After the issues with Milotic were resolved, Kakashi, Nohara Rin, and Obito informed Mokgetsu about the ambush.
"That person is the opponent Nagato faced in the quarterfinals, the Puppet Master who can control ten puppets. However, during the competition, he disguised himself and looked different from when he attacked us," Kakashi reported all the information he had observed to Mokgetsu.
The remaining disciples nodded. Although they had swiftly rushed back without communicating, Sasori had brought out the puppets he used in the competition. Coupled with the trait of controlling ten puppets simultaneously, it was basically possible to pinpoint the culprit.
Puppet Masters in the Ninja World are scarce, and Six Paths City is where the Martial Arts Tournament and Puppet Masters Contest are held. There couldn't possibly be another Puppet Master nearby who could control ten puppets, and Sasori had similar puppets.
"I understand, I will negotiate with the Ninja Sect," Mokgetsu nodded solemnly.
Of course, this was just a façade.
Because Mokgetsu had already sent Nagato to resolve the situation, by now, Sasori might have already been knocked unconscious and captured by Nagato.
Back in Konoha, Mokgetsu often had to use Shadow Clones to keep an eye on the disciples to prevent accidents.
Now in the Land of Rain, Mokgetsu would naturally be more cautious. When Sasori fought Kakashi and his team, Mokgetsu's Shadow Clone was constantly lurking nearby, waiting for the right moment to act.
If Kakashi and the others truly couldn't handle it, and were unable to respond, Mokgetsu's Shadow Clone would conveniently step in to help solve the problem.
However, even though Kakashi and his team didn't turn the tables, their Pokémon underwent a wave of evolution, so Mokgetsu did not intervene.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, do different Ninja Beasts have different numbers of possible evolutions?" Kakashi asked after pondering a while.
Once things settled down, Kakashi reflected on the differing evolutions between Charizard, Milotic, and Lycanroc, and discovered an issue.
Though Milotic and Lycanroc both had only one evolution, the increase was substantial, while the evolution from Charmander to Charmeleon was noticeably smaller compared to Milotic and Lycanroc.
Only the transition from Charmeleon to Charizard matched the power increase of other Pokémon evolutions.
So Kakashi wondered if there might be a possibility that Feebas to Milotic and Rockruff to Lycanroc, and Charmander to Charizard, were on the same evolutionary scale.
Even though Charizard had an extra evolution, the overall increase in strength wasn't substantially different.
This made the first evolution of Charizard understandable, because compared to other Pokémon, that evolution could only be considered as a half evolution.
The single evolution of Milotic and Lycanroc equates to the two evolutions of Charizard, making Kakashi think that Milotic and Lycanroc might not evolve a second time like Charizard; otherwise, Charizard would differ too much from Milotic and them.
Since these Ninja Beasts were gifts from Mokgetsu to them, Mokgetsu wouldn't deliberately give Obito the weakest one.
Mokgetsu nodded and explained, "Just like different animals have different growth, your Ninja Beasts are not of the same species, and indeed, there are differences in the number of evolutions."
Apart from Obito's Charizard, the Pokémon of other disciples all had only one evolution.
"You can rest assured in nurturing them; they have great potential with much room to grow," Mokgetsu continued.
Considering the localization feature of the system, maybe Mega Evolution was also localized, turning into a capability to absorb Natural Energy and enter a special Sage Mode.
As for those Pokémon without Mega Evolution, even if they don't have Mega Evolution, there's still some Z-move mechanic like Dynamax, which might be related to Natural Energy after localization.
Even setting aside those Mega Evolutions.
The Pokémon of Kakashi and his team have only just begun training; their various moves weren't yet proficient, hadn't deepened their development, hadn't learned the local Ninjutsu of the Hokage, and their physiques hadn't undergone much training, saying that their future is promising is absolutely sensible.
From Mokgetsu's perspective, even without those Mega Evolutions, through various cultivations, Charizard and the rest could still become formidable among shadows.
As for reaching super shadow levels, they might need to find a way to develop towards Sage Mode.
All disciples nodded, recognizing that this crisis had vividly showcased the potential of their Pokémon; had it not been for Lycanroc and Charizard's appearance, they would be in danger.
After dinner, having rested a while and regained energy, Obito found himself entangled.
He wanted to take Charizard to the training grounds to learn about Charizard's abilities, but felt Charizard might seize the opportunity to retaliate for his actions during the day.
Obito knew that everything he did was for Charizard's good, but he feared Charizard wouldn't understand his good intentions.
"The finals are starting tomorrow, if I can work well with Charizard, there might be a chance of winning," thinking of tomorrow's competition brought a resolute expression to Obito's face.
For the sake of first place, even if misunderstood, he had to withstand the pressure.
At this moment, Obito's mind was filled with thoughts of if not me, then who? Feeling an inner transformation.
Fortunately, Kakashi also wanted to explore Lycanroc's abilities, so the two prepared to head to the training grounds officially designated by Six Paths City.
As a Ninja Town, the training grounds are indispensable.
Previously, they hadn't gone there due to a habitual thought that training at other Ninja Force's grounds was not appropriate.
After the Sasori incident, Kakashi felt it was better to go to the official training grounds of the Ninja Sect, at least as they were closer to the city area.