Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 175
🕑 Added 2025-02-02 22:01:15 +0000 UTCEarly in the morning, Masashi wasn't woken up by the sunlight—he was woken up by being squeezed.
The Land of Fire was a country with many hills. As a resident, waking up among hills and valleys was quite reasonable.
The hills he was facing were a bit exaggerated, though—he had towering mountains on both sides of his head.
Changing customs wasn't always a good thing. He believed that preserving original traditions was beneficial because the charm of culture lay in its diversity.
The women of Suna and Kiri—truly impressive. He had learned something new.
This left him with no choice but to use his ultimate moves: the rodeo rider's technique and the hydraulic press method.
That is, leaning back just right, maintaining perfect balance, and gripping firmly with both hands. The key was timing the movements, controlling the rhythm, and executing smooth transitions.
This was his signature move back in the day, probably already lost to time. The beauty of this technique was understanding when to yield and when to take control - a dance of give and take.
The hydraulic press method was even simpler—applying steady pressure while maintaining perfect control. Like working with well-oiled machinery, smooth and precise movements were essential for the best results.
Proper force distribution was the key.
These were techniques that demonstrated the strategic balance of offense and defense. Back then, his opponents were all top-tier kunoichi, so the physical battles were intense.
If you weren't a ninja, you wouldn't have the endurance or physical strength to withstand such intense exchanges.
Under Masashi's seamless transitions and precise strikes, Hikari quickly fell. But Pakura—worthy of being the renowned kunoichi—not only kept up with him but also kept things heated. She was incredibly strong, bringing an intense energy to the battle.
It had been a long time since he had met such an evenly matched opponent.
Oh? You ask why Hikari was even in the mix? Well, they had been drinking—who knew how she suddenly appeared in the pitch-black darkness? One moment she was down stairs, and the next, she was spinning like the famed Rotation of the Hyūga clan.
If a girl called you an animal, you should tell her that every man had a wild beast inside.
And if a girl was willing to wash your most treasured weapon, you had to respect her passion for hot weaponry.
That being said, Hikari's inability to use chakra really put her at a disadvantage—she simply couldn't keep up with his and Pakura's combat pace.
Even though he was awake, Masashi didn't open his eyes. It was too comfortable—he wanted to lie there a little longer.
It wouldn't affect his training schedule—he had his time planned down to the second.
But while he was relaxing, someone else was already fully awake.
Hikari was the first to open her eyes. She quietly gazed at the sleeping Masashi, moving her legs between his, gently pressing against him, occasionally rubbing.
Seeing that he still wasn't waking up, she pouted and slipped her cool hand under the blanket, tracing gentle patterns with her fingertip.
Pakura opened her eyes, internally cursing Hikari for being both weak and playful. Looking at Masashi, who had his head buried between "hills," she pinched his nose.
Masashi had no choice but to "wake up" and sighed, "Can't I sleep in just once?"
Honestly, only in Suna and Kiri could something like this happen—no one in Konoha would dare behave like them.
Faced with this situation, he could only take things one step at a time.
His hands instinctively found their way to her buttocks and gave them a few firm pats.
"Hikari, being weak and playful is not a good habit."
"Mm-hmm..." Hikari whimpered playfully, pulling her cool hands out from under the blanket, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressing herself against him. Her lips made her look even more delicate and lovely.
Seeing this, Masashi said, "Do you even know how strong I am in the morning? Be careful, or I'll eat you up."
Hearing this, her eyes lit up, and she slid down excitedly. "Then hurry up and eat me! I'm willing."
She was full of anticipation.
Pakura was not pleased.
The Land of Wind was a classic male-dominated society. Due to environmental factors, there were far fewer suitable men than women, making resources extremely scarce. Suna kunoichi took great pleasure in the thrill of physical combat, considering it a direct measure of male strength—a key standard for choosing a mate.
The rule was simple: only the strong were worth choosing. Without male strength, what did strength even mean?
Pakura was never a weak woman. Though she wished to be conquered, she wouldn't pretend to be. If Masashi couldn't meet her expectations, she would have no choice but to walk away. At most, she would act as his lover out of gratitude, but if she found another man she truly admired, she would end things immediately.
However, Masashi's performance deeply satisfied her. From him, she felt pure masculine strength—he was a real man, and she liked him.
She would continue to push forward, making sure he fully realized that they were truly compatible as life partners.
Suna's approach to relationships might not be as refined as Konoha's—it could seem crude or even reckless—but it was effective. In Suna, there were no unhappy marriages; people only got together when they were completely satisfied with each other.
And Pakura? Back in Suna, there was never anyone worthy of her. She was a master of theory, but she had zero practical experience.
The only reason she didn't kick Hikari off the bed last night was that she didn't consider her a threat.
And she was right—Hikari lasted only one round before she was out. A typical case of all looks, no substance.
Theory was meaningless if it couldn't be applied in practice.
Masashi was Pakura's first man, and she believed he was the one she would walk through life with.
As for Hikari? That wasn't an issue
"Enough clinging," Pakura said impatiently. "He needs to go train."
Hearing this, Hikari's eyes dimmed.
After being defeated in just one move last night, she finally understood why, in Kiri, shinobi only married other shinobi.
It had nothing to do with status—it was about compatibility.
For the first time, she envied those who could mold and use chakra.
She didn't aspire to be a kunoichi, but she did wish she had that power. In this regard, her thinking was the same as Pakura's: one must choose a strong mate.
The difference was that Pakura was strong herself—while she was extremely weak.
She was completely powerless! Well, not completely, but still—just an ordinary person.
Weak.
She wanted the power of chakra, too!
She would find a way to obtain it!
---
Masashi first sent Hikari home, then headed to the training grounds.
After defeating—oh no, successfully thwarting—yet another scheme by Kumo, the atmosphere in the village had completely changed.
It had returned to the state it was in after the Second Great Ninja War but before the Third Great Ninja War.
The war was truly over. Whether ninja or ordinary people, everyone had resumed their normal lives.
For Masashi, the biggest difference between this life and the first was that, in his first life, he was very aware that this world was a backward one with a medieval background—frequent wars, low productivity, extreme scarcity of resources, and people willing to do anything to survive.
But in this life, if he wasn't careful, he would forget that this world was still in a strictly hierarchical feudal era.
There were TVs, water heaters, and other household appliances that only existed in his original life.
Entertainment options were abundant, living standards had improved significantly, and wars only happened every few years. If it weren't for the constant commissions from the daimyō, life wouldn't be much different from back on Earth.
The views on marriage and family among ninja clans had also normalized. The once-common practice of polygamy had largely disappeared—those ninja clans that hadn't done so had long perished in the brutal era when killing each other's children was the norm.
It was practically like the animal kingdom—childhood survival was the biggest challenge for a person. Fewer than one in ten children made it to adulthood. The number of children's corpses far exceeded that of adults. To ensure their clan's survival, adults not only had to fight enemies but also had to have as many children as possible—both for themselves and their clan.
That was why it wasn't unusual for Butsuma to have so many children. In the end, only Hashirama and Tobirama survived to adulthood, which was actually a high survival rate for that era. Other families might have had over ten children but lost every single one, whereas he had fewer than ten yet still had two make it.
This applied to women as well. Ninjas not only prioritized killing enemy children but also young women.
Muzo spent the first half of his life yearning for love but, in the latter half, abandoned the idea entirely, indulging himself instead—because love was too painful.
This world was unsafe. It was brutal.
Everyone had a deep sense of insecurity.
That was why old ninja clans like the Uchiha clan, who retained their Warring States Period traditions, were still obsessed with increasing their numbers. A thousand years of habits had practically engraved this into their genes.
The Uchiha clan would never let go of the bloodline limits that Pakura and Hikari represented—especially since Masashi had been using them quite effectively.
Haku wouldn't escape either—he was definitely getting assigned a wife.
Decades of isolation had made this clan believe in nothing but blood ties.
If the Uchiha clan was to truly become what Hashirama had envisioned, then the village and the clan had to maintain their current stability for at least a few more decades.
While this made the Uchiha members unconventional within Konoha, outside Konoha, it was the norm. The Second and Third Great Ninja Wars had given rise to countless ninja organizations, all of which had grand-sounding slogans. But if you stripped them down, they were all just manifestations of deep-seated insecurity and extreme self-preservation.
Thus, you had villains who, under the banner of peace and a so-called noble mission, slaughtered countless people, casually labeling them as "necessary sacrifices."
Beneath its surface prosperity, this world was still a dark jungle.
After the feudal nation-village era, this jungle had bred a wave of highly motivated and action-driven terrorists—people who loved making decisions on behalf of others. How should Masashi deal with this?
If you want to survive in this world, you have to get blood on your hands.
---
Upon entering the training grounds, he began his usual sweat-drenched practice.
Fire, water, wind, earth, lightning—one by one.
Among the five basic chakra natures, lightning was still lagging behind.
So, when it came time for Lightning Release training, Masashi activated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Susanoo, Rotation, and the Lightning Release Chakra Mode all shared one thing in common—they required chakra to be expelled from every tenketsu in the body. If the body wasn't strong enough, it simply couldn't handle it. The pain from expelling chakra this way was intense.
On the flip side, whether you needed the Sharingan to activate Susanoo didn't really matter. If you mastered the technique, you could activate it even without the Sharingan's ocular power.
In other words—true blindfolded Susanoo.
It just required a lot more chakra instead of eye power.
But first, you had to have opened Susanoo at least once with the Sharingan.
As for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, its combat effectiveness was debatable, but it was very useful for grinding proficiency in lightning chakra nature.
Standing in the training grounds, Masashi activated his Sharingan and maintained a stable chakra output. He was fully enveloped in lightning.
He had to use the Sharingan while activating this technique, as his talent in this area was just average. Otherwise, his perception wouldn't keep up with his body's speed.
His skin still stung, and there was no way around it. Lightning naturally harmed the body. If he overdid it, he'd burn his own skin.
The Third and Fourth Raikage probably liked fighting shirtless because it made chakra release smoother, reducing strain and energy consumption.
Kakashi's Chidori had similar side effects.
Since he had the Iron Skin for taijutsu, Masashi rarely used the full version of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode unless necessary. He mainly used it to train his lightning nature proficiency.
After fine-tuning his chakra output, he intensified the lightning in his right hand, forming a blade that pierced a distant target.
With a casual slash, an entire row of targets was sliced apart by the lightning blade.
The penetration power was good, but overall, it was less effective than his Kagutsuchi.
Dispelling the lightning blade, he reshaped the electricity into shuriken and threw them.
He tested them at different ranges—close, mid, and long distances. Beyond mid-range, the shuriken's speed wasn't a real threat to experts.
He changed the shape again, turning it into senbon and attacking closer targets. This worked much better.
It didn't do much damage but was great for sneak attacks—paralyzing enemies with Lightning Release and hindering their mobility.
A decent little trick.
Estimating that his training time was about up, he deactivated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and dispelled his shadow clones. The discomfort from using the technique multiplied instantly.
His skin didn't just sting—it hurt. The pain signals from the clones returned in full force.
The mental fatigue was secondary.
He had to admit, the Raikage who developed this technique was insanely tough on himself.
No wonder their entire clan looked like a bunch of muscle-bound freaks.
After resting for a bit, Masashi headed toward the simulated battlefield.
