Fishbeam Forest

"What do we do now? Shouldn't we retreat?"

Ebisu's face had turned green with fright. Chi was nearly two or three hundred meters tall—how were they supposed to fight that? Fight, my ass. As for the Substitution Technique, it required distance and was not all-powerful. One sweep of its tail could shatter an entire mountain.

"Agreed! The prerequisite for striving is staying alive. This mission is completely beyond our level. Even if Lord Hokage came, he'd be on his knees. We should run!"

Masayo chickened out. Obviously. With a gap between them this huge, who wouldn't? According to the memories sent back by his Shadow Clone, even taking a Rasengan head-on had done nothing to Chi. Maybe Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan Kamui could break through its defenses, but they should forget it.

Masayo frantically tugged at his ears. "What the hell is this? And why did Fishbeam Village hide the fact that Chi existed when they issued the mission?"

Kurenai Yuhi said, "There's something wrong with the entire Fishbeam Village. The villagers were probably all eaten by Chi."

Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu moved silently, their footsteps light as they prepared to withdraw and report what had happened, terrified of alerting the raging, roaring Chi.

Bzzz!

Just as Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu turned to run, a dazzling violet light flashed from the mountain behind Fishbeam Village, enveloping Chi completely. That was where Fishbeam Forest lay.

"Miroku... it was you! It was actually you! Ahhh... damn it! Even though your soul is no longer in this world, you still refuse to let me go!"

The enormous body began to rot at a visible pace. Chi controlled massive, thick tree trunks and sent them crashing toward Fishbeam Forest.

Bang!

Every Fishbeam Tree seemed to come alive, swaying in the gale. The violet light formed a wall-like barrier that Chi's attacks could not shake in the slightest.

"Ninja, wait!"

The violet energy transformed into a phantom and appeared before Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu.

Bzzz!

Under their astonished gazes, the energy phantom slowly merged into Masayo's body.

"Please. I have restrained him for now. Combine my power with yours and deliver the final blow to Chi."

A gentle, divine voice reached Masayo's mind. His hand rose involuntarily as a Big Ball Rasengan formed in his palm.

It was not over yet. The violet energy flowed into the Big Ball Rasengan in his hand, turning it a brilliant purple.

The Big Ball Rasengan was an enhanced version of the Rasengan, a ninjutsu he had mastered over the past year only because Shadow Clones were such a cheat for training!

A Shadow Clone's fatigue, memories, and everything else would return to the original body once it dispersed. Masayo could not use Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu like Naruto Uzumaki, but creating three Shadow Clones to train alongside him was no problem. That was also his limit. In other words, over the course of a year, he had trained with three times the effort of the past.

Six years of foundational training had finally begun to bloom after graduation. Masayo did not know how far his strength had reached now; he would only know after fighting. Still, he was confident he could escape from Chi before him.

Masayo raised his head and looked at the Big Ball Rasengan in his palm, now infused with Miroku's power. He had become one of those guys who rolled balls in their hands too, but the Rasengan really was practical.

"In that case, Red Sis, Senior Ebisu, get closer and throw me over there with everything you've got!"

Masayo used the Body Flicker Technique and sprinted toward Chi, who was entangled by Miroku's energy. Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu nodded mechanically. They did not understand what was happening, but judging by Masayo's expression, he should be able to destroy that monster, right?

Super Chakra Big Ball Rasengan!

As Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu used all their strength to launch Masayo by his feet into the air dozens of meters high, he slammed the violet Big Ball Rasengan heavily into Chi's body amid Chi's collapsing, howling wails.

"Yaahhh..."

Chi turned to dust and vanished from sight. The cloud-covered sky cleared at that moment, while Masayo's body fell uncontrollably from the air.

Water Release: Water Shield!

Masayo hurriedly formed hand seals, creating a bubble-like membrane around himself. The instant he struck the ground, he blasted out a huge crater and rolled all the way from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain.

"Masayo!"

Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu used the Body Flicker Technique to rush after Masayo as he tumbled down like a rolling boulder.

Bang!

The Water Shield slammed heavily into a Fishbeam Tree. Feeling himself stop, Masayo quickly opened his eyes and dispelled the Water Shield. Just as he tried to stand, the world spun around him and he nearly fell. He hurriedly leaned against the Fishbeam Tree beside him.

"Ugh, I'm so dizzy. I'm dizzy even with my eyes closed. Good thing I was prepared and learned this impact-reducing technique from Kakashi-sensei, or I definitely would've broken some bones."

Masayo slowly recovered as Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu arrived in Fishbeam Forest.

Kurenai Yuhi hurriedly asked, "Masayo, are you okay?"

Ebisu immediately followed up, "How are you? Are you hurt?"

Masayo waved them off, refusing Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu's support. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy. Kakashi-sensei is known as the Copy Ninja. How could I not learn more practical techniques from him?"

Ebisu and Kurenai Yuhi immediately breathed sighs of relief. Their mission had been to protect Masayo, while Masayo's mission had been to investigate Fishbeam Village. Yet it had ended so abruptly, without them experiencing much of anything.

"Sigh, who knows what happened here? Not a single villager from Fishbeam Village remains. If they were gone, then how was the mission issued? And why did Chi, who should have already been dead, come back to life?"

Masayo gently rubbed his arm and answered helplessly.

"I can explain that for you!"

A light, graceful voice came from all around them. It was Miroku's voice. Masayo, Ebisu, and Kurenai Yuhi instinctively looked around, but found no trace of her.

Ding!

A bell-like chime rang out like a dragonfly touching water. Fishbeam Forest seemed to come alive as violet energy gradually gathered and formed a phantom.

Bzzz!

Violet light flashed, and the phantom revealed her true form. Her pale golden hair fell to her waist, and her divine shrine maiden robes outlined her perfect figure. Noble and elegant—those were the images that surfaced in Masayo's mind. Her presence was simply overwhelming.

"Miroku... are you Lady Miroku?"

Ebisu asked in astonishment.

Miroku did not answer. She merely smiled politely, then looked toward Masayo. "I'm sorry about earlier. I sensed that your soul was very strong, which is why I entrusted my power to you."

"It's nothing. Though now that it's used up, you could give me some more if you want. I wouldn't mind. Blowing up that mountain-sized thing in one shot felt pretty great!"

Masayo formed another Rasengan and said with a grin.

Miroku shook her head. "The power I left behind in Fishbeam Forest is about to disappear. And all of this was caused by desire."

Miroku began telling them what had happened in Fishbeam Village, and why the destroyed Chi had been able to revive.