The Importance of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu

"You really are amazing, Second Hokage."

Li Ke couldn't help praising his Spirit Tool... Er, no, his Substitute Personnel.

"Hmph. This is only basic stuff. After all, Kekkei Genkai are nothing more than ninjutsu that can be passed down through blood. They give you a huge advantage against ordinary ninja, but their fundamentals remain unchanged."

Senju Tobirama was quite pleased by Li Ke's praise, but he still explained.

"Ultimately, they're just different applications of chakra. My elder brother's Wood Release is a little special because it can absorb chakra, but there are plenty of other techniques that can absorb chakra, too. What really matters is how you use the technique and the scale of your chakra."

As he spoke, Senju Tobirama released his hold over Li Ke's body and looked at the three surviving ninja.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

Li Ke took a deep breath. His vision adjusted much faster than he'd expected, but his head was still spinning so badly that he felt like throwing up. But...

He had a way to deal with that, too.

"No problem."

Li Ke looked at the ninja who had survived the Water Release, quickly identifying what each of them specialized in.

The first ninja on the left had well-developed muscles in his arms and legs, but not much chakra. He was a Taijutsu specialist. The one in the middle had noticeably stronger tendons in his fingers, so he was probably a ninjutsu specialist.

The one on the far right seemed entirely unremarkable, but Yin Release Chakra was gathering!

He's about to cast a genjutsu on me!

The instant Li Ke realized this, he immediately disrupted his own chakra. As soon as the opponent released his Yin Release Chakra, Li Ke formed the hand seal to release the genjutsu, and the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand shot out.

At the same time, his eyes shifted to the Four-pointed Star Mangekyo!

That's right. He was using the Mangekyo's vision to avoid the dizziness caused by his 360-degree field of vision, relying on his Byakugan only for detection.

When the kunai flew toward them, two of the three Kirigakure ninja quickly moved away. The Taijutsu specialist rushed straight toward it, blade poised to strike, but he didn't swing right away.

But—

Wind Severing Technique!

A sharp Wind Blade shot from Li Ke's mouth toward the Taijutsu specialist charging at the Flying Thunder God Kunai. The moment the man dodged, Li Ke activated the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

The blade in his hand instantly severed the ninja's head. But in the next moment, the ninjutsu specialist's technique and the genjutsu specialist's illusion both arrived.

But—

With a bang, Li Ke's body vanished into smoke as a Shadow Clone. At the same time, a hand shot up from beneath each of the two ninja who had attacked with ninjutsu and genjutsu!

Both men plunged into the earth, and Li Ke rose from the ground and fired a kunai into each of their eye sockets.

"Not bad."

Senju Tobirama chuckled. He had used the moment when the enemy focused on the Flying Thunder God Kunai to create a Shadow Clone. While the clone killed the Taijutsu specialist, he had used Earth Release to deal with the other two. Li Ke had a pretty solid foundation.

His tactical thinking was also quite similar to Tobirama's: use ninjutsu to create an opening, then strike the enemy through that opening, accomplishing as much as possible with as little chakra as possible.

"That's because Lord Second wore them down and drained their chakra."

Li Ke could see it clearly. If the ninja—who were obviously jonin—hadn't needed to expend so much chakra escaping Senju Tobirama's technique, he would've had a harder time.

He would've had to go through two or three rounds of probing with clones...

Of course, he was only being modest. With his eyes, he could see right through the Mist Shinobi's Water Clones.

"It's good that you know where you're lacking. Your chakra far exceeds what I had at your age. You're still not on par with my elder brother, but you have more than enough for an ordinary ninja."

Senju Tobirama stopped controlling Li Ke's body. All twenty ninja were dead now.

It was only then that the other Konoha patrols arrived. Chojuro Akimichi, who led them, looked at the bodies on the ground in astonishment.

"Dark Water White Mountain... And..."

The ninja were mostly jonin, along with a few Chunin who had distinguished themselves recently. It was clearly an elite unit. Even if Chojuro had brought several squads to deal with them, they wouldn't have been easy to defeat, and there would have been plenty of casualties.

So the sight of all those bodies made many of the ninja's hearts tighten.

Many had been promoted during the war, but their rank as jonin was genuine. Yet in front of Li Ke, who had previously been only a little known, they had been no better than chickens and dogs.

A Konoha jonin touched the scar on his face, staring in disbelief at the ninja Senju Tobirama had killed in his first attack. He couldn't help taking a deep breath.

"This is unbelievable... That guy gave me this scar..."

He knew he wasn't a match for the man. Yet this ninja he'd only just heard about—the Hokage's son, whom the Hokage had saved using his authority—had killed these enemies with ease.

"Looks like Lord Hokage's son really is something. He's got talent we never noticed..."

One of the ninja beside him couldn't help saying it aloud. Asuma, standing nearby, fell silent. Li Ke had been spacing out earlier, and after reading Icha Icha Paradise, Asuma had quickly gone over the battlefield reports. He knew the faces of many of the enemy ninja on the Mist Battlefield.

So he knew exactly what Li Ke had done. If that was the case...

If that was the case...

"Who's protecting whom, anyway?"

Asuma couldn't help thinking of how, despite all of Li Ke's hard work, he'd been forced to team up with Asuma and take on pointless missions during the war. Even their teacher and Li Ke had to make sacrifices for Asuma.

Did someone like him really deserve Li Ke's protection?

"The Hokage isn't the 'gyoku'!"

Asuma clenched his fist. He thought about leaving—not the Mist Battlefield right now, but after the war ended. He wanted to go out and see whether this world had a 'gyoku' worth protecting!

The 'gyoku' was the king in Japanese shogi, equivalent to the general in Chinese chess. If Li Ke knew that, he'd realize there was no curing this guy's adolescent delusions and youthful arrogance.

The only reason Konoha hadn't sent someone to assassinate him was that he was the Third Hokage's son.

But Asuma's understanding of the world wasn't any better just because his father was the Hokage. If anything, that was what allowed him to have such a naive idea.

As for the other ninja, there was no need to mention them.

"Have you mastered Lord Minato's Flying Thunder God Jutsu?"

Chojuro Akimichi looked at the Flying Thunder God Kunai in Li Ke's hand. Having often worked with Minato Namikaze, he couldn't help asking excitedly.

A ninja who could use the Flying Thunder God was undoubtedly a strategic asset. Even if all they did was deliver intelligence and supplies, they could easily change the course of a war!

And if that ninja was also skilled in combat, they'd be the deadliest weapon on the battlefield!

They could appear anywhere at any moment and retreat whenever they wanted, making them the greatest variable in a war!

"I have. I'm just not as proficient as Lord Minato, and I can't fight the way he does."

Li Ke nodded slightly, then tossed his Flying Thunder God Kunai and demonstrated the Flying Thunder God Jutsu in front of all the Konoha ninja.

When Li Ke suddenly appeared somewhere else, all the ninja froze for a moment before erupting into loud cheers. Chojuro Akimichi was especially excited, gripping his weapon as he imagined the intelligence report he could send about Li Ke.

His ability to sense chakra over great distances, his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, and his ability to wipe out an entire elite Mist Ninja unit by himself.

Li Ke had undoubtedly become Konoha's newest genius!

And a fully battle-ready asset they could put to use immediately!

"Excellent! I'll inform Lord Minato right away. Qingtan, our strategy can be much bolder now!"

Even if Li Ke wasn't very proficient with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, the fact that he could use it meant he could greatly support Minato Namikaze. The two of them would become the nightmare of every Mist Ninja on the Mist Battlefield!

And they could turn the entire Mist Battlefield around!

"Ah, I'd be happy to help."

Li Ke gave a calm smile, then noticed Yuhi Kurenai staring at him with flushed cheeks. Asuma, however, had disappeared.

Kurenai is so cute... And I hope Asuma hasn't been too shaken by this.

The sudden mastery of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and his newfound combat strength were a little abrupt, but none of that mattered.

He was a direct subordinate of the Hokage—such a staunch loyalist that even Danzo wouldn't bother targeting him. As long as he didn't betray his village, he could explain all his newfound abilities as having finally come into their own!

So the more attention he attracted and the more distinguished his accomplishments, the better!

At that thought, Li Ke couldn't help looking toward the medical ninja camp in the distance. An idea came to him.

"Madara Uchiha, you'd better bring me the Three-Tails!"

Defeating an entire ninja unit alone wasn't all that remarkable. But if someone could subdue a Tailed Beast and its Jinchuriki, they'd be recognized as a powerful shinobi of the Ninja World!

If he wanted to become Hokage and put an end to this chaotic world, he had to keep making a spectacle of himself!

Since he'd learned a strategic jutsu like the Flying Thunder God, Li Ke was soon taken to Konoha's main camp, where he met Shikaku Nara, who had just arrived.

"Very impressive. I've only just arrived, and I'm already hearing good news."

Shikaku Nara had been exchanging intelligence with his clan members. When he saw Li Ke use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, his eyes narrowed at once. He quickly looked at his map and began considering possible strategies.

He kept turning the pieces representing the ninja over in his hand.

This was the first time Li Ke had seen a truly detailed Konoha strategy map of the Mist Shinobi. The objectives of the various outposts were all laid out in full.

What surprised Li Ke was that although the Mist Shinobi had caught Konoha off guard, Minato Namikaze's efforts meant that Kirigakure was in bad shape, too. Minato had repeatedly slipped behind enemy lines, leaving the Mist Shinobi rear riddled with holes.

If Konoha weren't so desperately weak right now, and if they weren't planning to hold the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back as their final trump card, this wouldn't have been a problem at all.

They could simply crush the enemy with a large-scale ninja force.

The Mist Shinobi, whose battle lines Minato Namikaze kept disrupting, couldn't gather their forces to fight back. That was why they had been forced to steer the conflict into its current state: elite ninja repeatedly wearing down the enemy's cannon fodder, with occasional local battles breaking out.

Now it was easy to understand why Chojuro Akimichi was so excited. The Mist Battlefield had ended up in its current state entirely because of Minato Namikaze's ceaseless attacks. But he was only one man, and he couldn't be sure that the Flying Thunder God Marks he had placed weren't being watched or trapped.

But with Li Ke, a 'sensory ninja' who could also use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, even if he contributed nothing to combat and could only provide support, they could launch the most devastating attacks against Kirigakure.

Just how much destruction could Minato Namikaze unleash with a teammate backing him up, someone who could spare him the need to return to base for supplies and handle maintenance of the Flying Thunder God Marks and reconnaissance for him, leaving him free to kill and destroy?

Especially since this ninja had demonstrated impressive large-scale destructive power. He could prepare a technique on the sidelines, then be transported over by Minato when needed, and teleport away again afterward!

For Kirigakure, it was a nightmare.

Just then, Minato Namikaze returned with Fugaku Uchiha, who had several new wounds and looked exhausted. When Minato entered the tent and saw Li Ke, he froze. Then he noticed the Flying Thunder God Mark on the kunai on the table, and the weariness on his face instantly gave way to a radiant smile.

"Looks like you're an even greater genius than I am, Qingtan."

He immediately understood why Shikaku Nara had called him back. It had to be because Li Ke had a solid grasp of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and could assist him on the battlefield.

If they made good use of this, then even just the two of them could repel the Mist Shinobi's attacks!

So Minato, who also very much wanted to earn battle honors, looked at Li Ke. He saw Li Ke's intelligence report, along with the summary of the ninja he had killed, compiled after the battlefield had just been cleared.

Minato Namikaze's smile grew even brighter.

At that moment, he no longer saw Li Ke as a novice ninja.

He saw him as a powerful shinobi on the same level as himself!

"So, will you fight alongside me, Jonin Murata Qingtan? The two of us can put an end to this Ninja World War once and for all!"

That was right. The moment Minato saw Li Ke's report, he had decided to team up with him and claim all the credit on the Mist Battlefield between the two of them!