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Konoha, Training Ground 12
As Hikari meditated on merging Wood Release chakra, her shadow clone—now officially "Genin Hikari"—lounged against a towering tree near the Daimyō's estate.
Her beauty was so striking that even the ancient tree seemed to lean toward her.
...Or maybe it was just breaking under her weight.
Kakashi winced as the massive trunk groaned, its roots creaking ominously.
Who in their right mind would marry this human-shaped disaster? he mused. That person would earn my eternal respect.
Unaware of Kakashi's thoughts, Hikari raised a walkie-talkie, shouting directions:
"Target southeast, two kilometers!"
"Got it!" Two voices crackled back.
A blur of orange and black (Naruto) and blue and white (Sasuke) shot through the forest like twin comets.
Hikari's near-opaque Hikari eyes—now almost fully evolved—glowed faintly behind her blindfold. These "Hikari Eyes" were her version of the Byakugan's ultimate evolution, rivaling even the Rinnegan or Tenseigan.
The胎動期 (gestation period) was long, but for good reason. The Tenseigan had the Giant Tenseigan to accelerate its growth; the Rinnegan took Madara a lifetime to awaken. Her progress, fueled by the Reverse Eight Gates, was already unprecedented.
Though the final abilities hadn't manifested, her enhanced vision could now scan all of Konoha—every street, every shadow—save for a few shielded areas.
A surveillance network rivaling Pain's Rain Tiger at Will Technique, but far more precise.
If someone like Jiraiya or Hiruzen got this power... she shuddered. Konoha's women would riot.
But such power came at a cost.
For two years, her eyes had devoured chakra like a black hole. Without her Sage Body and the Forest of Death's resources, she'd have been drained dry.
Between her evolving eyes, Reverse Eight Gates, stolen Kotoamatsukami, bone-strengthening metabolism, and shadow clone research...
Energy conservation was a joke.
Every cell in her body screamed "More!"
Which was why she now lazed against the tree, directing Naruto and Sasuke like a couch-bound strategist.
"Sasuke! 3 o'clock, 700 meters! It's spotted you—move!"
The "target" in question?
A chubby brown cat named Tora.
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"MEOW—!!"
The feline yowled as Sasuke, lightning crackling around his legs, cut off its escape.
Tora spun mid-air—only to be smothered by Naruto's orange jacket, flung like a net.
"Gotcha!" Naruto grinned, holding the squirming bundle.
Two kilometers away, Hikari gave Kakashi a thumbs-up.
With a sigh, Kakashi marked their seventh D-rank completion.
As an elite jōnin, he knew the Chūnin Exams were coming. But with only eight missions required (usually including C-ranks that took months), they'd needed quick D-ranks to qualify.
Thank god this farce is over.
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Hokage's Office
"NO MORE CATS!" Naruto slammed his hands on Hiruzen's desk. "Give us a REAL mission!"
Hikari blinked, struck by déjà vu.
Wait... this scene...
Her mind flashed to an anime episode she'd watched lifetimes ago.
"Right, Hikari?!" Naruto whirled to her, desperate for backup.
...Did the 4th wall just break?
She nodded mechanically.
Hiruzen sighed. "Fine. There's a new mission—"
He handed a scroll to an ANBU, who vanished in a puff.
Moments later, a straw-hatted old man—Tazuna the bridge builder—entered, sweating nervously.
Hikari's pulse quickened.
Land of Waves. Zabuza. Haku.
Would they still appear after six years?
Her thoughts scattered as Hiruzen spoke:
"How's Enma's injury?"
"Recovered," Hiruzen said, lips twitching. "But he couldn't find a monkey strong enough to contract you."
"He's mad?"
She needed that Vajra Body technique. With it, even Might Guy's Eighth Gate might not surpass her.
"No. Just... motivated." Hiruzen chuckled. "He's training on Flower Fruit Mountain for a rematch."
"Flower... what?"
"The monkey clan's homeland."
Hikari's brain short-circuited.
Flower Fruit Mountain. Ruyi Jingu Bang (Adamantine Staff). Vajra Body.
And the Four-Tails' lair is...
"Wait. Is the Four-Tails' Water Curtain Cave on that mountain?!"
Hiruzen frowned. "How did you—?"
"Just a guess."
Her mind raced.
The Three-Tails had Isobu. The Four-Tails has... the monkey clan?
Were they symbiotes? Like how Isobu's little fish companion, Samehada, helped digest food?
If so...
That "mountain" might hold more than monkeys.
It might hold Sage Mode.
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