High-Level Meeting
Humans are composed of body and soul.
At least in the ninja world, the soul is not something ethereal and elusive.
The Second Hokage's Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique both prove that the soul exists. Katsuki also used this to develop the Lightning Release Materialization technique, which involves dividing the soul and injecting it into the lightning derived from one's own Chakra. This allowed him to completely abandon Hand Seals and manipulate lightning at will, thus gaining considerable power.
However, Katsuki was not complacent. His Lightning Release Materialization technique only allowed him to suppress ordinary Jonin. Of course, he could also take on Tailed Beast like Shukaku, who was a bit crazy, if he took some risks. If the Shinobi World could continue to live peacefully like this, he wouldn't mind enjoying life.
But he never forgot that Madara Uchiha was still alive, and that Black Zetsu, that old ghost who had lived for who knows how many years, was secretly making trouble and tirelessly trying to revive Kaguya Otsutsuki.
The Shinobi World is a quagmire, and it's not as simple as just the Five Great Nations openly and covertly fighting each other.
Therefore, he needs even greater power, powerful enough to shatter Madara Uchiha's twisted dreams and crush Kaguya's ambitions.
The Hito Hito no Mi —without a doubt, the only thing that could grant him greater power is the Hito Hito no Mi; it is his greatest trump card.
Not long ago, in order to study the Hito Hito no Mi, he even played with human dissection, dissecting his own hands and legs countless times. However, the final result was completely unsatisfactory. To put it bluntly, apart from almost being able to count the number of pores on his legs, he didn't get any useful results.
He wasn't discouraged. It wasn't the first time he'd failed, and he only felt full after eating eight pancakes. He couldn't say that the first seven pancakes were a waste. It was precisely these failures that laid the foundation for his success.
Now, he has begun researching Medical Ninjutsu as a new way to develop the Hito Hito no Mi.
"Using external Chakra to stimulate cells, the next step is... rapid proliferation of activated cells, wound contraction... followed by granulation tissue growth, capillary proliferation..."
The Shadow Clone carefully observed the healing process of the experimental animals' wounds, verbally describing every change. The Shadow Clone beside them quickly wrote it down. A bad pen is better than a good memory; organizing notes before reading is far more efficient than letting them tangle in one's head.
Hundreds of Shadow Clone were conducting experiments methodically. If you ignored the identical faces, you would think they were a huge research team.
Similarly, while Katsuki was fully immersed in her training, the others were not idle either.
Golden light, seemingly ethereal and illusory, weaved through the dense forest.
Hundreds of red-haired girls swept through like a torrent, tearing apart the ground and destroying trees in their path, pursuing the boy's figure with extreme violence. They unleashed powerful Ninjutsu after Minato, but Kushina managed to dodge them every time, much to Kushina's frustration. She vowed to teach Minato a lesson once she caught him.
Minato sighed with a wry smile, but still did his best to Flying Thunder God Technique to dodge Kushina's attack.
If we don't do this, the training is meaningless.
In the courtyard of the Uchiha Clan, two raging flames collided, causing a tremendous tremor.
The boy and girl opened their crimson eyes wide and slashed at each other without hesitation.
"Water Release: Clear Water Waves"
Nawaki stayed alone on the rocky mountain, creating a large waterfall in this waterless area, which flowed down the steep rock face towards the Hokage Rock.
"Not good!"
Nawaki froze for a moment, then immediately ran off as if its tail was on fire, chasing after the waterfall.
Time flies like an arrow; it passes in the blink of an eye.
Three months have passed since I returned to the village from the Land of Rain.
The war on the front lines has also reached a temporary stalemate. The Sand Ninja, with the geographical advantage of the Land of Wind, has managed to hold out against the Konoha Village's attack. Sakumo is unwilling to fight the Sand Ninja to the death in the desert, so he can only occupy small oases and use them as bases to advance step by step into the heart of the Land of Wind.
Meanwhile, the Stone Ninja and Cloud Ninja were locked in a fierce battle, almost to the point of tearing each other apart.
The Cloud Ninja's attacks were sharp, and they had a large number of Lightning Release Technique ninjas, which was a perfect counter to the Earth Release of Stone Ninja. However, the Iwa Ninjas were fighting on their home turf, and they used their most proficient large-scale group army tactics to fight back against the Cloud Ninja. They clashed many times, and it was still impossible to determine who was stronger. The battle was gradually turning into a war of attrition.
"This is such a mess!"
Danzo shook his head and threw the report back onto the long table.
"I never expected the Cloud Ninja to choose to fight across the sea. What a crazy bunch. The Stone Ninja are unlucky, or rather, they deserve it." Utatane Koharu is still a beauty. Time has not diminished her beauty; instead, it has given her a mature charm. She is undoubtedly a pleasing sight in the conference room.
"He certainly deserved it. There's another thing that's been found out: the Stone Ninja commander killed by Sakumo was the eldest son of the Third Tsuchikage, Kamizuru Otto. The village's intelligence agents in Iwagakure have confirmed this. Moreover, it seems that the Third Tsuchikage, in a fit of anger, personally went to the battlefield against the Cloud Ninja and used Dust Release to wipe out half a battalion of Cloud Ninja." Mitokado Homura made no attempt to hide the gloating in his tone.
"The eldest son of the Third Tsuchikage? Haha, he truly deserves it!"
"No wonder that shorty threw a tantrum! It's hilarious!"
The elders of the Elder Council burst into wild laughter, slamming their fists on the table with deafening force, completely disregarding their image.
That makes sense. Apart from Elder Council and a few others who Hiruzen Danzo, the rest of the elders are all real old men. Many of them were comrades-in-arms who fought alongside the First. Even Hiruzen couldn't do anything about these old men and women.
The Third Tsuchikage, one of the Five Great Kage of the Shinobi World, was reduced to a short dwarf in the old man's mouth. That's incredibly malicious!
Hiruzen and his Danzo are not yet in a position to stand up to Sarutobi and confront him head-on. On the contrary, they sometimes have to stand on the same side as Hiruzen to resist the pressure from these senior figures.
"Let the Cloud Ninja and Stone Ninja fight it out. Hiruzen, find a way to add fuel to the fire. Don't let this show end too quickly!" An old man called out the Third Hokage's name, a sinister smile on his face. "Let more people die, especially those barbarians from the Cloud Ninja. The more the better."
The Third Hokage's lips twitched. The old man who spoke was a teammate of the Second Hokage back then and had always held a grudge over the Second Hokage's death, which was why he Cloud Ninja. Well, he also didn't have any good feelings towards the Cloud Ninja who had chased them down like dogs back then.
"Don't worry, I'll send word to the Cloud Ninja. We'll launch a full-scale attack on the Land of Wind to retaliate against the Sand Ninja for what they did in the Land of Rain."
"That's good, that's good." The old man stroked his tuft of white goatee with satisfaction, his smile and murderous intent shifting and changing, sending chills down the spines of those who saw him.