Kisame Hoshigaki left.
Kisame Hoshigaki came back.
Only five or six minutes later, he Body Flickered to Kazama Kaguya's side, fresh wounds on his face and gasping for breath. "Hurry, let's go. Konoha's people are coming after us."
Kazama Kaguya had already activated her Byakugan and spotted the approaching Konoha Ninja. She teased, "Teacher Kisame, being quick isn't always a good thing for a man."
"Shut up."
Kisame's face darkened. He ran deeper into the Forest of Death and said,
"You knew I wouldn't succeed, didn't you? You said all that before just to make me test Shisui Uchiha's remaining strength and see what reinforcements Konoha had?"
"I didn't. Don't make things up."
Kazama Kaguya still planned to squeeze another favor out of Kisame, so she certainly couldn't let him pin this on her.
She flew alongside him, protesting, "I'm not on a mission. With my abilities, I couldn't beat Shisui Uchiha either. Whether you attacked had nothing to do with me. But if you miss this perfect opportunity, the Mangekyo really will be beyond your reach."
"Everything I said was for your own good, Teacher Kisame."
"Bullshit."
Kisame rolled his eyes. His suspicions had eased somewhat, but he wasn't about to let her off the hook.
"I could tell you were up to no good from that incident in Kirigakure. Whenever you open your mouth, I know trouble's coming."
As he spoke, he rubbed his aching cheek and said coldly, "Human Bullet Tank? Hmph. Ino-Shika-Cho of Konoha—I'll remember you."
Kazama Kaguya perked up at the mention of trouble and pressed him for details. "I knew I saw a big guy chasing us through my Byakugan. I didn't expect the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to show up. What, did you get hit by their combo technique?"
"Don't remind me. The Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu and the Nara Clan's Shadow techniques are both disgusting."
Thinking back to how he'd suddenly been immobilized while fighting Shisui Uchiha, Kisame felt a surge of frustration.
"Those Yin Release users are a real pain. Next time, I'll take them out first."
"Then you'll have to deal with the Akimichi Clan, who use Yang Release."
Kazama Kaguya chimed in, "As the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's only offense and defense, if you can't take out 'Butterfly' quickly, 'Deer' and 'Boar' will become your worst nightmare."
The Mind Transfer Jutsu and Shadow Binding Technique were famous among the Ninja World's renowned control techniques.
These unusual Yin Release Ninjutsu were difficult to defend against. Once hit, there was no escape unless you also had Yin Release Ninjutsu or could overwhelm the caster with far greater chakra.
A regular elite Jonin caught by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio wouldn't get away.
But Kisame was known as the "Tailed Beast without a Tail." With his enormous chakra reserves, he could break free and escape.
The two moved at tremendous speed. Konoha's forces were busy treating their injured, and had little interest in pursuing them.
Soon, the Byakugan could no longer detect any sign of their pursuers.
Even so, neither of them stopped.
They pressed on through the primeval forest, where daylight never reached the ground. Around two hours later, rivers and moisture became increasingly abundant.
At dawn, they finally stopped before a massive waterfall.
"We're already at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. No one should come around here. We'll rest for a few days. My injuries need time to heal, too."
Kisame surveyed the surroundings, then found a place to tend to his wounds by himself.
He didn't know Medical Ninjutsu. He simply took out some medicine and applied it to his wounds, then used chakra to stimulate his tissues' recovery.
Kazama Kaguya swept the area with her Byakugan. Seeing no beasts or ninja nearby, she prepared to wash beneath the waterfall.
She'd just undergone an evolution beyond the limits of mortal life and fought a desperate battle while fleeing. Her body was covered not only in sweat but also in plenty of dead skin that had yet to shed.
As the powerful torrent crashed down over her, it washed away the exhaustion of battle, the remnants of her old body, and the burden of death that had accumulated ever since she defected from Kirigakure.
A refreshing feeling of rebirth bloomed within her, like a sprout breaking through the earth in early spring.
"Refreshing!"
Kazama Kaguya shot into the sky, cutting through the thick morning mist. She gazed at the sun rising in the east.
Countless rays of golden light illuminated the sea of clouds, turning everything a brilliant gold. A breeze brushed her face as the clouds surged around her, and an endless world stretched out as far as the eye could see.
"The scenery up here really is different from down below. No wonder everyone wants to see it."
Floating above the clouds, Kazama Kaguya touched the little horns on either side of her forehead. The warmth beneath her fingertips filled her with a sense of security unlike anything she'd ever known.
"After all my plotting and fleeing, I finally have enough strength to barely establish a foothold in the Ninja World."
She let out a long breath, opened her hand, then clenched it into a fist as if grasping something invisible. Her voice rang with conviction. "From today on, my fate is mine to command."
"Once I've had time to grow and shore up my weaknesses, I'll develop three or five Kekkei Genkai. Unless someone at Six Paths level shows up, I'll be invincible."
Kazama Kaguya had already planned for the future.
According to the information carried by the Karma Seed, an Otsutsuki Larva could evolve into its Mature Form by absorbing enough cosmic energy, awakening a unique skill of its own.
But that wasn't Kazama Kaguya's goal.
That ordinary method of evolution was too mediocre. It left one lagging in combat strength, riddled with weaknesses, and lacking any special skill.
Her goal was to absorb special cosmic energy and evolve into her Mature Form, while also triggering her Byakugan's mutation and evolution into a powerful eye like the Tenseigan, Black Eye, or Jōgan.
Only then could she face the Otsutsuki Clan and monsters like Naruto Uzumaki, who had the Nine-Tails backing him.
However, special energy was extremely rare. Although Kazama Kaguya had a few theories, she'd only just become an Otsutsuki Larva. There was no need to rush after it.
Instead, there were a few things she urgently needed to work on at this stage.
First, she needed some standard elemental combat Ninjutsu.
She'd spent the previous two years lying low in the Kaguya Clan. Since she couldn't reveal values that differed from those of the rest of the clan, she'd only secretly learned two simple D-rank Water Release Ninjutsu. She knew nothing else.
In last night's battle, she'd relied entirely on Shikotsumyaku, the Otsutsuki ability to fly, and her ultimate technique, All-Killing Ash Bones, to hold her own. To say her performance had been awkward would be an understatement.
Next, Kazama Kaguya planned to squeeze some help out of Kisame and get him to teach her more Water Release Ninjutsu. If she could learn his unique shark techniques, all the better.
Second, she needed to train in Taijutsu that suited her current physical abilities.
Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu had always been the standards by which a ninja's strength was judged.
Taijutsu, in particular, was crucial.
A ninja could get by without Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but could never afford to be poor at Taijutsu.
Kakashi's father, the Konoha White Fang, had slaughtered his way through the enemy ranks during the Second Ninja War with nothing but his Taijutsu and a short sword.
Might Guy was the pinnacle of Taijutsu users. After opening all Eight Gates, he'd slammed Six Paths Madara into the ground and nearly kicked the story to its conclusion.
Of course, Taijutsu also depended on two crucial things: judgment and combat instincts.
Shikotsumyaku gave her the Kaguya Clan's own style of Taijutsu, so she didn't lack technique. What she lacked was judgment and combat instincts.
Here, too, Kazama Kaguya planned to keep squeezing help out of Kisame and have him spar with her. Whatever she could improve would be worth it.
Lastly, there was Genjutsu.
Ever since she'd evolved into an Otsutsuki Larva, her chakra had automatically gained the Yin attribute. Most likely, that had come from transplanting the Byakugan.
That meant she had a natural talent for learning Genjutsu.
However, Kisame didn't seem to know much about Genjutsu. She could put that off for later; there was no rush.
In short, her plan from here on out could be summed up in one sentence: squeeze every last drop out of Kisame.
As it happened, she still hadn't paid Kisame for the Sharingan intelligence he'd obtained earlier.
Kazama Kaguya planned to use one of the three options he'd offered to make Kisame keep burning himself up and giving his all.
"Then it's settled."
"As long as there's life, there's giving. The Will of Fire, huh? Hiruzen can use it, so why can't I?"
Kazama Kaguya's eyes curved into a lovely smile as an idea took shape in her mind.
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