Chapter 487: The rare gathering of the Watergate class

As the white light receded, a splash of orange entered Obito’s vision.

Looking at the orange, unknown Nin-Beast in front of him, which somewhat resembled a lizard or salamander, Obito scratched his head.

Obito didn’t know if it was strong yet, but it certainly wasn’t handsome.

Obito carefully observed the orange, unknown Nin-Beast standing on two feet. At first glance, it looked a bit like a lizard, but on closer inspection, the differences were significant.

Most of its body was orange, with only its belly and the underside of its tail being cream-colored. Its limbs appeared short and small, and its fingers were so short that Obito almost didn’t notice them.

The only thing that made Obito feel its uniqueness was its tail. A vigorous flame burned at the end of that seemingly ordinary tail, and it didn’t appear to cause any harm to the Nin-Beast’s body.

“It must be because it just hatched and hasn’t fully grown yet. It will become mighty when it grows up,” Obito comforted himself.

After all, it was a Nin-Beast he had personally cared for and hatched. Even if it wasn’t what he had expected, Obito couldn’t possibly go to Muzuki and say he didn’t want it and ask for a replacement.

“Fire Dragon,” the Fire Dragon’s blue eyes looked at Obito and happily called out.

Obito stroked the Fire Dragon’s head and thought it wasn’t bad. Although it wasn’t the mighty and handsome type he had imagined, its personality seemed very good, unlike Zorua, Shisui’s Nin-Beast.

Then Obito looked towards Rin Nohara. He had also noticed the movement of Rin Nohara’s Nin-Beast egg just now.

Obito was actually a little happy for Rin Nohara. If all the other Nin-Beast eggs hatched, and he was the only one still waiting anxiously, that would be too agonizing.

But when Obito saw the Nin-Beast that appeared in front of Rin Nohara, Obito was dumbfounded.

“This… this, they didn’t take the wrong egg, did they?” Obito racked his brain, trying to comfort Rin Nohara, but he couldn’t think of how to praise the ugly and weak-looking big fish in front of Rin Nohara.

The Nin-Beast Rin Nohara hatched was completely not on the same level as the Nin-Beasts they had hatched.

Although the Nin-Beasts they hatched didn’t have fierce appearances, each Nin-Beast had its own unique characteristics.

Obito truly couldn’t see anything special about the Nin-Beast Rin Nohara hatched. If he had to say something, it was exceptionally ugly? Obito had never seen a fish that looked so strange.

It had just been born, but its fins were already tattered as if it had been severely beaten, and its body was bumpy as if it had been abused.

“A fish can hatch in this environment?” Kakashi was also a little surprised when he saw the Nin-Beast Rin Nohara hatched.

However, Kakashi quickly turned to other thoughts. If dogs could be oviparous, then there was no need to worry about how a fish hatched without water. If anything, Rockruff and the others were stranger.

“Probably not,” Rin Nohara shook her head at Obito. Although she hadn’t expected to hatch such a strange fish, she wouldn’t deny it.

“Kakashi, please create a sunken area with Earth Release,” seeing Feebas lying on the ground, looking dazed and occasionally struggling, Rin Nohara asked Kakashi.

Even if Feebas wasn’t as cute as she had imagined, Rin Nohara couldn’t ignore her Nin-Beast.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!”

Kakashi nodded and immediately formed hand signs to control the ground where Feebas was, causing it to rapidly sink.

Rin Nohara then left the sunken ground, formed hand signs, and used Water Release to fill the sunken ground with water, forming a pond.

“Can a Nin-Beast like this really have combat power? I feel like it might not even be able to defeat Black Feather later,” Obito walked to the edge of the pond and couldn’t help but complain.

Feebas truly gave him a feeling of being incredibly weak, and it didn’t even seem as intelligent as ordinary animals.

“Not necessarily,” Kakashi maintained a negative attitude.

Muzuki would never favor one disciple or target one disciple. Since Muzuki said that the Nin-Beast eggs given to them all had great potential, he certainly wouldn’t give Rin Nohara a bad Nin-Beast egg alone.

“But I really can’t see anything special about it. It can’t be that it’s especially…” Obito didn’t say the rest of his sentence, even he knew that would be hurtful.

“Just like Ninja, there are genius Ninja who show talent as soon as they encounter Ninja knowledge, and there are also late bloomers who start out mediocre but work hard to accumulate their foundation and then burst forth,” Muzuki walked over and said.

Feebas was indeed awkward in the early stages; it was basically impossible for it to have combat power before evolving.

But as long as it was properly nurtured, Rin Nohara might be able to overtake others and become the first disciple to evolve a Pokémon into its complete form.

Because Feebas’s evolution didn’t require reaching a certain level of training; what it needed was beauty, and its owner’s love and trust.

“As long as you cultivate it diligently, the final result will definitely not be bad.”

“Yes, thank you, Muzuki-sensei. I will take good care of it. This child seems to need a lot of care,” Rin Nohara thanked Muzuki, preparing to take Feebas home and meticulously care for it.

She had no intention of giving up on Feebas from the start, but Muzuki’s words indeed gave her more confidence.

Obito ran his hands through his hair, activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and meticulously observed Feebas, still finding nothing extraordinary about it.

Ultimately, Obito chose to give up. Anyway, Muzuki-sensei definitely wouldn’t lie; it was just that his eyesight wasn’t good enough to see it.

On this day, Obito reduced some of his training time and used the time he would have spent training to bond with the Fire Dragon.

It was fine when the Nin-Beast hadn’t hatched yet, but now that he finally had his own Nin-Beast, Obito couldn’t wait to train the Fire Dragon to become stronger, and then beat up that annoying white-haired dog and red-haired fox.

He definitely couldn’t do it himself; Rockruff and Zorua were both Nin-Beasts that had just been born not long ago.

If he were to attack, wouldn’t that be bullying newborn children? Kakashi would take the opportunity to mock him, and Rin Nohara’s opinion of him might also decrease.

In the evening, Obito was in his home courtyard explaining Fire Release to the Fire Dragon, trying to teach the Fire Dragon the Great Fireball Technique.

Rockruff had a stone on its neck, so it could instinctively use Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation. The Fire Dragon had fire on its tail, so Obito believed the Fire Dragon could definitely use Fire Release.

Just as Obito was diligently teaching, Minato Namikaze arrived at Obito’s house.

“Obito, gather at the Hokage Building tomorrow,” Minato Namikaze informed him.

Hearing Minato Namikaze say this, Obito then remembered that he was actually a member of Minato Squad, but he had been entrusted for a long time.

“Minato-sensei, are we going on a war mission?” Obito asked.

Gathering at the Hokage Building usually meant going on a mission, and since it was wartime, with their squad’s strength, it would definitely be a high-difficulty war mission.

Minato Namikaze smiled and shook his head, “It’s not a mission, but there should be some training.”

Minato Namikaze had just finished being busy recently, so of course, he wouldn’t actively take on war missions. He just wanted to bring his disciples and Kushina to get acquainted.

Because Kushina’s range of activity was limited, Minato Namikaze could only take Obito and the others to the Leaf Village Main District.

The Main urban area also had a Training Ground, but it was very small, basically the size of a playground, just an enclosed open space.

After telling Obito the situation, Minato Namikaze quickly went to inform Kakashi and Rin Nohara.

…

The next day, Minato Squad assembled in front of the Hokage Building, and joining Minato Namikaze was Kushina, who had come to join the fun.

“You are all disciples taught by both Muzuki and Minato. I’ve seen news about you in the newspaper, but seeing is believing. I want to see if you are really as excellent as Minato says you are,” Kushina said, with her hands on her hips, looking like a strict examiner.

In reality, Kushina was just bored and itching for a fight. Plus, Minato Namikaze also wanted her to get acquainted with Kakashi and the others, so Kushina thought of combat training, which had nothing to do with evaluating their excellence.

Of course, what she thought in her heart and what she said out loud were two different things. Kushina wanted to show her authoritative side, so she specifically prepared a speech.

“How can that be false? Our excellence is even acknowledged by our enemies,” Obito retorted.

When they became famous on the East Bank Battlefield, ordinary Hidden Mist squads they encountered were afraid of them.

“And are you sure you want to train all three of us at once? We are all Jonin, and I even defeated a Jonin examiner in the Jonin exam!” Obito said, puffing out his chest with a proud look.

Although Obito didn’t pass the Jonin exam, he believed that defeating a Jonin examiner was a commendable achievement, because it was an achievement Kakashi had not accomplished.

“So you mean you’re very brave, huh?” Kushina looked at Obito with interest.

It had been a long time since a Ninja dared to be so arrogant in front of her.

“Just kidding, the current me can definitely defeat one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!” Obito declared that he was already an elite among Jonin.

“Then do you want to challenge me alone?” Kushina began to crack her knuckles, looking forward to seeing if Obito would cry after being beaten.

“Of course,” Obito was full of confidence.

He, the famous genius Jonin of Konoha, defeating an unknown Konoha Jonin would be effortless.

Kushina was the challenger.

“Obito, this isn’t good,” Rin Nohara worried for Obito.

Minato Namikaze wasn’t an unreliable person. Since Minato Namikaze let Kushina train the three of them, then Kushina’s strength should surpass theirs, or she had some extraordinary quality, and it wasn’t because of Kushina’s personal relationship with Minato Namikaze.

Obito gave Rin Nohara a confident smile in return.

“He’s hopeless,” Kakashi shook his head secretly.

Even Rin Nohara could tell, but Obito couldn’t guess Kushina’s strength.

However, Kakashi was also quite curious. In a time of constant war, there was actually an unknown strong person.

“Kushina, be a little gentle later,” Minato said softly on the way to the Training Ground.

Kushina’s fighting style had a violence that didn’t match her appearance, earning her the nickname “Red Hot-Blooded Habanero” during her Ninja Academy days.

“How can that be? I must give him a profound lesson, to let him know not to underestimate people,” Kushina clenched her fist and lightly swung it, indicating that she was about to strike hard.

Minato Namikaze smiled helplessly, only hoping Obito would be more cautious with his words and actions in the future.

“Go ahead and attack. I want to see how strong a Ninja who can defeat one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist truly is.”

Upon reaching the Training Ground, Kushina, showing the magnanimity of a senior, let Obito attack first.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Kushina’s attitude caused Obito’s estimation of her strength to change. Generally, people who dared to be so arrogant were not weak, so Obito didn’t waste words and directly spat out a fireball.

After all, he had acted so confidently before the fight; it would be a bit embarrassing if he lost.

“Adamantine Chains!”

Kushina instantly dodged the slow Great Fireball Technique, then directly unleashed the immensely powerful Chakra on her body and charged towards Obito, using the special ability of the Uzumaki Clan bloodline.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Chakra chains extended from Kushina’s back, continuously lengthening and sealing off the entire area within twenty meters of her.

Obito didn’t even have time to use Flame Breathing Chakra Mode. After a few dodges, he was bound by the Chakra chains and couldn’t move.

“What kind of Ninjutsu is this?” Obito was stunned. He had never seen this Ninjutsu before.

“Flame Breathing Chakra Mode!”

Obito focused his breathing to the extreme, entering Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, unleashing all his Chakra and causing high-temperature flames to burn around him, intending to burn through the chains that bound him.

But to Obito’s surprise, the chains were barely damaged under the scorching high-temperature flames.

Kakashi, observing the fight, narrowed his eyes. If he hadn’t activated Transparent World and wasn’t far from Kushina, he might not have been able to dodge so many chains either.

“Is it a secret technique of the Uzumaki Clan?” Kakashi showed a thoughtful expression; he had no impression of this Ninjutsu either.

Obito was numb. Even the low-key Muzuki-sensei was famous throughout the Ninja World, so why were there still hidden masters in Konoha?

Given the Chakra power Kushina had just unleashed, let alone him, Might Guy might not even win if he came.

Kushina controlled the chains to hoist Obito up, “It seems the rumors are false. You’re not that great.”

“Is there a possibility that it’s because you’re stronger?” Obito said, his face flushed.

“No, that must be it! I’m very strong!” Hearing Obito admit defeat and praise her, Kushina immediately beamed with joy and released Obito.

People who praised her were never bad.

“Minato-sensei, speaking of which, when are you two planning to have Naruto Big Brother? He still owes me a ‘Big Brother’ call,” Obito thought of a very important matter.

Minato:…

Kushina:???

Obito’s words almost completely bewildered Minato. Only later did he remember the joke Naruto had made to Obito when he left in the future.

Seeing Obito acting up due to embarrassment, Kakashi silently held a photo in front of Obito, using a counter-poison method to make Obito lose his mind and lunge at him to grab the photo, thereby successfully distracting Kushina without incident.

After Obito rested, Kakashi and the other two practiced with Kushina for a while.

After the training ended, they went to eat ramen together, and only then did they disband.

During his time with Kushina, Kakashi realized that Kushina was a bit like Obito, also the type of person who was easy to understand.

However, Kakashi still couldn’t figure out why Kushina wasn’t famous later, because Kushina didn’t seem like the type of person who would deliberately hide herself.