Chapter 54 (Patreon)

At that moment, more than a hundred Kirigakure shinobi were still gathered in front of the cave.

Every single one of them was frozen in shock.

Wasn’t the enemy supposed to be only an elite jōnin from Konoha?

That power just now…

That level of destructive ninjutsu…

Was that really a jōnin?

Or had they just run into a Tailed Beast in human form?

The surviving shinobi were nearly in tears.

Yujiro raised one hand.

“Lightning Water Dragon Bomb.”

The moment his voice fell, a roaring dragon of water wrapped in lightning tore forward, crashing through the battlefield with terrifying force.

The remaining Kirigakure shinobi were swallowed by the attack before they could even scream.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for creating an original skill: Lightning Water Dragon Bomb — S-rank.]

Yujiro glanced at the notification and gave a faint nod.

With this, he already possessed three S-rank ninjutsu.

At the very least, he could now say he had enough strength to protect himself.

But even then, Yujiro understood something clearly.

What he was using right now was still only ordinary nature transformation.

And the ceiling of ordinary elemental ninjutsu was, at most, S-rank.

It looked powerful now, but Yujiro knew very well that this level was still far from enough.

If he wanted to become stronger, he needed more chakra natures.

Right now, Yujiro had already reached the third stage of his Limiter.

The ability he unlocked was called Thought Simulation.

It was different from the original Limiter. This was a version strengthened by the system.

By obtaining an opponent’s thought pattern, he could simulate them and plunder the attributes within their body.

In theory, even kekkei genkai could be obtained.

He could not steal physical organs or bloodline structures themselves, but if the kekkei genkai was formed through the fusion of chakra natures, then it was possible.

Water and earth created Wood Style.

Water and wind created Ice Style.

Fire and wind created Scorch Style.

And so on.

Yujiro really wanted to find someone and test this new ability.

Itachi had the Sharingan, which was tied to the Uchiha bloodline and could not be simulated so easily.

Kakashi’s Sharingan was transplanted, so it was even less useful for this purpose.

Thinking about it carefully, there really were not many people around him who possessed a chakra-nature-based kekkei genkai.

“Let’s return to the unit.”

Yujiro’s current strength had already reached Kage-level, and every Kirigakure shinobi within ten miles had been wiped out.

For now, it was better to regroup and let Jiraiya know they were safe.

However, before Yujiro and the others could leave the valley, Jiraiya had already arrived with Konoha’s forces.

“Yujiro!”

The moment Jiraiya saw him, he appeared in front of the group almost instantly.

After confirming that Yujiro, Kakashi, and Itachi were not seriously injured, Jiraiya finally released a breath of relief.

Then his gaze shifted toward the ruined valley.

The entire area looked as though a natural disaster had torn through it.

Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yujiro… how did you survive an attack of that scale?”

Clearly, Jiraiya had not yet realized that the devastating ninjutsu from earlier had been cast by Yujiro himself.

Kakashi stepped forward, his expression still solemn.

“Jiraiya-sama… those ninjutsu were not used against us.”

He paused for a moment.

“They were used by Yujiro.”

“What?!”

Jiraiya’s expression changed on the spot.

The power from earlier had not been weaker than S-rank.

And Yujiro had released it?

Jiraiya stared at him in disbelief.

Yujiro only smiled faintly.

“I was testing a new jutsu.”

Jiraiya swallowed.

From the first time he had met Yujiro, he had sensed something unusual about him. There was always a pressure around him that made people uneasy.

At first, Jiraiya had thought it was just his imagination.

But now…

Yujiro had grown stronger again.

There was no mistaking it.

One person had changed the flow of the battlefield.

If Yujiro was not the Child of Prophecy, then who else could be?

At this moment, Jiraiya was even more certain of it.

“Fine,” Jiraiya said after taking a deep breath. “Yujiro, we’ll return first and let everyone rest.”

Right now, he did not want to think too deeply about anything else.

He only knew one thing.

This time, he absolutely could not let the boy slip away from him again.

“Wait.”

Yujiro suddenly stopped.

His gaze turned calmly toward a distant direction.

“Pervy Sage… looks like we won’t be leaving just yet.”

Yujiro closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the presence approaching from afar.

Then the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

He had been wondering where to release the strength still burning inside him.

And now…

The perfect target had arrived.

The Fourth Mizukage.

Yagura.

The Three-Tails’ jinchūriki.

Sure enough, a minute later, a figure appeared inside the valley.

“Yujiro,” Yagura said coldly. “So it really was you.”

Inside Kamui’s dimension, Obito silently watched the scene unfold.

His voice was faint, yet filled with killing intent.

“Kill Yujiro.”

Outside, in the valley, Yagura’s expression sharpened the instant he received Obito’s command.

“Fourth Mizukage, Yagura…”

Jiraiya stepped forward with a grim expression, placing himself between Yujiro and Yagura.

“For a Kage to appear on the battlefield personally… don’t you think you’re breaking the rules a little?”

During the Ninja World War, there was an unspoken rule between villages.

If one side did not send out its Kage-level powerhouses, the other side would not do so either.

It was not written anywhere.

But everyone understood it.

Jiraiya had not expected Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, to come here personally.

And from his expression, it was obvious.

He had come to kill Yujiro.

That alone proved how dangerous Yujiro had become in Kirigakure’s eyes.

“Yujiro has killed too many shinobi of the Hidden Mist,” Yagura said indifferently. “He dies here.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yagura formed a hand seal and attacked without hesitation.

“Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!”

Jiraiya was about to move, but Yujiro’s calm voice reached him first.

“I’ll handle this.”

Only a few words.

But the confidence behind them was absolute.

Even Jiraiya froze for a brief moment.

By the time he reacted, Yujiro had already stepped out of the valley.

Yagura rushed after him immediately.

Yujiro sensed Yagura’s presence behind him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Perfect timing.

He wanted to know exactly how far his current full-power third-stage Limiter could go.

And what better opponent to test it against than the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails?