[Ding! Reward: Vigorous Vitality Trait! Full Unlock of All Acupoints!]
Kazuyama Gekkō: ??? What the hell kind of reward is this???
Vigorous vitality? His vitality's always been off the charts, thank you very much.
Full acupoint unlock? He's not from the Hyūga Clan—what's he supposed to do with that?
[Host, are you dense? Do you not remember a technique called: Pressure Points of Harm and Death?]
Pressure Points of Harm and Death?
Right, that one—an acupoint-targeting technique that trades vitality for chakra.
Basically a do-or-die move. Since vitality is finite, burning it means shortening your lifespan.
[At least you're not completely hopeless. Now you see the value of this reward.]
[With vigorous vitality, as long as you don't burn through all of it in one go, you'll regenerate over time.]
Well damn, that's actually a solid reward!
System, you're alright after all—I take back what I said!
Kazuyama accepted the reward, feeling more comfortable than ever. Even his jutsu casting sped up noticeably.
"Pressure Points of Harm and Death!"
With his understanding of acupoints, he reinforced himself once more. As his acupoints activated, a torrent of chakra surged through him. Kazuyama funneled that wild chakra into the crystal, intensifying its white glow. In just a blink, the energy reached its peak.
"Chōmei, back off!"
"Crystal Release: String of Glory!"
A laser beam condensed from chakra blasted out from the crystal's tip. The moment Chōmei heard Kazuyama, he let go of Kokuō's head and took to the sky. In the next instant, the beam struck Kokuō's head. Kazuyama had aimed for her right eye, but she dipped her head upon sensing danger. So the beam ended up hitting her horn instead.
Boom!
"AAAHHH!!!"
The explosion and scream rang out simultaneously. A broken horn flew through the air, the fracture charred black. Even Chōmei was stunned—Kokuō's horn, shattered just like that? Let alone the four snakes—even Kinrin, the most physically resilient, couldn't harm her. Thanks to Boil Release, Kokuō's body was practically impenetrable, otherwise she couldn't unleash such devastating power.
"You bastard! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"
"Aaahhh!!!"
The pain fueled Kokuō's rage, unleashing her primal fury. Enduring the agony, she opened her mouth and began forming a Tailed Beast Ball—faster than anyone expected. In a flash, a massive chakra sphere was ready before her.
"Whoa, she's gone berserk!"
Chōmei yelped, but didn't panic—his Tailed Beast Ball was already forming. Thanks to synchronization, his chakra cost was even lower.
Boom!
The two Tailed Beast Balls collided mid-air, stirring the sea into a frenzy. The four giant snakes braced against the resulting shockwaves.
"Kinrin, Seirin, Korin, Yulín—fall back. Leave the rest to me."
Earlier, Kazuyama had already deactivated Sage Mode and the Coiling Serpent Technique, sending the three Snake Princesses back to Ryūchi Cave. Now that Kokuō was injured, he quickly ordered the remaining snakes to retreat. From here on, it was a clash of Tailed Beasts.
As four puffs of white smoke rose, only Kazuyama and the two Tailed Beasts remained.
"Chōmei."
"Yo! I'm here!"
The sea still hadn't calmed from the blast when Chōmei's massive form arrived beside Kazuyama. Kazuyama jumped up lightly—Jinchūriki and Tailed Beast, united.
"Kazuyama, not bad. That last attack even surprised me a bit."
"Eh, just warming up. The real fight starts now."
As they spoke, Kokuō burst through the smoke, eyes blazing red, steam pouring from her body as she charged at them.
"I'm going to kill you both!"
"ROAR!!"
With a roar, Kokuō cranked her power to the max. She literally ran across the sea, each step kicking up tidal waves.
"Geez, what a brute."
"Too bad—I can fly!"
Without hesitation, Chōmei took to the sky. Dodging was second nature to him—couldn't win? Then fly away. No shame in that.
"Coward! Get down here!"
"Why don't you come up here? Hahahaha!"
Watching Chōmei hover in the sky, Kokuō fumed and stomped her hooves.
"Chōmei, go fight her already! What are you afraid of?"
"There's two of us—we've got this!"
Kazuyama didn't fear Kokuō. He swiftly formed hand seals, transforming chakra into crystal that instantly formed armor over Chōmei. He also outfitted the six legs on Chōmei's chest with bladed crystal swords—deadly sharp and right up Chōmei's alley.
"Hahaha! Kazuyama, you're the best!"
"Feels great having you back me up."
Laughing, Chōmei dove straight down toward Kokuō. Kokuō almost burst out laughing—this bug had to be brain-dead. She braced herself and charged forward.
The two giant beasts collided. With crystal armor gleaming, Chōmei looked like a divine warrior, completely unafraid of Kokuō's brute strength. The crystal gave him confidence—until it shattered on impact.
"Seriously?! Kazuyama! Is this crystal made of glass?!"
"It broke in one hit!"
Chōmei looked down at the shards of his armor, completely thrown off.
"Come on, she's Kokuō! Don't you know how strong she is?"
"If not for the crystal armor, your chakra body would've been crushed."
Kazuyama patched up the armor while griping. Good thing chakra consumption was reduced, or he wouldn't have kept up with how fast Chōmei's armor was breaking.
"Huh? Really? Hahaha! Well, I can't feel pain, so who cares!"
"This is awesome!"
Chōmei didn't care about the damage—if it didn't hurt, then fight on. The two Tailed Beasts went at it wildly—headbutts, charges, total chaos.
Kazuyama could hardly believe what he was seeing. First he learned Kenjutsu, now he was watching a Pokémon battle live.
"Chōmei! Go, use Head Charge!"
Chōmei: ??? What even is that?!
Kazuyama: Doesn't matter—just headbutt her!
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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