"There you guys are," Goto said, watching his S-rank hunters closing in. He frowned, disappointed by their tardiness. "What took you so long?"
"There was traffic, sir." Minoru answered. "And…" He trailed off, side-eyeing their new redheaded recruit.
"She rushed in to help with a dungeon break a few blocks from the hotel." Ishida explained. "No one heard or saw her leave."
Goto's expression was unreadable as his gaze shifted to Kushina. She raised a brow, completely unapologetic about her actions.
"People were in trouble and it wasn't being handled by those C-ranks." Kushina defended.
"Show some respe—"
Goto silenced Minoru with a wave of his hand. "It's alright. I think it makes up for your incident at the airport, but please keep in mind that this is international land. You can't exactly act freely."
"Of course, I know that." Kushina huffed. "That's why I didn't claim any of the loot, right?"
"Right." Goto affirmed. He turned to the Association building, prompting the rest to follow. "Let's head inside. The Korean S-ranks are waiting for us."
Hanakawa met them at the door and they were guided through the stark white tile floors, and futuristic architecture of the state-of-the-art building. They went through the back, past the gardens and into the building next door. The building in question was the gymnasium that harboured all the Korean S-ranks hunters.
Kushina's bored expression lifted when she saw two of the Koreans engaging in combat. One was garbed in white gi and the other was shirtless but had claws and fangs with a white mane bursting from his head.
"Is that guy… turning into a magic beast?" Kushina asked in a whispered tone to Kanae.
"It looks like it." Kanae whispered back. "I've heard rumors about hunters that turn into magic beasts. Never actually seen one though."
"Hm." Kushina's thoughts drifted to her own time housing a tailed beast. How she would take traits reminiscent of the beast when using its chakra. "The effects mana has on a human are interesting… to say the least."
Hanakawa, catching bits of their conversation, decided to chime in and introduce the hunters grappling on the training mats. "Those are hunters Ma Sook Ook, guild master of the Fame Guild," She said, pointing out the burly man in white gi, "And Baek Yoon Ho, guild master of the White Tiger Guild." Pointing out the man with magic beast-like features.
"Good to know." Kushina nodded.
Kushina's eyes flashed a vibrant gold, getting a feel for the mana waves clashing in front of her.
'They're not any more impressive than Kenjo, although…' Her gaze shifted to the blond woman standing off to the side. 'She's quite something. Her mana is greater than Kanae's. It's probably closer to Mr. Goto.'
The blond woman locked eyes with her, noticing her stare. Kushina held up a peace sign and smiled in greeting while the blond waved back awkwardly.
Kushina was curious about the identity of the woman and opened her mouth to question Ms. 'know-it-all' Hanakawa. However, she paused when a chill ran up her spine. A heavy presence filled the entire gymnasium.
"Who's that?" Akari asked, looking up to the upper walkway.
Three Korean S-rank hunters, all of them exceptional in their own right, but only one really stood out. That was the young man with black hair wearing a normal white tee underneath a long, flowing hooded coat.
"Ah, he's a hunter named Sung Jinwoo who recently became an S-rank." Hanakawa replied.
"Ay," Kushina chimed in. "So he is kind of like me, right?"
"He must be a pretty talented assassin." Goto commented. He was perturbed by the way he moved. It was like you didn't even notice but at the same time you just couldn't ignore him at all.
"What?" Hanakawa blurted out. "That man is a mage-type hunter."
"A mage-type?" Goto echoed.
It would explain the heavy pressure he felt but it still didn't sit right with him.
Akari elbowed Kushina lightly to get her attention.
"What?" Kushina muttered.
"That guy's South Korea's tenth S-rank hunter. Quite the looker, huh?" Akari smirked, wiggling her brows suggestively.
"Huh?" Kushina blinked. "I mean sure, but why are you telling me this?"
"You know what?" Akari's eyes lit up as an idea formed in her head. "After this training session, we could go out and see what Korean nightlife has to offer. What do you say?."
"I'd rather not." Kushina shut down the idea instantly. "Besides, I think Mr. Stick-in-the-ass would have a problem with us going out partying."
"Mr. Who, now?" Akari asked, clearly entertained.
"Hoshino."
"Ah…" Akari lifted her chin in recognition, laughing softly. "That's hilarious, but I suppose you're right. You stirred up some trouble with Kei at the airport, and then your whole disappearing act earlier."
"Hey!" Kushina snapped. "That was Kei's fault. And people were in trouble, so I stepped in. Any of you guys would've done the same." Kushina defended herself, vehemently.
"If the situation called for it," Kanae chimed in calmly. "But you went out looking for trouble and that's the problem. You have to think about how your actions reflect on the guild and its principles."
"We help people. Isn't that the whole reason we're here?" Kushina said, firm in her idea of Blade Guild's intentions.
Kanae didn't answer immediately. Instead, she studied Kushina. As if seeing her for the first time or measuring her like a grim taskmaster.
"Yes…" She said finally, voice even. "We help people."
Kushina held her gaze, unsatisfied by how cautious that sounded… but she didn't argue further.
Kushina's eyes turned back to the walkway, studying the man above.
'I wonder if he is going to join the Jeju Island raid?'
Just from his mana alone, Kushina could tell that this Sung Jinwoo fellow would be an invaluable asset in the raid. A boost to the firepower she could feel from his fellow S-rank compatriots.
Kushina was brought to her senses when she felt the mana waves of Hanakawe and another Korean hunter. He was a bushy haired man in a business suit. Gauging his mana levels, he was A-rank—just like Hanakawa.
She couldn't understand the words exchanged, but had a feeling it was typical fight banter. Especially considering the fact that Hanakawe was on the back foot. It was clear the Korean was just toying with her. It made Kushina wonder how the fight came about.
"Why are A-rank's disputing?" Kushina whispered to Kanae.
"Beats me," Kanae shrugged. "But it looks like she lost. They stopped fighting."
It was just as Kanae had said. The tension between the two settled between the two once Hanakawa's wrist was grabbed by her Korean counterpart.
"It seems some condition in their bout was met." Kushina observed as Hanakawa quickly pulled her hand back from the hunter's grasp.
Goto stepped forward, wearing as close to a pleased expression as he could manage. "Thank you for the demonstration. It was an impressive bout."
He turned to Hanakawa. "Hanakawa, can you deliver my words to everyone?"
He wished for the Koreans to hear his message and not just the Japanese.
"Ah—yes." Hanakawa nodded hesitantly.
He cleared his throat before addressing the gathered hunters. "To deepen our trust with each other, I have something I'd like to offer."
Hanakawa relayed his words in real time.
"With the same rules as just now, how about dueling us? A bout between S-rank hunters."
'Not bad, Goto. I want to see the skills of the Koreans myself.' Kushina approved of his idea internally.
"Alright." Go Gun-hee, chairman of the Korean Hunters Association, spoke calmly as he stepped forward. Sung Jinwoo followed beside him, silent and trying not to be noticed. "But only if mage and non-combat type hunters are excluded."
"Let's add some more rules too." Baek Yoonho interjected. "Other than the wrist, touching the back is a win. Knocking the opponent over is a win. And this won't be a series of 1-on-1's, but a group battle. Do you agree with these stipulations?"
Hunter Baek watched closely as Hanakawa translated each condition. Goto's expression remained unreadable until he finally spoke.
"I agree," Goto replied, "but I'd like for you to make an exception for one hunter."
Hanakawa translated without pause. "They're a mage-type hunter and a recent acquisition of the Sword Guild."
"I suppose that's fine." Go Gun-hee replied. Gun-hee narrowed his gaze on the Sword Guild members.
News of Japan's newest S-rank hadn't made waves on the same scale as Sung Jinwoo's awakening. Japan simply had more S-ranks than South Korea. Still, Gun-hee kept close tabs on international affairs and had watched the press conference introducing Uzumaki Kushina.
She had said the right things, made jokes at the right time and came off as a humble and well-mannered woman the entire time. The fact that Goto had made this request was telling. He wasn't just testing Korean strength. He wanted to see what Uzumaki Kushina could really do.
With the terms settled, the Koreans and Japanese gathered to form their teams. For the Korean side, four hunters stepped onto the sparring ground.
"Hunter Baek Yoonho, Hunter Ma Dongook, Hunter Cha Hae-In, and Hunter Lim Taekyu." Hanakawa announced. "These four hunters will fight."
"Who's coming out for the Japanese side?" Lim Taekyu muttered under his breath.
In response, four hunters from Japan moved forward.
"Hunter Kenjo Tanaka, Hunter Kumamoto Atsushi, Hunter Tawata Kanae and Hunter Uzumaki Kushina." Hanakawa introduced. "These four will represent the Japanese."
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"This place should do," Minato said, dropping his bag onto the floor. He was in an area devoid of people, deep in the mountainous regions of downtown Seoul, surrounded by nothing but trees.
Sung Jinah was helpful enough to point him the right direction so that he could practice his spells without destroying their house completely. So, not long after Jinwoo had left in response to a summons from the Hunters Association, Minato was on his way out to do his own things.
Closing his eyes, Minato felt the sun's beams striking him through the canopy of trees. The feeling was a soothing one as he took a deep breath to feel the constant rotations of his chakra waiting to be formed. However, unlike times before, the powerful swirling that inspired his Rasengan were muted by an even more potent force.
"I can't believe the saturation rate is this high with so little mana leaking into my chakra network," Minato muttered. It made him wonder if he should just abandon the idea of a slow leakage and just let all the mana his seal absorbed from Demon Castle flood in. "But if I do that now, I can't know how that'll affect my current jutsu."
It was risky for sure, but what he did know he could test out was his physical ability.
"From the books I've read, mana does more than just grant the awakened a skill or even the ability to kill magic beasts. Depending on how much mana power they have, they gain incredible physical power regardless of class."
Minato glanced at the tree next to him and whipped out a plain side kick. The tree snapped in half and crashed to the ground. "I didn't channel any of my chakra into that kick. That was pure power." he grinned, clenching his fist.
Minato, excited to try out his new found strength, decided to leap up into the air, swinging past trees and onto branches at breakneck speeds. He circled back to the clearing he left his bag in and flipped acrobaticly into a superhero landing.
"That was exhilarating. It almost feels like I'm using senjutsu!" Minato's eyes gleamed excitedly. "I wish I could test my strength against a strong opponent. Perhaps I'll ask Jinwoo when he returns from his summons."
Set on his goal to test his new found strength, he moved on to testing out how his jutsu were affected by mana. However, as he was about to get started he picked up on a powerful wave of mana.
'It's coming from that direction.' Minato frowned, looking up through the canopy of trees at the cliff ahead. A shudder struck him as a funny feeling racked his stomach.
"Strange…" He murmured. "It's almost as if this mana is calling out to me."
Unable to reconcile the strange feeling he had, Minato decided to investigate. Crossing the distance, Minato reached the base of the cliff as the wave grew stronger. The closer he got the more he realized there was something familiar about the mana. Rushing up the cliff side with nothing but physical power he reached the source of the disturbance.
It was a glowing red portal crackling with mana.
"What's going on here?" He called out to the three people ahead of him. They were standing around near the gate in deep discussion.
"Ah—what the?" One of them exclaimed, clearly very skittish.
"W-Who the heck are you?" Another one demanded, pointing at him.
Minato frowned as he walked up to them. "It's rude to point. Care to explain what's going on here? The mana waves from this gate are immense."
"It's a red gate and it's going to break soon." The oldest looking of the three explained. He had one arm and looked middle-aged with orange hair collected in a ponytail.
"A red gate?" Minato had read about those types of gates. As soon as you enter, you're trapped until you kill the boss or a dungeon break occurs in seven days.
"Yes. My students and I discovered it on our hike up these mountains." The amputated hunter said. "I've informed the Hunters Association of the situation. They should be here soon."
"Hm. It looks like you guys have it handled then." Minato nodded to him. He was slightly disappointed because If the Association were on their way then he wouldn't be able to explore the source of these waves like he wanted to
"Yeah, totally!" The skittish young man exclaimed. "You know mister, our master's a totally awesome hunter. Are you a hunter too?"
"Eh? Not exactly…" Minato chuckled sheepishly.
"What do you mea—"
The young man was cut off by a sharp crack like glass shattering. The red gate had burst open and a flood of powerful mana rushed forward like a wave.
"Shit! It broke way sooner than expected! Something must have accelerated the process!" The old hunter shouted, readying his sword for the upcoming threat. "You two! Get behind cover now!"
The two students recovered from their shock and heeded their master's orders, running to the trees for cover.
'So, they aren't hunters then. At least those two aren't.' Minato noted to himself. His ability to sense mana wasn't that good so he wasn't able to tell beforehand.
"Is Master Chi-Yul going to be safe?" The skittish student fretted much to his partner's annoyance as he smacked on the head.
"Of course, he is! This is our great master Song Chi-Yul! I bet you he's the best C-rank fire magician in the country even with one arm!"
Minato heard all of this and gave the old man a wry smile. "You have some pretty passionate students."
"Ugh, tell me about it." Chi-Yul groaned.
From the red gate, sand spilled out onto the grass and out crawled a gigantic centipede dwarfing a couple of trees in sheer size as its countless legs shuffled across the ground.
'No way! A giant desert centipede! Those are at least A-rank magic beasts. I can't take this!'
Chi-Yul panicked and turned to Minato. "We need to run! I'll create a diversi—!"
However, Chi-Yul didn't get through to Minato as he was cut off by the screech of the giant centipede charging forward with its mandibles barred.
Minato dashed forward and jumped over the beast's head before smashing his fist down on the monster.
"One hit?" Chi-Yul muttered in disbelief.
The result was the centipede's cranium cracked open as gross green blood oozed on the ground. Minato's eyes flashed silver as he nursed his hand. 'Just using my fist kind of hurts, but…?'
Minato looked up as more of the magic beasts poured from the gate. Multiple giant desert centipedes stampeded out the red gate and surrounded the two hunters.
"Mr. Chi-Yul," Minato addressed the old man. "I suggest you take cover. This might get messy."
Minato was scarily calm, raising up a hand sign as Kasaka popped into his hand in a burst of smoke.
'That dagger—I've seen it before.' Chi-Yul narrowed his eyes, watching Minato expertly twirl the blade's handle. He doubted that it was the exact same dagger but he could never allow himself to forget about the young man that saved them against the psycho surveillance agent. 'It has to be Sung Jinwoo's dagger he's holding, but how?'
"This'll be a good test. I'm glad you showed up like this."
As soon as the words left Minato's lips he rushed the countless centipedes.
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'Ma Dongook and Baek Yoonho, I can already tell how strong they are based on the fight from earlier.' Kenjo thought to himself, sizing up his opponents. 'But that bastard, Baek Yoonho, I feel like he's hiding something under his sleeve.'
Constant spars with Kushina, over the past few days, have taught the tank to consider his opponents powers more carefully, instead of charging head-on.
'It's a four-on-four so things are going to get messy. We should choose our opponents carefully.' Kanae set her sights on the blond ahead of her. Her mana thumbed beneath her skin, readying herself for the penultimate clash.
'Hm. It looks like Kanae has her sights set on Hae-In. How unfortunate.' Kushina pouted. 'So I guess I'll see what you're made of.'
Lim Taegyu shivered involuntarily as Kushina aimed her predatory grin in his direction. 'I hope they go easy on me…'
And then, the battle set off with the burst of Ma Dongook's mana as he activated his gigantification spell, doubling his size.
"Let's get started!"
'Ma Dongook! His power is gigantification!' Kenjo grinned maniacally, responding in kind with an explosion of his own mana. 'He's someone that'll likely enjoy a battle of pure strength!'
"Good! A man's gotta be simple like that!" He dashed forward, reeling his arm back for a devastating haymaker. Any thoughts of strategy flying out the window as Kenjo became completely enraptured by the thought of dominating his opponent completely. "Let's see which one of us is stronger!"
Ma Dongook was equal to his challenge with both their fists colliding in the middle of the ring. As they traded blows, it set off the start of the battle as chaos ensued.
Kanae and Atsushi rushed ahead, picking their targets and hawking them down like true hunters.
'So, she must be the mage-type hunter then.' Lim Taegyu observed. Kushina hadn't moved an inch since her teammates had set off. A common habit of mages to hang back and let the front line damage dealers fight while they provide cover fire with their spells.
However, she wasn't the only one who adopted such a habit.
'An arrow?' Kushina raised a brow.
'I'm a ranger so this is actually the best case scenario for me. I'll take you down with my firepower.'
Taegyu gathered mana in his palm forming into a hard-light arrow. As soon as he launched it the arrow split into four and intensified the chaos of the battle as explosions rang out, forcing the other S-ranks to move out the way.
"Tch, is he ranger-type hunter!?" Atsushi cursed, rolling out the way.
"Huh, so you're saying you don't want this to be a 1-on-1, right?" Kanae leaned out the way of an incoming arrow.
"I guess we'll just have to wait until Kushina takes care of that guy first!" Kenjo gritted his teeth, taking the explosion and coming out relatively unscathed.
As he soon as he sad that, the last arrow struck true and denoted Kushina. Atsushi froze for a moment, terrified at the possibilities, but the smoke cleared to reveal Kushina was completely unscathed. A translucent barrier in front of her completely negated the damage.
"Whew." Atsushi breathed a sigh of relief. 'I knew that was wasn't enough to take here down.'
"Eyes up here, bastard!" Baek Yoonho jumped in and struck his opponent, but Atsushi quickly jumped back to create distance.
'Not a scratch, huh.' Taegyu clicked his tongue. 'If only I had my bow then my power would be tripled.'
But even then Taegyu had a suspicion that wouldn't be enough either.
"Sheesh. This facility has been built and fortified with the finest magic gems out there. Your average hunter wouldn't be able to make a dent in this room, but these guys were able to make a mess in just a few seconds." Go Gun-hee lamented the devastation before him.
Holes, craters and scorch marks littered the arena like a war had just occurred.
Lim Taekyu prepared himself for another volley of arrows and Kushina saw this. She decided it was better to neutralise the Koreans' cover fire so her teammates could fight more freely.
She sprinted across the room at incredible speed.
'Closing distance as a mage-type?' Goto observed. 'What are you up to?'
"Hm." Jinwoo inclined his brow, intrigued by her tactic.
'Going up close was a bad move, magician!' Taekyu already had his arrow aimed by the time Kushina reached him. 'At this distance, I can't miss!'
He threw it and watched it sail to the on-rushing Uzumaki. However, at the last second, Kushina snapped her fingers and conjured up a barrier that blocked the arrow.
The detonation was spectacular, completely obscuring Kushina's form and for half a second all thought that her charge was a fool's gamble.
They were proven wrong when Kushina blasted through the smoke and tackled the ranger, pinning him to the wall—hands clamped around both of his wrists.
"You got excited when you thought you had me." Kushina smirked cruelly. "But I won."
"Yeah, yeah, I can't hear a word you're saying, you know." Taekyu rolled his eyes, slumping to the ground when she let him go.
Kushina turned around and observed the rest of the battles taking place. Kenjo had finished his battle with the big burly man in the white gi and she imagined he was feeling very giddy about the result.
Atsushi, on the other hand, was behaving very strangely in his fight against the hunter capable of turning into a magic beast. Initially, going in with vigor of actually landing a critical hit but bowing out at the last second each time. It threw the beast hunter for a loop and Kushina as well.
Kushina then turned her attention to Kanae and her battle. Cha Hae-In was giving her more than a little trouble, her unorthodox movements and strikes making it difficult for Kanae to predict where she should block next. All these strikes conditioned Kanae for the moment where Hae-In would dive in and feint for a critical strike only to disappear and reappear behind Kanae and tap her on the back, ending their fight.
Once her opponent was dealt with, Hae-In set her sights on Kushina. She had determined that Baek Yoonho could handle the duo of Atsushi and Kenjo. Taking out the potential cover fire they had in Uzumaki Kushina as the optimal strategy.
Kushina smirked, accepting the challenge and launched herself at her. This was the opportunity she'd been waiting for.
Back with Atsushi and Kenjo. They were being handled quite competently by Hunter Baek with Kenjo doing most of the heavy lifting due to Atsushi's poor battle sense.
"This guy isn't budging and I have feelings he's getting more and more wild," Atsushi said, wiping away sweat building up on his brow.
"That's all the better. I wanna see just how far my strength goes!" Kenjo shouted, rushing back in for another bout against the beast-like hunter.
'Sheesh! That guy's a one-track mind.' Atsushi deadpanned. He surveyed the battlefield and saw Kanae on the sidelines. That meant she was taken out which was a surprise to him.
His eyes tracked the battle between Kushina and the blond that had defeated Kanae. They were going at it quite evenly, but Kushina looked to be struggling with the blond's unorthodox attack patterns.
'We can't afford to have Kushina taken out. If we lose her then we might as well call it quits.' Atsushi wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he would just kick into gear and actually start fighting properly. He was just too scared of that possibility.
'A three-on-one is better than a two-on-two.' Atsushi set on his goals, dashed past the battling Kenjo. He shouted in passing that he was going to help out Kushina and that he should try and hold back the beast for so long.
'Damn. No wonder Kanae lost against this.' The constant baits and switches were throwing her for a loop as well. Of course she could just power through using her magic spells but that would defeat the point of testing her.
Kicking Hae-in back, Kushina tried to reassess her approach but from the corner of her eye she spotted Atsushi's darting figure behind her opponent. Hae-in sensing something was off, acted out of reflex and launched a rapid flurry of punches behind her. Striking in the face Atsushi multiple times and drawing blood.
'What was he thinking?' Kushina blinked, watching her teammate fall to the floor.
But then, like a switch had been flipped, Atsushi reared his head back and started to go wild as an intense bloodlust filled the room.
'What? Is that killing intent coming from Atsushi?' Kushina's eyes widened, completely stunned by the palpable murderous intent coming from her normally awkward and unsuspecting teammate. It's like he was a completely different person.
"Why you—!" Atsushi lunged in for a brutal attack. Hae-In moved her head to the side just in time to avoid having her face caved in.
'That was close.' She jumped back as he missed his punch and struck the ground.
"Hm. It seems he still has no battle sense." Goto muttered to himself.
"Sir, if you think you have to stop this then it's best to do it now." Hanakawa suggested. "I don't think we can compensate the Koreans for the devastation that's about to unfold."
"You're right about that." Goto grunted. "After all, this was all just a test."
Just as he was about to jump in a black figure darted into frame at the last second.
Atsushi's fist was stopped mid-motion by the firm hand of Hunter Sung Jinwoo. He had placed his body in between Atsushi's fist and Hunter Hae-in. "Intent like that won't do for a friendly match."
His eyes were firm, carrying the intent of a king silencing his subjects but that wasn't enough to pacify him as he went in for another lunge. Jinwoo ducked under his wild swing and grabbed his arm in the same instance, before sweeping him off his feet and pinning him to the ground.
"Stay down."
"Hanakawa, are you sure he's a mage-type?" Goto asked.
"That's what official sources say… "
'Two unorthodox mage-types in the same room. How intriguing.' Goto thought, eyeing Kushina in the corner of his eye.
"Get off me, you bastard!" Atsushi growled furiously under the hell of Jinwoo.
"Hey, Atsushi!" Kushina shouted, running over to the incident. Her voice was enough to snap Atsushi out of his frenzy as he settled under Jinwoo's submission.
Once he was satisfied, Jinwoo released Atsushi from his grasp, turning his focus onto Hae-In.
"I think it's fair to say this is a loss for the Korean team, then?" Jinwoo asked, helping Hae-in to her feet.
"Mhm." She nodded, hesitantly accepting his hand.
"What was up with that? I've never seen you like that before." Kushina said, helping him up.
"Ah, I don't wanna talk about it…" Atsushi flushed, unused to the attention he was getting from Kushina and the fact he flipped out like that.
"That was the wrong move to go and help Kushina, scrawny man." Kenjo laughed.
"You were trying to help?" Kushina blinked.
"Yeah, but I see that wasn't my brightest idea." Atsushi answered curtly, turning away from the approaching group. "It just made sense in my head at the time."
"Uh-huh."
Kushina saw Kanae giving her a flat look while making a gesture towards Atsushi being 'coco'.
"Hey, that's mean, dattebane."
"Holy shit, Kumamoto!" Akari jumped on Atsushi's back with a teasing smile. "No wonder you got so mad, huh. I think she hit you ten— no, fourteen times in that one exchange."
"Don't remind me." Atsushi growled.
"Oh, you probably don't know this Kushina, but when Kumamoto gets angry his personality completely changes." Katmusi explained.
"Nah, it's more like he loses all reason." Kei clarified. "It's enough for him to clear B-rank gates by himself, but A-rank gates are another matter. In that state, he's prone to attack his teammates in that state."
"I see." Kushina murmured.
"Hunter Uzumaki Kushina, are you up for another bout?" Goto asked, stepping towards the group.
Kushina blinked, tilting her head to the side. "Are you still not satisfied with what I showed?"
"You saw through my intent." He said more so than questioned.
"It wasn't hard to piece together."
"Hm, I suppose not." Goto agreed. "So how about it?"
"Alright."
"Good."
With her permission granted, Goto went about setting his little match into action. He communicated with Hanakawa who relayed his message to the Koreans and to Kushina's interest it was Hunter Sung Jinwoo being called out.
There was something off about that man eating away at her. A familiar feeling wrestling under skin, but nothing about it was good.
Hanakawa returned to the group and informed them of Jinwoo's words.
"He agreed but under one condition," She said, eyes shifting from the collective to Goto. "He gets to Mr. Goto at full power afterwards."
This was a great surprise to Goto and the Japan team. The perceived arrogance behind Jinwoo's condition grated at the nerves of the most prideful members.
It took Kushina a moment longer than the others to fully process it.
And when it clicked—when she realized what Jinwoo's condition really meant—her expression darkened.
He wasn't just confident.
He was underestimating her.
A sudden chilling ran down the spine of all Japanese hunters in the vicinity. Kushina's aura was gloomy as no one was able to make out her expression underneath her curtain of hair.
Sung Jinwoo stepped forward onto the sparring ground, flicking his wrists and getting ready to throw down. 'Goto Ryuji… Apparently, he's supposed to be pretty strong.' Jinwoo thought, already sizing up his next opponent. 'Going up against him will be a good chance to test how much I've progressed since the Demon Castle.'
"But I just gotta get through you…" He muttered, shifting his focus on the redhead ahead of him. 'She's a mage-type and fought up close against a ranger. She's interesting. I'll give her that much, but…'
Jinwoo couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something off about her. It was like she was hiding something. Even at this very moment, he couldn't make out exactly what she was thinking with her long red hair covering her face.
'... She's very off.'
Just as he finished that thought, her aura exploded in a brilliant red glow as her hair lifted up and swayed wildly
"I was gonna take it easy but now you've ticked me off, pretty boy!" Kushina growled, slamming a fist into her palm.
'Did I say something to piss her off?' Jinwoo thought, perturbed by her fury and not understanding a single word out of her mouth. 'Although it's better if she fights at full throttle from the start.'
Jinwoo grinned, shifting his feet into a stance, ready to meet Kushina's challenge head-on.
"Woah, I've never seen her like that before." Kenjo commented on Kushina's wild look.
"Yeah, she's even more of a devil than she normally is." Kei sniffed beneath his mechanical mask.
"I have," Kanae interjected, voice on edge. "It just means that this Sung Jinwoo fellow is in for it now."
"Such oppressive mana…" Goto muttered.
Out of nowhere, a barrage of golden chains went flying at Jinwoo.
'Fast!'
Jinwoo rushed to avoid the onslaught, surprised by the speed of the chains.
Even with his slowed perception of time, thanks to his high agility stat, he had difficulty twisting his body around the chains. Jinwoo was taking it easy but he knew that things would get disadvantageous if he didn't ramp up.
'He moves around well for a mage-type.' Goto knew that even he would struggle against Kushina's bombardment, just from the sheer number of chains flying around, but Jinwoo was making it look almost effortless.
'Just dodging isn't enough.'
Kushina's chains flared as their ferocity increased.
'They're getting faster!' Jinwoo's eyes widened as a chain slipped past his guard and wrapped around his arm.
He watched the other chains sail past him—only for them to double back. At the last second, Jinwoo leapt, the chains snapped around his arm instead, binding him tightly.
[Debuff: 'Cursing the Swift']
[Movement speed decreased by 80%]
'Shit!'
Jinwoo's muscles locked as his body grinded to a halt, the curse magic taking its hold.
Jinwoo's body twitched, trying to break from the demonstrable grip the chains had on him.
"Is that game? Her chains are covering his entire arm, basically." Kanae pointed out.
"Yeah! Way to show him, Kushina!" Atsushi cheered. He immediately ceased his celebration, growing self-conscious about the stares he got from his team members.
"Kushina? Is that really how you truly wish to end things?" Goto asked the woman in question.
'Still not satisfied, huh?' Kushina smirked, her hair completely relaxed now. "I suppose not. I'll give the pretty boy another chance."
"Hanakawa." Goto glanced at the interpreter to relay the message.
The rules were changed to accommodate the fact that it was two mage-types battling. They only one if the back hit the floor or if they were physically touched by their adversary. This way damage to the gymnasium was reduced as it was a fear of both the chairman and Goto who would have to reimburse him.
"You better not take me lightly this time, pretty boy!" Kushina yelled with a pretentious grin as she pointed at him.
"Hmph." Jinwoo smirked, a blue hue shimmering in his eyes.
Just then a flurry of chains went flying after him, but this time he stayed stationed until the very last second. Stepping out to the side and grabbing the chains, wrapping them around his arm.
'Bad move.' Kushina smirked, watching his body lock up instantly.
[Debuff: 'Cursing the Swift']
[Movement speed decreased by 80%]
She walked forward, knowing the job was finished and that there was no way for Jinwoo to resist the curse magic of her chains.
"Why so far away?" Jinwoo muttered, just loud enough for Kushina to catch it.
"Hm?"
[Detoxifying…]
[Detoxification complete! Abnormalities removed!]
"Get over here!" he roared.
Flexing his arm, Jinwoo yanked hard on the chains—his blessing effectively reducing them to nothing but ordinary chains—dragging Kushina toward him.
"Woah!"
'How'd he resist the curse magic imbued within my chains!?' Kushina thought, perplexed by Jinwoo's sudden mobility.
As she was being dragged into Jinwoo's winded up punch, she put her arms up into a block. A thunderous boom echoed as his fist connected.
Kushina could feel her bones rattling as her body trembled from the considerable force behind Jinwoo's blow.
'I've never been hit that hard before!' She was almost woozy just blocking the hit.
'Just who the heck is this guy?!'
Jinwoo didn't waste a second and went in for another strike, but Kushina tilted her head to the side and dodged the blow, kicking him away. The chains spilled from Jinwoo's hands as he tumbled before crouching to a stop.
'He hasn't used a single spell yet. It's all just physical strength.' Kushina thinned her lips. 'If things keep going like this and he starts to use spells. Can I really win?'
"Let's take things up a notch."
Jinwoo's aura flared and he blasted forward to engage Kushina in close quarters. Kushina was equal to his challenge and they exchanged a barrage of fists at high speed.
The movement of their battle being so high that other S-ranks in the audience struggled to keep up. Baek Yoonho, in particular, was invested—having never seen Jinwoo do battle until now.
'He's a hunter that can grow stronger from every battle. Just how strong can you really get Hunter Sung?' He wondered to himself.
"Are these two really mage-types?" Choi Jong-In muttered under his breath. Compared to them he was a joke.
"Yeah, no offense, but you might be obsolete, President Choi." Baek Yoonho said. He'd never seen anything like this before.
A jab.
A cross.
A right.
A knee.
All combinations went flying in as the battle between the two hunters intensified. A tiny grin playing on Sung Jinwoo's lips, clearly enjoying his fight with the fair maiden, Uzumaki Kushina.
Kushina tried her best to grab ahold of his wrists and end the fight, but Jinwoo was having none of it. Managing to slip away every time at the last second.
'He's moving super fast!'
Kushina leapt back to reassess her approach. 'Is toying with me? He could've grabbed my wrists at least two times that entire exchange.' Eyeing him intensely as if her very thoughts would reach him.
'She's strong. I underestimated her and I paid for it. I won't make that same mistake again.' Jinwoo breathed, unable to stop his heart from pounding in excitement. 'Show me what else you can do.'
Jinwoo had a tough time trying to hide that he was enjoying this fight. Flaring his aura to life, a bright blue hue colored his eyes as his power rose dramatically.
Kushina's eyes widened and responded in kind, flaring up her own crimson aura, her hair flying wildly as her power increased. 'Do you want to end this now? Or are you trying to figure something out?'
Jinwoo shifted his stance, making his intent very clear. He was going to end this now.
"Fine then. Let's do it!"
They dash at each other, fists raised and on a devastating collision course. Just as they were about to clash they were stopped in their tracks by the multitude of S-rank hunters holding them back.
"That's quite enough, wouldn't you say?" The chairman's question was rhetorical but the meaning behind it was plain as day for Jinwoo.
That was far enough.
"Sorry, I got carried away there." He sighed, shrugging off Hunter Baek's arms around his shoulder.
He watched his opponent, Hunter Uzukai if he recalled correctly, break off the ice gathered by her feet—courtesy of Japan's ice mage.
"Let's call off the training session here. I don't think the gymnasium can handle much more." Gun-hee spoke, waiting for the message to be relayed to Goto.
Goto nodded and agreed with the sentiment. He gathered his hunters, dismissing themselves from the premises.
"That was quite a battle you had there, Hunter Sung," Choi Jong-in said, watching the retreating backs of the Japanese.
"Yeah, I was surprised too. That girl was really strong." Jinwoo smiled.
Cha Hae-In followed his gaze back toward the ruined sparring ground. She noticed the faint warmth in that smile, and it stirred something uncomfortable in her chest. She had felt it from the sidelines, the oppressive force of their clash pressing against her chest, making it hard to breathe.
She had just watched that woman clash head-on with him—trading blows as an equal—while she herself had needed to be saved. That was the level he operated on.
Jinwoo was clearly someone that respected strength a lot and if she wanted to be his friend, to be close to him. It wouldn't do to just be a damsel. She had to be strong too.
Maybe that's why it led her to blurting out those words so unceremoniously.
"I'm strong too."
Everyone stared at her, surprised by her proclamation.
"Yep. You definitely are, Ms. Cha Hae-In." Jinwoo replied first. The sincerity in his voice made her chest tighten. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she looked away, unsure whether the ache in her heart came from relief… or from the quiet resolve forming beneath it.
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Finally done and let me tell you this was definitely the one with the most drafts. I'm gonna be honest, I was just wanting to get to this moment of Kushina and Jinwoo finally meeting and I hope the interactions and flow felt organic and consistent.
Kushina vs Jinwoo replaced Goto vs Jinwoo in this timeline. I'm pretty sure you can now officially tell where Kushina sits in comparison to Goto (for those that were curious) and Jinwoo just based on the level of effort that the auraman himself had to put in.
It might be a little out of character for Jinwoo to underestimate his opponent like that (he flexes a lot but for the most part he takes every fight very seriously.) I just think his mind already had a target on who he truly wanted to test his abilities on and that was Goto since he has somewhat heard of him (which speaks to Goto's praise cuz Jinwoo is actually very clueless about the uptrends of the hunter community for most part) so I just imagined that he wanted to see how he compared against someone the whole of Asia considered to extremely powerful.
As for Kushina, yes, her chains have a curse on them that prevent people from moving. I just think it's a nice addition since in the original material the chains have to fully wrap around someone to subdue them and I thought that was weak sauce. So anyone who pretty much touches those bad boys is very much paralyzed (with the sole exception of Sung Jinwoo, of course).
Minato is still learning to cope with mana in his chakra system and things will only get more interesting for him.
Til next time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and review pls!