Chapter 527: Obito's Strength Crisis
After dinner and a short rest, Rin prepared to find an open area to test Lil Beauty's new abilities.
Only by understanding each other's skills could they bring out real combat power when fighting together.
Several of the disciples were fascinated by how well Lil Beauty performed in battle and wanted to watch. After discussing it for a while, they decided to go together. Those who were curious could observe, and those who were not could train nearby. Training as a group was better than isolating themselves.
To prevent accidents, Mugetsu secretly sent a Shadow Clone to follow.
Six Paths City was still only the size of a small town, and most of the surrounding land was wasteland. Rin quickly found a quiet, uninhabited area.
"Summoning Technique!"
Rin formed hand seals and pressed her palm to the ground.
Bang!
White smoke burst out, and a slender, milky white figure appeared.
"Awoo."
Lil Beauty lowered her head affectionately and rubbed against Rin's body.
Rin smiled and stroked Lil Beauty's head in return.
"So big," Obito blurted out.
They were used to Ninja Beasts like Charmeleon and Rockruff, whose bodies were smaller than theirs. Seeing Lil Beauty, who was over six meters long, gave them the sensation of standing before a colossal creature.
"Summoning Technique!"
The others also summoned their Ninja Beasts.
Charmeleon had just finished eating and had been resting comfortably in the warm nest Grandma had made for him. Suddenly being summoned out, he saw Obito, and his fists hardened on instinct.
Obito stared at Lil Beauty, then back at Charmeleon, and sighed.
"Look at Lil Beauty, then look at you. Why can't you grow bigger?"
Charmeleon wanted to curse him into next week. Was height something he could decide?
Still, he turned his head to look where Obito was pointing. He wanted to see how tall Lil Beauty really was now.
"Holy moly, where did this big beauty come from?" Zorua's voice echoed in everyone's minds.
Charmeleon agreed wholeheartedly and gave Zorua a thumbs up. As expected of a translator, the taste was impeccable.
Charmeleon ignored Obito and jogged over to Lil Beauty, greeting her with enthusiasm.
"Char."
Compared to a nonhuman contractor, meeting a beauty was obviously more important.
"Beauty, have we met somewhere before?" Zorua translated.
Then Zorua's eyes turned disdainful.
"Who understands, my family? Why is Charmeleon so Obito today?"
Obito froze.
What did that have to do with him. Since when did he become an adjective?
Slap.
Shisui tapped Zorua squarely on the forehead.
"Where did you learn such weird words?"
Zorua chuckled, said nothing, and tried to bluff his way through.
Lil Beauty nodded.
They really had met before. Back then, she had still been Feebas.
"Lil Beauty, let's train. Use everything you can right now," Rin said, ready to get serious.
"Awoo."
Lil Beauty let out a clear cry, signaling everyone to step back so they would not be caught in stray attacks.
Charmeleon still wanted to chat, but Lil Beauty completely ignored him. Left with no choice, Charmeleon retreated, his tail drooping slightly in silent disappointment.
Seeing the ability test begin, Kakashi shifted his attention away from Rockruff and focused on Lil Beauty.
The others did the same.
"Twister."
Lil Beauty tensed her body, released chakra, and swung her tail. A powerful wind swept across the area, and a five to six meter whirlwind formed in an instant, toppling several large trees in front of her.
"Water Pulse."
Next, Lil Beauty opened her mouth, condensed chakra, performed Water Release chakra nature transformation, and fired a basketball sized water sphere into the ground.
Boom.
A violent explosion erupted. A crater opened up, mud and stone sprayed outward, water droplets scattered, and gray mist rose.
"That Water Release isn't ordinary," Kakashi thought.
The water sphere looked small, but it clearly used a special technique. The actual power was frightening.
Whoosh.
Lil Beauty darted to a thick tree and wrapped her slender body around it.
Crack.
The tree snapped into several broken segments instantly.
"Aqua Tail."
Lil Beauty landed, condensed chakra on her tail, then slammed it down.
Rumble.
A deep roar shook the ground. The impact point collapsed into a pit, and thick cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.
"If I hadn't dodged that during the match, even with Armament Haki, it would have been hard," Kakashi judged quietly.
Armament Haki had strong defense, but it did not make a person invulnerable.
"Charm."
Lil Beauty turned toward Charmeleon, tilted her head, and winked. Pink light shimmered around her body.
"Char."
Pink heart shapes appeared in Charmeleon's eyes, and he began to walk toward Lil Beauty in a daze.
"No, what kind of jutsu is that?" Obito stared at Charmeleon's empty expression, dumbfounded.
"Probably genjutsu," Kakashi answered, still not fully certain.
Obito could not bear it. He rushed over, grabbed Charmeleon's head, and shook him hard. It was too embarrassing.
"Awoo."
Charmeleon snapped awake and let out an angry roar, glaring at Obito with pure dissatisfaction.
It was already bad enough that he was unbearable most days. Now he even had to interrupt him while he was admiring a beauty.
Whoosh.
Obito entered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode. His chakra erupted, fierce flames wrapping his body as he stared down Charmeleon in silence.
He felt Charmeleon was starting to forget who was in charge.
"Char."
Charmeleon's cry immediately softened, and he calmed down at once.
He was still a young dragon that had not fully grown. He could not beat Obito, this evil Uchiha brat.
When he became a complete dragon, he would definitely make Obito understand what dragon dignity was.
"Life Dew."
Lil Beauty continued to demonstrate her skills, forming a blue green water sphere and sending it toward Rin.
The sphere burst in midair, and blue green droplets fell over Rin and the others.
The droplets carried a soothing healing power. Charmeleon felt refreshed, body and mind, and even Obito seemed less annoying for a moment.
Charmeleon could not help looking back at Lil Beauty again.
This was not a beauty. This was a goddess.
"Awoo." Lil Beauty looked at Rin and cried clearly.
"She says there are two more moves. They're more intuitive in battle," Zorua translated.
Kakashi's interest sharpened. If Lil Beauty said that, the next two moves had to be battle oriented.
Everything Lil Beauty had used in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament had already been shown. Kakashi was curious what these two were, and why she had not used them during the match.
"Oh, I see. Then" Rin prepared to step forward and spar with Lil Beauty.
"Rin, you can't. It has to be someone else," Zorua continued translating.
Obito was about to volunteer, but someone moved faster.
Or rather, some beast moved faster.
"Char."
Charmeleon stepped forward, volunteering with confidence.
He wanted to improve his relationship with Lil Beauty.
Obito covered his face. He could not understand where Charmeleon got the confidence to fight Lil Beauty. This looked like volunteering for humiliation.
But he could not persuade the excited Charmeleon at all.
"Battle start!" Rin, acting as a temporary referee, called out.
Charmeleon did not want to damage Lil Beauty's perfect body, so he did not use his strongest flames. Instead, he strengthened his claws with chakra and slashed at Lil Beauty.
Lil Beauty had no such hesitation. She treated it like a normal battle, condensed chakra on her tail, and swung, a stream of water riding the strike.
Bang.
Charmeleon flew backward and slammed heavily into the ground. His eyes became spirals as he lay there dazed.
"He's too weak. Can someone stronger come?" Zorua translated, sounding faintly reluctant.
Obito's mouth twitched. He thought it was better that Charmeleon passed out. If he were still awake, he might be even more heartbroken.
Just as Obito was speechless, Might Guy stepped forward, his bright teeth flashing as he laughed loudly.
"In that case, I'll do it. I want to experience an opponent who made Kakashi struggle!"
Obito could only swallow the words he was about to say.
"Battle start!"
The moment Rin spoke, Might Guy opened the Fourth Gate and charged Lil Beauty.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
He chose his classic opening kick.
The technique was simple, but with his strength and the Eight Gates chakra, its power was anything but small.
"Aqua Ring."
Lil Beauty did not dodge. She condensed chakra around her body, forming a curtain of water that clung to her skin and made her glow with a deep blue sheen.
Thud.
Lil Beauty's slender body was knocked back and slammed into the ground, leaving scratches across her milky white skin.
Might Guy's kick did not do too much damage. Lil Beauty sprang back up and immediately fired a water pillar at him.
Whoosh.
Might Guy burst chakra, his figure flickering as he dodged, then kicked again, another Leaf Whirlwind aimed at Lil Beauty.
This time, Lil Beauty condensed chakra on her tail and swung to meet it.
Bang.
A dull collision echoed. Both of them slid back several steps.
Then the water curtain on Lil Beauty's body glowed, and every scratch vanished, restoring her skin as if it had never been harmed.
"So that's it," Kakashi thought, surprised.
Now he understood why Lil Beauty did not use this move during the match. Kakashi had not attacked Lil Beauty much. Without injury, there was nothing to heal.
"Don't worry about hurting me. Use your full power," Zorua translated Lil Beauty's words again.
Might Guy immediately focused his breathing and entered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode. Since Lil Beauty said so, he would not hold back.
"Morning Peacock!"
Might Guy pushed his breathing to the limit. With Rock Breathing Chakra Mode burning through him, his Fourth Gate strength climbed to its peak.
He rushed in, then unleashed a storm of punches, each strike so fast it blurred.
At that speed, friction ignited the air. The flames formed in rapid clusters, crashing into Lil Beauty again and again.
Countless fire bursts bloomed at once, like a fiery peacock spreading its tail, dazzling and brilliant.
For Lil Beauty, being the target of all those flames was far less pleasant.
She spat a thick water pillar to block, but the fire bursts were too many. She could not intercept even half.
Boom. Boom.
One fist sized fireball after another slammed into her, engulfing her in fire.
Rin could not help worrying. She gathered chakra, ready to heal Lil Beauty.
At the same time, she silently hoped Lil Beauty would be more careful in the future.
Telling Might Guy to go all out was far too sharp. Even Obito would not dare say that.
When the flames faded, Lil Beauty's figure reappeared. Burn marks and blood red injuries streaked her milky white skin.
Rin was about to stop the fight and treat her.
But Lil Beauty's entire body suddenly glowed green.
The burned layer peeled away. The wounds closed. Not a single scar remained.
She looked as if nothing had happened.
"I understand now," Kakashi realized why Lil Beauty said these two moves were best demonstrated in battle.
One move automatically repaired the body, but the healing was moderate.
The other was overwhelming, able to restore severe injuries back to perfect condition, but it consumed a huge amount of chakra.
Kakashi could only feel grateful for his own caution.
If he had chosen not to target Rin and instead fought Lil Beauty directly in the match, his chakra might have been depleted first.
Lil Beauty was like a super version of Rin. She could heal and fight at the same time.
Obito wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
A serious realization hit him.
Charmeleon could not beat Lil Beauty.
And it looked like he himself might not be able to beat Lil Beauty either.
Lil Beauty countered his Fire Release, and she could heal herself endlessly.
Obito could not think of a clean path to victory.
"I'll ask Teacher Mugetsu whether specializing in Breathing Techniques can quickly unlock the corresponding Breathing Technique Chakra Mode," Obito fell into thought.
He did not want to be stuck in a subordinate role forever.
He wanted to switch paths.
…
The next day, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament continued with the remaining matches.
Only eight contestants remained in the lounge now.
Kakashi and the others sat together, speaking quietly. Asuma occasionally joined in, since he was fairly familiar with them.
Nagato, Sasori, and Mei sat farther away with their eyes closed, resting as they waited for the next battle.
"Number one, Nagato, versus number eight, Hashori," the referee's voice echoed into the lounge.
Nagato opened his eyes and walked toward the door with a calm expression. Whoever his opponent was, he intended to win.
Sasori also opened his eyes and rose, his expression indifferent as he headed for the arena.
Not for the reward.
To stay in the lounge longer and keep observing Kakashi, he had to win this match.
.....
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