https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-538-The-End-of-the-Ninja-Arts-Tournament/12558804/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-540-No-Expelling-My-Pokemon-from-the-Registry/12558806/
Chapter 539: Nagato's Pokemon Hatches
Chapter 539: Nagato's Pokemon Hatches
"There's no doubt that Obito lost this time. Aside from being slightly weaker in taijutsu, Nagato has almost no flaws and is incredibly formidable," Kakashi Hatake shook his head as he spoke.
Nagato's performance gave Kakashi a sense of unfathomable depth. This was beyond the realm of mere genius; it was the strength of a true powerhouse in the ninja world, lacking only a proven track record.
Kakashi felt that even Mizuho Ogon, the formidable opponent they had encountered in Kirigakure, might not be able to best Nagato at this point.
With the combination of the Attract and Judgment techniques for offense and defense, along with the ability to absorb ninjutsu, Nagato would truly have no weaknesses if he also mastered healing ninjutsu.
"Mmhmm, Obito and his Charizard did their best," Rin Nohara nodded in agreement.
"It's just that Obito doesn't seem to have taken my words to heart at all," Rin added with a helpless smile.
She had specifically told him not to go too hard, but the battle still turned out to be exceptionally intense.
However, Rin could understand. Obito had indeed created an opportunity to win during the fight; he just hadn't seized it.
Who could calmly accept defeat when there was a chance to win?
"When you heal him later, you can tell him that I'm very disappointed in him," Kakashi said after a moment's thought. "Obito will probably take your words to heart for a long time after that."
Although Obito hadn't explicitly said anything, his actions made his feelings for Rin obvious to Kakashi. It was as if he had 'I have a crush on Rin Nohara' written on his face.
Rin waved her hand dismissively. "How could I say that? Obito still achieved second place. It would be too hurtful to say something like that to him."
She even planned to comfort Obito later and encourage him not to be discouraged, urging him to continue striving to surpass Nagato.
Kakashi didn't press the matter further. He was just joking, and if Rin actually said that, Obito would probably be depressed for at least half a month.
Kakashi could already imagine what Obito would be like then.
He would definitely be listless, muttering to himself, "I'm so stupid. It's second place either way, I should've just..."
"Since Nagato possesses such strength, could he be the future leader of the evil Akatsuki organization?" Kakashi thought ahead, glancing at the tall stand where Kakuzu was seated.
According to future reports from Yamato and his team, Kakuzu was a member of the evil Akatsuki in the future, partnering with Hidan to kill Asuma Sarutobi during that time.
In Kakashi's opinion, an organization comprised entirely of S-rank missing-nin would require a leader with absolute power to keep the members in check.
After all, S-rank missing-nin were not known for their teamwork, and without overwhelming strength to keep them in line, the organization would fall apart in a matter of days, let alone grow stronger.
At such a young age, Nagato already possessed the strength of a ninja world powerhouse. If he continued to cultivate his powers, he would undoubtedly ascend to the pinnacle of the ninja world, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if he could suppress S-rank missing-nin in twenty years.
"Deidara, Sasori, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Kakuzu, and Hidan," Kakashi mused, his expression thoughtful.
The Ninja Sect not only had current Akatsuki members like Nagato and Yahiko but also future members of the evil Akatsuki like Kakuzu, giving Kakashi a persistent feeling that the Ninja Sect would eventually devolve into the evil Akatsuki.
"It's just that we have too little information right now," Kakashi suppressed the thought.
In truth, he had already encountered several members of the evil Akatsuki.
For example, Kisame Hoshigaki, who had not yet defected from Kirigakure, and Itachi Uchiha, who was still a child and had not begun his training.
However, nothing seemed amiss with them at the moment, and they were all behaving normally.
"As expected of a ninja with the Sage's Eye, his growth rate is astonishing," Nagato's performance left Hanzo secretly startled.
During the siege of the Ninja Sect, Nagato had displayed a burst of power, but compared to the current Nagato, he was undoubtedly a true powerhouse now.
The ability to absorb ninjutsu and deflect attacks might not make him invincible, but they were undeniably very useful in combat.
"Since the tournament is over, I won't stay any longer. There are still many matters in Amegakure that require my attention," Hanzo said solemnly.
Now that the tournament was finally over, Hanzo couldn't wait to leave. Every additional second felt like torture to him.
Having one Sou Yuukai causing him mental stress and another, Kakuzu, causing him practical stress was too much to bear.
Although he hadn't done much every day, Hanzo felt like he had been undergoing some sort of grueling ascetic training.
"Official matters are indeed important. Then, Senior Hanzo, please take care of yourself on your way back," Mu Yue saw that Hanzo was about to reach his limit and didn't force him to stay.
After all, Hanzo had brought popularity to the Budokai and helped the Ninja Sect gain exposure, so it wouldn't be right to be too demanding.
"Do visit often. We of the Ninja Sect and Amegakure are like family," At their farewell, Kakuzu also set aside his usual aggressive stance and waved goodbye to Hanzo.
Hanzo's lips twitched. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't defeat Mu Yue and that Mu Yue had a hold over him, he wouldn't have come in the first place.
Hanzo pretended not to hear and quickly left with his guards and confidants. As for the ordinary Amegakure ninjas, they could return on their own.
Most of the contestants in the Budokai's knockout rounds could easily pass the Chunin Exams, even those who were eliminated in the first round.
The Fire Country Daimyo felt he could give Konoha a suggestion to organize similar interesting events in the future.
Of course, it was just a suggestion, and if Konoha disagreed, the Daimyo had no way to force them.
The Daimyo and the ninja villages had a cooperative relationship, not a hierarchical one.
"Absolutely," the Rain Country Daimyo agreed with a smile.
Previously, when the Ninja Sect demanded land from the Rain Country Daimyo, he was a little unhappy, even though most of it was wasteland. Still, it was his land.
Now, the Rain Country Daimyo's unhappiness had vanished. After all, the Ninja Sect had just boosted his reputation in front of the Fire Country Daimyo, and losing some untaxed land wasn't a big deal.
"This Ninja Sect is quite formidable. I feel they would be very reliable when it comes to carrying out missions." Some wealthy merchants and nobles were impressed by the Ninja Sect's strength and thought of commissioning them for future tasks.
Before this, although Ninja Master Sou Yuukai was famous throughout the world, as a ninja organization, it wasn't enough to have only a strong leader. After all, the leader couldn't possibly take on all the missions alone.
This Budokai had showcased the Ninja Sect's potential as a rising ninja power.
In addition to Nagato, Yahiko and Konan had also made it to the knockout rounds, with Konan even advancing to the second round. This achievement surpassed many of the smaller ninja villages.
"The Ninja Sect cannot be underestimated, but Konoha is even more worthy of our vigilance. I must report the intelligence from this Budokai to Father." Huang Tu was more concerned about Konoha than Nagato's performance.
After all, no matter how talented Nagato was, the Ninja Sect was still a small organization of less than 200 people, and they couldn't pose a threat to the massive Rock Village.
Konoha was different; it was one of the five great ninja villages, just like the Rock Village.
Although the Rock Village didn't have many ninjas skilled in Fire Release, they still sent a considerable number of young ninjas to the tournament, many of whom made it to the knockout rounds.
In fact, the number of Rock Village ninjas who advanced to the knockout rounds was not far behind Konoha's. However, after the first round, most of them were eliminated, and by the second round, all of them had been knocked out, while Konoha had a staggering five ninjas in the quarterfinals.
This was an astonishing number, as Konoha alone occupied five of the eight spots in the quarterfinals.
It was worth noting that while the various ninja villages differed in how much importance they attached to the Youth Budokai, most of them sent at least a few participants.
With such impressive results, Huang Tu couldn't help but be wary of Konoha.
Despite sending a larger number of ninjas, they were thoroughly outperformed by Konoha. There was no doubt that the Rock Village had lost to Konoha when it came to the younger generation of ninjas.
As for the other ninja villages, Huang Tu couldn't say for sure, as they had sent relatively few participants, especially the Cloud and Sand Villages, who had barely made a showing.
...
The injured Obito was treated by Mu Yue and placed in the same hospital room as Might Guy.
"Guy, I'm sorry, I lost to Nagato as well and couldn't avenge you," Obito sighed and apologized.
Nagato was just too strong; Obito truly felt powerless.
"Obito, do you feel that you did your best? Did you give it your all?" Might Guy asked.
"Of course, I was so close to winning."
Might Guy flashed a brilliant smile and gave Obito a thumbs-up. "That's what matters. As long as you tried your best and gave it your all, even if you don't succeed in the end, you won't regret not having exerted yourself fully in the future."
"Youth is always accompanied by failure, and what we should do is learn from each failure and grow."
Unconsciously, Obito nodded, feeling that Might Guy's words made a lot of sense.
"By the way, Guy, where did you learn these words? They don't seem to fit your usual style," Obito said, stroking his chin.
Might Guy was known as his equally underachieving classmate, so this kind of talk was unexpected.
"Because those who strive improve quickly, and perhaps without you knowing it, Guy has surpassed you in many ways."
Kakashi's voice reached the hospital room, and soon after, he opened the door and entered with his disciples.
"Kakashi, you understand now, right? It's just the quarterfinals," Obito scoffed.
Kakashi didn't refute; first, he couldn't argue with Obito at this point, and second, it was true that he had only made it to the quarterfinals.
However, Kakashi silently made a mental note to get back at Obito for this someday.
"Obito, you were amazing in your fight. Not only did you force Nagato to reveal his hidden ability, but you also surpassed him in taijutsu," Rin Nohara praised.
"Haha, I'm not that great, just somewhat great. I'm only the runner-up of the Budokai, after all," Obito said, his heart blooming with joy, a smile spreading across his face.
The second-place prize in the Youth Ninja Competition was to have a custom jutsu developed with the help of the leader of the Ninja Sect, Sou Yuukai.
The Ninja Sect was quite efficient, and Itachi had already been approached by their ninjas before he left with Kakashi and the others to find Tobirama.
Due to the tournament format, there were no distinct third and fourth-place rankings, only the top two and the semi-finalists.
However, the third and fourth-place prizes were different, and the Ninja Sect proposed a solution where their experts would score the semi-finalists to determine their rankings.
If the contestants agreed with the Ninja Sect's scores, then they would accept the rankings and distribute the prizes accordingly.
If a contestant disagreed, a ranking match would be arranged for the two semi-finalists to fight again and determine who placed fourth and third.
According to the Ninja Sect's scores, Might Guy ranked third, and Itachi ranked fourth.
Having trained with Might Guy for a long time, Itachi was well aware of their current gap in strength and had no objections to this result.
"A custom jutsu, huh," Tobirama said, deep in thought.
"What do you guys think? If I asked for the strongest Fire Release jutsu in the ninja world, do you think it would be possible?" Tobirama suddenly asked, a spark of inspiration flashing in his eyes.
Since Fire Dragon Bomb was currently the strongest Fire Release jutsu in the ninja world, his request would essentially be for something even stronger than that, which would make his custom jutsu reward potentially better than the first-place prize.
Kakashi gave Tobirama a speechless look. This was Sou Yuukai, a top-tier ninja in the ninja world, not some random guy off the street.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Rin bluntly stated.
She believed that the customization mentioned in the prize should be about personal preferences, such as the nature transformation, specific effects, or whether it was a burning or explosive jutsu.
Asking for the strongest jutsu was a bit too abstract.
"Oh, I see," Tobirama said, scratching his head. All he really wanted was a jutsu that could match the power of his One-Sword Style.
...
On the other hand, the ninjas of the Ninja Sect were celebrating Longmon's overwhelming victory.
"Longmon, I knew you could do it!" Yahiko exclaimed, laughing and patting Longmon on the shoulder.
Yahiko wasn't just saying this to flatter Longmon; he had always believed that Longmon would defeat everyone and claim the top spot.
In his eyes, Longmon, who was under 18 years old, was the strongest there was, and no one could surpass him.
Of course, Yahiko had been secretly worried for Longmon during his fight with Might Guy.
Before the Youth Ninja Competition, he had no idea that there were ninjas like Might Guy in the ninja world—ninjas who had never used a jutsu before but possessed overwhelming strength that could crush most other ninjas.
"Longmon, you've worked hard," Konan said, handing Longmon a paper pigeon she had folded.
In Konan's eyes, Longmon was like a guardian who had worked hard to protect the Ninja Sect and its dreams. He wasn't just fighting for himself, but for the entire organization.
"Longmon, you were so cool! You took down ninjas from all five of the great nations!" Torune exclaimed, pumping his fists in excitement.
For the Ninja Sect, which aspired to bring peace to the ninja world, surpassing the five great ninja villages was definitely something to celebrate, even if it was just one of their geniuses surpassing the geniuses of the five great ninja villages.
"Thank you, everyone," Longmon said with a smile as he accepted the paper pigeon.
The Ninja Sect now embodied Longmon's dreams, and it was also home to many people he cared about. Seeing the organization thrive and grow filled him with joy, and he was determined to contribute to its development.
After the celebration, Longmon did not slack off. He maintained his usual training routine and went to the training room where Mu Yue had set up a sealing technique to practice the Yang Breath.
Aside from the Rinnegan, the Yang Breath was the most important thing he needed to cultivate.
Crack!
Longmon, who was in the midst of his training, suddenly heard a cracking sound and, with his keen senses, noticed that the Pokemon Egg Mu Yue had given him was undergoing a transformation.
For some reason, the ordinary white egg was now enveloped in a dazzling light.
Longmon focused his gaze on the light but couldn't see through it.
Thus, he silently watched the Pokemon Egg that was shrouded in white light.
After all, this Pokemon Egg was a gift from Mu Yue, and he trusted that it would bring no harm.
PS: I had insomnia yesterday, so I'm not feeling my best today. Only 4k words for this chapter.
Also, unless something unexpected happens, the Naruto bonus chapter should be released on the 18th.
I'm mainly considering the fact that having continuous battle chapters can get tiring.
The main storyline has Tobirama fighting Longmon, and then there's the upcoming Naruto fight against Longmon.
So, Little Orange (the author) plans to insert a few days of daily life chapters in between as a transition.
(End of Chapter)
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