Chapter 178: A God-Tier Reward! Kneel, Six Paths!
Uchiha Akira looked at his two disciples standing before him, feeling a rare, genuine wave of satisfaction.
Hinata stood straight, her breathing even, her stance perfect. Naruto stood... well, he was vibrating with excess energy, trying and failing to look serious.
Naruto, though often clumsy and loud, possessed an incredible, almost absurd tenacity. He had an unyielding spirit that simply refused to break, no matter how many times the clone knocked him down.
Hinata, while still shy and seemingly delicate, had a heart of incredibly resilient steel. Her focus was absolute, and her talent, once unlocked, was truly top-notch.
Under his guidance, these two children, who had been dismissed by so many, had been completely reborn.
Just as he was about to praise them, a faint, translucent blue light screen, visible only to Uchiha Akira, quietly appeared before his eyes.
[Ding!]
[Detected that disciple (Uzumaki Naruto)'s overall strength has reached Genin level. His potential has been initially developed.]
[Inorin's Note: Genin (Lower Ninja) is the lowest official shinobi rank, typically assigned to graduates of the Ninja Academy.]
[Ding! Detected that disciple (Hyūga Hinata)'s overall strength has reached Genin level. Her potential has been initially developed.]
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the phased goal of disciple cultivation. System reward settlement in progress...]
[Reward issued!]
[Congratulations to the Host for acquiring the special Taijutsu — Eight Inner Gates: Injury-Free (God-tier)!]
[Inorin's Note: The Eight Inner Gates (Hachimon) is the ultimate Taijutsu. It involves forcibly opening the chakra limiters within the body, granting immense, temporary power at the cost of extreme damage to the user.]
[Skill Description: The Host can ignore all physical strain, suffer zero side effects, and expend zero chakra. The Host can freely open the Eight Inner Gates Formation, up to and including the final Gate of Death.]
[After opening the Gate of Death, the Host will gain earth-shattering power, with absolutely no risk to his life.]
[This skill can be used once daily. Duration: Twenty minutes.]
Uchiha Akira's pupils, which held the calm, rippling pattern of the Rinnegan, suddenly constricted.
His breathing stopped.
...Holy crap.
Injury-Free... Eight Gates?
Even with his current composure, cultivated from countless battles and the mind of a Kage, his heart pounded uncontrollably the moment he saw this reward.
The Eight Inner Gates!
This was a jutsu hailed as the strongest and final Taijutsu.
In the original story, Might Guy, a man with no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, used this single technique to achieve the impossible.
By opening the final Gate of Death, he transformed into "Night Guy." He became a crimson dragon of pure, condensed power, moving so fast he literally bent space, and almost kicked the story to an end right then and there.
His power at that moment... it didn't just surpass the Hokage. It surpassed all of them. It reached the god-like realm of the Six Paths!
But the cost... the cost was absolute.
The Eight Inner Gates, with each gate opened, was a drain on one's own life force.
Opening the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, would cause the user's body to emit blue steam as their sweat evaporated, their muscle fibers to tear apart, and inflict pain beyond comprehension.
Opening the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, was not a technique. It was a sacrifice. It was an act of burning one's own life to ash, gaining a momentary power dozens of times greater than all Five Kage combined... with certain, unavoidable death immediately after.
It was a jutsu of mutual destruction. The ultimate, tragic trump card.
But now...
The system had rewarded him with [Eight Inner Gates: INJURY-FREE].
Ignoring physical strain.
No side effects.
No chakra consumption.
He wouldn't even DIE from opening the Gate of Death!
This... this is practically...
A storm raged in Uchiha Akira's heart. He was, for the first time in a long time, genuinely shaken.
This is beyond a cheat. This is rewriting the laws of the universe.
What did this mean?
It meant he could, at any time, without any reservations, without any hesitation, instantly elevate his combat power to an unimaginable, god-like level.
If before, with his Rinnegan and his perfect Sage Body, he was at the absolute peak of Kage-level... just one step away from the Six Paths level.
Then now, with this... he didn't just have a step to the Six Paths level.
He possessed a trump card that he could play at any time, which would launch him into the Six Paths level, and let him stay there.
And it was a trump card with no cost whatsoever.
Although the description said it only lasted twenty minutes... twenty minutes?!
Twenty minutes of the Gate of Death?
Might Guy's "Night Guy" lasted for a single kick.
Who in this world could withstand twenty minutes of a full-power, Gate of Death assault?
Even Six Paths Madara, in his prime, would have to kneel. He would be kicked into dust... and then he would be kicked into sub-atomic particles for the remaining nineteen minutes.
"Hoo..." Uchiha Akira slowly, finally, exhaled a turbid breath, forcing his racing heart to calm. He forced his inner excitement down, burying it beneath his Kage's calm.
With a single thought, he brought up his full status panel, needing to see where this new skill slotted in.
[Host: Uchiha Akira]
[Strength: Peak Kage-level (Can temporarily enter Six Paths level after opening the Gate of Death)]
(His eyes lingered here. The "temporarily" was a beautiful, beautiful word.)
[Physique: Perfect Sage Body]
(The vitality of the Senju and Uzumaki, perfected. Endless stamina, the foundation for his power.)
[Inorin's Note: A Sage Body (Sentai) refers to a body with the immense vitality and physical energy of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths. It's the physical counterpart to the spiritual power of the Rinnegan.]
[Bloodline Limit: Rinnegan (Eternal Mangekyō form can be switched)]
(The legendary eyes of the Sage himself. And the ability to revert to his EMS, hiding his true power... a useful deception.)
[Skills Mastered:]
[Ninjutsu: All Five Elemental Natures (Mastery), Lightning Release Chakra Mode (Perfect)...]
(No longer just Fire Release. He had mastered all five. He was a true elemental grandmaster.)
[Space Ninjutsu: Amenominaka (Enhanced Flying Thunder God)]
[Description: No coordinates or seals required. No chakra consumption. Instantaneous arrival with a single thought.]
(Kaguya's name, but a jutsu that was purely his. Better than the Second's, better than the Fourth's. The ultimate tool of a Kage.)
[Inorin's Note: In canon, Amenominaka is Kaguya's dōjutsu that allows her to instantly teleport her surroundings to a new dimension. Here, the fanfic has adapted it into a personal, enhanced version of the Flying Thunder God Technique.]
[Dojutsu: Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), Banshō Ten'in (Almighty Pull), Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation), Limbo: Border Jail...]
(The full, terrible power of the Deva Path. The power to create and destroy moons. The power to fight invisible enemies.)
[Exclusive Dojutsu]:
[Left Eye: God's Authority · Style Amplification]
(His original cheat. The ability to amplify any jutsu he cast, making a simple Fireball as destructive as a high-level technique.)
[Right Eye: Kamui · Chronological Rewind]
(His ultimate insurance. The Mangekyō ability to rewind time by a few seconds, once per day. The power to undo a single, fatal mistake.)
[Special Taijutsu: Eight Inner Gates · Injury-Free (God-tier)]
[(Can be used once daily, no consumption for twenty minutes)]
Looking at the new, golden, shimmering line added to his status panel, Uchiha Akira's lips involuntarily curved upwards.
A true, genuine smile.
Sense of security.
This was the ultimate sense of security.
With this trump card... he would dare to challenge even an Ōtsutsuki, even Kaguya herself, if one appeared before him right now.
"Teacher? Teacher? What's wrong?"
Naruto's loud, curious voice snapped him back to reality.
"You suddenly stopped talking... and you were making a weird, silly smile. It was kinda creepy, Teacher."
"Nothing," Uchiha Akira snapped back to reality. His smile vanished instantly, and he resumed his usual, inscrutable demeanor.
"You were just... thinking."
He looked at his two disciples. "Since you two have mastered the basics of chakra control and your own foundational styles, starting tomorrow, we will proceed to the next stage of training."
"Next stage?" Naruto's eyes lit up instantly, all thoughts of the "silly smile" gone.
"What is it? What is it? Is it an even more powerful ninjutsu? Are you gonna teach me how to make a Rasengan? Or that Chidori thing the Uchiha use?"
"It's actual combat," Uchiha Akira said calmly, his voice cutting through Naruto's excitement like a kunai.
Naruto and Hinata both froze.
"Ninja, after all, must grow through battle. Theory and kata are finished. Starting tomorrow, I will arrange... suitable opponents... for you."
...
At the same time.
In another spacious, private training ground within the Uchiha Clan Territory.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! HAAAA!"
Uchiha Sasuke, his small body drenched in sweat, was panting heavily, his muscles screaming.
Opposite him was not a simple wooden stake. It was a cluster of them, riddled with kunai and shuriken, all placed at impossible, intersecting angles.
"Not enough! Still... not enough!"
Sasuke's black eyes were filled with a burning, frenzied unwillingness.
In his mind, he kept replaying the scene from the last Academy spar. The scene of him losing, again, to Naruto.
That dead-last. The clown. The dobe he had always looked down upon, mocked by everyone in the class.
Defeating him. Again and again.
It was the ultimate, unbearable humiliation.
Especially after Naruto's victory... that smug, grinning, idiot face he made... holding up a hand and saying, "Better luck next time, Sasuke!"
Sasuke simply couldn't accept it.
"That damn... dead-last..." Sasuke roared, his small hands blurring into motion, forming hand signs far faster than any normal Academy student.
"I absolutely... absolutely... WILL NOT lose to you again!"
Ox... Rabbit... Monkey...
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Whoosh—!
A massive fireball, far larger than what a boy his age should be able to produce, erupted from his mouth. It carried a scorching heatwave that instantly engulfed the wooden dummies in front of him.
When the flames dissipated, the targets had been reduced to nothing but charcoal.
"The chakra cohesion is good. It has improved."
A deep, steady voice came from the side.
Uchiha Fugaku had, at some point, appeared at the edge of the training ground. He wore his formal clan leader robes, quietly watching his youngest son.
"Father-sama!" Sasuke, seeing Fugaku, quickly wiped the ferocity from his face. He stood straight, breathing hard, and bowed respectfully.
Uchiha Fugaku slowly walked up to him. He looked at his son's face, etched with unwillingness and rage, and his own eyes were complex.
"Losing to the Hokage-sama's disciple is not shameful," Fugaku said slowly.
"But... he's just a dead-last!" Sasuke bit his teeth, protesting defiantly.
"He was," Fugaku's tone was undeniable, "but now, he is the disciple of Lord Akira. Your loss to him only proves that your own efforts are still far, far from enough."
"Sasuke, remember," Fugaku's voice was low, "you are the son of Uchiha Fugaku. You are a genius of the Uchiha Clan, the kind seen once in a generation."
"Your goal... your entire purpose... should not merely be to defeat an Uzumaki Naruto."
Fugaku placed a heavy hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"Your goal must be to surpass everyone. Even... Lord Hokage himself."
Sasuke's head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. Surpass... Lord Akira?
"Continue to train," Fugaku said, his voice a low command. "Turn all your unwillingness, all your anger, and all your shame into power!"
"Yes, Father-sama!"
The flames in Sasuke's eyes reignited, this time with a new, colder, more terrifying purpose.
He turned and began his kata again, his movements now even more intense.
Fugaku watched his son's back, then silently turned and left.
In his heart, he also had his own plans.
Akira-kun was the pride of the Uchiha. He was the god-like leader who had saved the clan and would guide them to a new era of glory.
But... his son, Sasuke, must also not be mediocre. He, too, must stand at the top.
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