Fire Transformation Technique

The next morning, Taiichi and the other two arrived at the Daimyo's Mansion early to wait.

As expected, having achieved his goal, the Daimyo had no intention of making things difficult for the three. The mission document was promptly stamped and confirmed, marking the successful completion of Taiichi Squad's mission.

The three of them originally wanted to have some more fun in the Daimyo's Mansion, but after what happened with Yohei last night, Taiichi lost that mood and immediately suggested returning to Konoha.

Saori had already visited the night market last night and didn't want to go out anymore, but she was worried that Yohei's playful nature might upset her.

When she looked at Yohei, she found him silent and offering no objection to Taiichi's opinion. This made her suspicious; could something have happened last night that she didn't know about?

Seeing Saori's gaze sweeping over him, Yohei felt Yohei run down his spine.

He was caught red-handed by Taiichi yesterday, so how could he dare to voice any objections now!

Seeing Saori's curious expression, Yohei could only bite the bullet and explain, "I stayed up all night last night, and I've done everything I wanted to do. Now it's time to go home and work out!"

Taiichi curled his lip, ignoring their undercurrent of conflict, and announced directly, "Let's go!"

It took nine days to get there, but only two days to return.

Looking at the open gates of Konoha, though not as grand and imposing as the Kyoto City, a sense of security welled up within me; this was probably what home felt like.

Taiichi and the other two submitted their mission credentials and successfully entered Konoha. "Yohei, Saori, I'll go submit the mission. Let's go back and rest today, and meet at Training Ground No. 3 tomorrow morning."

"Okay!" *2

Outside the Hokage's Office.

After three knocks on the door, Taiichi stood quietly at the entrance and waited.

A moment later, a voice came from inside the office. "Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

Well, it seems Danzo has suffered some kind of loss at the Danzo of the Hokage again.

The office door was suddenly flung open, and Danzo, his face Danzo, walked out of the room.

When Danzo saw that it was Taiichi standing at the door, Danzo also taken aback, and then revealed a meaningful smile.

With a loud "bang," the door slammed shut, Danzo walked down the building.

Seriously, it's not like you own the door. You don't have to pay for it if you break it, Taiichi thought to himself.

Before Taiichi could finish his rant, another voice came from inside the office, "Come in!"

Taiichi carefully pushed open the door, first poked his head in, looked around to make sure no one was there, then squeezed his whole body inside, and carefully closed the door.

Seeing Taiichi's cautious and comical appearance, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but laugh, "You little brat, who are you trying to fool with that act? Come in and stand properly." He put on a serious face, completely changing the atmosphere from before.

Taiichi knew when to stop, immediately stood up respectfully, took out the Mission Scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch, and handed it to the Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took the scroll, glanced at it casually, and set it aside. It was just a regular C-rank escort mission; nothing special. The fact that Taiichi was standing here meant he had completed it perfectly.

"How's that mission going?"

"It can only be considered that we have initially gained the Daimyo's trust." Taiichi was being rather conservative, since he had no way of knowing the Daimyo's true attitude.

"During the escort mission, Noda So repeatedly tested my attitude towards the Daimyo and Konoha." Taiichi recounted the details of the mission.

"Upon arriving at the Daimyo's Mansion, the Daimyo summoned me privately that very night—" As he spoke, Taiichi took out a Storage Scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch, "Here is the 30 million ryo promised by the Daimyo and some Ninjutsu manuals I have selected."

"Oh, Daimyo, you're really generous!" Hiruzen Sarutobi took the scroll, but he didn't examine its contents. He simply handed it back to Taiichi after passing it on. "Keep this for yourself; after all, you risked your life to obtain it."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Taiichi was very happy to have the scroll back.

Although he believed the Hokage wouldn't withhold this small amount of his belongings, he was just in case. Now that the Hokage had given the items back to Taiichi, he could legitimately say it was a reward from the Hokage if anyone asked about it later.

"So, the Daimyo wants you to gather information on Konoha's outstanding ninjas." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked as if he had known all along, as if he had already guessed the Daimyo's intentions.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. As for the other missions, we'll contact you later."

"Hmm." Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment. It seemed that the Daimyo only wanted to win over the ninjas of Konoha in the short term. However, the Daimyo underestimated the ninjas. After all, nobles and ninjas were two different classes of beings.

"Later, I will provide you with a reliable list of personnel, which you can then disclose to the Daimyo as appropriate," Hiruzen Sarutobi made the final arrangements.

"Yes!" Taiichi answered without hesitation, demonstrating his strong commitment to carrying out the Hokage's orders.

After waiting a moment and seeing that the Hokage had given no further instructions, Taiichi was about to take his leave. However, at that moment, Danzo's meaningful smile suddenly flashed Danzo his mind, and a sense of unease crossed his heart.

"Hokage, this counts as a mission, right? Does it have a level? And a mission log?" Taiichi had been serious, became playful. "I'm taking the Chunin Ninja Exams next year, so I need to add more mission experience to my resume!"

Looking at Taiichi Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't angry at all; instead, he showed a hint of closeness. "What's wrong with you? Don't you trust me?"

"How could that be!" Taiichi protested verbally, but inwardly he was furious. He really didn't trust it; a written agreement was always safer. Otherwise, if someone falsely accused him of being a spy, he would be left with no way to defend himself.

"Ninjas must be meticulous in their work. A mission is a mission; there's no room for carelessness." This was taught by Teacher Yamada at the Ninja Academy.

"Alright, alright, it's just a mission statement, I'll write it down for you. You don't need to bring up your Yamada- sensei." Hiruzen Sarutobi said, picking up the scroll and quickly writing down the mission.

Taiichi, without any hesitation, stepped forward and pointed to the end of the scroll, "This, and this, it only becomes valid after being stamped and signed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled his eyes at Taiichi, then picked up the seal, stamped it, and signed his name.

"Satisfied now!" With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi tossed the completed Mission Scroll to Taiichi, laughing and scolding, "Take it and get out of here!"

"Yes, yes, I'll leave now." With that, Taiichi grabbed the Mission Scroll, turned around, and fled the Hokage's Office.

Outside, Taiichi stared at the Mission Scroll in his hand, lost in thought. He wondered if his uneasy premonition was because of it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He should get this so that no one could use it against him later.

Thinking this, Taiichi carefully put the scroll away. Next, he went to the Mission Hall to collect the reward for this escort mission, which he would give to Yohei and Saori tomorrow.

Days passed by, and almost a month had gone by since the last spy mission to the Daimyo's Mansion.

And so, Taiichi's team spent more than a month without Captain.

During this period, Taiichi and his companions could only accept C-Rank Mission, such as transporting supplies, escorting targets, and protecting villages.

Perhaps they were just too lucky; all their missions went smoothly without a single battle.

If this happened to other ninjas, they might be overjoyed, but since it happened to Taiichi and his group, it left them speechless.

Ultimately, the purpose of Taiichi and his companions' mission was to gain sufficient real-world combat experience in order to further improve their strength. If there were no battles at all, then the mission would be of little significance.

So later on, Taiichi and the other two gradually stopped carrying out missions. Apart from their daily self-cultivation, they mostly improved their combat experience through intra-team battles.

After a month of hard work, not to mention other improvements, his abilities in Fire Nature Transformation Chakra Control have indeed improved significantly.

[Fire Nature Transformation Lv9 (262/1600)]

[Chakra Control Lv9 (16/1600)]

Currently, the level of Taiichi's Fire Nature Transformation is one level ahead of the wind and water attributes, and it is much higher than other attributes.

Just like the technique he used to demonstrate to Yohei and the others, where his entire arm was enveloped in flames, Taiichi was now able to envelop his entire upper body in flames.

This requires not only improved Fire Nature Transformation, but also superb Chakra Control.

Of course, this is just a trick for now. Taiichi's goal is to be able to transform his entire body into flames, just like the Hydrification Technique, in order to avoid some sudden attacks.

Especially on the battlefield in the future, with Shuriken and Kunai flying everywhere, a stray arrow could come out of nowhere and kill you for no reason.

At the same time, just like with the Hydrification Technique, Taiichi also believed that the "Fire Transformation Technique" he developed would definitely have more uses in the future, such as enhancing the power of Fire Style.

Taiichi now has a clue about this "Fire Transformation Technique," which is the book " On the On the Transformation of Chakra Matter and Energy" that he brought back from the Daimyo's Mansion.

The book speculates on and verifies the transformation of Chakra into fire, earth, wind, water, and lightning, especially the transformation of earth attribute, which involves changes in matter and energy.

This might be hard to understand in the Ninja World, since it's common sense, just like we consider 1+1=2. And that might be why this book has been shelved.

But for Taiichi, this transformation of matter and energy reminded him of the Mass–Energy Equivalence Equation from his previous life. Although they were not exactly the same thing, the underlying concepts were similar.

Energy and matter can be transformed into each other under certain conditions, and in the Ninja World, the medium for this transformation is Chakra.

Thus, Taiichi's development of Ninjutsu has finally taken a crucial step, transforming from 0 to 1.

While Taiichi was busy studying Ninjutsu during Konoha free time, a ninja covered in blood, with nearly half of his right waist missing, collapsed in Konoha Gate.

Such a sudden situation naturally attracted the attention of the guard. He carefully stepped forward, lifted the face of the fallen ninja, and was immediately shocked. He recognized the man; he was none other than Masasuke Yamaguchi, Elite Jonin of Konoha.

"Quickly, someone, help get him to Konoha Hospital." The guard immediately ordered his subordinates to bring a stretcher. Several people worked together to carefully move Masasuke Yamaguchi onto the stretcher. Before leaving, he didn't forget to instruct, "Send another person to the Mission Hall to check whether the mission Jonin was carrying out needs to be reported to the Hokage Yamaguchi."

Before he could finish speaking, he had already left, rushing in front of the stretcher to clear a path for the wounded.

Perhaps it was because he arrived in Konoha that his mind suddenly relaxed, Masasuke Yamaguchi completely lost consciousness. Without his own intentional suppression, the huge wound reopened, and blood dripped continuously from the gap, leaving a shocking bloodstain on the road to the hospital.

The message was reported by the guard to the Mission Hall, then the clerk checked the mission and reported it to the director, who then confirmed the mission's urgency and reported it directly to the Hokage's Office. By the time the message reached the Hokage, half an hour had already passed.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Masasuke Yamaguchi was seriously injured and in critical condition, he was devastated. He knew that Yamaguchi Masasuke's mission was to Scout the recent unusual activity on the border between Sunagakure and Iwagakure, and whether the two sides had formed an alliance.

At this moment, Masasuke Yamaguchi rushed back despite being seriously injured, which must mean he had obtained some important information.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer sit still and immediately got up and headed to Konoha Hospital.

Outside the operating room at Konoha Hospital.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi, the red light outside the operating room was still on. As if knowing the Hokage was coming, Dean Biwako was also waiting outside the operating room.

"Biwako, how are you? Are you alright?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"This is terrible!" Dean Biwako shook his head, his face grave. "His entire right waist has been destroyed, his right kidney and part of his intestines are missing. It's a miracle he even made it back to Konoha alive."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened, and just as he was about to continue his questioning, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Soon after, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu also arrived at the operating room door. The three of them were also insiders about Masasuke Yamaguchi's mission, and now that he had returned to Konoha in this state, he must have obtained important information.

"Hiruzen, did you get the intelligence?" Clearly, Danzo was more concerned about intelligence than people.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, not answering directly. "Let's wait a bit."

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude, the three could only suppress their anxiety and wait outside the operating room.

Before long, the operating room door opened from the inside, and a doctor walked out.

Upon seeing this, Biwako was the first to step forward, "Director Fujita, what's the situation inside?"

Fujita Sana glanced at the group of people standing at the door— the Hokage, the elders, and the Advisor —and knew the seriousness of the situation. She then cut to the chase. "He's still being resuscitated. He's still unconscious. We're just barely managing to maintain his vital signs."

As he spoke, Director Fujita handed over another scroll, "This is what he's been holding onto, but it's Sealing Jutsu that we can't break."

A Cat-faced Anbu stepped forward, took the scroll, and, after obtaining consent, attempted to break the seal within.

After only two or three attempts, the Cat-faced Anbu shook his head, picked up the scroll, and reported, "Hokage-sama, this is the highest level of password seal. We must know the corresponding solution to safely remove it."

"Can't we force it open?" Danzo asked impatiently, his primary concern at that moment being the information within the scroll.

"Giving us enough time is fine; otherwise, brute-force attacks will cause the scroll to self-destruct."

"How long will it take?" Danzo asked expectantly, staring at the Cat-faced Anbu.

"Uh... at least a month." Even the Cat-faced Anbu felt embarrassed; that was indeed a bit long.

Danzo silent, his murderous gaze fixed on the Cat-faced Anbu, as if to say: Are you playing me for a fool?

The others also shook their heads. This was an intelligence scroll with the most time-sensitive information. If so much time had passed, the information would be meaningless.

"Hiruzen, let the Yamanaka Clan ninjas go in and try to extract the memories from their brains," Danzo suggested.

"Danzo, I must remind you, the patient is already on the verge of death. Forcibly extracting memories during this kind of surgery carries a very high risk of failure," Director Fujita interjected, his disapproval evident.

"That's right! Danzo, Konoha hasn't fallen so low as to sacrifice comrades for information," Utatane Koharu added.

It wasn't that she was particularly kind; it was just that there were too many people here, and if word got out, everyone would be in danger—not killed by the enemy, but by their own people's intelligence gathering.

This would be a clear political mistake in any ninja village.

"Sigh, you don't need to argue about this anymore." Mitokado Homura sighed. "Masasuke received his mission from me, and before he left, I placed Sealing Jutsu on his mind to ensure secrecy. Unless he says it himself, no outsider can get the information from his mind."

A deathly silence fell over the scene; even Danzo, who had originally planned to make his move quietly, fell silent.

"So that means we can only wait until he wakes up!" Hiruzen Sarutobi to himself, then turned to Fujita Sana: "Is there anyone there for me?"

"It's difficult. His physical injuries are too severe, and his mental state is also affected. To bring him back to consciousness, we must first treat his physical condition." With the composure and calmness typical of medical staff, Director Fujita analyzed the difficulties for everyone.

"Then hurry up and treat him!" Danzo ordered without any politeness.

Clearly, having arrived too late, he was unaware of the severity of Masasuke Yamaguchi's injuries.

Director Fujita ignored him and continued, "For injuries like this with multiple organ loss, the only current treatment is Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique."

But as you know, Konoha's missions have surged recently, and many Medical Ninja have gone out on missions with them. Currently, there aren't enough ninjas in the hospital who are proficient in using the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique."

Everyone's expressions darkened again. The workload they used to be so proud of now seemed like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Was there really no other way?