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Chapter 116 - Chapter 85: The Terrifying Ultimate Spear 

Four emerald-green light points aligned in a straight line, as if every cell in the body was being pushed to its limit, bursting with vitality. Under the power of the Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Technique), energy surged into the core of the heart's seed. 

Hikari felt a flash before her eyes. 

It was as if a door had opened in her mind. 

Her heart transformed into a mountain spring, endlessly gushing deep indigo chakra, flowing along her meridian channels. The once-empty pathways were instantly filled to the brim with chakra. 

Gulp! 

Gulp! 

Translucent chakra bubbles slowly rose, floating lightly into the sky. 

A faint, demonic red cloak crept over her bone armor like vines. 

The stark white exoskeleton seemed to gain flesh, becoming fuller and more robust. Excess chakra gathered at her tailbone, forming an illusory, fiery red tail. 

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! 

A fierce wind roared. 

Her silver hair danced like serpents in the breeze. 

With the fourth gate fully opened and the Bijū (Tailed Beast) cloak unleashed at full force, Hikari revealed her ultimate form in the tennis world for the first time. 

Beneath the bone armor, her skin flushed faintly red. The burning of her life force fueled an immense surge of chakra, sustaining the high-energy Bijū cloak. 

An overwhelming power coursed through her body. Hikari had never felt so invincible. 

The swelling chakra raced through her, threatening to break free from her physical form, as if it could destroy everything around her. 

Even her Byakugan struggled to keep up. 

The flame-like cloak rippled, sending out bubbles of energy. 

The moisture in the air gathered under its influence, as if ready to trigger an artificial rain. 

"Bijū cloak!? Are you a Jinchūriki (Tailed Beast Host)?" 

Yazuki Yū, a veteran player from the Kumo (Cloud) team, instantly recognized the ability Hikari was using. 

He had been part of the Kumo team's pursuit of the infamous criminal brothers Kinzaku and Ginzaku, witnessing firsthand the Third Raikage's one-on-one duel with the rampaging Hachibi (Eight-Tails). He knew both generations of Hachibi Jinchūriki, Bubi and Kirabi, the latter being a classmate and close friend. 

The Bijū cloak, a signature skill of a Jinchūriki, was something he understood better than some hosts themselves. 

Now, he was certain: the red chakra that had blocked his Raiton (Lightning Release) earlier was indeed Bijū power. 

Could the rumors about the "beast" be wrong? Was the monstrous boy from Konoha, shunned by all, just a decoy? Was this girl, who seemed normal on the surface but was anything but, the true Kyuubi Jinchūriki (Nine-Tails Host)? 

Or perhaps she was a pseudo-Jinchūriki, like Kinzaku and Ginzaku. 

Seeing how effortlessly she wielded the Bijū chakra without showing any signs of instability, Yazuki Yū, with his vast experience, began to piece together her true identity. 

To control Bijū chakra so freely, she was either a pseudo-Jinchūriki like the brothers or the legendary perfect Jinchūriki. 

If she were a perfect Jinchūriki, she wouldn't have fought him this long—she could've crushed him instantly with Bijū power. 

That left only one possibility: a pseudo-Jinchūriki. 

"A pseudo-Jinchūriki who consumed Bijū flesh?" 

Though phrased as a question, Yazuki Yū's tone was confident. 

Having seen through his opponent's identity, he didn't dare underestimate her. 

His Jigoku Tsuki (Hell Stab) shifted from four fingers to three, boundless lightning condensing at his fingertips into a blade. No matter her secrets, she was destined to fall to his Jigoku Tsuki. 

Hikari raised an eyebrow, gripping her left shield and right blade, cautiously positioning herself behind the shield. 

Being exposed as a pseudo-Jinchūriki the first time she used this ability in a match left her a bit embarrassed. 

This old guy knew techniques from both the Third and Fourth Raikage, even casually mentioning the secret of pseudo-Jinchūriki formed by consuming Bijū flesh. He had to be a core figure in Kumo. 

Why would a player of his caliber come to Konoha to face her in a life-or-death tennis match? 

Unable to make sense of it, Hikari could only chalk it up to bad luck, hiding herself more securely behind her shield. 

Her shield wasn't just for boosting defense. 

More importantly, it blocked her opponent's line of sight. Not everyone had Byakugan's x-ray vision, and obstructed vision increased the chance of errors, preventing perfectly precise shots. 

The Jigoku Tsuki was so fast that even its creator, the Third Raikage, couldn't easily change its trajectory mid-serve. She didn't believe Yazuki Yū could either. 

With the Kaguya clan's self-healing abilities, as long as she avoided fatal hits, she could recover slowly with chakra. 

This old guy's life might not be worth much, but hers was priceless. 

No need to go all out against him. 

She just had to stall until Konoha's backup arrived. 

If it weren't for Raiton's blazing speed, which she couldn't outrun, Hikari would've already made a break for it. 

The air fell silent. 

Hikari focused entirely, locking Yazuki Yū's figure in her mind. 

The ultimate spear, fully charged, seemed to tame the wild Raiton, resting calmly at his fingertips. Yet the gathered chakra grew increasingly terrifying. 

Time ticked by. 

The blue and red figures facing off under the moonlight seemed to freeze into statues. 

Even their breathing seemed to stop. 

Sweat dripped from both their foreheads. 

Roar! 

The surrounding beastly crowd let out roars. 

But both players ignored them, focused solely on each other. To ordinary people, these ferocious beasts were deadly, but to them, they were no different from overgrown weeds. 

Even a casual rally between them could shred the beasts to pieces. 

Suddenly. 

A massive chakra signature, bright as the sun, appeared in Hikari's vision. Her Byakugan's 360-degree sight instinctively glanced toward it. 

Oh no! 

The moment she got distracted, Hikari knew she'd made a mistake. 

She raised her left shield to protect her face. 

Zzt! Zzt! 

Arcs of electricity flared. 

Yazuki Yū, fully charged, let out a roar, transforming into a bolt of lightning and shooting toward her. 

The ground cracked under his step, and the Jigoku Tsuki: Sanbon Nukite (Hell Stab: Three-Finger Pierce) aimed ferociously at her head, intent on ending her with one strike. 

At that moment, Yazuki Yū, in his Jigoku Tsuki state, pushed his speed to new heights. 

Hikari's vision blurred. In an instant, Yazuki Yū, dozens of meters away, closed the gap, lightning roaring as he reached her. 

His thick, muscular arm tensed. 

The blinding lightning at his fingertips filled her vision. 

A needle-like pain stabbed at her forehead, her instincts screaming a warning. Her mind felt as if it were filled with lead, her thoughts slowing in the face of his speed. 

Boom! 

The moment the lightning spear touched her shield, it pierced through with no resistance. 

Shattered bone fragments flew outward. 

Like bullets, they tore through nearby beasts, riddling them with holes. 

The spear broke through the shield and collided with the Bijū cloak covering her bone armor. But how could a cloak spread across her body match the concentrated power of the ultimate spear? 

In less than half a second, the Jigoku Tsuki shattered the Bijū cloak. Hikari's chakra surged wildly, and the precious time bought by the cloak finally gave her a chance to react. 

She couldn't face this unstoppable spear head-on. 

With difficulty, she twisted her body, dodging the lethal strike aimed at her head. 

The spear grazed her face, slicing through a few strands of hair, then crashed through countless trees before finally stopping. 

Boom! 

Only then did the sound of Yazuki Yū's earlier step echo from the distance. 

His speed had long surpassed sound. 

Drip! 

Drip! 

Blood slid down under gravity, staining the white bone armor red. Hikari raised her head. Half her helmet was gone, her delicate profile marred by torn, bloody flesh, exposing the white teeth beneath. 

Blocking out the pain, she stared expressionlessly at the towering figure in the distance, lightning gathering at his fingertips once more. 

The Third Raikage's ultimate spear was indeed formidable. Its supersonic speed was impossible to react to, and its piercing power rendered her steel-like bones nearly useless. 

Her helmet had only been grazed, yet it shattered instantly. 

The impact of the broken bone fragments had torn half her face apart. 

Thankfully, the subdermal bone membrane had protected her, stopping the fragments from piercing further. 

Otherwise, her own bones would've punctured her brain. 

Drip! 

Drip— 

The flowing blood suddenly transformed into threads, reversing course and returning to the wound on her face. The torn flesh wriggled, pushing out the broken bone fragments as countless tendrils of tissue wove together to heal. 

Hiss! 

Steam rose from her face as the ruined flesh regenerated into smooth, pink skin. 

"Blood control and ultra-fast healing," Yazuki Yū muttered, observing her closely. 

He grinned, aiming his fingertips at the monstrous girl again. Each exchange revealed a new trick from her arsenal. 

But her limits had been exposed in their last clash. 

Her abilities were numerous but lacked the strength to counter his Jigoku Tsuki. She couldn't dodge or defend against it. 

Her defeat was only a matter of time. 

Yazuki Yū had already signed her death warrant in his mind. 

Hikari knew it too. 

Despite her many techniques, none could match the Jigoku Tsuki. 

Her Isshiki Rekkū (One-Style Sky Splitter), specialized for breaking defenses, had a chance to pierce the Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Armor), but going head-to-head with the Jigoku Tsuki was suicidal. Her newly developed vacuum cannon required too long to charge, unsuitable for facing a high-speed Raiton player like Yazuki Yū. 

Suiton (Water Release) was too slow and conducted electricity, while standard Fūton (Wind Release) couldn't break through his defense. 

Her Kaguya bone techniques and Bijū cloak were insufficient for protection. 

Despite her arsenal, Hikari found herself out of options. 

Talk about bad luck. 

Against an average elite Jōnin-level player, her Fūton could tear them apart if they got too close. But she'd run into a master of Raiton no Yoroi and Jigoku Tsuki. 

As they say, overwhelming force trumps all tricks. 

Without a way to counter the blazing-fast Jigoku Tsuki, reacting was nearly impossible, let alone fighting back. 

She'd spotted the weakness of the Jigoku Tsuki, though. 

No ninjutsu could hide its secrets from the Byakugan. 

The Jigoku Tsuki worked by concentrating all chakra into the hand to form a Raiton spear. With a fixed amount of chakra, the more that gathered in the hand, the less remained elsewhere, weakening the Raiton no Yoroi's defense. 

The ultimate spear that pierced everything and the ultimate shield that defended everything couldn't coexist due to their contradictory nature. 

But even a weakened Raiton no Yoroi wasn't something ordinary attacks could break. 

Unless she stopped dodging and traded blows with Isshiki Rekkū, risking her life, she'd never find an opening to attack. 

Hiss—what do I do? 

Her mind raced, searching for a way to break through. Her Byakugan's 360-degree vision soon locked onto a youthful figure radiating immense chakra in the distance. 

That was the one who'd distracted her earlier—the culprit! 

But now, it might be her lifeline. 

There wasn't much time to think. Yazuki Yū, clutching the wound on his chest, raised his right hand, once again gathering brilliant lightning. 

Whoosh! Whoosh! 

The Bijū cloak reappeared. 

The chakra from the Hachimon Tonkō was still sufficient for now, and with the Bijū cloak to slow the Jigoku Tsuki, her life was relatively safe. Maybe she could take a risk. 

Hikari's gaze hardened, her resolve set. 

On her body, the ferocious exoskeleton rapidly dissolved. 

A fierce wind flattened the grass. 

A terrifying explosion, accompanied by a shockwave, rippled outward. 

Watching the fiery red figure in the center of the court being overwhelmed by the blue, seemingly powerless, Echizen Naruto clung to a tree trunk. His fingers anxiously dug into the bark, his blue eyes fixed on the wolf-fox figure glowing with red light. 

He was back. 

Shikamaru and the others, slowed by injuries, couldn't break through from the training court or find a coach for help. 

In this critical moment, Naruto thought of a plan—one he wasn't even sure would work. 

Boom! 

In the distance, lightning, sharp as a razor, pierced through the fiery red chakra again. 

Hikari, in her wolf-fox form, rolled to dodge the stab. Blood poured from an unseen wound, soaking her clothes. The red defense, pierced multiple times, dimmed. 

The scene screamed one truth to Naruto: 

His best friend from tennis school was nearing the end of her life. 

No more hesitation. 

Naruto pushed himself up and leapt from the tree. 

If Hikari died, there'd be one less person in the world who didn't hate him—and he couldn't accept that reality. 

Step… Step… 

Crunching through dry leaves, Naruto summoned his courage and walked toward the blue figure dominating the court's center. 

Yazuki Yū, clutching his chest and panting slightly, felt the wound worsening. After multiple Jigoku Tsuki uses, his stamina and chakra were running low. 

But the girl in front of him was in far worse shape. 

Her cloak was tattered, blood staining her body, and the Bijū cloak was reduced to a thin layer, nearly gone. Her chakra was clearly almost depleted. 

One more Jigoku Tsuki would end this monster. 

His fingers glowed with chakra. 

Suddenly, an orange-yellow figure darted between them, arms spread wide to shield the bloodied girl. Bright blue eyes locked onto Yazuki Yū with fierce determination. 

No words were needed. 

Those outstretched arms spoke of the newcomer's resolve. 

Hikari, drenched in blood, looked at the back marked with the Uzumaki spiral, feeling a flicker of relief. 

Her effort to suppress her healing and let herself bleed had paid off. 

Naruto—or rather, the Kyuubi—had finally joined the match! 

He was still young, so even if he unleashed the Kyuubi's power, it wouldn't be overwhelming. 

Hikari didn't expect the Kyuubi to defeat the enemy outright. All she needed was for Naruto to distract Yazuki Yū, giving her Isshiki Rekkū a chance to hit his vital points. 

If she could unleash Fūton inside his body, no matter how terrifying his Raiton chakra mode was, he'd be done for. 

It was her only shot at turning the game around. 

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