Thinking

Looking at the delicate, sweet-looking Yumi, everyone present wore strange expressions. Even Yoru's mouth twitched slightly.

Fine, you said you were a medical ninja. I'll accept that.

But you said you needed protection... To put it bluntly, aside from Yoru, the strongest among the four of them was not Hozuki Mangetsu, but this medical ninja, Uzumaki Yumi!

That was right.

Although this Uzumaki Clan survivor bore the title of medical ninja, her combat ability was not weak in the slightest. Whether in ninjutsu or taijutsu, she was at the elite jonin level. Most importantly, she possessed top-tier Sealing Technique!

The ninja swords were good, but Yumi truly had no use for them.

Seeing both women refuse, Yoru did not force the issue and put away the remaining two ninja swords.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the four of them, Yoru prepared to rest for a while. These Forty-Eight Hours of Hell had truly been hard to endure. The consecutive battles had drained his Chakra twice. Though he had not been injured, both his body and mind were already exhausted.

Over the next two days, Yoru rested and recovered. Uzumaki Yumi and Fuyuna Yukiko thoughtfully took care of him. Even though Yoru repeatedly insisted that they did not need to look after him and told them to pay more attention to the situation at the front lines, the two women still clung to him, tending to him with meticulous care.

Quite a few people came to visit Yoru, and most of them were people he had never interacted with before. Several well-known jonin from Kirigakure came, and even many powerful members of bloodline clans paid him visits. They chatted idly with Yoru, but in the end, their conversations always turned to the ninja swords, leaving Yoru thoroughly annoyed.

During that time, Yagura came by once as well.

When he learned that Yoru had given Nuibari and Twin Swords: Hiramekarei to Yurui and Mangetsu respectively, he was not surprised. He did not even dwell on the ninja swords, as if he truly did not care whom Yoru had given them to.

The two mainly discussed the situation at the front lines.

Yoru actually wanted to begin the war as soon as possible. After all, Konohagakure currently only had Jiraiya and Uchiha Fugaku at the front. The earlier they started, the less pressure Kirigakure would face.

If they kept dragging things out and Konohagakure brought in more powerful fighters from elsewhere, the resistance Kirigakure would have to face in the future would only grow greater.

Yagura agreed with Yoru's view, but the previous battle had dealt Kirigakure devastating losses.

On top of that, all Seven Ninja Swordsmen had fallen, dealing an enormous blow to Kirigakure's morale. For the time being, Kirigakure had no intention of continuing its offensive. Everything would have to wait for the Mizukage's arrangements.

Yoru did not comment much on this. He simply continued to quietly recuperate and restore himself.

After seeing Yagura off, Yoru finally enjoyed some rare peace and quiet. He began to consider everything he currently possessed.

My current combat strength still isn't enough. Hyōrinmaru is good, and with Heavenly Phenomenon Descends empowering me, I can barely be considered Kage-level. But if I truly face those top-tier experts, I'm still lacking.

In fact, Fugaku hadn't used his full strength that day either. If he went all out and activated the third stage of Susanoo, Hyōrinmaru probably wouldn't be able to restrain him. And he hadn't even used his unique ocular technique...

Yoru pondered inwardly.

With his current setup, he could still fight ordinary Kage-level experts.

After all, Kido was convenient and effective. Combined with Shunpo, Hakuda, swordsmanship, and other comprehensive skills, along with Hyōrinmaru, Yoru's combat ability had become extremely formidable.

But if he truly encountered those veteran monsters, he would still be outclassed.

Not to mention anything else, the two top experts from Konohagakure currently at the front lines were already beyond Yoru's ability to handle.

Jiraiya in Sage Mode, and Fugaku in his towering form!

Against monsters of that caliber, Hyōrinmaru in its Shikai state simply was not lethal enough!

I need more suitable Kido, higher-level combat techniques, or even... Bankai for my Zanpakuto!

Yoru gently stroked the Hyōrinmaru in his hand as he pondered.

He did not possess much Kido, and all of it had come from opening gift boxes. His high-level Hado included Number 90 Black Coffin and Number 73 Twin Lotus Sokatsui. His high-level Bakudo included Number 81 Danku, Number 73 Tōzanshō, and Number 61 Rikujōkōrō.

His Bakudo was barely sufficient, but Hado was somewhat problematic.

Black Coffin consumed far too much Chakra, and using it required a complete chant.

In a top-level battle, would the enemy really wait for you to gather Chakra and finish a chant longer than your life?

Obviously not.

As for Number 73 Twin Lotus Sokatsui, its power was decent, and Yoru could cast it without chanting, but its single-target burst damage was somewhat lacking.

If I can master Number 78 Zanka no Tachi, or Number 88 Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, I can make up for my lack of burst damage.

Or a special burst skill like Flash Step would work too.

Yoru opened the Exchange Panel.

Number 78 Zanka no Tachi was A-rank Kido and required 30,000 Points, while Number 88 Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō was S-rank Kido and required 80,000 Points.

As for Flash Step, even its most basic introductory technique cost 10,000 Points. Its advanced versions, such as "Infinite Flash Step," "Flash Step: Thunder God Form," and "Flash Step: Blazing Inferno," were almost all priced above 50,000 Points.

That many Points would be enough to kill Yoru!

Glancing at his Points, which amounted to little more than a fraction of what he needed, Yoru sighed helplessly.

The path to becoming stronger really was long and arduous!

Maybe I should open more gift boxes. I might get lucky...

"Why do you look so worried? You're our big celebrity now."

The tent flap before him was lifted, and a shapely young woman with reddish-brown hair walked inside. Smiling, she approached Yoru. "I see those higher-ups and elite ninja coming to see you every day. What's wrong? Don't you enjoy being the center of attention?"

"They're just a bunch of people chasing power. I'm not giving the ninja swords to them."

Yoru pulled himself from his thoughts and looked at Terumi Mei before him. "What, have you finished dealing with everything?"

"How could I have?"

It was fine when they did not mention work, but the moment it came up, Terumi Mei immediately pulled a bitter face. "You have no idea what an enormous mess that dead fatso Suikazan Fuguki left behind. It can't be finished. There's simply no way to finish it!"

"I knew the intelligence division was bad, but I never imagined it was this bad. One-third are useless connections who were shoved in to coast through life, one-third are scum who followed Suikazan Fuguki and have records of selling intelligence, and among the remaining third, there are only a handful who are actually capable."