Chapter 540: No Expelling My Pokemon from the Registry

Chapter 540: No Expelling My Pokemon from the Registry

The white light faded, and the Pokemon egg vanished without a trace, leaving only the soft cushion that Nagato had used to cushion the egg.

Of course, Mu Yue hadn't given Nagato a counterfeit Pokemon egg.

Sensing the gaze and faint chill coming from behind him, Nagato turned around.

What met his eyes was a cloud of purple smoke, and at its center was a large black sphere with a pair of white, wide eyes and a mouth bearing a pair of fangs.

As Nagato looked at the black sphere, the sphere's eyes curiously examined him as well.

Upon clearly seeing Gengar, Nagato instinctively took half a step back.

Although he usually didn't judge by appearances, the unknown creature before him certainly didn't look like it belonged in the world of the living.

Nagato felt that anyone who turned around and saw a black sphere, shrouded in purple smoke and bearing eyes and a mouth, hovering close to their face would instinctively retreat.

Taking only half a step back showed that he was quite confident in his strength.

"Heh heh!"

Gengar greeted Nagato with a friendly laugh. For some reason, it felt a sense of familiarity towards Nagato.

Of course, this friendliness was only in Gengar's perception. From Nagato's perspective, it was simply a black sphere, surrounded by purple smoke, letting out an eerie cackle.

"Is this a Ninja Pokemon?" Nagato fell into deep thought.

With the Ninja Pokemon egg hatching and Gengar appearing in the training room, it stood to reason that Gengar was the one that had just hatched.

Nagato had encountered Ninja Pokemon with strange appearances before, but none had been as peculiar as Gengar.

To be blunt, compared to a Ninja Pokemon, he felt that Gengar resembled more of a mythical creature.

"Undoubtedly, it is, but it's a bit more unique." Mu Yue entered the training room and said.

Even Mu Yue hadn't expected Nagato's Pokemon to be a Gengar.

He had thought it would be an Eevee or something similar, considering Nagato's diverse attributes.

However, if one were to discuss combat suitability, Gengar was indeed a perfect fit for Nagato.

Currently, Nagato's only shortcoming was his physical prowess, and Gengar possessed exceptional stealth abilities, allowing it to lurk by Nagato's side and protect him.

"Hee hee hee!"

Upon hearing Mu Yue praise its uniqueness, Gengar burst into laughter and then floated beside Nagato, circling him continuously.

Since Gengar truly was a Ninja Pokemon, Nagato didn't hesitate to sign a contract with it.

"Teacher Mu Yue, can I take it out, or should I leave it in the training room for now?" Nagato asked Mu Yue.

Gengar's egg had been in the training room, which didn't even have windows, ever since Mu Yue gave it to Nagato. Nagato wanted to take Gengar out for some fresh air.

"Yes, you don't need to keep it in here anymore." Mu Yue replied.

Whether it was abilities or appearance, Gengar was vastly different from the Pokemon of Obito and the others. No one would associate Gengar with Obito's group of Pokemon.

If Gengar evolved, there might be some commonalities, but even then, it would be impossible to link Sou Yuusai and Yuu Uchiha based on this alone.

Of course, even if Uchiha Madara or Black Zetsu learned of Mu Yue's true identity, it wouldn't matter to him.

Initially, he had hidden his identity to prevent Uchiha Madara from interfering with his plan to take Nagato as his disciple.

Now that he had successfully taken on Nagato as his disciple and established a good teacher-student relationship, he didn't need to worry about Uchiha Madara causing trouble anymore.

This was also why Mu Yue quickly confessed everything to Nagato after taking him on as a disciple. If he didn't, Uchiha Madara might have used this secret to manipulate Nagato.

The current situation was very favorable for Mu Yue. Even if Uchiha Madara discovered his identity, aside from using his own power to create trouble for Mu Yue, there was nothing else he could do.

If Uchiha Madara were to reveal Mu Yue's identity and try to incite other countries to be wary of Konoha and the Ninja Sect, thus causing trouble for Mu Yue, he wouldn't succeed.

Because if Uchiha Madara sent White Zetsu to spread the news, no one would believe it.

Compared to the theory that the Radiant Mu Yue of Konoha was the Ninja Master Sou Yuusai, the theory that everything about Sou Yuusai was a plot devised by the Rain Ninja Village would seem more plausible.

Uchiha Madara had no way to manipulate public opinion against Mu Yue.

In Konoha, Mu Yue was essentially the second-in-command of the Root Organization, and Sarutobi also trusted him.

In the Rain Country, Mu Yue was a well-regarded Ninja Master. Aside from his own Ninja Sect, he could also mobilize the power of the Rain Ninjas by negotiating with Danzo.

Uchiha Madara could use his own arrangements to make the already chaotic situation even more chaotic, but when it came to actually mobilizing human resources, Uchiha Madara was far inferior to Mu Yue.

After all, Uchiha Madara had been pretending to be dead for several decades, and the Kage of each village had changed multiple times. The Sand Village, which had been the quickest to change leadership, was already on its fourth Kazekage.

Nagato nodded and walked out, with Gengar floating behind him as they left the training room.

Seeing Nagato leave, Mu Yue took out his own Pokemon egg and examined it.

Although they had obtained their eggs at the same time, Mu Yue's Pokemon egg still showed no signs of hatching.

"Nagato." Just as Yahiko was about to go out for a walk, he saw Nagato and greeted him with a smile.

However, Yahiko's smile soon turned solemn as he noticed a mysterious figure, shrouded in purple mist, slowly rising behind Nagato.

"Nagato, be careful!" Yahiko shouted as he rushed towards Nagato.

Nagato sensed his surroundings and, finding nothing but Gengar behind him, furrowed his brows in confusion.

Then, Nagato thought carefully. Given Gengar's appearance, Yahiko's reaction was probably due to seeing Gengar.

"It's alright, Yahiko. You don't need to worry," Nagato reassured, having realized what Yahiko was reacting to.

Although Gengar didn't look like a creature of the living, it was a Ninja Pokemon certified by Mu Yue, so there shouldn't be any problems.

"How can it be alright? There's something that looks like a ghost floating behind you!" Yahiko blurted out.

Although Yahiko hadn't believed in ghosts before, seeing it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to believe.

"If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself." Yahiko turned his gaze back to Nagato's back and saw that the purple, mysterious figure had disappeared.

"Huh? That's strange. Did I see wrong?" Yahiko couldn't help but reach his hand back, intending to scratch his head, but he suddenly felt a chill as if he had dipped his hand into ice-cold water.

Yahiko turned his head back instinctively and saw a black sphere with wide eyes, surrounded by an ominous purple mist.

"A ghost!"

Yahiko's eyes widened in shock, and he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Nagato was quick to react and caught Yahiko, preventing him from having an intimate encounter with the floor.

"Nagato, quickly use Shinra Tensei!" Yahiko shouted as he began to gather chakra.

Gengar was too close to them, and at this distance, Shinra Tensei, which could be cast without hand seals, would be very useful.

"Well, it's actually my Ninja Pokemon," Nagato explained.

He thought it was normal for anyone to take half a step back upon seeing Gengar, and Yahiko had almost fallen over.

The purple smoke, the black sphere, and the large eyes; no one's Summoning Beast looked like this.

"Jerk!"

Hearing Yahiko's criticism of its appearance, Gengar immediately became unhappy and stuck out its pink tongue at Yahiko.

'Tongue Lick!'

Although its strength was low due to having just hatched and it couldn't use chakra, it still managed to make Yahiko's vision go dark, making him want to wash his face a dozen times.

"Although it's a bit different from the usual beasts, it is indeed a Ninja Beast." Nagato repeated Mu Yue's explanation to him.

Although Gengar looked nothing like a creature from the mortal realm, it hadn't shown any signs of aggression, so Yahiko had no choice but to believe Nagato's words.

"Nagato, let's go see what the others are up to." Yahiko thought for a moment, then decided to take Nagato to find Konohamaru.

He couldn't be the only one scared by Gengar; Yahiko wanted to introduce the others to Nagato's rather unusual Summoning Beast.

After all, as Nagato's Summoning Beast, the others would see it sooner or later.

"That might not be a good idea." Nagato hesitated.

Although it wasn't good to judge a book by its cover, Gengar's appearance would definitely startle anyone who saw it.

"What's wrong with that? It's better to introduce ourselves first to avoid any misunderstandings in the future." Yahiko gave a very reasonable explanation.

If anyone else encountered Gengar, Yahiko would definitely want to fight it.

Nagato thought about it and, seeing Gengar's eager expression, agreed.

"Ghost!"

Exclamations of surprise rang out in the Ninja Sect compound as Gengar made its eerie debut, leaving an impression on many of the Ninja Sect members.

............

The Ninja Arts Tournament ended, and without Mu Yue having to use any special means, news of the tournament spread like wildfire throughout the Ninja World.

After all, the tournament had already garnered a lot of attention for various reasons, and now with so many unexpected events taking place, it was only natural for the hype to increase.

However, what surprised the Ninja World the most was that the first-place winner turned out to be a ninja from the Ninja Sect, which was truly unexpected.

Those who paid attention to the Youth Ninja Arts Tournament knew that the Rock Ninja Village and Konoha were the villages that valued this tournament the most.

Not only did they send many of their genius ninjas, but they also sent strong leaders to accompany them.

The Rock Ninja Village sent the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Kiton, while Konoha sent the fiery Mu Yue.

With such a lineup, it was clear that the Ninja Sect couldn't have achieved this result through underhanded means.

After all, even with favorable seeding, their ninjas would still have to face the strongest opponents in the final rounds, and only true strength would prevail.

So, some people began to call Nagato the number one genius in the Ninja World, believing him to be the most talented ninja of his generation.

Initially, those who proposed this idea might have sincerely believed in Nagato's unmatched strength.

However, as the hype grew, it started to take on a different tone, bordering on exaggeration.

Even the five great ninja villages, known for their powerful ninjas, had never had a genius hailed as the number one in the Ninja World. For a small ninja country to suddenly receive such a title, it was hard not to suspect a conspiracy.

Aside from the first-place win, Konoha's dominant performance in the tournament also shocked many.

Although the Rock Ninja Village showed the same level of importance as Konoha, their ninjas' performance paled in comparison to Konoha's.

From the quarterfinals onwards, the number of Konoha ninjas became noticeably high. Five out of the eight quarter-finalists were from Konoha, and three out of the four semi-finalists were also from Konoha.

As for the Rock Ninja Village, not a single ninja made it to the quarterfinals.

Of course, the Rock Ninja Village wasn't the only major village that failed to reach the quarterfinals; the Sand Ninja Village and the Cloud Ninja Village had also been eliminated in the first round.

However, the Sand Ninja Village and the Cloud Ninja Village had sent significantly fewer ninjas, so their situation was different from that of the Rock Ninja Village.

In the Rock Ninja Village, Tsuchikage's office, Onoki felt a headache coming on as he looked at the tournament report submitted by Kiton.

"In terms of genius ninjas, the Rock Ninja Village is actually so far behind Konoha." Onoki rubbed his temples.

He had never realized the gap between the two villages until now.

As a responsible Tsuchikage, Onoki was well aware that the Rock Ninja Village hadn't produced any exceptionally talented ninjas in recent years.

However, he hadn't expected the gap between Konoha and the Rock Ninja Village to be so significant when it came to young ninjas.

Kiton, one of the Rock Ninja Village's strongest young geniuses, had been instantly defeated by Might Guy in the tournament.

If Konoha only had Might Guy, it would be fine, but they also had several other super geniuses who were only slightly inferior to Might Guy.

"In that case, the cooperation with Sou Yuusai becomes even more important." Onoki fell into deep thought.

If the Ninja Sect could help them cultivate more outstanding ninjas, it would alleviate the Rock Ninja Village's current situation to some extent.

However, Onoki's plan might eventually pit the Rock Ninja Village against the Ninja Sect.

This was because Onoki's initial intention in helping the Ninja Sect with the peace negotiations was to create a diversion and stir up hatred so that the Rain Country would restrain Konoha.

Any scheme could potentially be uncovered, and if the Ninja Sect discovered the Rock Ninja Village's actions, they would undoubtedly sever ties with the Rock Ninja Village.

"Change the plan. Make the Rain Ninja Village the main actor and let them use the Ninja Sect to restrain Konoha." Onoki thought of a solution.

Although the end result was still the same, with the Rain Country causing trouble, it wouldn't be the Ninja Sect doing it.

This change had its drawbacks, though. The Ninja Sect might not be willing to put in as much effort.

In Onoki's view, the Ninja Sect and the Rain Ninja Village were two forces that had joined together out of mutual wariness, so it would be very normal for the Ninja Sect to refuse to help the Rain Ninja Village against Konoha.

"Let's observe the situation for now." Onoki suppressed his impatience.

Although the Rock Ninja Village had fallen behind in terms of top young ninjas, their overall strength was still on par with Konoha's, as they had an army of over ten thousand ninjas.

Therefore, as long as the Rock Ninja Village seized the opportunity to strike down Konoha in this upcoming war, they wouldn't have to worry about Konoha surpassing them.

......

In the Cloud Ninja Village of the Lightning Country, the Fourth Raikage, Ay, looked at the news of the Youth Ninja Arts Tournament with disdain. "To dare call oneself the number one genius in the Ninja World after winning a single tournament hosted by their own village is truly arrogant and ignorant."

"If it weren't for the need to familiarize ourselves with the power of the tailed beasts, I would send you to teach them a lesson." The Fourth Raikage looked at Killer B, who was training.

Having become the new jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer B was restricted from leaving the village.

The Fourth Raikage didn't believe that anyone, be it Nagato, Might Guy, or Shisui, could defeat Killer B.

He had witnessed Killer B's growth first-hand, and in his eyes, Killer B even had the potential to surpass him.

"Hey, idiot! When you're training, shut your trap!"

The Fourth Raikage couldn't help but feel his eyelid twitch as Killer B continued to goof off during his training, and he delivered a punch to Killer B's head.

He felt that Killer B's current unpopularity in the Cloud Ninja Village had nothing to do with him being the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails; it was entirely because Killer B disrupted the peace with his rapping at all the wrong times.

"Even if you're my big brother, I won't give up my fabulous rhythm, yeah!" Killer B remained unwavering in his decision, even after being pummeled.

At that moment, Tsuchi entered the Fourth Raikage's line of sight.

"Please come with me to the meeting room in the Cloud Ninja Tower." Tsuchi said.

The Fourth Raikage nodded and followed Tsuchi to the tower without asking any questions.

Upon entering the room, the Fourth Raikage found his father, the Third Raikage, along with several other elite Cloud ninjas, already present.

"Alright, let's begin." The Third Raikage nodded and said, "Let's discuss which hidden village Cloud should focus its efforts on next. Share your thoughts."

Ever since the issue with the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Cloud had become less arrogant and more restrained compared to two years ago.

They were only in a standoff with Konoha, and the only village they had fought intensely with was Sand.

Logically, Cloud should have continued their attacks on Sand, but with the end of Sand's internal strife, it was no longer as easy to bully them as when the Third Kazekage had just disappeared.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason; their geographical location also played a part. It was quite a hassle for Cloud to fight Sand, as they had to pass through several small countries to get there.

When they had hoped to conquer Sand, they could ignore such issues, but now that Sand was becoming harder to defeat, various problems were gradually surfacing.

"The Rock Ninja Village would be a good choice. Our ninjas can take a ship directly to the east coast of the Rock Ninja Village, or they can choose to land in the northern part of the Waterfall Country and then enter the Earth Country." One of the Cloud ninjas suggested.

In fact, in terms of ninja marching speed, taking a ship wasn't necessarily faster than traveling by land, but sea transportation had the advantage of being direct, without the need to pass through any countries.

The more countries they had to pass through on their journey, the more likely they were to expose their intelligence or be ambushed.

"And according to the war situation between the Rock Ninja Village and Konoha, the Rock Ninja Village doesn't seem to be very strong, and there aren't many powerful ninjas worth worrying about."

Although the Cloud ninjas were known for their brute strength, they weren't actually brainless. They had always sent spies to collect war intelligence from the other villages.

"I think Konoha is the best choice." A bespectacled Cloud ninja spoke up.

"Konoha may seem strong on the surface, but they've suffered significant losses after several major wars. Although they've produced powerful ninjas like the Yellow Flash and Moony, their mid-to-low-level ninjas are definitely not as strong as they used to be."

"If we don't take this opportunity to crush Konoha, and give them a few years to recover their strength, Cloud might not be able to defeat them in the future."

"Why don't we try to cause trouble for the Mist Ninja Village instead? They even lost one of their jinchuriki."

The Fourth Raikage silently observed as the Cloud ninjas enthusiastically shared their opinions without saying a word himself.

He was only there to learn, as his father had asked him to be, and he usually kept quiet during such occasions.

After discussing for about three hours, the Third Raikage called an end to the meeting. "That's all for today. Meeting dismissed!"

Such important strategic decisions, whether at the level of a hidden village or an entire country, couldn't be made lightly, and the Third Raikage didn't have a clear idea yet.

They would definitely continue their attacks, as they hadn't been amassing power all this time for nothing.

However, deciding who to attack and how to do it was a significant challenge.

......

In the Fire Country, Konoha.

"I never expected the Ninja Sect to have such outstanding young ninjas. Even Might Guy and Kakashi didn't get first place." Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through the intelligence report on the Youth Ninja Arts Tournament and sighed with a hint of regret.

He really wanted to see the legendary Fire Dragon Dance.

After all, it was a fire-style jutsu that had suppressed Hanzo's water-style jutsu, and as a master of fire-style jutsu himself, he was naturally curious.

"However, our Konoha ninjas performed quite well overall." Hiruzen was satisfied with the results of the tournament.

Although Konoha didn't get first place, they secured the second to fourth-place rewards, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

But the greater gain from the tournament wasn't the rewards; it was the increase in the number of missions commissioned to Konoha.

While Nagato's strength was indeed astonishing, Konoha had displayed its profound foundation, with five out of the top eight ninjas being from Konoha.

"Asuma actually tied with Kakashi and made it to the top eight. I wonder if I should remind him not to get the idea that he's on par with Kakashi now." Hiruzen furrowed his brows in thought.

There were varying degrees of strength even among the top eight, and Kakashi only made it that far because he faced Might Guy. On the other hand, Asuma's placement seemed to have a bit of luck involved.

Thinking about exchanging insights on teaching disciples with Mu Yue, Hiruzen ultimately shook his head.

Asuma had gone through a lot of trouble to participate in the tournament in the Rain Country, so it would be better to let him relax for now.

Of course, to prevent Asuma from developing a false sense of confidence, some reminders would be necessary, but he could leave that for later and let Asuma enjoy his success for the time being.

While Hiruzen was in a good mood, Danzo's subordinate, Shimura Danzo, was feeling rather frustrated.

He had intended to stir up trouble during the Youth Ninja Arts Tournament, but Mu Yue's preparations were too thorough, leaving no openings for Root's forces in the Rain Country to exploit.

Shimura had no other choice but to sit and watch the intelligence reports come in. With the war ongoing, he didn't have many forces at his disposal, and the Ninja Sect wasn't an easy target that he could just brute force.

"Repulsion, attraction, absorption jutsu... These must be the abilities of the Rinnegan!" As he looked at the report on Nagato, Shimura's desire for the Rinnegan intensified.

In his opinion, Nagato's remarkable performance was entirely due to the Rinnegan, or else how could a mere youngster defeat Konoha ninjas?

Shimura was convinced that with his own strength, coupled with the power of the Rinnegan, even Hiruzen wouldn't be his match.

PS: This chapter is 6k words long. The author deliberated for a long time before deciding on Nagato's Pokemon choice.

I considered having him start with an Eevee that could evolve and then devolve, or a Froakie that could change forms, as Nagato has diverse chakra attributes. But in the end, I chose a mischievous Gengar to bring some joy to Nagato's otherwise serious team.

There's also a bit of a personal reason. A long time ago, I read a Pokemon fanfiction where the protagonist started with a Gengar, but unfortunately, that story was left unfinished...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end