Chapter 535: Geodude's Evolution (6k)

Chapter 535: Geodude's Evolution (6k)



Early in the morning, Kakashi, having finished breakfast, invited Haruno Lin to train with him at the place where they had previously tested Menas' abilities.

Kakashi felt that both he and his Geodude needed some rigorous special training to improve their strength.

Kakashi was currently in a bit of a limbo; he was stronger than Obito and Itachi, but still lagged behind Might Guy.

Increasing his chakra capacity wasn't something that could be solved overnight, but he could work on refining his techniques and managing his chakra expenditure to make every bit count.

As for Geodude, Kakashi felt that with a little more training, it might be ready to evolve.

After all, the late-hatching Magikarp and Charmander had already evolved, so it was about time for his Geodude to follow suit.

"I want to come too," Obito said immediately after hearing their plans.

The thought of Kakashi and Haruno Lin training together without him made Obito uneasy. What if Kakashi took the opportunity to show off in front of Haruno Lin and impress her?

"Are you sure? You have a match tomorrow. Don't you worry it will affect your performance?" Kakashi asked.

It wasn't as if Obito was stuck at some kind of bottleneck; he was simply weaker than the others. Another day of training, or even a week for that matter, wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Are you already making excuses in case you lose?" Kakashi asked, his face full of suspicion as he looked at Obito.

"Kakashi, your inner thoughts are too dark!" Obito chastised loudly. "The match doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon. Even if we train until evening, I'll still have half a day to rest. How could it possibly affect me?"

"I was just saying," Kakashi replied nonchalantly, his relaxed expression suggesting that Obito was overreacting.

Obito was furious, cursing inwardly but unable to do anything about it. After all, he most likely still couldn't beat Kakashi in a fight.

"I'm heading to Might Guy's place," Itachi said after finishing his meal, bidding farewell to the group.

Although Might Guy's injury wasn't as severe as the last time he had forcefully opened the Six Gates, he still needed to rest for over a week.

Since they were outside of Konoha's territory, they decided to take turns looking after Might Guy. Itachi had drawn the short straw and was on duty for the first day.

Kakashi and the others waved in response, quickly gathering their things and heading out of town.

Upon reaching their destination, the three of them used their Summoning Jutsu to call forth their Pokemon.

"Rock!"

Geodude, upon being summoned, excitedly ran circles around Kakashi, bumping its head against his body.

"Roar~"

Menas lowered her head and gently rubbed her cheek against Haruno Lin's face, letting out a soft roar.

The still-sleepy Charmeleon was suddenly summoned, and just as it was about to breathe a morning flame at Obito, it caught sight of Menas beside him. Instantly, its grumpiness vanished, and it eagerly scurried over to Menas' side.

"Roar!" Charmeleon happily greeted Menas.

Obito: ...

"Can't you show a little more backbone? Why don't you focus on training first? Look at your size compared to Menas," Obito couldn't help but say.

Obito had recently measured Charmeleon's height, and he remembered it clearly—Charmeleon was only 1.2 meters tall.

As for Menas, even without measuring, it was easily five or six meters long.

Even when coiled on the ground, Menas was still significantly taller than Charmeleon, and Obito wondered where Charmeleon got the courage to try and woo Menas. It didn't stand a chance.

Obito shook his head inwardly. Despite having raised Charmeleon himself, it just didn't listen to him at all.

Charmeleon was furious. This was a blatant insult, calling it a runt!

Enraged, Charmeleon immediately unleashed its chakra and charged at Obito.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

Obito knew Charmeleon inside out. He could even tell from the way it opened its mouth whether it was about to breathe fire at him.

So, as soon as Charmeleon took its first step, Obito gathered chakra in his leg and kicked out with a whirlwind leg, sending the charging Charmeleon tumbling to the ground.

'Flamethrower!'

Charmeleon, fuming, quickly got back on its feet and gathered a large amount of chakra in its throat, spewing out a column of fire thicker than its head.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan!"

Obito heightened his Fire Breath's nature by concentrating it, then took a step back and formed seals, spewing out a massive fireball.

The surging sea of fire countered Charmeleon's fire pillar, then continued to rush towards it.

Just as the flames were about to engulf Charmeleon, Obito ceased his chakra output and, with a Body Flicker Technique, kicked Charmeleon away.

"You're still too inexperienced when it comes to fire," Obito shook his head and said.

"Roar!"

Charmeleon stood up indignantly, shouting that thirty years on the east side and thirty years on the west side, that the dragon may be small but should not be bullied. Then it continued its attack on Obito until it was exhausted and had to stop to rest.

"This training method isn't bad," Obito realized.

Whenever Charmeleon got angry, it would fight until it was exhausted. So, after it had rested, Obito could deliberately provoke it, ensuring that it stayed in a constant state of training.

In a way, it was like Charmeleon was training tirelessly every day, spurred on by Obito's "encouragement."

Obito thought this was much more effective than genjutsu, although Charmeleon might not understand his good intentions.

Although it had an inexplicable urge to spew a blast of fire at Obito when it was upset, Charmeleon also remembered Obito's kindness. For instance, when it had just hatched, Obito had shown it special care and attention.

It was only during their subsequent training sessions that Obito had treated it unfairly, using genjutsu to put it to sleep and force it through more rigorous training.

However, Charmeleon could somewhat understand Obito's actions. From its observations, it knew that Obito's abilities were lacking compared to the other disciples.

If it became stronger, Obito's overall strength would also improve.

Putting itself in Obito's shoes, Charmeleon knew that if it ever lost to Obito in a fight, it would feel just as anxious.

"Hey, Charmeleon, are you gonna keep lazing around? If you don't recover your stamina soon, no female ninja Pokemon will ever like you!" Obito said to Charmeleon, who had been resting for quite a while.

Charmeleon froze, staring at Obito in disbelief. Those words were absolutely unforgivable!

"Roar!"

Charmeleon let out a roar that echoed through the sky, its nostrils spewing out white-hot steam. It had no intention of putting itself in Obito's shoes; instead, it wanted to teach this inherently evil boy a harsh lesson.

Driven by rage, Charmeleon launched an all-out attack on Obito, only stopping when it could no longer lift its arms and had to rest.

Kakashi, who was meditating nearby, twitched his lips. This pair was quite unique in more ways than one.

The three of them continued to train until dusk before deciding to head back.

"What a fulfilling day," said Haruno Lin, stretching her waist and gently stroking Menas' cool body as she smiled.

Obito nodded in agreement. It had indeed been a productive day, filled with creative ways to infuriate Charmeleon, and he had almost exhausted his vocabulary in the process.

Obito planned to create a compilation of Kakashi's most obnoxious quotes to further provoke Charmeleon.

Just as Haruno Lin and the others were about to leave, an unexpected event occurred.

A wooden cylinder suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi and the others.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Purple-tinged needles shot out from the holes in the cylinder, covering almost every direction.

"Watch out for the poison needles!" Kakashi, the quickest to react, immediately shouted a warning. He swiftly covered his body with Weapon Chakra and shielded Geodude.

The surprise attack left them with no time to cast any Ninjutsu that could perfectly block the needles, so they had to rely on Weapon Chakra to protect themselves.

Obito also used Weapon Chakra to shield Charmeleon from the incoming poison needles.

Charmeleon's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe that Obito, who had treated it so unfairly, was now putting himself in harm's way to protect it.

Menas, who had not yet mastered Weapon Chakra, stood in front of Haruno Lin, protecting her. She opened her mouth and shot out a column of water, knocking down most of the needles. However, a few needles still managed to graze her body.

"This Ninjutsu can cover the entire body..." Scorpion, hidden in the shadows, was surprised.

Although Kakashi and the others had used Weapon Chakra before, it was the first time they had used it to envelop their entire bodies.

"This Ninjutsu is very effective against puppeteers," Scorpion muttered, feeling cautious. He was grateful for his own caution, which had led him to follow them discreetly.

He had been trailing them for a while, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now that Might Guy and Kakashi were absent, not only were Kakashi and his companions in less-than-ideal conditions, but their Summoned Beasts had also expended a significant amount of energy. It was the ideal time for Scorpion to take his revenge.

Kakashi immediately altered his breathing rhythm, focusing his Lightning Breath to enter the Transparent World state. There, he saw Hanyu Zhu hiding behind a tree, and within Hanyu Zhu's body, he spotted Scorpion.

"This guy disguised himself during the competition," Kakashi frowned.

Although Scorpion's current appearance differed from that of Sand Crab due to the lack of disguise, Kakashi could identify him as the puppeteer from the competition based on his chakra and puppet.

"I've been lulled into a false sense of peace within the town. When training outside of Konoha, I should always maintain my chakra at above two-thirds capacity," Kakashi admonished himself inwardly as he sensed his chakra, which had dropped to less than half its capacity.

Although he didn't know why Scorpion had ambushed them, the reason didn't matter now that Scorpion had made his move. The most pressing concern was how to get through this challenging situation.

"Fine Needle Extraction Technique!"

Haruno Lin immediately performed a medical ninjutsu on Menas to remove the toxins.

Even without an antidote, this technique could alleviate the effects of poisoning to some extent.

"Be careful, everyone. This poison is strong," warned Haruno Lin, who had received training from Tsunade. She instantly recognized the potency of the poison on Scorpion's needles.

Boom!

Scorpion threw out a scroll, and the Third Kazekage, clad in a gray robe, appeared on the battlefield.

Scorpion connected ten chakra threads to the puppet and emerged from his hiding place, controlling the Third Kazekage and launching an attack on the trio.

Although Scorpion could control ten puppets simultaneously, the Third Kazekage was not an ordinary puppet. To fully utilize the Third Kazekage's strength, Scorpion chose not to summon any other puppets.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kakashi instantly threw two kunai infused with Lightning Release chakra at Scorpion's true body.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Obito, with his Sharingan activated, also spotted Scorpion and quickly formed seals, spitting out a massive fireball towards him.

'Flamethrower!'

The Fire Dinosaur angrily spewed a column of fire at Scorpion, its current most hated person, replacing Obito.

"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Wall!"

Scorpion controlled the Third Kazekage to create a thick, black iron sand wall in front of him, firmly blocking all the attacks.

"This puppet can actually use Magnet Style," Kakashi thought in surprise, his expression turning even graver.

He had thought that even against a puppeteer capable of controlling ten puppets, the three of them, along with their summoned beasts, would be enough to handle the situation. But now, it didn't seem so certain.

Scorpion had not used his full strength during the competition, hiding a powerful puppet that could use the bloodline limit, Magnet Style.

To be honest, this was a bit of a blow to Kakashi's understanding; he hadn't thought that puppets could also use bloodline limits.

"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Shower!"

Scorpion deftly manipulated his fingers, controlling the Third Kazekage to form seals, summoning more iron sand, and then turning the gathered iron sand into iron needles that shot towards Kakashi and the others.

"Earth Style: Multiple Mud-Flow Walls!"

Kakashi quickly formed seals, using Earth Style to create two walls of mud in front of them.

Swish! Swish!!

Boom! Boom!!

Countless iron sand needles shot onto the mud-flow walls, causing mud and stones to splatter and kick up large amounts of dust.

The iron sand needles seemed endless, firing continuously for several seconds without stopping, and soon, the mud-flow walls were riddled with holes.

"So strong," Kakashi thought, his mind racing as he hid behind the walls.

The Third Kazekage's iron sand ninjutsu was very powerful, and these mud-flow walls wouldn't hold for long. They had to find a way to break Scorpion's offensive rhythm.

Kakashi glanced at Geodude and an idea came to mind.

Kakashi quickly whispered an instruction to Geodude and then gave a subtle signal to Obito and Haruno Lin.

Boom!

Under the relentless bombardment of iron sand, the mud-flow walls finally collapsed.

At that moment, Kakashi, who had entered the Lightning Breath Chakra Mode, gathered chakra in his hands, and a dazzling purple lightning bolt exploded!

"Lightning Style: Double Lightning Shock!"

Taking advantage of the Lightning Breath Chakra Mode, Kakashi effortlessly unleashed a purple lightning net with his hands, blocking the incoming iron sand needles.

"Fire Style: Grand Fire Dragon Technique!"

At the same time, Obito entered the Flame Breath Chakra Mode, clapped his hands, and spat out a high-temperature fire dragon towards the Third Kazekage.

'Water Ring!'

'Water Gun!'

Menas first used Milk Drink on herself and then opened her mouth, shooting a column of water at the Third Kazekage.

"Water Style: Torrent Bullet!"

Haruno Lin formed seals and concentrated her chakra, releasing sharp water spears at the Third Kazekage.

Scorpion saw this and once again manipulated his fingers, controlling the Third Kazekage to change techniques, using the iron sand to form an arc-shaped iron wall to block the incoming attacks.

Swish!

Geodude, who had used Earth Style to appear behind Scorpion, unceremoniously rammed into him, sending him flying, and then controlled the rocks around its neck to smash into Scorpion's head.

Scorpion frowned slightly. When the wall shattered, he had seen Geodude by Kakashi's side, but he hadn't expected it to be an illusion.

However, Scorpion didn't panic. With the protection of Scarlet Flow, such attacks couldn't defeat him.

The injured Scorpion immediately controlled the Third Kazekage to come to his side. He swung out a wave of iron sand to repel Geodude and then continued to control the Third Kazekage, extending his arms towards Kakashi and the others.

"So close," Kakashi thought, regretting the missed opportunity.

If Scorpion hadn't been hiding inside the puppet, Geodude's previous attack would have definitely hit him, and he wouldn't have been able to withstand it with his physical body.

Without using chakra to protect themselves or having a special ninjutsu in play, ninjas couldn't withstand ninjutsu attacks.

But Kakashi had no other choice. Only Geodude could have sneaked in for that attack.

He couldn't use the Shadow Clone Technique to send a clone to attack because entering the Lightning Breath Chakra Mode and releasing the Double Lightning Shock required a large amount of chakra.

If he created a combat-capable shadow clone, he wouldn't have enough chakra left to release ninjutsu to block the iron sand.

Obito's Fire Style wasn't suitable for blocking the iron sand, and Haruno Lin's Water Style wasn't strong enough. What they had just done was already their limit.

"Senju Puppet Dance!"

The mechanical arms extended further, and new arms sprouted from the extended sections, resulting in hundreds of arms rushing towards Kakashi and his companions.

"Lightning Flash!"

Kakashi's Transparent World saw the poisoned kunai within the arms, so he immediately burst out his chakra, injecting it into the White Fang, causing a lightning blade to extend from the short blade.

Swish! Lightning flashed, and before Scorpion could release the kunai, all the arms were simultaneously severed at the elbows, the cut edges charred black.

"Phew," Kakashi exhaled after releasing the lightning blade.

Among his many lightning-style sword techniques, Lightning Flash didn't actually consume that much chakra. However, he truly didn't have the stamina or chakra left to execute a stronger technique.

At the same time, Hanyu Zhu, the scorpion's true body, opened its large mouth, aiming at Haruno Lin, who was forming seals.

Swish! Swish!!

A barrage of poisonous needles and spikes shot towards Haruno Lin.

As the only medical ninja present, Haruno Lin was a prime target, and Scorpion wouldn't mind taking her out first if given the chance.

Seeing the onslaught of poison needles, Haruno Lin quickly maintained her chakra output, pushing her Water Style to the limit to enhance her control over the chakra's form. She manipulated the water column, creating a flowing water wall to shield herself from the incoming poison.

Obito had intended to attack Scorpion's true body, but seeing the Third Kazekage go straight for Kakashi, he opted to assist Kakashi instead, using Fire Style jutsu to counter the Third Kazekage's attack.

It didn't matter if the enemy died or not; the priority was to protect their teammates.

Clang! Clang!

The blades on the Third Kazekage's body clashed relentlessly with Kakashi's White Fang.

Obito seized the opportunity to strike with a Fire Style punch aimed at the Third Kazekage's side, but it was blocked by the iron sand.

The Fire Dinosaur and Geodude attempted to join the fray and attack Scorpion's true body, only to be nearly struck by the poison needles.

"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Trident!"

Scorpion knew that Kakashi and his team had deep emotional bonds with their Pokemon, so he controlled the Third Kazekage to throw a trident-shaped iron sand projectile towards Geodude.

Geodude dodged to the side, thinking it had evaded the attack, but the trident-shaped iron sand suddenly changed direction and continued to home in on it.

"Lightning Flash!"

Without hesitation, Kakashi unleashed the remaining chakra, transforming into a lightning bolt and slicing through the iron sand trident.

This was the moment Scorpion had been waiting for.

The silent scorpion wasted no time in striking, lashing out with Hanyu Zhu's stinger and aiming directly at Kakashi.

At that moment, the usually stoic Scorpion broke into a maniacal laugh.

He was finally going to avenge his deceased parents.

He had thought that White Fang's suicide had left him with no chance for revenge, but fate had intervened, and he had discovered White Fang's look-alike child, conveniently encountering him during the tournament.

Clang!

Kakashi had already exited the Lightning Breath Chakra Mode due to chakra depletion, but he maintained his Transparent World state, swiftly raising the White Fang to block the sting attack.

Scorpion's face fell slightly, realizing that Hanyu Zhu's poison needles had been expended in the previous battle; otherwise, Kakashi would have surely perished at such close range.

Regretting the missed opportunity, Scorpion's hand movements didn't slow down for a moment as he swung one of Hanyu Zhu's puppet arms, delivering a heavy blow to Kakashi's body.

Boom!

Kakashi's body was sent flying, crashing into two large trees before being caught by Haruno Lin, who had rushed over.

Infuriated, Geodude conjured a massive boulder above Scorpion's head.

Boom!!

The boulder crashed to the ground, a difficult move to land without the aid of teammates or a surprise attack.

"Heh, are you angry? Well, my suffering far surpasses yours," Scorpion sneered as he retreated, his face turning cold as he recalled the warmth of his parents before their deaths.

His life had once been so happy. If he ever showed the slightest hint of hunger, even if it wasn't mealtime, his mother would cook something special for him.

He always fell asleep first at night because his parents would tell him bedtime stories until he dozed off.

Even as he grew older and started sleeping alone, his parents would still tuck him in late at night.

Scorpion had once believed that he slept soundly and didn't kick off his blankets, but after their passing, he realized that he always woke up covered because his parents had quietly tucked him in during the night.

The beautiful memories fueled Scorpion's killing intent.

He brandished the gleaming stinger of Hanyu Zhu, aiming for Geodude, who dodged with an electric flash. Geodude attempted to counter with Lightning Fang, but Scorpion anticipated the move. Fortunately, Haruno Lin's timely assistance averted a near-miss from the venomous stinger.

Meanwhile, Menas finished healing Kakashi and sprayed a Water Gun at Scorpion.

Scorpion immediately retreated, knowing that a puppeteer must not risk their true body unless it, too, is a puppet.

"Let's see how long you can last," Scorpion thought with a cold smirk.

If not for his focus on attacking Kakashi earlier, Obito's Fire Dinosaur would have perished at the hands of the Third Kazekage.

Now, with Kakashi largely incapacitated, Obito and his Fire Dinosaur were faltering under the relentless assault of the Third Kazekage, and Menas had been afflicted by Scorpion's deadly poison.

The advantage was his!

"Rock!"

Geodude gazed at the injured Kakashi and then at Scorpion, who treated him with contempt. The desire for strength burned within him like never before.

It was dusk, and the last rays of the setting sun painted the sky with a golden hue.

Amid the heat of battle, Geodude found himself inexplicably drawn to that fading light.

The evening sun bathed Geodude in its warm glow, and the energy of the twilight seemed to gather around him.

"Roar!"

Geodude let out a mighty roar, and his body erupted in a dazzling radiance.

PS: This chapter is 6k, and there will be another chapter coming later, but the timing is uncertain.

I recommend you read it tomorrow instead of staying up late.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end