Chapter 270: Kinkaku and Ginkaku
Naruto took out Enma, preparing to test just how far a 100% defense bonus could go.
He extended his left arm and slashed down with the blade.
Clang!
A peculiar sound rang out.
Naruto was somewhat surprised.
No wound appeared where his left arm had been struck.
This was within his expectations.
It meant his body possessed a hardness comparable to divine weapons.
It wasn't that he had turned into steel; it still felt like flesh and blood to the touch.
Otherwise, Naruto would have to cry out a song: "What use do I have for this iron rod?"
Cough, cough, back to the point.
What amazed Naruto was that he didn't feel any recoil.
Generally, high-speed collisions cause secondary damage due to inertia.
Especially to the internal organs of the human body.
This also meant his defense bonus applied both internally and externally.
He wouldn't be affected by skills like "Hitting the Cow across the Mountain."
After sheathing Enma, Naruto fell into deep thought.
With a full defense bonus, even something like Tengai Shinsei or Summit Transformation Buddhashouldn't cause him serious injury.
What could still pose a threat were Sealing Jutsuand causality-based skills.
Fortunately, there weren't many Ninjas with such capabilities.
"Naruto-kun, come out and eat."
Hinata knocked on the door and called out.
But she didn't enter, turning back to the kitchen to bring out the dishes.
The Hyuga Clan originally had dedicated chefs, but ever since Naruto arrived, they had been semi-unemployed.
Whenever he was home, Hinata would cook personally.
Her reason was that it was a rehearsal for their future life together.
Naruto checked the time; it was already noon.
He pushed open the door.
"You bastard!"
Hanabi was in the courtyard, looking like she was gritting her teeth in rage.
"Did I do something to annoy you?"
Naruto scratched his head in confusion.
"I heard from Father that you were the one who suggested adding those messy things to the school curriculum?"
Hanabi said crossly.
Not long ago, the Ninja Academy had undergone significant changes.
Originally, theory classes were considered optional.
After all, they weren't on the graduation exam.
The focus was just on the Three Basic Jutsu.
But now, it was completely different.
Theory classes not only added non-Ninja-related knowledge but were also included in the graduation exams.
In short, their lives had become quite miserable.
As for how she knew.
It was because Hyuga Hiashi had also started attending classes recently.
Although they weren't in the same class.
"Oh."
Naruto suddenly realized.
The introduction of new knowledge would certainly take some time to get used to.
Folding his arms, he asked with a smile, "What? The dignified second young miss of the Hyuga Clanis actually stumped by these things?"
"I am not!"
Hanabi reflexively shouted back.
"I have high hopes for you."
Naruto rubbed her head. "It's time to eat."
"..."
Hanabi snapped out of it and realized she'd been played, leaving her to stomp her feet in frustration.
Naruto greeted Hyuga Hiashi and sat down to his right.
Hinata set down a dish and jogged back to the kitchen.
"How did you come up with that knowledge?"
Hyuga Hiashi glanced at Naruto and asked, "Reasonably speaking, at your age, you shouldn't have such insights."
He had studied the doctrines of the White Lotus Sect for a few days.
He felt they were simply heterodox.
And yet, he couldn't find any faults in them.
Let alone a fourteen-year-old like Naruto, even he couldn't have written such books.
"I just thought about them in my spare time."
Naruto picked up his chopsticks and smiled.
"..."
Hyuga Hiashi's lips twitched.
This guy didn't have a single honest word in him.
If you could just think this up in your spare time, I'll... eat this whole table of food!
"What do you think of that knowledge?"
Naruto asked in return.
"Impressive."
Hyuga Hiashi said thoughtfully, "But some people might not be able to accept it. If you really want to promote it in Konoha, it'll be quite troublesome."
He was only able to read it because he was naturally interested in his son-in-law and wasn't that stubborn.
Most Ninjas had learned and experienced completely different things since childhood; they only even looked at it because of orders from Tsunade and Jiraiya.
There was little possibility of them actually gaining any insights.
"I know."
Naruto nodded and said, "Everyone is an adult; their worldviews are already fixed. Changing them isn't easy."
Seeing Naruto's confident expression, Hyuga Hiashi couldn't help but be taken aback.
He thought of a possibility and said, "So your focus is on the next generation?"
"Yes, I've placed my bet on the future," Narutoadmitted.
Naruto admitted.
It was already rare for Hyuga Hiashi to realize the importance of education.
But he wouldn't understand just how massive the impact would be.
As the saying goes, "moistening things silently."
Generation after generation.
It wouldn't take long for the Will of Fire to transform into the Will of Red.
"Perhaps you're right."
Thinking of the classroom content, Hyuga Hiashisaid with emotion, "I never expected there would come a day when I would have to study as well."
Well, it was still because of his son-in-law.
Children truly are the future.
But Naruto himself was only fourteen.
Things would likely be very interesting in the future.
"Live and learn, as they say."
Naruto said with a smile.
After a brief daze, Hyuga Hiashi also began to laugh.
No matter what, the Hyuga Clan would remain in an invincible position.
Looking back, the meeting between Naruto and Hinata all those years ago was truly destiny.
A world where only Hanabi got hurt was complete.
Her eyes welled up with tears.
She was supposed to be the most pampered one in the family, so why had it turned out like this?
Lunch ended.
Naruto and Hinata engaged in some post-meal exercise for a while.
In the end, he emerged victorious.
Another two days passed.
Intelligence about the Anti-Entropy Organizationspread.
Naruto also learned about Karen's flashy maneuvers.
But it had no impact on Konoha.
If the Hidden Cloud Village collaborated with the Akatsuki, we had already colluded with the Tianming Organization.
Of course, the wording wasn't that harsh, but that was the gist of it.
After taking over the Hidden Cloud Village, the Akatsuki Organization entered a period of recuperation.
Although Nagato wanted to strike while the iron was hot and swallow four nations in one go, it wasn't very likely.
Furthermore, he had to wait for Karen's response.
After all, his current goal wasn't to destroy the Great Ninja Villages, but to unite them to eliminate the Tianming Organization.
What Nagato didn't know was that his junior brother had already reached the Akatsuki's base and was planning to back-door them.
The torrential rain continued unabated.
Jiraiya had relied on toads to infiltrate Amegakure back then, but Naruto was unwilling to use such a disgusting method.
So, he took advantage of Nagato being away to sneak in quietly.
Skyscrapers rose tall within the village under the curtain of rain.
The architectural style was extremely uniform.
Someone unfamiliar would have no way of telling where the Akatsuki's headquarters was.
But Naruto was different.
He had several moles and knew Amegakure like the back of his hand.
After bypassing the guards, he successfully entered the interior of the high tower.
He wondered if Nagato simply preferred dim environments.
Naruto hadn't seen many lights along the way.
Whereas in Konoha, the use of electricity was already quite widespread.
Two minutes later, Naruto stopped in his tracks.
Before him stood two coffins, which were swaying slightly.
"Yakushi Kabuto?"
"I didn't expect you to recognize me at a glance."
The voice came from inside a coffin.
But it clearly wasn't Kabuto's usual voice; or rather, it wasn't his actual body.
He was using Edo Tensei to control a corpse to speak.
"What? Not coming out for a meeting?"
Naruto snapped his fingers, and a ball of fire emerged, illuminating the corridor.
He noticed the characters for "Gold" and "Silver" carved onto the coffin lids.
The Akatsuki had just collaborated with the Hidden Cloud, and given how unique Gold and Silver were, he was almost certain who the two Ninjas in the coffins were.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
"There's no need for us to meet."
The hidden Yakushi Kabuto curled his lip.
It wouldn't have mattered if they were on good terms.
But now they were enemies.
He didn't dare show himself rashly; the chance of failure was too high.
Or rather, failure was a certainty.
After all, even someone as strong as Lord Orochimaru had been defeated by him and suffered greatly, forced to cooperate with Nagato.
Normally, given his personality, such a thing would never have happened.
Neither for Orochimaru nor for Nagato.
But the existence of the Tianming Organizationhad made the cooperation possible.
"I've prepared a greeting gift for you."
Kabuto smiled and said, "From the legendary Ninjas, Kinkaku and Ginkaku. They possess four of the Six Paths Sage's ninja tools. If you're sensible, why not retreat now? Those Tailed Beasts never belonged to Konoha anyway."
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had indeed come for the Tailed Beasts, but not to rescue people.
It was actually more useful for the Jinchuriki to remain with the Akatsuki.
If he rescued them all, Nagato and Zetsu wouldn't cooperate with the Tianming Organization's play anymore.
However, since Kabuto mentioned the Six Paths Sage's tools, he was interested.
As a collector-type player who already had one, he naturally couldn't miss out on the other four.
"I've never been one for being sensible."
Naruto shrugged and took out Enma.
Seeing this, Kabuto formed hand seals and said, "Then, goodbye."
Two loud bangs.
The coffin lids were kicked open.
Two muscular men with horns on their heads appeared.
One was blonde, and the other was silver-haired.
Even though Naruto hadn't seen them before, he could recognize them instantly.
Their features were just too distinct.
Wrapped around Kinkaku's left arm was a glittering golden rope, the Kōkinjō.
Anyone who touched it would spit out the Kotodama of their most frequently used word.
Of course, not the Kotodama from "Dragon Raja."
A Kōkinjō on its own was actually quite useless, like a voice recorder that only noted your favorite word.
In his right hand, Kinkaku held the Bashōsen, which could release Ninjutsu of all five elemental attributes.
Not much to say about that.
The two tools Ginkaku held were meant to work in tandem with the Kōkinjō.
One was the Shichiseiken, which could sever the Kotodama spat out after touching the Kōkinjō and place a curse.
The other was the Benihisago. After the Kōkinjō and Shichiseiken placed a curse and seal on the enemy, they would be sucked in if they spoke the keyword or a similar Kotodama.
Honestly, it was quite troublesome.
If the user's own strength was mediocre, these three tools were pure decoration.
Only the Bashōsen could be used as a means of attack.
"Tch, what a disgusting Jutsu."
Kinkaku huffed coldly.
Anyone who was dragged back from the dead without personal freedom would be this angry.
But they couldn't control themselves.
"You're our opponent?"
He looked left and right; there was only this brat in front of him.
"What's this?"
Ginkaku swung the Shichiseiken dissatisfiedly. "Not arranging Senju Tobirama for us brothers is just utterly boring."
In their story, the two had killed the Second Raikage and together severely wounded the Second Hokage.
Aside from a few individuals, these were great feats unattainable by ordinary Ninjas.
"You want to see the Second Hokage?"
Naruto pulled four Kunai from his pouch with his left hand and threw them directly.
"What? He's not dead yet?"
With a light wave of Kinkaku's left arm, the Kunaithat hit the Kōkinjō were scattered.
Feeling the lack of power behind the attack, his expression turned to disdain.
"Brat, this isn't a place for you! If you don't want to die, go get your elders!"
He swung the Bashōsen in his hand toward Naruto.
Flames roared and surged, quickly filling the corridor, which was only two or three meters wide.
Naruto instinctively jumped back, and endless flames also erupted from Enma in his hand.
The temperature climbed abruptly.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku were slightly startled.
Sweat rolled down their foreheads due to the intense heat.
Flame collided with flame, but there was no explosion.
Instead, it was a case of the big fish eating the little fish.
Naruto's Sun Breathing was superior.
The two flames merged, roaring like a giant dragon as they lunged toward Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Everywhere it passed, the ground was scorched black.
"He's got something."
Kinkaku was merely surprised that Naruto had such strength at thirteen or fourteen, but as a veteran, he was well-traveled and highly experienced.
In the entire Ninja World, only he and Ginkaku had been swallowed by Kurama and gained its abilities instead.
"How embarrassing."
Naruto couldn't help but shake his head.
Kurama, who was meditating, felt the malice and opened its eyes.
"Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"
It was taken aback; it was quite familiar with these two.
After all, they were the only Ninjas who dared to gnaw on it from inside its own stomach.
In the end, unable to bear it, it had to spit them out.
"Any thoughts on seeing your old friends?"
Naruto asked casually.
Facing the flames, Kinkaku didn't make any big moves, simply waving the Bashōsen again.
Countless wisps of water vapor seeped out from the surroundings.
Amegakure's climate was one where it rained every day.
This collection formed a massive water sphere almost instantly.
Thinking of Kinkaku and Ginkaku's story, Narutocouldn't help but laugh out loud.
The Bashōsen.
Crawling into the stomach.
Well, the Great Sage's classic line leaped to mind.
"Sister-in-law, open your mouth; Old Sun is coming out!"
"What are you laughing at?"
Kurama looked dissatisfied; it felt the malice again.
"The old man was just careless for a moment. How could those two possibly be his match?"
"I just thought of something happy."
Naruto explained while retreating, "It has nothing to do with you. I also believe those two can't beat you."
Truth be told, if Kinkaku and Ginkaku didn't have the Six Paths Sage's bloodline, their probability of losing against Kurama would be even higher.
But well, one can only say that Naruto truly is a world that cares about bloodlines.
At the same time, Naruto also wanted to complain: why was the Six Paths Sage like the Dragon Clan? His bloodline was everywhere.
Oh wait, it could also be Ashura's and Indra's.
Those two guys were the real ruthless ones.
Two people developed two massive clans.
The collision of water and fire was no longer a merger but produced a violent reaction.
Mist surged.
Everything vanished from sight.
"Really?"
Kurama clearly didn't quite believe that Narutocould trust it.
"Really."
Naruto's left fist clenched, clashing with Kinkaku, who had rushed out of the mist.
"Heh, brat, you're finished!"
Seeing his Kōkinjō about to make contact with the fist, Kinkaku couldn't help but grin maliciously.
But in the next instant, his body was sent flying backward.
An irresistible force surged from where the fists met, slamming Kinkaku directly into the wall.
Thanks to Saint Sun Fish and Gentleman of the Sword for the tips.