Chapter 58: Victory

"Primary Lotus!"

The bandage in Ren's hand wrapped tightly around Yamato's body. Both of them plummeted headfirst towards the ground with terrifying speed, enveloped in a violent green chakra. They descended like a falling meteor.

Yamato's face had gone completely pale. At this moment, he even felt the fear of death!

"No!" Yamato roared, despair in his eyes. However, there was absolutely nothing he could do.

Just as the two were about to slam into the ground together, Ren deftly changed the direction of his descent, and with Yamato tied like a bundle, he landed lightly on the ground.

"Captain Tenzō, you lost." A smile appeared on Ren's mask as he spoke softly.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Yamato, feeling as though he had been rescued from the brink of death, slumped to the ground. His heart was filled with the sheer relief of being alive. 'Truly... I almost died!' Having personally experienced the "Primary Lotus" move, Yamato now truly understood how terrifying it was! The back of his clothes was soaked in cold sweat, and his chakra was completely depleted.

"I lost…" A wry smile appeared on Yamato's masked face as he spoke in a very weak tone.

At this moment, the entire training ground was silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Ren, their expressions slack with uncontainable surprise and astonishment. Because this newcomer who had just entered Anbu... he had actually defeated Captain Tenzō right before their eyes!

"Echo Feather... Is he really only twelve years old?"

"This kind of strength is truly terrifying!"

"Having defeated Captain Yamato at such a young age, his future... is simply limitless!"

When someone in the crowd uttered this, the Anbu ninja in the audience fell silent again. Yes, the young man in front of them was only twelve years old! Such bearing, such composure, such strength... He was truly a prodigy, and even now he already possessed the demeanor of a powerful shinobi! In the eyes of the Anbu personnel looking at Ren, there was now a palpable sense of admiration and awe.

At this time, Kakashi, the Anbu Commander, strode over. He said to his subordinates: "Quick! Quickly call the ninja from the Medical Department!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then quickly carried out the commander's orders. Anbu was very close to the Ninja Hospital, and the medical ninja quickly arrived.

"Which one is injured?" asked the medical ninja.

"It's our Captain Tenzō who was injured," an Anbu ninja replied.

But Kakashi stepped in front of the medical ninja first, pulling his arm, and dragging him to Ren. "Tenzō suffered some minor skin injuries, don't worry about him. You should check this child's body first," Kakashi said eagerly.

Yamato: "???" 'Commander... your attitude makes me so sad, doesn't it? How can you say that I'm also one of the only three senior unit commanders in our Anbu, your capable general, and I'm injured now... are you in a hurry?'

At this time, Ren was also stunned, then took a half-step back. He frowned and said: "I'm not injured, why do I need a body check?"

Kakashi completely ignored Ren's refusal and said sternly: "It's alright, Echo Feather. I know it's not easy for you to support yourself standing here now. You have already won this test, and your strength has been recognized by all of us, so you don't have to be brave anymore." Kakashi patted Ren on the shoulder, his tone sincere.

"???" 'What am I trying to do?' Ren was suddenly filled with question marks. Then, with a face full of both frustration and amusement, he said: "I didn't try to be brave, I really didn't get hurt."

Kakashi was unmoved by what Ren said, and very seriously countered: "You have even learned the Eight Gates Released Formation. Don't you even know your physical condition? When the Eight Gates Released Formation opens to the Fourth Gate, it will cause damage to the body. And the Fifth Gate has just been opened, and a powerful chakra burst out forcibly. The damage to the body is very serious. If you don't treat it in time, leaving those hidden wounds in your body will affect your future ninja career!"

Ren spread out his hands helplessly, an innocent expression on his face: "But I opened the Eight Gates to five gates, and it didn't cause any damage to my body, and I didn't feel any pain or any negative effects."

"Even if the Eight Gates Released Formation opens to five... Wait, what did you say?" Kakashi's tone paused, and then his face was full of shock as he repeated the question, "You mean, you have opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation, and it will not cause any damage to your body? You did not feel any pain or negative effects?"

Ren nodded.

With a hint of disbelief, Kakashi shook his head and denied: "No, it's impossible. Even Guy, when he opens the Fifth Gate, his whole body hurts because the capillaries are broken by chakra..."

Ren interrupted him and said with a chuckle: "What Teacher Guy can't do doesn't mean I can't do it either." He looked at Kakashi's expression of disbelief, and simply dragged the medical ninja to his side, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Then give me an examination."

The medical ninja was very dedicated and conducted a comprehensive inspection of Ren. Then he gave the same answer as Ren had said before.

"His body really doesn't have any damage." The medical ninja nodded, then turned to treat Yamato, who had suffered some minor skin injuries.

Kakashi was stunned for a moment, then blurted out: "How, how is it possible..."

Ren explained with a smile: "Lord Commander, you can believe it now. So far, I have opened five gates, and my body has no negative effects at all!"

"You researched this yourself?" Kakashi said in surprise, and couldn't help but re-evaluate Ren in his heart.

"No, this is the result of my practice that I researched together with Teacher Guy." Ren shook his head and said sternly.

Kakashi sighed deeply. Speaking to himself, he said: "Guy told me before that he had an apprentice with extraordinary talent. He was a rare genius in hundreds of years. At that time, I didn't believe it."

With a wry smile on the corner of his mouth, he sighed: "Now it seems that he has indeed met a genius boy who is rare in a thousand years. For this strength and character, let alone me, even my teacher, the Fourth Hokage, would be full of praise when he sees it, right?"

Kakashi couldn't help but feel a trace of remorse in his heart, and a trace of envy for Might Guy. He regretted it because Ren's father, Tatsuo, had once told him that he hoped he could give pointers to his son, but at that time, because Tatsuo was a commoner, pointing his son seemed like a waste of his time, so he refused without hesitation. But he hadn't thought at all... this young man named Ren had such talent! He envied because his good friend Might Guy became Ren's teacher. Firstly, with such a powerful disciple, Might Guy's own reputation and status would also become famous in the village. And Ren had not only perfectly inherited Might Guy's unique stunt, but he had even improved the gate release technique together with Might Guy, reducing the damage to the body caused by this technique. Such a change might even be enough to move the Eight Gates Released Formation out of the scope of a forbidden technique and become a powerful ninjutsu that could burst out instantly without paying too high a price.

Kakashi could already predict in his heart that in the near future, Ren, this talented young man, would surely, at the right time, make the Eight Gates Released Formation famous throughout the entire ninja world!