Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

Hyuga Chinano straightened her slightly messy blue-black short hair, placing one hand in front and the other behind, assuming a fighting stance once again. The Eight Trigrams diagram appeared instantly beneath her feet. Her serious expression made it clear—she wasn't taking Uzumaki Zixu lightly. She was in her strongest stance right from the start. If it weren't for the insane chakra drain of keeping her Byakugan activated, she would've turned it on immediately. Facing Zixu head-on would've been the safer bet.

Seeing Chinano ready for battle, Zixu decided to get serious as well. At the very least, he had to use some of his strength. They all knew how strong Zixu really was, but throwing the match too obviously would be disrespectful.

"Alright, come at me." Zixu stretched his muscles, rolling his shoulders as he got into a serious fighting stance. A light breeze ruffled the edges of his clothes. He glanced up at the sky—it was getting darker, but there was still time before the sun fully set.

The wind carried a few fallen leaves between them. As soon as the last leaf hit the ground, both fighters moved at the exact same time, launching toward each other with unspoken understanding.

"Wait—wait, you guys just started without me calling it? Ugh, whatever..." Aburame Hatsuizumi pouted, puffing her cheeks in frustration as she sat down, watching the fight unfold.

Chinano struck first. She remained firmly planted, the Eight Trigrams diagram shifting beneath her as she gathered chakra into her palms. Her stance was solid, her arms moving with precision as she unleashed a barrage of invisible chakra blasts.

"Eight Trigrams Palm!"

The energy from the technique was invisible to the naked eye. Only those with dojutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan could track the attacks properly. But Zixu didn't need a bloodline limit—his heightened senses were enough. He could feel the air tremble as the chakra waves shot toward him.

He considered taking the hits head-on but decided against it. With a swift step, he shifted his footing, pushing off with his back leg to dodge mid-air, evading the chakra-infused strikes entirely.

Without missing a beat, Zixu closed the gap, sprinting toward Chinano to engage in close combat—the domain where he excelled.

However, as he approached, the Eight Trigrams diagram beneath Chinano's feet expanded, slowly wrapping around him.

"Byakugan!" Chinano's left eye flared to life, veins bulging as her field of vision expanded. Through her Byakugan, she could see... Zixu was wearing blue boxers today?—Wait, no, she was getting distracted. She focused, analyzing the flow of chakra in his body. But Zixu's physical build was too formidable. His sheer muscle density made it difficult to see through him completely. Still, the visible meridians on the surface were enough.

"Hm?" Zixu felt something odd—a slight impact on his back. He turned slightly, noticing that several small stones had risen from the ground, shooting toward him at high speed. Normally, Chinano would have aimed them at an opponent's tenketsu to block their chakra flow, but against someone like Zixu, the effect was negligible.

"So this is how the Hakke Mon technique works... She wasn't even using her full power against me," Hatsuizumi murmured, slightly taken aback. But she wasn't discouraged. She was following Zixu's training plan, and she was confident she wouldn't fall behind.

Her gaze shifted back to the battle. Despite Chinano's precise attacks, they seemed like mere child's play against Zixu. Yet, he still dodged, making it seem like the strikes were actually pushing him back. Hatsuizumi knew better.

"Tch... This guy is acting again. He always does this—pretending like he's running out of stamina, like we just need to push a little harder to land a hit."

But something felt... off. Hatsuizumi couldn't pinpoint it, but there was a slight shift in Zixu's presence. He seemed... sharper.

The fight continued. Chinano, seeing her stone barrage wasn't effective, stopped holding back. Her right eye flickered, turning crimson as she activated her Genjutsu. Scarlet chakra pulsed from her eye, meeting Zixu's gaze directly.

Zixu blinked.

...Something felt weird.

It wasn't like being trapped. No overwhelming force was invading his mind. Instead, it felt like someone had... licked his brain? That was the only way to describe it—like getting hit with cake frosting. There wasn't even a second of disorientation. He was fine.

Wait.

"Should I act like I got caught in the illusion? What's the correct reaction? Do I just stand here looking like an idiot?"

Zixu hesitated. If he just broke out immediately, wouldn't that be awkward? He decided to play along, standing still and acting dazed.

Seeing him freeze, Chinano was momentarily confused.

Wait... the illusion was supposed to make him mistake a rock for her, so why was he looking directly at her?

Hyuga Chinano felt a bit uncertain under Zixu's gaze, so she cast another illusion on him. However, this time, Zixu felt even less affected. Forget the sensation of a creamy face—he didn't even feel like he was being brushed by air.

Chinano's illusion attack was like a small sum of money thrown into the stock market. It wasn't completely lost, but it also yielded no results.

"I shouldn't have any resistance to illusions... I thought I could withstand them with my physical body, but now I seem completely immune?"

Zixu remained still, deep in thought. This was a perfect opportunity to figure out why illusions weren't affecting him.

"Could it be the awakening of Conqueror's Haki? If that's the case, then it must provide me with some kind of spiritual foundation, making me immune to certain illusions."

Without a solid explanation, he simply attributed it to his Haki. But he didn't stay idle for long. Something felt off—Chinano hadn't attacked yet. Choosing not to waste time, he launched forward.

Seeing Zixu finally move, Chinano's mind filled with questions.

When I didn't use an illusion, he stood there like he was under my control. But when I poured all my strength into it, he rushed at me as if nothing happened... Was there a delay in my technique?

She pushed those thoughts aside. The battle in front of her was more important. Chinano shifted her focus back to Zixu and stopped maintaining the Bagua Formation beneath her feet. Since her Qimen techniques had little effect, she decided to go all in on physical combat.

"As expected... Zixu's going to take control of the fight again."

Aburame Hatsuizumi observed the two about to engage in close combat, his expression unfazed. It always played out this way. Zixu didn't rely on complex techniques—just pure, overwhelming physical ability. His simple, almost unreasonable approach always crushed his opponents.

No one had ever found a way to counter it.

Even though Zixu had a habit of coming up with excuses to forfeit right before victory, they all knew who the real winner was.

"Soft Fist!"

As they closed the distance, both activated their Gentle Fist techniques. Chinano bent her elbows slightly backward, shifting her left hand from a fist to an open palm, fingers pointing downward and palm facing forward. Her right hand was raised high, palm turned sideways, ready to follow up.

Zixu mirrored her stance, but his body leaned forward, left elbow raised to block while his right hand was poised to strike.

Boom!

Their attacks clashed, the impact shaking dust from the ground. Both took half a step back before colliding again.

Chinano executed her technique exactly as her family had taught her, making it somewhat formulaic. Zixu, on the other hand, seemed to have a deep, instinctual understanding of physical combat—likely influenced by Kaido's physique. His combat IQ was absurdly high. He always reacted in the fastest and most precise way, like it was muscle memory.

Just like in their previous exchanges, Zixu intercepted Chinano's attack with his elbow while extending his forearm to interrupt her next move. Then, with one swift counter, he began tilting the battle in his favor.

Unlike Chinano, Zixu didn't have the Byakugan, so he couldn't pinpoint acupoints with absolute accuracy. However, thanks to the human acupoint chart Chinano had provided, he could still land effective strikes.

In return, Chinano learned practical combat skills from Zixu, while Zixu absorbed theoretical knowledge from her.

Their battle turned into a full-blown clash of fists and flesh.

Thanks to the insect-body training provided by Aburame Hatsuizumi, Chinano's physical endurance had improved significantly. She wasn't easily overwhelmed by Zixu's raw power—at least, as long as he held back.

"Huff... huff..."

Chinano stood panting, gulping for air like a fish out of water. Her entire body was drenched in sweat, her shirt sticking to her skin.

In contrast, Zixu stood there completely unfazed, an intimidating aura subtly radiating from him.

Unnoticed by either of them, the night had crept in. The stars and moon had claimed half the sky, while the sun clung stubbornly to the western hills, reluctant to give up the last traces of daylight.

Chinano lay on the ground, exhausted. Sweat glistened over her entire body. Standing over her, Zixu looked down with a slight smirk.

Before Aburame Hatsuizumi could guess what excuse Zixu would use to forfeit this time, Zixu simply smiled.

"I win."

He extended a hand toward the worn-out Chinano. She looked at it for a moment before reaching out.

"I thought you'd come up with another excuse to throw the fight," she muttered as he helped her up.

Aburame Hatsuizumi dusted off Chinano's clothes before poking at Zixu.

"You're acting a little different today."

"Oh? How so?"

"Your presence feels... different. Like a fish turning into a baby dragon."

"Hahahaha, really?" Zixu laughed. "Let's not overthink it. You and Chinano should go take a bath."

"Yeah, definitely," Hatsuizumi agreed. "Oh, right, my moonlight bugs need to absorb some moonlight..."

He released a few dimly glowing insects. Under the moonlight, they flapped their wings slowly, their tails gradually lighting up like faint blue fireflies.

"See? Moonlight bugs can also work as night lights. Cool, right?"

"Yeah, really impressive," Chinano mumbled, still exhausted.

"Hey, that sounded way too half-hearted!"

"I mean it, it's amazing."

Under the soft glow of the moonlight and the shimmering bugs, the three walked home, laughing and chatting. The sounds of insects filled the grassy fields around them.

For the first time in a long while, Zixu smiled—genuinely.

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