Chapter 487: The Rare Gathering of the Watergate Class
As the white light faded, a splash of orange filled Obito's vision.
Staring at the orange nin beast in front of him, something that looked vaguely like a lizard or a salamander standing upright, Obito scratched his head.
He did not know whether it was strong yet, but it definitely was not handsome.
Obito studied it carefully. At first glance, it resembled a small lizard, but the differences became obvious the longer he looked. Most of its body was orange, with only its belly and the underside of its tail a pale cream color. Its limbs were short and small, and its fingers were so tiny Obito almost missed them.
The only thing that truly felt unique was its tail.
A lively flame burned at the tip of that ordinary looking tail, yet it did not seem to harm the nin beast at all.
"It must be because it just hatched and hasn't fully grown yet," Obito comforted himself. "It'll become mighty once it grows up."
After all, he had personally cared for this egg and waited for it to hatch. Even if it was not what he imagined, he could not possibly run to Mugetsu and say he did not want it and ask for another one.
"Fire Dragon."
The Fire Dragon looked up at Obito with bright blue eyes and called out happily.
Obito patted its head and found himself relaxing a little. It might not be the mighty, handsome type he dreamed of, but its personality seemed good, unlike Zorua, Shisui's nin beast.
Then Obito looked toward Rin.
He had noticed Rin's egg lighting up too. Honestly, he felt relieved for her. If everyone's eggs hatched and he alone was still waiting, that kind of anxious suspense would have been pure torture.
But the moment Obito saw what appeared in front of Rin, his mind went blank.
"This… this can't be the wrong egg, right?"
He racked his brain, trying to find something to say to comfort Rin, but he could not figure out how to praise the ugly, weak looking big fish lying there.
Rin's hatchling felt completely different from the others.
Even if their nin beasts did not look fierce, each one had its own unique trait. Obito could not see anything special about Rin's at all. If he had to describe it, it was exceptionally ugly. He had never seen a fish shaped like this.
It had only just been born, yet its fins already looked tattered, as if it had been beaten badly. Its body was bumpy and uneven, like it had been roughed up since birth.
"A fish can hatch in this kind of place?" Kakashi also looked surprised when he saw Rin's nin beast.
But Kakashi quickly shifted his thinking. If dogs could hatch from eggs, then there was no point worrying about how a fish hatched without water. If anything, Rockruff and the others were stranger.
"Probably not," Rin said to Obito, shaking her head. She had not expected such a weird fish either, but she was not going to deny it.
"Kakashi, can you make a sunken area with Earth Release?" Rin asked, looking at Feebas lying on the ground, dazed and occasionally twitching weakly.
Even if Feebas was not as cute as she imagined, she could not ignore her own nin beast.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
Kakashi nodded and formed seals at once. The ground beneath Feebas sank quickly, creating a shallow pit.
Rin stepped to the edge, formed seals, and used Water Release to fill it, creating a small pond.
Obito walked to the water's edge and could not help complaining, "Can a nin beast like this really have combat power? I feel like it might not even beat Black Feather later."
Feebas gave him an overwhelming sense of weakness. It did not even seem as sharp as an ordinary animal.
"Not necessarily," Kakashi replied, still wearing his usual skeptical expression.
Mugetsu would never favor one disciple and target another. Since Mugetsu said every egg had great potential, he would not give Rin the only bad one.
"But I seriously can't see anything special about it. It can't be that it's especially…" Obito stopped himself. Even he knew finishing that sentence would be cruel.
At that moment, Mugetsu walked over.
"Just like shinobi," Mugetsu said, "some geniuses show talent the moment they touch shinobi knowledge. Others start out ordinary, work hard, build their foundation, and then burst forward later."
Feebas really was awkward early on. Before it evolved, it was basically impossible for it to have real combat power.
But if it was nurtured properly, Rin might end up overtaking everyone and become the first disciple to evolve a Pokemon into its complete form.
Because Feebas did not evolve by reaching a certain training level. What it needed was beauty, and its owner's love and trust.
"As long as you raise it well and keep at it, the final result won't disappoint."
"Yes, Teacher Mugetsu. Thank you." Rin bowed her head slightly, then smiled, her confidence steadying. "I'll take good care of it. This child seems like it needs a lot of care."
She had no intention of giving up on Feebas from the start, but Mugetsu's words still made her feel reassured.
Obito ran a hand through his hair, activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan, and stared at Feebas like he was trying to solve a riddle.
He still saw nothing special.
In the end, Obito gave up. Teacher Mugetsu would not lie. It was just that his own eyes were not sharp enough to see it yet.
That day, Obito cut down his training time. Instead of his usual routine, he used the extra time to bond with the Fire Dragon.
When the egg had not hatched, he could endure the waiting.
But now that he finally had his own nin beast, Obito could not wait to train it into something powerful, then beat up that annoying white haired dog and that red furred fox.
He could not do it himself, of course. Rockruff and Zorua were both newborns too.
If he attacked directly, would that not be bullying babies? Kakashi would seize the chance to mock him, and Rin's opinion of him might drop too.
In the evening, Obito sat in his courtyard and earnestly explained Fire Release to the Fire Dragon, trying to teach it the Great Fireball Technique.
Rockruff had stones around its neck, so it could instinctively use Earth Release chakra nature transformation.
The Fire Dragon had a flame on its tail.
So Obito believed it definitely had Fire Release potential.
Just as Obito was teaching with full focus, Minato arrived at his house.
"Obito," Minato said, "gather at the Hokage Building tomorrow."
Obito froze, then remembered he was still technically part of Minato's squad, even if he had been entrusted elsewhere for a long time.
"Minato sensei, are we going on a war mission?" Obito asked.
Gathering at the Hokage Building usually meant a mission, and since it was wartime, with their squad's strength, it would definitely be a high difficulty battlefield task.
Minato smiled and shook his head. "Not a mission. There should be some training."
Minato had finally finished a busy stretch, so he had no intention of actively taking on war missions right now. He mainly wanted to bring his disciples and Kushina together so everyone could get acquainted.
Because Kushina's range of activity was restricted, Minato could only take Obito and the others within the Leaf Village main district.
There was a training ground in the main district too, but it was small, basically the size of a playground. It was just an enclosed open space.
After explaining the situation, Minato left to inform Kakashi and Rin as well.
…
The next day, Minato's squad gathered in front of the Hokage Building.
Alongside Minato was Kushina, who came along for the fun.
"You're all disciples taught by both Teacher Mugetsu and Minato," Kushina said, hands on her hips, looking like a strict examiner. "I've seen news about you in the papers, but seeing is believing. I want to see whether you're really as excellent as Minato says."
In truth, Kushina was simply bored and itching for a fight. Minato also wanted her to get familiar with Kakashi and the others, so Kushina immediately thought of combat training. It had nothing to do with evaluating excellence.
Of course, what she thought and what she said were two different things. She wanted to sound authoritative, so she prepared a little speech.
"How could it be false?" Obito shot back. "Even our enemies acknowledge our excellence."
When they became famous on the East Bank battlefield, ordinary Hidden Mist squads they encountered had been afraid of them.
"And are you sure you want to train all three of us at once?" Obito puffed out his chest proudly. "We're all jonin, and I even beat a jonin examiner during the jonin exam!"
Even though Obito did not pass the jonin exam, he considered defeating a jonin examiner a worthy achievement, especially since it was something Kakashi had not done.
"So you're saying you're very brave, huh?" Kushina looked at Obito with growing interest.
It had been a long time since any shinobi dared act this arrogant in front of her.
"Just kidding, the current me can definitely beat one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!" Obito declared, as if the title was already his.
"Then do you want to challenge me one on one?" Kushina cracked her knuckles, clearly looking forward to seeing whether Obito would cry after getting beaten.
"Of course," Obito said without hesitation.
In his mind, he was a famous genius jonin of Konoha. Beating some unknown Konoha jonin should be easy.
Kushina was the one challenging him, not the other way around.
"Obito, this isn't a good idea," Rin said softly, worried.
Minato was not reckless. If Minato let Kushina train the three of them, then Kushina's strength had to surpass theirs, or she had something extraordinary. It could not be only because she had a personal relationship with Minato.
Obito flashed Rin a confident smile.
"He's hopeless," Kakashi thought, secretly shaking his head.
Even Rin could tell, yet Obito still could not guess Kushina's level.
Still, Kakashi was curious too. In an era of constant war, how was there an unknown powerhouse like this inside Konoha?
On the way to the training ground, Minato lowered his voice. "Kushina, be a little gentle later."
Kushina's fighting style carried a violence that did not match her appearance at all. Back in the academy days, it earned her the nickname Red Hot Blooded Habanero.
"How could I?" Kushina clenched her fist and lightly swung it, as if testing the feeling. "I have to teach him a deep lesson. He needs to learn not to underestimate people."
Minato smiled helplessly, only hoping Obito would be more careful with his mouth in the future.
When they reached the training ground, Kushina showed the generosity of a senior and let Obito attack first.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kushina's attitude adjusted Obito's estimate of her strength. Usually, people who dared act like this were not weak. Obito did not waste words. He spat out a fireball right away.
After all, he had talked so big. If he lost immediately, it would be humiliating.
"Adamantine Chains!"
Kushina easily dodged the slow Great Fireball Technique. Then she charged straight at Obito, chakra surging violently around her as she activated the Uzumaki bloodline ability.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!
Chakra chains erupted from Kushina's back, extending again and again until they sealed off the entire area within twenty meters of her.
Obito did not even have time to enter Flame Breathing Chakra Mode. After a few desperate dodges, the chains wrapped around him, locking him in place.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this?" Obito was stunned. He had never seen anything like it.
"Flame Breathing Chakra Mode!"
Obito forced his breathing to the extreme, entering Flame Breathing Chakra Mode. Flames burned around him as he unleashed his chakra, trying to scorch and break the chains.
To his shock, the chains barely took any damage.
Kakashi watched closely, eyes narrowing. If he had not activated Transparent World, and if he were not standing so far from Kushina, he might not have been able to dodge so many chains either.
"Is this an Uzumaki clan secret technique?" Kakashi wondered. He had no memory of a technique like this.
Obito felt numb.
Even Teacher Mugetsu, who was so low key, was famous across the shinobi world. So why were there still hidden masters in Konoha?
From the sheer chakra Kushina unleashed, let alone him, even Guy might not be able to win if he fought her.
Kushina controlled the chains and lifted Obito into the air like a caught fish. "Looks like the rumors were wrong. You're not that impressive."
"Is it possible… it's because you're stronger?" Obito said, face burning red.
"No, that must be it!" Kushina's mood flipped instantly, her grin bright. "I'm very strong!"
Hearing Obito admit defeat and praise her, Kushina looked delighted and released him.
People who praised her were never bad.
"Minato sensei," Obito suddenly blurted, "when are you two going to have Naruto big brother? He still owes me a 'big brother' call!"
Minato: …
Kushina: ???
Obito's words stunned Minato completely. A moment later, Minato remembered the joke Naruto had made in the future when Obito left.
Seeing Obito acting out from embarrassment, Kakashi quietly held up a photo in front of Obito, using a counter poison method. Obito instantly lost his mind and lunged to snatch it, successfully distracting Kushina without incident.
After Obito rested, Kakashi and the other two sparred with Kushina for a while.
When the training ended, they went to eat ramen together before finally disbanding.
Spending time with Kushina made Kakashi realize something.
Kushina was a bit like Obito, the kind of person who was easy to understand once you watched her for a moment.
Even so, Kakashi still could not figure out why Kushina was not famous later.
She did not seem like the type who would deliberately hide herself.
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]