Chapter 537 Charizard: I will bear the blame for the bitterness of Obito (7k)

After Milotic’s problem was resolved, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Obito informed Muzuki about the ambush.

“That person is Nagato’s opponent in the top eight, the puppeteer who can control ten puppets, but he disguised himself during the match, so he didn’t look the same as when he attacked us.” Kakashi reported all the intelligence he had gathered to Muzuki.

The other disciples all nodded. Although they rushed back without communicating, Sasori had brought out the puppets he used in the match, and combined with the characteristic of controlling ten puppets simultaneously, they could basically pinpoint the target.

Puppeteers are already rare in the Ninja World. Six Paths City is hosting a Martial Arts Tournament and a Puppeteer competition. How could there be a second puppeteer who can control ten puppets just nearby, and Sasori also had the same puppets?

“I understand. I will negotiate with the Shinobi Sect.” Muzuki nodded with a solemn expression.

Of course, this was just an act.

Because Muzuki had already sent Nagato to deal with this matter. According to the time, Sasori might already be knocked out and locked up by Nagato.

When he was in Konoha, Muzuki still had to use Shadow Clone to watch over his disciples to prevent accidents.

Now in the Land of Rain, Muzuki would naturally be more cautious. Muzuki’s Shadow Clone had been waiting on the side during Sasori’s fight with Kakashi and the others.

As long as Kakashi and the others were truly in trouble and couldn’t cope, Muzuki’s Shadow Clone would conveniently pass by and help them solve the problem.

However, although Kakashi and the others didn’t have a sudden power surge, their Nin-Beasts underwent an evolution, so Muzuki didn’t show himself.

“Muzuki-sensei, do different Nin-Beasts have different numbers of possible evolutions?” Kakashi thought for a moment and asked.

After settling down, Kakashi recalled the differences in the evolution of Charizard, Milotic, and Rockruff and discovered a problem.

Although Milotic and Rockruff only had one evolution, their improvement was significant, while the evolution from Fire Dragon to Charmeleon was clearly much smaller compared to Milotic and Rockruff.

Only the stage from Charmeleon to Charizard matched the power increase of other Nin-Beasts’ evolutions.

So Kakashi wondered if it was possible that Feebas to Milotic and Rockruff to Rockruff were one stage, similar to Fire Dragon to Charizard.

Although Charizard had one more evolution, the total increase in strength was not much different.

This would explain why Charizard evolved first, because that evolution could only be considered a 0.5 evolution compared to other Nin-Beasts.

Milotic and Rockruff’s single evolution was equivalent to Charizard’s two evolutions, which made Kakashi feel that Milotic and Rockruff might not be able to evolve a second time like Charizard, otherwise Charizard would be too far behind Milotic and the others.

Because these Nin-Beasts were all gifts from Muzuki, it was impossible for Muzuki to intentionally give Obito the worst one.

Muzuki nodded and explained, “Just as different animals have different developments, your Nin-Beasts are not of the same species, and there are indeed differences in the number of evolutions.”

Except for Obito’s Charizard, the Nin-Beasts of the other disciples only had one evolution.

“You can rest assured and cultivate them. Their potential is great, and there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Muzuki continued.

According to the system’s localization characteristics, perhaps Mega Evolution has also been localized, allowing them to absorb natural energy and enter a special Sage Mode.

As for those Nin-Beasts without Mega Evolution, even without it, they have other techniques like Z-Moves or Dynamax. Perhaps after localization, they are also related to natural energy.

Even putting Mega Evolution aside.

Kakashi and their Nin-Beasts have only just begun training. Their various techniques are not yet proficient, they haven’t been deeply developed, they haven’t learned Konoha’s local Ninjutsu, and their physiques haven’t undergone much training. It’s absolutely fair to say their future is promising.

From Muzuki’s perspective, even without Mega Evolution and those, Charizard and the others, after various training, can still become strong among the Kage.

As for reaching the Super Kage level, they might have to find a way to develop into Sage Mode.

All the disciples nodded. This crisis had already demonstrated the full potential of the Nin-Beasts. If not for the appearance of Rockruff and Charizard, they would have been in danger.

After eating dinner and resting for a period to recover his energy, Obito fell into a dilemma.

He wanted to take Charizard to the Training Ground to understand Charizard’s various abilities, but he felt that Charizard would seize the opportunity to retaliate against his behavior during the day.

Obito knew that he was doing it all for Charizard’s good, but he felt that Charizard probably wouldn’t understand his good intentions.

“The finals are tomorrow. If I cooperate well with Charizard, there might be a chance to win.” Thinking of tomorrow’s match, Obito showed a determined expression.

For the sake of first place, even if he wasn’t understood, he would withstand the pressure.

At this moment, Obito’s mind was full of thoughts like ‘If I don’t go to hell, who will?’, feeling as if his whole being had been sublimated.

Just as Kakashi also wanted to study Rockruff’s abilities, the two prepared to go to the Training Ground officially designated by Six Paths City together.

As a Ninja town, a Training Ground was, of course, essential.

They hadn’t gone before because they habitually felt it was not good to train in another Ninja power’s Training Ground.

After the incident with Sasori, Kakashi felt it was better to go to the Shinobi Sect’s official Training Ground, at least it was closer to the city.

A curious Shisui followed along, and Rin Nohara felt that exercising at night was very good, so she also went along.

Muzuki directly sent out a Shadow Clone openly to provide protection.

After all, Sasori’s attack had just happened during the day, so there was no need to hide anymore.

Upon reaching the Training Ground, Obito felt that he could still salvage the situation, so he said to Charizard:

“Charizard, I think I can explain what happened today.”

Charizard crossed its arms, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Obito. It wanted to see what kind of excuse Obito could come up with.

“Look, other Nin-Beasts only evolved once, and some didn’t even evolve, but you’re the only one who evolved twice. Haven’t you thought about why?” Obito said with a proud expression.

Currently, there were three Nin-Beasts that had evolved, totaling four evolutions, and his one Nin-Beast accounted for two of them.

“Roar!”

Charizard puffed out its chest, raised its head, and spread its wings, trying to make its body appear as wide and tall as possible.

“Of course, it’s because I’m exceptionally talented,” Zorua translated.

Obito’s face was full of black lines and he was speechless. Who did this shamelessness come from? It was clearly due to his excellent nurturing!

Obito put on a thoughtful expression, carefully considering his next words.

There was no other way, he still needed Charizard’s help in the finals. Obito was worried that if he upset Charizard, Charizard would just slack off and sleep during the finals.

“I’m not denying your talent.” Obito first laid some groundwork.

“I’m saying, Charizard, your ability to evolve twice also has some of my nurturing efforts to thank for. The reason I deliberately provoked you during the day was because I hoped you could become stronger.”

“So I’m very happy to see you like this now. My hard work wasn’t in vain.” Obito stroked his nonexistent beard and said with a look of relief, emphasizing his hard work in every word.

They say a tiger won’t eat its cubs. Obito felt that reversing this statement also made sense: a tiger won’t eat its father.

Since he hatched Charizard, he should at least be considered half of Charizard’s father. If Charizard knew his painstaking efforts, it should somewhat understand his actions, right?

Whoosh!

‘Fire Blast!’

Charizard’s answer was a thick stream of fire.

Charizard only then remembered that after evolving, it had forgotten to blast Obito with fire.

It had been so busy eating and resting that it forgot to deal with that scoundrel Obito.

Obito was prepared and had already quietly activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, so the moment Charizard opened its mouth, he immediately dodged.

“Roar!”

Charizard’s eyes burst with ferocity as it let out a long howl.

“Since you want me to increase my strength so much, then continue to fight me.” Zorua translated accurately.

Charizard nodded. This was the peace of mind of having a translator. If there was no translator, and Obito talked nonsense and misinterpreted its meaning, Charizard would truly be unable to explain itself.

At this moment, Charizard’s anger was burning. This inhuman fellow, Obito, as soon as it evolved, spoke ill of it in front of Milotic, saying it was fat, even though its figure was so perfect.

Since Obito used getting stronger as an excuse to torment it, it could also use getting stronger as an excuse to torment Obito.

Oh, no, there’s no torment. It was originally helping its contractor become stronger.

Obito was currently at the bottom among the many disciples. With its help, he would surely catch up with the others quickly.

By then, even if Obito didn’t understand, Charizard wouldn’t take it to heart, after all, humans and dragons cannot understand each other.

“Let Obito suffer a bit, I’ll take the blame.” Charizard felt it was simply too great.

Obito was so cruel to it, yet it could repay evil with good. Where could one find such a good dragon?

“I think we can use a more civilized way to understand each other and increase our strength.” Obito suggested with a serious expression.

“Roar!”

“He’s saying, ‘He’s afraid of a dragon that’s not even two years old. No wonder Rin thinks Kakashi is stronger.'”

Obito:???

Obito looked at Charizard in disbelief. Why did a dragon with fire on its tail make such a cold sound?

This person, no, this dragon said something absolutely unforgivable.

“Since you’re so stubborn, then don’t blame my Fire Release for being merciless.” Obito adjusted his goggles, his gaze sharpening.

Although Charizard could release Ninjutsu without hand signs, he had mastered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, and likewise didn’t need hand signs.

Charizard disdainfully turned its head away. Most of its life since birth had been spent outsmarting Obito, and it knew all of Obito’s weaknesses too well.

“In a way, they’re quite a match.” Kakashi, who was communicating with Rockruff about its new abilities nearby, couldn’t help but complain.

Although it’s normal for Nin-Beasts to resemble their trainers after being raised for a long time, Charizard was too similar. Kakashi felt as if he was seeing another Obito.

“Battle start!” Shisui, acting as an observer, briefly served as a referee.

“Roar!”

Charizard let out a long howl, directly flapping its wings and flying up to about six or seven meters off the ground.

If it flew too high, not only would Obito not be able to hit it, but its attacks wouldn’t hit Obito either.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

For Charizard, whose intelligence was unknown, Obito still chose the ultimate starting move, Great Fireball Technique.

After spitting out the Great Fireball Technique, Obito quickly put his hand into his Nin-Beast pouch, took out several Kunai, and observed Charizard’s movements with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Charizard saw that Obito was actually using the slow-moving Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique to test it, and scoffed, flapping its wings and quickly flying to the side.

Whoosh whoosh!!

Obito immediately condensed Chakra in his hands, then performed Nature Transformation to imbue the Kunai with Fire Release, and threw them at Charizard in the sky.

However, Charizard disdained to even dodge such an attack.

It condensed Wind Release Chakra on its claws and swung them a few times, continuously unleashing several Wind Release: Air Blades.

‘Wind Release: Air Blade!’

Boom!

The Wind Release: Air Blades cut through the Kunai imbued with Fire Release, causing an explosion due to the Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation, but the Wind Release: Air Blades continued to slice towards Obito with undiminished momentum.

Whoosh!

Obito flashed in the opposite direction of Charizard, dodging the Wind Release: Air Blades, and created some distance from Charizard.

“Did it self-learn Wind Release after evolving? Although its power isn’t particularly exaggerated, its release speed is very fast.” Shisui recorded the information in his mind.

After all, in future internal conflicts among disciples, Nin-Beasts would definitely be involved, so it was good to remember what he could.

Shisui glanced at Zorua. Currently, only his Zorua and Might Guy’s Riolu had not evolved.

However, Shisui was not in a hurry. Based on the currently known information, Nin-Beasts that evolved a little later showed a more significant increase in strength.

Charizard was the first to evolve, but it lost to Rockruff in battle, its strength far inferior to the evolved Milotic and Rockruff.

Seeing Obito trying to run, Charizard flapped its wings quickly and chased after him.

‘Fire Blast!’

A thick pillar of high-temperature fire spewed from Charizard’s mouth, striking Obito on the ground.

“Flying things are really annoying.” Feeling the heat wave from behind him, Obito had no choice but to focus his breathing to the extreme, then did a lazy donkey roll to enter Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.

“Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!”

Obito condensed a large amount of Chakra in his throat. Because he was in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, all the Chakra instantly transformed into Fire Release, turning into a large amount of flames that Obito spewed out.

Obito concentrated a large amount of flames together to form a stream of fire, rushing towards the continuously approaching fire pillar.

The two streams of fire collided, and violent sparks erupted, the scorching flames hissing as they roasted the surrounding air.

The clash of same-attribute Ninjutsu is the best way to see the power of Ninjutsu. Whoever’s Ninjutsu is dispelled first is the weaker one.

And Obito’s flames had the enhancement of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, plus he expended a large amount of Chakra. Even if the unconvinced Charizard continuously maintained its Chakra output, it still couldn’t stop the decline of its fire pillar.

Boom!!

The Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet compressed by Obito shot straight into the sky, neutralizing Charizard’s fire pillar and causing an explosion.

“I told you, my Fire Release will never show mercy.” A triumphant smile couldn’t help but appear on Obito’s face.

So what if it evolved? He had, after all, practiced Fire Release for several years. How could he lose to Charizard in a Fire Release confrontation?

“Roar!”

Charizard roared, flapped its wings, and raised its sharp claws to strike at Obito.

‘Chop!’

Obito, in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, refused to be outdone. He first condensed a large amount of flames on his fist, and then condensed Armament Haki, meeting the attack with a punch without dodging.

The previous Fire Release confrontation had given Obito confidence.

He found that Charizard was not as strong as he imagined. The reason it could scare away Sasori with Rockruff was because its flying ability was very difficult to deal with in multi-person battles.

But this was a one-on-one battle. No one was covering Charizard, and it was also difficult for Charizard to ambush him from the sky when he had Sharingan.

Bang!

A dull thud sounded. Charizard landed and took a step back, while Obito slid back two meters.

“It’s not very big, but its strength is considerable.” Obito shook his slightly numb hand.

Although Charizard had trained for a shorter time, its racial advantage gave it much greater strength than Obito.

“But my flames aren’t that easy to take.”

Obito looked at Charizard’s sharp claws. This time, he had won again. His palm was only slightly numb, but Charizard’s claws already showed signs of injury.

Then, the man and the dragon continuously clashed. Under the enhancement of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, Obito won more often than he lost, gaining the upper hand.

At this time, Kakashi had completed the testing of Rockruff’s various abilities, so he looked at Obito and Charizard, who were currently fighting.

“Obito is about to lose,” Kakashi said after watching for a while.

“But doesn’t Obito seem to have the advantage right now?” Rin Nohara asked curiously.

Kakashi shook his head and explained, “Charizard has a special ability: its strength increases when its condition is poor.”

“At this point, Obito has already consumed a large amount of Chakra, while Charizard is about to enter its strongest moment. If nothing unexpected happens, Charizard will win.”

If it were an ordinary Fire Release Ninja, then of course Obito would win. However, Charizard was clearly not an ordinary Fire Release Ninja.

The more Kakashi understood their Pokémon, the more he realized the terrifying potential they held.

Not to mention Obito couldn’t defeat Charizard, Kakashi wouldn’t even dare to say he could definitely win against Rockruff.

Rockruff’s speed was extremely fast, and it had excellent moves for both close and long range.

Most importantly, Rockruff had more stamina than Kakashi. Kakashi absolutely couldn’t outlast Rockruff.

If Rockruff engaged Kakashi in a war of attrition, Kakashi would definitely lose.

As soon as Kakashi finished explaining, as if to confirm Kakashi’s words, the flames on Charizard’s tail suddenly burned even more fiercely.

Feeling the powerful strength within its body, Charizard laughed wildly as it looked at Obito. It was waiting for Blaze, what were you waiting for?

‘Fire Blast!’

Charizard opened its large mouth, and a large amount of Chakra erupted, spewing out the thickest stream of fire it had ever produced in its life.

“Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!”

Obito, in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, was extremely sensitive to flames. He instantly sensed the danger and immediately concentrated his Chakra again, spewing out a sea of fire that condensed into a solid pillar of fire.

Boom!

Two powerful pillars of fire collided.

The area around the fire pillars was filled with rolling heat waves and flying sparks. The scorching flames distorted the surrounding air, as if one could see ripples of air undulating in the sea of fire.

Even Kakashi and Shisui, who were observing, could feel the scorching aura permeating the air. Even the wind seemed suppressed by this heat wave, becoming weak and feeble.

The two pillars of fire expended their last bit of spark, finally vanishing into nothingness together.

This time, Charizard’s full-power Fire Blast and Obito’s Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet fought to a draw.

“No big deal, Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet isn’t even my strongest Fire Release Ninjutsu,” Obito comforted himself.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Charizard grinned, then spewed another thick pillar of fire at Obito.

You blocked one, but what about the second one?

It could still unleash five more Fire Blasts. How many Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullets like that could you, Obito, unleash?

Obito wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, his figure flashing as he rapidly dodged.

The previous battle had already consumed a large amount of his Chakra. If he were to unleash another Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, he might be forced to exit Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.

‘Heat Wave!’

Facing the fleeing Obito, Charizard took a deep breath and exhaled a whirlwind with sparks.

Then, it quickly swung out Wind Release: Air Blades to block Obito’s dodging space.

With nowhere to hide, Obito had no choice but to directly face the flames spewed by Charizard.

The two streams of fire collided again. The flames spewed by Charizard rapidly suppressed Obito’s flames and surged towards Obito.

Obito, meanwhile, condensed Chakra around his body, preparing for defense.

Since a direct clash wouldn’t work, he would find a way to reduce the damage.

When Charizard’s flames had suppressed more than half of Obito’s, Charizard dispersed some of its power. The remaining portion, due to Obito’s flames, only partially hit Obito’s protective barrier.

Although he wasn’t seriously injured, Obito was exhausted at this point and sat on the ground under the impact of the flames.

“Roar.”

Finally, Charizard stood before the exhausted Obito, arms crossed, nostrils spewing hot air, and let out a disdainful cry.

“He’s saying, ‘You’re still too green to compare flames with me,'” Zorua translated.

Obito looked at Charizard with a face full of black lines. Wasn’t that what he had said this morning? It learned too quickly.

“If you could have conserved Chakra as much as possible in the early stages, you might have had a chance to win,” Kakashi commented.

In terms of output upper limit, the current Obito was higher than Charizard, which could be seen from how Obito suppressed Charizard in their prime.

“Maybe if I conserved Chakra earlier, there wouldn’t have been a later stage,” Obito retorted, annoyed.

Kakashi was simply speaking from a position of ease. Charizard was so fierce; if he didn’t activate Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he would have been beaten badly.

Muzuki and Rin Nohara were both watching. Didn’t he, Obito, have his pride?

“Kakashi, you are ultimately just a little bit smart,” Obito thought, feeling smug.

He was playing a big game. Charizard had a good fight tonight, so tomorrow afternoon it should work hard to help him win first place.

At that time, he would be the first in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, while Kakashi would only be a mere quarterfinalist. They wouldn’t even be on the same level of Ninja.

Moreover, the reward for first place was Fire Dragon Dance, known as the strongest Fire Release. Once he successfully mastered that Fire Release, his solo combat strength would also surpass Kakashi.

Obito seemed to see a broad road appearing before him, just waiting for him to step onto it.

When Obito was about to discuss tomorrow’s tactics with Charizard, he found that Charizard was no longer beside him.

Obito looked around and realized that Charizard had gone over to Milotic’s side at some point.

Obito was speechless. He was the contractor! One might have thought that Milotic and Charizard were both Rin Nohara’s Nin-Beasts.

“Obito, let me heal you. Although it looks like there’s nothing seriously wrong, you have a match tomorrow, so you should be careful,” Rin Nohara said gently as she walked up to Obito.

“Hehe, thank you, Rin.”

Obito gave an embarrassed smile, didn’t go to find Charizard, and instead cooperated with Rin Nohara’s healing, looking for topics to chat about with her.

“For the match, Obito, just do your best. Don’t overthink it, and make sure to protect yourself,” Rin Nohara reminded him.

Although Charizard was quite strong, Nagato’s current performance was too dominant. Rin Nohara felt that even if Obito and Charizard teamed up, it would be difficult to win.

She was worried that Obito would push himself too hard for first place, leading to serious injury, which was why she specifically reminded him.

Rin Nohara knew that Obito was someone who liked to show off. Although he had been taught by Muzuki, the current Obito was much more rational and wouldn’t recklessly harm himself to show off, but one should always be prepared for the unexpected.

“Don’t worry, Rin, I’ll protect myself,” Obito said, nodding.

After all, this was just a competition, not a life-and-death struggle with an enemy. Obito certainly wouldn’t risk his life.

Of course, he would still try his best to defeat Nagato, not only for the ranking and rewards, but also to avenge Might Guy.

Might Guy had forcefully opened the Six Gates and was injured to help him win the first prize. How could he ignore this friendship?

…The next afternoon, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament finals were held on time.

Hanzō showed a relaxed expression. Although he didn’t see Nagato defeated and Sōsuke looking troubled, the Martial Arts Tournament was finally coming to an end. He was finally free and no longer had to face Sōsuke and Kakuzu.

Sōsuke gave him mental pressure, while Kakuzu gave him realistic verbal pressure. He hadn’t slept well for days. In his dreams, either Sōsuke was lecturing him and calling his name, or Kakuzu was arguing with him.

In the competitor’s lounge, there were only Nagato and Obito.

Obito looked at Nagato, constantly recalling information about Nagato.

At this moment, he was not fighting alone, but as a team. Kakashi, Might Guy, and the others had compiled and told Obito all the information they had gathered on Nagato.

“The repulsive Ninjutsu, although it can be instantly cast without hand seals, has a cooldown time, which is less than or equal to eight seconds…”

At this point, most of Nagato’s information had been exposed. All the disciples believed that the cooldown of Shinra Tensei was the most crucial thing.

Although Bansho Tenin was also quite strange, its effect was not as good as Shinra Tensei.

For example, when fighting Might Guy, if Nagato dared to use Bansho Tenin to pull Might Guy over, then Might Guy would let Nagato know what muscles beyond rock were like.

Although Nagato didn’t overtly look at Obito, he was actually observing Obito with his peripheral vision. He was very curious about what kind of Ninja the other Muzuki disciples were.

“Youth Martial Arts Tournament Finals: Nagato versus Uchiha Obito!” The referee’s voice entered the lounge.

PS: This chapter is a two-in-one chapter, a total of 7k.

The Martial Arts Tournament arc can end tomorrow.