Yugito Nii was the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, but she hadn't had much screen time in the original story. Compared to Killer B, Kumogakure's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the difference was night and day.
She barely appeared early in the original story, and when she finally showed up later, the Akatsuki extracted her tailed beast, killing her on the spot. It would have been bad enough if that had been the end of it, but someone even controlled and used her corpse... then again, hardly any of the tailed beasts' Jinchūriki seemed to have had it easy...
"Answer me! Who are you? A ninja from a neighboring country?!" Yugito Nii held a kunai and watched Chinatsu warily. Chinatsu looked perfectly composed, but inside, she was sweating bullets.
Chinatsu: How am I supposed to play along when you're this blunt?!
Under normal circumstances, Chinatsu had only two options in a situation like this.
One: fight the woman in front of her head-on.
But Chinatsu figured she would very likely wind up dead.
Two: run away.
But Chinatsu still figured she would very likely wind up dead.
Never underestimate a tailed beast's Jinchūriki. Any Jinchūriki who could control their tailed beast's power was at least Kage Level. Chinatsu rated herself as a Jonin, and now she had run into someone at Kage Level... ahem.
Still, Chinatsu felt as though heaven was messing with her. The forehead protector she had just picked up had already come in handy. If heaven wasn't behind this, then she had to wonder whether she had maxed out her luck stat along with being a transmigrator.
Hmm... if I'd maxed it out, I wouldn't have gotten stabbed right at the start...
Chinatsu's cheek twitched slightly, and she quickly ruled out that possibility. Besides, her immediate concern was Yugito Nii, standing right in front of her.
"We're on the same side! Same side! We're all friends here, don't shoot... no, don't attack!" Chinatsu hurriedly pulled the forehead protector she had picked up earlier out of her pocket, using it as proof of her identity.
Yugito Nii lowered her gaze to inspect the forehead protector in Chinatsu's hand. After a brief moment of thought, she still regarded Chinatsu with considerable suspicion.
"You're a ninja from our village too? Your name, and which unit you belong to. You have three seconds to answer."
"..."
Chinatsu's composed expression gradually began to crack. This wasn't how the scene was supposed to play out! Normally, wasn't she supposed to believe her immediately? Her name... which unit... and only three seconds???
Chinatsu: What if I said... I don't remember? Would you believe me?
Yugito Nii: Do I look like an idiot to you?
After a few seconds of silence, Yugito Nii struck without hesitation. The tailed beast chakra wrapped around her kunai made even that weapon, notorious for never managing to kill anyone, look deadly.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, blue flames flashed for an instant, and a strand of black hair fluttered through the air.
Yugito Nii's kunai had stabbed into a spot just a centimeter or two beside Chinatsu's neck.
Had Yugito Nii missed?
Of course not. Our brilliantly resourceful Chinatsu had dodged it through sheer ability. Uh... sure, there had been a tiny bit of luck involved too, but Chinatsu insisted it was hardly any!
Faint blue lightning flickered around Chinatsu's body. She had used the Lightning Release Body Tempering Technique she had copied back in Konoha from the Kumogakure ninja who had tried to abduct Hinata.
Rather than ninjutsu, this Lightning Release technique was closer to a unique training method, with an enormous gap between its weakest and strongest users. Weaker users were like the Kumogakure ninja Chinatsu had faced before, while stronger ones, like the Raikage, could take on tailed beasts with their bodies alone.
Most importantly, this Lightning Release Ninjutsu was exclusive to Kumogakure ninja. The other ninja villages didn't have it.
Could it be... she really is a Kumogakure ninja?
The thought arose in Yugito Nii's mind. She hadn't factored the Sharingan into her reasoning, because everyone knew that only two youngsters remained after the Uchiha Clan's massacre.
Unless the people of Konoha were idiots, they would never send such a precious Sharingan bloodline outside the village.
After thinking it over, Yugito Nii genuinely believed Chinatsu was a Kumogakure ninja. If Chinatsu had known what she was thinking, she would definitely have said, "Delusion really is scary~"
If Yugito Nii had been single-minded, she wouldn't have overthought things and would certainly have kept attacking Chinatsu.
Instead, someone who thought too much had misled herself. But this bout of delusion was exactly what Chinatsu needed right now.
This was practically... a stroke of genius, a miraculous ray of hope!
Chinatsu noticed Yugito Nii's declining desire to fight. Although she didn't consider herself particularly intelligent, as a top-tier cosplayer in her previous life, she had an overwhelming urge to perform!
Chinatsu swayed slightly and raised a hand to her head, putting on an air of being unwell and terribly fragile.
"I don't really remember the details, but I should be a Kumogakure ninja. My head hurts a little. Whenever I try to remember anything, sharp pains shoot through my head..."
Holding her head, Chinatsu radiated weakness from head to toe, playing the part of a "frail young woman" to perfection.
At the sight, Yugito Nii unconsciously pressed her lips together, growing even more hesitant. Seeing this, Chinatsu steeled herself and decided to add fuel to the fire.
Imitating the heroines of the melodramatic soap operas she remembered, Chinatsu raised a hand to her forehead and fell toward the ground in a pose that exuded "fragile beauty."
Just as Chinatsu was about to hit the ground, a pair of steady hands caught her.
"Sorry. Things have been unsettled lately, so I may have been a little too jumpy. You're probably a ninja from a squad sent out on a mission, and you lost your memory after being injured fighting enemy ninja. Don't worry. Once we're back in the village, I'll take the time to verify your identity," Yugito Nii said, holding Chinatsu with her lips pressed together.
Listening to Yugito Nii, Chinatsu put on a touched, grateful expression. Inside, however, she felt like crying but had no tears.
Could you please not verify my identity... it would be a miracle if you found anything...
Still, at least she had scraped through this hurdle. This turn of events was far better than fighting a tailed beast's Jinchūriki here.
"Thank you for understanding."
Chinatsu smiled at Yugito Nii. Yugito Nii froze, then suddenly let go of her. Chinatsu blinked blankly and landed on the ground with a thud.
Yugito Nii covered her mouth with one hand, her expression turning somewhat awkward.
No way... I was too tense earlier to get a good look, but this girl is way too cute...
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