Chapter 526: The Powerful Menas

Chapter 526: The Powerful Menas

At the same time, the spectators were abuzz with excitement.

"Hmm, what kind of creature is that? I've never seen it before," the Fire Country Daimyo murmured, his eyes sparkling as he gently waved his paper fan at the sudden appearance of Menas.

The Fire Country Daimyo had seen his fair share of rare and exotic beasts, but Menas was truly a unique and beautiful sight.

From the Fire Country Daimyo's perspective, Menas' beautiful scales shimmered in the sunlight, as if encrusted with countless tiny gemstones, radiating a captivating glow.

"I've never seen anything like it either. It's truly elegant and gorgeous," the Rain Country Daimyo agreed, nodding in appreciation.

Menas stood tall and graceful, and even while simply floating on the water, it exuded an indescribable charm.

"I wonder where one could purchase such a creature. Having one in a pool would be so pleasing to the eye," the Fire Country Daimyo said, his interest in Menas growing.

"I feel the same," the Rain Country Daimyo added, expressing his desire to own such a magnificent creature.

The wealthy merchants and nobles in the audience shared similar thoughts. Owning such a beautiful creature would not only be a treat for the eyes but also a symbol of status and prestige.

The ninjas in the audience, while amazed by Menas' beauty, were curious about something else. They wondered how Menas had appeared without seeing Nobara Nobara perform another summoning technique.

"Roar!"

Menas let out an intimidating roar, fixing its gaze on Kakashi while protectively shielding Nobara behind it.

Kakashi watched with keen interest as the once-ugly fish transformed into the majestic Menas. The change was far more striking than a Charmander evolving into a Charmeleon, and he wondered about Menas' current abilities.

Kakashi took a few steps back, intending to test Menas' capabilities. The ugly fish had shown no signs of combat prowess before, and now he knew nothing about Menas' strength.

"Tornado!"

Menas gathered its strength and swung its powerful tail, creating a sudden whirlwind. Due to the accumulated water, a powerful water tornado formed.

"Wind chakra nature transformation?"

Kakashi, unaware of Menas' abilities, chose not to confront it directly and instead retreated while trying to assess its powers.

He initially guessed that Menas might have water-attribute chakra nature transformation since it had been a fish, and the association with water made sense.

However, Kakashi was now unsure. Menas more closely resembled a snake, and snakes weren't necessarily associated with water.

"Little Beauty, you've truly become stronger," Nobara exclaimed, witnessing Menas' impressive display of generating a tornado with just a swing of its tail.

It had shown no combat abilities before its evolution, but now it seemed even stronger than her. The growth of her ninja beast was truly remarkable.

Menas lowered its head, pressing its forehead against Nobara's, its ruby-like eyes shining with joy.

It could finally fight alongside Nobara, just like other ninja beasts.

"Let's start with a conventional attack," Kakashi said as he pulled out five shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and infused them with lightning-style chakra.

Shwish! Shwish! Shwish!

The five shuriken, glowing with lightning, sped toward Menas.

Menas' massive size made aiming unnecessary for Kakashi.

Upon sensing Kakashi's attack, Menas quickly lifted its head and gathered its chakra.

"Water Gun!"

A thick stream of water shot out from Menas' mouth, knocking away all five shuriken with tremendous force.

"Roar!"

Menas let out a clear, sharp cry, glanced at Nobara, and then dove into the water, swiftly swimming toward Kakashi.

"It wants me to stay put and not move, right?" Nobara understood the meaning behind Menas' roar.

She felt a mix of emotions. Not long ago, she had asked Menas to retreat to safety, and now Menas was asking her to stay out of harm's way. Was this the result of her upbringing?

"As expected, it has water-related abilities," Kakashi thought to himself, quietly recording this information while keeping an eye on the movements in the water.

Whoosh!

As Menas drew closer, Kakashi swiftly dodged to the side.

Splash!

In the next moment, Menas' slender body shot out of the water, leaping from the spot where Kakashi had just been standing, creating a shower of droplets.

"Water Disturbance!"

After the failed strike, Menas immediately released the water-attribute chakra sphere it had prepared beforehand.

Kakashi, in his Transparent World State, perceived Menas' attack and reinforced his body with lightning-style chakra, dashing away at high speed.

Boom!!

The water-attribute chakra sphere slammed into the water's surface, causing a powerful disturbance that instantly agitated the small lake.

Huge splashes of water rose, and waves tall enough to surpass Kakashi's height rushed toward him.

"What a tremendous growth in strength," Kakashi thought, stabilizing his stance and feeling a sense of awe.

The ugly fish from before could be easily handled by an ordinary person, but now, Menas possessed a strength that even a Konoha jounin would struggle against.

To prevent an upset, Kakashi quietly performed hand seals and used Earth Release to control the ground, causing the water-based arena created by Kisame to rapidly disappear.

If it were just Nobara, that would be fine, but allowing Menas to maintain its terrain advantage was unacceptable.

Menas' attacks had all missed so far, and it was growing impatient. Finally, it decided to use its most powerful technique yet to strike at Kakashi.

Menas swiftly swam toward Kakashi while gathering a massive amount of chakra at the tip of its tail.

Kakashi, enhanced by Lightning Breath, was incredibly fast, but this was Menas' domain—the water. Kakashi's lead gradually diminished.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Nobara quickly formed the necessary hand seals and used the last of her chakra to perform a Water Release jutsu to assist Menas.

She had noticed the water level rapidly decreasing, and this sudden change was clearly not due to the venue's drainage system but Kakashi's ninjutsu.

Roar!

A ferocious water dragon spiraled around Nobara, then rushed toward Kakashi at breakneck speed.

Whoosh!! Menas' formidable strength stirred the sparse water on the field, and a wave, along with its tail, rushed towards Kakashi.

Adding to this was Nobara's release of the Water Dragon Bullet, which seemed to put Kakashi in a perilous situation with nowhere to dodge.

"Good hit! That's the way!" Obito cheered for Menas from the break room.

It didn't matter where Menas came from; what mattered was that it was about to help Nobara Nobara defeat Kakashi!

At that moment, Obito regretted not bringing his camera to the arena to capture this moment.

"Kakashi, your life is like a flickering candle in the wind." Obito laughed aloud while mocking Kakashi in his mind.

Usually so full of theories, and yet here he was, about to be defeated by Nobara's weak-beats-strong strategy.

Bang!!

It seemed that Nobara and Menas' combined attack was unavoidable, and despite Kakashi's desperate dodging, he was hit and forcefully smashed into the ground, splashing up mud that obscured his figure.

At this point, the water depth was less than half a meter, and the water was still flowing away rapidly.

"Did I win?" Nobara asked, somewhat incredulous.

She truly hadn't expected to be able to defeat Kakashi without him holding back. After all, the gap between their strengths was visibly vast, and she lacked the ability to counter him.

Who could have imagined that the ugly fish would be summoned together with the slug, and then evolve into Menas, only for Menas to possess such formidable power? It all felt like a dream.

Zzzz!! As a hand covered in yellow mud emerged from the water, the sound of electricity crackled, and dazzling purple light obscured the mud on the palm. Kakashi, in a pitiful state, crawled to his feet.

Without needing Nobara's command, Menas immediately spat a column of water at the rising Kakashi.

Kakashi, in turn, unleashed lightning to counter the incoming water column.

Nobara, devoid of chakra for ninjutsu or taijutsu, could only quietly retreat to create distance between herself and Kakashi, lest he find an opportunity to strike.

However, as Nobara focused on the battle between Menas and Kakashi, she didn't notice a hand silently extending towards the ground near her feet.

"Earth Style: Underground Decapitation!"

Nobara's face changed drastically as she felt something amiss with her calf, but at this moment, she didn't have time to perform the Water Body Technique, nor did she have the chakra to use her super strength to crack the ground.

A massive pulling force came from underground, dragging half of Nobara's body into the earth.

Kakashi, having executed this move, knelt beside Nobara, kunai aimed at her.

The referee thought for a moment before directly announcing the result: "Hatake Kakashi wins!"

Although Menas was still energetic and could continue fighting, this was Nobara's match, and if it had been a real battle, she would have been dead.

"Damn that white-haired bastard! He has no sense of martial arts honor!" Obito cursed at Kakashi's underhanded tactic.

Instead of fighting Menas fairly, he went for a sneak attack on Nobara, who was out of chakra.

"As expected of you, Kakashi. You didn't get hurt much just now, did you?" Nobara said with a helpless laugh.

When she thought she was about to lose, she suddenly turned it around, and now that she had lost, her emotions were on a rollercoaster, soaring from the lows to the highs and back within seconds.

As she was pulled underground, she kept thinking that if she had been in her prime and had Menas by her side, perhaps she would have won.

Nevertheless, Nobara's overall mentality was commendable. Her original plan was to last three minutes against Kakashi and inflict some damage as a success.

To have fought Kakashi to this extent was already an over-fulfillment of her goal.

Kakashi nodded.

Although it had looked dire, Kakashi had only been knocked down by Nobara's Water Dragon Bullet and the aftermath of Menas' Aqua Tail.

Kakashi had protected his vital body parts with Body Flicker, so while he appeared battered, he had only sustained minor injuries.

To end the battle decisively, Kakashi had used the mud and water to conceal his use of the Shadow Clone Technique when he fell. He sent a shadow clone underground to attack Nobara, who was out of chakra, while his main body used Lightning Style to attract Menas' attention and hold it back.

Without further explanation, Kakashi dismissed the Shadow Clone Technique and used Earth Style to release Nobara from the ground.

Seeing Nobara covered in mud, Menas gathered chakra and generated a sphere of bluish-green water beside her.

The water sphere exploded around Nobara, enveloping her in bluish-green liquid that washed away the dirt and healed the wounds inflicted by the underground technique, even restoring Kakashi, who was beside her.

"What a pleasant chakra," Slug remarked curiously at Menas.

"Is this Water Style Chakra Nature Transformation or Yang Style Chakra Nature Transformation?" Kakashi couldn't immediately determine what ninjutsu Menas had used.

Judging from the jutsu's effect, Menas' technique resembled Yang Style, as wounds healed quickly, and the body felt refreshed.

However, it was the bluish-green water droplets of Menas that had a healing effect, so it couldn't be ruled out that it was Menas' unique Water Style.

After all, even Sora, the Stopper of Water, had a unique genjutsu, so it wasn't impossible for Menas to have a unique Water Style.

"Woof~"

Menas lowered its head, unwilling to look at Nobara, and its bark held a hint of dejection.

This was its first battle with Nobara, and yet it had lost due to its own carelessness.

"It's alright. You did your best. It's my fault," Nobara comforted Menas, gently stroking its creamy white body.

Since Menas had evolved during the battle, Nobara wasn't aware of its specific abilities, which made it challenging to coordinate effectively with it. Additionally, being at a disadvantage earlier in the fight had drained her of a lot of stamina and chakra.

"Cough, cough, the winning contestant, please return to the break room to rest. The losing contestant may choose to go to the audience seat." The referee reminded them.

Kakashi understood the referee's intention and bade Yahiko farewell before heading back to the break room.

Yahiko, on the other hand, stood on her tiptoes to pat Menas' head and cancel the summoning, leaving the arena to take her seat in the audience.

Due to his disheveled state, Kakashi did not immediately return to the break room. Instead, he first went to the adjacent washroom to freshen up and wash away the dirt and sand from his body.

"Menas' strength is incredibly unpredictable. Right now, there's a high chance that Obito won't be able to defeat Menas and Yahiko's combined forces." Kakashi dried his dripping white hair with a towel as his mind replayed the intense battle that had just transpired.

If it weren't for the fact that Yahiko had been nearly incapacitated before Menas' evolution, Kakashi would never have won so effortlessly.

Kakashi barely had to lift a finger against Menas and instead focused his efforts on Yahiko to secure victory.

"Looks like I underestimated the ninja beast that Mu Yue gifted us." Kakashi mused, realizing that Rock Dog might become a valuable asset sooner than he anticipated.

Menas had no prior combat experience, and yet its raw power, coupled with its random ninjutsu, was already impressive. With a month of practice, it might be able to solely rely on its water advantage to suppress Obito's fire abilities.

Kakashi's anticipation for Rock Dog's evolution intensified.

After finishing his wash-up, Kakashi returned to the break room.

"Kakashi, is that creamy white serpent Yahiko's new summoning beast?" Obito blurted out the moment Kakashi stepped into the room.

Kakashi's expression turned strange. "You call Menas a creamy white serpent?" he asked, amused.

"It's Menas," Kakashi replied concisely.

"How is that possible? I mean..." Obito was utterly shocked, unable to reconcile the majestic Menas with Yahiko's previously ugly fish.

The evolution from Charmander to Charmeleon was a maturation within the same species, but Menas and the ugly fish seemed like entirely different creatures.

"No matter what you think, that's the reality." Kakashi responded flatly.

Just as Kakashi could accept hatching a dog from an egg, existence is its own proof. The nature of ninja beasts and their differences from ordinary animals were also understandable.

"Alright, fine. It's still pretty strong, though, gaining so much power all of a sudden." Obito scratched his head.

Although he hadn't faced Menas directly, the sheer force of its ninjutsu as a spectator was testament enough to its extraordinary abilities.

"Why is the evolution so different for my Charmeleon?" Obito thought of his own ninja beast.

His Charmeleon was the first to evolve, yet it couldn't even beat Rock Dog in its unevolved state.

At this moment, Obito desperately wished his Charmeleon could somehow learn Lightning-style chakra nature transformation to break free from the shackles of its Fire-type moves.

"Uchiha Obito wins!"

As Kakashi, Obito, and Might Guy chatted, Obito's match concluded with his victory.

Upon Obito's return, he, too, inquired about Menas, his tone more refined than his initial exclamation.

"So that's how it is. Evolution can bring about such significant changes and improvements." Obito's eyes narrowed in contemplation.

Comparing Charmeleon to Menas, he felt that not every ninja beast would undergo such a drastic transformation upon evolving.

It was the ugly fish's initial weakness that made Menas' evolution so dazzling.

The four of them—Kakashi, Obito, Might Guy, and Itachi—continued to discuss their insights into nurturing ninja beasts while watching the remaining matches of the second round. There were only three matches left, and interestingly, they all involved familiar faces. The very last match featured Obito himself.

In the third-to-last match, Asuma secured his win with his sharp Wind Release jutsu.

In the second-to-last match, Temari skillfully utilized her two kekkei genkai and displayed powerful Water Release jutsu to advance to the quarterfinals.

In the final match, facing a genius ninja from the Grass Ninja Village, Obito started with a bang, entering his Flame Control chakra mode and using Fire Release to swiftly defeat his opponent.

While Obito's Fire Release was unimpressive, it was still useful for crushing weaker opponents.

Thus, the second round of the Youth Ninja Competition concluded, and the top eight competitors emerged. The first day of the tournament came to a close, and both the contestants and spectators began to disperse.

"How do you feel about it, Danzo?" Mu Yue turned to Danzo with a smile and asked.

"There's an abundance of ninja prodigies," Danzo commented.

Before coming to watch the matches, Danzo wouldn't have imagined that there would be ninjas capable of challenging Nagato, the genius with the Rinnegan.

Now, Danzo's motivation for watching the tournament was to see Nagato lose and to observe Sou Yuuki's expression when that happened.

Among the top eight competitors, only Nagato remained from the Ninja Sect. If Nagato failed to make it to the semifinals, the Ninja Sect would have to give away all the rewards.

"It's a pity there aren't any competitors from the Rain Ninja Village," Kakuzu added.

Danzo's face darkened at the mention of the Rain Ninja Village. There was no need to emphasize that point.

"Since we're all partners here, let me give you a suggestion, Danzo. The Ninja Sect can pay to hire someone to help with the training if you don't have the time." Kakuzu revealed his true intention.

His goal was simple: to extract money from the Rain Ninja Village and, in the future, find a simpler way to deal with the village without causing unrest in the Rain Country.

"Originally, we at the Ninja Sect didn't have the time for this, but the Rock Ninja Village offered a high price for our services, so we decided to take on this business."

"I see. No wonder there are so many ninjas from the Rock Ninja Village working in Rokudo City," Danzo said, understanding their motive.

Indeed, Kakuzu's proposal held a certain degree of persuasiveness, given the presence of ninjas from the Rock Ninja Village, one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, and the reputation of Sou Yuuki as a ninja teacher.

"For now, we won't trouble the Ninja Sect with this matter." Danzo refused politely.

He had anticipated this, as Hanzo didn't seem foolish enough to agree easily.

He was merely laying the groundwork, and such a task couldn't be accomplished overnight.

...

Due to Menas' graceful and beautiful appearance, Nobara Nobara was approached by many people in the audience who wanted to know where she had purchased Menas. Among them were not only wealthy merchants and nobles but also numerous ninjas.

Menas had proven that it was not just a decorative pet but possessed both beauty and formidable strength in battle.

However, Menas' egg had been given to Nobara by Mu Yue, and since she hadn't asked Mu Yue where she had obtained it, Nobara naturally couldn't answer their questions.

With the day's Youth Ninja Competition coming to an end, a frustrated Nobara ran to Mu Yue.

"I got her egg by chance, and if you're interested, you can try to find one yourself. But I don't recommend it because I've already looked," Mu Yue casually replied, brushing them off with a vague description of a remote region.

When the renowned Lieyang Muyue spoke, no one dared to bother Nobara any further.

"Miss Nobara, would you be willing to sell that beautiful creature to me? I'm willing to pay fifty million ryo," the Fire Country Daimyo offered, attempting to flex his financial muscle.

Upon hearing the Fire Country Daimyo's offer, the Rain Country Daimyo, who had also intended to make an offer, closed his mouth.

"Daimyo, I apologize, but Menas is very important to me, and our bond is beyond monetary value," Nobara politely but firmly refused the Fire Country Daimyo's proposal.

Nobara had no desire for money, and she would never consider selling her cherished partner. Their relationship was one of equality.

"Then how about nine thousand million ryo?" the Fire Country Daimyo persisted, almost doubling his initial offer.

Yet, Nobara remained unwavering in her refusal.

"If that's the case, then I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do. I hope you, Mu Yue, can help me keep an eye out for any similar ninja beasts. My offer remains open," the Fire Country Daimyo said to Mu Yue.

With Nobara's refusal, the Fire Country Daimyo had no choice but to back down. He certainly couldn't forcibly take her pet. All he could do was ask Mu Yue, who had discovered Menas, to keep an eye out and perhaps even create an S-rank mission in Konoha to capture such a creature.

Mu Yue nodded in agreement.

"As expected, the wealthy nations have deep pockets," Mu Yue thought to herself.

If Kakuzu heard the Fire Country Daimyo's words, Mu Yue imagined he would transform into Menas himself just to claim the reward.

After all, nine thousand million ryo was equivalent to two and a half Asuma.

"Teacher Mu Yue," Obito and the others, having left the contestant break room, greeted Mu Yue.

Mu Yue smiled at each of them in response and then looked in a particular direction.

Scorpion, expressionless, continued walking for a while before naturally changing direction. As he turned, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Lieyang Muyue is here, and she seems to be Kakashi Hatake's teacher," Scorpion thought, instantly realizing that the difficulty of assassinating Kakashi had just increased by another level.

Even while wandering aimlessly, Scorpion had heard of some of Lieyang Muyue's illustrious deeds.

In just a fraction of a second of eye contact, Scorpion knew that Mu Yue was no ordinary person and that her reputation was well-deserved.

Although Scorpion had tried to conceal himself, and he had only glanced at her with the corner of his eye, he was still instantly detected by Mu Yue.

"I need to conduct more investigations and research on this place," Scorpion acknowledged that now was not the time for assassination and decided to familiarize himself with Rokudo City first.

Even with formidable opponents like Lieyang Muyue, Maito Gai, and Shizune among their ranks, Scorpion remained confident in his ability to kill Kakashi. He had no doubt that he possessed the necessary skills.

After all, he had successfully assassinated the Third Kazekage, who was renowned as the strongest Kazekage. How could Lieyang Muyue be any stronger than the Third Kazekage?

"What's over there?" Obito asked, following Mu Yue's gaze but seeing nothing unusual.

"Nothing," Mu Yue replied with a faint smile.

Although she was a shadow clone, she couldn't discern Scorpion's data, but that didn't mean he could hide from her. Scorpion's attempt to remain unseen was futile.

She didn't need to analyze his data, as she had already reviewed it when he registered for the tournament.

Mu Yue had two primary objectives for hosting the Youth Ninja Competition: solving the Ninja Sect's financial issues and training her disciples.

To prevent the appearance of overly powerful and uncontrollable participants, Mu Yue had appraised every contestant.

Scorpion believed he had hidden himself well, but in reality, Mu Yue simply didn't deem him a threat that required her main body's attention.

"Nobara, your final battle was truly exciting! You almost won despite the odds," Obito exclaimed, turning to Nobara and enthusiastically discussing the second round of the competition.

"It's not as amazing as you make it sound, Obito. Menas was the one who did most of the work," Nobara humbly acknowledged her own limitations.

"But Menas is your ninja beast, so its strength is essentially yours," Obito reasoned, taking it for granted.

At that moment, Obito was truly envious of Nobara. Among the evolved ninja beasts, he felt that Menas could easily defeat his Fire Dinosaur with a single swipe of its tail.

Whether it was in terms of size or raw power, the Fire Dinosaur paled in comparison to Menas.

Kakashi wore a disappointed expression, as he had been hoping that Obito would continue referring to Menas as the Creamy White Serpent, which would have led to some interesting developments.

"Nobara, can you share with me the details of Menas' evolution?" Shizune asked, hoping to learn from Nobara's successful cultivation experience.

"Sure," Nobara readily agreed.

PS: I felt a bit dazed today, and this chapter wasn't written in my best state. It's a big chapter of 7k words, slightly less than the usual 8k for a double chapter, but it should still qualify as a big chapter.

Also, please consider voting with monthly tickets.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end