Chapter 537: Charizard: I'll Bear the Bitterness for Obito
After Milotic's condition was stabilized, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito informed Mugetsu about the ambush.
"That person was Nagato's opponent in the top eight, the puppeteer who can control ten puppets at once. But he disguised himself during the match, so he didn't look the same when he attacked us," Kakashi reported, relaying all the intelligence he had gathered.
The other disciples all nodded. Even though they had not discussed it on the way back, Sasori had used the same puppets he revealed in the tournament, and combined with the fact that he could control ten puppets simultaneously, it was enough to identify him.
Puppeteers were already rare in the ninja world. Six Paths City was hosting a Martial Arts Tournament, not a puppeteer convention. There was no way a second ten puppet puppeteer just happened to be lurking nearby, and Sasori had also used the exact same puppets.
"I understand. I'll negotiate with the Shinobi Sect," Mugetsu said with a solemn nod.
Of course, it was only an act.
Mugetsu had already sent Nagato to handle the matter. Judging by the timing, Sasori was probably already unconscious and locked up by Nagato.
Back when he was in Konoha, Mugetsu still had to use Shadow Clones to keep an eye on his disciples and prevent accidents.
Now that they were in the Land of Rain, Mugetsu was naturally being even more careful. His Shadow Clone had already been waiting nearby while Sasori fought Kakashi and the others.
As long as Kakashi and the others truly couldn't handle the situation, Mugetsu's Shadow Clone would conveniently pass by and help them solve it.
However, although Kakashi and the others had not suddenly powered up themselves, their Pokémon had evolved, so Mugetsu never had to show himself.
"Mugetsu-sensei, do different Nin Beasts have different numbers of possible evolutions?" Kakashi asked after thinking for a moment.
Once everything had settled down, Kakashi recalled the differences between the evolutions of Charizard, Milotic, and Rockruff and realized there was a problem.
Although Milotic and Rockruff had only evolved once, their improvements were enormous. In contrast, the jump from Charmander to Charmeleon was clearly much smaller than the gains Milotic and Rockruff received.
Only the step from Charmeleon to Charizard felt comparable to the power increase of the others.
That made Kakashi wonder if perhaps Feebas to Milotic and Rockruff to Lycanroc were each one full stage, equivalent to Charmander going all the way to Charizard.
That would explain why Charizard evolved first. Compared to the others, that first evolution only felt like half an evolution.
Milotic and Rockruff's single evolutions were roughly equivalent to Charizard's two, which made Kakashi suspect that Milotic and Rockruff might not be able to evolve a second time like Charizard. Otherwise, Charizard would fall too far behind.
Since all of these Nin Beasts had been gifts from Mugetsu, Kakashi did not believe Mugetsu would deliberately hand Obito the worst one.
Mugetsu nodded and explained, "Just like different animals develop differently, your Nin Beasts aren't the same species, so there really are differences in how many times they can evolve."
Except for Obito's Charizard, the other disciples' Nin Beasts each only had one evolution.
"You can rest easy and raise them properly. Their potential is huge, and they still have plenty of room to grow," Mugetsu continued.
Given how the system localized things, Mugetsu even suspected that Mega Evolution might also have been localized, perhaps into some special Sage Mode that required absorbing natural energy.
As for those without Mega Evolution, they still had things like Z Moves or Dynamax. After localization, perhaps those too would end up being tied to natural energy in some way.
Even putting all of that aside, Charizard and the others had only just begun training. Their techniques were far from polished, none of their abilities had been deeply developed, they still hadn't learned much of Konoha's native Ninjutsu, and their bodies hadn't undergone any serious special training.
It was more than fair to say their futures were boundless.
From Mugetsu's point of view, even without Mega Evolution or any of those other systems, Charizard and the others could still grow into Kage level combatants after enough training.
As for reaching Super Kage level, they might need to develop some kind of Sage Mode.
All the disciples nodded. This crisis had already shown them the true value of their Nin Beasts. If Rockruff and Charizard hadn't evolved when they did, things could have ended very badly.
After dinner and a short rest to recover, Obito found himself in a dilemma.
He wanted to take Charizard to a training ground and test its new abilities, but he also had a strong feeling Charizard would use the chance to get revenge for what happened earlier that day.
Obito knew he had only pushed Charizard for its own good, but he suspected Charizard probably didn't understand that at all.
"The finals are tomorrow. If I can cooperate properly with Charizard, I might actually have a chance to win."
Thinking about tomorrow's battle, Obito's expression turned resolute.
At that moment, he was filled with a noble sense of self sacrifice, as if he were saying, If I don't enter hell, who will? He even felt like his whole soul had become more elevated.
Kakashi also wanted to test Lycanroc's abilities, so the two of them decided to head to the officially designated training ground in Six Paths City together.
As a ninja town, a training ground was obviously essential.
They hadn't used it before because they instinctively felt it was a bad idea to train inside another force's official facilities.
But after what happened with Sasori, Kakashi felt it was better to use the Shinobi Sect's designated training ground. At the very least, it was closer to the city.
Shisui, curious about the evolutions, tagged along. Rin also thought nighttime exercise sounded nice, so she came too.
This time, Mugetsu openly sent a Shadow Clone to accompany them as protection.
After all, since Sasori had already attacked them in broad daylight, there was no reason to keep things hidden anymore.
Once they arrived, Obito still felt there was a chance to smooth things over, so he turned to Charizard and said, "Charizard, I think I can explain what happened today."
Charizard crossed its arms, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Obito, clearly waiting to hear what kind of excuse he was about to come up with.
"Look, the other Nin Beasts either evolved once or haven't evolved at all. You're the only one who's evolved twice. Haven't you thought about why?"
Obito wore a smug expression.
At the moment, there were three evolved Nin Beasts in total, accounting for four evolutions altogether, and his single Pokémon had contributed two of them.
"Roar!"
Charizard puffed out its chest, raised its head, and spread its wings wide, trying its best to make itself look as tall and grand as possible.
"Of course it's because I'm incredibly talented," Zorua translated.
Obito's face instantly darkened.
Who did this shamelessness come from? Obviously, it was because of his excellent upbringing.
Obito forced himself into a thoughtful pose, carefully considering what to say next.
He had no choice. He still needed Charizard for tomorrow's finals. If he pissed it off now, there was a real chance it would just loaf around or even go to sleep during the match.
"I'm not denying your talent," Obito said first, laying the groundwork.
"What I mean is, Charizard, the fact that you were able to evolve twice also has something to do with the effort I put into raising you. The reason I deliberately provoked you today was because I wanted you to become stronger."
"So seeing you like this now makes me really happy. It means all my effort wasn't wasted."
Obito stroked a beard that didn't exist and wore the expression of a devoted parent, emphasizing his own hard work in every sentence.
They said a tiger wouldn't eat its cub. In Obito's mind, the reverse also made sense: a cub wouldn't eat its father.
Since he had raised Charizard from the egg, shouldn't that make him at least half a father? If Charizard understood how hard he had worked, then surely it would at least show some appreciation.
Whoosh!
[Fire Blast!]
Charizard's response was a thick jet of blazing fire.
Only then did Charizard remember that after evolving again, it had gotten distracted and forgotten to roast Obito for his earlier insults.
It had been too busy eating and resting. Now it was finally settling the score with that scoundrel.
Obito had already been on guard. He had quietly activated his Sharingan long before this, so the instant Charizard opened its mouth, he immediately dodged.
"Roar!"
Charizard's eyes burned with ferocity as it let out a long roar.
"Since you wanted me to grow stronger so badly, then keep fighting me," Zorua translated accurately.
Charizard nodded. This was the peace of mind that came with having a translator. Otherwise, Obito might twist its words and claim all kinds of nonsense.
At that moment, Charizard's anger was blazing.
The moment it evolved, Obito had immediately insulted it in front of Milotic and called it fat, even though its figure was clearly perfect.
Since Obito liked using the excuse of getting stronger to torment it, then it could use the exact same excuse to torment him in return.
No, not torment. It was helping Obito get stronger.
Obito was still near the bottom among the disciples. With its help, he would surely catch up soon.
By then, even if Obito didn't understand, Charizard wouldn't mind. Humans and dragons were simply too different to understand each other properly.
"Let Obito suffer a little. I'll bear the blame."
Charizard genuinely felt it was far too noble.
Obito had been cruel to it, yet it could still repay evil with kindness. What a magnificent dragon.
"I think we can understand each other and get stronger in a more civilized way," Obito suggested seriously.
"Roar!"
"He says, 'You're scared of a dragon that isn't even two years old. No wonder Rin thinks Kakashi is stronger.'"
Obito: ???
Obito stared at Charizard in disbelief. How could something with fire on its tail say something so cold?
That was utterly unforgivable.
"Since you're so stubborn, don't blame my Fire Release for being merciless," Obito said as he adjusted his goggles and sharpened his gaze.
Charizard could release Ninjutsu without hand signs, but he had mastered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, which let him do much the same.
Charizard merely turned its head away disdainfully.
It had spent most of its life outplaying Obito. It knew all of Obito's weaknesses far too well.
"This pair really are alike in more ways than one," Kakashi muttered from nearby, where he was testing Lycanroc's new abilities.
Although it was normal for a Nin Beast to resemble its contractor after being raised for a long time, Charizard was a bit too similar. Kakashi almost felt like he was looking at another Obito.
"Battle start!" Shisui called out as a temporary referee.
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a loud cry and immediately beat its wings, rising six or seven meters into the air.
If it flew too high, Obito wouldn't be able to hit it, but its own attacks would become easier to avoid too.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Since Charizard's intelligence in battle still wasn't fully clear, Obito opened with the most classic test move of all, Great Fireball Technique.
The moment he spat it out, he reached into his ninja pouch, drew several kunai, and tracked Charizard's movements with his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Charizard scoffed inwardly when it saw Obito trying to probe it with a slow move like Great Fireball Technique. It gave a single flap of its wings and immediately shifted sideways out of the way.
Whoosh whoosh!
Obito immediately gathered chakra into his hands, infused the kunai with Fire Release chakra, and threw them at Charizard in the sky.
Charizard could barely be bothered to dodge.
It condensed Wind Release chakra into its claws and casually swung several times.
[Wind Release: Air Blade!]
Boom!
The blades of wind sliced straight through the fire infused kunai, causing small explosions from the nature transformed chakra, yet the wind blades themselves kept going and cut toward Obito.
Whoosh!
Obito flashed away in the opposite direction, dodging the wind blades and opening more distance.
"So it learned Wind Release after evolving. The raw power isn't outrageous, but the release speed is very fast," Shisui noted inwardly, filing away the information.
In future internal sparring, everyone's Nin Beasts would obviously be involved, so it paid to remember as much as possible.
He glanced toward Zorua.
At present, only Zorua and Might Guy's Riolu had yet to evolve.
Still, Shisui wasn't in a hurry. Based on what they knew so far, the later a Nin Beast evolved, the more dramatic its increase in power seemed to be.
Charizard had been the first to evolve, yet it had later lost to Rockruff and clearly sat well below evolved Milotic and Lycanroc in strength.
Seeing Obito trying to run, Charizard beat its wings and gave chase.
[Fire Blast!]
A thick stream of high temperature flames burst from Charizard's mouth and smashed down toward the ground where Obito ran.
"Flying things are really annoying," Obito muttered.
Feeling the wave of heat pressing in from behind, he had no choice but to push his breathing to the limit, drop into a rough roll, and enter Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Obito gathered a massive amount of chakra in his throat. With the enhancement of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, it instantly transformed into Fire Release, and he spat out a vast stream of flames.
He condensed the flames into a concentrated torrent and sent it crashing into Charizard's fire.
The two streams collided violently, sparks bursting everywhere as the air around them hissed under the crushing heat.
When two jutsu of the same nature clash, it becomes the clearest measure of raw power. The one whose jutsu is overwhelmed first is the weaker side.
And Obito's flames were enhanced by Flame Breathing Chakra Mode. On top of that, he poured an enormous amount of chakra into the attack. Even though the unconvinced Charizard kept increasing its own output, it still couldn't prevent its flames from gradually being forced back.
Boom!
The compressed torrent of fire shot skyward and exploded after overwhelming Charizard's flames.
"I told you. My Fire Release doesn't show mercy," Obito said, unable to stop a triumphant grin from appearing.
No matter how many times Charizard evolved, he had still trained in Fire Release for years. There was no way he'd lose a straight firepower contest.
"Roar!"
Charizard roared and swooped down, its sharpened claws slashing toward Obito.
[Slash!]
Obito, still in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, refused to give ground. He condensed flames around his fist, layered Armament Haki over it, and punched straight into the attack without dodging.
That earlier exchange of Fire Release had given him confidence.
He had realized Charizard wasn't quite as overwhelmingly strong as he had feared. The reason it had driven Sasori back alongside Rockruff was because, in a group battle, its ability to fly made it very hard to deal with.
But this was one on one. No one was covering for Charizard, and with his Sharingan, it couldn't just swoop out of the sky and catch him by surprise.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out.
Charizard landed and took a step back. Obito slid backward two full meters.
"It's not huge, but its strength is definitely real," Obito thought as he shook his slightly numb hand.
Even though Charizard had trained for less time, its natural physical advantages meant its raw strength still far exceeded Obito's.
"But my flames aren't that easy to take."
Obito glanced at Charizard's claws.
This exchange, too, had gone his way. His palm was only a little numb, but Charizard's claws already showed faint signs of injury.
From there, man and dragon clashed again and again. Under the enhancement of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, Obito gradually took the upper hand.
At that point, Kakashi had finished testing Lycanroc's abilities and turned to watch Obito and Charizard.
"Obito's about to lose," Kakashi said after observing for a bit.
"But doesn't he look like he has the advantage right now?" Rin asked curiously.
Kakashi shook his head. "Charizard has a special trait. The worse its condition gets, the stronger it becomes."
"At this point, Obito has already consumed a huge amount of chakra, while Charizard is about to reach its strongest state. Unless something unexpected happens, Charizard wins."
If it were a normal Fire Release user, Obito would indeed win.
But Charizard clearly wasn't a normal Fire Release user.
The more Kakashi understood their Pokémon, the more he realized how terrifying their future potential really was.
Forget Charizard. Even Kakashi didn't dare say with full confidence that he could definitely beat Lycanroc.
Lycanroc was extremely fast and had excellent tools for both close and long range combat.
Most importantly, Lycanroc had more stamina than Kakashi. He absolutely couldn't outlast it in a drawn out battle.
If Lycanroc simply chose to wear him down, Kakashi knew he would lose.
As if to prove Kakashi right, the flames on Charizard's tail suddenly flared up far more violently.
Feeling the power surging through its body, Charizard looked at Obito and laughed wildly.
It had been waiting for this. What else was there to wait for?
[Fire Blast!]
Charizard opened its huge jaws, released a massive burst of chakra, and spewed the thickest, hottest jet of flame it had produced in its entire life.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Obito, whose senses were sharpened by Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, immediately recognized the danger. He condensed chakra again and released an enormous torrent of fire of his own.
Boom!
The two streams of fire collided.
The area around them was filled with rolling heat waves and flying sparks. The flames burned so fiercely that the surrounding air visibly warped, as if the whole field were shimmering in a sea of heat.
Even Kakashi and Shisui, watching from nearby, could feel the scorching pressure radiating outward. The wind itself seemed to weaken under the heat.
In the end, both torrents exhausted themselves completely and vanished together.
This time, Charizard's full power Fire Blast and Obito's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet ended in a draw.
"No big deal. Fire Dragon Flame Bullet isn't even my strongest Fire Release," Obito told himself.
Whoosh!
Charizard grinned and spat out another massive torrent of fire.
You blocked one. What about the second?
It could still fire off several more Fire Blasts. Could Obito really keep matching them with Fire Dragon Flame Bullet?
Obito wiped the hot sweat from his forehead and moved at high speed to dodge.
The previous exchanges had already drained a huge amount of his chakra. If he used another Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, he might be forced out of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode entirely.
[Heat Wave!]
Facing the retreating Obito, Charizard took in a deep breath and exhaled a blazing whirlwind laced with embers.
Then it immediately followed with Wind Release Air Blades, blocking off his angles of escape.
With nowhere left to dodge, Obito had no choice but to face the flames head on.
The two streams of fire collided again. But this time, Charizard's flames rapidly pushed through Obito's and surged toward him.
Obito immediately condensed chakra around his body, preparing to defend.
Since he could no longer overpower it, he could only try to reduce the damage.
Once Charizard's flames had suppressed over half of Obito's, Charizard eased off slightly. As a result, only part of the attack actually struck Obito's defensive chakra barrier.
He wasn't seriously hurt, but he was exhausted enough that the impact still sent him dropping to the ground.
"Roar."
At last, Charizard stood before the exhausted Obito, arms crossed, hot air puffing from its nostrils as it let out a contemptuous cry.
"It says, 'You're still too green to compare flames with me,'" Zorua translated.
Obito stared at Charizard with a face full of black lines.
Wasn't that exactly what he'd said earlier that morning? It learned too fast.
"If you had conserved your chakra better in the opening stages, you might actually have had a chance," Kakashi commented.
In terms of maximum output, Obito was still above Charizard. That much had been obvious from how he initially suppressed it.
"Maybe if I conserved chakra earlier, there wouldn't have been a later stage at all," Obito shot back irritably.
Kakashi was just talking from the safety of hindsight. Charizard was incredibly fierce. If he hadn't entered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode from the start, he would have been beaten badly.
Rin and Mugetsu were both watching. Didn't Obito have some dignity to maintain?
"Kakashi's only smart in a narrow way," Obito thought smugly.
He was playing a much bigger game.
Charizard had gotten a good fight tonight, which meant tomorrow afternoon it ought to work hard to help him claim first place.
By then, he would be the champion of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, while Kakashi would only be a mere quarterfinalist. They wouldn't even be operating on the same level anymore.
And the first place prize was Fire Dragon Dance, the strongest known Fire Release. Once he mastered that jutsu, his personal combat strength would rise even further above Kakashi's.
In Obito's mind, a broad and glorious road had opened before him.
Just as he was about to start discussing tactics for tomorrow with Charizard, he suddenly realized Charizard was no longer beside him.
Looking around, he found that at some point Charizard had wandered over to Milotic's side.
Obito was left speechless. He was the contractor. Anyone who saw this would assume both Milotic and Charizard belonged to Rin.
"Obito, let me heal you. It doesn't look too serious, but you still have a match tomorrow, so it's better to be careful," Rin said gently as she walked over.
"Hehe, thanks, Rin."
Obito gave an awkward smile, gave up on going after Charizard, and instead cooperated with Rin's treatment while trying to find conversation topics with her.
"Tomorrow, just do your best. Don't overthink it, and make sure you protect yourself," Rin reminded him.
Although Charizard was indeed powerful, Nagato's performance so far had simply been too overwhelming. Rin felt that even if Obito and Charizard fought together, victory would still be extremely difficult.
She worried Obito might push himself too hard chasing first place and end up seriously hurt, which was why she specifically reminded him.
Rin knew Obito liked to show off. While Mugetsu's teaching had made him far more rational than before, and he usually wouldn't recklessly hurt himself just to look cool, there was no harm in being cautious.
"Don't worry, Rin. I'll protect myself," Obito said with a nod.
After all, this was only a competition, not a desperate battle against a real enemy. Obito obviously wasn't going to risk his life.
That said, he still intended to do everything he could to defeat Nagato, not just for the ranking and the prize, but also to get revenge for Might Guy.
Might Guy had forced open the Sixth Gate and gotten badly hurt because he wanted to help Obito win first place. How could Obito ignore that kind of friendship?
…
The next afternoon, the finals of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament began on schedule.
Hanzo finally looked relaxed.
Even though he hadn't gotten to see Nagato defeated or Mugetsu forced into an awkward expression, the tournament was finally ending. At last he would be free and no longer have to keep facing Mugetsu and Kakuzu.
Mugetsu gave him mental pressure. Kakuzu gave him very real verbal pressure.
Hanzo hadn't slept well in days. In his dreams, either Mugetsu was calling on him during some endless lecture, or Kakuzu was arguing with him about money.
Inside the competitor's lounge, only Nagato and Obito remained.
Obito looked at Nagato while continuously reviewing every bit of information he knew about him.
At this moment, he was not fighting alone. Kakashi, Might Guy, and the others had already organized everything they had learned and explained it all to him.
"That repulsion based jutsu can be used instantly without hand signs, but it has a cooldown. And that cooldown is no more than eight seconds…"
By now, most of Nagato's cards had been revealed. Among the disciples, everyone agreed that the cooldown on Shinra Tensei was the most critical point.
Although Bansho Tenin was also strange, its direct combat value was still lower than Shinra Tensei.
For example, if Nagato ever used Bansho Tenin to pull Might Guy close, then Might Guy would have happily shown him exactly what muscles harder than rock felt like.
Although Nagato didn't look directly at Obito, he was quietly observing him through the corner of his eye.
He was extremely curious about the other disciples Mugetsu had raised.
"Youth Martial Arts Tournament Finals: Nagato versus Uchiha Obito!"
The referee's voice rang into the lounge.
.....
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