Chapter 526: Powerful Milotic (Two chapters in one, please give me a monthly ticket)

At the same time, the audience was abuzz with discussion.

“Oh, what kind of Nin-Beast is that? I’ve never seen it before.” The Lord Daimyo of Fire Country gently waved his paper fan, his eyes lighting up when he saw the suddenly appearing Milotic.

The Lord Daimyo of Fire Country had seen many rare and exotic Nin-Beasts, but it was still his first time seeing such a beautiful and unique creature like Milotic.

From the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country’s perspective, Milotic’s beautiful scales shimmered under the sunlight, like countless tiny gems embedded, emitting a captivating radiance.

“I haven’t seen it either; it’s truly elegant and beautiful,” the Rain Country Daimyo said, nodding in agreement.

Milotic’s posture was tall and graceful; just quietly floating on the water, it exuded an indescribable charm.

“I wonder where I can buy one. I feel like having one in a pond would be very pleasing to the eye,” the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country said, liking Milotic more and more as he looked at it.

“Me too,” the Rain Country Daimyo expressed his liking for Milotic as well.

The other wealthy merchants and nobles who were not short on money had the same thought; such a beautiful Nin-Beast, if they raised one, it would not only be pleasing to the eye but also bring them great prestige.

Although the Ninja in the audience were also surprised by Milotic’s beauty, they were more curious about something else: how did Milotic appear? They hadn’t seen Rin Nohara perform the Summoning Technique again.

“Ang!”

Milotic let out a deterrent cry, staring intently at Kakashi, shielding Rin Nohara behind it.

Kakashi looked at the tall Milotic with interest. The transformation from Feebas to Milotic was much greater than from Fire Dragon to Charmeleon. He was curious about Milotic’s current strength.

Kakashi retreated a few steps, preparing to test Milotic’s abilities. Feebas had no combat power before, so Kakashi was completely unaware of Milotic’s current capabilities.

“Tornado!”

Milotic gathered strength and swung its powerful tail. In an instant, a whirlwind erupted, and due to the accumulated water, a large amount of water was sucked into the whirlwind, forming a water tornado.

“Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation?”

Kakashi, who was unaware of the intel, chose not to confront it head-on. He retreated while speculating about Milotic’s abilities.

He had just guessed that Milotic might possess Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation because Milotic was a fish before evolving, and fish are related to water, which was very reasonable.

However, now Kakashi was a bit uncertain, because Milotic now looked more like a snake, and if it was a snake, not having Water Release seemed normal.

“Little Mei, you’ve really gotten stronger,” Rin Nohara exclaimed, seeing Milotic whip out a tornado over six meters tall with just one tail swing.

It had no combat power before evolving, but after evolving, it seemed even stronger than her. Nin-Beasts were truly amazing.

Milotic lowered its head and pressed its forehead against Rin Nohara’s, its ruby-like eyes showing joy.

It could finally fight for Rin Nohara like other Nin-Beasts.

“First, let’s try a regular attack.” Kakashi pulled five Shuriken from his Ninja tool pouch, infused them with Chakra, and then injected Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation into them.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Five Shuriken carrying lightning rapidly shot out.

Milotic’s size was too large; Kakashi didn’t even need to bother aiming specifically.

Upon sensing Kakashi’s attack, Milotic quickly raised its head and gathered Chakra.

“Aqua Jet!”

A thick stream of water shot out from Milotic’s mouth, its powerful impact knocking away all five incoming Shuriken.

“Roar!”

Milotic let out a clear cry, glanced at Rin Nohara, then submerged into the water and swam rapidly towards Kakashi.

“Does it want me to stay put and not move?” Rin Nohara understood the meaning of Milotic’s cry.

Rin Nohara felt very subtle. Not long ago, she was telling Milotic to retreat to a safe area, and now Milotic was telling her not to take risks. Should she say it was indeed raised by her own hands?

“As expected, it has water-related abilities.” Kakashi silently recorded the information while paying attention to the movements underwater.

Whoosh!

When he noticed Milotic approaching, Kakashi suddenly flashed away, retreating.

Splash!

The next moment, Milotic’s slender body burst out of the water at the exact spot where Kakashi had just stood, splashing a large amount of water.

“Water Pulse!”

After missing its collision, Milotic immediately launched the Water Release Chakra Ball it had condensed in advance.

Kakashi, in Transparent World state, perceived Milotic’s attack and used Lightning Release Chakra to enhance his body, moving at extreme speed.

Boom!!

The Water Release Chakra Ball slammed heavily onto the water surface, and the powerful ripple instantly caused the water surface, which had turned into a small lake, to become agitated.

Huge waves splashed up, and water waves that could submerge Kakashi’s height crashed towards him.

“What a huge increase in strength,” Kakashi thought with secret alarm after stabilizing himself.

The previous Feebas could be easily dealt with by an ordinary person, but the current Milotic had strength that even an average Konoha Jonin didn’t possess.

To prevent an upset, Kakashi silently formed a hand seal and used Earth Release to control the ground to crack open, accelerating the disappearance of the water terrain created by Kisame.

If it was just Rin Nohara, it would be fine, but allowing Milotic to constantly maintain a terrain advantage would be inappropriate.

With its attacks consistently missing, Milotic’s mood became somewhat agitated, and it finally decided to use its strongest current technique to attack Kakashi.

Milotic swam rapidly towards Kakashi while condensing a massive amount of Chakra at its tail.

Kakashi, boosted by Thunder Breathing, was extremely fast, but this was on water, Milotic’s home ground, and Kakashi’s distance was gradually being closed by Milotic.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

Rin Nohara rapidly formed hand seals, using her last bit of Chakra to cast a Water Release Ninjutsu to assist Milotic.

At this point, she had already noticed that the water level was rapidly decreasing. This sudden change was clearly not because the arena’s drainage system was good enough, but because Kakashi had just used a Ninjutsu.

Roar!

A ferocious water dragon circled around Rin Nohara, finally rushing rapidly towards Kakashi.

At this moment, Milotic, close to Kakashi, rapidly converted the massive Chakra at the tip of its tail into Water Release Chakra, and swung its powerful tail towards Kakashi.

“Aqua Tail!”

Splash!!

Milotic’s powerful force stirred the little water remaining on the field, and a wave of water, along with its tail, struck Kakashi.

Coupled with the Water Dragon Bullet released by Rin Nohara, it seemed Kakashi had entered a dangerous situation with nowhere to hide.

“You’re doing great! That’s how it should be!” Obito, in the lounge, cheered for Milotic.

Where Milotic came from didn’t matter; what mattered was that Milotic was about to help Rin Nohara defeat Kakashi!

At this moment, Obito only regretted not bringing his camera to the arena, otherwise, he would definitely record this moment.

“Kakashi, your life is like a candle in the wind,” Obito thought, mocking Kakashi while laughing aloud.

He usually spouts theories, but he’s still going to be defeated by Rin Nohara, who is weaker.

Bang!!

It seemed the combined attack of Rin Nohara and Milotic was truly unavoidable. After Kakashi tried his best to dodge, he was still hit and slammed heavily onto the ground, splashing a large amount of muddy water, obscuring Kakashi’s figure within it.

At this point, the water depth was less than 0.5 meters, and the water was still rapidly draining.

“Did I win?” Rin Nohara was somewhat incredulous.

She truly hadn’t expected to win against Kakashi when he wasn’t holding back, after all, the gap between her and Kakashi was visibly large, and she didn’t have any ability to counter Kakashi.

Who would have thought that Feebas would be summoned along with Katsuyu, and then evolve into Milotic, and that Milotic’s strength would be so powerful? Everything felt like a dream.

Buzz buzz!!

As a hand covered in yellow mud emerged from the water, an electric crackle sounded, and a dazzling purple light covered the mud on the palm. A disheveled Kakashi climbed to his feet.

Without Rin Nohara’s command, Milotic immediately spat a stream of water towards the rising Kakashi.

And Kakashi, without hesitation, released lightning to counter the incoming water stream.

Rin Nohara had no Chakra left to use Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, so she could only quietly retreat and create distance from Kakashi, to prevent Kakashi from finding an opportune moment.

But just as Rin Nohara was focused on the battle between Milotic and Kakashi, she didn’t notice a hand silently emerging from the ground near her feet.

“Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!”

Rin Nohara’s face suddenly changed when she noticed the abnormality around her calves, but at this moment, she had neither enough time to perform Water Instant Body nor the Chakra to use Enhanced Strength to directly crack the ground.

A huge pulling force came from underground, pulling most of Rin Nohara’s body into the ground.

And Kakashi, having done all this, squatted beside Rin Nohara and aimed a Kunai at her.

The referee pondered for a moment, then directly announced the battle result: “Kakashi Hatake wins!”

Although Milotic was still energetic and could continue fighting, this was Rin Nohara’s match, and if it were a real battle, Rin Nohara would already be dead.

“That damn white-haired bastard, he has no martial ethics!” Obito exclaimed, seeing the situation and calling Kakashi despicable.

Instead of fighting Milotic properly, he tricked, ambushed, and bullied the Chakra-depleted Rin Nohara.

“As expected of you, Kakashi. You weren’t really hurt just now, were you?” Rin Nohara said with a helpless smile.

When she thought she was surely going to lose, she suddenly seemed to win; when she thought she had won, she lost again. Rin Nohara’s emotions were like a roller coaster, constantly surging back and forth between lows and highs within seconds.

The moment she was pulled down, she kept thinking: if she was at full strength, plus Milotic, would she have won in the end?

However, Rin Nohara’s mindset was generally good, because her original plan was to last three minutes against Kakashi and cause him a little damage, which would be considered a success.

Fighting Kakashi to this extent was actually an over-completion of the mission.

Kakashi nodded.

Although it looked fierce just now, Kakashi was only hit by Rin Nohara’s Water Dragon Bullet, plus the aftershock of Milotic’s Aqua Tail.

Kakashi used Armament Haki to protect his vital body parts, which meant that at that time, he only looked disheveled but was actually only slightly injured.

To end the battle more steadily, the moment Kakashi fell, he used the muddy water to conceal his Shadow Clone Technique, having the Shadow Clone use Earth Release to burrow underground and attack the Chakra-depleted Rin Nohara, while his main body used Lightning Release to attract attention and stall Milotic.

Without much explanation, Kakashi canceled the Shadow Clone Technique and used Earth Release to release Rin Nohara.

Seeing Rin Nohara also covered in mud, Milotic gathered Chakra and created a ball of blue-green water next to Rin Nohara.

The water ball burst around Rin Nohara, and the blue-green liquid enveloped her, washing away the mud from her body, and at the same time healing all the scratches she got from being pulled into the ground. Even Kakashi, standing next to Rin Nohara, felt his body being restored.

“Such comfortable Chakra,” Katsuyu said, looking at Milotic with curiosity.

“Is this Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation or Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation?” Kakashi couldn’t determine what Ninjutsu Milotic had used for a moment.

Judging by the Ninjutsu’s effect, the Ninjutsu Milotic just used seemed like Yang Release; the injuries recovered very quickly, and the body felt much lighter.

But what had a healing effect just now were Milotic’s blue-green water droplets, and it couldn’t be ruled out that it was Milotic’s own special Water Release.

After all, Shisui’s Zorua had special Genjutsu, so it wasn’t impossible for Milotic to have a special Water Release.

“Aww~”

Milotic lowered its head, not daring to look at Rin Nohara, its cry somewhat subdued.

This was its first battle with Rin Nohara, yet such an important battle was lost due to its carelessness.

“It’s okay, you did your best. It’s my fault,” Rin Nohara said, gently stroking Milotic’s milky-white body to comfort it.

Since Milotic evolved during the battle, Rin Nohara was unsure of Milotic’s specific abilities and couldn’t coordinate well with it. Additionally, her earlier disadvantage in the battle caused her to expend a large amount of stamina and Chakra.

If blame were to be assigned, Rin Nohara would definitely take the biggest share.

Milotic shook its head, its red hair-like fins swaying along. If it weren’t for Rin Nohara, it wouldn’t have had the courage to fight like this, and thus wouldn’t have been able to evolve.

“Cough, cough, the winning contestant please return to the lounge to rest. The defeated contestant may choose to go to the spectator stands,” the referee reminded.

Kakashi understood the referee’s meaning and said goodbye to Rin Nohara before heading back to the lounge.

Meanwhile, Rin Nohara stood on her tiptoes to stroke Milotic’s head, dismissing the Nin-Beast, and then left the arena to go to the spectator stands.

Due to his rather disheveled state, Kakashi did not immediately return to the lounge. Instead, he first went to the facilities next to the lounge to wash up, cleaning off the mud and sand from his body.

“Milotic’s strength has increased too much. The current Obito most likely won’t be able to defeat the combination of Milotic and Rin,” Kakashi said, wiping his dripping white hair with a towel, his mind still replaying the recent battle.

If Rin Nohara hadn’t been nearly incapacitated before Milotic evolved, Kakashi definitely wouldn’t have won so easily.

Kakashi barely attacked Milotic; he won by targeting Rin Nohara.

“It seems I underestimated the Nin-Beast Muzuki-sensei gave us,” Kakashi thought, believing that Rockruff might become his fighting force faster than he imagined.

Milotic had no combat experience, yet it possessed such strength just by haphazardly using Ninjutsu. If it trained for a month, it could probably suppress Obito alone with its Water Release countering Fire Release.

Kakashi grew increasingly excited for Rockruff’s evolution.

After finishing his wash, Kakashi walked back into the lounge.

“Kakashi, is that creamy big water snake Rin’s new Nin-Beast?” Obito couldn’t help but ask as soon as Kakashi entered the lounge.

Kakashi’s expression was strange. Milotic is so beautiful, and you call it a creamy big water snake?

“It’s Lil’ Milotic,” Kakashi replied concisely.

“How is that possible? This is…” Obito was utterly shocked, unable to equate the Milotic that appeared earlier with Rin Nohara’s Feebas.

Fire Dragon evolving into Charmeleon was the same species becoming more mature, but Milotic and Feebas didn’t even feel like the same species.

“No matter what you think, it is reality,” Kakashi replied calmly.

Just as Kakashi could accept a dog hatching from an egg, existence implied reason. It was normal for Nin-Beasts to be different from ordinary animals.

“Alright, well, that’s pretty amazing, getting so much stronger all at once,” Obito said, scratching his head.

Although he hadn’t faced it personally, he could tell from the movements of Milotic’s Ninjutsu that its strength was extraordinary.

“Why is Charmeleon so much weaker for the same evolution?” Obito thought of his own Nin-Beast.

His Charmeleon was the first Pokémon to evolve, yet it couldn’t even defeat an unevolved Rockruff.

At this moment, Obito wished his Charmeleon would self-study Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation overnight to escape its Fire Release inferiority.

“Uchiha Shisui wins!”

Just as Kakashi, Obito, and Might Guy were chatting, Shisui defeated his opponent and claimed victory.

When Shisui returned, he also asked Kakashi a similar question to Obito, though his wording was more polite.

“I see, evolution can bring such great changes and improvements,” Shisui showed a thoughtful expression.

Comparing Charmeleon and Milotic, he felt that not every Nin-Beast’s evolution would result in such a drastic change.

It was Feebas’s helplessness that led to Milotic’s brilliance after evolution.

Next, the four, Shisui, discussed their experience in raising Nin-Beasts while watching the battles in the lounge. Only the last three matches of the second round remained, and for them, they were all familiar faces. The very last match was even Obito himself.

In the third to last match, Asuma won with his sharp Wind Release.

In the second to last match, Mei Terumī flexibly utilized her two Bloodline Limits and displayed powerful Water Release, successfully entering the top eight.

In the final match, facing a genius Ninja from Grass Ninja Village, Obito went all out from the start, entering Flame Breathing Chakra Mode and instantly defeating his opponent with Fire Release.

Although this Fire Release was considered inferior, it was still useful for bullying weaker opponents.

At this point, the second round of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament concluded, the top eight of the Martial Arts Tournament were determined, and the first day’s battles ended. Contestants and spectators began to leave.

“Senior Hanzo, how do you feel?” Muzuki asked with a smile, looking at Senior Hanzo.

“Ninja World geniuses are as numerous as carp crossing a river,” Senior Hanzo commented.

Before coming to watch the competition, Senior Hanzo never imagined that there would be a Ninja who had a chance to compete with Nagato for the championship. One must know that Nagato was a genius with the Sage’s Eye.

Now, Senior Hanzo’s motivation for watching the matches was to see Nagato lose, and then take the opportunity to observe Sōsuke’s expression.

Among the top eight, only Nagato remained as a Ninja Sect. If Nagato didn’t make it to the Four Finals, the Ninja Sect would have to give away all the prizes.

“It’s a pity there are none from Amegakure,” Kakuzu added.

Senior Hanzo’s face quickly darkened. There was no need to emphasize such a thing.

“Considering we are partners, Senior Hanzo, I will show you a clear path. Currently, the Ninja Sect undertakes Ninja training. If your Rain Ninja don’t know how to teach, you can pay us to help teach,” Kakuzu stated his purpose.

Nothing else, just to extract money from Amegakure, and at the same time, to deal with Amegakure in the future using a simpler method that wouldn’t cause instability in the Land of Rain.

“Originally, our Ninja Sect didn’t have the time for this, but Iwagakure placed a high-priced commission, which is why our Ninja Sect started this business.”

“So that’s how it is. No wonder there are so many Iwagakure working in Six Paths City,” Senior Hanzo realized.

It had to be said that Kakuzu’s words were indeed somewhat persuasive. There were fellow Iwagakure from the Five Great Ninja Villages, and the reputation of Sōsuke, the Ninja Master, as a guarantee.

“For now, there’s no need to trouble the Ninja Sect,” Senior Hanzo refused.

Although it sounded good, it could easily allow the Ninja Sect to insert spies among the Rain Ninja.

Kakuzu did not pester him. After Senior Hanzo refused, he stopped discussing it.

He had expected this. After all, Senior Hanzo didn’t seem foolish and wouldn’t agree easily.

He was just laying the groundwork; such things couldn’t be accomplished in a day or two.

…

Due to Milotic’s elegant and beautiful appearance, after Rin Nohara went to the spectator stands, many people chased after her, asking where to buy Milotic. Among them were not only wealthy merchants and nobles but also many Ninja.

Because Milotic had proven in battle that it was not just a pretty face; it had both beauty and powerful strength.

However, Milotic’s egg was given by Muzuki, and Rin Nohara hadn’t asked Muzuki where he obtained the egg, so she naturally couldn’t answer others’ questions.

Seeing that today’s Martial Arts Tournament had ended, Rin Nohara, who was utterly annoyed, ran over to Muzuki.

“Her Nin-Beast was something I obtained by chance. If you’re interested, you can go look for it, but I don’t recommend it because I’ve already looked,” Muzuki casually mentioned a remote area to brush them off.

With the renowned Raging Sun Mu Yue personally explaining, no one dared to continue bothering Rin Nohara.

“Young lady, your name is Rin Nohara, isn’t it? I’m very interested in that Nin-Beast. I’m willing to offer fifty million Ryo for it. What do you think?” The Lord Daimyo of Fire Country chose to activate his cash ability.

The Rain Country Daimyo, who had also intended to buy from Rin Nohara, closed his mouth after seeing the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country speak.

“Lord Daimyo, I apologize, but Lil’ Milotic is very important to me. It cannot be measured by money,” Rin Nohara unequivocally rejected the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country’s offer.

Rin Nohara had always lacked desire for money. She naturally wouldn’t sell her precious companion for such a thing.

Moreover, Rin Nohara didn’t feel she had the right to buy or sell Milotic; Milotic and she had an equal relationship.

“Then, ninety million Ryo?” The Lord Daimyo of Fire Country thought it was a matter of not enough money, so he almost doubled the price.

However, Rin Nohara remained unshaken and immediately refused.

“In that case, there’s nothing to be done. I hope Muzuki, you can keep an eye out for me if there are any other Nin-Beasts like it. My price won’t change,” the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country said to Muzuki.

If Rin Nohara wouldn’t give it to him, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t just snatch a girl’s pet, could he? He could only ask Muzuki, the discoverer, to pay more attention, and then issue an S-rank Mission in Konoha to capture such a Nin-Beast.

Muzuki nodded in agreement.

“As expected, the big nations have more money,” Muzuki thought internally.

If Kakuzu had heard the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country’s words, Muzuki estimated Kakuzu would transform into Milotic himself to claim the reward.

This was a full ninety million Ryo, worth two and a half Asumas.

“Muzuki-sensei,” Obito and the others, who had left the contestant lounge, greeted Muzuki.

Muzuki smiled and responded to each of them, then looked in a certain direction.

Sasori walked expressionlessly for a while, then naturally changed direction. The moment he turned, Sasori’s brows furrowed.

“Raging Sun Mu Yue is here too, and he even seems to be Kakashi Hatake’s teacher.” Sasori instantly felt that the difficulty of killing Kakashi had increased by another level.

Even Sasori, who was currently wandering, had heard more or less about Raging Sun Mu Yue’s deeds.

Just a fleeting glance of 0.1 seconds from a distance, Sasori knew that Muzuki was by no means an undeserving celebrity.

He had tried his best to conceal himself earlier, and had been observing only with his peripheral vision, yet he was still instantly discovered by Muzuki.

“I need to conduct more investigation and research in this area,” Sasori understood that now was not the time for an assassination. He planned to familiarize himself with Six Paths City first.

Even with a renowned strong opponent like Raging Sun Mu Yue, and geniuses like Might Guy and Shisui among his opponents, Sasori still believed he could kill Kakashi. He had no doubt about his ability.

The Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage, had died under his assassination. Raging Sun Mu Yue, no matter how strong, couldn’t be stronger than the Third Kazekage.

“Is there anything over there?” Obito followed Muzuki’s gaze but found nothing, asking in confusion.

“Nothing,” Muzuki replied with a faint smile.

Although he was a Shadow Clone, he just couldn’t identify the data on Sasori, but Sasori dreaming of hiding in front of him was just that—a dream.

He didn’t need to identify him either, because Sasori’s data had already been seen by Muzuki’s main body during registration.

Muzuki had two main goals in hosting the Youth Martial Arts Tournament: first, to solve the Ninja Sect’s economic problems, and second, to train his disciples.

To prevent overly bizarre and monstrous individuals from appearing, Muzuki had identified every contestant.

Sasori thought he was well hidden, but in reality, it was just that Muzuki felt Sasori didn’t require his main body to deal with him directly.

“Rin, your last battle was truly spectacular. You almost won even in that situation,” Obito turned to Rin Nohara, excitedly discussing the second-round battle with her.

“It wasn’t as exaggerated as you say, Obito. Lil’ Milotic did most of the work,” Rin Nohara was very self-aware.

“But Lil’ Milotic is your Nin-Beast! Its strength is your strength,” Obito said as a matter of course.

Obito was truly a bit envious of Rin Nohara now. For Nin-Beasts that had evolved, he felt that Milotic could knock Charmeleon unconscious with one tail whip.

Whether in terms of size or raw power, Charmeleon was far inferior to Milotic.

Kakashi showed a look of regret. He had thought Obito would continue to call Milotic a creamy big water snake, and then something interesting would probably happen.

“Rin, can you tell me the details of Lil’ Milotic’s evolution?” Shisui wanted to learn from Rin Nohara’s excellent breeding experience.

“Of course,” Rin Nohara readily agreed.

PS: I’ve been feeling groggy today, and my writing isn’t in top form. This chapter is 7k, slightly less than a typical 8k two-in-one, but it should still count as a big chapter.

Also, please vote for me!