S-Rank Forbidden Technique Detonation Effect Evaluation (Part 2)

The Hokage swiftly led four Anbu to apprehend the main culprit, Kushina, and her accomplice, Kamishiro Hagoromo.

They now faced serious charges of damaging Konoha's greenery, ecological balance, and water cycle. More seriously, they were also charged with damaging Konoha's protective barrier.

Kushina was a dangerous species capable of threatening Konoha's entire biodiversity. It was not as though she had never done such things before, but this was the first time she had altered the terrain on such a massive scale.

If both charges were upheld, the two ninja would not be convicted of crimes as severe as betraying the village, but they would still face up to three months in prison.

At this moment, the Third Hokage began moonlighting as Konoha's chief justice.

At Konoha Court, no ninja had the right to remain silent, but every word they said could indeed be used as evidence in court.

Inside Konoha's Hokage Office, Kushina and Hagoromo each sat obediently on a small stool beneath the Hokage's desk, enduring the Third Hokage's stern scrutiny.

Kushina knew how serious things were. During wartime, damaging Konoha's barrier was absolutely no trivial matter. This was probably the biggest trouble she had caused all year, so even Red Hot Habanero had to obediently accept the Hokage's lecture.

If enemy ninja had happened to invade Konoha through the damaged section of the barrier, the destruction and consequences would have been unimaginable... so this was a major disaster.

Of course, she did not yet know that within a few days, she herself would break this record for both the scale and severity of her mischief.

Right now, she was only thinking that when necessary, she had to give the Hokage enough face. It would be no fun if she made the old man unable to step down gracefully.

Only after the Hokage had vented his anger could he raise the matter high and set it down lightly, forgiving Kushina and Hagoromo's crimes. Besides, at its core, this had merely been an accident. Strictly speaking, they were heroes who had successfully developed the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.

Well, no matter what others said, the master and disciple both considered themselves heroes. They had made no fundamental mistakes at all, though their accident had caused a tiny bit of undesirable fallout.

Aside from gouging a massive pit into the ground, that tiny bit of undesirable fallout could be described as follows: total collapse of Konoha's barrier within a five-hundred-meter radius, with varying degrees of damage from one thousand to two thousand meters away... that was all.

Yes, those were the consequences of the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique's first test.

At that moment, five Sealing Squads were working frantically to repair Konoha's barrier with the urgency of disaster relief troops.

After smoking eight pipefuls of tobacco, the Third Hokage, seated before them, finally managed to calm himself down.

"Speak, Kushina. What did you do this time? How did the terrain there change? And how was the barrier damaged?"

"The Reconnaissance Squad found no signs of battle there, but they detected a large amount of residual chakra. All of it belonged to you. If it weren't for..."

The Hokage had wanted to say that if he had not failed to sense Nine-Tails Chakra, he would have assumed the Nine-Tails had gone berserk. But considering that Kamishiro Hagoromo, an elementary school student who knew nothing, was present, the Hokage swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

Even the Hokage had to watch his mouth and could not casually reveal important intelligence.

There was no helping it. The Nine-Tails' classification level was simply that high. It was practically equivalent to a nuclear missile silo; its location absolutely could not be exposed.

"Third Hokage, although I do often fool around and cause some bad consequences, this really wasn't intentional. I was conducting a Sealing Technique experiment there," Kushina said, sounding a little aggrieved.

The Third Hokage appeared silent, but inside, he was roaring!

Do you really think this old man can't mock you? So you do know you've been fooling around all this time! You know you've caused some bad consequences, but can all those consequences really be summed up with just the word 'bad'?!

Kushina secretly glanced at the Hokage. Seeing that he remained silent, she assumed he wanted her to continue, so she went on.

"We tested the newly developed S-rank Sealing Technique, the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique. We deliberately chose an uninhabited place for the test, but since I couldn't leave Konoha, we conducted it right along the edge of the barrier..."

"But I never expected it to damage the barrier..."

The Third Hokage interrupted Kushina. As the Hokage, he had also been paying close attention to the development of S-rank forbidden techniques. Upon hearing that Kushina had merely been testing a forbidden technique rather than intentionally damaging the barrier, his mood improved considerably.

He was also very concerned about the test results.

"You failed?"

Naturally, the Hokage hoped Kushina had succeeded. However, the damage at the scene resembled the aftermath of a Sealing Technique spiraling out of control. Moreover, although the Four Symbols Seal served as its foundation, the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique had entirely different effects and purposes. Developing an S-rank forbidden technique was no simple matter, so he assumed Kushina might have failed.

"Huh? Failed? No, our experiment was a success. It completely achieved the technique's intended design effects, and its range was even greater than expected. The only flaw is that using it consumes an enormous amount of chakra. Ordinary ninja might not be able to endure it." Kushina seemed a little dissatisfied with the Hokage's doubt, but considering her current status as a criminal, she had no chance to flare up and could only suppress her resentment as she explained.

"Mm, so it did fail. It's all right, just keep working hard. To be honest, I'm very satisfied with your current progress. As long as you persevere a little longer, you'll be able to..." Only then did the Hokage realize that Kushina had said they had succeeded.

"What? You said it succeeded already? Did I hear wrong?"

"No, we really did succeed."

"You developed this technique by yourself, yet your efficiency was higher than that of several Sealing Technique development teams combined? How is that possible?" the Hokage asked doubtfully.

"Who said I did it alone? My disciple and I completed this technique together. I handled the design, and he handled the calculations. With his calculating ability, he's far more efficient than any Sealing Squad," Kushina said. With her personality, of course she would not hide her disciple's contribution to this matter.

Only then did the Third Hokage shift his gaze toward Hagoromo.

That meant Hagoromo's strategy of playing air had gone bankrupt. Ever since he had been "invited" here by the Hokage, he had been trying his best to blend into the background. He just had not expected Kushina to sell him out so quickly.

Originally, Hagoromo had not wanted much contact with Konoha's upper ranks. The reason was simple: it was neither because he was hiding secrets nor because he disliked Konoha's leadership. He merely wanted to honestly live the happy life of a low-level ninja with a little more freedom...

Of course, he had long realized that after becoming Kushina's disciple, such a wish had already become a luxury.

He simply had not expected to be exposed so quickly.

PS: Thanks to reader "Then What Hahaha" for the reward.