Chapter 190
Hearing Kakashi’s words, Guy grinned. “What a coincidence, I have something to say to you too.” Kakashi froze for a moment, then nodded and took the lead in walking outside. The others were curious about what the two of them wanted to discuss, so they followed them all the way to the training ground.
There were not many people on the training ground at this time. Most of the stationed shinobi were busy with their own duties, leaving the relatively quiet training field to the two of them. Kakashi hesitated for a moment before speaking first. “What do you want to say to me?”
Guy grinned and pulled a handwritten booklet from inside his robes before handing it to Kakashi. “These are the cultivation methods for the first five gates of the Eight Gates, along with some of my personal insights and experiences. They’re yours.”
Kakashi was stunned and didn’t take it immediately. His visible eye stared at the booklet, then shifted back toward Guy, his expression becoming complicated. “You guy…”
Guy laughed heartily and slapped him hard on the shoulder. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m only giving this to you because I’ve seen how much your physical strength has improved over the past two years. If you still had your previous physical fitness, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
The nearby Obito curled his lip and leaned over. “Hey! Guy! Aren’t you being a bit too stingy? Only the first five gates of the Eight Gates? What about the ones after that? Are you holding out on us?”
Guy’s smile disappeared, and his expression became serious. “It’s not that I don’t want to give them to you. Cultivating the Eight Gates requires a step-by-step approach, and the requirements for physical fitness are extremely high. With every gate opened, the burden placed on the body increases dramatically. Forcing yourself to cultivate the later gates without possessing a sufficiently strong physique isn’t a shortcut to becoming stronger. It’s simply seeking death.”
Ebisu and Genma nodded in agreement when they heard this. They had long been envious of the power of the Eight Gates, and Guy had even taught them some of the basic principles before. Unfortunately, the two of them struggled to even open the First Gate. After trying for a long time without success, they eventually had to give up on pursuing that path.
After finishing his explanation, Guy turned toward Kakashi and continued seriously. “With your current physical strength, you can at most safely open the Second Gate, the Gate of Healing. The Third Gate, the Gate of Life, is already approaching your current limit, and even if you manage to open it, you won’t be able to maintain it for long. These cultivation methods for the first five gates, together with my personal insights, are enough for you to study and adapt to for a long time. Anything beyond that…”
Guy didn’t finish his sentence, but Kakashi already understood what he meant.
Any further instruction would not be a gift.
It would be a poison.
If he rushed ahead without laying a solid physical foundation, he wouldn’t become stronger. He would only destroy his own body.
Kakashi remained silent for several seconds before finally reaching out and taking the booklet. It wasn’t thick, consisting of only a few pages of carefully written notes and diagrams. Yet the weight it carried was far greater than its size suggested. This was Guy’s unreserved trust, as well as his precise judgment of Kakashi’s current physical condition.
Guy grinned again, revealing a row of white teeth. “Next time we meet, if I feel that your physical strength has reached the required level, I can give you the subsequent cultivation methods for the Eight Gates as well. So, Kakashi, you have to work even harder to temper your body!”
Hearing this, Kakashi curled his lip slightly. However, a flicker of intense fighting spirit appeared in his eye. He didn’t say much and simply placed the Eight Gates cultivation booklet inside his robes.
Then, when his hand emerged again, it was holding another thin booklet.
He casually tossed it toward Guy.
Guy caught it with ease.
Kakashi shoved both hands back into his pockets, doing his best to maintain his usual cool and indifferent tone. “The cultivation method for Lightning Release: Lightning Fang: Rapid. You have Lightning-natured Chakra too, don’t you?”
Guy was stunned.
He did indeed possess both Lightning and Fire Chakra natures, so learning Lightning Release was naturally within his capabilities. However, he had never expected Kakashi to actually hand over one of the techniques developed from the White Fang’s Lightning Release training system.
Kakashi continued, his voice calm but with clear emphasis. “Although Lightning Fang: Rapid isn’t as powerful as your Eight Gates when activated during battle, the greatest value of this technique isn’t actually reflected in direct combat. You understand, right?”
Guy nodded heavily.
Of course he understood.
The core of Lightning Fang: Rapid wasn’t simply to create a short burst of combat power. Its greater value was as an advanced body-tempering secret technique. By using Lightning Release Chakra to precisely stimulate the body’s cells, muscles, and nervous system, it could greatly enhance the efficiency of physical training when used properly.
Instead of simply relying on conventional exercises to strengthen the body, the Lightning Release stimulation could push the muscles and cells into a more active state, allowing the body to withstand increasingly demanding training. If practiced correctly and with sufficient recovery time, the improvement in training efficiency could be extremely significant.
During the later era, shinobi such as Sasuke would also employ Lightning Release stimulation as part of their physical training. The principle was similar: use Lightning Release to stimulate the body, allowing the physical foundation to develop much faster than through ordinary training alone.
The reason Guy was willing to give the first five gates of the Eight Gates to Kakashi was precisely because he had seen how much Kakashi’s physical fitness had improved over the past two years.
That improvement was inseparable from Sakumo Hatake’s careful guidance and Kakashi’s own relentless training. However, a Lightning Release secret technique such as Lightning Fang: Rapid, which could assist in body tempering, was undoubtedly one of the important factors behind Kakashi’s progress.
Seeing that Guy understood, Kakashi continued. “As for the more advanced White Fang: Collapse, that is a technique that applies Lightning Release stimulation to the entire body and uses it to form a complete combat system. My physical strength is still insufficient, so my father hasn’t taught me the complete method yet.”
He paused for a moment, and his gaze became sharp.
“However, next time we meet, I will definitely have mastered it. When that time comes, I’ll teach it to you!”
“Good!”
Guy nodded vigorously without the slightest hesitation. “If you master White Fang: Collapse, then next time I’ll give you the subsequent cultivation methods for the Eight Gates!”
“It’s a promise!”
“It’s a deal!”
Kakashi reached out his right hand.
Guy smiled and extended his own hand as well.
The two hands met in a crisp high five.
“Clap!”
The sound wasn’t loud, but it seemed to carry a strange weight.
Obito, Ebisu, Genma, and Rin quietly watched from the side, none of them speaking to disturb the moment.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the training ground, illuminating the figures of the two teenagers as they stood facing each other. Their shadows stretched far behind them across the ground, overlapping beneath the orange-red evening sky.
They were rivals.
They were competitors.
They were also comrades who were willing to share their strongest techniques with one another.
One gave the Eight Gates.
The other gave the White Fang’s Lightning Release body-tempering technique.
Neither had asked for anything in return.
Because for them, this wasn’t a transaction.
It was trust.
It was competition.
And above all…
It was a man’s promise.
[Triggered Bond: A Man’s Promise]
[Obtained Monk Points: 100]