After Minato Namikaze reported to his department, he received his first mission: to escort medical supplies to the eastern front, providing resource support for the medical ninjas there. Since the safety of the medical team was paramount, their position was located behind the eastern front stronghold, and the transportation route for resources was even further back. Although it was an escort mission, there wasn't much danger involved.
Due to the Hidden Leaf Village's emphasis on protecting commercial transport, in its early years, it dedicated itself to eliminating nearby bandit forces. Now, they were almost entirely cleared out. Even if some remnants remained, they wouldn't dare provoke the Hidden Leaf Village. After all these years, any intelligent person should understand that those protected by the Hidden Leaf Village, as well as the village's own ninjas, were not to be trifled with.
Newly promoted genin like Minato Namikaze primarily learned the qualities required of logistics ninjas during wartime. They would go through a transitional period and then, as they grew older, gradually enter the battlefield. The new genin had already learned this from their teachers, so they had no complaints and diligently carried out their missions.
The leader of Minato Namikaze's transport squad was an energetic young man named Might Duy, who was very enthusiastic. Even though the material transport was very safe, he tirelessly taught his squad, telling them never to be careless and to watch out for potential lurking enemies.
Compared to the leaders of other transport squads, Might Duy was clearly overly enthusiastic. This attitude wasn't exactly annoying, but everyone still felt a bit uncomfortable, mainly because the intensity of his enthusiasm made them feel somewhat exhausted. Still, they thought Might Duy was a good person as a leader.
Despite understanding that they could only perform logistics missions for now, the young ninjas couldn't help but discuss the front lines during their short breaks, imagining what war was truly like and how the village's ninjas fought bravely. When Might Duy overheard them, he actively joined in, as he also wanted to participate in front-line combat. Given his age, he naturally met the requirements for a regular ninja unit; the only issue was his strength.
Might Duy came from a civilian background with no family heritage. This wasn't a major problem, as there were talented and strong individuals among civilian ninjas. However, Might Duy lacked these qualities; he was not only not a genius but also someone with very low talent.
Might Duy had very poor chakra control. While he could use chakra simply, he couldn't perform any nature or shape transformations. At most, he could use some basic low-level ninjutsu like the Three Body Technique. As for elemental release ninjutsu, which required nature transformation, he was almost unable to use them.
If that were all, Might Duy could have pursued the path of a taijutsu ninja. In fact, when he was deemed to have insufficient chakra talent, his school teachers advised him to specialize in taijutsu. After all, taijutsu didn't require much chakra control; one only needed to learn how to use chakra to break through the limitations of the chakra pathways.
However, even in taijutsu training, Might Duy struggled to grasp the techniques. The only commendable aspect was his enthusiasm; he was unafraid of hardship and trained his physical stamina day and night. But no matter how abundant his physical stamina, it couldn't compensate for the gap in technique.
Until graduation, Might Duy's strength remained the same. His school teachers could only recommend against him participating in the selection for regular ninja units in their evaluations. This was because the Hidden Leaf Village's regular ninja units placed a high emphasis on quality. Even though Might Duy's enthusiasm was very strong, and the school believed in his loyalty, they could only choose to forgo him, assigning him to the logistics department to manage resource transport. This was also a good place to utilize his abundant physical stamina.
"Senior Duy clearly wants to dedicate himself to the village, yet the village assigned you to do manual labor here. Don't you think the village's arrangement is unfair, Senior Duy?" a young Hidden Leaf ninja asked.
"What's unfair about it? The village's arrangement is fair and reasonable.
If someone as lacking in strength as I am were sent to the battlefield, wouldn't I just be throwing my life away? The village assigned me to the logistics department precisely because they were concerned about my safety. How could I possibly complain about the village at a time like this? I should be reflecting on why my strength is so poor. The school did its best to educate me; being assigned here is solely due to my own reasons," Might Duy said with a smile.
At Fumori Masaki's request, the Ninja Academy made efforts to assign suitable positions to students with insufficient talent. It was also due to the further subdivision of ninja roles within the village and the operation of the commercial sector that a new path could be offered to ninjas with less talent. Furthermore, the Medical Department's psychological counseling team was arranged to speak with them, helping them accept their limitations and understand that they could contribute their value elsewhere, without being fixated on traditional ninja duties.
Although the status of traditional combat ninjas and intelligence ninjas remained high, there indeed emerged some ninja roles with other special statuses in the Hidden Leaf Village. For example, medical ninjas in the medical corps were no less important than their traditional counterparts. In recent years, roles like research ninjas and administrative ninjas responsible for overseeing commercial operations also held unique positions. However, due to traditional factors, these non-traditional ninjas still felt somewhat lacking in confidence.
However, because Fumori Masaki placed great importance on these, ninja duties were no longer confined to tradition but branched out like a hundred flowers blooming. There was also much policy support, and some ninjas with less talent truly realized their value in other areas. In terms of psychological satisfaction, they were not necessarily inferior to those in traditional ninja professions.
Might Duy was inherently one of those with a broad mind. He knew his own lack of strength and willingly accepted the village's arrangement. However, the idea of joining a regular ninja unit never left his mind. His thinking was also somewhat traditional, believing that fighting on the battlefield was the only way to realize one's self-worth.
"Senior Duy, you're being too foolish. Since you don't have much talent, just accept staying in the logistics department, why bother thinking about all these unnecessary things? Didn't the village also say that there are places to realize one's self-worth in other departments?" A genin in the transport squad said this. He considered himself talented enough to pursue higher positions, but since Might Duy's talent was so poor and confirmed, he felt there was no need to waste time like this.
"Hey, Fujiwara." His companion beside him couldn't help but say, feeling that speaking such words in front of a senior was too rude. "I think Senior Duy has a lot of ambition."
Minato Namikaze, who had been listening quietly, also nodded slightly. He believed that although Might Duy's talent was indeed lacking, his strong will was commendable. As long as Might Duy could maintain it, even if he couldn't join his dream regular combat unit, he would surely gain something else. Regardless, such an unyielding quality should never be ridiculed.
The others also spoke up, saying that Fujiwara's words were too rude. After being reminded by his companion, he immediately came to his senses and apologized to Might Duy.
"It's nothing," Might Duy just smiled, not taking it to heart at all. He had faced many criticisms over the years; if such words could affect him, he wouldn't have persevered until now and would have given up long ago. Besides, he wasn't without reward.
Hearing Might Duy say this, everyone was very curious about what he had gained, even though he was still in the logistics department. His subsequent answer greatly surprised them.
"My efforts all these years, even Lord Hokage has heard my voice!" Might Duy laughed heartily.
Over ten years had passed since Might Duy graduated. He still remained in his position in the logistics department. Because he never stopped training himself, and his enthusiasm was infectious, everyone in the logistics department knew there was such a ninja in their department who never forgot his original aspiration.
On weekdays, when the ninjas in the logistics department saw Might Duy, they would often tease him. While there were indeed some who disliked Might Duy's behavior of not knowing when to advance or retreat, and his wishful thinking, most held goodwill towards him. While they had chosen to stay in the logistics department for life, only Might Duy, the least talented among them, was still striving. Although they wouldn't do it themselves, they were willing to offer Might Duy some support, perhaps remembering their past selves who also refused to give up. Might Duy's persistence truly moved people.
This anomaly in the logistics department quickly spread to other departments. The departments of the Hidden Leaf Village were inherently interconnected, and the news kept spreading until it reached Fumori Masaki. Of course, initially, no one expected anything to be given to Might Duy; it was just treated as an interesting topic and an example for propaganda—such unyielding youthful enthusiasm was very useful for internal morale.
Although Fumori Masaki also paid close attention to the lower ranks, his position was too high, making it impossible for him to be comprehensively aware of everything. He had never heard any news about Might Duy and had even thought that the butterfly effect had made Might Duy disappear. It was only when Might Duy made a name for himself that he noticed this person was still around.
Upon hearing of Might Duy, Fumori Masaki immediately thought of the ultimate taijutsu, the Eight Gates Released Formation. He had previously hoped to find Might Duy to teach him the Eight Gates. However, after becoming Hokage and gaining access to all the secret techniques in the village, he discovered that this taijutsu, the Eight Gates Released Formation, didn't exist in its complete form. More precisely, the complete method wasn't yet there, but a prototype (prototype) already existed.
In the past, ninjas had already become aware of the existence of the Eight Gates, especially the Hyuga clan. However, the Eight Gates fundamentally restrained overly powerful chakra, preventing damage to the human body. Due to the subconscious needs and protective functions of the human body, it was absolutely impossible to open the Eight Gates without arduous training.
Hyuga Masato, the former head of the Hyuga main family, told Fumori Masaki that only by dedicating one's entire body and mind to taijutsu training could one fully open the Eight Gates. Otherwise, no matter how talented a genius, they could at most open one or two gates, and it would be impossible to reach the true realm of the Eight Gates Released Formation.
At that time, Hyuga Masato believed that only those without talent and with nothing to lose could truly enter the realm of the Eight Gates Released Formation. For those with outstanding abilities, it was difficult to make them expend their energy and fully commit to training the Eight Gates, and also difficult for them to break through their own limits and open the Eight Gates.
Fumori Masaki felt that perhaps the Eight Gates Released Formation was a classic example of how, when God closes one door, He opens another. Even if you don't have outstanding talent, as long as you fully commit yourself, you might gain powerful strength comparable to it. Although the price to pay is unbearable, it is still a miracle for a mortal.
"In some ways, heaven is truly fair. Geniuses cannot master the highest realm of the Eight Gates, and only mortals with nothing can achieve it." Every time Fumori Masaki thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh.
After learning about Might Duy, Fumori Masaki compiled all the past Eight Gates training data collected by the Hidden Leaf Village. Although no one had reached the highest realm of the Eight Gates, some had reached the first to third gates. However, no one had been able to open the fourth gate, which was the threshold to truly entering the Eight Gates Released Formation.
Fumori Masaki personally met with Might Duy secretly while he was training alone. He imparted these Eight Gates training materials to him and warned him that if his training bore fruit, it would undoubtedly be an ultimate and forbidden taijutsu that would leave irreversible hidden injuries on the body. The highest realm could even lead to death. Whether to train or not, and whether to use it after training, would depend entirely on Might Duy's own choice.
Might Duy was very grateful for the Hokage's kindness, stating that he had long been prepared to sacrifice his life. For someone like him, who had no talent, achieving anything required the resolve to make sacrifices. The key was what he was sacrificing for and when he chose to sacrifice himself. He said that he had always lacked talent, and other ninjutsu would forever be out of his reach. However, this training method was different; it only required a strong will and complete dedication to yield results. It was practically tailor-made for him, so what reason did he have not to train?
Fumori Masaki greatly admired Might Duy's resolve. For a moment, he wondered if it was right to impart this deadly training method to him. But seeing Might Duy's satisfied expression, he said nothing more, only telling Might Duy: "You must cherish your life and not be misled by great power. You must consider how this power should be used. Also, I hope you don't tell anyone else about this in the future. If you are to teach the Eight Gates Released Formation to others, that person must also have the same resolve as you."
Might Duy agreed to this. Although he spoke of it in front of everyone, he concealed a part of it, only saying that the Hokage personally guided his training. As for the details of the Eight Gates Released Formation, he did not reveal anything. And just the fact that the Hokage guided him already drew surprised gasps from everyone.