Kazekaze swung his fists continuously, completely disregarding the damage that the Sixth Gate: Gate of View was causing to his body. The flames scattering from his fists painted the sky red—bright as the sunrise, dazzling like a peacock's tail feathers!
It was because of this brilliant spectacle that the technique earned its name: Morning Peacock.
Everyone present gasped in shock, their eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief. If before, Kazekaze had merely learned the Eight Gates technique developed by Tobirama Senju, then now...
Kazekaze had created a new jutsu! At least... that's how it seemed to Sarutobi.
He had no idea that, in the future, there would be a ninja named Might Guy. He didn't know that Might Guy would one day, on a whim, infuse his technique with super-fast, super-strong punches, and in doing so, develop Morning Peacock.
"Kazekaze, who is only seven years old, can not only open the Sixth Gate but also create a brand new jutsu from it… This..." Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock, waves of disbelief crashing through his mind.
He couldn't understand it. He could hardly believe it. Even if one is a genius, there should be a limit, right? How long has Kazekaze been learning the Eight Gates? How long has he even been able to open the Sixth Gate?
Everyone knew—the leap from zero to one was infinitely harder than the leap from one to ten! Countless shinobi spent their entire lives only able to use techniques invented by others.
"Morning Peacock..." Sarutobi muttered the name of the technique.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it—not even in his wildest dreams. That a seven-year-old Genin from Konoha had developed such a devastatingly powerful jutsu!
But in truth… Morning Peacock had nothing to do with Kazekaze's own creativity. He had simply used knowledge that was already available to him. Even so, there was no denying the sheer power of Morning Peacock.
In the original timeline, this technique had proven itself twice:
The first time, it instantly annihilated a 30%-chakra clone of Kisame Hoshigaki.The second time, it obliterated the majority of Kisame's Thousand Feeding Sharks!
And against an opponent like Toroi of the Hidden Cloud Village? It was more than enough.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of thunderous explosions rocked the battlefield. Kazekaze tore apart Toroi's shuriken barrier layer by layer. And because Morning Peacock was a technique that relied on extreme speed, even though Toroi's eyes could see the countless fireballs raining down upon him, his body simply couldn't react in time.
The worst part? His shuriken barrier, which he had meticulously set up, had now become his own prison. There was nowhere to run.
"Is this... what a Konoha Genin is capable of?" By the end, Toroi simply gave up the fight.
Kazekaze's strength had shattered everything he thought he knew. He couldn't understand how Konoha had trained such a terrifying monster. Before even fighting him, Kazekaze had single-handedly killed five Cloud ninjas.
That meant… Kazekaze was strong enough to annihilate an entire ninja squad—alone. And he had done it in less than thirty minutes. The sheer magnitude of it was terrifying. Then, in an instant, Kazekaze's Morning Peacock crashed down upon Toroi's body.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"AAAHHHH!"
The scorching flames and the relentless impacts forced screams from Toroi's throat. And then… He collapsed.
The moment Toroi lost consciousness, his shuriken—no longer under his control—fell to the ground with dull clatters. Before the stunned eyes of Sarutobi, Weiming, Sakumo, and Yuna, Kazekaze had defeated Toroi!
But… Kazekaze's condition had become extremely critical. The Sixth Gate had a built-in buffer state, designed to minimize bodily damage while still maximizing explosive power. But every technique comes with a price. This overwhelming power had torn Kazekaze's body apart.
And the worst part? He had only been training his body for a little over a week. His body wasn't even close to being strong enough to handle Morning Peacock. Just now, every single punch—every single movement—had been forced through sheer willpower. His muscles and meridians had taken more damage than ever before.
Even worse… His tendons and bones had begun to crack. Sweat the size of beads trickled down Kazekaze's forehead. And the moment he released the Sixth Gate, an even greater wave of pain consumed him. His body seized up, his movements stopped, and he fell toward the ground.
"Shit." Sarutobi reacted instantly.
He sprinted forward and leaped into the air, catching Kazekaze just before he hit the ground. But even that slight contact sent intense pain ripping through Kazekaze's body! Seeing this, Sarutobi had no choice but to gently lay him down.
Kazekaze tried to say something, but… The pain was so overwhelming he couldn't even make a sound.
'Is this... the damage from Morning Peacock? Even my Regeneration Ability isn't able to recover my body quickly enough. No. This isn't a problem with Unmarked Healing. It's a problem with my body. I'm just not strong enough yet.'
Through his battle with Toroi, Kazekaze had been forced to face the brutal truth. Between him and Might Guy, there was an insurmountable gap—a gap called physical strength. If Morning Peacock alone had caused this much damage… If he tried using Daytime Tiger, he would probably pass out instantly from the pain.
And his Regeneration Ability?
It wasn't even close to the level of Hashirama Senju. Even though he had inherited this ability, it was still at its lowest level. If Regeneration Ability was Lv.10, then Kazekaze's was barely Lv.1.
This was the first time Kazekaze truly realized… Just how weak his body was.
'When I get back, I have to increase my physical training. No excuses.' Kazekaze made a silent vow to himself.
The system gave him abilities. But to make full use of them... he needed to train.
"Kazekaze!" Just as Kazekaze was trying to endure the unbearable pain, a shout rang out. Yuna.
She was running toward him, her hands shaking. Although, when she first met Kazekaze, she didn't like him— She hated how he always called her a coward. She thought he was only a Genin because of his family background. But now… Seeing Kazekaze fight to protect her, seeing him suffer injuries like this, something inside her changed.
She no longer hated him. Now, she was worried about him. Her eyes filled with tears.
Kazekaze, however, felt helpless.
'I protected you because I had to complete the mission, okay!?'
'I only protected you indirectly!'
'I got this injured because if I didn't kill Toroi, he would have killed me!'
'Don't make it look like I threw my life away for a woman!'
But Kazekaze didn't have the strength to say any of this. Then… Yuna did something completely unexpected. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her pale skin, and extended her arm toward him.
"Bite me."
Sakumo, witnessing this: "???"
----------------------------
If you enjoy my translations and want to read ahead, support me on Patreon for early access to extra chapters! :D p@treon.com/c/Nykolas831 - Currently chapter 68 posted ♡
----------------------------