Surely no one thinks the Eight Gates are hard, right?
What a joke!
Tobirama's inner voice roared.
The Eight Gates Technique was hard!
Besides Might Batsu, he hadn't seen a second ninja suited to train it!
Well, except Hashirama.
He figured Hashirama's body could casually open the Eight Gates.
But then again…
Did Hashirama need it?
Facing enemies, he'd just summon a Wood Golem or Wood Dragon.
If that wasn't enough, he'd go easy, using both hands for Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
He could twist off Madara Uchiha's head.
"Kid, you really think I'll buy your nonsense?" Tobirama scrutinized Kazuku's innocent face.
He didn't believe for a second that Kazuku learned the Eight Gates from one glance.
He suspected Kazuku had mastered it before meeting Batsu.
Even his monstrous strength…
Might not have been instinctively unlocked.
Someone probably taught him!
"When Kazuku joined the exercise yesterday, Kima and Ayako were worried," Tobirama recalled, searching for clues.
"They clearly knew nothing about his strength!"
With Kima and Ayako's acting, they couldn't fool him, the soon-to-be Second Hokage.
Kazuku had mastered monstrous strength and the Eight Gates without their knowledge!
And whoever taught him…
Knew his body intimately!
They knew he'd inherited Senju chakra, so they taught him monstrous strength!
They knew he had Seal-less Healing, so they taught him the reckless Eight Gates!
Because they knew Seal-less Healing could erase the technique's damage with ease!
In Konoha, those who understood the Eight Gates were Tobirama, Might Batsu, Hashirama, and…
Madara Uchiha!
But Madara was killed by Hashirama at the Valley of the End.
As for Batsu…
When he saw Kazuku use the Eight Gates, his jaw nearly hit the ground!
Through bold deduction and meticulous analysis, Tobirama concluded:
Eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth!
It was Hashirama!
It had to be Hashirama!
"No wonder…" Tobirama suddenly remembered.
When Kazuku returned to the village, Hashirama had said…
"No surprise from my grandson, with such spirit!"
"Tobirama, wanna bet? My grandson will become a Hokage greater than me!"
"Big Brother loves gambling, but he's never beaten me," Tobirama mused.
He recalled a bet Hashirama made, claiming Izuna was Madara's brother, a rare Uchiha genius.
Opening the Mangekyo Sharingan young.
"You're no match for him."
"If you meet him on the battlefield, abandon the mission."
And the result? Tobirama took him out with Flying Thunder God.
"Now that I think about it, Big Brother's always had a weird obsession with the Uchiha, thinking they're strong…"
Like at the Valley of the End.
Before facing Madara, Hashirama arranged everything.
If he didn't return, Tobirama would be Second Hokage.
He entrusted Mito to his care.
Then hyped Madara up: Eternal Mangekyo, full Susanoo that could flatten mountains, controlling the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan.
The strongest man in the ninja world.
And the result?
Hashirama returned unscathed, with Madara's corpse and a sealed Nine-Tails.
Didn't he realize his power alone surpassed the entire Uchiha clan combined?
"I get it. This was Big Brother's scheme to finally win a bet against me," Tobirama concluded, exhaling deeply.
His analysis felt flawless.
"Spill it, Kazuku. I've seen through your secrets," he said, eyes like saucers, staring at Kazuku's youthful face as if he'd truly uncovered everything.
It wasn't Hashirama secretly training him—unless he had some cheat system.
Just click "confirm" and instantly master monstrous strength and the Eight Gates?
Ridiculous! No such thing existed!
So, it had to be Hashirama!
It had to!
"Really spill it?" Kazuku tilted his head.
"What else?" Tobirama snapped.
Everyone's eyes turned to Kazuku, awaiting his truth.
"Fine, then I've got nothing to hide," Kazuku nodded. "This was my first time using the Eight Gates!"
His words dropped.
Tobirama reflexively shot back, "Impossible! If you'd never touched the Eight Gates, how could you open the Gate of Limit?"
"Lying takes skill, and your lie doesn't even hold up. Kazuku, it was…"
"Big Brother Hashirama who secretly taught you monstrous strength and the Eight Gates, right?" Tobirama declared, dropping the bombshell "truth"!
Everyone's eyes widened, gasping, yet finding the explanation reasonable.
No one wanted to believe Kazuku mastered the Eight Gates without training!
"Taijutsu, unlike ninjutsu or genjutsu, requires long, grueling training. There are no shortcuts," Might Batsu, Konoha's taijutsu expert, explained.
"And…"
"Young Master Kazuku used high-speed movement to trick Danzo into attacking, luring him into a vulnerable position with no time to defend."
"Such tactics aren't something someone using the Eight Gates for the first time could devise."
"That combat experience takes at least three to five years to hone!"
"No genius in the ninja world could reach your level in a short time!"
"Batsu's right," Tobirama agreed.
To Batsu, combat experience was muscle memory, built over years.
"Based on my analysis…"
"Young Master Kazuku, you've been training taijutsu for at least two years!"
"Am I right?" Batsu said confidently. "Even taking two years to reach this level makes you an unparalleled genius!"
"Two years?!" Tobirama exclaimed, realizing it matched his theory.
Kazuku had been away from Konoha for exactly two years!
What did that mean?
Hashirama had been secretly training him!
"You almost fooled me, kid!" Tobirama sighed.
Kazuku: "???"
Kazuku stared at Tobirama and Batsu, dumbfounded, inwardly groaning.
Please, stop overthinking!
I'm telling the truth!
(End of Chapter)