I get it! I finally get it!"

Just as Kakashi was staring speechlessly at Naruto, Shira's ecstatic shout rang out from the distance.

"…"

Kakashi very nearly turned around and asked:

You lunatic, what exactly did you figure out?

He had originally been fairly polite toward Shira.

After all, Shira was technically one of Sunagakure's instructors, somewhat like Iruka's relationship with Naruto, and Kakashi barely knew him.

But look where that politeness had gotten him.

The man had just done that to one of his shadow clones.

Kakashi ignored Shira and crouched beside Guy instead.

"Guy, stop fooling around with that man. This was my fault. I shouldn't have called you here."

Kakashi genuinely felt a little guilty.

He had misunderstood Guy earlier.

Sure, using Kakashi's sweat as part of a Seventh Gate experiment was deeply unpleasant, but at least Guy had not actually harmed him.

Shira, on the other hand, had literally used the Seven Heavens Breathing Method to inhale one of Kakashi's shadow clones until it popped.

"No, Kakashi."

Guy stubbornly shook his head, his expression completely serious.

"I understand now too!"

"No. You don't."

Kakashi looked troubled.

"No, I really do! Kakashi, believe me!"

Seeing that Kakashi did not believe him, Guy immediately became agitated.

"Excuse me. Is Konoha's Jōnin Might Guy here?"

A voice suddenly came from outside the crowd.

Everyone turned.

"Huh? Isn't that…"

Hoshigaki Nanami immediately recognized the newcomer's distinctive appearance.

Just as the Hoshigaki clan was known for shark-like features, the Kaguya clan had its own unmistakable traits—the small red markings on the forehead that they proudly associated with their aristocratic lineage.

The newcomer was none other than Kaguya Kimimaro.

After his terminal illness was cured, Kimimaro naturally wanted to continue growing stronger.

Unfortunately, whether it was his clan's Shikotsumyaku, ordinary taijutsu, or the Cursed Seal, there was only so much further he could push those paths on his own.

And since Kimimaro already possessed the Cursed Seal, there was little reason for him to pursue Sage Mode as well.

So after thinking it over carefully, Orochimaru recommended someone else.

Might Guy.

Who was actually the most suitable person to learn the Eight Gates?

Some people would say Hidan.

After all, Hidan was immortal. He could open the Gate of Death without dying permanently and theoretically use it over and over.

But anyone making that argument was overlooking one major problem.

The Eight Gates had training requirements.

Physical requirements.

It was not a TM where you slapped a disc against Hidan's forehead and he instantly learned the move.

Nor was it a video-game skill where pressing a button caused the technique to activate automatically.

Almost every taijutsu technique placed strict demands on the user's body.

Even people like Might Guy and Rock Lee—who spent their entire lives tempering themselves and constantly trained under heavy weights—still suffered torn muscles and broken bones when opening the higher Gates.

The most important problem was the bones.

Hidan's body might prevent him from dying, but with his physical conditioning, there was a good chance he would never manage to open all Eight Gates in the first place.

And even if he somehow did, his entire skeleton would probably shatter instantly and leave him lying helplessly on the ground.

Which meant the ideal candidate for the Eight Gates was naturally someone whose bones were far stronger than an ordinary human's.

A wielder of the Shikotsumyaku.

The Shikotsumyaku suited the Eight Gates in much the same way the Byakugan suited long-range precision attacks.

"Lord Orochimaru asked me to bring this to you. He hopes you'll accept it."

After explaining why he had come, Kimimaro pulled a scroll from his clothes and handed it over.

"What? I'm getting a junior disciple?"

Lee scratched his head in confusion.

"But… why do I suddenly want to fight him? Is it because I can sense that he's strong at taijutsu?"

"Bushy Brows, trust your instincts."

Naruto slung an arm around Lee's shoulders with a wicked grin.

"You're absolutely right. You need to show him the dignity of a senior and give him some proper training."

Out of everyone present, only Nanami looked more awkward about Kimimaro's appearance than Naruto did.

There had been a time when Naruto genuinely thought Kimimaro was his father.

And even now, Kimimaro's voice sounded exactly like Minato's.

It gave Naruto a headache every time he heard him speak.

Apparently, Naruto had now become the very thing he once hated.

The dragon slayer had become the dragon.

He was actually encouraging Lee to spread Konoha's Will of Bullying.

Of course, Naruto was mostly joking.

There was no real malice behind it. Even if Lee followed through, it would only amount to a friendly spar.

"So that's how it is."

Kakashi opened Orochimaru's scroll and barely read the beginning before sighing.

"Guy, it looks like you've been training wrong for all these years.

"Orochimaru really does live up to his reputation as one of the Legendary Sannin. Ever since he turned over a new leaf, he's become surprisingly reliable."

In Kakashi's eyes, all three Sannin had become dependable seniors in their own ways.

Orochimaru provided data, science, and research.

Tsunade provided medical treatment capable of saving almost anyone who was still technically alive.

And Jiraiya provided pornographic literature.

"Training wrong?"

Lee, who had been talking with Naruto, immediately froze.

"Kakashi-sensei, what do you mean?"

"Yeah, Kakashi."

Guy's expression became serious too.

"Explain. What does the scroll say?"

Lee's training methods had come from Guy.

Guy's methods were half self-developed and half inherited from Might Duy.

And all of them shared one defining feature:

There was almost no technique involved.

Couldn't run fifty laps around the village?

Run another hundred.

That was basically it.

One could only say that people in the shinobi world had remarkably durable bodies.

If an ordinary Earth human without all the dimensional advantages tried to follow their training regimen, they would have ended up—

[Guy-sensei, your lips are turning purple. Maybe opening the Eight Gates isn't very healthy for your heart.]

[Lee, you seriously think you can outrun me?]

[In Konoha Village, we train all day~]

[Might Guy-sensei, I still remember you~ Every word you said led me out of the fog~]

"Guy, Lee, calm down."

Kakashi raised a hand.

"I'm not saying your effort was wrong.

"The problem is efficiency.

"I only realized it after reading Orochimaru's data analysis.

"And honestly, it isn't just you two. Even the way I used to train my body was inefficient."

That calmed them slightly.

Kakashi continued reading from the scroll.

"According to Orochimaru's research, training while wearing external weights produces far less long-term skeletal adaptation than carrying a large amount of body fat.

"Because body fat places constant stress on the skeleton.

"All day.

"Every day.

"Even while sleeping.

"Despite all the training you two have done, your bone strength is still only barely comparable to that of the Akimichi clan."

"W-What?!"

Lee looked as though the sky had fallen.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you saying Chōji spends every day eating and sleeping, and his bones are just as strong as mine after I run laps around the village every day?!"

"Oh, no."

Kakashi shook his head and pointed at one of the figures in the report.

"Orochimaru didn't use Chōji's data.

"He used data from Akimichi Rianko of Kumogakure—the girl Sakura and Ino fought during the last Chūnin Exams."

"Phew…"

Lee visibly relaxed.

That was fine, then.

He had heard about Akimichi Rianko.

Combined with her teammate Sarutobi Yūma, she had used that bizarre fire-powered Human Boulder technique that burned fat as fuel, and her combat ability had been far beyond ordinary.

If Ino had not possessed a perfect counter through her technique's unusual mechanics, even someone like Lee might have struggled to deal with Rianko directly.

"Someone that strong must train every day too, right?"

Lee asked hopefully.

"Not according to the records."

Kakashi shook his head.

"There are records of extra meals, though."

He looked back down at the scroll.

"Apparently, Akimichi Rianko is unusually efficient at taking in energy even by Akimichi standards.

"There was one occasion when she ate fifty fried chicken legs, a forty-inch pizza, and three hundred dumplings in a single sitting.

"And apparently she normally treats pork-leg rice bowls as snacks."

"W-What?!"

This time, Lee was not the only one staring in disbelief.

Sakura and Ino were equally stunned.

They had never realized their former opponent had been working that hard.

Chōji normally just carried around a bag of chips.

Who the hell ate pork-leg rice bowls as a casual snack?