Chapter 106: The Nine-Tails' Amazing Intellect
Rasengan!
Hoshikawa raised his hand, and a swirling mass of chakra appeared in his palm.
BOOM!
The Rasengan slammed into a large tree in front of him. In an instant, deep, spiderweb-like cracks spread out from the point of impact.
Hoshikawa withdrew his hand and walked around to the back of the tree, where a deep crater was carved out. This was the destructive power of the Rasengan—it was explosive on both sides.
[A-rank Jutsu Trait: Rasengan]
[Activation Condition: Successfully perform this jutsu.]
[Effect: This jutsu is automatically upgraded to the proficient level.]
Hoshikawa nodded in satisfaction. It took him about half a month, from mid-August to September, but he had finally mastered the Rasengan. In terms of sheer power, the Strength of a Hundred Seal was slightly stronger, but the Rasengan had incredible potential, especially for him. As a versatile ninja, he could infuse all kinds of nature transformations into it, creating even more powerful Rasengan variations.
Hoshikawa dusted off his hands and returned to the living room. Kushina Uzumaki, Tsunade, and two of the Nine-Tails' tails were sitting at the table, playing cards.
"Huh?" Kushina noticed him. "Did you run into trouble with your Rasengan training?"
"No, I've already mastered it," Hoshikawa said, shaking his head.
"You have? Already?" Kushina was stunned for a moment, then sighed with admiration. "You really are a genius!" She wasn't too surprised, as Hoshikawa had mastered the first three stages of the Rasengan training very quickly.
"He's my student, after all," Tsunade chuckled, laying down her cards. "A pair of Aces."
"I can't beat that," Kushina said, looking at her hand with envy. "I wish I had a genius student."
"You'll get your chance," Tsunade said, discarding a card. "A three. I only have two cards left!"
"Oh no!" Kushina's face fell. "Kurama, think of something fast!"
"No rush," two of the Nine-Tails' tails swayed as it laid down a Joker.
"Pass." Tsunade immediately felt a bad premonition. Sure enough, Kurama played a series of pairs, clearing its hand.
"We won!" Kushina cheered excitedly. The Nine-Tails' two tails came over and high-fived her.
"Damn it!" Tsunade turned to glare at Hoshikawa. "This is all your fault!"
"How is this my fault?" Hoshikawa's mouth twitched. "Did you even win a single hand before I came?"
"Of—of course I did!" Tsunade said, her face flushing with embarrassment, though she tried to sound confident.
Kushina was about to tell the truth, but Tsunade's glare made her stop. She could only give Hoshikawa a look of helpless sympathy.
"Fine." Hoshikawa decided to back down for now. "I'll be going."
"Wait!" A smile spread across Tsunade's face. "We're master and student; these little things don't matter. Come here and play with me." She had finally remembered that to win, she needed Hoshikawa by her side.
Hmph, what a woman.
Hoshikawa couldn't be bothered to argue with her, so he walked over and sat down next to her. He had been training for nearly two hours, so a break was a good idea anyway.
The card game started again. Tsunade's luck improved significantly, and she won more than she lost, unlike before.
"Is Hoshikawa really that good luck?" Kushina asked tentatively. "Why don't you sit next to me and see?"
"No," Tsunade refused immediately. "He's my student."
"So stingy," Kushina pouted and went back to playing.
Hoshikawa was speechless. What am I to you guys? A lucky charm?
Just then, he felt something, and he looked down to see a fox tail wrapped around his leg. At some point, Kurama had secretly manifested an extra tail, though this one was two-thirds smaller than the other two.
Hoshikawa was full of questions. Where's your pride, you "Strongest of the Tailed Beasts"? You'd lose your dignity just to win a card game?
"Kurama, you're so much smarter today!" Kushina said, surprised. Kurama's cards were a lot better than before.
"I've always been smart!" The Nine-Tails' three tails perked up proudly.
"You're cheating!" Tsunade noticed the problem. "Why do you have an extra tail?!"
"When did you make that one?" Kushina asked, surprised.
The Nine-Tails' three tails wagged excitedly.
"It says it's not cheating," Kushina translated. "Hoshikawa can vouch for it."
"Hoshikawa?" Tsunade looked at him.
"It's not cheating," Hoshikawa nodded. "It just borrowed a little luck."
"Get over here and sit on this side." Tsunade immediately understood the reason. She had never expected the Nine-Tails to possess such an amazing intellect.
"Damn it!" The Nine-Tails' three tails flailed again.
Tsunade ignored it completely.
The card game continued, and Kurama returned to its normal level—which was still only a little better than the "always-loses" Tsunade.
Hoshikawa yawned, getting a little bored. Aside from Kushina, who was a normal card player, Tsunade and Kurama were on a completely different level of ridiculousness.
Luckily, the torment didn't last long.
"It's almost noon. I'm going to make lunch." Kushina looked at the clock on the wall.
"Fine," Tsunade said reluctantly, but didn't force them to keep playing.
Only Kurama was sullen, and its three tails instantly vanished. It had already returned to its mindscape to review the game.
After lunch, Hoshikawa left Kushina's house. Tsunade, however, stayed behind; for her, gambling was the same no matter where she was. Besides, where else could you find a Tailed Beast for a card buddy?
It was Sunday, so Hoshikawa didn't go to the Academy, even though he had already taken half a month off.
A roaring sound filled the air. A massive dragon of water shot through the air and hit a pile of rocks nearby. With a mighty crash, the rocks scattered everywhere.
"Incredible!" Hoshikawa said, clapping and smiling.
"Hoshikawa!" Kurenai saw him and rushed over. "What are you doing here?"
"My training with Sensei is done. I can go back to school tomorrow," Hoshikawa explained, patting her head.
"Yay!" Kurenai cheered.
Even though she saw Hoshikawa every night, she still wasn't used to not seeing him at the Academy.
"I have even better news," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "I'm planning to ask Kōsuke-ojisan to teach me Crescent Moon Dance."
"That's wonderful!" Kurenai's eyes lit up. She didn't know what the Crescent Moon Dance was, but she knew it meant Hoshikawa would be training Water Style with her.
"You want to learn the Crescent Moon Dance?" Kōsuke Maruboshi walked over.
"Yes," Hoshikawa nodded slightly. "I want to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu as well."
The Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu was a Forbidden Jutsu, but the regular Shadow Clone Jutsu was not. The Crescent Moon Dance was a combination of Konoha-style Kenjutsu and the Shadow Clone Jutsu, so he had to learn it.
"Alright." Kōsuke didn't refuse.
"Hoshikawa, I forgot to tell you—I'm Kōsuke-ojisan's student now!" Kurenai suddenly remembered, her face beaming.
Hoshikawa was taken aback. A student was different from an apprentice; it meant inheriting the master's teachings. He thought about the future Kurenai. Did she learn her Water Style from the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, because Kōsuke taught her?
"Congratulations, Kurenai. You've found a great teacher," Hoshikawa said with a smile. Becoming Kōsuke Maruboshi's student was no small thing. Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, he probably had the greatest mastery of Water Style in the entire village. And with her talent and status, Kurenai couldn't have become a student of the Hokage anyway, who wasn't even taking on students anymore.
"I know!" Kurenai nodded in agreement. At first, she hadn't known Kōsuke's name and thought he was just an average ninja, but the more she interacted with him, the more she realized how powerful he was. To be honest, she thought he was even better than her own father, Shinku Yuhi.
"With all that praise, I'm feeling really motivated!" Kōsuke laughed. "Kurenai, you keep practicing. Hoshikawa, come with me."
"Got it." Hoshikawa waved to Kurenai and followed Kōsuke.
They went to a nearby clearing, far enough away not to bother Kurenai.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is a B-rank jutsu created by the Second Hokage, Lord Tobirama." Kōsuke stopped and began his explanation. A normal Shadow Clone Jutsu could create about two clones. More than that, and it became the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. Unlike the regular Clone Jutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu created solid, physical clones made of chakra.
They had their own consciousness, a certain level of durability, and could even perform jutsu. When a clone was dispelled, its memories and experiences returned to the original body.
In the original series, Naruto Uzumaki progressed so quickly because of the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu—essentially a multi-layered experience boost. But it had a huge drawback: one, it consumed a lot of chakra; and two, the flood of memories and experiences returning to the user could overwhelm their mind.
The combination of these two factors could lead to mental retardation or, in severe cases, death. This was why the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu became a Forbidden Jutsu. Only a handful of people in the original story could use it without fear. A typical ninja had to be extremely careful using even the normal Shadow Clone Jutsu, let alone the multi-clone version.
Time flew by, and soon it was December. The streets of Konoha were already filled with a festive atmosphere for the new year. Hoshikawa successfully learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu and Crescent Moon Dance. On top of that, he gained a new C-rank trait: Earth Style Chunin, which boosted the power of his Earth Style ninjutsu by 50%.
He had Kakashi Hatake to thank for that, as Hoshikawa dragged him into ninjutsu sparring matches every day. Although Hoshikawa didn't win much, his power grew significantly. He was already stronger than his original counterpart in the story.
Hoshikawa opened his window, and a blast of cold air rushed in. A light snow was falling over Konoha. Just then, three lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[C-rank Talent Trait: Manga Artist (Obtained)]
[Activation Condition: Own three best-selling manga.]
[Effect: Vision increases by 30% from its original state.]
Vision?
Hoshikawa's eyes tingled, and the distant scenery seemed much clearer than before.
............
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