Chapter 319: Another Encounter with the Eight Gates

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Another Encounter with the Eight Gates

After taking the scroll, Hyuga Kagami showed no hesitation whatsoever. Right in front of Shinno, he opened it and began examining its contents carefully.

Although this was his first time seeing a scroll containing the Chimera Technique, Kagami had a very clear idea of what kind of forbidden technique it was supposed to be and what technologies it ought to involve. Because of that, he could at least determine whether the scroll was genuine or fake.

Of course, that was about as far as he could go.

As for whether the techniques recorded within were completely intact, whether certain details had been deliberately altered, or whether there were any other subtle modifications—those weren’t things Kagami could determine at a glance.

Before long, Kagami rolled the scroll back up.

Across from him, Shinno smiled faintly. "Well? I’ve already shown you my sincerity. Surely your Kamigami can trust me now, right?"

Kagami casually tossed the scroll aside and said indifferently, "Is that so? Because I haven’t felt any sincerity from you at all."

With a forbidden technique like the Chimera Technique, even the slightest alteration could produce a completely different result. There was no way Kagami would dare trust the scroll Shinno had handed him.

Besides, Kagami knew exactly what kind of person Shinno was.

Even Akatsuki wasn’t above Shinno’s betrayal. Kagami certainly didn’t believe that the name of Kamigami alone would be enough to make Shinno obediently hand over the Chimera Technique.

Seeing Kagami toss the scroll aside as though it were garbage, Shinno’s expression darkened.

"Did he notice something?"

Without a doubt, there were indeed serious problems with the Chimera Technique Shinno had handed over. He had secretly tampered with many of its details. If Kagami attempted to conduct experiments according to the technique recorded on that scroll, those experiments were guaranteed to fail.

Naturally, Shinno would never admit there was anything wrong with the scroll. His expression turned cold as he said, "Homura, I hope you understand something. I’m not afraid of you! I’ve fought members of the Uchiha clan before. I know how to deal with your kind!"

Kagami slowly drew the longsword at his waist and smiled.

"Is that so? Then I’d really like to see these methods of yours for dealing with the Uchiha clan."

The moment Shinno saw the sword Kagami had drawn, his expression abruptly changed, disbelief appearing across his face.

"That sword...!?"

Kagami smiled. "Recognize it?"

"Isn’t that Uchiha En’s sword?!" Shinno froze for a moment before taking a step back and pointing at Kagami. "Damn you! You’re Uchiha En!? You actually dared to impersonate Kamigami’s Homura to trick me!"

During their battle that night, Shinno had seen Kagami wield this very sword. Thus, the moment Kagami drew it, Shinno immediately saw through his identity.

However, he clearly believed that Kagami was merely impersonating Kamigami’s Homura in order to deceive him. After all, the identity of "Uchiha En" was supposedly nothing more than a subordinate of Akatsuki member Uchiha Shinichi.

Therefore, in Shinno’s eyes, Uchiha En couldn’t possibly be Kamigami’s Homura, because Kamigami’s Homura had already been confirmed to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Shinno’s arrogance quickly returned. He snarled viciously, "You ruined my plans last time, and I haven’t even settled that score with you yet! And now you actually dare come straight to my doorstep? You really don’t know when you’re courting death!"

Kagami said, "If I remember correctly, after our last fight, you were the one lying on the ground, weren’t you?"

Shinno’s face twisted ferociously as he roared, "That’s right! I lost last time. I fell into your trap. But this time is different! I’ll show you what my true strength really looks like!"

With that, Shinno violently spread his arms, and chakra erupted from his body, instantly shredding all the clothing covering his upper body.

Whoosh...

In an instant, a mass of black chakra visible to the naked eye surged around Shinno, enveloping his entire body.

As the violent black chakra continued to erupt, Shinno’s muscles swelled along with it. His physique began to change, his entire body seemingly growing a size larger.

"Hahaha..."

Laughing wildly, Shinno exerted just a little force through his feet.

Crack!

The solid floor tiles beneath him instantly shattered.

"See that?" Shinno grinned before continuing, "This is the ultimate transformation of the human body! Moryo’s chakra possesses the ability to continuously reshape the flesh. Now that I’ve become Moryo’s jinchuriki, my body is the ultimate war machine!"

As though determined to prove his own words, Shinno stomped down heavily.

A row of floor tiles shattered beneath his foot as he shouted,

"Eight Gates! First Gate—the Gate of Opening, open!"

Boom!

The moment Shinno opened the first of the Eight Gates, a visible wave of air burst outward around his body.

Shinno suddenly threw a punch into the empty air ahead of him, sending a massive wave of air surging outward as he shouted,

"Eight Gates! Second Gate—the Gate of Healing, open!"

Boom...

With a muffled explosion, the waves of air surrounding Shinno surged once again!

Glancing at Kagami, Shinno rolled his neck and said mockingly, "I’m not finished yet! Eight Gates! Third Gate—the Gate of Life, open! Fourth Gate—the Gate of Pain, open!"

Boom!

Opening two more gates in succession caused the air around Shinno to grow even more violent. Combined with the black chakra enveloping his body, he now gave off the impression of a savage beast from some primordial age.

Unable to contain himself, Shinno roared, "I can feel my blood boiling! Uchiha En, regret it! Weep and despair! Eight Gates! Fifth Gate—the Gate of Limit, open! Sixth Gate—the Gate of View, open!"

BOOM!

In an instant, the air around Shinno violently reversed direction, unleashing a thunderous roar!

At the same time, the air currents around him became so distorted that they bent the light itself. They intertwined with the vast amount of black chakra, forming ring after ring of hazy black halos that completely shrouded Shinno’s body.

Beneath his mask, Kagami’s expression darkened.

He truly hadn’t expected Shinno to have mastered the Eight Gates, much less be capable of opening all the way to the Sixth Gate—the Gate of View—in a single succession.

One shouldn’t assume that merely possessing a scroll containing the Eight Gates meant the technique could be easily mastered. The difficulty of training the Eight Gates far surpassed that of many secret techniques. It was absolutely not something that just anyone could learn.

Guy’s father had devoted himself to studying and training the Eight Gates day after day. It took him a full twenty years before he finally mastered the technique completely and passed it down to Guy.

As for Guy himself, he had given up training in ninjutsu and genjutsu, devoting himself entirely to taijutsu for all these years. Yet even now, he could only open up to the Sixth Gate—the Gate of View. He was still in the process of figuring out how to open the Seventh Gate—the Gate of Wonder.

From this alone, it was clear that even someone as exceptionally gifted in taijutsu as Guy needed years upon years of relentless training, day after day, to fully master the Eight Gates.

"Shinno, this guy..."

Although they were enemies, Kagami couldn’t help but admire Shinno’s capabilities to some extent.

This guy always seemed to pull out something completely unexpected...