Ino rested her chin on her hands, squinting as she watched Sasuke and Little Momo spar. Beside her, Sakura was also gazing dreamily.
Ino's father, Yamanaka Inoichi, was the ninja in the clan most skilled in the Mind Transfer Jutsu, so naturally, he was the one helping Linto with his training.
Ino hadn't wanted to join this "grown-up activity," but as soon as she heard Sasuke was coming, she immediately put on her latest hair clip and tagged along, bringing a "bento box for Father."
Sakura naturally joined her friend.
Meanwhile, Naruto was still working on his Rasengan.
He hadn't managed to form the Rasengan, but he had rolled up a small mud ball in his palm.
Sasuke, who had just finished a round of sword practice, saw Naruto still practicing his Rasengan and couldn't help but ask:
"Why don't you borrow the power of the Nine-Tails inside you?"
Naruto slumped to the ground, exhausted, and was about to speak when an orange was silently handed to him. He instinctively took it and, while eating, replied:
"The perverted Sage said that monster's power is too strong, and I'm too young to control it. If I accidentally let it out, it would cause the end of the world."
Sasuke's expression was a little subtle.
It's just a Tailed Beast.
It's no more than Brother Shou cutting it once or twice. Does it really lead to the end of the world?
However, Sasuke remembered Linto's speculation from a long time ago.
The Evil God and the Tailed Beasts each symbolize destruction. The former is self-destruction, while the latter is the destruction of the world... Sasuke thought for a moment and asked, "Can I see it?"
He said it as if he were going to a classmate's house to see a puppy.
Naruto lifted his shirt and patted his belly, which made a slapping sound.
"It's inside here, how are you going to see it?"
"Like this."
Wavy lines wrapped around Sasuke's fingertips as he gently touched the seal on Naruto's abdomen. Then, he closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, Sasuke was standing before a huge prison. Behind the prison gate was a brown-furred Nine-Tails fox.
Naruto stared blankly at Sasuke and the Nine-Tails, momentarily dazed.
The Nine-Tails slightly raised its head and glanced at the shadowy projection of Sasuke, made of wisps of wavy lines, outside. It said gloomily:
"Evil Uchiha brat, get out. You're not welcome here."
Sasuke sat down cross-legged, unbothered by the Nine-Tails' attitude.
For the past four months, he had traveled far and wide with the Annihilation Army, and compared to the curses from the enemies they crushed before they died, the Nine-Tails' attitude was like a spoiled toddler having a tantrum in kindergarten.
"Let's sit down and talk, Nine-Tails."
"About your past..."
Sasuke remembered a term Linto often used and changed his wording:
"I'm very interested in your original family."
...
While Sasuke was communicating with the Nine-Tails, Linto was carefully helping Yamanaka Inoichi to his feet.
This old man had been repeatedly using the Mind Transfer Jutsu to help Linto train.
Although White Snake and the other stand-ins hadn't caused him trouble, the act of infiltrating Linto's consciousness and then being repelled was an extremely exhausting endeavor.
If a normal person's consciousness was a small puddle, Yamanaka Inoichi could easily step into it.
Linto's spirit was like a dark abyss. Every time he infiltrated and suppressed the soul, Yamanaka Inoichi felt unparalleled pressure.
"Sorry, Linto, I... I might need to rest for a while..."
Yamanaka Inoichi, a man of strong build, looked haggard.
He sat by the wall, his eyes unfocused, looking like a college student during final exams.
Linto quickly got him some tea and water, and also brought some small snacks to replenish his energy.
Whether Yamanaka Inoichi was genuinely helping or doing it because of Tsunade's orders, Linto was grateful for his dedication.
After taking care of the tired old man, Linto pulled over a chair and took out an iron ball from the ghost room.
Ten days in Konoha, first practicing the Rasengan, opening up another training direction, and then with Yamanaka Inoichi's help, "forgetting" the physical senses. All these efforts—
Linto raised his hand. The still iron ball slowly rotated in his palm.
The rotation speed wasn't fast, and his muscles under his skin occasionally twinged with small sprains.
But he had indeed entered lesson-2.
The power and rotational amplitude of the iron ball had increased severalfold compared to before.
As long as Linto continued to practice, the iron ball would gain a certain tracking ability.
And...
Linto infused more Ripple into it again, and wisps of golden Ripple coiled around the iron ball, creating a Golden Spin Rasengan with the iron ball at its core.
Although Linto could only maintain it for a very short time, half a second, and then the rotation would become unstable.
Although in this state, the iron ball couldn't be thrown.
But having a direction was the biggest breakthrough.
As for the problems that arose, they could be solved one by one.
"That should be about it."
The subsequent improvements, like the training of Ripple, required long days of refinement and couldn't be achieved overnight.
Linto didn't plan to wait for that day; he felt his current state was good.
"System—"
*Bang!*
Linto clenched the spinning iron ball and took a deep breath.
"Activate Killer Queen's trial!"
"Starting Killer Queen trial mission. Linto, good luck."
"Thank you."
The world turned upside down, and the familiar sense of weightlessness appeared.
Linto closed his eyes. When his body stabilized again, he suddenly opened them—
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"
The alarm clock sounded in the bedroom. The display showed the time:
Early morning, 7:30.
Linto sat on the edge of the bed, looked down at his short legs, then at his small hands. Finally, he looked up and saw a child with blond hair in the mirror.
Kawajiri Hayato.
This was the identity Linto had obtained upon arriving in Morioh.
"No way..."
Linto buried his face in his hands, his tired eyes peeking through his fingers.
Before obtaining the Ascended Star Core, Linto had imagined what the trial mission would be if he evolved Killer Queen.
To fight the main characters as Yoshikage Kira?
If he could bring Linto's physical body into it, this mission would be difficult, but not impossible.
Later, after obtaining the Ascended Star Core, Linto knew that the opponent in the Akatsuki trial was Yoshikage Kira. Based on his experience evolving Star Platinum last time, he speculated three possibilities:
Linto replaced one of the main characters.
Linto appeared as a stranger.
Becoming Hayato.
Yes, Linto had considered whether he would become Hayato.
But he thought it was the lowest probability.
After all, a Stand User's trial should involve fighting, right?
Becoming an eleven-year-old, skinny kid like a bundle of straw, what was that supposed to mean?
Only when Linto was truly in Morioh, feeling the subtle, dangerous, eerie, and perverted atmosphere lingering in the air, did he understand—
"Entering as Hayato fits the atmosphere of Yoshikage Kira's trial."
"This is such bullshit..."
Linto slowly raised his head, his eyes regaining their sharpness. "Enough."
Compared to Yoshikage Kira, Dio was a decent fellow.
Linto opened a drawer, found seven or eight marbles, and walked out the door.
Given the nature of this trial, if he guessed correctly...
Linto looked up. Yoshikage Kira was smirking victoriously as he combed his hair in front of the mirror, arranging his new black and white hairstyle.
Bite the Dust had already been activated.
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