Chapter 966

Lin Cheng hadn't actually used any遁术, but it still made Kakashi feel as though he had discovered something extraordinary.

What Lin Cheng used to repel Young Yuanzi, who had already begun a partial Nine-Tails transformation, was absolutely no secret of the Gentle Fist.

For Konoha, now in a vacuum left by the absence of its high command, and especially for the Uchiha clan—the Hyuga clan's old rival—whose star has been fading day by day, Lin Cheng, as the next generation's clan head, has already revealed the fangs the Hyuga had long kept hidden.

Although Kakashi himself had no intention of getting involved, that didn't mean he would allow anyone to disregard his teacher, Namikaze Minato—after all, the Fourth Hokage had only gone missing!

"I still haven't trained hard enough; I can't even take a single punch from Lin Cheng." Even though she was later sent to Konoha Hospital and treated by the medical-nin, Young Yuanzi's chest still ached faintly, and this made her understand all the more clearly the gap between herself and Lin Cheng.

In truth, Young Yuanzi, as a descendant of the Uzumaki clan and a jinchūriki, was born with a vigorous life force, and her body's recovery ability had reached a superhuman level. Kakashi asked himself: if he were in Young Yuanzi's place and took that punch from Lin Cheng, he'd be done for. Others might not know it, but his perpetually active Sharingan aching faintly from that strange chakra fluctuation was no illusion.

Perhaps the Third Hokage, known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, would know more. Kakashi planned to find time to report this unignorable anomaly about the Hyuga clan. The reason he gave it such consideration was, on one hand, his duty as a member of the Intelligence Division, and on the other, his worry about the covert struggles within the high command—he didn't want Minato to return and find a Konoha village torn apart by scheming and infighting.

"If you truly want to raise your strength, Young Yuanzi, it's not impossible—but the one who can truly help you isn't me." As the Fourth Hokage's daughter, Young Yuanzi had to become strong now, so even though Kakashi himself couldn't guide her training too much, he knew there was one person who would definitely be able to.

"Tch, how lame—clearly a squad-captain jōnin." Young Yuanzi was a little disappointed. If Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, the student of the Fourth, had nothing to teach her, who else could raise her strength in a short time? Lin Cheng hadn't merely won a small sparring match—he had, more than that, crushed Young Yuanzi's confidence.

Clearly she could already use the Fourth's ultimate technique, clearly she could wield a power beyond ordinary people.

Why was it like this? Why, at the moment she was certain she absolutely wouldn't lose, was her illusion shattered so easily?

"On your belly, there's a sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki clan—you've always known that, right?" Kakashi could tell that, hearing she couldn't help her, Young Yuanzi's will had sunk low, but he believed this was a trial she had to face. If she couldn't even get past the setback of being surpassed by a peer, then she hardly deserved to call herself Namikaze Minato's daughter.

"Mm, Mother said I must never let a stranger touch the seal on my body." Young Yuanzi knew a fox was sealed within her. Sometimes she even suspected she actually was that fox. Later, after falling into a long melancholy, her mother drew the worry out of her, and she learned another secret: that her mother also had a fox sealed within her.

She and her mother were actually both foxes in disguise, and for a long time after, she went on being spooked by every little thing.

· ·······Please send flowers····· ·····

"Tell Lady Kushina you want to become stronger. Since you can borrow part of its power without losing your reason, that means you can control more of it—after all, you'll have to face it eventually."

This was a special period. Young Yuanzi's role as a jinchūriki was of vital importance to the village; as a great weapon, it was uncontested that she should be held firmly in the high command's grip. Originally, the Fourth Hokage, her parent, had gone missing, and even though the Third had once again taken over the Hokage duties, Kakashi couldn't be sure that in the future no one would set their sights on Young Yuanzi. He believed Lady Kushina understood this reasoning as well.

...... 0

"Little Young Yuanzi~ wow, long time no see, you're really getting more and more beautiful!" A mature woman's voice suddenly cut into Kakashi and Young Yuanzi's conversation, and the flash of light that appeared drew both their gazes.

"Big Aunt!" The moment she saw who it was, the slight disappointment and dimness in Young Yuanzi's eyes brightened at once, and her voice turned cheerful and lively. Sent to Konoha on Young Yuanzi's orders, the Uzumaki Lady Xinjianai—Kushina's own elder sister—had, after entrusting Kushina to Konoha, resolutely set out for Loulan and founded the merchant group that now encompassed more than half the Shinobi World. Kakashi's impression of her could be summed up in one sentence: with money, one can do whatever one wants.

Today, over eighty percent of Konoha's industries are her investment projects, and the Short Scroll Street has long belonged to the Loulanshang Society. Behind closed doors, she is also the biggest creditor to Tsunade, who is privately known as the walking fat sheep—a vicious merchant who would lend to her own relatives at usurious rates. To death.