Chapter 87: The Confident Yugito
"The only advice I can give you is this. Take the opportunity to rest now," Minato said with a smile to Kyosuke.
He had just shared his knowledge of the three remaining opponents' fighting styles and how to counter them, hoping to help Kyosuke better defeat them.
Although Kyosuke himself knew far more than Minato, he still sincerely expressed his thanks.
Then, Kyosuke returned to his seat to rest. Although the time was short, he could still recover some of his stamina.
"Yugito, in the next battle, you must be careful of that Mist ninja," A said, looking at the somewhat nonchalant Yugito.
"You mean that girl with the strange Kekkei Genkai?" Yugito said, her gaze shifting to Mei Terumī in the distance.
Her eyes swept over her already well-developed figure, and she couldn't help but purse her lips slightly.
"No," to her surprise, A shook his head without hesitation, denying her statement. He then said, "I mean the other one."
"Kisame Hoshigaki?"
"That's right."
Yugito recalled Kisame's previous battle with Sasori and nodded noncommittally.
It was clear that she didn't think much of A's words.
In Yugito's opinion, although Kisame's Water Release ninjutsu was powerful and his own chakra reserves were plentiful, these were nothing in the face of her Tailed Beast's power.
As for Kisame's ability to absorb chakra, she completely disregarded it.
She was confident that even if she stood there and let him absorb her chakra, he wouldn't be able to take much.
The source of her confidence was, of course, the Tailed Beast within her.
The current Yugito naively believed that as long as she grew stronger, besides the other jinchuriki, no one in the shinobi world would be her opponent, not even the man before her, Brother A.
Although her thoughts seemed absurd, it had to be said that this was a common perception among many jinchuriki.
They couldn't be blamed for this. Since they were young, they had been constantly instilled with concepts such as "dangerous" and "uncontrollable."
As they absorbed these concepts, regardless of their true inner thoughts, they had all come to a clear understanding of one thing.
The Tailed Beast inside them, which brought them so much pain, was incredibly powerful. That was why people feared and hated them.
And whether these jinchuriki admitted it or not, while they hated this power, they also relied on it and firmly believed in its strength.
Of course, their thinking was not wrong.
The strength of a jinchuriki was indeed formidable, especially a jinchuriki like Yugito, who could perfectly control her Tailed Beast.
But there was always someone stronger. Although there weren't many powerhouses who could defeat a jinchuriki, they did exist.
Not to mention, every member of the Akatsuki had the strength to capture a jinchuriki on their own.
Unfortunately, many of the jinchuriki were unaware of this.
By the time they came to a clear understanding of this, it would likely be too late.
This was why, in the original story, so many jinchuriki were so easily captured by the Akatsuki members.
The root cause was "arrogance."
The Yugito from the original story was a prime example. At that time, she knew of the Akatsuki's strength, but she still chose to face two of its members alone.
She had even refused her comrades' help, choosing to lure them away herself.
Although Yugito's actions were intended to protect her comrades, it was undeniable that in her heart, she did not consider Hidan and Kakuzu to be a fatal threat.
Otherwise, only a fool would have done so.
The current Yugito held the same view. She naively believed that in the arena, besides Kyosuke, the other two Mist ninja were no match for her.
Even with Kyosuke, Yugito felt that as long as she was careful of his speed and didn't get taken out in an instant, there was not much to worry about.
So, it was only natural that she would have such an attitude toward A's words.
Unfortunately, at this time, A was lost in thought and did not notice her expression.
Otherwise, although he couldn't completely change her perception, he was confident that he could at least raise her vigilance.
"Very good. The Daimyō was just praising the two of you lavishly in front of me. You must not let him down," the Mist's team leader said excitedly to the two of them.
"Yes, sir," Mei and Kisame nodded noncommittally.
The team leader didn't seem to mind their somewhat perfunctory attitude. Instead, he paced back and forth, muttering something to himself.
Mei glanced at him with disdain, then turned to look at the Konoha stands, staring blankly into space.
The Mizukage-sama's request... I'll have to be the one to complete it, Kisame thought.
As he was thinking, his gaze also couldn't help but turn toward the Konoha side, at the young man who was sitting in his chair with his eyes closed, resting.
Soon, the short break was over.
When Kyosuke slowly opened his eyes, the pairings for the semi-finals had been revealed.
First Match: Yugito Nī vs. Kisame Hoshigaki.
Second Match: Uchiha Kyosuke vs. Mei Terumī.
The moment the list was announced, the four of them almost simultaneously looked at each other.
Kyosuke looked at the list and thought with a slight laugh, The Two-Tails versus the Tailed Beast without a Tail? Another interesting fight.
As for his own battle with Mei Terumī, Kyosuke was not too worried.
As mentioned before, a speed-type contestant like him was a perfect counter to a turret-type, output-focused contestant. Especially since Mei's ninjutsu had not yet reached a certain scale, this counter was particularly obvious.
Although the current Kyosuke could not use the Body Flicker Technique frequently, as long as he could catch Mei's opening, he could end the match in an instant.
As for Mei Terumī, she was also staring at Kyosuke intently.
I'm finally facing you, Uchiha Kyosuke.
Kisame Hoshigaki, however, ignored Yugito's gaze. Instead, he lowered his head and whispered comfortingly to the restless Samehada, "Don't worry, I'll let you eat your fill in a little while."
Hearing Kisame's words, Samehada gradually quieted down. However, from the way it was trembling slightly, it was clear that it was just barely holding back.
It had been many years since it had left the Three-Tails, Isobu, and tasted the chakra of a Tailed Beast. That was why it was so impatient.
To this, Kisame, as its wielder, was well aware, even though he was only Samehada's temporary user at this time.
However, the seemingly innate compatibility between them made a thought arise in Kisame's heart.
I... wish I were Samehada's true master.
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