The Heroic Spirit's Identity

The high-speed water flow drained most of Li Ke's chakra in an instant, yet the effect it produced was remarkably significant.

However, before Li Ke could even react, a scroll abruptly appeared in the hands of the ninja possessing him. He performed three hand seals once more and unfurled the scroll before him.

Summoning Jutsu?

When did he cast that?

Li Ke's eyes widened in astonishment, for he hadn't noticed the moment the other party had done it at all!

The instant the scroll opened, an image composed of countless numbers and characters appeared before Li Ke. Surprisingly, the characters on the scroll began to scroll and vanish the moment it was opened. It was then that Li Ke realized that while performing the hand seals for the Water Severing Wave, the ninja possessing him had simultaneously cast another jutsu.

The cipher he saw before him was highly advanced. While he wasn't particularly proficient in Fuinjutsu, he knew that if one could make the text on a scroll behave in such a manner, they would be qualified to work in the Sealing Squad of Konoha.

If one added the fact that even the teammates of the Third Hokage's son couldn't decipher these codes, the security clearance of this scroll was naturally extremely high.

Then, he heard the voice of the person inside his body, and realized that, without him noticing, his hands had formed another three seals.

"Hmm... You were right, things have indeed developed to this point. And this is not some sort of genjutsu affecting me... Kid, what is your name?"

Li Ke already had a guess regarding the identity of the ninja possessing him. After all, he had read the descriptions of the Water Severing Wave; normally, it required twenty-seven hand seals. Yet, the one controlling his body could execute it with only a few, and based on his own insufficient chakra, had turned what was originally a long-duration cutting beam into a machine-gun-like barrage. This proved that the ninja's proficiency with the Water Severing Wave had reached a level of absolute mastery.

It was likely that great inventor of the Ninja World, Senju Tobirama.

"I am Murata Qingtan. May I ask who you are, senior..."

Li Ke asked tentatively.

"You don't need to know my name; you only need to know that I am a ninja of Konoha. I can only cast two more jutsus with the chakra currently in your body... Do you have any Military Ration Pills left? I will be using a chakra-intensive jutsu next, and I need you to recover some chakra to use it."

The voice inside his body spoke rapidly, and it was only then that Li Ke sensed chakra approaching quickly.

This chakra was completely unfamiliar to him, and since he didn't recognize it at all, he answered the other party's questions immediately.

Li Ke shook his head decisively.

"None! When I stayed behind to cover the retreat, I gave all my extra supplies and money to my teammates."

When he had run out, he had quietly tucked the money and precious items he carried into Kurenai's arms—some for her, and the rest for his own family.

After all, there were spoils of war to be had. While a wealthy young master like Asuma didn't care, and Kurenai's family wasn't exactly short on money, he was different; his family relied on him to earn a living.

Li Ke's answer made the other party fall silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Holding a death-defying resolve to block the enemy, are you? Very well, it seems I shall have to get a bit more serious."

The moment the words fell, Li Ke felt his body move. The two remaining Chunin and the one-armed Jonin rushed toward them.

They had only just seen the corpses and didn't understand what had happened. Seeing the tattered Li Ke charging at them, they didn't stop to investigate, but instead charged forward immediately, intending to capture him.

However—

In the instant of the charge, the ninja had already finished his seals. Three Shadow Clones appeared beside Li Ke in a flash. Under the cover of the clones' smoke, the two Chunin had their throats slit by three brilliant flashes of a blade.

Li Ke also noticed that, without him even reacting, the ninja—suspected to be Senju Tobirama—had snatched several Explosive Tags and Kunai from the pockets of the Stone Village ninjas. As he threw them toward the final Stone Village Jonin, the Explosive Tags attached to the Kunai were already ignited!

The one-armed Jonin jumped away in a panic, but the next moment, Li Ke's body rapidly performed hand seals. The Shadow Clones beside him shattered at that exact moment, the dispersed chakra returning to his body and perfectly integrating with the seals his hands were forming.

Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!

A massive torrent of water slammed into the final Jonin, blasting him away instantly. Yet, the next moment, Li Ke felt his body leap high into the air, then drive the long sword in his hand straight into the ground!

At the same time, a scarred hand holding a Kunai lunged toward the spot where he had been standing!

In an instant, Li Ke felt the long sword in his hand pierce something hard. As his body landed, the hand on the ground twitched once, and the Stone Village ninja who had been lurking underground went completely still.

"Hmph... The Stone Village is still the same; the standard of their Jonin has always been quite low."

Pulling back the long sword, which was still stained with white matter, the ninja controlling Li Ke's body shook the blood and tissue fluid off the blade and looked toward the distance.

Li Ke fell silent.

The gap was too vast. If it were him, it wouldn't be impossible to fight a Stone Village Jonin, but to do so with such clean, ruthless efficiency would be absolutely impossible.

Moreover, the Jonin before him were no nobodies. Although not described in the manga, they were Jonin with certain reputations; otherwise, they wouldn't have pushed their teacher into a desperate situation.

But in front of this ninja—suspected to be Senju Tobirama—they were full of openings. He couldn't even clearly see how the other party circulated his chakra or when he had cast his jutsus.

Simply put, if the ninja possessing him wanted to kill him, he would be no different from those Chunin or the final one-armed Jonin.

Just as he thought the matter was over, he heard the ninja inside him speak.

"My apologies, kid Qingtan, I have some things I need to verify."

Li Ke was stunned. Before he could even react, he found another Shadow Clone appearing beside him, and the next moment, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

He collapsed, but he didn't lose consciousness; rather, his entire body became paralyzed.

Li Ke knew this was because the other party wanted to figure out what was going on, so he didn't dismiss him. After all, his heart still needed the other party's body to act as a substitute for the time being. If he dismissed him rashly and couldn't summon a 'Heroic Spirit' next time, he would be finished.

"Rest assured, if you have no issues, I will tell you my name and help you survive. Besides, I assume you have a way to counter me, don't you?"

The voice remained cold, but the tone was extremely certain.

Li Ke had no intention of hiding it; there was still a need for caution. Moreover, strangely enough, he could feel that he wasn't just dismissing a soul; even the chakra the other party had left behind in his body could be dismissed in an instant.

Therefore, he dismissed the chakra the other party had applied to his left hand, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Yes, I can send you back to the Pure Land at any time. Even now, I can revoke your control over me and my Shadow Clones."

However, the voice within him paid no heed, speaking instead in a stern tone.

"Hmph, too reckless! Even in your current state, there are countless ways to seize control of you. If it were an evil Uchiha ninja, they would only need a reflective surface to mirror your own eyes; that would be enough to hijack your body, suppress your spirit, and return to this world completely!"

Hearing this, Li Ke realized that when he had collapsed, his blade had been pointed directly at his own eyes. The ninja possessing his body clearly had not trusted him from the very beginning!

But that mention of an "evil Uchiha ninja"...

You really are Senju Tobirama, aren't you!

"In other words, Senior, are you capable of doing something similar?"

Picking up his long blade, Li Ke caught his reflection in the polished steel and couldn't help but feel a jolt of shock.

The whites of his right eye had vanished entirely, replaced by an abyssal black, while the iris had turned a piercing red.

Furthermore, his hair had somehow turned completely silver-white.

"Senior, are you Senju Tobirama?"

Li Ke asked tentatively.

"This old man is not."

The ninja within him denied it instantly, his tone remaining perfectly calm.

Li Ke fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a smile.

"I see... then since you are so formidable, you must be a ninja of the Uchiha Clan, right?"

This time, it was the ninja within him who fell silent. But the silence did not last long, for Li Ke's Shadow Clone had just dispersed. A flood of encrypted memories rushed into Li Ke's mind, and the ninja who claimed not to be Senju Tobirama, having read these ciphers, spoke in a tone of resignation.

"...This old man is indeed the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. However, kid, how did you figure out it was me?"

Senju Tobirama was somewhat puzzled. Although he had revealed his Water Severing Wave, he had written the method and development process of that jutsu into the Scroll of Sealing; surely he shouldn't be the only one capable of using it.

Moreover, Li Ke should have been completely unable to decipher the code, as it was exclusive to the Hokage; without a position like the head of the Jonin Squad, it was impossible to comprehend.

"That's simple... to be able to use Water Severing Wave with only a few hand seals, to harbor such intense loathing for the Uchiha Clan, and to possess such unfathomable strength and experience—I figured it could only be you, the Second Hokage."

Having received confirmation, Li Ke let out a sigh of relief.

Although he still couldn't be one hundred percent certain, based on the current intelligence, this was the most logical conclusion.

Yet, Senju Tobirama was more concerned with something else.

"Why do you think I loathe the Uchiha?"

This question caught Li Ke off guard. He suddenly realized that a ninja like himself shouldn't even be aware that the Second Hokage despised the Uchiha Clan!

In reality, within Konoha, the Second Hokage was often criticized for being too lenient toward the Uchiha!

The Military Police Force was a department that made countless ninja clans green with envy. Its authority was immense; from the regulation of shops to the permissions for entering and leaving the village, as well as the maintenance of barriers and the planning and development of commercial districts, none could bypass the Uchiha-led Military Police Force.

Uchiha ninjas could easily rely on this department to secure a massive amount of gray income.

Furthermore, the department was funded by Konoha's treasury. Every Uchiha ninja could easily join it, allowing them to earn high compensation without ever having to leave the village to fight during times of peace.

Therefore, many Uchiha clansmen held a sense of gratitude toward the Second Hokage, and many ordinary ninjas and members of smaller clans in the village felt that the Second Hokage had been overly generous to the Uchiha.

"This..."

Li Ke didn't know how to respond, but Senju Tobirama struck directly at his weak point.

"This old man is but a dead man; you may speak freely. Besides, if I do not consent, are you not unable to use my power? If that is the case, then it means if I am unwilling, you cannot continue to be a ninja without giving me up, can you?"

Taking a deep breath, Li Ke nodded.

Looking up at the sky, feeling his body—which remained excessively weak even with Senju Tobirama's organs helping to sustain it—Li Ke sighed.

"Actually, I don't want to be a ninja anymore anyway. After I return this time, I'll likely apply for retirement... so it doesn't matter if I tell you."

Li Ke reached his left hand toward the sky.

He was somewhat lost regarding what to do next. Although he could rely on his counterparts from other worlds to eventually restore his body to health and overcome his disability, did he truly want to remain a ninja?

If he could use this opportunity to retire, he could rely on his physical fitness and connections to earn more money through farming or trade than he ever could as a ninja.

That was the "value" of being the one who covered the retreat for the Hokage's son.

But war was truly not something to be fond of.

Still, that didn't stop him from sharing his thoughts with Senju Tobirama.

Because he really didn't want to be a ninja anymore. He would continue to train and grow stronger, but to avoid ending up in this situation again, it would be best to leave his post as a Konoha ninja or find some idle position.

A person like him was the least threatening of all.

"Because as Konoha develops, the resources obtained by the Uchiha, who occupy the positions in the Military Police Force, will only increase. Meanwhile, the resources available to other small and medium-sized clans and civilian ninjas in Konoha will be obstructed by the interference of the Military Police Force. When that time comes, the Uchiha Clan will be attacked by countless invisible hands. No matter how powerful they are, as long as they occupy the Military Police Force and the best central location in Konoha, they will be viewed with hostility by all other clans."

Li Ke actually had his own perspective on the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

It was inaccurate to blame it solely on Sarutobi and Danzo. To be precise, the destruction of the Uchiha was a collective choice made by the other factions in Konoha; Danzo was merely the one who did what everyone else was unwilling to do.

Moreover, no one expected Danzo to be so ruthless as to wipe out the entire Uchiha clan in one go.

"As long as the person serving as Hokage exerts a little bit of checks and balances, they can force the Uchiha into a state of isolation, leaving them no choice but to lean on the Hokage while clinging desperately to the Military Police Force that made them what they are today. This would lead to them being besieged by more small and medium-sized clans, turning them into an increasingly isolated island, and weakening them without them even realizing it. Furthermore, the Uchiha's power and pride largely stem from the Sharingan. Reducing their mission frequency and lowering the death rate of their comrades would naturally reduce the number of Sharingan, thereby making it easier to truly bring the Uchiha Clan under Konoha's control."

Li Ke finished speaking, and Senju Tobirama remained silent for a while before speaking again.

"Your line of thinking is very similar to mine."