Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 56 56 : Outbreak C, Kage-Level Chakra

The east, west, and south were turned to ash. One had their heart pierced. In the end, North had the cleanest death—stabbed straight through the chest.

And only two minutes had passed.

After Riku dispelled his Lightning Style jutsu, he turned to look at Yugao, who was barely holding herself up with her katana. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly into a faint smile.

"Yugao-san, I've avenged you."

Tears stread down Yugao's face. "Yeah…"

"Riku… so you're this powerful?"

She couldn't believe the person from just now was Riku. He had grown far stronger than she'd imagined.

Jōnin didn't even begin to describe it. Yugao was certain that Riku had reached Kage-level strength.

The three enemy ninja had clearly ignited their chakra—their strength had risen to at least Jōnin-level. And yet, within two minutes, all of them had fallen before Riku.

Yugao felt a deep sense of pride at this strength.

Riku walked over to her.

"You're injured," he said after a quick glance.

Yugao wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and gave a small, tired smile. "It's fine. I'm still too weak… Their strength surpassed mine."

Riku didn't argue. He supported Yugao gently, helping her sit down. "Sit. I'll heal you."

Yugao tried to wave him off. "No, go back up Kakashi-senpai and the others. Their side is tougher."

Riku looked over. It was true—the fight on their end was intense. But no clear victor had erged yet.

He smiled. "I'll treat you first. It won't take long."

Yugao hesitated for a mont, then nodded.

As Riku applied dical ninjutsu to her wounds, he said, "Honestly, you shouldn't have co on this mission."

Yugao looked down in sha. "Yeah… I'm not strong enough. Kakashi-senpai and the others can hold their own against those three, maybe even push them back. But I was overwheld by just two Chūnin."

She knew she hadn't been strong enough to take part in this mission.

But she had wanted revenge for her three fallen teammates.

And at the ti, there hadn't been any available Jōnin unrelated to Konoha who could join the operation. She knew these enemies better than anyone.

Even if she hadn't volunteered, the Third Hokage would've sent her anyway.

Riku smiled softly. "Honestly, those ninja used underhanded thods. If they hadn't relied on those twisted jutsu, they would never have been your match. With your Kenjutsu—Konoha-style swordsmanship—you'd have beaten them cleanly."

Of course, he said this to comfort her.

As their enemy, it didn't matter what tricks they used—if they could kill you, then they were stronger. That was reality.

Being a ninja ant living on the edge of life and death. There was no room for fairness.

Yugao, being a mber of the ANBU, understood this better than most.

She gave a bitter smile. "No need to console . I know I'm not as good as they were. But I'll keep training—next ti, I want to have the strength a real Jōnin should."

Riku grinned. "I believe in you, Yugao-san."

It only took Riku about a minute to heal her injuries.

anwhile, Kakashi, Guy, and Yamato were still engaged with A, B, and C.

The battle was deadlocked.

Kakashi's chakra was running low.

He could still suppress A, but the effort cost far more chakra than his opponent.

The match had beco a war of attrition.

Yamato, using Wood Style, had C under control and was steadily pressing him.

Though C had powered up from Chūnin to Jōnin-level in chakra, stamina, speed, and reflexes, he couldn't match Kakashi or Yamato in combat experience—both current and forr ANBU captains.

So being suppressed was no surprise.

On Guy's end, B was completely overwheld. But even with that dominance, Guy couldn't finish him off.

Riku observed closely.

He could see that B was starting to consider burning his chakra to tip the scales against Guy.

During his fight with Kakashi, A finally noticed that East, West, North, and South had all been killed.

He couldn't believe it.

After knocking Kakashi back with a heavy punch, he looked toward Riku—who was standing calmly dozens of ters away, watching him with a relaxed smile.

"That kid… Did he take out all four of them?"

"Damn it. I knew sothing was off. If Konoha sent him on this mission, he couldn't have been just a Genin."

A knew very well—based on what they understood of Yugao's strength, it would've been hard for her to defeat even one of the four lieutenants.

But now, all four were dead. It had to have been Riku.

And he wasn't even showing signs of injury.

Clenching his fists, A forced himself to remain calm as he assessed the situation.

"Damn it. B and C are tied up fighting two Konoha Jōnin. I'm not confident I can take Kakashi alone. Should I burn chakra and go all-out…?"

Catching A's gaze, Kakashi realized the other three had been killed.

He chuckled. "I figured you'd crush them. Just wish I'd seen how you did it with my own eyes."

By now, Kakashi had only about a third of his chakra left.

By standard shinobi protocol, this would be the point to retreat.

But Kakashi knew he couldn't escape this fight.

Then A shouted toward C, who was still battling Yamato. "C! Burn it. Wipe them all out!"

A had made his decision.

He knew that if they stayed too long, they'd be overwheld one by one.

He was ready to sacrifice C to buy ti for escape.

C froze at the command.

He understood exactly what A ant—burn his chakra to its limit and destroy everything.

A suicide technique.

He didn't want to die, but he couldn't refuse the order. Not with the cursed seal on his body.

It could force him to detonate at any ti.

Gritting his teeth, C snarled, "If I'm going to die, I'm taking all of you with !"

He ford a hand seal.

"Restraints—release!"

"Ahhh!"

C roared as he unleashed the seal on his body.

In an instant, his chakra surged explosively.

It spiked to Kage-level—easily on par with high-tier Kage-class ninja.

BOOM—

The ground within a ten-ter radius shattered beneath the pressure of his chakra, the stones crushed into dust.

But C scread in pain.

The power was imnse, but his body strained under the pressure.

Still, he couldn't help but marvel at the strength coursing through him.

"If only this power could be mine forever…"

That was the thought in his mind at the peak of his power.

But he knew—it couldn't last.

The surge of blue chakra cloaked his body like a raging fla.

He locked eyes with his opponent: Yamato.

"You've been suppressing since the start. Now I'll show you what it feels like to be crushed!"

Yamato's expression darkened. He clasped his hands together.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Ergence!"

In an instant, Yamato's arms transford into a flurry of thick wooden branches, lashing out like living serpents toward C.