Now That I Can't Learn It, Never Mind

After Qingfeng left, the two Hokage continued discussing the hostile ninja who had appeared today and knew space-time ninjutsu.

"What exactly is his goal?"

"Did he come for this Uchiha genius?"

"Or does he have some other agenda?"

None of this was known, but this was a critical time. Not even the slightest oversight could be allowed.

"No matter what his objective is, the village must strengthen its defenses. I'm afraid he may be after Kushina..."

"Should we abandon the previous plan? It may already have been exposed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes and pondered for a while.

"Biwako said the due date is within the next couple of days. There's simply no time to change locations and set up another barrier. And doing it inside the village is absolutely out of the question."

Minato Namikaze remained silent. He knew the Third Hokage was right; the risk factor within the village was far too high.

Things had already gone beyond expectations. What had seemed like a stable plan had suddenly encountered an unforeseen variable, catching them off guard.

Orochimaru, one of their more powerful fighters, had gone out to gather intelligence and had not returned to the village for a long time. They could not contact him for the moment, and even if they did, he could not make it back in time.

As for Shisui Uchiha, he was still stationed at the front lines, and there was not enough time for him either.

"At this point, we can only proceed according to the original plan. Send more Anbu members, and with you, Fourth, guarding the area, ensure the Nine-Tails' safety."

"I'll remain in the village. If anything happens, I'll head over to provide support immediately."

"Notify Orochimaru and Shisui to return as well. The village is somewhat lacking in High-End Combat Power right now."

The Third Hokage made the arrangements simply, and Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement.

Minato knew his own strength well. Even if the Raikage came, he would not be afraid. Ordinary Jonin were like children before the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Taking on fifty Jonin alone and wiping them all out was not just talk; it was a genuine battle record.

Besides, this was the Land of Fire, this was Leaf Village. A large-scale battle simply could not break out here.

Qingfeng, who had already left, had no idea what the two Hokage had decided. As a child, there was nothing he could change now.

It was more important to focus on learning ninjutsu and increasing his strength.

He first ran Lightning Release Chakra through his body once. He was no longer satisfied with merely covering his skin, and slowly began letting it seep into his body.

If the Raikage knew that Uchiha Qingfeng was training the Lightning Release Chakra Mode this way, he would probably be shocked. Such a brute-force method could easily cause bodily damage, and the damage could not be healed.

The Lightning Release Chakra Mode they trained began from special acupuncture points inside the body and was developed step by step. Even then, some people accidentally ruined themselves through training, let alone Qingfeng, who was forcing it through his entire body directly.

If it doesn't electrocute me to death in one go, then once I recover, I'll definitely master it.

With that resolve, Qingfeng consumed the Xuzhu Royal Physical Enhancement Secret Medicine far faster than when he was merely running laps. His body improved rapidly, but the medicine was running out just as quickly.

Once he felt it was about right, he switched to forming Hand Seals for Chidori.

He watched the lightning dancing in his palm and listened to its buzzing cry.

Although it vanished after only a short time, that was already enough time to launch an attack. He estimated that it would not be long before he completely mastered this ninjutsu.

An A-rank ninjutsu was nothing special.

Qingfeng was getting a little full of himself now. Even an A-rank ninjutsu could be completely mastered through prolonged practice.

Then an S-rank one should be about the same, right?

He took out the Ninjutsu Scroll Minato Namikaze had given him.

Sure enough, the scroll was about the Flying Thunder God Technique.

In the room on the second floor of the pharmacy, Qingfeng slowly opened the scroll to examine the true nature of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

What Tobirama Senju had written was obscure and incomprehensible, so he skipped it outright.

Further down were the Fourth Hokage's insights and all sorts of annotations.

It seemed this really was the copy Minato had intended to preserve. He had written in such detail so that if a child with talent for space-time ninjutsu ever appeared in the village, they could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique whether or not they had a teacher to guide them. He had truly put a great deal of thought into it.

Unfortunately, Qingfeng had gotten his hands on it first.

He looked over Minato Namikaze's notes on the requirements for training in the Flying Thunder God Technique.

First, one needed talent for space.

Second, one had to be a sensory-type ninja. In other words, one needed to master a Sensory Technique.

Qingfeng did not yet know whether he had spatial talent, but as for sensory ninjutsu, he had already learned it.

"Everyone perceives space differently. Different fluctuations form different formulas."

"The Second Hokage's formula was a string of symbols, while Minato Namikaze's was the 'Sword of Ninja Love.' Different perceptions ultimately produce different formulas."

"So there is most likely no pair of identical formulas. It all depends on one's own understanding of space."

Putting everything else aside, the first step was to use his Sharingan to copy the entire ninjutsu.

But it was still difficult to understand. Even after activating his senses to their limit, he still could not perceive the Spatial Fluctuation described on the scroll. The threshold truly was too high. From beginning to end, only Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze had mastered this ninjutsu.

He continuously circulated Chakra according to the method recorded on the scroll, but unfortunately, he still could not feel the so-called Spatial Fluctuation at all. Qingfeng was not in a hurry. He had practiced Chidori for several days without fully mastering it, so he had long prepared himself to slowly grind it out with the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Elsewhere, Uchiha Clan Head Fugaku and the three elders, Uchiha Eagle, Uchiha Setsuna, and Uchiha Baru, gathered in the Clan Head's home.

Fugaku had called the elders to his home this time to discuss the reforms the Uchiha needed.

Elder Uchiha Eagle was an old man who had lived through the Second Shinobi World War. He clearly understood why the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had handed the entire Security Force over to the Uchiha in the first place: to maintain order and public security in Konoha, as well as arrest those with criminal tendencies.

On the surface, it was said to be a show of trust. In truth, the Uchiha were too great a destabilizing factor, so they needed rules imposed upon them. As law enforcers, they were supposed to set an example. Yet things had gone off course. Members of the Security Force broke the law themselves, so its authority could only be weakened again and again.

"The powers held by the Leaf Village Guard are becoming smaller and smaller. Now, they can only arrest a few petty thieves. This situation cannot continue."

"The Clan Head's failure in the Hokage election was certainly due in large part to this as well."

Uchiha Fugaku sat there expressionlessly.

"The Fourth Hokage has already taken office. There is no need to mention the Hokage matter again. What we need now is a way to resolve the Uchiha's current predicament."

Uchiha Eagle stated his thoughts. "The rift between us and the village cannot keep widening. We should set aside Uchiha arrogance and coexist peacefully with the village."

Having lived so long, he greatly treasured the hard-won peace. There was simply no need for infighting. The best course was for everyone in the village to work together to protect this hard-won peace.