Chapter 157: Yugito's Crushing Defeat (1&2)
"Hoshikawa , this is the room arranged for you."
Samui pushed open the door, her tone somewhat complex.
"Thank you."
Hoshikawa walked into the room, sat at the table, and poured two cups of water.
"Why did you do that just now?"
Samui hesitated for a few seconds before she couldn't help but ask.
"I already told you—it was to get the reward I deserved. Trading the Raikage-sama's life for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode is perfectly reasonable."
Hoshikawa handed her a cup of water. "Don't worry. I won't betray the village proactively."
He wasn't lying about that part.
For Hoshikawa , his current status as a spy still held significant exploitable value.
He wouldn't actively betray them, but if Kumogakure betrayed him first, that would be a different story entirely.
"Samui, don't trust him!"
Yugito Nii burst into the room, fueled by anger. "He is completely unworthy of being a Cloud ninja!"
Among the Five Great Nations, Kumogakure had the fewest rogue ninja, especially at the Jonin level; they were virtually nonexistent.
While the Gold and Silver Brothers weren't strictly rogue ninja, they had only fought to seize the Raikage position.
The root cause was that Kumogakure's culture was highly martial, valuing strength above all else, regardless of the 'Will of Lightning.'
The strongest individual was bestowed the title 'Ay' and became the Raikage.
Hoshikawa 's methods genuinely went against Kumogakure's traditions.
"Little wildcat, where is my stuff?"
Hoshikawa looked at Yugito Nii, smiling as he asked.
"Bastard! Don't call me a little wildcat!"
Yugito slammed her hand onto the table, then reluctantly said, "Here!"
"Thank you."
Hoshikawa picked up the scroll. It contained the training method for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Two days certainly wasn't enough time to learn it, but it didn't matter. He possessed the Perception, Memory, and Comprehension talent titles.
With his three cheats in place, committing the training method to memory would be easy and enjoyable, posing no difficulty whatsoever.
"Write the prescription!"
Yugito Nii pulled out paper and a brush, warning him, "You better not try any tricks!"
"I'm not a rogue ninja."
Hoshikawa didn't even lift his head. "Your attitude, however, makes things difficult for me."
"You!"
Yugito clenched her fists in sheer fury.
"Yugito."
Samui grabbed her wrist, urgently shaking her head.
"Damn it!"
Yugito Nii took a deep breath and grit her teeth. "Please write down the prescription."
"Now that's better."
Hoshikawa glanced at her, noticing she was practically radiating heat from anger.
For someone as proud and arrogant as her, this was likely a first.
Hoshikawa picked up the brush and began writing the prescription.
He didn't tamper with it.
Firstly, if he caused the Third Raikage's death, the war would still happen.
Secondly, he would be relentlessly targeted by a furious Kumogakure.
It was entirely possible that the Fourth Raikage or Killer B would run straight to his house one day and attempt a desperate mutual kill.
Given their personalities, they were absolutely capable of such an act.
While his home was relatively safe, if he left the village for a mission and faced an ambush from an entire nation, the danger would be extreme.
Even if Hoshikawa and Tsunade weren't afraid, what about Kurenai Yuhi and Shinku Yuhi?
"There."
Hoshikawa met Yugito Nii's distrustful eyes. "I told you, I am still a ninja of Kumogakure."
"When does our sparring begin?"
Yugito Nii took the prescription, glanced at it, but couldn't understand it.
"In two days."
Hoshikawa said casually.
"I will make sure to teach you a painful lesson then!" Yugito Nii stated haughtily.
"Alright, little wildcat."
Hoshikawa picked up the scroll and began reading.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Yugito Nii was shaking with rage.
"Yugito."
Samui quickly pulled her out of the room. "The Raikage-sama is waiting for the medicine to be treated!"
"He only gets to be smug for these two days. I'll make sure to beat him until he's spitting teeth later!"
Upon hearing the Raikage's name, Yugito Nii managed to regain some composure. She huffed, highly displeased.
"Yugito, his strength is considerable. You must not take him lightly." Samui warned her.
"I'm a Jinchuriki!"
Yugito Nii hadn't taken the warning seriously at all. "You keep an eye on him. I'm going to see the Raikage-sama."
She turned and left immediately.
She quickly arrived at the Third Raikage's room.
Besides Mabui, Ay, and Killer B, three of Kumogakure's medical ninja, all Jonin, were also present.
They were considered the Hidden Cloud's finest medical ninja and were currently conducting a comprehensive examination of the Third Raikage.
Yugito Nii held her tongue, not wanting to interrupt, and handed the prescription to Mabui.
"Raikage-sama."
A few minutes later, one of the medical Jonin reported, "We have all examined you and confirmed that the poison in your body has been neutralized."
"Are there any new poisons?" Ay asked anxiously.
"No."
The medical Jonin shook his head. "While our skill in administering poison is not as good as Hoshikawa 's, we can certainly tell if you've been poisoned or not."
"That's good then."
Ay breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hoshikawa is a clever man. He knows how to gain the greatest advantage," Mabui said, stepping forward and presenting the prescription.
"That may be true, but he clearly harbors ill will!" Ay complained.
"He's being treated too well in Konoha. It's normal for him to develop new ideas."
The Third Raikage spoke with regret. "If he had grown up in Kumogakure, none of this would be happening."
"Raikage-sama."
The medical Jonin interjected. "We have reviewed the prescription, and there are no issues with it."
"Then go prepare the decoction," the Third Raikage waved his hand.
"Yes, sir."
The three medical Jonin turned and left.
"What is the situation with Sunagakure?" the Third Raikage asked.
"Sunagakure has dispatched Pakura to Konoha," Mabui said, her tone grave.
"That sounds like major trouble."
The Third Raikage frowned slightly. "Most likely, Sunagakure and Konoha are moving toward an alliance."
Konoha and Kumogakure held a bitter, deep-seated grudge; after all, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was killed by their forces.
Now that Konoha saw an opportunity, they wouldn't miss it.
"What if they form an alliance?" Ay said confidently. "We'll just fight them both!"
"An alliance between those two is still within Kumogakure's tolerable limits," Mabui paused. "But what we fear is Iwagakure and Kirigakure taking advantage of our instability."
"Ay, you will be in charge of Kumogakure during this time," the Third Raikage instructed. "Prepare thoroughly."
"Understood!" Ay replied seriously.
Two days flew by in a flash.
Hoshikawa 's main body returned to Konoha.
Pakura hadn't arrived yet, and it wasn't his direct concern, leaving him with rare free time.
Aside from accompanying Tsunade to the casino, he spent most of his time studying Earth Release (Doton).
His current strength wasn't far behind a seasoned Jonin, so he no longer felt the need to hide, openly asking Tsunade for Doton jutsu scrolls.
After all, one of the requirements for becoming a Jonin was mastering jutsu from at least two chakra natures. It was only normal for a genius like him to master two more.
Hoshikawa 's Shadow Clone took a day and a half to memorize the entire training method for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
The primary reason was that the technique was an advanced version of Chakra Activation—they shared certain similarities.
Hoshikawa didn't need to learn from scratch.
"Hey!"
Yugito Nii's voice rang out from outside the room. "Come out and fight one-on-one!"
She had waited two days and was now itching for a fight.
Hoshikawa put down the jutsu scroll and left the room.
As a Shadow Clone, he couldn't take the scroll with him, so he didn't bother with any tricks.
"Quite a crowd."
Hoshikawa glanced around, muttering under his breath.
Besides Yugito Nii, the Third Raikage, Ay, Killer B, Samui, and Mabui were all present.
The Third Raikage, especially, had dragged his ailing body out to watch the spectacle.
Hoshikawa certainly commanded respect.
But upon reflection, it wasn't surprising.
Yugito Nii was not only a Jinchuriki but also the outstanding—and arguably the best—of the younger generation.
Ay was technically the best, but his age placed him in the previous generation.
As for Hoshikawa , he was still officially a Kumogakure ninja.
The battle between him and Yugito Nii could easily be viewed as a clash of Kumogakure's future.
"How much of your main body's chakra do you have right now?" Yugito Nii looked at Hoshikawa and asked.
"About half, I guess." Hoshikawa considered before answering.
In reality, it was slightly less than half, as his main body possessed the incomplete version of the Yin Seal (Infuin).
"Very well."
Yugito Nii raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Begin!"
In the next second, a terrifying aura erupted from her body.
Yugito Nii charged at Hoshikawa like a leopard and swung her right hand.
Sharp claws extended from her fingertips, flashing with cold light, intending to tear him apart.
Chakra Enhanced Strength (Monster Strength)!
Hoshikawa stood his ground, clenched his fist, and unleashed a simple punch.
Yugito Nii couldn't help but sneer.
She was sure that trying to counter her cat claws with bare flesh would result in a broken hand for him.
But her face instantly changed, and she let out a cry of pain.
Hoshikawa 's fist felt like a mountain, heavy and immense, crashing down upon her.
The frightening force shattered her claws.
A wave of air surged outward from the point of impact.
Yugito Nii's body was violently thrown backward.
"Yugito!"
Samui's face showed deep concern.
"That's Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength."
The Third Raikage shook his head. "She was too careless. Hoshikawa is far from the typical peer she's encountered before."
"It's a good thing she's a Jinchuriki," Mabui said with a relieved sigh.
A Jinchuriki's strength and recovery were vastly superior to ordinary ninja.
Yugito Nii painfully retracted her hand. Aside from a small amount of blood, she wasn't seriously harmed.
She stared at Hoshikawa , stubbornly saying, "It won't be that easy next time!"
"Oh really?"
Hoshikawa smiled faintly.
"Bastard! Are you looking down on me?!"
Yugito Nii sensed the slight and was instantly enraged.
Nezumi Kedama (Rat Hairball)!
She swept her hands and spat out over a dozen spheres of blue flames from her mouth.
Under her control, they formed a complex net, blocking all of Hoshikawa 's escape routes.
Chidori Stream!
Hoshikawa had no intention of fleeing.
He stood his ground, brilliant lightning erupting from his body, accompanied by a piercing bird-like chirp.
"What is that jutsu?"
Mabui's eyes narrowed as she asked. "It looks a bit like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
"It's not," Ay shook his head. "I've seen Minato Namikaze's student, Kakashi Hatake, use it. It's an A-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu."
"There's no way that can block Yugito's Rat Hairball," Killer B said confidently. "After all, the Rat Hairball comes from the Two-Tails."
The dozen blue flame spheres accurately struck Hoshikawa .
A continuous roar of explosions sounded.
The lightning surrounding Hoshikawa immediately dimmed, looking precarious.
Chidori Stream was a jutsu focused on both offense and defense.
Simply put, it wasn't specialized in defense, so failing to block the attack entirely was normal.
Lightning Release Body!
Hoshikawa didn't hold back and immediately unleashed his killing move.
His defense, attack, and speed all instantly increased by 100%.
He was only a Shadow Clone, and once his chakra was depleted, he would return to the main body, so there was no need to conserve anything.
The lightning around Hoshikawa instantly surged.
Countless arcs of electricity spread outwards, effortlessly shattering the blue flames.
"What?!"
Yugito Nii's expression was one of disbelief.
"The power is all wrong!" Ay said, confused. "When Kakashi Hatake used it, it didn't even have half of that power."
"That's Lightning Release Chakra Activation!" the Third Raikage said, his eyes narrowing.
"He actually mastered it completely?" Mabui asked, her heart trembling.
Samui's mouth hung open. She realized that not only had she failed to catch up to Hoshikawa , but the gap between them was rapidly widening.
"To send a talent like that to be a spy—they were truly negligent!" the Third Raikage said, deeply displeased.
While they were talking, the situation in the arena changed again.
Shunshin no Jutsu!
Hoshikawa appeared before Yugito Nii as if he had teleported.
Leaf Whirlwind!
He delivered a kick.
A powerful sense of danger washed over Yugito Nii.
She crossed her arms, blocking Hoshikawa 's right leg.
But the immense force that followed compelled her to stumble backward.
Hoshikawa pressed his advantage, continuing his assault relentlessly.
Yugito Nii's face showed sheer terror as she was forced into a purely defensive stance.
In an instant, she was like a frantic wildcat desperately trying to avoid capture by a natural predator.
"How is this happening?" Samui swallowed hard.
She had expected Yugito Nii might lose, but she hadn't expected the defeat to be this humiliating.
"If she doesn't use the Two-Tails' power, Yugito has no chance of winning," the Third Raikage sighed.
He wasn't merely regretful now; he was remorseful.
If Hoshikawa had remained in Kumogakure, with his talent and age, he would have undoubtedly become the Raikage after the next.
"…"
Ay felt a slight sense of threat.
Hoshikawa was guaranteed to learn the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Although he was still young, his potential was already comparable to Ay's, and he might eventually compete for the 'Ay' title itself.
"Bastard!"
Yugito Nii felt increasingly frustrated the longer she fought.
From start to finish, she had been completely suppressed by Hoshikawa .
"That's enough, little wildcat."
Hoshikawa sensed his chakra was nearing its limit. He didn't hesitate any longer and threw a final punch.
Chakra Enhanced Strength!
He unleashed all his remaining chakra.
The terrifying force, accompanied by a shockwave, cracked the ground and sent shattered stones flying.
Yugito Nii felt an unprecedented sense of peril.
She instinctively summoned the Two-Tails' chakra.
A blue, patterned chakra formed a shield on the surface of her body—the Tailed Beast Cloak .
Boom!
Yugito Nii was sent flying backward.
But thanks to the Tailed Beast Cloak, she wasn't significantly injured.
She looked at the vanishing form of Hoshikawa , her face blank and helpless.
(End of Chapter)
...
AN: For early access to advanced 80 chapters on P-a-treon:
Join now: P-a-treon/Chaos_God
(Just remove the- hyphen to access normally)
Thank You so much For your Support and for Reading!