Chapter 965

His body underwent changes visible to the naked eye: his lake-blue eyes gradually transformed into a pair of beast-like vertical pupils, but one could confirm that the human rationality within them was unaffected; the originally childlike fleshy fingers also underwent a mutation—those fingernails, terrifying to look at, were like ten sharp blades, and no one doubted they could easily tear Lin Cheng's delicate skin.

Should one say, as expected of the reincarnation of one's own descendant? Even if this concubine's power were only a degraded version, to control it like this would be extremely difficult. Look at those foolish fellows and the Tailed Beast seals they've come up with over the past thousand years—aren't they riddled with loopholes? Aren't they laden with hidden dangers?

Naruko can completely control the Nine-Tails with her own rationality, wielding less than a tenth of its power. If one emphasizes her current age, it would make the shinobi of the Five Great Nations cry out that it's impossible. Thinking of this, Kaguya suddenly grew interested. Since Naruko is going to display some abilities that others in the village would consider need-to-be-kept-secret, if this one cannot come up with some unexpected tricks, it would be far too lacking in spectacle…

Those paying attention to this little showdown were not merely the few brats in the audience seats who had placed bets on such boring matters as victory and defeat. In Kaguya's eyes, there were at least a dozen or more pairs of eyes along the sidelines watching this place through various means. Very well then, let me show you something interesting.

Not showing much surprise at Naruko's transformation, Kaguya produced a kunai. Her Byakugan and Naruko's crimson vertical pupils met in a single instant. The next moment, two kunai hurled with the speed of lightning collided violently together—the little sparring match now begins!

"Say, Sanai Naruko—she'll win, right?" Uchiha Nai and Haruno Sakura had appeared at some unknown point in the audience seats as well, observing this match. Perhaps because Lin Cheng had displayed the ability to keep up with the speed of the specialized Naruko, Haruno Sakura asked Sanai with some uncertainty.

On the contrary, the possibility of losing is even higher. Sanai did not answer Sakura's question, but her silence did not mean she had no judgment. Perhaps in the eyes of others, the situation on the field was evenly matched, but viewed through the perspective of the Sharingan, many differences would become apparent—for instance, the oppressive aura on Lin Cheng's body, which was absolutely abnormal.

The skin of Kaguya's right hand, originally an unnatural ivory color like ceramic, the next moment her swinging fist struck Naruko's flat chest with the swiftness of breaking the sound barrier. The Tailed Beast Cloak that had already ignited was extinguished in an instant, like an alcohol lamp with a cover placed over it.

A muffled thud only reached everyone's ears after Naruko was sent flying backward, and the Naruko who shot straight out plowed deep furrows into the ground beneath her. Everyone's attention was drawn to the little fox clutching her chest, unable to catch her breath. No one noticed that on Lin Cheng's right hand, the shattered "ceramic" was dissolving into an imperceptible wisp of fine sand, vanishing with the wind.

"That's right, in this concubine's eyes, you still have far too much that needs to be refined. So when you truly issue your challenge, I hope you can be stronger. Ah! Uzumaki Naruko!" This time Kaguya employed a bit of her own power somewhat, and the complete version of the Dead Bone Pulse, used against a jinchūriki whose body had transformed into a half-Tailed Beast, was clearly just a momentary itch of her technique.

However, Naruko, who lay on the ground unable to get up for a long while, also proved that now, this body of Lin Cheng's—carefully modified by herself—could already withstand even more intense rough treatment.

"Teach me the techniques to defeat Lin Cheng?" Naruko asked Hatake Kakashi, the jōnin specifically in charge of Team Eight, in a tone of seriousness unprecedented.

"I always thought the one to say this line first would be Sanai…" Putting away some third-rate novel unfit for children in his hand, Kakashi awkwardly rubbed his nose. Speaking of the compatibility between master and student, whether it was his own techniques or the matching training methods, Uchiha Sanai was indeed the more suitable one after all.

Naruko is different. As a jinchūriki, she is destined to walk a very unique path.

Moreover, if Kakashi had any means to rapidly raise Naruko's strength, he absolutely would not have withheld it for these several months. Not to mention, in that day's sparring, the strength Naruko displayed had long surpassed that of an ordinary genin—in some ways, even more troublesome than a chūnin. Yet despite this, the victor of that match was still the Hyūga clan's Young Lady.

Others may not have seen clearly, but in Kakashi's Sharingan, the special nature of Hyūga Lin Cheng was especially evident. He could confirm that the chakra on Lin Cheng's body had undergone some kind of change—this was a completely different concept from his understanding of the Hyūga clan, who had always relied on taijutsu and output solely through Gentle Fist.

As is well known, the Hyūga clan cannot use ninjutsu, and their chakra is also non-elemental chakra. Placed on an ordinary person, they either cannot become shinobi, or they become genjutsu-type shinobi—true Five-Element ninjutsu truly cannot be performed by them.