Chapter 539: Nagato’s Pokémon Hatching

“There’s no doubt Obito lost this time. Aside from being slightly weaker in Taijutsu, Nagato has almost no weaknesses. He’s truly difficult to deal with,” Kakashi said, shaking his head.

Nagato’s performance gave Kakashi a feeling of unfathomable depth. This wasn’t a question of being a genius or not; it was the strength of a Ninja World powerhouse, just lacking battle records to prove himself.

Kakashi felt that Haku, whom they encountered on the Hidden Mist battlefield, might not even be able to defeat the current Nagato.

Bansho Tenin and Shinra Tensei offer offense and defense in one, plus the ability to absorb Ninjutsu. If his Taijutsu were also perfected, he would truly have no shortcomings.

“Yes, Obito and Charizard both did their best,” Rin Nohara nodded in agreement.

“I just feel like Obito completely ignored what I told him before,” Rin Nohara said with a helpless smile.

She had specifically warned Obito not to push himself too hard, but he still fought exceptionally fiercely.

However, Rin Nohara could also understand. Obito did indeed create an opportunity for himself to win in the battle, he just didn’t seize it.

When there’s a chance to win, who wants to calmly accept defeat?

“When you heal him later, you can tell him, ‘I’m so disappointed in you.’ Obito will probably take what you say very seriously for a long time,” Kakashi said after some thought.

Although Obito never explicitly said it, his actions were too obvious. In Kakashi’s eyes, Obito might as well have written “I’m interested in Rin Nohara” on his face.

Rin Nohara waved her hand, “How could I do that? Obito still got second place; saying that would hurt him too much.”

She was even planning to comfort Obito later, telling him not to be discouraged and to continue striving to surpass Nagato.

Kakashi didn’t press the issue. He was just joking. If Rin Nohara really said that, Obito would be depressed for at least half a month.

Kakashi could already imagine what state Obito would be in at that time.

He would definitely have vacant eyes and constantly mutter, “I’m so foolish. Since I was going to be second anyway, I should have…”

“Since Nagato possesses such strength, could he be the leader of the future Evil Akatsuki Organization?” Kakashi thought of the future, looking up at Kakuzu on the high platform.

According to the intelligence from Yamato and his team in the future, Kakuzu was one of the members of the future Evil Akatsuki Organization. In the future, he and his Akatsuki Organization teammate, Hidan, would kill Asuma from that period.

In Kakashi’s opinion, for an organization composed entirely of S-rank rogue Ninja, the leader must possess absolute strength; otherwise, it would be impossible to control the rogue Ninja under him.

After all, S-rank rogue Ninja are definitely not easy to deal with. Without absolute strength to suppress them, the organization would fall apart in a few days, let alone grow strong.

Nagato, at such a young age, already possesses the strength of a Ninja World powerhouse. If he continues to cultivate, he will basically advance towards the peak of the Ninja World. It wouldn’t be surprising for him to be able to suppress S-rank rogue Ninja twenty years from now.

“Deidara, Sasori, Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Kakuzu, Hidan,” Kakashi showed a thoughtful expression.

The Shinobi Sect not only has current Akatsuki Organization members like Nagato and Yahiko but also future Evil Akatsuki Organization members like Kakuzu. This makes Kakashi feel as if the Shinobi Sect might degenerate into the Evil Akatsuki Organization.

“Still too little information,” Kakashi suppressed the thoughts in his mind.

In fact, he had already met several members of the Evil Akatsuki Organization.

For example, Kisame Hoshigaki, who was still a Mist Ninja and hadn’t defected yet, and Uchiha Itachi, who was just a young kid who hadn’t started training.

But nothing could be seen from them yet; they all seemed quite normal.

“As expected of a Ninja with the Sage’s Eyes, his growth speed is too fast,” Hanzo was secretly astonished by Nagato’s performance.

During the encirclement of the Shinobi Sect, Nagato had a burst of power. Compared to that time, the current Nagato was undoubtedly a true powerhouse.

Absorbing Ninjutsu and repelling attacks, these two abilities, while not invincible, were indeed very useful in battle.

“Since the match has ended, I won’t stay any longer. There are still many matters in the Amegakure that require my attention,” Hanzo said with a serious expression.

The match was finally over, and Hanzo didn’t want to stay for another second. He felt tormented even sitting for one more minute.

Sōsuke gave him mental pressure, and Kakuzu gave him real-world pressure. Who could endure that?

Although he hadn’t done anything all day, Hanzo felt like he was undergoing some kind of ascetic training.

“Important matters come first. Then, senior, you should go back and handle your affairs,” Muzuki said, seeing that Hanzo was about to lose his composure, and didn’t force him to stay.

After all, Hanzo had brought popularity to the Martial Arts Tournament and popcorn to the Shinobi Sect, so he couldn’t be too excessive.

“Come visit often! Shinobi Sect and Rain Ninja are one family,” at the moment of farewell, Kakuzu also changed his highly aggressive posture and waved goodbye to Hanzo.

Hanzo’s mouth twitched. If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t defeat Muzuki and Muzuki had leverage over him, he wouldn’t have wanted to come.

Hanzo pretended not to hear and quickly rushed back to the Amegakure with his guards and trusted retainers. As for the ordinary Rain Ninja, they would return on their own.

“This Martial Arts Tournament is much more interesting than the Chunin Exams,” the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country said with a satisfied expression, gently fanning himself after the match ended.

Konoha’s grand Chunin Exams would also invite the Daimyo, but their excitement was clearly far inferior to the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.

Most of the contestants in the Martial Arts Tournament’s elimination rounds could easily dominate in the Chunin Exams, even those eliminated in the first round.

The Lord Daimyo of Fire Country felt he could suggest to Konoha that they also organize such interesting events in the future.

Of course, it was just a suggestion. If Konoha didn’t agree, the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country couldn’t force them.

The Daimyo and the Ninja Village had a cooperative relationship, not a superior-subordinate one.

“Indeed, indeed,” the Rain Country Daimyo said with a wide smile of agreement.

Previously, the Rain Country Daimyo was a bit unhappy about the Shinobi Sect requesting land. Although most of it was barren, it was still his land.

Now, the Rain Country Daimyo’s unhappiness disappeared. After all, this time, the Shinobi Sect had given him face in front of the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country. It was fine if some untaxable land was gone.

“This Shinobi Sect is quite strong. I feel like they would be very reliable for missions,” some wealthy merchants and nobles saw the Shinobi Sect’s strength and felt that if they had needs in the future, they could post requests at the Shinobi Sect.

Although Ninja Master Sōsuke was famous throughout the Ninja World before, as a Ninja force, it’s not enough for only the leader to be strong, as the leader cannot take on all the missions.

This Martial Arts Tournament showcased the Shinobi Sect’s potential as a Ninja force.

Besides Nagato, Yahiko and Konan also entered the elimination rounds, and Konan even made it to the second round. This achievement already surpassed many Ninja from small Ninja Villages.

“The Shinobi Sect cannot be underestimated, but Konoha is even more worthy of vigilance. I must report the Martial Arts Tournament’s intelligence to my father,” Kitsuchi was more concerned about Konoha than Nagato’s performance.

After all, no matter how talented Nagato was, the Shinobi Sect was, in essence, a Ninja Organization of less than two hundred people, unable to pose a threat to the vast Iwagakure.

Konoha was different. Konoha was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, just like Iwagakure.

Although Iwagakure didn’t have many Ninja who practiced Fire Release, out of the mindset of “if I don’t use it, others shouldn’t get it,” Iwagakure actually sent quite a few young Ninja to participate. Many Iwagakure Ninja entered the elimination rounds.

In terms of the number of people entering the elimination rounds, Iwagakure was actually not less than Konoha. But after the first round, more than half of the Iwagakure Ninja were eliminated. After the second round, all Iwagakure Ninja were eliminated, while Konoha had a full five Ninja enter the Four Finals.

This was an exaggerated number. Konoha, one Ninja Village, occupied five of the eight spots in the Four Finals.

It should be known that although the various Ninja Villages had varying degrees of emphasis on the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, they all sent some Ninja more or less.

Kitsuchi found it hard not to be wary of such a Konoha.

Despite sending more Ninja, they were completely outmatched by the opponent’s results. Without a doubt, Iwagakure lost to Konoha in the younger generation of Ninja.

As for the other Ninja Villages, Kitsuchi couldn’t say, because the other Ninja Villages sent relatively few Ninja, especially Kumogakure and Sunagakure, who basically just made a cameo appearance.

…

The injured Obito was treated by Muzuki and sent to the Shinobi Sect’s hospital, sharing a room with Might Guy.

“Guy, I’m sorry, I also lost to Nagato and couldn’t avenge you,” Obito sighed, a bit embarrassed.

Nagato was simply too strong; Obito truly had the will but lacked the power.

“Obito, do you feel you did your best? Did you try hard?” Might Guy asked.

“Of course, I almost won.”

Might Guy gave Obito a bright smile and a thumbs-up, “That’s enough! If you’ve tried and fought hard, even if you don’t succeed in the end, you won’t regret not giving your all someday in the future.”

“Youth is always accompanied by failure, and what we need to do is to absorb nutrients and grow from each failure.”

Obito subconsciously nodded, feeling that Might Guy’s words made a lot of sense.

“By the way, Guy, where did you learn all these words? They don’t seem to fit your theoretical scores,” Obito said, rubbing his chin.

Might Guy was a fellow academic underachiever on par with him; his style shouldn’t be like this.

“Because those who work hard improve very quickly. Perhaps, without you knowing, Guy’s various qualities have already surpassed yours by a lot.”

Kakashi’s voice entered the hospital room, and then the door opened, and Kakashi and his disciples walked in.

“Kakashi, you know it all again, you’re just in the Four Finals,” Obito pouted.

Kakashi didn’t retort. Firstly, he couldn’t retort Obito right now, and secondly, he was indeed only in the Four Finals.

But Kakashi silently made a mental note to Obito, intending to return the favor when he had the chance.

“Obito, your fight just now was amazing! Not only did you force out Nagato’s hidden abilities, but you also surpassed him in Taijutsu,” Rin Nohara praised.

“Haha, it wasn’t that amazing, just generally amazing, only second place in the Martial Arts Tournament,” Obito’s heart instantly bloomed with joy, and the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled upwards.

He had already been comforted by Might Guy, and now receiving praise from Rin Nohara, all his feelings of melancholy from defeat vanished instantly without a trace.

“You can start thinking about the Ninjutsu you want now. The Shinobi Sect should send someone to discuss it with you very soon,” Shisui said.

The reward for second place in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament was a custom-made Ninjutsu developed with the help of Shinobi Sect leader, Ninja Master Sōsuke.

The Shinobi Sect was quite efficient. Shisui had already been approached by a Shinobi Sect Ninja before he and Kakashi went to find Obito.

Due to the competition format, there were no clear third and fourth places, only the top two and the Four Finals.

However, the rewards for third and fourth place were different. The solution provided by the Shinobi Sect was to have Shinobi Sect experts score them to determine third and fourth.

If the contestants accepted the Shinobi Sect’s scoring, then third and fourth places would be determined according to the Shinobi Sect’s scores and rewards distributed.

If the contestants didn’t accept, then a ranking battle would be arranged, allowing the two contestants who lost in the Four Finals to fight again to determine fourth and third.

According to the Shinobi Sect’s scoring, Might Guy was third and Shisui was fourth.

Shisui had long trained with Might Guy and was aware of the current gap between them, so he had no objection to this result.

“A custom Ninjutsu, huh?” Obito showed a thoughtful expression.

“What do you Guys think, if my request is for the strongest Fire Release in the Ninja World, would that work?” Obito said, a Flash of inspiration hitting him.

Since Fire Dragon Dance was currently the strongest Fire Release in the Ninja World, if his custom request was for something stronger than Fire Dragon Dance, wouldn’t that be equivalent to a better reward than first place?

Kakashi looked at Obito speechlessly. This was Ninja Master Sōsuke, a top-tier powerhouse of the Ninja World, not some old man from the village.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Rin Nohara commented bluntly.

She believed that “custom” in the context of the reward should refer to various personalized requests, such as Nature Transformation, the specific effects of the Ninjutsu, whether it burns or explodes.

Simply requesting the “strongest” was a bit too abstract.

“Oh, I see,” Obito scratched his head. He truly only wanted a Ninjutsu with power comparable to One Thought Cut, nothing else.

…

Meanwhile, the Ninja of the Shinobi Sect were celebrating Nagato’s great victory.

“Nagato, I knew you could do it!” Yahiko laughed, patting Nagato’s shoulder.

Yahiko’s words were not just polite talk; he had always believed that Nagato would defeat everyone and win first place.

In his eyes, among Ninja under eighteen, Nagato was the strongest; no one could surpass Nagato.

Of course, when Nagato fought Might Guy, Yahiko did break out in a cold sweat for Nagato.

Before the Youth Martial Arts Tournament began, he truly hadn’t expected there to be a Ninja like Might Guy in the Ninja World, who hadn’t used a single Ninjutsu yet possessed the strength to overwhelm most Ninja.

“Nagato, you worked hard,” Konan gave Nagato a paper crane she had folded.

From Konan’s perspective, Nagato had worked hard to protect the Shinobi Sect’s assets; he had fought for the Shinobi Sect, not just for himself.

“Nagato, that was really cool this time! You knocked down all the Ninja from the Five Great Nations,” Kyusuke said excitedly, waving his fist.

For a Ninja Organization like the Shinobi Sect, dedicated to great peace in the Ninja World, surpassing the Five Great Ninja Villages was a joyous occasion, even if it was just one genius from their organization surpassing the geniuses of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

“Thank you, everyone,” Nagato took the origami and smiled as he responded to everyone.

The current Shinobi Sect held Nagato’s dream, and there were also many people Nagato cared about within it. Seeing the Shinobi Sect getting better and better, he was truly happy and willing to contribute to its development.

After a period of celebration, Nagato did not become complacent. He maintained his usual training rhythm and went to the training room, which Muzuki had sealed with a Sealing Technique, to practice Yang Release Breathing.

For him, besides the Rinnegan, the most important training was Yang Release Breathing.

Crack!

Nagato, who was training, suddenly heard a cracking sound. Then, with his keen senses, he noticed a change in the Pokémon Egg Muzuki had given him.

For some reason, the originally plain white egg was suddenly enveloped in dazzling light.

Nagato focused his gaze and looked towards the light, but he couldn’t see through the white light.

So Nagato silently watched the Pokémon Egg enveloped in white light.

After all, this Pokémon Egg was a gift from Muzuki, and Nagato believed it was absolutely harmless.

PS: I had insomnia yesterday, so I’m not in good shape today, only 4k.

Some readers asked why there’s only one update a day. Actually, the author usually writes long chapters, 7k-8k words, and only occasionally, when in very bad shape, does a 4k update.

Also, if nothing unexpected happens, Naruto’s extra chapter will be released on the 18th.

The main consideration is that continuous battles can be tiring to read.

The main story has Obito fighting Nagato, and soon Naruto will fight Nagato.

So Xiao Ju’s idea is to write a few days of daily life as a transition.