"Then why did they come to the Land of Whirlpools this time..." Akaseki asked curiously, wondering what Karatachi Xuancang's group was really planning.
"Karatachi Xuancang is not only powerful, but also a ninja tool smith. He hopes to forge a set of powerful ninja swords. Those Kirigakure shinobi went to the Land of Whirlpools to gather materials for precisely that purpose..."
"When we first uncovered that intelligence, Teacher Akimichi and Jonin Jiraiya were startled too. It's fortunate that you were all right." Yamanaka sighed as he looked at Team 7 before him.
This mission...
Team 7 had only just graduated, yet their accomplishments seemed even greater than those of their Ino-Shika-Cho trio!
"Forging ninja swords? Is that... important?" Akaseki could not make sense of the reasoning.
"Yes. Apparently, this Karatachi greatly admires the First. He intends to follow the example of dividing up the Ninja Beasts: after forging a batch of powerful ninja swords, he will bestow them separately upon talented members of ninja clans and commoners, turning them into a force to bridge Kirigakure's divisions," Yamanaka said in all seriousness.
Akaseki: ...
See? Who said the First was useless? The First was just too good... Wasn't this leading the enemy astray?
Akaseki had gotten all the answers he wanted, so Ranwu curiously asked, "Brother Inoichi, what did you encounter this time?"
At the mention of it, the young Ino-Shika-Cho trio perked up—they had performed well too!
Despite his young age, Nara had already been able to serve as the team's strategist. He discovered the trap midway through, then later analyzed the situation for Jiraiya and Akimichi, helping bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. Meanwhile, Yamanaka's special sensory ability allowed him to search the memories of controlled targets, giving the team an intelligence advantage immediately after breaking through the