025 A Compatible Nintaijutsu, An Early Arms Race for the Jinchuriki

Who had developed this Lightning Style Nintaijutsu?

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed from the bottom of his heart.

It was truly practical!

This technique went by many names: Lightning Release Armor, Lightning Cloak...

According to the memories extracted from Blue B's corpse, Kumogakure officially called it "Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

The difficulty of getting started was not high, but becoming proficient, mastering it, and even maintaining it constantly in battle caused the difficulty curve to rise exponentially.

"Lightning Release Chakra activates the body, using electricity to stimulate the nervous system's reaction speed..."

"The lightning wrapped around the body can also temper one's Physical strength, while serving as sturdy armor itself."

"This is a ninjutsu capable of bringing out the limits of the human body!"

A faint smile rested on Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips. This Lightning Release Chakra Mode was practically tailor-made for him.

During these past few months of managing Konoha, he had not achieved anything earth-shattering, but overall, he had made the village a little better...

There were no apparent changes to his body, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had gained a vague realization.

—His talent seemed to have merged with Konoha. As the village's pulse grew stronger, his original limits slowly extended along with that rhythm.

The increase had not been much so far, but it was exceptionally solid.

Like a seed buried deep in the earth, slowly drawing in tiny fragments of vitality and quietly stretching out its embryonic roots.

What he needed to do was gradually turn those expanded limits into real strength.

"Training requires hard work, but in this cruel Shinobi World, how many people could only dream of having a limit they could reach simply by striving?"

He had to develop and balance the village without neglecting his personal strength. Life really was fulfilling and interesting!

It couldn't be helped. Being able to fly through the sky and vanish into the earth was simply too much fun...

"Authority," "military," "economy," "Education," "Diplomacy"...

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered these five sectors.

Authority and the military went without saying, while the economy was already being prepared.

As for Diplomacy, Lord Hokage was waiting for Kumogakure's rabid accusations so he could rack up some proper achievements...

"Education needs more attention." Hiruzen Sarutobi considered the report Hatake Sakumo had submitted recently.

—Some of the elite students at the Ninja Academy were no longer satisfied with ordinary classes.

Perhaps they could hold a "Hokage in the Classroom" event once a month?

At this moment.

Inside the conference room, the ninjas attending the meeting gradually arrived one after another.

"You came so early, Sensei?" Orochimaru asked in some surprise.

He had clearly made sure to arrive ahead of time.

"You're already considered early, Orochimaru."

Hiruzen Sarutobi replied with a chuckle, "Holding meetings in the Hokage Office Building is nothing more than changing places to think."

"You should all attend to your own work. Don't turn this into formalism; just arrive on time."

Shimura Danzō, seated nearby, frowned.

He had been wondering whether he should come even earlier next time, arriving before Hiruzen Sarutobi...

Damn it, did Monkey actually know what he was thinking?

No, it had to be a coincidence!

Shimura Danzō sat stiffly in his seat, sulking in an awkward state of mind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the time. Everyone had arrived, so he lightly cleared his throat.

"This operation against Kumogakure's Jinchuriki was carried out very well."

"This meeting will mainly discuss the intelligence extracted from the enemy Jinchuriki and Ninja Head corpses. Please take a look..."

In front of each person was a briefing copied by the Administrative Department.

The intelligence showed that one major reason Kumogakure was so eager to create Jinchuriki was that its old enemy, Iwagakure, seemed to have gained preliminary control over the Four-Tails and Five-Tails it possessed.

After a moment, Orochimaru spoke thoughtfully. "We really need to put plans concerning Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki on the agenda."

The atmosphere in the conference room grew somewhat heavier.

Enemy Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki were one thing.

But within Konoha as it was now, Tailed Beasts were a sensitive issue.

Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Mito Uzumaki.

As the First's widow, a former princess of the Uzumaki Clan, and a master of Sealing Jutsu, she possessed the ability to control the Nine-Tails—but she was already advanced in years...

But could they really strip the Nine-Tails from Mito Uzumaki ahead of time for the sake of a future war?

That would mean death.

If they did that, Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation and Authority within the village would collapse at a terrifying speed.

After all, if they could be so ruthless toward the First's widow, could anyone expect them to treat other ninja well?

On this matter, even Shimura Danzō, who had always championed toughness and sacrifice, chose to remain silent.

"Judging from the current situation in the shinobi world, if the Third Shinobi World War breaks out in the future, Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki will definitely be drawn into the conflict on a massive scale."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with an unchanged expression. "We cannot place our hopes on the enemy's research into Tailed Beasts stagnating. We must popularize and emphasize anti-Tailed Beast techniques among the Jonin."

"Such as genjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and large-scale, high-power combined ninjutsu performed by multiple people against Tailed Beasts."

"The village will make resources for such techniques available and encourage the Jonin to learn them, though an assessment system will also be put in place."

"Talented ninja should hold themselves to standards matching the strategic value of Tailed Beasts. If they encounter difficulties, they may bring them to the village..." Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Jiraiya and Danzō.

Judging by their combat styles, both combined wide-area ninjutsu with Summoning Beasts. If used properly, they would not be much inferior to Jinchuriki on the battlefield.

"If we prepare in advance, then with the caliber of Konoha's core fighting force, the strength of Jinchuriki is not impossible to match."

Everyone nodded slightly.

Were Jinchuriki who controlled Tailed Beasts strong?

They would be very strong.

But Konoha's elites were not weak either. With a sense of urgency driving their preparations, they had confidence in the future.

"As for the matter of our village's Jinchuriki..." Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly.

Everyone seemed to unconsciously perk up their ears.

Now they were getting to the important figure...

The kind even the Hokage found difficult to handle...

"A report submitted by Orochimaru, combined with Blue B's memories, holds considerable reference value."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not mention Mito Uzumaki at first.

"Judging by his bloodline, talent, and personality, Blue B possessed the aptitude to control the Eight-Tails. So why did he still go berserk?"

"According to the Second's research notes, Tailed Beast Chakra contains extremely negative emotions. Meanwhile, civilians are always fearful of Jinchuriki, who possess immense power yet carry the risk of losing control."

"Even if they do not hurl insults, they will still find ways to avoid them. That is the instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm."

"This causes Jinchuriki to live in an extremely lonely environment. Their hearts gradually weaken, and the Tailed Beast loses control."

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.

"But Konoha is different. With Lady Mito holding the fort, the village's panic over Jinchuriki going berserk is nowhere near as severe as in other Hidden Villages, where such incidents occur frequently. This is our advantage in taking the initiative."

"Therefore, we must begin laying the groundwork for how we portray Jinchuriki. We need to establish the concepts of 'controllable,' 'dedicated,' and 'heroic' among the villagers."

"Blue B does not possess Kushina's special Uzumaki Clan Chakra, but her strengths are there."

Shimura Danzō spoke coldly. "And what if they lose control?"

"If we promote them like this, the village will lose its credibility. Who will take responsibility?"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.