Chapter 515: Amazing Rewards
Once Rockruff had fully recovered, the final battle was about to begin.
"Even with your evolution advantage, Rockruff is cunning. Be extra careful," Obito reminded Charmeleon.
It was true Charmeleon had evolved, but it hatched much later than Rockruff. Rockruff had trained longer, mastered its own abilities more thoroughly, and even picked up Kakashi's Lightning Release chakra nature transformation.
"Char!" Charmeleon crossed his arms and exhaled a hot breath through his nostrils, carrying himself like a commanding general.
"He will win," Zorua translated.
Obito's face darkened. Why did that give him such a strong sense of deja vu, like he was seeing someone's shadow? Could it be Guy?
"Charmeleon versus Rockruff," Kakashi announced as the referee.
Charmeleon and Rockruff walked onto the field together. As the two Nin Beasts locked eyes, they could both see the same hunger for victory.
"If I lose to an unevolved Rockruff, that inherently evil Obito will definitely mock me without mercy," Charmeleon thought, his claws instinctively hardening.
"Kakashi has put so much effort into my training, and I was the first to hatch. I absolutely cannot lose," Rockruff vowed, gaze steady.
"Begin!"
The moment Kakashi's voice fell, both sides moved.
"Shadow Clone!"
While sprinting, Rockruff used chakra to create five illusory clones identical to itself. The six Rockruffs ran in tight formation, constantly swapping positions and weaving paths, making it hard to tell which was the real one.
Charmeleon originally planned to open with Smoke Screen to blur Rockruff's vision, but Rockruff's shadow clone tactic made it hesitate.
If it could not even identify the real Rockruff, would Smoke Screen do anything at all?
"Flash!"
Whoosh!
While Charmeleon was still weighing that question, Rockruff suddenly burst forward with chakra, accelerating straight at Charmeleon.
Bang!
Charmeleon failed to react in time and was knocked flat onto the ground.
"Rock Throw!"
Rockruff did not waste a second. It condensed chakra above Charmeleon, forming a huge boulder about one meter tall.
Charmeleon sensed the danger and rolled, barely dodging the falling rock, but the moment it steadied itself, a gust of fine sand blasted into its face.
Charmeleon instantly understood exactly what Riolu had felt in the previous battle.
Sand flooded its eyes. The discomfort was unbearable. Its eyelids spasmed as it blinked wildly, and tears blurred its vision even further.
Obito stared, stunned. He never expected Charmeleon, an evolved Nin Beast, to look completely helpless in the opening exchange.
"You inherently evil white furred puppy, you are seriously ruthless!" Obito wanted to forbid Rockruff from using sand.
That move was disgusting. It was basically the same as throwing a handful of lime into someone's eyes mid fight.
Kakashi's expression did not change.
In battle, winning mattered most, and this was precisely the tactic he had taught Rockruff.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Worried Rockruff would follow up, Charmeleon opened its mouth and spewed a wide stream of flames.
But Rockruff was prepared for it. It used Flash and slipped out of range before Charmeleon's fire could catch it.
"Woof!"
Rockruff did not immediately rush in again. It first let out a loud howl, gathering chakra to strengthen its overall chakra intensity.
Then it used Shadow Clone again and charged, clearly preparing to repeat the same rhythm and drag Charmeleon down a second time.
This time Charmeleon did not hesitate.
If it could not find the real body, it would just attack everything.
Charmeleon condensed a large amount of chakra in its mouth and unleashed a powerful burst of breath.
The two Rockruffs at the front dispersed instantly under the impact, turning to smoke.
"Rock!"
Rockruff immediately condensed chakra, performed nature transformation, and pulled up a small Earth Release wall from the ground to block itself.
Because it moved on all fours, hand seals were not convenient. It could not create a thick, tall Earth Release wall like Kakashi. It could only force up a small one through instinct and talent, but for the moment, it was enough.
The wall blocked Charmeleon's Dragon Breath, though clumps of dirt shook loose and crumbled away.
Charmeleon, still fighting through the pain in its eyes, surged forward. It poured all its strength into its right claw and smashed straight into the wall.
Bang!
Boom!!
The already damaged wall collapsed under Charmeleon's blow.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Charmeleon followed with flames. It believed Rockruff would never expect it to break through that fast and that violently.
The Rockruffs behind the wall, just as Charmeleon anticipated, did not escape in time. Every one of them was swallowed by fire.
Charmeleon's mouth curled into a grin, as if victory was already in its hands.
Obito, however, covered his face.
If an Earth Release user suddenly disappeared from your sight, the first thing you should consider is whether they burrowed underground to flank you.
Bang! Bang!
Then something Charmeleon never expected happened.
Every Rockruff that had been hit by the flames turned into smoke and vanished. Not one remained.
Charmeleon froze, dumbfounded.
What was going on? Did it kill Rockruff? It only wanted to win the match.
Then it noticed something else.
A shadow fell a little ahead of it.
Charmeleon instinctively looked up.
A rock had already formed in the sky.
A hard shove hit its body from behind. Charmeleon stumbled forward, and the falling rock smashed down onto it, pinning it and knocking it flat.
"Rock!"
Rockruff lifted its head proudly and glanced toward Kakashi.
Kakashi gave a small nod in response.
Rockruff had applied the tactics he taught perfectly. Charmeleon had been pulled almost entirely into Rockruff's rhythm, unable to properly unleash its full strength.
Rockruff looked at Charmeleon trapped under the boulder.
Kakashi had warned it many times not to celebrate too early. Only a true victory counted.
Charmeleon's expression twisted as if it were in intense pain, like it could no longer fight at all.
"Charmeleon evolved once, so why is its body so much weaker than Riolu's?" Obito muttered, confused.
Riolu, even when disrupted, could shatter Rockruff's rock with one punch. Charmeleon looked like it was about to die after one hit.
"I'll buy him something good later to comfort him," Obito thought.
Losing while being one evolution ahead was brutal. Obito understood that feeling better than anyone.
He used to have superior raw strength, yet because of carelessness, he had been defeated by other disciples. In that moment of defeat, you questioned your whole existence.
"I cannot fall. I cannot let that Obito look down on me!" Charmeleon roared inside its heart.
Whoosh!
The flame on Charmeleon's tail suddenly flared, burning ferociously. It doubled in size.
In that instant, Charmeleon felt power surge through its entire body.
Rockruff sensed the danger and tried to finish it, but it was a step too slow.
Boom!
Charmeleon erupted upward, shoving the boulder aside. It sprang to its feet and blasted a wave of orange red flames at Rockruff.
Obito stared, shocked.
He did not expect Charmeleon to explode with power after being pushed to the edge, just like Kakashi did when things got dire.
"Did he actually win?" Obito was stunned.
He had already decided what to buy to cheer Charmeleon up.
Rockruff's body had nearly collapsed after taking Riolu's single strike. It should not have been able to withstand Charmeleon's fierce flames.
Bang!
Rockruff, body slightly charred, burst out of the fire anyway and slammed into the fire breathing Charmeleon, tackling it to the ground.
Obito:???
Did Rockruff hide its strength last time?
Why was it a weak little puppy against Riolu, but a mighty iron dog against Charmeleon?
Not only Obito, even Kakashi looked surprised. He did not expect Rockruff to endure Charmeleon's flames and still knock it down.
Once Charmeleon was pinned, Rockruff did not hold back. It condensed chakra and bit down, completely incapacitating Charmeleon.
"Charmeleon is unable to battle. Rockruff wins," Kakashi said after checking Charmeleon's condition for a moment.
Rin treated the lightly injured Rockruff, while Mugetsu treated Charmeleon.
"You are really amazing, Kakashi. I feel like you are extremely good at training Nin Beasts," Rin said while working on Rockruff.
Compared to Charmeleon, Rockruff's fighting style looked far more like a shinobi. It used every ability efficiently and layered tactics on top of tactics.
"It is fine. Rockruff also worked hard enough," Kakashi replied, gently grooming its fur.
If all the credit went to him, Kakashi felt that would be unreasonable. If it were a different Nin Beast, he was not confident he could train it into something like Rockruff.
"Rock." Rockruff happily stuck out its tongue and licked Kakashi's palm.
Charmeleon, the loser, kept its eyes tightly shut, as if it had fainted.
In truth, it was still awake.
It simply felt it would be safer to pretend to collapse. Even the inherently evil Obito would not scold someone who had passed out, right?
"Teacher Mugetsu." Obito walked over to Mugetsu as he treated Charmeleon, eyes lingering on the defeated Nin Beast.
Hearing that familiar voice, Charmeleon stayed outwardly calm, but its heart skipped.
"Is Charmeleon alright?" Obito asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "His body seems a bit weak, not like Riolu and the others."
Charmeleon: …
For a moment, it truly could not tell whether Obito was mocking it or worrying about it.
"It is not that Charmeleon's body is weak," Mugetsu explained. "It is that its chakra is being countered, so it has trouble withstanding Rockruff's attacks."
Charmeleon facing Rockruff was indeed a terrible matchup.
Right now Charmeleon only had two ways to attack: fire and normal type moves. In the Pokemon rules, both did reduced damage to rock type.
Reality was not a game with fixed numbers, but when the raw power gap was not overwhelming, the difference was obvious.
"Huh?" Obito was confused.
He knew chakra nature transformation had counter relationships, but chakra itself could have counters too?
"Charmeleon cannot deal with Earth Release?" Obito asked, focusing on what he cared about most.
Mugetsu shook his head.
What truly injured Charmeleon was Rockruff's own special chakra after localization, not Earth Release chakra nature transformation.
Obito exhaled in relief.
As long as Charmeleon was not countered by every Earth Release shinobi, it was fine.
"No, then why is my Charmeleon being countered?" Obito suddenly realized a more serious problem.
If Charmeleon was countered by Rockruff, did that mean Charmeleon would be suppressed by Rockruff forever?
"Is Rockruff's chakra countered by Riolu?" Kakashi asked, thinking back to the earlier match.
Compared to the Charmeleon fight, Rockruff versus Riolu had been thrilling.
Mugetsu nodded.
Riolu's fighting type and steel type moves both countered Rockruff's rock type.
"Where do Nin Beasts like Rockruff even come from?" Kakashi asked, deeply curious.
If only special chakra had special effects, yet every Nin Beast they had possessed special chakra, could it still be called special?
"Teacher Mugetsu, who does Charmeleon counter?" Obito could not help asking.
Rockruff countered Charmeleon. Rockruff was countered by Riolu. Then Charmeleon should at least have someone it countered too.
"Not currently," Mugetsu answered with a shake of his head.
If Charmeleon evolved into Charizard and Riolu evolved into Lucario, then Charizard's flames could counter Lucario.
But as things stood, Charmeleon truly had no one it countered.
Obito: …
So everyone else countered someone, but when it came to you, you were just useless and only got countered?
Obito forced himself to calm down by remembering that Charmeleon naturally possessed Fire Release.
Fire Release was the most common of all.
If it was Fire Release, then being ordinary was normal.
Charmeleon felt a chill run through it.
What was wrong with this world? Why was it so unfriendly to dragons?
"It is miserable," Obito sighed. "Buy it more food lately. Let it eat more and grow stronger."
For no reason at all, Obito empathized with Charmeleon.
Charmeleon was only countered and could not counter anything, while Obito himself had no skills like Golden Skyline or No Thought Strike to learn.
Charmeleon opened its eyes and stared at Obito in disbelief.
Was it possible the inherently evil Obito could say something that sounded human?
Had it actually been knocked out and slipped into a dream?
For a moment, Charmeleon felt guilty.
Maybe it really should rein in its temper and try to get along with Obito.
"Translator, I am sorry. I will not attend tonight's meeting to prank Obito," Charmeleon gave Zorua an apologetic look.
Zorua was a good friend, but Obito was the contractor.
"I even read a book," Obito continued. "Eating more and training more will make you stronger and more durable. Training without eating is not good."
Charmeleon went numb.
Now it understood why Obito was suddenly so kind.
He was setting it up. After it ate, Obito would secretly use the Sharingan to hypnotize it into training more.
"My eyes cramped earlier. I will attend the meeting as usual tonight," Charmeleon signaled Zorua again with its eyes, then quickly shut them.
Contractor?
A contractor is a hammer.
You had to swing that hammer hard at inherently evil Uchiha brats like Obito.
…
Land of Rain.
Six Paths City, still under construction.
Kitsuchi arrived to probe the Shinobi Sect's intentions on Ōnoki's orders.
Because Kitsuchi had served as the intermediary for cooperation between the Shinobi Sect and the Rain shinobi, and had also attended the unrestricted lectures, the Shinobi Sect shinobi had a good impression of him and the other Iwagakure shinobi.
Kitsuchi quickly succeeded in meeting the Shinobi Sect's higher ups.
"The Shinobi Sect should be accepting missions now, right?" Kitsuchi asked.
"That depends on the type of mission and the exact commission," Kakuzu replied.
The Shinobi Sect was preparing to hold a competition to earn big money. Its priority was clearly the construction of Six Paths City and stabilizing the eastern region.
Other Shinobi Sect members might think well of Kitsuchi for promoting peace in the Land of Rain, but Kakuzu knew Iwagakure had its own motives. He was not going to give any favors. Everything would be handled officially.
"Iwagakure wants to commission the Shinobi Sect," Kitsuchi said. "More accurately, we want to commission the leader to train some shinobi for us."
Kakuzu paused, slightly stunned, then secretly thought that a fat sheep had walked right into their pen.
With Ninja Master Sōsuke's current prestige in the shinobi world, a mission specifically for him?
Would it even be appropriate to make such a request without putting up several million, or even tens of millions?
Even though Kakuzu already saw Kitsuchi as a walking ATM in his heart, his face remained calm.
"What exactly does Iwagakure mean?" Kakuzu said sternly. "Our leader is a top tier expert known throughout the shinobi world, capable of easily defeating even the Demigod Hanzo. You want someone so powerful and so busy to train your shinobi?"
Anyone perceptive could hear it. Kakuzu sounded strict, but every word between the lines screamed for more money.
Unfortunately, Kitsuchi was straightforward to the point of being blunt. He took it at face value and immediately apologized.
"Sorry for disturbing you."
Kakuzu stared at him, baffled.
What was happening? Why was he not playing by the rules?
Fortunately, Ōnoki had anticipated this.
The Iwagakure jōnin behind Kitsuchi stepped forward right away.
"Lord Kitsuchi means I will handle communication from now on."
Kitsuchi nodded. Ōnoki had indeed mentioned this before they left.
"Iwagakure has come with great sincerity this time," the jōnin said. "Considering the Shinobi Sect's current difficulties, if the Shinobi Sect is willing to cooperate, Iwagakure will help the Shinobi Sect establish a base."
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed slightly.
The underlying message was simple. They were not short on money. As long as the Shinobi Sect agreed, everything could be discussed.
Of course, Kakuzu did not believe in promises alone. Anything said could be taken back later.
"I need to consult the leader," Kakuzu said.
He did not probe Iwagakure's bottom line yet. Instead, he planned to discuss it with Mugetsu and see what Mugetsu thought.
Kakuzu could not accept this commission on his own. That would be crossing the line. Mugetsu was the Shinobi Sect's leader.
"Helping with training is fine," Mugetsu replied after thinking for a moment. "But all expenses must be covered by Iwagakure. You can decide the exact training fee yourself."
The Shinobi Sect was short handed, so Iwagakure helping would be beneficial. The shinobi who came to train could also assist with construction, and Earth Release shinobi should be especially useful for infrastructure work.
In any case, Mugetsu likely would not teach Iwagakure anything truly special. At most, he would help them build a solid foundation like a large class lecture. That foundation would not translate into a massive short term boost.
After answering Kakuzu, Mugetsu continued thinking about the Youth Martial Arts Tournament plan.
The first place prize was already a strong hook.
Fire Dragon Dance, Ninja Master Sōsuke's famous technique.
But the second through fourth place prizes also had to be attractive. Not everyone could realistically aim for first place.
Mugetsu's own Super Exploding Water Shockwave was an S rank Water Release technique, but because Mugetsu had used it personally, it could not be used as a prize without risking exposure of his alias.
Even if he did use it, he would need to develop it further first.
The technique had been designed for Water Breathing Chakra Mode. Without that mode, only Water Release specialists like Tobirama might be able to learn it.
After thinking, Mugetsu wrote down the second place prize.
Custom Ninjutsu Development.
If someone took second, they would receive a personally tailored technique developed by the Ninja Master, which was an enormous draw.
For Mugetsu, who possessed deep ninjutsu knowledge, developing techniques was not hard. The difficulty was developing something truly powerful.
For a technique like Rasengan, what mattered most was not foundation, but a sudden flash of inspiration.
Next, Mugetsu wrote the third and fourth prizes.
Third place: Ninja Master's handwritten training notes.
Fourth place: A chakra blade worth ten million ryō.
The ore Mugetsu obtained in the Land of Snow had not been used yet. He planned to forge it into a blade and use it as the prize.
Once the top four prizes were finalized, Mugetsu released the news.
This time, he did not even deliberately promote it.
Because the unrestricted lectures had already built momentum, and because the prizes were genuinely tempting, newspapers across many countries reported it. The term Youth Martial Arts Tournament instantly became a hot topic throughout the shinobi world.
Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire heard the news.
Curious, he asked his shinobi guards what made the top four prizes special. To him, they sounded ordinary.
The guards explained carefully, one by one.
"Fire Dragon Dance now has the reputation of being the strongest Fire Release ninjutsu in the shinobi world. Every shinobi who trains Fire Release longs to see it."
"Ninja Master Sōsuke is proficient in seven chakra nature transformations, and his ninjutsu foundation is profound. If he develops a technique specifically for someone, it will definitely be excellent."
"Ninja Master Sōsuke stands among the current pinnacles of the shinobi world. His training insights are naturally precious."
"Ten million ryō may not seem like much to you, Lord Daimyo, but it is enough to issue ten S rank missions in Konoha."
"The strongest Fire Release," the Daimyo repeated, eyes bright with interest. "That sounds impressive. Many shinobi should participate."
He did not practice ninjutsu, but the word strongest was enough for him to understand what kind of value Fire Dragon Dance carried.
The shinobi guard nodded. With prizes like these, it was hard not to be tempted.
"Contact the Hokage of Konoha," the Daimyo ordered.
He wanted to know whether Konoha would send participants.
He even wanted to go watch the tournament himself.
One of the Daimyo's few hobbies was watching shinobi battles. The stronger the shinobi, the more spectacular the fight.
Even if he could not follow the movements clearly, the clash of ninjutsu was always thrilling.
When Hiruzen received the Daimyo's message, he immediately reviewed Konoha's shinobi under eighteen in his mind.
After thinking, he realized Mugetsu's disciples were unexpectedly the strongest.
Kakashi, Obito, and Guy were only eleven.
Shisui was only nine.
Yet they were already the strongest group under eighteen in the village.
If time could rewind three years, Hiruzen would have been celebrating already.
Three years ago, Minato and Mugetsu both met the age requirement. With a little luck, they could have swept the top two.
Hiruzen himself was interested in Fire Dragon Dance, and now the Daimyo was interested as well. Hiruzen did not mind earning some extra money from the Daimyo while he was at it.
After identifying a few other young talents, Hiruzen ordered shinobi to notify them.
As for Obito and the others, since they were Mugetsu's disciples, Hiruzen directly notified Mugetsu and asked him to inquire about their intentions.
"Youth Martial Arts Tournament," Obito repeated, intrigued. "Will there be a lot of participants? What are the prizes?"
Obito enjoyed competitions, but he had standards.
He needed either a good ranking, Rin nearby, or prizes worth fighting for.
"It is very likely there will be many," Mugetsu replied, handing him a scroll. "All prizes are listed here."
Before Obito could even start reading, Kakashi spoke first.
"First prize is a powerful Fire Release called Fire Dragon Dance."
Kakashi liked keeping up with current events, so he had already heard a bit about the Shinobi Sect and this tournament.
The moment Obito heard Fire Release, his expression changed.
"How strong is strong?" he asked immediately.
He desperately needed a powerful Fire Release.
The Fire Release he currently had was enough for ordinary fights, but it was not enough for internal battles.
"I have not seen it," Kakashi admitted, then glanced at Mugetsu. "But many people believe it is the strongest Fire Release."
Kakashi also felt Mugetsu's Fire Release was extremely strong, possibly not inferior to Sōsuke's.
"Teacher Mugetsu, do you know about Fire Dragon Dance?" Obito immediately asked, treating Mugetsu like he was omniscient.
"It should be very strong," Mugetsu replied after a brief pause.
Fire Dragon Dance was certainly powerful, but even if Obito won it, it would not help right now. He still could not use it.
If Obito could use it, Mugetsu would have taught it long ago. At worst, the first prize could be swapped for a different technique.
When Mugetsu said strong, Obito knew he had to go.
If Mugetsu acknowledged its strength, the value was absurd.
Obito read further, then his eyes lit up.
"What, it is restricted to eighteen years old?" he said, practically glowing. "Is this tailor made for us!"
Since graduating, outside of sparring among disciples, Obito had been instantly crushing his peers.
Anyone worth fighting was usually in their twenties or thirties.
"It seems there is nothing I need," Guy said after leaning over to look, scratching his head.
He did not learn ninjutsu, so first and second prizes were useless to him. As for training notes, he had Mugetsu. Why would he need someone else's notes?
Only the ten million ryō chakra blade was useful, and even then, it was useful because it could be sold.
"I think it is better if we all participate together," Shisui suggested. "If you are not satisfied with your prize, we can swap."
Right now, Guy was clearly the strongest overall. Shisui felt that if Guy entered, first place was basically guaranteed.
"Shisui makes sense!" Obito immediately agreed.
Even if he could not get first place with Guy participating, the Fire Release technique would be secured.
Obito did not believe there was any underage shinobi in the entire shinobi world who was stronger than Guy right now.
...
[TL: Check out my newly Released fanfic]
[TITLE: Starting in One Piece with Vector Manipulation]