https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-523-Malicious-Intent-Towards-Kakashi/12558782/
Chapter 524: The Mysterious Power of the Rinnegan
Chapter 524: The Mysterious Power of the Rinnegan
"Number one, Nagato versus Number three, Shibi Aburame!"
The referee's shout signaled the start of the second round, as Nagato and Shibi quickly made their way to the combat area, ready for battle.
Kakashi ceased his conversation with his teammates, his expression turning serious as he focused on the upcoming fight.
Although it seemed far-fetched, their biggest obstacle to claiming the top spot was not the ninjas from the other major ninja villages, but Nagato and Sunagakure.
"Begin!"
The instant the referee shouted, Shibi Aburame injected a large amount of chakra into the large gourd on his back, which contained countless insects.
Like a tidal wave, the insects burst forth, popping the cork, and forming five dark clouds that surged towards Nagato.
Facing a powerful ninja like Nagato, Shibi held nothing back, unleashing his full strength from the outset.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
Nagato, unfazed, performed hand seals and spat out a compressed fireball the size of a fist.
Whoosh!
The moment the fireball touched the ground, the compressed flames erupted, sending a towering inferno towards Shibi, forming a wall of fire between them.
"Futon: Reppusho!"
Immediately after, Nagato performed another set of hand seals and spat out a ball of wind.
A fierce and powerful storm erupted in the arena, with the wind fanning the flames. Even though Shibi intentionally controlled his insects to fly higher, they were still engulfed by the fiery tempest. Simultaneously, Shibi had no choice but to retreat swiftly to dodge the encroaching flames.
"Secret Technique: Insect Clone!"
After a moment's thought, Shibi created two clones composed of Kikaichu insects and began running along the edge of the arena towards Nagato.
He had to get close to Nagato; otherwise, it would be a gamble to see whether Nagato's chakra or his insects would be depleted first.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
Seeing this, Nagato once again spat out a fireball, intending to create a sea of flames to prevent Shibi from approaching.
"Secret Technique: Insect Deception Technique!"
This time, Shibi didn't choose to retreat. Instead, he controlled the Kikaichu insects, throwing the two insect clones towards Nagato, and then covering his body with chakra, releasing as many Kikaichu as possible to envelop himself.
Layer upon layer of black insects wrapped around Shibi, forming a large, rolling black ball within the sea of flames.
Whoosh!
Crackle! Crackle! Boom!
The insect shells, subjected to the intense heat of the flames, emitted a faint bursting sound. The hissing of the flames and the rolling of the insect ball created a unique symphony that stirred one's inner courage.
The ninjas in the resting area watched the battle in amazement, and even the other Konoha ninjas were surprised to see their usually silent comrade display such an awe-inspiring and aggressive offense.
Nagato, too, was somewhat taken aback. If the insects couldn't withstand the flames, he might unintentionally end up burning Shibi alive, even if he didn't intend to kill him.
"Raiton: Lariat!"
Nagato temporarily ignored the black ball rolling in the sea of flames and continued performing hand seals, unleashing a sharp lightning spear to strike the incoming insect clones.
Due to the lack of leverage in the air, both insect clones were unable to dodge Nagato's lightning-style jutsu and were sliced in half at the waist.
However, the bisected insect clones didn't disappear. The Kikaichu insects that were swept by the lightning jutsu fell to the ground, and the remaining living insects formed a pitch-black cloud, continuing their charge towards Nagato.
Nagato was surprised. This was his first time fighting a ninja from the Aburame clan, and he hadn't expected this secret technique of insect clones to have such an effect.
At that moment, the charred black ball also rolled out of the sea of flames, stopping at a closer distance to Nagato.
Immediately afterward, the black ball rapidly disintegrated, and the surviving Kikaichu insects surged towards Nagato, revealing a flushed and sweat-drenched Shibi Aburame within.
Breathing heavily, Shibi didn't dare to rest for a moment. He continued to control the Kikaichu insects in their attack while simultaneously squeezing his chakra to accelerate the hatching of the insects within his body.
"Ban Ryu Ten In!"
Without hesitation, Nagato unleashed the power of his Rinnegan, and his right hand erupted with a terrifying suction force, pulling Shibi towards him.
Shibi was caught completely off guard and had no time to react. By the time he realized he was in front of Nagato, he tried to draw a kunai for a counterattack, but it was too late.
Bang!
Nagato burst forth with chakra, slamming Shibi forcefully into the ground, the impact sending dust and debris flying.
Shibi, already in a weakened state, lost consciousness from the powerful blow, and the uncontrolled Kikaichu insects scattered.
"What just happened?" The sudden turnaround caught some of the ninjas in the resting area off guard.
Just moments ago, Shibi had bravely charged through the sea of flames towards Nagato, but now he was lying on the ground, defeated.
"How did Nagato train? It's one thing to master earth, wind, and fire, but his lightning release is also so strong." Someone expressed disbelief at Nagato's mastery of multiple chakra natures and ninjutsu.
From the preliminary rounds to the present, Nagato had already displayed four different chakra nature ninjutsu, each of them advanced and formidable.
"What was that technique he used just now? Some kind of non-hand seal ninjutsu?" Kakashi furrowed his brow.
He was more concerned about the sudden shift at the end than Nagato's initial display of lightning release.
It was clear that Shibi hadn't willingly rushed towards Nagato to be struck; he had been forced somehow. But Kakashi couldn't, for the moment, think of what kind of power could have caused that effect.
He racked his brains but couldn't come up with any ninjutsu that could produce a similar result.
"We'll have to wait for the quarterfinals to see if Sunagakure can force him to use that jutsu again." Kakashi gave up pondering.
"Nagato wins!"
The referee declared Nagato the winner as Shibi had lost his ability to fight. After Nagato left, the referee announced the names of the next pair of combatants.
"Number six, Terui Hikari versus Number eight, Sunagakure."
Scorpion stood up expressionlessly and began walking towards the combat area, not sparing Kakashi a glance.
After four rounds of preliminaries and one round of eliminations, the ninjas who remained on the field, while somewhat lucky, were not weak. Most of them demonstrated good ninja qualities.
However, Terui Hikari seemed to be one of those fortunate ones, as he was swiftly defeated by Sasori using only two puppets, unlike Yahiko, who had forced him to use four.
Kakashi wasn't too concerned. Instead, he hoped that Scorpion would put up a stronger fight so that Nagato wouldn't just defeat him with a regular high-power ninjutsu.
"Number nine, Kisame Hoshigaki versus number eleven, Might Guy!"
Upon hearing his name, Might Guy quickly stood up, gave himself a thumbs-up, and confidently strode into the combat area, with Kisame Hoshigaki following closely behind.
Gazing at the figure that had brought him a painful defeat in his memory, Kisame's face, which bore a resemblance to a shark, turned solemn.
Although his long period of hard training had significantly improved his strength, Might Guy's formidable punch in their first battle made it clear that he wasn't the only one who had made progress. Might Guy had also improved, perhaps even more so!
"Kisame Hoshigaki, it's you again. This time, I'll win again!" Might Guy declared, laughing confidently as he placed his hands on his hips.
Kisame Hoshigaki: ?
Kisame Hoshigaki was speechless. Was he trying to anger him with that tactic again? The referee had just called out his full name, and now he was pretending to get it wrong.
"It's Kisame Hoshigaki, my name," Kisame emphasized.
Given his personality, he wouldn't usually bother with such tactics, but Might Guy had never once gotten his full name right, and Kisame wanted him to say it correctly, at least once.
"Did I get it wrong? No, I'm sure that's what I called you last time too," Might Guy said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Kisame was speechless. Wasn't it possible that he had called him the wrong name the last time as well?
"Please get ready, the battle is about to start!" the Ninja referee reminded them.
A chat for a moment or two was enough; they couldn't keep talking.
Kisame had no choice but to temporarily give up on correcting him and assumed a battle stance.
Might Guy also put aside all other thoughts and focused entirely on the upcoming battle.
"Begin!"
"Eight Inner Gates, Open Gate, Open!... Hurt Gate, Open!"
Might Guy immediately opened four of the Eight Inner Gates, unleashing the restrictions on his body and causing a surge of wild chakra within him.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Kisame leaped backward, and the large amount of chakra that had been gathered in his throat instantly transformed into water-style chakra, which he spat out in a torrent, creating a terrifying wave that rushed towards the combat area.
"He's using that move again," Might Guy said, making a quick decision as he opened the fifth gate of the Eight Inner Gates and took in a deep breath, entering the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode.
In that instant, an incredibly powerful aura exploded from Might Guy's body.
During the Chunin Exam, Might Guy had only narrowly defeated Kisame with this Water Style jutsu, so he didn't take it lightly and went all out from the start.
At the same time, the massive wave created by the Great Waterfall Technique swept through the combat area, forming an enormous elliptical water prison.
"This super-large-scale ninjutsu is really unfair when the range is restricted," Obito couldn't help but complain.
There was no way for Kisame to dodge this technique; the entire combat area was enveloped, rendering speed useless.
At that moment, Obito was grateful that he had drawn a good lot. If he had faced Kisame, it would have been a sure loss, as he couldn't possibly defeat him in a water-based battle.
The spectators also became intrigued, as the grand opening of the match indicated that this would be no ordinary fight.
"Water Style: Hundred Feeding Sharks!"
Kisame's chakra erupted, and he created a hundred shark-shaped water bombs that charged towards Might Guy, biting and tearing at him.
Kisame was well aware of his strengths.
His chakra capacity was naturally exceptional, and what would be a highly chakra-consuming large-scale water style for others was a piece of cake for him.
Now, all he had to do was use water style within the water prison to wear down Might Guy's stamina and then claim victory.
"Now this is a real battle!" Might Guy exclaimed with excitement.
His fight with Long Stone had been too easy, and after watching so many thrilling matches, he was eager to let loose.
Might Guy's muscles tensed, his veins popped out, and he transformed into a tiger ready to pounce. He channeled all his strength into his fists and punched with supersonic speed, hitting a point in front of him repeatedly.
The Daytime Tiger was a high-level taijutsu that normally required opening seven of the Eight Inner Gates, but with the enhancement of the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, Might Guy, with only five gates open, could barely meet the standard for using it.
Under Might Guy's rapid strikes, the air was continuously compressed, and the surrounding water flow rippled with the force of his terrifying power.
"Daytime Tiger!"
Suddenly, Might Guy changed his fists to palms and slammed them forward. The highly compressed air exploded with tremendous force, sending a powerful wave of energy rushing towards the sharks.
The wave was like a fierce tiger, and in its path, the shark-shaped water bombs shattered.
This terrifying power caused the entire water prison to shake violently, like a water-filled ball that had been kicked, making some of the ordinary spectators worry that the huge ball of water might burst and soak everyone in the audience.
The fierce air tiger, like a true king of beasts, let out an intimidating roar as Kisame relentlessly created new shark water bombs to weaken its power.
Kisame knew that Might Guy had grown stronger, but he hadn't expected his current strength to be so overwhelming, instantly obliterating his hundred shark water bombs.
At this moment, he could only be grateful for his initial decision to immediately use the Great Blast Water Vortex and maintain a sufficient distance from Might Guy in the water; otherwise, he would have been instantly defeated by Might Guy's single taijutsu attack.
"Water Style: Great Shark Bomb Technique!"
Kisame swam to the edge of the water prison and rapidly gathered chakra to create a massive and terrifying shark water bomb with sharp teeth.
This was one of Kisame's greatest achievements in his training. The shark created by the Great Shark Bomb Technique could absorb chakra, and if it encountered a chakra air bomb attack, it could not only easily block it but also become stronger!
Boom!!
The fierce air tiger and the ferocious water shark collided at incredible speed, sending ripples through the water and causing the water prison to surge once more.
But to Kisame's disbelief, the air tiger tore through the water shark and mercilessly slammed into his body.
The air tiger created by Might Guy contained not a trace of chakra!
"Cough, cough, there's actually a taijutsu technique like this," Kisame muttered, feeling the pain in his body and remembering the terrifying taijutsu called Daytime Tiger.
Due to the previous depletion of some of the Daytime Tiger's power, coupled with Kisame's naturally robust physique, he barely managed to withstand Might Guy's attack.
"The ninjas from the Great Ninja Village are indeed not to be underestimated. Both of them are very strong." Konan's expression changed slightly.
If it weren't for Mu Yue's teachings and the awakening of his Rinnegan ability, he wouldn't stand a chance against these two.
"Haha, as expected of an opponent whose name I remembered. You have the qualifications to witness my strongest taijutsu!" Might Guy laughed loudly, seeing that Kisame was still able to fight despite his injuries.
Previously, he had only wanted to test out his newly learned taijutsu, but now he wouldn't give Kisame any more opportunities.
Might Guy unleashed most of his chakra, and the terrifying aura caused the surrounding water flow to scatter, creating a clear space.
Immediately after, Might Guy breathed deeply and channeled all the power of the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode into the index and middle fingers of his right hand.
Might Guy placed his right hand behind his waist, slightly bent his left leg, and unleashed all the power of the Eight Inner Gates, the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, and his own daily physical training. All these forces erupted together as he swung his arm and delivered a devastating strike.
Kisame had a bad feeling when Might Guy burst out laughing.
He rapidly gathered a large amount of chakra to perform a Water Attribute chakra nature transformation and create water sharks to attack Might Guy. This was the only thing he could do at the moment.
Injured as he was, Kisame couldn't afford to engage in a taijutsu battle with Might Guy.
"Golden Zenith!"
In the world of water blue, a slender and dazzling golden light suddenly flashed.
Wherever the golden light passed, the water flowed back, and in an instant, the elliptical water prison seemed to be split in two.
Boom, boom, boom!!
All of Kisame's water sharks instantly exploded.
Kisame unleashed all his chakra in an attempt to defend himself.
Boom, boom!!
Kisame's figure was sent flying and slammed violently into the thick wall at the edge of the arena. The massive elliptical water prison collapsed, turning the battle arena into a small lake.
"This taijutsu ninja named Might Guy is incredibly powerful!" Even Tobirama Senju was startled by the terrifying might of Golden Zenith.
He found it hard to imagine that such a formidable taijutsu could be performed by an eleven-year-old ninja.
In Tobirama's experience, taijutsu was a capability heavily influenced by age. Typically, to achieve greatness in taijutsu, one had to devote a significant amount of time to its practice, and the physical prime of one's twenties and thirties was the ideal stage.
Tobirama had never heard of an eleven-year-old possessing such extraordinary taijutsu prowess.
"Souyuushi, I hope you won't be disappointed if Longmen, whom you have high hopes for, doesn't make it to the finals," Tobirama thought with a hint of schadenfreude.
Facing Might Guy's formidable strength, Longmen might not have a guaranteed victory.
Tobirama wouldn't usually take pleasure in another's misfortune, especially as he was a demi-god and thus had a certain level of cultivation.
But Souyuushi was different. Tobirama had only come to the Ninja World Tournament because Souyuushi had threatened him, so if Souyuushi encountered bad luck, Tobirama would naturally be glad to see it.
"Might Guy wins!" The referee skillfully extracted Kisame from the wall and announced the outcome of the battle.
"It was a refreshing battle, Kisame Hoshigaki. I will continue to remember your name."
Might Guy exited the Eight Inner Gates and the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, took a deep breath, and flashed a brilliant smile at Kisame, giving him a thumbs-up.
Even among all the young ninjas in the tournament, Kisame's strength was considered above average. His defeat in the second round was simply due to encountering Might Guy.
PS: This chapter is 5k words. The next chapter will be posted much later, probably tomorrow, and it will be 6k or 5k words. This will make up for the lower word count yesterday, ensuring that the total word count for these two chapters is above 10,000.
Also, please consider a monthly ticket. For the next few days, monthly tickets will be doubled.
(End of Chapter)
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