Naruto: Talent Entry Perks

"It's coming!"

The five Sound ninja just flew out from the forest. Before reaching the Uchiha territory, they saw a figure flying ahead in the sky.

"A flying ninja, it's that Izayoi who defeated Gaara of the Sand in the Chunin Exams."

"Be careful, that guy has a secret Wood Release technique—Storm Release Secret Technique. It's long-range and very powerful."

Looking at Izayoi in the sky, the four Sound ninja immediately recognized him and quickly warned each other.

Kaguya Kimimaro took a photo out from his pocket, glanced at it, then looked up at Izayoi again. After confirming the figure wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, he tossed the photo aside and said, "You guys go find Uchiha Sasuke, I'll deal with him."

With those words, Kaguya Kimimaro raised his hand toward Izayoi and whispered, "Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Piercing Bullets!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Tiny holes opened at his fingertips, and bone fragments shot out like bullets.

The bones kept firing and regenerating. Within just a few breaths, a barrage formed—like a swarm of bees—firing violently at Izayoi.

The four Sound ninja didn't waste time. Almost at the exact moment Kaguya Kimimaro attacked, they transformed into afterimages, splitting left and right, preparing to bypass Izayoi in the sky and capture the chakra still behind—Uchiha Sasuke.

Izayoi did not stop them, his eyes locked on Kaguya Kimimaro through the barrage, focused.

Suddenly, several bubbles appeared around Kaguya Kimimaro—two purple and three blue.

Bloodline Limit: Shikotsumyaku (Purple)

E-rank Talent (Purple)

Chakra Control (Blue)

Taijutsu Genius (Blue)

Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)

Seeing the E-rank Talent (Purple) bubble, Izayoi's eyes showed a hint of regret.

Thanks to the Earth Curse Seal, more precisely natural energy, Kaguya Kimimaro had clearly completed a heavenly defiance.

At just fifteen years old, he was just entering a period of rapid growth.

If not for the blood disease, by the time of Shippuden, his strength might have become the top figure in the ninja world.

To have ties with the Ōtsutsuki clan and be a genius oneself, he was not a simple opponent.

Unfortunately, Kaguya Kimimaro now was just a flash before death, unable to realize that potential.

Even if he did nothing, once he returned to the Sound Village—if he even made it back—he might die halfway.

But for now, this might just be Izayoi's lucky moment.

The gambler's moment had arrived!

Izayoi raised a hand and slapped: "Raging Wind Palm!"

A roaring gale twisted the air like a giant hand, slapping away the incoming barrage.

Immediately, Izayoi descended.

Seeing Izayoi giving up the advantage of flight and not trying to fight in the air, Kaguya Kimimaro was slightly stunned, but time was short, so without thinking much, he charged toward Izayoi.

During this, many black markings appeared on Kaguya Kimimaro's body, spreading like ink, glowing red.

When the glow faded, his pale skin turned dark brown with black spots on his face, a hump rose on his back, several huge white bone spikes and a tail grew out, resembling a humanoid lizard.

Curse Seal Level Two!

With little time left, Kaguya Kimimaro seemed to sense the strong aura from Izayoi and went all out.

He pulled out his spine from behind, controlling the hard bones into a flexible whip, striking at Izayoi.

Izayoi, who had just landed, smiled: "Yours is not big enough. Let me show you something bigger."

He raised his hand and shouted, "Wood Release: Exploding Spear Tree!"

His arm twisted, and many wooden vines burst from the ground like snakes out of a cage, smashing the incoming bone whip, quickly wrapping and growing, instantly forming a giant tree attempting to swallow the narrowing-eyed, shocked Kaguya Kimimaro.

But Kaguya Kimimaro, now a humanoid lizard, moved incredibly fast. He dodged the tree's swallow with a flash.

Not only that, he used the tree's cover to flash to Izayoi's left side, his spine extending into spear-like arrows, shooting at Izayoi's head.

Without turning his head, Izayoi caused a hard root to burst from the ground, pushing away the bone arrows and blocking Kaguya Kimimaro's vision.

"Wood Release: Diamond Crushing Tree!"

"…Too weak."

Izayoi's voice came from behind, shocking Kaguya Kimimaro, who quickly controlled his bones to form sharp spikes breaking through his back, turning himself into a porcupine.

Boom—

The spikes had just appeared when a terrifying explosion sounded.

Izayoi appeared instantly behind Kaguya Kimimaro and punched out.

The spikes failed to pierce Izayoi's fist, blocked by a blue flame that appeared.

The blue flame twisted into shockwaves that instantly shattered the bone spikes, harder than steel.

The shockwave slammed back onto Kaguya Kimimaro, blasting him away.

"Good… so strong!"

Kaguya Kimimaro spat blood as he flew back. His internal organs churned violently, and even with a bone membrane protecting him, he couldn't resist the impact.

After landing, looking at the overwhelmingly powerful Izayoi, despair filled his eyes.

This opponent was on a completely different level.

Even with Curse Seal Level Two, he was no match. The four Sound ninja definitely weren't a challenge either.

Thinking this, Kaguya Kimimaro's eyes hardened. He made a decision.

He just needed to stall a bit.

According to the information from Mr. Kabuto, Uchiha Sasuke had just awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan. Such power was no match for the four Sound ninja.

He only needed to buy them some time!

"Arghhh…"

Kaguya Kimimaro suddenly let out a beast-like roar. His body flickered red again, then channeled most of the chakra—mostly suppressed with medicine—into the earth.

His face twisted in a fierce snarl as he shouted, "Shikotsumyaku: Early Fern Dance!"

The ground trembled slightly.

"What's going on?"

"This place is… the Southern Naga River?!"

"Is Uchiha Sasuke training ninjutsu there?"

"Such an evil aura, not like Yin Release chakra. I think I sensed something similar before… Damn! Quickly notify—Orochimaru's men have infiltrated Konoha, and they are fighting Uchiha Sasuke."

Without any barrier to block it, this sudden terrifying chakra surge immediately caught the attention of the sensory team.

Even some sensory ninjas at the city's outskirts turned pale, looking toward the forest where birds flew away startled.

Soon, a group of ninjas who received the order via radio transformed into afterimages too fast for the naked eye and sped toward the Uchiha territory.

Their speed was so fast that in no time, they arrived in the forest.

Sure! Here's a natural, smooth English version of your text written like a normal novel passage:

The scene shifted back to the battlefield.

As Kaguya Kimimaro's roar echoed through the air, rows of massive bone spikes suddenly erupted from the ground like crashing white waves, surging toward Izayoi to overwhelm him.

Their speed was astonishing—so fast that even though Izayoi could fly, he couldn't instantly escape their deadly reach.

Yet, Izayoi showed no intention of dodging.

He calmly faced the immense white tide—the kind of technique that could easily kill any non-flying ninja—and clapped his hands with a smile.

"An impressive move. Such a masterpiece deserves an equally fitting reply."

Blue chakra flared explosively around him.

Then, with a shout, he called out the name of a world-altering jutsu:

"Wood Release… Advent of the World Tree!"

A powerful tremor shook the entire battlefield, spreading to the Uchiha clan lands and the surrounding forest.

Sasuke Uchiha and Karin, who were already locked in battle against the five Sound ninjas and holding the upper hand, as well as the Konoha shinobi rushing full speed toward the Uchiha territory, all felt the earth shake beneath their feet.

Suddenly, an incredible sight unfolded before their eyes.

Massive green trees, like ancient colossal serpents awakening from beneath the earth, burst through the soil, rising tall and proud like mighty rivers of wood.

The trees in the forest were already huge—each one thick enough to be embraced by several people.

But compared to these towering newcomers, they looked like saplings standing next to giants.

The giant trees continued to grow and spread, their trunks thickening and twisting, forming a rolling green wave that could rival the infamous Death Forest.

The Konoha ninja watching trembled in awe.

One of them whispered in disbelief:

"Wood… Release!"

Before others could react, a ninja's expression suddenly turned serious, shouting urgently:

"The technique's range is too vast! Fall back, now!"

More giant trees erupted, their massive trunks pushing others aside, forcing the slower growing ones to bend and tilt, forming a vast green tide that turned the open ground into dense forest.

This surge swallowed the surrounding woods and even parts of the Uchiha territory, toppling many buildings in its path.

Even Sasuke, Karin, and the Sound ninjas fighting nearby were overwhelmed by the green wave.

Fortunately, the main direction of the technique's advance was toward the Nanga River.

Had it swept toward the Uchiha lands directly, the entire clan's territory might have been wiped out.

Even so, the area affected destroyed about one-tenth of the Uchiha lands.

Countless smaller trees were crushed under the giant trunks, and wildlife fled desperately but could not escape being engulfed.

When the dust finally settled, the sight was breathtaking.

From the perspective of the Konoha ninja, a forest of towering world-tree level giants now stood before them.

The nearby original forest looked like a small patch of chives next to a vast rice field.

Even ninjas and villagers on the outskirts of the town could clearly see this astonishing miniature forest.

"Look, what is that?" someone asked.

Before the others could respond, a figure pointed toward the sky.

Under the glowing sunset, a silhouette, tiny compared to the towering trees, flew over the forest canopy.

"A bird? No… it's a person!"

"A flying ninja—that must be the genius who developed the Storm Release ultimate technique."

"I remember he's a red-anbu apprentice, Sasuke's classmate and close friend."

"They say his chakra is incredibly strong, suspected to be a prodigy with a skipped-generation awakened bloodline."

"Wait…"

As everyone shared what they knew, realization struck them all at once.

Their faces froze in disbelief.

"Could it be…?"

One ninja gawked, staring at the figure in the sky who was now gathering a swirling blue-white energy sphere.

Though the words went unspoken, everyone understood what was about to happen.

All eyes locked on Izayoi with an intense, almost reverent fervor.

Meanwhile, Izayoi was completely unaware of their reactions.

He raised his hand and condensed a super-typhoon linked energy orb.

Infusing it with water, lightning, and fire elemental changes, the blue-white sphere quickly transformed into a flowing, blazing blue energy ball.

"鸣光炮 — Sonic Light Cannon!"

Izayoi gave Kaguya Kimimaro a grand farewell and decided to take a gamble to see if he could increase his critical hit chance.

Unlike the expansive energy spread of Storm Release: Judgment, this massive blue beam wasn't a simple electrical or heat attack.

It contained a destructive power infused with flowing flame light.

Though it only added one elemental change beyond the original technique, its power was on a completely different level.

The blue beam shot downward into the forest, striking Kaguya Kimimaro who was bound and suspended beneath a giant tree branch like a stationary target.

BOOM—

An earth-shattering explosion roared through the air.

Even those in the city center heard it like distant thunder.

People on the outskirts saw a towering mushroom cloud rising from the forest.

Through the dust and smoke, Izayoi's eyes—hidden behind his pale blue, rinnegan-like pupils—locked onto the spot where Kaguya had been.

Kaguya Kimimaro and the surrounding giant trees were pulverized, reduced to dust and mist.

Izayoi had given up his high-grade puppet, gambling everything on this one move.

If he lost, it would mean wasting a huge amount of chakra and losing a powerful puppet.

If he won, he would gain a new talent trait perfectly aligned with the Ōtsutsuki bloodline—potentially evolving into a powerful bloodline tier or even becoming a core component for synthesized bloodline abilities.

His heart raced like a gambler going all-in.

Seconds later, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He had struck gold.

Two beams of light—one purple, one blue—appeared in the thick dust, visible only to him.

They flew toward him and merged into his body.

Clenching his fist, Izayoi awaited the verdict.

"Ding! You have obtained talent trait [Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]. Merge or decompose with your existing trait?"

"Ding! You have obtained talent trait [Bloodline Limit: Corpse Bone Pulse (Purple)]. Merge or decompose?"

"Merge—merge everything!"

Fearing to lose points, Izayoi chose to merge all traits.

He clenched his fist tightly and swung his arm with force.

He had won.

With a 50% chance of either getting a good trait or nothing, Izayoi finally hit the jackpot after only once before seeing double blue traits.

His mood soared with joy.

At the same time, the battle between Sasuke, Karin, and the Sound ninjas reached its conclusion.