Adopted by Tsunade [223-224] (Patreon)

Chapter 223: The Majestic Big Cat

Seeing the giant tree consumed by flames, Shimura Danzō wasn't surprised.

After witnessing Natsume's Wood Release, he already knew his own Wood Release was a counterfeit.

Though stronger than ordinary Five-Element ninjutsu, it wasn't by much.

At least not overwhelming.

And the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, was a perfect jinchūriki.

Borrowing Matatabi's chakra, achieving this result was only natural.

Before the fight even began, Danzō knew he might not be able to beat her.

So he had Yomi think of a plan.

Shimura Danzō suppressed his fury.

He wasn't a samurai, but a ninja.

Naturally, he didn't care about so-called fair one-on-one duels.

No matter how viciously Yugito cursed him, once he captured her, she'd be at his mercy.

With that thought, Danzō flashed through hand seals, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!

Compared to Wood Release, he was actually more proficient at Wind Release.

In Konoha, he could be called the number one Wind Release user.

A pale blue stream of air suddenly formed before Danzō and swelled into a massive wind sphere.

All the chakra within the orb spun and compressed wildly.

In almost an instant it reached Yugito's front.

Just then Danzō barked coldly, "Yomi, what are you waiting for?"

Hearing the shout, Yugito raised an eyebrow.

But she had to deal with Danzō's attack first.

Retreating was too late, so she clenched her fist. Blue chakra flared like flame into the shape of a cat's paw, making her punch look huge.

Yugito smashed her fist forward.

Visible air currents rippled outward from her knuckles.

On contact with the wind sphere, a thunderous boom erupted.

Terrifying gusts and chakra waves blasted skyward, spraying outward like a violent storm.

The ground between them was instantly gouged with countless claw and wind marks, as if ten thousand cats had shredded it.

"Yomi?"

Danzō didn't rejoice at his jutsu working.

He turned toward Yomi and Natsume in the distance.

"What are you doing?"

Danzō's face chilled. "Still not making a move?"

What are you, AFK?

Suddenly he blitzed forward, leaving a lingering afterimage.

He reached out to strike Yomi.

Yugito was momentarily stunned.

What's going on?

Infighting?

But the next second she, like Danzō, wore an ugly expression.

Because Yomi and Natsume were clones.

In other words, they were no longer here.

So where were they?

Yugito's face changed drastically.

She turned to rush back to the Sealing Temple.

Only to see Danzō blocking her path.

Though displeased at being used as a decoy to draw fire, given how things stood he didn't just walk away.

Yomi and Natsume had already slipped into the Sealing Temple.

He had to buy enough time.

"Get out of my way!"

Yugito, anxious, no longer held back.

Inside her mindscape, Matatabi opened its eyes.

Chakra poured out like it was free.

Blue demonic cat patterns rapidly wrapped Yugito's body.

Centered on her, tides of chakra roared outward like crashing waves.

Cold sweat beaded on Danzō's forehead.

He rapidly marshaled his chakra to try to resist the terrifying surge.

"Die!"

Yugito's appearance transformed.

Her hair floated upward, her eyes turned white, with vertical slits faintly visible.

A cat's eye becoming a slit pupil meant the cat was angry.

Half-tailed-beast Yugito didn't bother with fancy ninjutsu—she simply slashed a claw.

Backed by immense chakra, the very air seemed to tremble.

Danzō gritted his teeth.

Damn you, Yomi!

You said you had a way to deal with a jinchūriki.

And I end up as the bait?!

Wood Release: Spearwood Rampart!

Same Wood Release, but this time the effect was different.

Because black chakra surged around Danzō.

This was Yomi's payment to him—

A body modified by dark medical ninjutsu.

A far larger giant tree than before rose like a boundless wall in front of Danzō.

Then came the impact.

But Yugito's attack didn't break through the wooden bulwark.

Danzō exhaled in relief.

It could hold for a few minutes.

…

Meanwhile, at the Sealing Temple—

Yomi looked like a war god.

Facing seven charging Kumogakure ninja,

He moved as if on a casual stroll.

To be fair, the Cloud had sent no weaklings.

Eight in total: one jinchūriki, two jōnin, five chūnin.

More than enough for an S-rank mission.

Lightning flashed.

A middle-aged man led the charge, his body wreathed in dazzling chakra.

He thrust himself in front of Yomi.

A fist the size of a sandbag crashed toward Yomi's heart like lightning.

Aiming for a one-hit kill.

The middle-aged man was a very typical Kumo taijutsu jōnin.

A kind of nerfed Fourth Raikage A.

But the instant he closed in, he felt an unprecedented pressure.

His lightning-fast movement slowed.

Which was fatal.

Yomi lifted a leg and kicked.

The man was blasted away by the overwhelming force.

The young jōnin's face shifted.

He knew his teammate's strength very well, and hadn't expected him to be felled in a single exchange.

But he couldn't hesitate.

If Yomi entered the Sealing Temple, their mission would fail.

Failing even after dispatching so many elites would be a colossal humiliation for Kumo.

With the Fourth Raikage A's temper, they'd be in for misery when they returned.

At this point, the only move was to stall for time until Yugito came back.

They had considerable faith in a jinchūriki.

The young jōnin body-flickered above Yomi's head and ax-kicked down.

Chakra turned to lightning, making him look like a thunder god.

If that kick landed on the face, Yomi would die for sure.

But he wasn't flustered at all.

The young jōnin's face, however, changed drastically.

An utterly terrifying aura enveloped him.

Yomi seized his right leg with his right hand, and his left hand chopped down like a blade.

"Ah!"

The young jōnin screamed.

His right leg's bones were completely shattered.

Yomi tossed him aside and kept moving forward.

Natsume followed behind him like a cheerleader.

In mere moments, all seven were on the ground.

But none dead.

After all, Natsume wanted them as an audience.

The two entered the Sealing Temple smoothly.

Natsume narrowed his eyes.

The interior wasn't the grand hall he'd imagined, but a vast space like another world.

In the middle was only a long stone causeway, flanked by Stone figures clad in armor.

This was the so-called Ghost Army.

Walking the stone path led to the seal of the demon Mōryō.

A massive stele covered in strange runes.

Yomi placed his hand on it and chanted.

Black chakra welled up from his body, flowed along his arm, and into the stele.

The stele trembled, then cracked open to reveal a pitch-black hole.

No light—like an abyss.

A cold, violent aura billowed out.

"Humans, it's been a long time."

A hoarse voice came from the hole.

"Lord Mōryō!"

Yomi immediately knelt, face feverish with zeal. "Welcome back. Your radiance will once again shine across the shinobi world!"

"Oh? And you are?"

The voice came again.

"I am a surviving follower of the Yomi cult that once served you. I've come to free you, to unify the shinobi world!"

Yomi answered excitedly.

Even though he was being controlled, he didn't know it.

So this was an instinctive response.

Mōryō didn't suspect him. "Not bad. But where is my body? Without a body, I cannot act outside."

"I've already made arrangements."

Yomi stood, ripped open his clothes, and unhesitatingly cut open his own abdomen.

Amazingly, no blood flowed and he didn't die.

Natsume mused that dark medical ninjutsu was quite miraculous.

Anything with dark in the name isn't simple.

"Please use my body for now, then go to the Land of Swamps to obtain your own body."

Yomi offered his blade.

Mōryō, unceremonious, turned into streams of black wind and surged into his body.

Moments later, Yomi stitched up his chest.

He exhaled, spread his arms, and shouted to the sky, "Awaken, my legion!"

With his shout, stone warriors all around trembled violently.

Their outer stone shells sloughed off, revealing their true faces.

Natsume's sensory perception spread—he indeed felt dense Yin Release power.

But he was more interested in Mōryō's soul.

Quite strong.

Even without a body, it felt comparable to Susanoo.

Feeding it to Hinata's Demon-Breaker Bow would be nice.

Hmm, a bit of a waste.

Natsume suddenly thought of Uchiha Izumi.

She'd been stuck at three tomoe for a long time—just needed that final push.

"Full army, advance!"

Yomi roared, and all the stone warriors assembled and marched out in formation.

…

Outside the Sealing Temple—

Yugito had turned into a giant blue cat.

After repelling Danzō, she rushed to the temple.

And saw seven people lying around.

As a perfect jinchūriki, she hadn't lost consciousness.

A booming sound erupted.

"Where are they?"

"They already went in," the middle-aged man said through gritted teeth. "Sorry, Yomi's strength exceeded expectations. We couldn't stop him."

"So long as you're okay."

Though haughty toward enemies, Yugito treated her own people well.

After confirming no one had died, she turned to the temple.

A second later, she raised an eyebrow.

The doors opened, and countless stone warriors poured out.

Yugito split off chakra and dragged the seven away, lest they be trampled to death.

After placing them farther off, she stood imposing in the midst of the army, stared at Yomi, and said, "Today is your death day!"

Chapter 224: The Frightened Matatabi

Though Yomi had defeated two Kumo jōnin and five chūnin, Yugito still didn't take him seriously.

A jinchūriki could fight ten without breaking a sweat.

Meaning ten jōnin.

Of course, excluding a few outliers, like the Fourth Raikage A who could fight the Eight-Tails.

Yugito did not believe Yomi was such a super-spec ninja.

So her attitude toward him didn't change.

Yomi said nothing. The stone warriors swarmed in.

Yugito snorted and rampaged through them with brutal efficiency.

In the roar of explosions, at least several hundred stone warriors fell.

Matatabi's massive body showed its worth.

But the stone warriors were immortal; after falling, they trembled and revived again.

Yugito quickly noticed.

She didn't know the principle, but she knew the source was Yomi.

He'd come out of the temple—clearly, he'd broken the seal.

"Yugito, be careful," Matatabi warned. "Something's off in Yomi's body—it should be that otherworldly demon."

"I see."

Yugito had been wondering where Mōryō was; turns out it was in Yomi's belly.

But this didn't intimidate her.

Fully tailed-beast-ified, she was invincible.

Yugito raised a cat paw, then did a massive kitty slide tackle, instantly clearing a path.

She looked at Yomi, who still hadn't moved, and sneered.

So confident?

Yugito didn't get it.

But it didn't stop her attack.

The blue giant cat lifted its head, opened its jaws, and dense, almost viscous chakra condensed into a gigantic fireball.

Heat waves surged.

Flowers and grass blackened and cracked instantly.

Stone warriors nearby did the same.

Even the air warped from heat.

The fireball clearly resembled a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Though not as powerful, it already surpassed forbidden jutsu for humans.

The fireball, with terrifying momentum, shot toward Yomi.

The area was so wide that Natsume was a target too.

Faint crimson tinged Yomi's eyes.

A terrifying ocular force surged in an instant toward Mōryō in his belly.

"Yomi, what are you doing?!"

Mōryō jolted in fright, then erupted in fury. "You despicable human!"

You just said you'd help resurrect me and unify the shinobi world—why attack me at once?

Eight years ago when Mōryō rampaged, there were no Mangekyō Sharingan.

And since it was from another realm, by the time it sensed that ocular power, it was too late.

Anger turned to calm.

Yomi raised a hand; endless black miasma spewed out.

This was Mōryō's power.

On contacting the fireball, it corroded fiercely, the two attacks locking in midair.

Yugito's expression tightened; her earlier disdain receded a bit.

She leapt, giant cat claws aiming at Yomi's abdomen.

Since Mōryō's soul was sealed inside, it meant it couldn't manifest directly.

So if she could rip it open, unexpected results might follow.

Yomi opened his mouth and let out a low, demonic sound.

An invisible mental wave swept forth.

Yugito's face went dazed and her movements slowed.

"Yugito!"

Sensing the problem, Matatabi shouted.

The voice snapped Yugito awake.

Heart pounding, she quickly retreated, dodging the black mists that followed.

"It likely has the ability to control minds," Matatabi analyzed. "Similar to genjutsu—be careful."

"Got it."

Yugito nodded, but the next moment her face changed and she snarled, "Damn you!"

The seven Kumo ninja appeared before her.

They had been badly injured and unable to move.

But now, under Mōryō's control, they moved like normal, surrounding her.

"Kill us!"

The young jōnin shouted, "Lady Yugito, don't hesitate!"

Kumogakure had always been tough and unyielding; a notably hardline village.

In the original story, of the Five Great Villages, only Kumo had no rogue ninja.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku don't count—that was a power struggle.

Controlled now, the seven still asked to be killed without hesitation.

But the more they did, the less Yugito could bring herself to do it.

To her, the most precious things were the Cloud and its people.

"Damn it!"

While dodging her comrades' attacks, she cursed, "Hiding behind others—what skill is that?!"

She couldn't attack Yomi at all.

He kept two chūnin beside him.

With Yugito's huge body, trying to avoid them and strike Yomi was very difficult.

For a time, she was stuck in a dilemma.

Grinding her teeth, she glared at Yomi, cycling through every curse she knew.

"Are you even a man?"

As soon as she blurted it out, the five attacking ninja stopped and returned to Yomi's side.

Yugito was slightly taken aback, but didn't dare say more for fear of provoking him.

She exhaled. "Hand them over, and the Cloud will no longer hinder you."

At this point, unless she truly meant to kill, this was the only way.

But her compromise made the seven anxious.

"Lady Yugito, we can't abandon the mission!"

"Kill us! Then avenge us!"

"Lady Yugito!"

Yugito's face showed struggle.

"I can accept your terms," Yomi suddenly said. "I don't want to offend Kumogakure either."

Yugito's eyes lit up.

If she could save them, all the better.

As for the mission, rescuing them still counted.

Ninja kept promises, but that applied to the Five Great Villages, not to an evil cultist like Yomi.

"But your crude words to me demand a price," Yomi smiled. "Stand still and don't fight back; if you can withstand one hit, I'll release them. How about it?"

"Don't agree!" the seven shouted almost in unison.

If it were an ordinary ninja, a jinchūriki could take a hit—like a scratch.

But Yomi—or rather Mōryō—wasn't human.

Who knew what would happen from that one strike?

"Yugito," Yomi said under Natsume's control, "you don't want your teammates to die, do you?"

"I accept!" Yugito snorted, haughty. "You don't understand what a Tailed Beast is!"

She was very confident in Matatabi.

Yomi fell silent.

Black miasma billowed from him.

A heavy pressure spread out.

Yugito smelled danger, but her expression didn't change.

"Matatabi."

"No problem," Matatabi said without reservation, pouring all its chakra into her.

The flames around her body boiled, thickening by several meters, making the cat even larger.

"So strong!"

"It's fine—no one can beat a Tailed Beast!"

"Right! Lady Yugito will save us!"

Seeing this, the Kumo ninjas' hope rekindled.

By sheer presence alone, Yugito dwarfed Yomi.

She would surely win.

And they knew Mōryō currently had only a soul, no body—not complete.

"Thank you, Matatabi."

Yugito breathed easier.

The danger vanished.

So this strike wouldn't be a big deal.

"It's fine… no—no, that's wrong!"

Matatabi suddenly spoke in terror. "How is this possible?!"

"Matatabi, what's wrong?" Yugito tensed. Yomi was still gathering chakra—why were you panicking?

"It's Six—"

Matatabi's voice cut off.

Six what?

Yugito's eyes widened. "Matatabi? Matatabi?! What's wrong?! Say something!"

Even in Tailed Beast form, she felt boundless dread.

The next moment, Yomi raised his hand.

Black mist rolled in like a storm front, enveloping her completely.

Yugito's expression froze; she lost consciousness.

"No!"

Outside, the seven Kumo ninja nearly burst their eyes.

With a deafening roar, before them boundless chakra mixed and detonated.

In the misty aftermath, nearby stone warriors shattered into rubble,

And, driven by winds, swept in all directions.

The Kumo ninja were battered and bruised, but ignored it, staring at the blast's center.

When the dust settled, only fresh bloodstains remained in the crater.

Yugito was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, a vast chakra fled into the distance.

Matatabi's chakra.

The two Kumo jōnin turned ashen.

This scene could only mean Yugito had died and Matatabi was forced into reincarnation.

In other words, their unbeatable perfect jinchūriki had fallen.

Grief surfaced.

Yomi ignored them and flew toward the Land of Swamps,

With countless stone warriors in tow.

Natsume released control over the Kumo ninjas and vanished as well.

The battle was over.

[Because of your actions, Yugito Nii's fate has changed. You gain 89 Fate Points.]

[Because of your actions, Shimura Danzō's fate has changed. You gain 70 Fate Points.]

[Because of your actions, Matatabi's fate has changed. You gain 21 Fate Points.]

Hearing the prompts, Natsume remembered Danzō.

He seemed to have been injured fighting Yugito.

Did the Kumo ninja take him back?

Or did he escape?

Natsume didn't bother to care—letting the Pot Kage live was fine.

Now he was going to properly entertain that big kitty.