Chapter 445: The Demonic Sword that Absorbs Chakra
"Obito really did fail," Mugetsu thought as he noticed that only Kakashi's promotion reward appeared. He had already guessed Obito would not pass the jonin assessment.
It was hardly surprising. Obito's biggest weakness had always been theory.
Even though Mugetsu often taught his disciples, most of his lectures focused on politics and history, while the written portion of the jonin assessment covered a much wider range of subjects.
In Mugetsu's estimation, if Obito wanted to pass the written exam through his own ability, he would need a full year of serious study under Mugetsu's supervision.
With Uchiha Madara still lurking as a potential threat, Mugetsu could not afford to let Obito trade strength training for theory. It simply was not worth it just for a promotion reward.
Besides, wartime created plenty of opportunities. Obito might not even need the assessment route to become a jonin.
Mugetsu set Obito's situation aside and focused on Kakashi's reward.
Two thousand four hundred chakra was nothing to complain about. The average chunin generally had about that amount.
The other two rewards, however, were unknown territory.
Mugetsu had never received a Weapon Draw Scroll before, so he had no idea what kind of weapon it could produce, or how good it would be.
As for the Pokémon egg, Mugetsu knew plenty about Pokémon. He had played the games and watched the anime. But the system specifically said it was an unknown egg, and individual Pokémon could vary drastically.
"Still, even the most common Pokémon have more potential than most ninja beasts," Mugetsu thought.
In Konoha, aside from the Three Great Sage Regions, most ninja beasts had low ceilings, with only a few exceptional cases.
Meanwhile, with proper training, even a Beedrill could stand up to those so called pseudo legendaries.
As usual, Mugetsu washed his hands before drawing the reward.
[Weapon Draw Scroll, Sword Category used. Obtained weapon: Enma, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords.]
"This sword…" Mugetsu narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
If he remembered correctly, in the world of One Piece, Enma was a cursed blade with a will of its own, a blade that would greedily draw out its user's Haki. An ordinary person could be drained dry and die.
Mugetsu assumed the weapon had been localized.
Otherwise, in a world without Haki, Enma would be nothing more than a tougher, sharper piece of metal.
After all, shinobi did not possess Haki. That was a unique talent of the One Piece world.
The armament technique Mugetsu used was essentially a Yin Release secret art, fundamentally different from native One Piece Haki.
Mugetsu used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the camp and find an uninhabited area to test Enma.
The Enma pulled from the system matched his memory almost perfectly. A purple scabbard with flower like carvings, and a tsuba that looked like three rings fused together.
He held the scabbard in his left hand and gripped the hilt with his right, then drew the blade in one clean motion.
Swish.
A pale flash cut through the air. A cold, gleaming katana appeared in Mugetsu's hand, a sharpness so clear it almost felt visible.
The moment his fingers tightened around the hilt, Mugetsu felt a strange suction.
The chakra in his body began to flow toward the blade, slowly but insistently, as if the sword were drinking.
In about a minute, Mugetsu lost seven thousand chakra.
"Interesting," Mugetsu murmured. "It turned into chakra absorption."
His expression held genuine curiosity as he tightened his control over his chakra.
Mugetsu's chakra control was exceptionally strong. The moment he clamped down, Enma could not draw another thread from him.
The sword seemed unwilling to accept that. The suction at the hilt intensified, stubborn and greedy.
It still failed.
Mugetsu ignored the blade's tantrum and swung it toward the trees ahead.
Whoosh.
A white arc flashed.
A black line appeared across the trunk of the nearest large tree, and a heartbeat later, it toppled backward.
Rumble.
The sound echoed through the forest. Not only the tree in front of Mugetsu, but several nearby trees were severed cleanly, their upper halves sliding away as if the forest itself had been neatly erased.
"The power isn't bad," Mugetsu thought, scanning the damage. "But it's dangerous."
Seven thousand chakra meant nothing to him now.
But many jonin, especially those not particularly strong, only had around seven thousand chakra total.
That meant Enma could drain a jonin dry in one minute.
Mugetsu then tested Enma's chakra conductivity, which mattered greatly in the ninja world.
He injected Lightning Release chakra into the blade.
Dazzling blue arcs wrapped around the katana, and the slashes Enma produced turned into lightning slashes.
Next, he fed Fire Release chakra into it.
Flames immediately crawled along the edge, heat shimmering in the air.
"The chakra conductivity is excellent," Mugetsu said with a satisfied nod.
Enma was the best chakra blade he had ever seen. Across every metric, it was outstanding. Even without chakra enhancement, it was hard, sharp, and frighteningly responsive.
"I'll find a chance to give it to Kakashi," Mugetsu decided.
He had no intention of using Enma himself.
As far as weapons went, Mugetsu already had the Six Paths staff.
He had not used it yet, but that was not because it lacked strength. It was because Mugetsu had not faced a battle that required it.
The strongest opponent Mugetsu had encountered so far was Hanzo. Hanzo's Water Release could not threaten him. The real danger was Hanzo's poison, and the Six Paths staff could not deal with poison mist, so Mugetsu never took it out.
The staff itself was terrifying.
First, its hardness was absurd. Even attacks that cost Mugetsu tens of thousands of chakra could not leave a mark on it.
Second, it had the special effect of destroying ninjutsu. As long as Mugetsu had not reached the Six Paths level, the Six Paths staff would remain a weapon of immense value.
Finally, Mugetsu took out the Pokémon egg and examined it, wondering if the Byakugan could reveal what was inside.
Perhaps because it was Kakashi's exclusive reward and had not reached Kakashi's hands yet, Mugetsu saw nothing.
He put the egg back into his system space, planning to hand it to Kakashi as a jonin gift when Kakashi arrived on the battlefield.
After the evening war council, Orochimaru and Mugetsu spoke privately again.
"Hidden Mist's recent behavior has been somewhat abnormal," Orochimaru said. "They remain largely defensive and avoid direct battle, but there has been a subtle change compared to before. It is possible Hidden Mist has sent reinforcements."
"If it's only ordinary shinobi troops, that's fine," Orochimaru continued, voice calm. "But if their reinforcements include jinchuriki, that becomes troublesome."
Even someone like Orochimaru would find it difficult to defeat a jinchuriki head on in wartime.
The Tailed Beast Ball was simply too destructive. It could annihilate individuals and devastate entire formations.
Of course, if the opportunity appeared, Orochimaru would not hesitate to use underhanded methods.
He had killed the Eight Tails jinchuriki of the Hidden Cloud, Blue B.
Orochimaru understood jinchuriki well.
A tailed beast was both the jinchuriki's greatest weapon and a blade that could be turned back on its host. If the seal was released and the tailed beast was fully unleashed, the jinchuriki could be driven into an inescapable fatal predicament.
The time he killed Blue B, Orochimaru barely had to lift a finger.
He took advantage of Blue B's weakened will, infiltrated the Hidden Cloud, used a specially crafted hallucinatory secret medicine to paralyze his entire body, then released the seal, forcibly separating the Eight Tails from him.
Blue B died instantly.
"The ultimate weapons of the Five Great Ninja Villages are only a bit troublesome," Mugetsu said, noticing the confidence in Orochimaru's tone. "It sounds like you already have a firm grip on victory."
Orochimaru clearly did not believe they would lose. He simply believed that tailed beasts would make the casualty numbers ugly.
"Lord Mugetsu," Orochimaru chuckled, "my confidence lies in you. The role you can play on this battlefield is even greater than that of a so called jinchuriki."
With Mugetsu's ninjutsu and his overwhelming strength, his battlefield value was beyond comparison. Even if someone offered Orochimaru a thousand shinobi in exchange for Mugetsu, Orochimaru would refuse without hesitation.
…
Konoha, the Uchiha compound.
Obito woke early and prepared to head to the southern border forest to train.
Before, he had been slightly swayed by his grandmother's words. He even considered cutting down his training time so he could rest more and spend time with Rin.
After Kakashi provoked him, Obito threw that idea into the trash.
Obito wanted to train.
He wanted to surpass Kakashi, then stand over him while Kakashi lay on the ground and say, So what if you're a jonin? I'm still stronger.
So not only did Obito not reduce his training, he increased it.
The current Obito was so full of youthful drive that even Guy would probably give him a thumbs up and shout about the power of youth.
As Obito passed through the main district streets, he spotted a familiar figure and paused, surprised.
"Rin, good morning," Obito greeted with a chuckle. "What a coincidence."
Rin nodded and smiled. "Good morning, Obito."
"Have you eaten breakfast?" Rin asked. "If not, I can treat you today."
"That would be great," Obito replied instantly, agreeing without hesitation.
He had already eaten.
But breakfast treated by Rin was not the same thing as ordinary breakfast. He could eat two more servings and still call it destiny.
Rin brought him to a breakfast place she had visited before, somewhere she thought tasted pretty good.
After they sat down and settled in, Rin spoke gently.
"It's normal not to pass," she said. "Most shinobi can't even pass the chunin exams on their first try."
In truth, she came specifically because she knew about the jonin assessment. Kakashi passed. Obito did not.
"Kakashi probably succeeded on his first try because he has years of chunin experience," Rin continued. "Obito, just keep working hard. You'll definitely be promoted too."
They were the same age, but Kakashi had far more battlefield experience. When they were first year students, Kakashi was already a genin. When they were second year students, Kakashi was already a chunin.
Obito ate the breakfast Rin treated him to, listening to her gentle comfort, and felt his chest warm.
She invited him out just to cheer him up.
"Mhm. Rin, don't worry," Obito said with renewed confidence. "I'm not discouraged at all. Kakashi just reads a bit more than me."
He straightened slightly, as if announcing a victory.
"I even defeated the examiner in the practical assessment, while Kakashi could only hold on until time ran out. The shinobi who delivered the results also said my strength was enough. I was just a little short on the written test."
At that moment, it sounded like he was the one who succeeded, and Kakashi was the one who failed.
"You defeated the examiner in the jonin assessment?" Rin's eyes brightened. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and smiled. "That's amazing!"
She had not taken the assessment herself, so she did not know every detail, but she understood one thing.
Jonin examiners were not weak.
Winning meant Obito really was strong.
"Hehe… it's just generally amazing," Obito said, scratching his head, a little embarrassed. "Rin, if you train more, you could do it too."
"As for me, I still have a long way to go," Rin replied honestly. "I'm nowhere near your strength. I'm more of a support role right now."
Then Rin hesitated briefly, as if gathering courage.
"Obito," she said, "do you have time this afternoon? If you do, could you come to the park? The one near the cherry blossom trees."
"This afternoon…" Obito froze, then fell into thought.
His plan was training. Hard training.
But Rin was asking him to go to the park.
Could it be…
"Could it be the legendary date?" Obito's eyes lit up, excitement rushing through him so fast it almost made him dizzy.
Rin was actively asking him out.
How unreal was that?
"Is it that you don't have time?" Rin began, looking uncertain. "Then…"
"I have time," Obito blurted out, cutting her off immediately. "I'm completely free this afternoon. I have the whole afternoon."
If it was a date with Rin, he could be free all day.
"Then let's meet at the cherry blossom tree in the park at two in the afternoon," Rin said with a smile.
"I'll definitely be there on time at two," Obito promised seriously. "I won't be late."
"Okay," Rin nodded. "I trust you, Obito."
After saying goodbye, Rin left.
Obito watched her go, then grinned like a fool.
If he could go on a date with Rin, it would not even matter if he did not get promoted to jonin.
After that, Obito could not stop thinking about the cherry blossom meeting. Even during training, his mind kept drifting.
"I need to shower and change clothes, or I'll smell like sweat," he muttered. "Should I bring a gift? Flowers? Snacks?"
After agonizing over it, Obito decided on snacks.
He would buy roses when he confessed.
Then his thoughts spiraled further.
"Will I run into a condescending shop assistant?" he wondered. "What if some punks try to mess with me?"
He began rehearsing the entire date in his head like a mission plan.
Then his expression turned serious.
"Wait… will Rin invite Kakashi too?"
It was not a random worry. Rin often brought Kakashi along whenever she invited Obito out to play.
Obito clasped his hands together and silently prayed.
This was the day he wanted to see Kakashi the least.
Time passed quickly as Obito's imagination ran wild.
When he finally overcame every obstacle and arrived on time, he discovered Rin had not invited Kakashi.
But somehow, the situation was even worse than that.
Check My Newly Released Fanfic Again Today
Title: Naruto: Infinite Reincarnation
<><><><><>
[Check Out My Patreon For +50 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]