Chapter 540: Don’t You Dare Expel Me From the Nin-Beast Registry!

The white light dissipated, and the Pokémon Egg vanished without a trace, leaving only the soft cushion Nagato had used to prop it up.

Of course, this didn’t mean Muzuki had given Nagato a fake or shoddy Pokémon Egg.

Sensing a gaze and a faint chill from behind him, Nagato turned to look.

What met his eyes was a patch of purple mist, and in the center of the mist was a large black sphere with a pair of large white eyes and a mouth with a pair of fangs.

As Nagato looked at the large black sphere, its large eyes were also curiously observing Nagato.

After clearly seeing Ghost, Nagato instinctively took half a step back.

Although he generally didn’t judge by appearances, the unknown entity before him did not look like a creature from the living world.

Nagato felt that anyone, upon turning around and seeing a black sphere enveloped in purple mist with eyes and a mouth about to touch their face, would instinctively recoil.

Only stepping back half a step already showed his immense confidence in his own strength.

“Gengar!”

Ghost let out a friendly laugh and greeted Nagato; for some reason, it felt a sense of closeness to Nagato.

Of course, this friendliness was only Ghost’s perception; from Nagato’s perspective, it was just a black sphere emitting purple mist and making a bizarre, eerie laugh.

“Is this a Nin-Beast?” Nagato fell into deep thought.

A Nin-Beast Egg hatched, and then Ghost appeared in the training room; by all accounts, Ghost was the newly hatched Nin-Beast.

Nagato had seen strange-looking Nin-Beasts before, but none as strange as Ghost.

To be impolite, he thought Ghost looked more like a legendary anomaly than a Nin-Beast.

“Without a doubt, it is, just a bit more unique,” Muzuki said as he entered the training room.

Muzuki hadn’t expected Nagato’s Pokemon to be Ghost.

He had thought it would be an Eevee or something, given Nagato’s many affinities.

However, purely in terms of combat, Ghost was indeed a good fit for Nagato.

Nagato’s only current weakness was his taijutsu, and Ghost possessed strong stealth abilities, allowing it to lurk by Nagato’s side and protect him.

“Hee hee hee!”

Ghost heard Muzuki praise its uniqueness and immediately burst into laughter, then floated around Nagato, circling him continuously.

Since Ghost was indeed a Nin-Beast, Nagato didn’t hesitate and formed a contract with Ghost.

“Muzuki-sensei, can I take it outside, or should it stay in the training room for now?” Nagato asked Muzuki.

Ghost’s egg had been in the windowless training room ever since Muzuki gave it to Nagato, and Nagato wanted to take Ghost out for a walk.

“Yes, you can. It doesn’t need to stay here anymore,” Muzuki replied.

Ghost’s abilities and appearance were vastly different from Obito’s Pokemon; no one would link Ghost to Obito’s side.

If Ghost evolved, there might be a commonality, but even then, it wouldn’t be enough to equate Sōsuke and Hayate Mugetsu.

Of course, even if Uchiha Madara or even Black Zetsu knew that Muzuki was Sōsuke, Muzuki wouldn’t care.

He initially kept his identity hidden because he didn’t want Uchiha Madara to interfere with his apprenticeship with Nagato.

Now that the apprenticeship was successful and Muzuki had established a good teacher-student relationship with Nagato, he no longer had to worry about Uchiha Madara causing trouble.

This was also why Muzuki quickly revealed everything to Nagato after taking him as a student, because if he didn’t, Uchiha Madara might use that point to deceive Nagato.

The current situation was very favorable to Muzuki; even if Uchiha Madara learned his identity, aside from using his power to cause trouble for Muzuki, he couldn’t do anything else.

Publicly revealing Muzuki’s identity to make other countries wary of Konoha and the Shinobi Sect, thereby causing trouble for Muzuki? Uchiha Madara couldn’t do that.

Because if Uchiha Madara sent White Zetsu to spread the news, no one would believe it.

Compared to the theory that Raging Sun Mu Yue of Konoha was Ninja Master Sōsuke, the conspiracy theory that everything about Sōsuke was a plot by the Amegakure seemed more credible.

Uchiha Madara simply couldn’t play the public opinion game with Muzuki.

Muzuki was considered the second-in-command of Root in Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi also trusted Muzuki.

In the Land of Rain, Muzuki was a highly praised Ninja Master; besides his own Shinobi Sect, he could also mobilize the power of Rain Ninja if he negotiated with Hanzō.

Uchiha Madara could make the already chaotic situation even more chaotic through his arrangements, but in terms of actual manpower he could mobilize, Uchiha Madara was far inferior to Muzuki.

After all, Uchiha Madara had been feigning death for decades; the villages had all changed from their First Kage to their Third, and the faster Sunagakure had even reached its Fourth Kazekage.

Nagato nodded and walked out, with Ghost floating behind him, leaving the training room together.

Seeing Nagato leave, Muzuki took out his own Pokémon Egg and looked at it twice.

Although they were obtained together, Muzuki’s Pokémon Egg still showed no signs of hatching.

“Nagato.” Yahiko, who was about to go for a stroll, saw Nagato and greeted him with a smile.

But soon, the smile on Yahiko’s face turned serious, because he saw a mysterious figure shrouded in purple mist slowly rising behind Nagato.

“Nagato, be careful!” Yahiko shouted, then quickly rushed towards Nagato.

Nagato sensed nothing but Ghost behind him and couldn’t help but look confused.

Then Nagato thought carefully; given Ghost’s appearance, perhaps Yahiko was talking about Ghost.

“It’s fine, Yahiko, you don’t need to worry.” Nagato, having understood, spoke to reassure him.

Although Ghost didn’t look much like a creature from the living world, it was a Nin-Beast personally certified by Muzuki, so there would be no problem.

“How can it be fine? There’s something like a Ghost floating behind you!” Yahiko couldn’t help but retort.

Although Yahiko had not believed in Ghosts before, seeing one with his own eyes, even if he didn’t believe, he had to believe now.

“If you don’t believe me, look back.” Yahiko finished speaking and turned his gaze back to Nagato’s back, only to find the purple mysterious figure had disappeared.

“Huh, that’s strange, did I see wrong?” Yahiko couldn’t help but reach his hand backward, intending to scratch his head, but instead felt a chilling sensation, like plunging his hand into ice water.

Yahiko instinctively looked back, and a black sphere emanating ominous purple mist with large eyes came into view.

“A Ghost!”

Yahiko’s eyes widened, and caught off guard, he nearly fell to the ground; fortunately, Nagato was quick-witted and supported Yahiko, saving him from an intimate encounter with the ground.

“Nagato, quickly use Shinra Tensei!” Yahiko shouted while gathering Chakra.

Ghost was too close to them; at this range, Shinra Tensei, which could be cast instantly without hand signs, was very effective.

“Uh, actually, it’s my Nin-Beast,” Nagato explained.

He had said that recoiling half a step upon seeing Ghost was normal; Yahiko had almost fallen down.

“Oh, so it’s a Nin-Beast.” Yahiko made a suddenly enlightened expression.

“I can’t understand it at all, okay? Whose Nin-Beast looks like this?” Yahiko, unable to hold back after another look at Ghost, complained.

This purple mist, this black sphere, these big eyeballs—what kind of decent person’s Nin-Beast looks like this?

“Gengar!”

Ghost heard Yahiko complaining about its appearance and instantly became displeased, sticking out its pink, long tongue at Yahiko.

‘Lick!’

Although it didn’t cause actual damage to Yahiko because it was just born and its power was too low and it didn’t use Chakra, it did make Yahiko’s vision go black, making him wish he could wash his face a dozen times.

“Although it’s somewhat different from ordinary Nin-Beasts, it is indeed a Nin-Beast.” Nagato repeated Muzuki’s explanation to him.

Although Ghost truly didn’t resemble anything from the living world, it hadn’t shown any aggression, so Yahiko had no choice but to believe Nagato’s words.

“Nagato, let’s go see what the others are doing.” Yahiko thought for a moment, then took Nagato and headed to find Kyusuke.

He couldn’t be the only one scared; Yahiko had to let the others also meet Nagato’s rather unusual Nin-Beast.

Anyway, as Nagato’s Nin-Beast, the others would see Ghost sooner or later.

“Isn’t that a bit bad?” Nagato’s expression was hesitant.

Although judging by appearance wasn’t good, Ghost’s appearance would indeed first attack anyone who saw it.

“What’s bad about it? It’s better to get acquainted now to avoid mistakes later.” Yahiko gave a very legitimate reason.

If someone encountered Ghost alone, Yahiko would definitely fight Ghost.

Nagato thought about it and agreed; coupled with Ghost’s excited demeanor, he accepted.

“A Ghost!”

Thus, exclamations of “A Ghost!” constantly appeared throughout the Shinobi Sect’s headquarters, and Ghost, with its bizarre entrance, made a lasting impression on many Ninja of the Shinobi Sect.

……

After the Martial Arts Tournament ended, without needing any special propaganda from Muzuki, various news about the Martial Arts Tournament spread like wildfire throughout the Ninja World.

After all, the Martial Arts Tournament had already received significant attention for various reasons, and now so many unexpected things had happened during the tournament, so its popularity naturally soared.

However, what surprised many Ninja in the Ninja World the most was that the first place was actually taken by a Ninja from the Shinobi Sect itself, which truly took everyone by surprise.

Ninja who followed the Youth Martial Arts Tournament knew that Iwagakure and Konoha valued it the most.

They not only sent many talented Ninja from their villages but also dispatched strong leaders.

Iwagakure sent Kitsuchi, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, while Konoha sent Raging Sun Mu Yue.

This kind of setup clearly meant that the Shinobi Sect couldn’t have simply manipulated things behind the scenes to make their own Ninja win first place.

After all, no matter how much they favored their own contestants, they would still have to compete with the strongest contenders for first place, relying solely on skill.

Therefore, some people bestowed upon Nagato the title of the Ninja World’s Number One Genius, believing that Nagato was the most talented Ninja in the current Ninja World.

The person who initially proposed it might have genuinely believed Nagato’s unparalleled strength.

However, as the momentum grew, it began to have a hint of setting him up for a fall.

Even the Five Great Ninja Villages, the strongest in the Ninja World, didn’t have a genius called the Ninja World’s Number One Genius; for a Ninja force from a small country to suddenly receive such a title made it hard for people not to think in terms of conspiracy theories.

Besides the first place, the strong performance of Konoha Ninja in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament also dropped many jaws.

Although Iwagakure showed the same level of importance as Konoha, in terms of Ninja competition results, the scores of Iwagakure Ninja were completely crushed by those of Konoha Ninja.

From the Four Finals onwards, the proportion of Konoha Ninja became exaggerated; five out of the eight finalists were from Konoha, and three out of the four finalists were from Konoha.

As for Iwagakure, not a single Ninja managed to enter the Four Finals.

Of course, Iwagakure wasn’t the only Great Shinobi Village that didn’t make it to the Four Finals; Sunagakure and Kumogakure were both eliminated in the first round.

However, Sunagakure and Kumogakure didn’t send many Ninja to begin with, so their situation was clearly different from Iwagakure.

In Iwagakure, Tsuchikage’s office, Ōnoki felt a headache as he looked at the Martial Arts Tournament data submitted by Kitsuchi.

“In terms of genius Ninja, Iwagakure is actually so much worse than Konoha,” Ōnoki rubbed his brow.

It truly was a case of not knowing until you compared, and being shocked by the comparison.

As a responsible Tsuchikage, Ōnoki naturally knew that Iwagakure hadn’t produced any exceptionally outstanding geniuses in recent years.

But he really hadn’t expected such a large gap between Konoha and Iwagakure in terms of young Ninja.

Iwagaki was already one of the strongest young geniuses in Iwagakure, yet he was instantly defeated by Might Guy with a single punch at the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.

If Konoha only had one Might Guy, it would be one thing, but Konoha also had several other super geniuses who were slightly inferior to Might Guy.

“Looking at it this way, Sōsuke’s side is even more important,” Ōnoki fell into deep thought.

If the Shinobi Sect could help them cultivate more excellent Ninja, it could alleviate Iwagakure’s current situation to some extent.

However, in Ōnoki’s plan, Iwagakure was highly likely to come into conflict with the Shinobi Sect.

Because Ōnoki’s initial help in mediating the peace talks between the Shinobi Sect and the Rain Ninja was to design a scheme to create enmity and have the Land of Rain tie down Konoha.

Any scheme has the potential to be discovered, and if the Shinobi Sect discovered Iwagakure’s actions, they would inevitably fall out with Iwagakure.

“Change the plan, make the Amegakure the main focus, and let the Amegakure drive the Shinobi Sect to tie down Konoha?” Ōnoki thought of a solution.

Although the outcome would still be Iwagakure causing trouble in the Land of Rain, it wouldn’t be against the Shinobi Sect this time.

The disadvantage of this change was also very obvious: the Shinobi Sect might not exert itself.

Because from Ōnoki’s perspective, the Shinobi Sect and the Amegakure were just two forces united by mutual apprehension; in such a situation, it would be perfectly normal for the Shinobi Sect not to help the Amegakure fight Konoha.

“Observe the situation further,” Ōnoki suppressed the anxiety in his heart.

Although there was a gap in top young Ninja, Iwagakure’s overall strength was not inferior to Konoha’s at present, because Iwagakure had an army of tens of thousands of Ninja.

Therefore, as long as Iwagakure found an opportunity to cripple Konoha in this major war, there would naturally be no need to worry about Konoha’s strength surpassing it.

…

Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.

Fourth Raikage Ay looked at the news of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament with a disdainful smile, “To claim to be the Ninja World’s number one genius just by winning a competition held by their own faction is truly arrogant and ignorant.”

“If it weren’t for the need to familiarize yourself with the power of the Tailed Beast, I would really want you to go and give them a taste of reality,” Fourth Raikage Ay said, looking at Killer Bee, who was training.

Having become the new Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee was restricted from leaving the village.

Fourth Raikage Ay didn’t think that Nagato, Might Guy, or Obito could defeat Killer Bee.

Fourth Raikage Ay had personally witnessed Killer Bee growing stronger step by step, and in his opinion, Killer Bee could even surpass him.

If he could even surpass him, what else could he be but the Ninja World’s number one genius?

“Rain Ninja bastards, so arrogant, if I didn’t still have to train, I’d definitely make them look good,” Killer Bee responded to Fourth Raikage Ay in his unique rapping style.

“Bastard, if you’re going to talk while training, speak properly!”

Fourth Raikage Ay’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably when he saw Killer Bee still messing around during training, and he punched Killer Bee on the head.

He felt that Killer Bee’s unpopularity in the Hidden Cloud Village now had nothing to do with the Eight-Tails; it was entirely due to Killer Bee rapping and disturbing people regardless of the occasion.

“Even Big Brother can’t make me abandon my magnificent rhythm, yeah!” Killer Bee, who had been beaten up, still showed no intention of changing.

At this moment, Iwagaki suddenly walked into Fourth Raikage Ay’s line of sight.

“Please come with me to the Hidden Cloud Village building conference room,” Iwagaki said.

Fourth Raikage Ay nodded, not asking why, and walked directly with Iwagaki towards the Hidden Cloud Village building.

Upon entering the Raikage’s office, Fourth Raikage Ay found that besides his father, Third Raikage, there were several other Hidden Cloud Village elite Ninja in the conference room.

“Alright, let’s begin,” Third Raikage nodded when he saw Iwagaki and his son had arrived.

“Which Ninja Village should Hidden Cloud Village focus its main objectives on next? Everyone, state your opinions.”

Due to the problem with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Hidden Cloud Village was actually not as arrogant as it had been two years ago, and had reined itself in considerably.

They were only in a standoff with Konoha, and the only slightly intense fighting was with Sunagakure.

Logically, Hidden Cloud Village should have persistently fought Sunagakure, but with the end of Sunagakure’s internal strife, the current Sunagakure was not as easy to bully as it was when the Third Kazekage first disappeared.

Of course, this was not the only reason; there were also geographical factors. Fighting Sunagakure was actually quite difficult for Hidden Cloud Village, as they had to pass through several small countries to reach it.

Previously, when there was hope of taking down Sunagakure, such problems could be ignored, but now that Sunagakure was becoming increasingly difficult to chew, various problems gradually became apparent.

“Iwagakure is a good choice. Our Ninja can take a ship directly to Iwagakure’s East Coast, or choose to land in the northern part of the Land of Waterfall and then enter the Land of Earth,” a Cloud Ninja said.

In terms of Ninja marching speed, traveling by ship might not necessarily be faster than by land, but sea transport had the advantage of being direct, without passing through any countries.

The more countries one passed through during a land march, the more likely it was for intelligence to be exposed or for ambushes to occur.

“Moreover, according to the war situation between Iwagakure and Konoha, Iwagakure’s strength is not strong, and there are not many strong individuals worth noting.”

Although Hidden Cloud Village was perceived by many Ninja in the Ninja World as reckless, they were not truly brainless; they had always dispatched spies to collect war intelligence from various villages.

“I, on the other hand, think Konoha is the best choice,” a Cloud Ninja wearing glasses said at this moment.

“Although Konoha appears prosperous at the moment, it has suffered heavy losses in several major wars, losing many Ninja. Although strong individuals like the Yellow Flash and Raging Sun Mu Yue have risen, the strength of their mid-to-low level Ninja is definitely far from what it used to be.”

“If we don’t take this opportunity to crush Konoha, once Konoha recovers its strength in a few years, Hidden Cloud Village will likely find it difficult to surpass Konoha.”

“Why not try to cause trouble for Hidden Mist? They even had a Jinchuriki killed.”

Fourth Raikage Ay silently watched the enthusiastic speeches of the Hidden Cloud Village elites without speaking.

He was merely called over by Third Raikage to learn; in such situations, he usually only listened and did not speak.

After discussing for about three hours, Third Raikage called a halt to the meeting, “That’s all for today, meeting adjourned!”

Strategic decisions at the level of an entire Ninja Village or even a country obviously could not be made lightly, and Third Raikage currently had no clear ideas.

They definitely still had to fight; if they didn’t, their Hidden Cloud Village’s long accumulation of power would be for nothing.

But who to fight and how to fight were not small problems.

…

Land of Fire, Konoha.

“I didn’t expect the Shinobi Sect to have such outstanding young Ninja; Might Guy and Kakashi didn’t even get first place,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a hint of regret as he perused the Youth Martial Arts Tournament intelligence.

He had quite wanted to see that legendary Fire Dragon Dance.

After all, it was a Fire Release Ninjutsu that suppressed Hanzō’s water pressure with fire, and it was hard for a Fire Release master like him not to be curious.

“However, our Konoha Ninja are generally very good,” Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite satisfied with the Martial Arts Tournament results.

Although Konoha didn’t get first place, they swept the rewards from second to fourth, so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

However, the rewards from second to fourth were not Konoha’s biggest gain from participating in the Martial Arts Tournament; the greater gain was the increase in the number of missions Konoha received.

Nagato’s strength was indeed astonishing, but Konoha displayed extraordinary underlying strength, with five Konoha Ninja among the top eight.

“Asuma actually tied with Kakashi for the Four Finals; should I give him a stern talking-to, lest he develop the misconception that he can already rival Kakashi?” Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a thoughtful expression.

There were also differences among the Four Finals; Kakashi was in the Four Finals because he encountered Might Guy, which is why he only reached the Four Finals, while Asuma’s reaching the Four Finals clearly involved some luck.

Thinking about exchanging experiences on teaching disciples with Muzuki, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally shook his head.

Asuma traveled far and wide to the Land of Rain to participate, so he should be given a little more leeway.

Of course, to prevent Asuma from developing a wrong perception, the necessary reminders still had to be given, but they could be postponed slightly, allowing Asuma to be happy for a while first.

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a good mood, Danzo Shimura of Root was very depressed.

He had originally intended to cause trouble during the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, but Muzuki’s preparations and measures were too good in all aspects, leaving Root’s forces in the Land of Rain with no way to act.

Danzo Shimura had no good solution and could only watch the intelligence helplessly. During wartime, the power he could utilize was already limited, and the Shinobi Sect was not a soft target, so he couldn’t resort to brute force.

“Repulsion, attraction, Ninjutsu absorption—these must all be abilities of the Rinnegan!” Looking at Nagato’s intelligence, Danzo Shimura’s desire for the Rinnegan grew even stronger.

In his opinion, Nagato, that young punk, only had the strength to be first because of the Rinnegan; otherwise, how could he possibly have defeated Konoha Ninja?

The more Danzo Shimura thought about it, the more he felt that the Rinnegan had to be obtained. With his strength coupled with the Rinnegan, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not be his opponent.

PS: This chapter is 6k. The author deliberated for a long time on Nagato’s Pokemon choice.

I considered Eevee, which can evolve and then devolve, and also Greninja, which can transform freely, because Nagato has multiple Chakra natures, but in the end, I chose a rather mischievous Ghost.

Because Xiao Ju felt that the overall atmosphere on Nagato’s side was not very relaxed, and they needed a presence that could bring them joy as a adjust.

Additionally, there are some personal reasons. A long time ago, the author had a favorite Pokemon novel whose protagonist’s initial Pokemon was Ghost. Unfortunately, that novel was left unfinished…