Chapter 183 The Gift Prepared by Mu Yue

“Sandaime-sama.”

Upon reaching the Training Ground, Muzuki and Might Dai greeted Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was looking at the scenery.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, a smile on his face, and said,

“Dai, I vaguely remember you were one of the most diligent people in training the Eight Gates back then. It seems your efforts have finally borne fruit.”

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, he stroked the small beard on his chin, his smile very kind, like an ordinary old man happy for a junior’s hard-earned success.

“Sandaime-sama, I didn’t expect you to still remember me.”

Might Dai was surprised that Hiruzen Sarutobi still remembered that period. He had thought Hiruzen Sarutobi only remembered him as the perennial Genin.

“Haha, although I wasn’t Hokage yet at that time, I was already diligently learning from Teacher Tobirama. How could I forget someone as special as you, Dai?” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

His words weren’t entirely to gain favor; he genuinely remembered Might Dai, as his appearance and demeanor were indeed somewhat different from ordinary people.

“Hahaha, thank you for the support!” Might Dai gave a thumbs-up, laughing heartily and revealing his two rows of white teeth.

Muzuki couldn’t help but sigh that high status indeed came with many benefits. Hiruzen Sarutobi’s position destined him to easily gain favor. Apart from a transmigrator like him, few in Konoha Village could resist the Hokage’s proactive friendliness.

“I’ve long heard from Teacher Tobirama about the power of the Eight Gates, but unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance to witness it firsthand. I wonder if you, Dai, can fulfill this regret of mine today.”

After habitually gaining some favor, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to talk about serious matters.

“Since it’s Hokage-sama’s regret, there’s no reason to refuse. Gate of View, open!”

Might Dai clenched both fists, his entire body’s Chakra erupting. With a roar, he directly opened the Sixth Gate, his whole body enveloped in green energy.

The Eight Gates were originally meant to be opened one by one; one had to open the preceding gates before opening the later ones. However, if one’s mastery of the Eight Gates reached a certain level, they could directly skip the earlier gates and open the later ones. Might Dai’s current limit was to skip the first five gates and directly open the Sixth Gate.

Whoosh whoosh!!

The powerful Chakra that Might Dai instantly unleashed stirred the airflow, bending the surrounding green grass and blowing Hiruzen Sarutobi’s dark gray hair.

“Is this the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates?” Feeling the power erupting from Might Dai, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed an interested expression.

Although he didn’t have any special eyes that could directly see the gates Might Dai’s body had opened, based on the descriptions of the Eight Gates, he could determine that Might Dai was currently in the Sixth Gate state.

When using the first five gates of the Eight Gates, there wouldn’t be any special external changes to the body. Starting from the Sixth Gate, each gate brought changes. In the Sixth Gate, the entire body would be filled with green energy. The Seventh Gate would have blue steam, and after opening the Gate of Death, there would be blood-red steam.

“Attack me. Don’t hold back.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

To test strength, the best method was combat.

Although it was just a Shadow Clone, Hiruzen Sarutobi had given it a lot of Chakra, about thirty percent of his total Chakra.

A hint of excitement flashed in Might Dai’s eyes. Since mastering the Eight Gates, he had only fought with Muzuki. He hadn’t expected to be able to fight the Third Hokage so soon.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi wished, Might Dai didn’t hold back, exerting the power of the Sixth Gate to its fullest as he launched an attack on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

With a whoosh, Might Dai instantly vanished from his spot and launched a kick towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression remained composed, showing no sign of panic. Just as Might Dai’s leg was about to connect with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s figure vanished, causing Might Dai’s attack to miss.

“The speed is indeed good, surpassing many Jonin.” Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had left using the Body Flicker Technique, nodded to himself.

Missing an attack, Might Dai wasn’t discouraged. After all, this was the Third Hokage. He quickly locked onto Hiruzen Sarutobi’s position and continued to rush towards him.

This time, Might Dai used his fist. Under the powerful force of his punch, merely swinging his fist could stir the air and create a shockwave that rushed towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!” Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly formed hand signs and expelled a large amount of earth, forming a hard rock wall.

Rumble!!

Might Dai’s fist slammed heavily onto the hard rock wall, causing it to shake and slightly crack.

Muzuki watched this scene without surprise. The strength of a Ninjutsu depended on its user. If it were the Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall of an eight-year-old Kakashi, the Sixth Gate Might Dai could punch through it. But this was Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall; the appearance of cracks meant Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t serious.

“The strength is also good.” Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to comment on Might Dai’s performance.

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi took the initiative, using the Body Flicker Technique to quickly stand on the earth wall, then rapidly formed hand signs and exhaled a gust of hurricane-force wind.

Facing a powerful individual like the Third Hokage, Might Dai dared not be negligent in the slightest. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi show signs of attacking, he immediately dodged away.

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as if showing off, used various high-level Ninjutsu of different attributes, making the area where they fought quite messy.

After fighting for about seven minutes, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke first: “Let’s stop here.”

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, stroking his beard, and said: “The Eight Gates are truly powerful. Just the Sixth Gate is enough to defeat many Jonin.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that the true power of the Eight Gates lay in the Seventh and Eighth Gates, but both came with a huge price. Opening the Seventh Gate would inevitably result in injury, to the point where even a touch would be painful. Opening the Eighth Gate was a certain death sentence.

However, he could roughly estimate the strength of the Eighth Gate Might Dai based on the strength of the Sixth Gate Might Dai.

“If he opens the Eighth Gate, he might have strength equal to mine for a short period.” Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself.

Of course, not the Shadow Clone, but his full-power self.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally understood Senju Tobirama’s desire to create an Eight Gates squad at the time.

If it had truly succeeded, Konoha would have gained a powerful deterrent in war, capable of directly carrying out decapitation strikes against enemy leaders. No need to send many; two Eight Gates Ninja and a few Jonin would be enough.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also now had the idea of training Eight Gates Ninja, but with the war still ongoing, the timing wasn’t quite right. During wartime, everything needed to be done cautiously.

“Dai, your achievements were not enough for a Chunin promotion, but because you are the first in Konoha to successfully master the Eight Gates, fulfilling Teacher Tobirama’s dying wish, I am specially promoting you to Chunin.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a serious expression.

“Thank you, Sandaime-sama!” Might Dai clenched his right fist tightly, his heart filled with excitement.

He was very grateful to Muzuki, grateful that Muzuki was willing to help him create such an opportunity. He was also grateful to Hiruzen Sarutobi for specially promoting him.

But Might Dai felt that he owed the most gratitude to himself; to the self who wasn’t swayed by others’ gossip, to the self who diligently practiced one Taijutsu for ten years, to the self who believed that effort would eventually pay off.

“This is all what you deserve.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

It could only be said that fortune and misfortune were intertwined. If not for constantly training the Eight Gates, Might Dai wouldn’t have become the perennial Genin everyone disliked. But without training the Eight Gates, Might Dai might not have become a very strong Ninja, nor would he have been specially promoted to Chunin as he was now.

“Dai, head to the Hokage Building to collect a Chunin uniform and promotion form.” Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, formed hand signs, and dispelled his Shadow Clone, letting the memories flow back to his main body.

The difference between Konoha Genin and Chunin was that Genin only had headbands, while Chunin received a green Ninja vest.

“Congratulations, Might Dai.” Muzuki said with a smile, congratulating him.

“It’s all thanks to your help, Muzuki!” Might Dai gave Muzuki a thumbs-up, his face full of gratitude.

Might Dai was eager to take the uniform and the Chunin promotion form back to show Might Guy, to let Might Guy know the good news.

So, the two quickly rushed to the Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s actions were swift. After they arrived at the Hokage Building, they received the Chunin two-piece set—the vest and the promotion form—without waiting.

The Chunin standard vest was sealed in plastic. Might Dai thought for a moment and directly tore it open, immediately putting on the green vest. This way, Might Guy would notice it as soon as he returned home.

However, as Might Dai, wearing the vest and holding the form, was about to head home, he was stopped by Muzuki.

“Might Dai, if I may ask, what gift did you prepare for Guy’s birthday today?” Muzuki asked, stopping Might Dai.

Might Dai pulled out a green jumpsuit identical to the one he was wearing from somewhere, laughing heartily and giving a thumbs-up, saying:

“Of course, a practical and useful jumpsuit!”

Muzuki now understood why Might Guy would give a jumpsuit for Shisui’s birthday.

“Might Dai, I have a suggestion. For example, we could write some Taijutsu training insights together and give them to Guy. This way, even when he’s on missions, he can train according to the experience written there.” Muzuki adjusted his glasses and suggested with a smile.

There was a big gap between the proficient and perfect levels. He was worried that there might be a slight difference that would prevent him from reaching the perfect level, so he thought of creating something together to give to Might Guy.

“Muzuki, you’re always so thoughtful. Let’s do as you say.” Might Dai nodded heavily, saying that this was indeed better than giving a jumpsuit.

……

Night, Might Guy’s home.

At this time, Muzuki’s disciples were mostly present: Obito, Rin Nohara, Shisui, and Kakashi had all arrived at Might Guy’s house.

“Huh, where’s Teacher Muzuki? Why isn’t he here yet? It’s past seven.” Obito checked the time, scratching his head, a bit confused.

“Teacher Muzuki must have his reasons for not coming.” Shisui said, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Kakashi glanced at Shisui. Shisui was the only person he wasn’t familiar with among them, but he remembered Shisui and Might Guy used to run together. He should be Might Guy’s friend from the Ninja Academy.

“Did he also run into a lost Grandma?” Obito speculated, projecting his own experience.

“Probably not. Even if he met five Grandmas, Teacher Muzuki could use Shadow Clones to help them and then his main body could return.” Rin Nohara believed Muzuki wouldn’t be late for such a reason.

“Maybe he went to do something with my dad.” Might Guy recalled Might Dai’s words from yesterday.

Might Dai hadn’t appeared either. He felt that the two of them should be together, but he didn’t know what that ‘very impressive and youthful thing’ was.

“I’m back!”

Might Dai’s booming voice reached everyone’s ears.

This chapter is 3.2k, and there should be about 4-5k left.