Naruto: The Earthquake Shinobi

Might Duy had never once thought Yoru would succeed.

After all, throughout history, countless people had attempted to master the Eight Gates and modify its techniques.

Among them were geniuses of extraordinary talent.

Yet, none had ever succeeded.

But now—Yoru had done it!

All those who once called him a failure for being unable to use ninjutsu… In Might Duy's eyes, Yoru was no longer a genius—he was a monster beyond human comprehension!

This was no mere technique improvement.

This was the birth of a new forbidden jutsu!

The shock left Might Duy speechless for a long time.

Meanwhile, Yoru felt a tinge of guilt as he spoke, "I'm sorry… Even though I've successfully cultivated it, I won't be able to teach it to you."

Unlike the conventional Eight Gates, the Reverse Eight Gates required the Shaking Release bloodline limit to be possible.

Moreover, Might Duy had already opened the first seven gates—if he were to push forward, it would simply be the proper method of opening the eighth and final Death Gate.

Thus, Yoru felt apologetic.

After all, he had learned the Eight Gates from Might Duy, yet he couldn't share his new technique in return.

But as he finished explaining, Might Duy burst into laughter, waving his hand dismissively.

"Hahaha! No worries! No worries at all! Just seeing a talented young man like you is enough to make me happy!"

"Ahh… Youth continues to burn brightly! And it is being passed on!"

Yoru: "…"

He sighed internally.

Although Duy's personality was… a bit much, his sincerity and honesty were undeniably respectable.

And, well, his enthusiasm was strangely amusing in its own way.

Returning home, Yoru immediately rested.

Although the restriction in his heart had been broken, it would take time for his body to adapt.

With each beat of his heart, his body would gradually strengthen.

This process would take about three days.

After that—

The first gate of the True Eight Gates would be perfected!

Yes—True Eight Gates.

That was the name Yoru had given to his new version of the technique.

The traditional Eight Gates and the True Eight Gates each had their own strengths and weaknesses.

The greatest strength of Yoru's True Eight Gates—no side effects!

Unlike the conventional method, which forcefully breaks the body's limits at the cost of life force, the True Eight Gates was a gradual strengthening process—like refining one's meridians in martial arts.

However, this advantage also came with a drawback—

Its explosive power was significantly lower.

Be it raw strength or speed, the traditional Eight Gates were undoubtedly superior in short bursts.

But in exchange for this weakness, the True Eight Gates had something that the original completely lacked—sustainability.

The standard Eight Gates were nothing more than fleeting, explosive bursts—a moment of power, followed by inevitable collapse.

But Yoru's True Eight Gates was permanent!

It did not shut down.

It did not fade away.

It was a constant, stable augmentation!

Once the True Eight Gates were opened, the increase in strength, speed, and even chakra reserves—would last forever.

"Chakra reserves of a genin…"

Clenching his fist, Yoru smiled.

He had struggled his whole life to refine even a small amount of chakra.

Now, he had obtained it simply by unlocking the True First Gate.

With chakra now within his grasp, Yoru couldn't help but feel eager to experiment with ninjutsu once again.

Although he was already powerful with taijutsu and Shaking Release, there was something about ninjutsu that still intrigued him.

"Clone Technique!"

"Substitution Jutsu!"

"Transformation Jutsu!"

With the stable chakra reserves stored within the first gate, mastering the Three Basic Jutsu was incredibly easy.

It turned out that Yoru had never lacked talent—he simply lacked the chakra needed to practice properly.

Now, with a steady chakra pool, his ninjutsu talent shone brightly—he had mastered the techniques in mere moments!

However, after attempting to refine chakra manually, Yoru realized something—

It was still just as difficult as before.

In other words—

The only way he could increase his chakra reserves was by unlocking more gates!

This meant the True Eight Gates would be his core path forward.

With each gate he unlocked, his strength, speed, chakra reserves, and even the power of his Shaking Release would exponentially increase!

As of now, with just the first gate opened, his Shaking Release was strong enough to shatter C-rank jutsu with ease.

Additionally—his range had expanded.

Previously, his shockwave attacks only reached one meter.

Now, they covered a radius of three meters.

There was still a gap before he could counter B-rank jutsu, but at this rate, he wasn't far from it.

At this moment—

Yoru's combat power had already reached the pinnacle of genin-level—

Perhaps even bordering on chunin-level!

At this pace… forget three months.

In just one month—

He, an academy student who had yet to graduate—

Would reach chunin-level strength!

In the ninja world, rank and strength were usually equal.

Of course, there were exceptions—

Like Might Duy—technically a genin, yet capable of annihilating elite jonin by opening the Seventh Gate.

But such cases were rare.

Generally, rank corresponded to strength:

Genin → Chunin → Elite Chunin → Special Jonin → Jonin → Elite Jonin → Kage.

This was the standard hierarchy.

However, in Yoru's eyes, there was an additional level between Elite Jonin and Kage—

Quasi-Kage.

Some elite jonin had power bordering on Kage-level due to forbidden jutsu or secret techniques.

These individuals could be called Quasi-Kage.

As for true Kage-level powerhouses, the title "Kage" wasn't an actual rank in terms of strength.

It was simply a title held by the strongest ninja of a village.

And above Kage-level, there were even greater realms—

Super Kage.

Six Paths-level.

But such power was still far beyond Yoru's reach.

Right now—

His path was crystal clear.

There was no need to waste time learning various elemental ninjutsu.

For him, any jutsu requiring hand seals was unnecessary.

Instead—

He would master his Shaking Release.

He would refine the most practical ninjutsu, like Substitution and Transformation.

And most importantly—

He would unlock the Second Gate!

Once that happened—

His next power surge would begin!

And so—

Yoru steeled his resolve and resumed his training!