https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-524-The-Mysterious-Power-of-the-Rinnegan/12558783/
Chapter 525: Pokemon Evolution
Chapter 525: Pokemon Evolution
In the players' lounge, the competitors wore varied expressions, stunned by Might Guy's powerful performance.
"What a formidable physique," Sasori remarked calmly, though his heart stirred with surprise. He knew that even his strongest defensive puppet would struggle to withstand such powerful taijutsu.
Sasori hadn't intended to pay much attention to Guy, as their paths would only cross if they both advanced to the top four. After that, Sasori could afford to lose, so he didn't see the need to be concerned.
However, with the added complication of his mission to assassinate Kakashi, and Guy being Kakashi's teammate, Sasori now had to factor him into his plans. And from what he'd seen, a direct confrontation would be challenging.
Kakashi and Guy were both fast and highly offensive ninjas. If the two of them teamed up, along with Obito and the others, even with the Third Kazekage's human puppet, it would be a tough battle.
While the Third Kazekage's human puppet was undoubtedly powerful, Sasori himself, as the puppeteer, was fragile. If Guy or Kakashi got close to him, it would be over.
"Once I perfect my technique, I need to work on modifying my own body. This flesh and blood is too fragile," Sasori thought to himself.
Sasori had no love for fleeting things; he sought eternity, including in the human form. That was why he had developed the human puppet technique, which allowed him to transform corpses into puppets.
Since the human puppets were modified using the chakra of the person before their death, they could use their bloodline limits and all their ninjutsu from when they were alive.
Sasori, ever in pursuit of eternity, was naturally interested in transforming himself into a puppet. However, his human puppet technique was not yet mature, and attempting to modify himself prematurely could lead to unforeseen complications.
"He's becoming more and more monstrous. Is there really someone who can beat him?" Mito Menou once again felt relieved that her lottery number was towards the back, meaning she wouldn't have to face Guy.
But after this relief came worry. If Guy continued to grow at this rate, in a decade or two, he might become even more fearsome than the current Sannin of Konoha. If a conflict arose between Kirigakure and Konohagakure then, she didn't know how they would deal with him.
The Hydrification Technique of the Hoshigaki clan was very effective against ninjas like Guy, who relied solely on physical attacks. However, it could only protect themselves from harm, not guarantee a victory against Guy.
Moreover, Guy wouldn't be fighting alone on the battlefield. If he had a teammate skilled in Lightning Release, the ninja of the Hoshigaki clan would be in serious trouble.
Amidst the myriad gazes of the competitors, Guy proudly strode into the players' lounge with his chest held high and a broad smile on his face.
"My dear friend, I'm already fired up!" Guy exclaimed excitedly to Kakashi.
If Kakashi advanced to the top eight, they would face each other in the next round.
Although this might be a bit disappointing for Nobara Nobu, Guy's rational thinking led him to believe that Nobu had no chance of beating Kakashi. In his opinion, Kakashi's victory was certain, with no room for surprises.
"Then let's calm down for now. It's only the end of the third match in the second round," Kakashi said calmly.
What will come will come. While their battle, in theory, had a low probability of victory, there was still a chance.
As a genius, Kakashi believed in his abilities and knew that he might be able to seize an opportunity to defeat Guy.
"Match 13: Nobara Nobu versus Kakashi Hatake!"
The referee's shout echoed through the lounge.
Nobu stood up, looked at Kakashi, and said with a smile, "Kakashi, please don't hold back because of our relationship."
Although it was just a match, Nobu hoped that Kakashi would not go easy on her. She wanted him to take the fight seriously so that she could truly experience the gap between them.
"Mhm," Kakashi nodded.
He hadn't intended to hold back against Nobu anyway, and at most, he would only pull his punches slightly because they were teammates.
Kakashi felt that being teammates was precisely why he shouldn't hold back. Doing so might give Nobu a false sense of her abilities, which could lead to mistakes during missions.
Kakashi wasn't concerned about mission failure; he worried that Nobu might lose her life because of it.
"Nobu, good luck! You're not without a chance. The current arena is very suitable for your fighting style," Obito cheered for Nobu.
In addition to taijutsu, Nobu also had Water Release jutsu, and the small lake left over from Kisame's large-scale Water Release jutsu would make it easier and more powerful for her to use her water techniques.
"Thank you, Obito, for your blessing. If I lose, I'll be cheering for you from the audience," Nobu replied with a gentle smile and then made her way to the battle venue.
Nobu had a competitive spirit, but she was also realistic. She knew that beating Kakashi would be extremely difficult.
By the time she had mastered Water Release, Kakashi had already skillfully wielded Lightning and Earth Release. When she had just grasped the Water Style Breath, Kakashi had become the first disciple to simultaneously master the Transparent World and the Chakra Mode of Breathing.
How could she, with these disparities, hope to defeat Kakashi, relying only on a slight advantage in terrain? Nobu knew it wasn't realistic.
Standing on the water's surface and looking at Kakashi in the distance, Nobu felt an unusual sense of calm. After all, this was a battle she was destined to lose.
"Begin!"
"Water Style Breathing, Full Concentration!"
Nobu immediately focused her breathing to its limit, not daring to hold anything back against Kakashi. She harnessed all her might to strengthen herself.
"Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"
Immediately after, Nobu swiftly formed the necessary hand seals and created two water clones.
Water clones typically only had ten percent of the original's strength, but their power increased in an aqueous environment.
"Lightning Style Breathing, Full Concentration!"
Out of respect for Nobu, and because of what she had said, Kakashi also concentrated his Lightning Style Breathing, entered the Transparent World state, and reached into his ninja tool pouch.
Shush!
Several hand-held shurikens, gleaming with a cold light, pierced the air and sped towards Nobu.
Although Nobu's Water Instantaneous Body Technique was not slow, it couldn't shake off Kakashi, who was in his Transparent World state.
"Flash!"
Kakashi drew out his White Fang, using pre-gathered Lightning-natured chakra to enhance his body and swung his blade at Nobu's real body with lightning speed.
With the boost from his Transparent World state, Kakashi's physical strength was perfectly unleashed, be it in running or swinging his blade.
"Water Prison Technique!"
As speed was not Nobu's forte, to prevent herself from falling into Kakashi's offensive rhythm, she used the Water Prison Technique to envelop herself in a water prison.
This way, her water clones could still attack while Kakashi was busy.
Swish!
Just as one of the water clones gathered chakra to attack, Kakashi suddenly changed his move and slashed at one of the water clones.
"Flash: Double Strike!"
Lightning flashed, and in an instant, one of the water clones turned into liquid and scattered.
This swift change in move also caused the attack of the other water clone to miss.
"Purple Lightning!"
Kakashi's left hand then suddenly blossomed with dazzling purple lightning.
Kakashi controlled the purple lightning, causing it to split into multiple lightning bolts, attacking and enveloping both Nobu's real body and her shadow clone.
The Water Prison's water escape technique was broken by the lightning, and the remaining water clone, after being struck by the purple lightning, also turned into liquid and merged with the water.
"Burst Fist!"
The water prison was shattered, but it successfully resisted the lightning attack, and an uninjured Nobu unleashed the chakra she had been gathering and compressing, slamming it onto the water surface.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion sounded, and under Nobu's terrifying power, the splashing waves soared into the sky. The powerful shockwave, along with the water, rushed towards Kakashi.
Whoosh!
Kakashi had long seen through Nobu's move and was prepared. He instantly activated his Lightning-natured chakra to reinforce his body, dodging with speed and counterattacking Nobu.
"Konoha Hand Blade!"
Kakashi channeled all his strength into his palm and swung it at Nobu, sending out a fast-moving wave of force.
As 'Chopping Rock' was a rare technique that could be used both at close and long range, Kakashi had also spent some time learning it.
However, due to the difference in strength, if used at long range, Kakashi would need the boost of his Transparent World state along with Lightning-natured enhancement to have enough killing power.
BOOM!!
Hit by the transparent wave of force, Nobu flew out and fell into the water.
"As expected of the naturally evil Kakashi, hitting little Nobu with such harsh moves despite her cuteness!" Obito felt distressed seeing Nobu being overwhelmed by Kakashi's attacks.
Seeing her get hit felt like he was the one taking the blows.
At this moment, Obito's desire for strength grew even stronger, as he deeply felt the tragedy of being weak.
His current strength was inferior to Kakashi's, and even if Nobu lost, all Obito could do was curse Kakashi in his heart and couldn't teach him a lesson in the next civil war match to vent his anger for Nobu.
Glug, glug.
Nobu, at a loss, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. Then, gritting her teeth against the pain, she started forming hand seals while swimming up to the surface. As her head broke the surface, she resumed her breathing technique and gathered chakra into her feet to stand on the water's surface again.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Nobu quickly released the prepared water technique to force Kakashi back.
"Summoning Technique!"
Right after, Nobu summoned Katsuyu, intending to use its healing ability to fight a battle of attrition with Kakashi.
As a long-time teammate of Kakashi, Nobu was well aware of his weakness—his inability to fight at full strength for extended periods.
Due to his chakra limitations, Kakashi was cautious with each attack, ensuring that his chakra was efficiently used to maximize the effect of each ninjutsu.
Whether it was the powerful Lightning Flash slash or the Pseudo-Purple Lightning, Kakashi wouldn't use them too many times in a battle, usually no more than twice.
However, as Nobu was performing the Summoning Technique, she suddenly felt a stir.
She felt, in her intuition, the thoughts of Ugly Fish, who was far away in Konoha.
Ugly Fish wanted Nobu to summon it. It wanted to help her fight, even if it was just to block a couple of ninjutsu.
Nobu didn't quite understand why such a thing was happening, but she quickly calmed Ugly Fish down in her mind and continued to summon Katsuyu.
How could she possibly summon Ugly Fish? Ugly Fish didn't even have any attacking ability and wasn't much different from ordinary fish.
Summoning Ugly Fish would just be asking it to get beaten up, and Nobu couldn't do such a thing.
But what happened next surprised Nobu even more. White smoke flashed, and two figures, one white and one yellow, appeared.
Ugly Fish had actually been summoned along with Katsuyu! Nobu's knowledge of ninjutsu was challenged, as this was the first time she knew that the Summoning Technique could be used like this.
"Please, Great Katsuyu, heal me with all your might," Nobu quickly instructed Katsuyu.
With things having come to this point, Nobu didn't have time to think too much, as Kakashi wouldn't give her that luxury.
"Mhm, Nobu, leave the healing to me," Katsuyu said as it crawled onto Nobu's back.
"Ugly, quickly swim to the edge of the arena, or you'll be affected by our attacks," Nobu said after giving Katsuyu its orders. She didn't forget to ask Ugly Fish to stay away from the battlefield.
Thanks to Kisame's small lake, Nobu didn't have to create a water clone to carry Ugly Fish away.
Ugly Fish swam to a distant spot and then, when Nobu wasn't paying attention, swam closer to her and dove to a deeper position behind her to avoid being noticed.
To be overturned when the gap in raw strength was so vast, even if Obito didn't say anything, Kakashi would still feel terrible.
Although Nohara Lin didn't understand Kakashi's scheme, she took the opportunity to heal herself with medical ninjutsu and then created a Water Clone to attack Kakashi.
The slug spat acidic liquid at Kakashi, the Water Clone distracted him with taijutsu, and Nohara Lin's main body formed hand seals to perform ninjutsu.
"Water Style: Torrent Bind!"
Torrent Bind was a B-rank Water Style jutsu developed by Mu Yue, and it was currently the most powerful water-style ninjutsu in Nohara Lin's arsenal.
However, Kakashi, having mastered the Transparent World, easily dodged Nohara Lin's meticulously gathered water spear as if he could predict the future, and casually disposed of her Water Clone.
"Is this the gap between me and them?" Nohara Lin felt as though she was staring at an insurmountable chasm.
With the advantage of the terrain, she had given it her all, yet she couldn't even touch the hem of Kakashi's clothes, her body injured and her chakra mostly depleted.
"Konoha Hand Blade!"
Kakashi used the same move again, sending a transparent wave of force towards Nohara Lin to end the fight.
In her current state, Nohara Lin couldn't withstand such an attack.
Bang! A yellow figure was sent flying, and droplets of blood dripped in the air.
Ugly Fish, who had been behind Nohara Lin, displayed its incredible speed and swam in front of her at the last moment, taking the hit for her.
"Hmm?" Kakashi looked at the fish that had been knocked away, puzzled.
He didn't yet know why Nohara Lin had summoned it.
"Xiao Mei, are you alright?" Nohara Lin didn't have time to reprimand Ugly Fish for not retreating to a safe distance as she intended. She turned back to check on the fish's condition.
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, his raised knife wavering as if something unexpected had occurred.
If it had been a stranger, Kakashi would have undoubtedly placed his knife against their neck to end the fight. But Nohara Lin was both a friend and a teammate, so he walked forward, intending to ask what was going on.
Ugly Fish splashed into the water and sank, its dull gaze fixed on the reflections of Nohara Lin and Kakashi. Kakashi, knife in hand, advanced towards Nohara Lin.
"I... I must protect Xiao Lin..."
Ugly Fish's mind was filled with memories of its life with Nohara Lin since its birth.
Despite its lack of combat ability, Nohara Lin had never treated it with disdain. She took meticulous care of it every day.
Nohara Lin even considered its psychological well-being, often seeking it out for conversations and sharing her thoughts with it, even though Ugly Fish couldn't respond.
The pain from its injuries stimulated Ugly Fish's nerves, and it yearned for strength. It wanted to help Nohara Lin, just like Slug, and it wanted to fight alongside her like Rocky and the others.
"I can do it! I can still help Xiao Lin block the attacks."
Recalling Nohara Lin's encouragement, Ugly Fish ignored the pain and charged towards her and Kakashi once more.
Even though it exerted all its might, it could only splash a few droplets of water, but with its relatively sturdy body, it could shield Nohara Lin from the onslaught.
At the same time, a dazzling white light exploded from the bottom of the lake, causing both Nohara Lin and Kakashi to pause and look down.
Having witnessed the evolution of Little Fire Dragon before, they could easily guess what was happening.
Splash!
"Roar!"
Accompanied by a crisp and high-pitched cry, a milky-white figure burst out of the water, charging straight at Kakashi.
Kakashi burst into action, his chakra exploding as he dodged, his curiosity piqued as he observed Ugly Fish's evolution.
At that moment, Kakashi could only think of one word to describe the situation: outrageous.
Looking at Menas, he couldn't imagine that the elegant and beautiful serpent before him had once been a yellow fish with a pitted body.
"Xiao Mei..." Not just Kakashi, even Nohara Lin was stunned.
While Menas didn't look exactly like Ugly Fish, one couldn't deny their connection.
Menas's body had lost all traces of Ugly Fish's former features. Its body was milky white, and its red eyes sparkled like rubies.
Menas had a long head with a protrusion on top, reminiscent of the Fire Dinosaur, but with a different style and even longer.
Its eyebrows extended from its body, and where they connected to the eyelids, they were the same milky white as its body, while the rest were mostly red. From the side, it resembled an unfinished heart, adding a touch of cuteness to Menas. Additionally, it had red hair-like fins covering both sides of its head, resembling twin red pigtails.
Lastly, Menas's tail was truly a sight to behold, adorned with blue and pink scales of different colors, as well as black stripes and red patterns.
In the player's lounge, Menas's appearance caused quite a stir.
"What's going on? Where did this guy come from?" Due to his angle, Obito hadn't seen the white light of Ugly Fish's evolution, and he was baffled by Menas's sudden appearance.
"So beautiful!" Terumi Mei's eyes widened, captivated by the stunning beast.
In her impression, beast tamers were just larger, talking animals, but she had never seen such a gorgeous beast like Menas.
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(End of Chapter)
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