“Damn it! I lost to that smug bastard Kakashi again! How am I supposed to show my face in front of Rin now?!”

Uchiha Obito clutched his head in frustration, overwhelmed by the bitterness of his defeat.

Because of that, when everyone else was stunned by Uchiha Kei’s suggestion, Obito was still wallowing in self-pity.

It wasn’t until Might Guy spoke with a conflicted expression that Obito snapped out of it.

“Um, Kei-dono, can I really do this? I don’t mind a fight like this. After all, youth is full of challenges. Facing a powerful enemy like this fits with my father’s teaching about learning self-restraint. But if I lose immediately, wouldn’t that make the game test meaningless?”

Though Shisui and Kakashi didn’t say anything, they both agreed internally. Guy was a good ninja, sure—but he wasn’t yet the future “Gai-sensei” who would open all Eight Gates. Right now, even among his peers, he wasn’t outstanding. He was the strongest in taijutsu, but in a real fight, he probably couldn’t beat more than a handful of his classmates.

A three-on-one? Even Kakashi and Obito alone could probably take him out.

Obito blinked and blurted out, “Huh? You want Gai to fight all three of us? For real? Sure, his taijutsu’s good, but come on. Are we playing as ourselves, and he’s using a game character or something? Or is there some super hidden boss version of him in the game?”

Uchiha Kei just smiled. “No. Since this is a free-mode test, of course you’ll be using your real bodies. Besides, once the system boosts everyone to jōnin level through stat correction, there’s a good chance Gai might just kill all three of you.”

The others were stunned. They couldn’t fathom how Might Guy could possibly take down all three of them. Only Guy himself had a sudden realization after a moment of hesitation.

“Kei-dono, are you talking about the Eight Gates Formation?”

The other three turned to him curiously—they hadn’t heard of that forbidden technique before.

Back when Might Duy opened the Eight Gates and took down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Eight Gates Formation was still seen as an obscure technique with no notable record. Duy wasn’t the first to train in it—but he was the first to make a name with it.

Others had trained in it too, but their results were unimpressive. Their power couldn’t compare to the Might father-son duo or the future Rock Lee.

Not to mention, in the Naruto movie, there was that villain named Shinnō who could open all Eight Gates without injury and sustain it long-term. Yet even he only fought Naruto (before Sage Mode) to a draw. It hardly sold the Eight Gates as an amazing technique.

In fact, during serialization, because of Shinnō’s weak showing, many fans thought the Eight Gates Formation was overhyped—until Kishimoto finally had Might Guy open the Seventh Gate and blast Kisame. That was when the public opinion shifted, and fans started eagerly anticipating Gai going all out.

In the current shinobi world, people viewed the Eight Gates about the same way early Naruto fans did. It was known as a forbidden jutsu—but wasn’t seen as all that impressive.

Though Guy had inherited the technique from his father, at his age, he could only open two gates. That limited power came with a toll on the body, so even he wasn’t sure what the true extent of the Eight Gates was.

After all, no one was going to ask Might Duy to risk his life just to demonstrate the Seventh Gate.

No one in the current shinobi world really understood the true power of the Eight Gates—not even someone as worldly as Uchiha Madara. All Madara knew was that opening all Eight Gates made you very strong. Even as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, he only saw it as something entertaining…

…until he was nearly kicked into oblivion by Night Guy. That was when he left behind his iconic quote:

“I, Madara, declare you the strongest.”

And now, the three young ones were about to witness that firsthand.

Kei said no more. He immediately activated Free Mode.

In a flash, the game system scanned the four boys and reconstructed their bodies as they would be at twenty years old.

This was the system’s auto-balancing feature. Not just their stats, but even their physique and age were adjusted for balance. Old became young, young grew older—anything to even the playing field.

That said, players could choose to opt out and fight using their original age if they wanted. Kei had enabled that option.

Later versions of the game—Ultimate Storm Enhanced, Plus, etc.—would even allow players to customize age and gender for their characters.

In this genjutsu-based game, it wasn’t hard to implement. It all came down to whether Kei wanted to.

And this wasn’t fantasy—it was just AI and big data simulation. Even on Earth in 2024, tech already existed to predict a person’s appearance at 20 based on childhood or elderly photos.

With such foundational capabilities, the game’s neural network was even more powerful.

Soon, all four boys appeared as their twenty-year-old selves—nearly 90% accurate to Kei’s memories.

Not 100%, of course. Shisui died at 15. Obito usually wore a mask. Their clothes had just been scaled up directly, making them look odd—especially Guy in that green spandex.

Still, the similarity was striking.

The four boys marveled at their adult selves, amazed by the realism of the genjutsu game. Then they felt it: the surging chakra in their bodies.

Even with their stats limited to average jōnin level, the power was far beyond what they’d known. Their chakra levels were many times higher.

It made them dream—could they really become this strong in the future?

Kei couldn’t help but think they were dreaming too small.

Even Shisui, the weakest among them, would grow to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan at a young age. In filler arcs, he alone frightened off a squad of elite Mist ninja.

The other three? Even more ridiculous.

Compared to their future accomplishments, jōnin-level power was nothing.

Still, the boys didn’t know that. They were just thrilled by the raw strength they now felt—far beyond anything they’d ever wielded.

With power like this…

They could protect Rin. Beat Kakashi.

Protect the Hidden Leaf. Complete missions.

Burn with youth.

Assist Kei-dono.

Such were their thoughts.

Kei gave them a moment to adjust. Then he exited the game, having received a WeChat message from Uchiha Osamu.

\[Lord Jiraiya is here. He’s waiting outside.]

Kei glanced at the four lying neatly on the couch, then headed for the living room. A Uchiha guard opened the door, ushering Jiraiya inside.

The guard respectfully left them alone.

Though they’d met before thanks to Minato, Kei had never exchanged many words with Jiraiya. Back then, Kei had neither status nor influence. As a Uchiha, he was just trouble. Jiraiya, being one of the Third Hokage’s students, kept his distance.

Now, everything had changed.

For the first time, Kei could look Jiraiya in the eye—as an equal.

That thought brought a fleeting wave of emotion.

But Kei soon smiled. “Jiraiya-senpai, it’s been a while.”

Jiraiya laughed in his signature hearty way. “It really has, Kei-kun. Tsunade told me you wanted to talk. And with everything going on—Orochimaru, the Leaf’s changes—I was curious about you. Hope I’m not intruding?”

Kei shook his head. “Not at all. I was just testing a new game. But I’ve got time now—let’s establish a common understanding.”

Jiraiya raised a brow. “And what kind of understanding is that?”

Kei paused, then said, “Let’s go out for dinner tonight. We’ll talk things through then. But right now, I want to ask you for something.”

He smiled.

“I’d like you to become a game developer too. Make genjutsu games, like me.”

Jiraiya was dumbfounded. He pointed to himself. “Me? Make games? You serious? I don’t know the first thing about genjutsu games!”

Kei grinned. “Don’t worry. The one I want you to make isn’t as complicated as mine. It’s simple. And I promise—it’s something you desire most. Something you won’t be able to refuse.”

Jiraiya was now both intrigued and suspicious. He tried to press for details, but Kei just told him to wait for tonight. They agreed to meet at the Akimichi clan’s barbecue restaurant.

Kei even had a Uchiha guard reserve a quiet private room, complete with a sound-sealing barrier.

As Jiraiya left, his mind spun with theories. What could be so irresistible?

Then a thought struck him—one that made his eyes go wide.

“No way… it can’t be…”

He swallowed.

His expression turned lecherous.

Steam shot from his nose.

Women on the street gave him a wide berth.

But Jiraiya didn’t care. He just wanted nightfall to come faster.

Meanwhile, back in the Uchiha compound, Kei returned to the game. The four boys had now grown familiar with their adult bodies.

Among them, Uchiha Shisui, who had not yet awakened the Sharingan, was given a jōnin-level body focused on speed by the system—perfectly matching his combat habits developed since the age of four.

Historically accurate, too. After all, future Uchiha Shisui would not only earn the title of Genjutsu Master but also be called “Shunshin Shisui” (Shisui of the Body Flicker), renowned for his speed-based fighting style.

As for the others, the system scaled their real-life states proportionally.

Obito’s Sharingan became a complete three-tomoe version. He couldn’t stop shouting in excitement: “So this is what it feels like to have both eyes at three tomoe—this is amazing!”

His best bud Kakashi tried his best to pretend he didn’t know him.

Might Guy was his usual hyper self, screaming “Youth!” as he ran lap after lap around the arena, throwing punches and kicks to warm up.

Seeing all four in good form, Kei didn’t waste time.

“The match begins!” he declared, then turned to Guy and said with a smile:

“Guy, in this genjutsu world, you don’t need to worry about your life. Just let your brilliance shine.”

“The game system has completed your Eight Gates mastery. While you can’t open all eight yet, opening up to the Seventh Gate is no problem.”

“So—go all out.”

Guy immediately adopted a serious expression. “Yes, Kei-dono!”

Then he turned his blazing eyes on his three ‘little’ opponents—and prepared to unleash everything.

Across from him, the three were still discussing battle plans.

Obito scratched his head. “He’s really fighting all three of us? Can he even win?”

“We’ll win,” Kakashi said, as cool and arrogant as ever. It was exactly how young Kakashi should sound.

Shisui was solemn. “Kei-dono wouldn’t have arranged this if he didn’t believe in Guy-senpai’s strength. That means he’s strong enough to take all three of us. We need a proper strategy.”

Obito muttered, “I mean, Kei-dono does unpredictable stuff, sure. But trusting Guy to that extent? That Eight Gates Formation can’t really make him as strong as the Hokage or anything…”

BOOM——

A terrifying roar interrupted Obito’s sentence.

Before them stood Might Guy, blazing with blue chakra flames, like a volcanic eruption. Even the ground beneath him crumbled.

Obito gaped in shock. “…right?”

The only response was the instinctive terror from Shisui and Kakashi, both immediately drawing their swords and kunai—the weapons they’d selected earlier.

We’re gonna die we’re gonna die we’re gonna die!

We’re definitely gonna die!

That aura—it was beyond jōnin level.

It was kage-level.

No, even among Kage, this was top-tier.

Then, Guy moved. Veins bulged across his body as he locked his white, pupil-less eyes on his three companions. At the same time, his health bar dropped rapidly.

That was the terrifying price of the Eight Gates Formation—life force consumed with every second.

BOOM——

The earth exploded beneath his feet. Guy charged forward at full speed.

He was so fast that only Obito, with his awakened three-tomoe Sharingan, could follow him. The other two saw nothing but a blur.

In a flash, Guy was in front of Obito. He launched a punch—he hadn’t lost his mind from the power. He knew full well that of the three, Obito was the biggest threat due to the Sharingan. He’d take him out first.

And he was right.

Obito was too stunned to react. Though his eyes saw it, his body couldn’t keep up.

He tried to dodge, raised his arms to block—

—but if you slowed the scene down by a thousand times, you’d see Obito’s arms shatter like foam under a hammer. Then Guy’s fist slammed directly into his skull.

BOOM——

A sickening crack echoed. Obito’s head exploded. His headless body flew backward from the sheer force, scattering blood and bone.

It was brutal.

Only twenty seconds into the battle—Obito died in one.

Shisui and Kakashi could only stare, eyes wide, blood splattered on their faces. They couldn’t even process what they were seeing.

At that moment, the legendary strength of the future “Gai-sensei” had shattered their very understanding of power.

And it wasn’t over.

The two quickly retreated, laying traps with explosive tags and shuriken. They began forming hand signs for ninjutsu.

Now that they had jōnin stats, they could form multiple signs per second. Powerful jutsu were just moments away.

Their forced-upgrade strength brought them close to elite jōnin level.

But even that—

Was too slow.

Compared to Might Guy now, they were still too slow.

A kick.

A sweeping leg.

It was over.

Shisui’s chest was obliterated. He slumped lifeless against a wall. The cracks in the stone and his unblinking eyes said it all—he didn’t even realize what hit him.

Kakashi… became two parts.

Upper body. Lower body.

His torso collapsed onto the floor, blood pouring from his mouth. His eyes dimmed as he looked one last time at Might Guy, still burning like a war god.

A final thought surfaced.

“Sorry I couldn’t bring out your full strength, Guy…”

Then, silence.

Meanwhile, Guy’s health bar dipped into the yellow, nearing the danger zone.

But he still had fight left. If he only used the Sixth Gate, his time would have lasted even longer.

The Eight Gates Formation… was terrifying.

And this was only the Seventh Gate.

If he’d opened all Eight—he might’ve killed all three in just one second.

No time to react, no chance to survive.

When Gai fought Madara in his Ten-Tails Jinchūriki form, with both Rinnegan and Otsutsuki powers, he still nearly killed him.

Madara could barely even see him.

So of course, these three didn’t stand a chance.

Even with game balancing, if Guy opened all Eight Gates, he’d die within seconds.

From his god-mode perspective, Kei stroked his chin.

“So this is the true power of the Eight Gates in Gai’s hands. And this isn’t even future elite jōnin Gai—just average jōnin level. Power-wise, maybe comparable to during the Konoha Crush?”

“If Gai had gone all out back then, he probably could’ve broken the Four Violet Flames Formation. Others might’ve gotten in to help the old man.”

“Tsk, and Kakashi told him to leave it to Lord Third… Could be a conspiracy to get the old man killed, huh?”

Kei chuckled darkly. Then he used his GM authority to reset the match.

All three who died respawned.

Guy returned to normal.

Even though the trio came back, they looked visibly shaken. When they looked at Guy now, their eyes held awe.

That was the emotional value of the Eight Gates—a forbidden technique that earned real respect.

Now they understood why Kei had demanded that the Uchiha clan respect Might Duy.

Anyone who could take a self-destructive forbidden technique and make it work to this level deserved it.

Even though this was Guy, the technique and training came from Duy. That meant Duy himself might’ve had this power too.

Even half of it would be enough to terrify any Kage alive today.

How could someone like that not be respected?

How dare they not respect him?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep