Chapter 26: You Need a Dad Who Can Open the Eight Gates
The brief disturbance did not affect the Konoha villagers' daily lives.
Under the scorching sun, the streets echoed with the sounds of hawking, bargaining, and challenges.
"Let's have a showdown, Kakashi!"
"No."
Kakashi looked at Might Guy with his usual dead-fish eyes, stepped to the side, and continued walking.
"Guy, I'm in the Anbu now. Every day I take lives. I'm not in the mood to spar with you so innocently."
"Then find it again! Find the original intention you had when sparring with me."
Hearing this, Kakashi looked up at the blazing sun. The dazzling light made him slowly narrow his eyes.
The original intention...
When I went to the bathroom, you stood on the wall.
When I took a bath, you climbed out of the bathtub.
Even when I slept, I could feel someone hiding under the bed.
Thinking back to those years when Might Guy had constantly forced him into sparring, Kakashi looked into his fiery eyes, pondered for a moment, and said helplessly,
"Rock-paper-scissors. Best three out of five."
"Kakashi, you're messing with Guy again."
A voice suddenly came from behind them.
Hearing the familiar voice, Kakashi's mouth twitched. His dead-fish eyes returned as he lowered his head to watch the ants crawling along the ground.
That Uchiha Asuka Guy really makes it hard to like him.
"Kakashi, a man who never forgets his youthful aspirations is the most likable."
Kakashi lazily turned to Uchiha Asuka.
"Actually, it doesn't matter whether I'm likable or not."
Hmm?
The moment he noticed the female ninja lying on Asuka's back, Kakashi's expression stiffened.
His entire demeanor changed instantly.
A Sunagakure ninja?
Is that... Pakura?
How did she end up like this?
Pakura was covered in dirt. Large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and cheeks, soaking the back of Asuka's clothes.
Her chin rested on his shoulder as she struggled to catch her breath.
Her arms hung limply across his chest as though they had been broken.
"Tsk."
Asuka walked over to the two of them, adjusted Pakura on his back, held her thighs with both hands, turned toward Might Guy, and said somewhat breathlessly,
"Might Guy, remember this: youth has no price, and the Eight Gates should be opened while you're young."
"You definitely won today's match."
Hearing that, Kakashi's face immediately turned pale.
Looking at the trembling Might Guy, he instantly appeared beside Asuka and hurriedly changed the subject.
"Why is Pakura here?"
"Oh."
Asuka glanced sideways at Pakura, whose chin still rested on his shoulder, and answered casually,
"She came with Ebizō to negotiate with the village. Then this Guy kicked me over ten meters while I was distracted, so we ended up fighting in the forest outside the village."
"The outcome was obvious."
"I won."
"I couldn't just leave her there, and I couldn't treat her injuries on the spot, so I'm taking her to the hospital."
"Despicable..."
Pakura forced out those two words through gritted teeth before gasping for breath again.
"Sigh. Who told you every Uchiha jōnin is a combat specialist?"
Pakura's eyes widened instantly.
She felt it becoming harder and harder to breathe.
The pressure from Asuka's back compressed her chest, making every breath more difficult.
Once my injuries heal...
I'm definitely beating this bastard to death.
"Your strength has become this great?"
"No."
"It's just that this Guy was overconfident."
"She didn't even bother gathering intelligence before fighting someone."
"I severed some of the muscles in her limbs, along with part of her intercostal muscles."
"She's struggling just to breathe."
"Where would she find the strength to fight?"
After saying that, Asuka waved without looking back.
As he headed toward the hospital, he shouted to Might Guy,
"Might Guy!"
"Youth only lasts thirty thousand days."
"Every day that passes is one day less."
"Cherish today."
"Hmm!"
Might Guy clenched his fists.
His eyes blazed as though fueled by natural gas.
Watching Asuka walk away, he turned toward Kakashi excitedly.
"Kakashi!"
"Before today's youth comes to an end..."
"Let's have a showdown!"
"No."
Before he could finish speaking, Kakashi suddenly felt a large hand clamp onto his shoulder.
The next moment, his feet left the ground, and the sound of rushing wind filled his ears.
That Uchiha Asuka Guy really makes it hard to like him.
He's always provoking Guy into getting fired up.
"Heh~"
Hearing the commotion behind her, Pakura couldn't help letting out a cold laugh between heavy breaths.
"Y-Your Konoha..."
"Has so many weirdos."
"That weirdo even wears a green bodysuit."
"Now not only do my muscles hurt..."
"My eyes hurt too."
"Well..."
"Well..."
Asuka shook his head and sighed.
"The weirdo in your eyes is the pinnacle of ordinary ninja."
"When every other ninja falls..."
"That liver-burning beast will stand up."
"He'll transform into a crimson beast."
"And he'll be unbelievably fierce."
"You probably haven't heard of him yet."
"But his father is quite famous throughout the shinobi world."
"His father crippled three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and killed four."
Hearing that, Pakura immediately remembered a shocking rumor from the previous year.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure had deep grudges, so they naturally paid attention to each other's trump cards.
It was said that the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had originally been preparing to target Sunagakure.
Unexpectedly...
Only a few days after leaving the village, before they had the chance to display the brutality of the Hidden Mist, they were almost wiped out by a single Konoha ninja.
"The Eight Gates..."
"Might Duy?"
"So you've heard of him."
"...Mm."
After that quiet response, Pakura lay silently on Asuka's back.
For once...
She had nothing to say.
Konoha truly seemed blessed by fate.
Whenever the village faced a crisis...
A whole group of monstrous ninja would appear.
As for Sunagakure...
Not only was its budget controlled by the Daimyō...
Its military strength was on an entirely different level from Konoha's.
Not to mention monsters like these.
This time, while escorting Ebizō to negotiate with Konoha, Ebizō had revealed part of the negotiation strategy along the way.
Everything boiled down to one point.
Sunagakure couldn't defeat Konoha.
Therefore...
Its bottom line during negotiations was extremely flexible.
"Hey..."
"C-Can you tell me about Konoha?"
Hearing Pakura suddenly ask that after remaining silent for so long, Asuka paused briefly before continuing toward the hospital.
There was still plenty of road ahead.
He had time to chat.
"What do you want to know?"
"I..."
"I don't know."
Pakura shook her head.
Looking at Konoha's streets—which were several times more prosperous than the busiest streets in Sunagakure—she spoke dejectedly.
"Start by telling me about yourself."
"What's there to tell?"
"You definitely held back during our fight."
"I remember the Sharingan can copy almost any ninjutsu."
"There's no way you don't know the Eight Gates."
"Whoa, whoa."
"The Uchiha aren't as amazing as you think."
"There's a limit to what the Sharingan can copy."
"I can only open the First Gate."
"Besides..."
"The requirements for mastering that technique are far too demanding."
"First, train tirelessly every day."
"Second, wear a skintight bodysuit that doesn't bulge."
"Third, possess the determination to never fear making a fool of yourself."
"Fourth..."
"You need a father who can open the Eight Gates."
"Miss even one of those four conditions..."
"And you can't learn the Eight Gates."
After speaking, Asuka caught the faint scent of lavender drifting through the air, and his gaze couldn't help wandering.
He really couldn't understand why so many transmigrators chose the Eight Gates as their signature ability.
That technique was simply too difficult to master.
---
Night fell.
Uchiha Asuka once again arrived at the Nara Clan compound.
"How much longer before my son becomes normal?"
Hearing Nara Ryoko's anxious voice, Asuka looked down at the sleeping child on the bed.
After pondering for a moment, he answered,
"Six more treatments."
"After that, he'll be no different from an ordinary child."
"But he'll still need follow-up observation."
"If Tsunade returns to the village, you can pay her to examine him as well."
Looking at her pale-faced son, Ryoko spoke with heartache.
"Lady Tsunade hasn't returned to the village since my son was born."
"Don't worry."
"That Guy will probably run out of money soon."
"She'll most likely be back in another half year."
Thinking of Tsunade's last reply, Asuka couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
The letter contained only a few words.
Its general meaning was:
"You're a good person, but my creditors are already at the door, so I don't have time to write more."
"Goodbye."
The granddaughter of Senju Hashirama...
Leader of the Senju Clan...
One of Konoha's Sannin...
Borrowing money without repaying it...
Running away with a pig...
Even beating up her creditors...
The way people in the shinobi world thought was truly baffling.
What exactly were those creditors expecting when they lent Tsunade money?
Did they expect her to repay it?
Should I also borrow money outside the village using the Uchiha name?
After all...
The Senju Clan's reputation is already terrible enough.