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Ch. 171: Graduation: Strange Aburame
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 00:39:10 +0000 UTCThe sudden action caught Yagura completely off guard.
The Tailed Beast Bomb he was about to unleash hadn't fully formed, and the balance between yin and yang chakra was disrupted under the force of the tailed beast chakra.
Furthermore, as Kojiro's massive whale-like mouth clamped down on Yagura's semi-transformed maw, the incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb detonated inside Yagura's mouth.
Boom!
Though this failed Tailed Beast Bomb lacked the power of a fully-formed one, the significant amount of yin-yang chakra he had accumulated still packed a destructive punch.
The resulting explosion tore apart his tailed beast cloak, revealing his blackened form beneath once more.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kojiro reached out with one hand and grabbed Yagura by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
The immense strength in Kojiro's grip constricted the chakra pathways flowing through Yagura's body, forcibly deactivating the tailed beast cloak below his neck completely.
Having already fought him once before, Kojiro was familiar with combating the semi-transformed state and had grown experienced in dealing with it.
As for the Tailed Beast Bomb, Yagura may have refrained from using it during the previous battle for fear of its overwhelming power, but Kojiro had learned the countermeasure in advance from the Black Pharaoh.
The key was to disrupt the balance of yin-yang chakra before the bomb fully formed.
"The Tailed Beast Bomb may be destructive, but as long as you don't just stand there and let it form, it's nothing to fear."
That was what the Black Pharaoh had said, and Kojiro followed the advice to easily neutralize Yagura's attempt.
With his formidable power, prior experience fighting semi-transformed foes, and the Black Pharaoh's guidance, he finally overcame Yagura.
The charred black surface of Yagura's body faded away, revealing his youthful, childlike form underneath.
"Pa...the...tic..."
He forced out his final words through a throat increasingly constricted by lack of air, his face twisted with unwillingness and regret.
But Kojiro paid no heed to these words. "Oh? That's all for your last words? Then, farewell Yagura."
The moment he finished speaking, a crisp sound of a neck snapping echoed through the forest.
He flung Yagura's lifeless body to the side, the neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Then his own body began to shrink and weaken, reverting to his original human form.
The strength of his transformation as Dagon was immense, but it always left Kojiro exhausted afterward. Not because of the energy consumed during the fight, but because the act of transforming itself was so taxing.
Even if he transformed only to crush a cockroach, the fatigue would still be significant.
At this moment, a figure emerged from the depths of the forest. It was the Black Pharaoh.
Throughout the fight, he had been observing the battle through a projection of himself. By the current standards of the shinobi world, such a fight could be considered spectacular.
But as everyone knew, it was the genin of Konoha who were truly capable of earth-shattering feats. This was merely child's play.
As for the outcome, everything unfolded as he had anticipated.
Kojiro's current strength was hard to measure, even for him. Judging from his accomplishments, labeling him as a super-Kage-level ninja would not be an exaggeration.
What surprises this world's singularities would bring in the future was difficult for him to predict. However, no matter how powerful Kojiro became, he would remain a pawn in Black Pharaoh's grand scheme for the world, much like Obito was to Madara, or Madara was to Black Zetsu.
At that moment, there was another rustling sound in the forest, and Kisame emerged.
"All the other ninjas have been dealt with, Dagon-sama," Kisame said, his tone grim yet casual.
The team accompanying Yagura had consisted mostly of elite jonin and special jonin, but he had wiped out at least ten of them single-handedly.
His strength could not be underestimated.
"Let's return to the Land of Gods for now," Kojiro said.
With their mission complete, he and Kisame donned their black robes once again and vanished into the forest in a few swift movements.
Despite the battle's end, those two eavesdroppers hadn't left yet.
"You're still useful, so I'll let it slide."
With a small mental warning, the Black Pharaoh turned his piercing gaze toward the treetops. His imposing aura seemed to radiate dignity and inviolability, and his crimson, gem-like eyes almost pierced through the void to where the cult were hiding.
Moments after he vanished, a figure with a green, pea-shaped head cautiously emerged from the tree canopy.
"That guy noticed us earlier," White Zetsu said in a playful tone.
"The aura of authority... I've only felt that from Mother," Black Zetsu murmured in his hoarse, low voice, reflecting on the intense pressure of the glare.
With just one glance from the Black Pharaoh into the void, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were flooded with thoughts and speculations.
What's more, Black Zetsu noticed something that White Zetsu couldn't perceive—a mysterious power emanating from both Kojiro and that man. Though this force was indistinct, its presence was there.
He couldn't decipher what this power represented, but it left him far more shaken than White Zetsu.
"Obito's pawn is dead. Should we inform him?"
"Let's also notify Pain. From now on, the Kiri ninjas will no longer be easily manipulated."
---
A few days later, during an Akatsuki meeting.
A new member joined the group, carrying a massive, bandaged blade on his back. This ninja was Kisame.
"This is Kisame, formerly of Kiri. He's a missing-nin who murdered his superior, Fuguki, and is now joining Akatsuki as one of us."
Clap... Clap... Clap...
The sparse applause came from a single source—the masked man in the corner, who referred to himself as Akatsuki's "intern," Tobi.
The rest of the members, including even the typically kind-hearted Konan, remained silent and serious, scrutinizing the newcomer with cold expressions.
Kisame, however, cracked a slight grin, his fish-like eyes scanning the room.
Just as the Black Pharaoh had said, Akatsuki was not a particularly "friendly" organization.
"From today onward, you'll team up with Itachi as a duo," Pain announced.
Following his gaze, Kisame located the man named Itachi.
Itachi, too, seemed slightly surprised by the new addition, especially the name.
"Hoshigaki...?" Itachi muttered softly.
Kisame caught the murmur, and in an instant, he swung his massive blade, Samehada, to rest against Itachi's neck.
"What? Do you have a problem with my name?" Kisame growled.
"No."
Itachi didn't protest further. Having dealt with Kiri shinobi before, he was accustomed to their tendency to use blades as a form of emphasis.
Before Kisame could lower Samehada, a sharp voice interjected.
"Hey! I have a problem with you—and it's a big one!"
Kisame turned to find a tall, gray-haired young man with a massive scythe slung over his shoulder pointing at him in irritation.
"Since you walked in, I've been smelling this disgusting fishy odor coming off you!"
"Can I kill him? Please tell me I can kill him!"
"Go ahead and try," Kisame retorted, unwrapping the bandages from Samehada.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Just as their weapons were about to clash, an invisible force blasted them apart. Kisame and Hidan were flung into opposite walls of the cavern, smashing into the rocky surfaces.
"Akatsuki does not tolerate infighting!"
Both Kisame and Hidan crawled out of the rubble, their once-neat cloaks now tattered and dirty.
"First day here, and things are already this lively?" Tobi quipped leisurely, while the other members of Akatsuki looked on with puzzled expressions.
While Akatsuki members were known for their problematic personalities and penchant for conflict, it was unusual for new teammates to clash so violently upon first meeting.
Did these two have some kind of history? What kind of grudge could lead to such animosity?
Though neither Kisame nor Hidan could explain why, they both found each other unbearably irritating. Yet, under Pain's watchful eye, they begrudgingly sheathed their weapons and moved to opposite corners of the room.
Once peace was restored, Pain resumed the meeting.
"A few days ago, the Fourth Mizukage was killed. Because the jinchūriki was slain, the Three-Tails has now been released. It will take several years for it to revive somewhere in this world."
"Our plan to gather all the tailed beasts is currently on hold. Without the Three-Tails, the timing is not right to proceed."
"So I've decided that our next steps will focus on building our reputation, accumulating wealth, and gathering intelligence on the tailed beasts."
"Once the Three-Tails revives, we will resume our plan."
"That's all."
---
"Did you know? You failed your last two exams."
"Tomorrow is the graduation exam, and you're still pulling pranks?!"
Iruka was furiously scolding a mischievous little kid tied up with rope on the classroom floor. The boy, however, turned his head and let out a defiant "hmph."
That troublemaker was none other than Naruto, the class dunce in Iruka's group! Iruka had a love-hate relationship with the boy.
When Naruto first joined the ninja academy, he was relatively well-behaved. Though he was a little playful and immature like most kids his age, his overall performance and grades were decent, sometimes even placing him among the top of the class.
But at some point, his grades began to plummet, and his behavior grew increasingly unruly.
Lately, Naruto had been pulling pranks all over the village, even vandalizing the Hokage Rock with graffiti.
Iruka didn't understand what had caused such a change.
Later, the Third Hokage, now retired and serving as an advisor, explained the truth to Iruka.
Naruto had lost his parents the moment he was born. Hiruzen, after stepping down from his role as Hokage, often cared for and looked after Naruto.
At that time, Naruto genuinely saw Hiruzen as his own grandfather.
But after the birth of Hiruzen's biological grandson, Konohamaru, and as he became busier with his duties as an advisor, he began to pay less attention to Naruto.
This neglect caused the boy's behavior to grow worse—not out of malice, but as a way to attract the attention of those around him, especially Hiruzen's.
As a result, in Naruto's graffiti, Hiruzen's face was always the most exaggeratedly defaced on the Hokage Rock. Bright green snot and fiery red hair were standard features in Naruto's artistic pranks on him.
In contrast, Naruto never touched the statue of Danzō, the Fifth Hokage to the far right.
Iruka once asked Naruto why. The response was that Danzō's face looked too scary, and he didn't dare mess with it.
Iruka was left speechless.
So Hiruzen, who used to care for Naruto, became the main target of his pranks. Scary-looking Danzō? Completely spared.
Wasn't that just bullying the nice guy?
Still, despite his mischief and Iruka's constant scolding, Iruka always took care of Naruto whenever he got into trouble.
He would accompany the boy to apologize to villagers who had been pranked, supervise him or help him clean the paint off the Hokage Rock, and frequently have heart-to-heart talks with him.
Iruka didn't do this just because Hiruzen had asked him to look out for Naruto. He also saw his own younger self in the boy.
As a child, he had been mischievous too. After losing his parents in the Nine-Tails attack, he had also resorted to graffiti on the Hokage Rock to draw attention to himself.
That was one of Iruka's darker, more embarrassing memories. This was why he had a deeper emotional investment in Naruto compared to the other students.
But this time, even he had to take things seriously.
If Naruto didn't pass tomorrow's graduation exam, he'd face the reality of being held back.
That would be no small matter for Naruto's future.
Tomorrow's graduation exam—Naruto, you have to give it your all! Looking at Naruto sitting on the floor with a defiant expression, Iruka thought to himself.
"The graduation exam starts now. When your name is called, go to the next classroom. And this time, the test is on the Clone Technique."
Hearing Iruka announce the subject of the exam, Naruto felt like he'd been struck by lightning.
Oh no! Why does it have to be the jutsu I'm worst at?!
Even so, the exam had to be taken.
As one classmate after another was called out, leaving with serious expressions and returning with beaming smiles, Naruto's turn finally came.
Nervously, he walked into the adjoining classroom, where he spotted a long table. On the table were rows of polished ninja headbands, and his eyes lit up with longing.
Behind the table sat the examiners.
One was Naruto's homeroom teacher, Iruka.
The other was a newer face at the ninja academy—a teacher recently assigned there. Naruto hadn't seen him before, not even around the village.
The man's distinctive broom-shaped hairstyle and ever-present sunglasses reminded him of his quiet classmate Shino.
Could this new teacher be related to him somehow?
The thought amused Naruto, but this was a serious moment—the graduation exam—so he quickly suppressed his smile and formed the hand signs to prepare his jutsu.
"Clone Jutsu!"
A dramatic surge of blue chakra swirled around Naruto, and with a loud "poof", his clone emerged.
Next to him, a feeble, lifeless clone lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog.
Such a lackluster performance could only elicit two words in response:
"You fail!"
Just as Iruka was about to officially record Naruto's exam results, the other examiner spoke up.
"Iruka, his physical and athletic abilities are decent, and he did technically manage to perform the Clone Jutsu this time."
"Why not let him pass?"
The suggestion from the new teacher reignited a flicker of hope on Naruto's dejected face. Iruka was surprised and began to ponder the situation.
The other examiner was named Aburame Motoki, a teacher who had joined the academy just a month prior. Like Iruka, Motoki held the rank of chunin.
But there were things about him that Iruka found puzzling.
Why had he never seen Motoki around the village before? Motoki was older than him, clearly a senior, so why had he only recently started working as a teacher at the academy?
Not long after Motoki joined the academy, Hiruzen had a private discussion with Iruka, specifically mentioning Motoki.
During that talk, he advised Iruka to keep an eye on Motoki.
But why?
Now, Motoki's sudden advocacy for Naruto, despite having no apparent personal connection, only added to Iruka's suspicions.
Despite the oddity, he remained firm in his decision.
"Graduating students must be able to create at least three clones. Naruto's skills are still far from sufficient."
"But back when I graduated, the requirement was just one clone," Motoki countered.
"That was during the Third Great Ninja War, wasn't it? At that time, children had to graduate early to fight on the battlefield, so the standards were lower."
"Now, we're in an era of peace. There's no need for early graduations, and stricter requirements are in their best interest."
"Ah, I see."
With Iruka's greater experience in educational matters, he firmly held the upper hand in the discussion. Motoki nodded in understanding, offering no further arguments.
And so, Naruto once again earned the title of dead-last, the only student in his class who failed to graduate.
