"This uncouth brute again. He and that useless boy are a perfect match," muttered one of the Hyuga clansmen with disdain.
They masked their loathing as best they could. Though they looked down on Might Guy, they didn't bar him from entering the Hyuga compound.
Doing so would be a breach of etiquette — and the Hyuga Clan would never be accused of impropriety.
"Good morning!"
Might Guy beamed under their cold gazes, flashing an almost blinding smile of gleaming white teeth beneath the morning sun.
Ignoring their frigid indifference, he dusted himself off and strode right in.
"Hoah! Shigure, rise and shine!"
Striding skillfully toward Shigure's home, he bellowed with burning passion, "The horn of morning training has sounded! Youth won't wait for late sleepers!"
"Come in, Guy-senpai."
Hearing Shigure's voice from within, Guy smiled and politely excused himself as he entered the house.
Without even glancing at the bedroom, he walked straight toward another room.
"Shigure, I knew you'd be—"
Guy slid open the door as he spoke, but his words caught in his throat.
Not because of the room's eclectic mix of training equipment — but because of the figure standing in front of the wall-sized mirror.
Shigure hung shirtless from a pull-up bar, weighted iron blocks strapped around his legs.
Clack. Clack.
Each time he lowered his arms, the motion was precise to the millimeter. The tips of his toes would brush the floor before he pulled himself up again.
Morning sunlight streamed in orange through the window, casting a soft glow on his slender, defined figure — making him appear encased in golden light.
Guy noticed the small pool of sweat beneath him. Clearly, he had held that position for quite some time.
"Shigure, did you..."
Guy, experienced as he was, gaped. Watching Shigure's motion on the bar, he asked in astonishment, "Did you not sleep all night?"
Veins bulged along his taut arms; his muscles, like steel cables, flexed with every shift — almost as if you could hear them groan under the strain.
Shigure didn't respond, and Guy didn't mind. In fact, he grew more excited.
He could tell — Shigure was nearing his physical limit. He had even activated the first gate of the Eight Gates.
The Gate of Opening, which removes brain-imposed limits to unleash 100% physical capability — overdriving strength and speed at the cost of stamina.
But now, Shigure's every limb — arms, legs, core — had reached their limits. His once-fluid movements were beginning to slow, and with it, his energy drained faster.
Yet this... this was youth.
Youth must never stagnate!
But time passed, and Shigure still didn't stop. Guy's smile gradually faded. His brow furrowed.
"If this goes on, his body will suffer permanent damage," Guy thought.
Even he, who pushed himself daily to surpass yesterday's self, knew the importance of post-training herbal baths to prevent internal injury.
And Shigure's intensity had gone well past safe limits.
"Shi—"
Just as Guy was about to step forward to intervene, everything changed.
Whoosh.
Shigure exhaled deeply, a cloud of white mist escaping his mouth. Steam rose from his body as his sweat instantly evaporated — a sign of skyrocketing metabolic rate.
The Gate of Rest.
It removed exhaustion by squeezing every drop of energy from the body, counterbalancing the fatigue caused by the first gate.
In this state, every cell in Shigure's body seemed to breathe. Power surged like magma through his blood and bones, and his body temperature rose to a near-scalding level.
The limit of physical endurance shattered, his collapse threshold skyrocketing. Shigure's form stabilized once more — each rise and fall on the bar thundering like crashing tides.
Boom!!
The heavy weights strapped to his legs finally hit the floor, the noise jarring Guy back to reality.
"Whew!" He gasped, watching Shigure wipe sweat with a towel, then lit up with giddy excitement. "Shigure! You've already unlocked the Gate of Rest?!"
Shigure lifted his head slightly — and Guy instinctively stepped back.
Those eyes...
Guy didn't even get a good look. A sharp pain stung his own eyes and he blinked reflexively. When he looked again, the sensation was gone.
"Guy-senpai, is something wrong?"
Shigure still looked like himself — gentle, harmless smile and all.
"N-No, nothing," Guy said, scratching his head, still confused.
But before long, tears streamed down Guy's cheeks. He sobbed uncontrollably, "Shigure, your youth is so BLAZING it's... it's moving beyond words! I must learn from you!"
"...Senpai." Shigure gave a helpless smile. "Please wait a moment while I shower."
"Mmm! Mmm!"
Guy nodded rapidly, wiping tears as Shigure grabbed his clothes and headed to the shower.
Inside, he removed his clothes and stepped onto the slick tile, turning on the water valve.
The showerhead hissed softly. Cold water poured over his loosened black hair, running down his defined shoulder blades and sculpted muscles, soaking him completely.
The icy stream traced over his body like a mountain brook — yet it didn't bother him in the slightest. It didn't even lower his body temperature.
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (5% → 5.5%)]
[Kekkei Genkai: Unknown · Stage One (10% → 12%)]
Shigure glanced at the system panel, then lowered his head, raising his fists slowly.
Crack! Crack!
His knuckles popped. Even the air around him trembled with faint explosive sounds.
Crack! Crack!
He exhaled, slowing his heartbeat and blood flow. The overheated muscles began to cool and ease.
"I didn't expect the Eight Gates to trigger bloodline potential — to purify the blood," Shigure murmured.
He smiled, "It's like I've broken the chains shackling my body. This feeling... is intoxicating."
He had always kept up with taijutsu, which gave him a lean yet powerful build. His muscles were functional, not just for show.
But now, after Ōtsutsuki modification, his musculature had balanced perfectly — optimized for power delivery. No longer was he just lean and bright like a hearth fire.
Now, he was a dormant volcano, smoldering beneath the surface.
Shigure could feel it — the Gate of Rest, which had eluded him for two years, was far from his new limit.
More than that, he could feel his eyes stirring, just a hair's breadth away from awakening their true power.
A terrifying, silent force slumbered within them.
This... this would be the first power he truly mastered for himself.
"With this strength," Shigure thought, "I can lie my way through anything. Even tear the Hyuga Clan apart if I want to."
He had no desire to steadily grow stronger. No.
What thrilled him was using that strength to construct bigger lies, to deceive more powerful people.
Only then — only then — did life truly feel alive.