Filthy Gamer in Narutoverse: 260

Title: Learning Curve

[Basic Frog Kata (2/5): A moderately optimized version of Training Frog Kata meant to refine the body’s reflexes and strength, preparing the host for the next layer of skill. Increases strength by 1 at every level. Stamina Consumed: 3%/min.

Next Level: Perform the technique 47/2355 times Or 14 SP.

Special Note: Due to the Host’s Physique exceeding Soft Limits, enhancement of the stats was reduced to 1 Stat at every level as opposed to 3 Stats at every level.]

Kai wipes the sweat buildup on his face before allowing a satisfied smirk as Minato lays beside him, sprawled over with clothes sticking to his drenched body.

“So Training Kata, Basic Kata, and then Sage Kata, is that it?”—questions Kai without feeling short of breath as Minato gasps for air, nodding slowly. “Y-Yes. Hah! I had permission from Jiraiya and Fukasaku-Sensei to teach you the basics should we find time during our mission.”

Of course, the unique Kata involved chakra’s movement in the body, which led to improvement in one’s body. It’s something Minato taught him using secret codes instead of speaking it out loud.

“It takes a lot, huh?” Kai smiles with a note of self-mockery as Minato raises an eyebrow. “A lot for what?”

“To grow,” Kai huffs. He is strong—plenty! He isn’t delusional enough to not understand he is the strongest one around on the continent. Maybe unknown individuals like the Sage of Ruchi Cave of Mount Myoboku may be upto the match alongside the rest of the Kages and extremely skilled S-Ranked Shinobi, but the rest? Even the Nature Energy-Infused Chakra Beasts of Shikkotsu Forest fall short.

Even the Pseudo-Kekkei Genkai, the enzyme invested before, needs time to show more benefits.

“Grow more?” Minato gapes in disbelief before chuckling as he spreads his arms out and stares at the canopy covering the sky from his gaze. “I could never imagine that. What power lies beyond what we’ve witnessed since ancient times.”

“Why imagine it?” Kai takes a breather by sitting down. “If you can obtain something, imagining how it would feel is a massive waste of time. Just take the steps needed to acquire said something! When you were with that escort, did you imagine how she would feel, or did you actually feel her?”

Minato chuckles and rolls his eyes, “You make it so simple.”

“Because it is simple,” Kai shrugs. He uses the silence to his advantage to glance at his stats and the slight growth. Kai can’t wait to grow up! The more he grows, the stronger he will become. Of course, the development will be a diminishing one since he’s already trained to his maximum output. But every droplet in the bucket counts, right?

---

“Ready?”

Mito comments with amusement as Kushina watches with rapt attention.

“I am,” Kai hums as he closes his eyes.

He focuses on his chakra pathways without needing the Byakugan before feeling a throbbing point in his head, acting as an infallible barrier to regulate his chakra flow.

The Eight Gates don’t suppress one’s chakra, but it’s flow instead. Tweaking said flow brings various benefits and problems if done incorrectly. Just ‘opening’ one gate wrong will see the Shinobi hospitalized for months, and opening the WRONG gate will see the Shinobi passing his legacy to another unfortunate soul. The Gate of Opening, located in the left hemisphere of his brain, removes mental inhibitions controlling a Shinobi’s receptors, such as pain and exhaustion, letting them abuse their bodies until they die. Might Duy’s Jutsu, the [Eight Inner Gates Formation,] unlock these gates in a specific pathway to achieve a straightforward purpose.

That is to say, there isn’t a strict formation. Opening any other gate except the Gate of Death may lead to different outcomes. Perhaps, with enough knowledge, opening the Gate of Death might not be fatal, too. After all, Chakra is not strictly a physical boost alone. Removing the limiters on his chakra flow will see his other Jutsu massive improvements, too—IF he can align a formation for that purpose.

*Tuc*

His eyes remain closed as a whip of chakra bursts from his pores. Mito and Kushina can feel it in the air as Kai continues to work on the formation, feeling the second limiter in the right hemisphere of his brain—The Gate of Healing. While the Gate of Opening leads to physical exhaustion, the Gate of Healing prevents that by exchanging physical exhaustion with chakra depletion. It rapidly consumes chakra to boost the body’s recovery speed. But the effectiveness falls short of genuine Iryo-Nin, making this particular part of formation a massive deficit for Kai.

Opening the Gate of Healing sees Kai experiencing a burst of energy from within, the raw magnitude of which he unleashes only during his focused attacks. Yet, in this state, it would mean a casual punch.

But that’s not all—

[Eight Inner Gates Formation (1→2/8): The ability to unlock the limited flow of chakra through the Eight Gates to reinforce the physical body.

Special Note: Activating the final gate is fatal to the user.

Next Level: 60 SP or Unlocking the Second Gate of Healing→ Third Gate of Life.]

‘Let’s do that,’ Kai nods internally, locating the third barrier located in the earliest bit of his spinal cord. The first two gates set a base for the actual use of this formation since opening the Gate of Life releases a tremendous flow of chakra, flushing his entire body with a ‘sense’ of strength that he could produce at a high state of focus. But there’s more. He exhales as the sheer heat in his breath surpasses the room’s temperature, creating a vaporous breath that doesn’t look any better when coupled with his reddening skin and bulging veins. Chakra starts to visibly gush from his being. It’s not at waste, or his Chakra Control would never allow such an extravagant display at the cost of his reserves.

He suspects that this formation seems to say a big ‘Fuck You’ to other Ninjutsu since the burst of chakra creates a buffer zone not unlike the Byakugan’s revolving palm, but ultimately an inferior version of it. And while an animal may misinterpret his ‘colorful,’ boiling red skin for a show of a toxic nature, his skin is honestly toughening. But much to his distress, it’s a far cry from the skin quality gained in his Sage Transformation.

Yet he doesn’t stop here. Chakra consumption is the only adequate aspect of this Jutsu since the body may give up earlier than Chakra depletion itself.

[Eight Inner Gates Formation (2→3/8): The ability to unlock the limited flow of chakra through the Eight Gates to reinforce the physical body.

Special Note: Activating the final gate is fatal to the user.

Next Level: 60 SP or Unlocking the Third Gate of Life→ Fourth Gate of Pain.]

Another gate within his Spinal Cord snaps away, unshackling his chakra flow to give way to a massive boost to his body. According to the knowledge gained from his trait about the Jutsu, an average Jonin will feel tremendous pressure on their body, and simple moves will find their relatively untrained and unprepared physique sporting minor muscle tears, which stand to accumulate with time. But Kai only feels himself in an awkward stage where effects don’t justify the chakra consumption since he can emulate all these effects through other efficient means. And instead of feeling pressured, Kai feels a heavy load taken off his shoulders. Yet, he can always drink Somarasa and feel the same while waking up the next day trapped between Tsunade’s arms and bust.

[Eight Inner Gates Formation (3→4/8): The ability to unlock the limited flow of chakra through the Eight Gates to reinforce the physical body.

Special Note: Activating the final gate is fatal to the user.

Next Level: 60 SP or Unlocking the Fourth Gate of Pain→ Fifth Gate of Limit.]

Kai takes little time to ignore the buffet of Chakra, likely ruining Mito’s furniture, and unshackles the fifth gate in his stomach.

The First Gate assists at this stage for other users since unlocking the Fifth Gate without the first opening will be a painful procedure itself. Overexertion in this state during a battle will see multiple, lasting fractures on the Shinobi’s body, something the first two gates can do nothing about. As the name suggests, the Gate of Limit is where the full support of the first two gates ends. The coming end of the formation will diminish the use of the first two gates and rely on the Shinobi’s grit and their physique itself.

Someone like Kakashi with adequate talent may explode at once after this point, while someone like Guy may start to thrive ONLY after this point.

[Eight Inner Gates Formation (4→5/8): The ability to unlock the limited flow of chakra through the Eight Gates to reinforce the physical body.

Special Note: Activating the final gate is fatal to the user.

Next Level: 60 SP or Unlocking the Fifth Gate of Limit→ Sixth Gate of View.]

Another gate located in his stomach gives way as things change for Kai. The quantity of chakra ‘leaking,’ instead, settles for a better quality as a cyan-green chakra aura ‘sticks’ to his being. He slowly opens his dilated eyes to observe his red skin and the chakra sticking to his being. His fists clench and unclench many times before he nods.

Now that’s what he’s talking about! He finally feels an adequate return for his ‘investment’ since he instinctively feels stronger, at least his striking force. Again, the Sage Transformation and the [Yin-Yang Chakra Cloak] take the cake for overall improvement. But he’s at least learning more about the Eight Gates with every increment of Jutsu’s level. That alone is more beneficial to Kai since that is his primary focus.

[Eight Inner Gates Formation (5→6/8): The ability to unlock the limited flow of chakra through the Eight Gates to reinforce the physical body.

Special Note: Activating the final gate is fatal to the user.

Next Level: 60 SP or Unlocking the Sixth Gate of View→ Seventh Gate of Wonder.]

Kai proceeds to unshackle the seventh limiter beneath his abdominal region, his eyes widening at once at the sheer burst of chakra flooding his system and boosting every aspect of the previous six gates! It’s needed, of course. It proves the standing theory of the gates being capable of more than simple physical augmentation since the formation of opening the Seven Gates in the ascending order lets the seventh gate enhance the effectiveness of previous gates by several levels. Weaker opponents using this formation won’t stand a chance against him if he’s using the Chakra Cloak of Sage Transformation. But if Kai faces a mirrored opponent, then the Seven Gates Formation does stack against Chakra Cloak, at least.

He’s still hesitant about putting the Seven Gates Formation on the same level as the Sage Transformation due to the time needed to reach this stage. Not to mention, Senjutsu Chakra’s use outlives regular boosts by a far margin.

He gazes at the bluish tint surrounding his body, his sweat reacting to the thin cyan veil to produce such an odd effect.

Kai closes his eyes and relaxes while paying for the last level of the Jutsu to understand more about the Gate of Death and its effects. And he has to say his admiration of the technique actually shot by several levels only after noting how much ‘bullshit’ the Complete formation is.

The physical force capable of bending space?

For fuck’s sake! That’s one of Hiraishin’s weaknesses if he sees one.

However, the technique’s limitation about passing the effects of affected Eight Gates to the next generation prevents Kai from deciding to actively dabble in this formation. It’s too extreme! Maybe it’s a technique godsend for Guy, but Kai isn’t interested in perfecting it any more than it already is. He would rather spend his time devising a new formation with this one as the foundation to boost his versatility rather than narrowly chasing the utmost physical strength.

[Eight Inner Gates Formation (8/8): The ability to unlock the limited flow of chakra through the Eight Gates to reinforce the physical body.

Special Note: Activating the final gate is fatal to the user.]

“Huff!” Kai exhales as he takes stock of his surroundings before meeting Mito’s unamused stare.

“Thank you for letting me use this place, Mistress,” Kai smiles coyly.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.

“Clean it up.” She snorts as Kai’s shoulders dip before he gets to work.