The Eight Gates, when fully opened, grants power dozens of times greater than the Five Kage—if only for a brief moment.
Twenty years later, this man would burn through his life force and nearly kick Six Paths Madara into an early ending.
"Water Release."
Taking advantage of the aftereffects of Lotus on Might Guy's body, he wouldn't give him the chance to unlock the Eight Gates.
Now that fate had brought them together, he wouldn't hold back. He wouldn't allow Might Guy to grow into a future threat.
Watching as Guy struggled weakly within the water prison, unable to break free for several seconds, Yagura's eyes hardened with determination.
The Eighth Gate—Death Gate—was a threat to Kirigakure.
His killing intent solidified. The hand that had extended toward Guy clenched into a fist, unleashing an immense surge of chakra in an instant!
The Water Prison Technique was no secret art. Most shinobi understood its effects and limitations.
But the fact that this young Kirigakure genin could use the Water Prison without restricting himself was already astonishing.
The moment Yagura unleashed it, the sheer quantity of chakra flooding the battlefield made every shinobi present change expression.
Had he modified the Water Prison Technique on his own?
This chakra... was bad news!
Inside the prison, the water pressure suddenly intensified! A force a hundred times stronger than normal air pressure bore down on Might Guy's entire body!
There was no air inside the water prison. Guy had only the single deep breath he took before being trapped.
The abrupt surge in pressure made his vision blur. The breath he had been holding in his lungs dissipated instantly, and his ability to breathe was crushed!
He had experienced this sensation before.
Once, in his attempt to push past his limits, he had dived dozens of meters underwater. The deeper he went, the greater the pressure on his lungs.
But now, within this so-called Prison, the force was far beyond that of merely a few dozen meters underwater!
A fragile human body couldn't withstand such pressure for long.
His respiratory system was the first to fail.
His windpipe and lungs were compressed by the water's crushing force, unable to take in even a sliver of oxygen.
No. If this went on, he would die.
It was time—he had to use that technique!
Eight Gates, open!
...
His lungs ruptured instantly.
Oxygen deprivation sent a wave of unconsciousness surging into his mind. The final punch he tried to throw at the water prison hit weakly, his eyes rolling back into the whites.
He instinctively tried to lift his hand for help—but it fell, powerless.
The blue world before him blurred alongside his fading consciousness.
From outside, the scene was visible to all.
The Konoha genin watched in horror, eyes wide with desperation, as their fiery-spirited comrade struggled in vain within the prison's sealed walls.
Shiranui Genma turned to their team's jōnin for help. "Sensei! Guy, he—"
The jōnin hesitated but then shook his head, preventing his students from interfering.
On the other side, the Kirigakure team's jōnin—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—was watching closely.
Inside, Guy's resistance faded rapidly. His ruptured organs leaked crimson into the enclosed space, staining the water red.
Deeper and deeper the color spread, until the entire cube became an opaque, blood-drenched prison.
...
Release.
With a single hand seal from Yagura, the water prison shattered, releasing the lifeless body of Might Guy along with a rush of crimson-stained water.
He floated weightlessly, his body seemingly deflated, drenched in red—a man turned into a figure of blood.
Nara Shikaku, acting as proctor, rushed forward immediately to assess Guy's condition, his urgency betraying his concern.
From the battle just now, it was clear—this unknown genin, Might Guy, had the potential to become an elite jōnin!
Every elite jōnin, or any shinobi with the potential to surpass that level, was an invaluable resource for their village.
If there was even a sliver of life left, Guy had to be rushed to the hospital for the best possible treatment.
This was the Hokage's unspoken command.
However.
Nara Shikaku slowly straightened, subtly shaking his head in a barely perceptible motion.
Might Guy was dead.
No chance of survival.
His body was already riddled with wounds, and the immense water pressure had only accelerated his internal bleeding beyond control.
Ultimately, it was oxygen deprivation that killed him, coupled with massive internal organ damage caused by the crushing force of the water.
Asphyxiation. Excessive blood loss. Complete failure of internal organs and skeletal structure.
Some of the blood pooling at Shikaku's feet likely contained fragments of Guy's internal organs.
Even if Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, were here, she wouldn't be able to save him.
No matter how great a medical ninja was, they could only compete with death on a race against time. Once the soul had been claimed, there was no bringing it back. Otherwise, Tsunade herself wouldn't have...
Raising his hand, then lowering it in a decisive motion, Shikaku pushed aside his regret and sorrow, fulfilling his duty as proctor.
"Winner: Yagura Karatachi!"
...
Prison had consumed an immense amount of chakra.
But for a Jinchūriki, it was nothing worth mentioning.
Yagura shoved his hands into his pockets, turning away in silence, stepping off the battlefield.
He watched as Konoha's medical team carefully lifted Guy's corpse onto a stretcher, covering him with a white sheet before carrying him away.
At least in this future, that boy named Rock Lee would never meet the teacher who was meant to shape him.
"Well done."
A voice cut into his thoughts, offering praise.
Yagura turned his head in surprise. "Sensei? When did you get here?"
Somewhere along the way, his manner of addressing Jinin Akebino had changed.
His teacher remained the same as always, reeking of alcohol yet showing no sign of intoxication.
"Not long ago. I caught the last bit of the match. That last technique—another one of your own creations?"
Like that so-called Thunderclap and Flash technique.
Jinin Akebino remembered it well.
"Yeah."
"You little rascal!"
Receiving Yagura's confirmation, his teacher ruffled the boy's hair with a heavy hand.
"Where do you get all these ideas?!"
To have eliminated a potential elite jōnin of Konoha's future—Jinin Akebino couldn't help but delight at the sight of Nara Shikaku's grim expression, along with the faces of every other Konoha ninja present.
Yagura, however, looked stunned. "S-Sensei?!"
"Hey, you two! Get over here and give him a pat too!"
Jinin waved at Mukumo and Ringo Ameyuri, who had been watching from the side.
"Learn from your teammate! You're older than him but weaker. Isn't that embarrassing?"
You want us to compare ourselves to him?
Did you have this kind of strength when you first graduated?
Both of them silently grumbled in their hearts.
But fair was fair—their teammate had dominated the match, and they were elated. They stepped forward, grinning as they joined in, tousling Yagura's hair.
Mukumo clapped him on the head repeatedly. "Nice. Nice. Nice!"
Ringo Ameyuri, grinning wickedly, lunged forward, wrapping an arm around the smaller boy.
"Hey! Don't run! Good kids get praised properly!"
The barely-over-one-meter-tall Yagura twitched at that word. "Who are you calling a kid?!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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