Chapter 8
"The Place Where Heroes Gather"
Time Skip - Years Later
"Oi! Do you have the stuff?" A gruff voice was heard through the small alley-way.
"Do you have the money?" A more sophisticated person appeared from the other end of the alley. He wore a suit and rectangle glasses. "Let's hurry this up before that masked freak arrives..."
"What are you talking about?" His client replied. "Masked freak? Who is that?"
Sighing at the ignorance of the person, the glasses wearing man decided to go with a brief explanation. "For the past two years, the Chinese Mafia has been the target of a Masked Vigilante. Our bosses believe this person may be apart of the Phoenix Alliance since one of their Masters are stationed here. However, we wouldn't dare mess with them...yet, at least. For now, we're just sticking with subtler approaches..."
"Heh! If someone like that appears, I'll take care of 'im." The Mafia representative only scoffed but didn't mind his foolishness.
"Whatever...now, the money?"
Just as they were going to exchange items, a distorted voice spoke from the alley-way roof. "You shouldn't do that." The two looked up, one curious - the other, horrified. The suit wearing man blanched.
"Huh? Who's there?" The gruff voice muttered. "Oh! So you must be the 'vigilante' this guy was talking about..." He scanned the person's frame. "You seem a bit small."
"Shit!" The Mafia guy then yelled back to his back up. "We're getting out of here!"
"Nuh uh. I won't fall for that this time. I made sure to take out your crew before I showed up here."
"Damn you, Xinku!" Was the only bitter reply, "We'll have your head for this!"
Sitting still on top of the alley-way building was a figure of sixty-two inches (5'1). The figure wore a black cloak that had a red cloud design and a black mask (with white lines cutting across the eye holes).
"Yeah. Right." Drawled the masked fighter. "The local police will find your incarceration a bit convenient, I'm sure. Since you do direct most of the Mafia around here..."
"Hmph!" The client smirked up. "Why don't you come do-"
She quickly appeared right next to him, "-wn here." His eyes widened. "What the-" A single punch struck his abdomen, knocking the air from his stomach. As he was on all fours, Xinku brought her left leg up and landed a hard axe kick to the back of the client's head.
"Now then...I believe your name was Quan Lun? Come with me peacefully or I'll have to subdue you. Painfully."
The vigilante almost sounded bored in that moment.
"You'll never take me alive!" The idiot began to run. Xinku only shook her head as she watched the idiot move as if he were in slow motion.
"Bad guys are so predictable."
It didn't take long for her to catch him.
Hakubi's Restaurant
"Why the long face, Honoka?"
Hakubi had not changed one bit in three years. He was still old and he was still bald in terms of general appearance. Honoka noticed though - that the old man seemed a lot happier than before and she knew the reason.
Honoka hated that reason. But that wasn't important. If Hakubi was happy, who was she to complain? Old men could get lonely after all.
Unlike Hakubi, Honoka did show marvelous growth. She now stood at sixty-two inches and her hair was kept as round as usual. The girl's outfit did not change too much, now having a larger version of her hooded black jacket and school uniform beneath.
"The job I took the other day..."
"Ah." The old man nodded, "I see. You don't have to do those favors, my dear; I have plenty of other Phoenix Alliance members I could ask."
The girl shook her head. "That's not it. I don't mind doing Phoenix Alliance jobs. You do pay me for it after all. It's just - I've been getting bored lately."
Her skills had grown astronomically in her five years as a martial artist. Previously scary things like thugs didn't even warrant any fear from her. Guns also didn't scare her like they used to - depending on who held them of course. Those things were only as dangerous as the person using them.
But she had very few opponents to test her skills against in a true battle.
Life was just getting very stale recently.
"A fighter's dilemma indeed. It's tough but you must remain patient, silly girl. Besides, you are still in your springtime of youth. No need to rush anything." Hakubi replied. "I'm sure you already know but if you need a sparring partner-" A red streak flew past him and launched right at Honoka from the side-door. The brunette side-stepped the streak and threw a reverse elbow in the direction of the attack - clashing her joint evenly with an open palm.
"Tch." Was all Honoka heard. "Well, well, you're back already. I guess it was an easy mission."
"Hm. Coming from the girl that's stuck on waitress duty instead of fighting. Your talk is bigger than your skills." Honoka quipped back snidely. The two girls glared at each other with such intensity that Hakubi could literally see the sparks flying in between. Renka and Honoka had a very interesting (and extremely violent) relationship. Ever since their first meeting, they had crossed fists and that did not ever stop being a constant. When their insults began to cross certain lines, Hakubi was sure that more than a few bruises would be the result.
But he was sure they secretly considered each other as friends.
"Grah!" They began insulting each other again.
Hakubi pinched his nose and considered his last thought.
Maybe they secretly considered each other as friends.
Maybe.
"What's with those bells on your hair anyway? They're so huge! I bet you just demand attention from scoundrels. Dirty skank!"
"What the- Better than being a flat chest little bitch like you!"
"Oh yeah, I bet you just love it when you're surrounded by-"
"You take that bac-"
Renka pulled back her fist and Honoka prepared herself to intercept it.
"ENOUGH!" Hakubi roared at them with an infusion of ki. The two girls stopped their squabbling and turned to the old man. "Good. Now then, let's have some tea." He beckoned them to a private table upstairs. One of the employees, the now thirteen-year old girl recognized as a Phoenix Alliance member, was the one to serve them. He nodded to her in acknowledgment.
It was two years ago when Honoka began to do missions for the Phoenix Alliance. The decision was made on a whim after a day of training when she was moaning and groaning about lack of suitable opponents (that didn't have annoying blue hair). Other than Renka, Honoka had no equal in her realm of skills. There were just too few who could match her speed, even her old friend Haku could no longer spare time because of his new duties as orphanage caretaker.
Doing missions for the Alliance earned her recognition among some Chinese Clans. They didn't know who her Master was but most didn't care as long as she continued her good work. Xinku, very few knew that Honoka was this person, but those that did often gave her subtle looks and smiles. She was happy for that a bit.
"You two have grown so much." Hakubi gushed whimsically. "I remember like it was only yesterday when Naruto brought you here for the first time. You've changed so much."
He then turned to Renka. "And you, my dear niece, have also grown well. I remember the cute little fireball that would always chase her father around asking to go to the lake. You were so adorable..."
The two girls sweat-dropped at his sudden random remarks about the past.
"Is he drunk?" Honoka whispered very quietly to her arch rival. Said teen shook her head, "It's too early..." Renka whispered back.
Hakubi pretended to not be offended. "The point is, the two of you have grown to become powerful young women and I could not be any prouder. However-" He flared his immense ki. "-you both are now forbidden from fighting inside this restaurant! If you want to fight, take it outside! Especially when we have customers. You are scaring them away with your little squabbles!"
"Yes, Uncle Hakubi. Sorry, Uncle Hakubi." They chorused lamely, making his eyes twitch.
"Troublesome young girls..." He muttered and took another sip of tea. He spared a glance at Honoka. "You've somehow inherited your Master's recklessness."
The girl only beamed back at him.
Shirahama Residence
"Because of that, I'm thinking about living at the dojo during weekends."
"What the you mean, 'because of that'?! Explain it more clearly!"
And that was the scene Honoka walked into as soon as she returned home. Her brother seemed to be verbally confusing their father, who was insisting that he explain why the first year high-school student needed to live at a dojo during weekends.
"Dojo?" Honoka mentally questioned. "Oh right, the place he wanted me to go help him find! Huh, I wonder which one he wanted to go to...I never asked him."
The truth was, Honoka had been so proud of her brother that she didn't even bother researching what dojo he went to. The mere idea that he was taking martial arts more seriously intrigued her - and to attend a dojo was the best way to truly improve. It was a lot better than the stupid Karate club he frequented for most of school.
"What's goin' on?" She spoke up. "What's this I hear about a dojo?"
"Your brother wants to stay at his dojo for the weekends from now on." Her mother seemed skeptical. No one blamed her, it was odd to hear her son be so adamant about his Karate hobby.
Honoka regarded those words for a second with interest. "Really?" She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Cool."
"Glad someone is enthusiastic about it!" Kenichi smiled at her support. "Whelp, gotta go!" He finished his clever escape through the house window. Honoka sweat-dropped at the sheer dramatics of the situations.
"I'm kind of worried." Saori Shirahama twiddled. "I'm glad that he's finally found a calling but recently, he's been returning home beaten and battered."
That wasn't unfamiliar with Honoka. "Hm..."
"Could you follow him?"
Honoka grinned and shrugged. "I guess. I'll let you know if what I see anything interesting." Saori smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. She was always so reliable that sometimes, it was hard to tell which of the siblings was older and younger. The girl was the pride and joy of the family.
"Thank you dear."
Ryouzanpaku
"W-what's this?!"
"I call it the Joint Crate! It is a machine I have invented to further improve your flexibility. Although I want to teach you fighting techniques, it is essential that you work on this aspect of your body. There is no such thing as a martial artist with a stiff body!" The deep, convincing voice of Koetsuji Akisame explained. "For the first day, we must work on flexibility."
Kenichi seemed to be struggling to get lower in his stretch. "I'm so sick of this. But I have to trust him..."
"Here, let me help." He then felt two, nice supple breasts against his back. Flushing slightly, Kenichi sputtered out. "M-miu-san!"
"Let's do this slowly."
Had he been more clever, that comment would have triggered many naughty thoughts.
"O-ow!"
"Now then, Miu, make sure to do this properly. Otherwise, he will experience some...'slight' pain. My calculations tell me that it will be approximately sixteen hours until he can do a perfect one-eighty split."
"Hai!" She responded. "Come on Kenichi-san, you can do this!"
Akisame walked out gracefully to leave the two to work. Taking on a student had surprisingly made the dojo much more lively. It was definitely a positive change to the previous, solemn atmosphere that dominated the place for the most part. Even Shigure was becoming more active in place - the young Master no longer acted completely inept at socialization.
He was kind of grateful that Miu brought home her newest friend.
Even if he was completely and utterly talent-less in martial arts.
Knock. Knock.
Akisame seemed a bit taken back. "A guest?" He mused out loud. "At this time?"
He watched Apachai make his way to the door. The Jiujitsu Master briefly wondered if he should have gone instead of the often intimidating Muay Thai Master. "Hi!" He said very loudly.
Stepping into the gate was a girl that looked almost exactly like their disciple - with few noticeable differences like gender and height. At first glance, she seemed like an innocent little girl, but Akisame sensed something deeper in her eyes. Being a Master, he had the presence of mind to identify any nearby martial artist - no matter how hard they tried to hide it. No matter how hard somebody tried to hide their intentions, a Master could always feel the presence of a nearby fighter, no matter if their intentions are good or bad.
This girl made no such attempts though. She had no reservations at all - if her slight ki spike didn't show that she was seasoned, then Akisame was a complete novice. And the world knew that the latter was not the case. However, the tall man doubted the girl even knew that he knew she was a martial artist.
Ah, to be a Super Master.
"Hello, my name is Shirahama Honoka." She bowed politely with a soft smile. "It is an honor to meet one of Ryouzanpaku's great Heroes."
The girl had been absolutely stunned when she tracked down her brother to the Legendary Dojo. Only a completely ignorant fool didn't know of the Super-humans that dwelled here.
Well, maybe not completely ignorant. It wasn't like the media talked about the Martial Arts realm on the news or anything. But those who had a firm grasp of the fighting world knew of the great Heroes of Ryouzanpaku. They all knew of the Invincible Superman, Furinji Hayato and the Philosophical Jiujitsu Master, Koetsuji Akisame. They were very famous Katsujinken practitioners who were quite renowned.
"U-Uh...Hi! My name is Apachai Hopachai!" The Thai man didn't know what to say beyond that. "Welcome!"
Akisame decided to step in and the girl immediately bowed. "You are very polite, much more so than your brother."
"Thank you sir. You must be..."
"Ah, Koetsuji Akisame. The man next to you-"
Honoka tensed ever so slightly when she felt the presence appear so suddenly. "So fast!" She felt a single drop of sweat fall down her brow.
"- is Ma Kensei."
"MA KENSEI?!" She screamed in her mind but did not show it on her face. "It is an honor to meet the Grand General of the Phoenix Alliance." She spoke in perfect Chinese dialect and bowed deeply once again.
Kensei seemed very surprised for a moment, before giving her his usual smile. "Oh - why thank you, young one. You are very knowledgeable." He responded accordingly.
"Thank you, sir." Honoka nodded. "He is way nicer than his skank of a daughter, that's for sure."
"You must be here for your brother." The brunette confirmed that with a nod. "Follow me. He is in the dojo practicing."
She followed him and made sure to take off her shoes before entering the building. Her Master had made sure to ingrain in her mind that being nice and polite went a long way with people. Although this was common sense, he stressed it more so since, and as she would quote him, 'youngsters forget their manners too easily'. First impressions were important after all.
"He is beyond this door." He motioned for her to go first.
Opening the door, Honoka promptly arrived at the image of her brother's red, aroused face as a very beautiful girl attempted to help him complete his stretching exercise. The boy looked up to the new arrival and was so shocked that he exclaimed: "Honoka!"
"Eh!" His surprise was contagious and Miu accidentally pushed too hard, forcing Kenichi all the way down in an instant. What followed after was a cluster of yells and painful groans.
The female Shirahama let out a small giggle.
"ARHGA!" Kenichi screamed. "Oh-oh, that hurts. My leg..." Honoka glanced at it and commented lightly.
"Dislocated your fibula."
"Very good..." Akisame smiled and promptly kicked it back into place, causing more sounds of pain from Kenichi. "You have good eyes, Shirahama-san..."
"Honoka please. There are two Shirahama's here."
"Honoka-san then. You have impressed me. Would you also like to study martial arts here?"
Kenichi tensed and his imaginations began to grind once again. The looks of a despaired and hurt Honoka crying in pain as Apachai accidentally killed her filled his thoughts. "NOOOO!" Kenichi yelled out and formed an x with his arms. "RUN HONOKA! THEY'RE DEMONS!"
She was very amused at the tell-tale signs of his running imagination - she ignored the warning however. Honoka bowed politely. "No thank you sir. I...am currently under someone else's tutelage."
Kenichi let out a sigh of relief. Miu looked at her and brightened immensely. "Oh! You have a younger sister? She's so cute!" Miu walked up and offered her hand. Honoka took it and analyzed her. "Wow." The brunette subtly looked over the blond teen's well carved figure. "I'm surprised Kenichi hasn't begged Mom and Dad to be a home disciple yet. She is smoking hot."
"Shirahama Honoka. Nice to meet you." She said.
"Furinji Miu! And nice to meet you too, Honoka-chan." The blond replied.
"Furinji? Could it be...?" Honoka smiled and took out a bento from her bag. "Mom made one for you, Ken'. But I stopped by a shop and bought some more. How about we have a small lunch break - if you do not mind of course, Sensei." She looked at Akisame.
"I do not mind. But you must redouble your efforts after this, Kenichi-kun!" His eyes gleamed dangerously, scaring the boy.
"Haiiii!"
Honoka giggled and put down her large backpack. Miu lead the group to the dining room and she set up the dishes.
"Eh? What's goin' on?" A booming voice spoke up from behind. Unlike Kensei and Akisame, Honoka could have felt his ki from two miles away. He did not make any effort to hide his general prowess.
It was Miu who answered. "Kenichi-kun's little sister is here for a visit! Honoka-chan."
Honoka was not even slightly intimidated by the man's large stature. "These guys are all humongous." The Super Masters made no effort to hide their power. Only Kensei didn't look the part of a Legendary Hero but oddly enough, he was probably the most famous. Especially in China where people told stories about him through bards.
"It's nice to meet you sir." She inclined her head. "Nice jacket."
"Eh?! Um, thanks. It's my favorite." He replied bashfully and eyed her for a whole second. "Hey, you feel kind of str-"
"So, what are you doing here anyway?" Kenichi mindlessly cut in, not really listening to the conversation in between his small break. "Just visiting?"
Glad for the interruption of a potentially annoying question, Honoka answered. "Mom was a bit skeptical about your intentions here so she asked me to see what's goin' on. I didn't think it was necessary but I was bored...so, I stopped by. That's it."
"You're right as always. It wasn't necessary, I'm working my butt off here." Kenichi sounded more than a little exasperated. Honoka had yet to truly see his training but she could tell it was probably massive. She was not ignorant to her brother's sudden increase in skill. She had caught him practicing evasive maneuvers back at home.
"So...Honoka-san, do you also study Martial Arts?"
She didn't have to answer since Kenichi did. "Yeah. She's been doing Martial Arts for five years now, I think. I don't know where you train though." Everyone looked at the girl, who shrugged.
"Here and there." The deflection was very obvious. She then deadpanned. "I'm not that strong."
"Somehow..." Akisame personally thought, "I highly doubt that."
Her ki was very seasoned compared to Kenichi's. Not even the most experienced Karate club practitioners in High School had a presence like her; and Akisame has had to go through a lot of those since he ran a clinic. Also, the Master was more perceptive than his pupil-less eyes indicated. The girl's body was built very well under her jacket and her legs were toned to a very advanced degree.
All of the other Masters had also noticed this; consciously or not.
"Would you like to stay here until dinner, Honoka-san? You may even watch your brother train and report accordingly to your parents."
The girl shrugged. "Sure." They then indulged in the meal after. "So, what do you all do for fun other than train Ken' here?"
"Us Masters have various hobbies. I love art-" He looked at Sakaki, mentally asking him to take over.
"Uh, I train too. And I drink."
"Apachai likes to play Othello!" The Thai man declared as if it were the most important thing in the world. "Apachai also like to destroy things!"
"Cool." She replied as if that was the most normal thing in the world. "Let's play outside then."
Kenichi had been forced to work harder than ever for some mysterious reason. The difficulty of his exercises had been multiplied by at least two. However, Honoka did not know this since this was the first time she had watched him run through drills.
It was actually a ploy by Akisame to gauge her reactions.
"Hm..." Honoka's gaze alternated between the Othello board and Kenichi's training. Akisame noticed that the girl did not even seem to register how inhuman the training was - something that intrigued him. Could she be completely desensitized to the inhuman training her brother was going through? Or was it something else?
"Good game." Honoka easily defeated Apachai. "Again?"
"Yeah!" He said playfully.
Sakaki noticed something off with the Jiujitsu Master and walked right behind him. "Something wrong?"
The pupil-less man regarded him with a shake of his head. "I am very interested in what the girl can do." He said in a very low tone. "She is strong."
"I feel it too. Think we can convince her to spar with Kenichi?" Sakaki asked. Akisame shook his head.
"No. He would probably go easy on her." He replied. "Maybe Miu...?"
Just as he was about to suggest this though, a large man and a stunning woman walked through the large gates of Ryouzanpaku.
"I'm back..." The woman spoke in monotone and carefully looked at those around her. "Is that thing...Kenichi still alive?"
"Yeah!" Apachai said loudly, and Kensei appeared out of nowhere to attempt a peak at her panties. Honoka sweat-dropped at him, the short man had done it as if he had done so his entire life. Not to mention it was so unlike his Legendary reputation of being a powerful and great man.
"Worried, Shigure?" A huge man asked kindly.
"Not really..."
"I should really thank Kenichi...things have been brighter since he arrived here."
Hayato looked around and spotted a very familiar girl. He faintly recognized her from three years ago.
"Oh ho ho, hello there! We meet again."
Honoka turned around and widened her eyes. It was him! "Hello, Ossan!" She stood up and bowed once again. "I never got to properly thank you for helping me out back then. So...thank you!"
It really was a critical moment in her life; the fateful night at the port where her Master battled an army of young ANBU. Had the man not pointed her in the direction, Haku would have caught up to the girl and dragged her back for sure.
"It was no problem at all, youngster. It is so nice to see you again!" Hayato noticed what all the others had long done so, even Shigure who was now regarding the girl silently. "My, my...she has certainly improved. Experience-wise anyway."
"Do you know each other?!" Sakaki exclaimed loudly. "When was this?!"
"It was just a small thing." Hayato was not ignorant to what might have happened at the port. He had fully known a battle would go down there. The old man wanted to follow her to make sure she was safe back then but by the time he had arrived [after dinner] - the battle had ended and she was home.
He was glad that she was alright.
Was it fate that brought her to him all those years ago?
"I see..." Akisame said. As interested as he was in that 'small thing', he had a plan to conduct. "Actually, I was about to ask Honoka if she would like to spar with Miu here a bit."
"EHHHH?!" Kenichi exclaimed, "WHAT?!"
Miu also seemed surprised by this.
"Oh..." Hayato looked right into Akisame's eyes. "Perhaps another time, Akisame-kun. Dinner is about to begin and Miu must prepare it, correct?"
No one saw it but Akisame widened his eyes by a fraction. "The Master said no?!" It was very uncharacteristic of him to suggest otherwise. Something was up.
Honoka gave the old man a curious look.
"Oh right! I completely forgot!" Miu then ran off to the dojo to do her house duties.
Every single Master had their eyes trained on the Elder - all of them very curious. The blonde Superman just gave them a look that said, 'I'll explain later' and followed his Grand-daughter.
Sakaki and Akisame deflated after that and half-assed the rest of Kenichi's training, both deep in thought.
However, it was Kensei that had his mind running. "She knows of me...and the Elder didn't want us to see her skills. What's going on?"
"So...rematch, Apachai-san?"
His enthusiasm was contagious, despite the many losses that followed. He just got better and better as the games continued.
Later
Dinner was a nice affair. It was amusing for Honoka to watch the Masters steal their disciple's food and call it awareness training.
It ended soon after. "Thank you for having me over." She bowed.
"Feel free to return anytime." Hayato voiced, and the rest of the Masters agreed.
"Tell mom not to worry, Ok?"
His sister nodded and turned to leave, her steps graceful. Kenichi smiled and returned into the dojo to relax a bit.
The other Masters had also turned, except for one Shigure. "Something wrong, Shigure?" Akisame asked lightly.
"The girl..." The monotone Master just said. "She has a hidden weapon on her left arm - strapped under the jacket. On her hands were creases that can only be formed when practicing extensively with a sansetsukon, or a nun-chuck. Most likely the previous..."
"Oh?" Hayato inquired. "Good choice of weapon to make up for small stature."
"No." Shigure disagreed immediately. "Her strides do not agree with that logic..."
The other Masters listened carefully. Most of them would definitely keep a closer eye on the girl even further when she visited next time. Except for Hayato, who already knew everything that needed to be known.
He had seen the man that was her Master three years ago, after all.
The Chronicles of Uzumaki Naruto - 1
"Hm..." A man with stunning blond hair walked by a nice smell. Turning his head, he shrugged to himself and entered the small shop. "A dango place..." There was a kind looking old man cleaning the glass on a table and two other customers to the side, already eating. One of them was a grown teenage girl with purple hair and the other was a lean man with pale skin, long black hair and ominous yellow eyes. The guy looked familiar - but Naruto didn't seem to care. His stomach was all that mattered to him right now.
"Hello, welcome!" A booming voice was heard. "Can I get you anything, sir?"
"Five sets of dango, please." He dropped the required money on the table. "Thank you."
Five minutes later when he was in the middle of his meal, eight thugs walked in and began to make a ruckus. "Hey old man...I see that you have some nice things here. Now why don't you take out your money and give it to me! Also, I want some free dango! My father is very rich and he will destroy this place in an instant if you don't listen to me!"
The old guy quivered and nodded. But before he completed the demanded actions, one of the customers - the purple haired teenager jumped and round-house kicked the snotty thug. "Not on my watch, snotty punk motherfucker!"
Naruto quirked a brow. He had been waiting a moment to intervene but the girl had jumped the gun.
"Who are you, Bitch?!"
"Why don't you and your cronies fuck off! And stay away from here!"
"Kill her! Do it now!" Seven thugs surrounded her in a moment. Naruto watched with intrigue as she easily and efficiently disposed of them. Her movements were sly and subtle, she didn't waste a single movement and all of the attacks were perfectly coordinated with one another. The girl's body moved like that of a viper - and her hands struck like a coiled, angry cobra.
"Not bad..." Naruto mumbled and took another bite of dango. The infamous Master tilted his head slightly when the pale man, who now wore a straw-hat similar to his, gave him a calculative gaze from beside him. Naruto returned it for a whole moment before shrugging and taking another bite of dango.
The pale man did not show any outward expression and promptly turned to face the girl that must have been his disciple. "Stop wasting time, Anko."
"Hai! Orochimaru-sama!"
The two walked out to continue whatever journey they were on. As far as the blonde Master was concerned, the meeting between him and the Legendary Serpent-Whip Master never happened. Ever.
After all, it was lunch time.
END
Honoka meets the Masters. How does she know them? Ryouzanpaku are Legends in the Martial Arts realm. People regard them as, "The Strongest in History" for a reason.
And like I said before, Honoka does not fool the Masters. Kenichi and Miu yes; the Masters, not even close. However, they do not know how good she really is...unless they venture to find out. Only Hayato might have an idea since he did SEE Naruto at the Port. It is very easy to connect dots for a Superman.
I'm sorry I teased a Miu vs. Honoka. I know you hate me for that.
Honoka does some paid favors for Hakubi, meaning she works part-time for the Phoenix Alliance. So in away, she is affiliated with them. Offically, no. Unofficially, yes yes yes.
As for her skills...read and find out!
This was the smoothest chapter to write after I figured out where I wanted to start in canon. It's officially Chapter 15 in the manga but in the anime, I'm not sure. It's when the canon Honoka goes to Ryouzanpaku for the first time. I'm still figuring out what pacing I'm going to go with - but it shouldn't take long to figure that out.
Have a nice day.