Meanwhile, Uchiha Jun, watching the battle from a distance, also noticed the Third Raikage's plan.
"He's splitting off. Is he planning to hold them back so the Iwa-nin can't pursue?"
Once he was sure the Third Raikage was about to break away from the main force of Kumogakure's shinobi, Uchiha Jun opened the Summoning Animal and Secret Scroll menus, preparing to recruit some summoning animals and upgrade and combine some Secret Scrolls.
Although he hadn't been through any particularly intense battles lately, Uchiha Jun still farmed Abundance Chamber every day, so he'd saved up a considerable number of Copper Coins and Secret Scroll Fragments.
[Ding!] [Copper Coin Balance: 62,000,000] [Secret Scroll Fragment · Chakra: 27/30] [Secret Scroll Fragment · Dispel: Recovery: 8/30] [Secret Scroll Fragments: Wood Release: Insertion Technique (12/10), Dispel: Scatter (15/10), Lightning Style: Magnetic Storm (10/10), Summoning: Shuriken Protection (12/10), Earth Style: Earth Tremor (10/10)...]
"I've got enough Copper Coins..." Uchiha Jun stroked his chin, surveying the Summoning Animal menu.
"But there's no way a summoning animal like Baku or Chameleon costs the same as those D-rank duds from before, right?"
If he was going to pretend, he had to commit to the act. A fake Shimura Danzo would naturally need his signature Elephant.
As it happened, he'd just cleared a new difficulty in Abundance Chamber and unlocked some new summoning animals.
He opened the deeper menu in the [Summoning Animal Recruitment] interface, and sure enough—
The page, which had previously displayed only a single row of ordinary summoning animals, had automatically unlocked a second page after he completed the first clear of B-rank Abundance Chamber.
A glittering new list appeared before him:
[Currently Available Summoning Animals · Advanced:] [Baku (B-rank): A legendary dream-eating beast said to devour nightmares. Costs Copper Coins × 12,000,000. Once summoned, it opens its huge mouth and unleashes a powerful Wind Release suction, forcibly drawing in enemies, ninja tools, and Explosive Tags across a wide area in front of it, suppressing them continuously and dealing Wind Release damage.] [Additional Effect: Has a high chance of briefly inducing mental panic in targets with low resistance to Genjutsu. If the user is [Shimura Danzo], the power of the next Wind Release Ninjutsu used is increased by an additional 40%.] [Hawk (C+ rank): A high-speed aerial reconnaissance summoning animal. Costs Copper Coins × 10,000,000. Once summoned, its vision can be shared to lock onto targets from several kilometers away. It can also launch surprise attacks with a diving claw strike. After release, movement speed increases by 20%, with the added tactical support effect of an expanded field of vision.] [Additional Effect: If the user is [Sasuke Uchiha], movement speed is increased by an additional 30%.] [Chameleon (B-rank): A medium-sized, cold-blooded summoning animal exceptionally skilled at stealth and assassination. Costs Copper Coins × 12,000,000. Once summoned, it can enter an almost perfect state of optical invisibility and conceal its presence extremely quickly. It can work with its summoner to launch surprise attacks or carry out rescue missions. Its long-tongue capture effect is treated as a "grapple" skill and can break super armor.] [Additional Effect: If the user is [Six Paths of Pain], movement speed is increased by an additional 40%.]
Uchiha Jun's gaze lingered on Baku's entry for a moment.
The note beneath it made the corners of his mouth turn up.
"Brother Danzo, for the sake of friendship between Konoha and Kumogakure, you'd better wear this scapegoat well!"
He pressed the recruitment button.
[Ding! Copper Coins × 12,000,000 consumed. Successfully recruited summoning animal [Baku]!] [Current Copper Coins: 50,000,000] [Ding! Copper Coins × 10,000,000 consumed. Successfully recruited summoning animal [Hawk]!] [Current Copper Coins: 40,000,000] [Ding! Copper Coins × 12,000,000 consumed. Successfully recruited summoning animal [Chameleon]!] [Current Copper Coins: 28,000,000]
Three flashes of light appeared in succession on the interface, and the phantom images of three brand-new summoning animal contract scrolls appeared before Uchiha Jun.
Uchiha Jun suddenly felt three faint connections within his spiritual world—the summoning animals' soul marks, formed when their contracts were established.
"Not bad. Each one suits a different tactical situation. I can use Baku to impersonate Danzo and stir up trouble, Hawk for aerial reconnaissance and flight, and Chameleon for sneaking around and escaping."
Uchiha Jun nodded in satisfaction, closed the Summoning Animal interface, and switched to the [Secret Scrolls] interface.
"Next, the Secret Scrolls..."
He first looked at [Secret Scroll: Chakra].
[Secret Scroll: Chakra (Current Level: Lv. 1)] [Effect: Instantly restores 2 Chakra Beans upon use.] [Upgrade to Lv. 2 Required: Copper Coins × 4,000,000 + Secret Scroll Fragment · Chakra × 30] [Lv. 2 Effect Preview: Instantly restores 3 Chakra Beans (full beans) upon use and increases Ninjutsu attack power by 10% for the next 3 seconds.]
"Chakra... A few more Abundance Chamber runs should be enough to make up the difference..."
Uchiha Jun checked the remaining Secret Scroll Fragments · Chakra in his inventory—27.
He was three fragments short of 30.
Unfortunately, Abundance Chamber was currently the only way to obtain Secret Scroll Fragments.
Fortunately, higher difficulty levels of Abundance Chamber yielded more Secret Scroll Fragments and a wider variety of them.
Uchiha Jun turned his attention to another Secret Scroll—[Dispel: Recovery].
[Secret Scroll: Dispel: Recovery (Current Level: Lv. 1)] [Effect: Instantly reduces the remaining cooldown of all the user's skills by 40%.] [Upgrade to Lv. 2 Required: Copper Coins × 4,000,000 + Secret Scroll Fragment · Dispel: Recovery × 30] [Lv. 2 Effect Preview: Instantly reduces the remaining cooldown of all the user's skills by 60%.]
Ever since he'd obtained this Secret Scroll, he'd barely used it. Chakra was useful, for one thing, but the main reason was that Uchiha Jun couldn't think of any way to make use of it.
After all, reality wasn't datafied; using a skill didn't give it a cooldown.
As long as you had enough chakra, you could become a machine-gun shooter if you wanted. That made [Dispel: Recovery] seem rather useless.
Perhaps when Uchiha Jun gained the ability to pull enemies into [Datafication] and play [Full Immersion] together, [Dispel: Recovery] would finally be able to show its full potential.
"Wood Release: Insertion Technique, Dispel: Scatter, and Lightning Style: Magnetic Storm. I can combine all three Secret Scrolls now."
"With Insertion Technique, I can pin it on Danzo. Then I can even get Sarutobi Hiruzen to take Yamato away from Shimura Danzo ahead of time."
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that Danzo and Orochimaru were researching the First Hashirama Senju's cells in an attempt to recreate Wood Release.
But during the Third Shinobi World War, the other villages had taken turns fighting Konoha as if they were going through boss stages. Sarutobi Hiruzen had been under considerable pressure, and he too wanted to bring back the might of Wood Release.
So he'd simply turned a blind eye to it.
If Shimura Danzo really did manage to make some progress with Wood Release, Sarutobi Hiruzen would undoubtedly have one of those classic "I'm the Hokage—you'll regret this" showdowns with him.
[Wood Release: Insertion Technique (Current Level: Lv. 1)] [Effect: Instantly summons a dense cluster of wooden spikes, dealing heavy damage to enemies within range and grabbing them for 2 seconds. This technique requires no hand seals.] [Upgrade to Lv. 2 Required: Copper Coins × 4,000,000 + Wood Release: Insertion Technique × 30] [Lv. 2 Effect Preview: The coverage area of the wooden spikes increases by 50%, and the grab duration increases to 3 seconds. While a target is grabbed, the spikes absorb chakra and convert it into temporary energy equivalent to 1 Chakra Bean.]
"Good grief, it can drain Chakra Beans at Lv. 2? What kind of messed-up Secret Scroll is this? It's basically a little Wood Dragon."
"Anyone who gets impaled by Insertion from now on is in for a treat."
[Ding! Obtained Secret Scroll: [Wood Release: Insertion Technique]] [Dispel: Scatter (Current Level: Lv. 1)] [Effect: Instantly dispels most negative effects on the user, including but not limited to: lingering effects that deal damage over time, such as Amaterasu's black flames and Clay Bombs; movement restrictions such as slowing, immobilization, and paralysis; and sensory interference or visual distortions caused by Genjutsu.] [Upgrade to Lv. 2 Required: Copper Coins × 4,000,000 + Dispel: Scatter × 30] [Lv. 2 Effect Preview: Instantly dispels most negative effects on the user, including but not limited to: lingering effects that deal damage over time, such as Amaterasu's black flames and Clay Bombs; movement restrictions such as slowing, immobilization, and paralysis; and sensory interference or visual distortions caused by Genjutsu. The moment the effects are dispelled, the user gains 1 second of invincibility.]
"Not bad. Now I don't have to worry about Amaterasu."
[Ding! Obtained Secret Scroll: [Dispel: Scatter]] [Lightning Style: Magnetic Storm (Current Level: Lv. 1)] [Effect: Creates a powerful electromagnetic field with a radius of 12 meters around the user for 4 seconds. Enemies within the field continuously take Lightning Release damage (roughly equivalent to a C-rank Ninjutsu) and have their movement speed increased by 30%. The field also becomes strongly magnetic, giving it a chance to attract and deflect metal ninja tools thrown by enemies, reducing the accuracy of their ranged weapons.] [Upgrade to Lv. 2 Required: Copper Coins × 4,000,000 + Lightning Style: Magnetic Storm × 30] [Lv. 2 Effect Preview: The field's radius increases to 18 meters, and its duration increases to 8 seconds. The slowing effect increases to 45%. New special effect: Electromagnetic Induction—when you use any Lightning Release Ninjutsu within the field, including but not limited to Chidori, Lightning Blade, and Kirin, its damage increases by an additional 15%.]
"I'm well prepared for the battle ahead."
Uchiha Jun put away the system, glanced at the sky, then summoned Hawk and Mofang, preparing to fly up high and make some preparations.
"Poof—"
"Scree!"
"Hmm? Is something the matter, Jun?"
Mofang glanced at the giant hawk beside him, then turned to Uchiha Jun and asked.
"Yes. Go find Hikari. After I take down the Third Raikage, have Hikari use a Shadow Clone disguised as a Root squad to meet me."
"No problem!"
Mofang nodded and turned to leave.
After watching Mofang go, Uchiha Jun looked at the giant hawk waiting beside him.
"Take me up!"
"Scree!"
Below, the fight between the Third Raikage and the Iwa-nin forces had reached its most intense point.
With Blue B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, leading them, the Kumogakure forces had completely withdrawn from the battlefield and escaped into the Land of Waterfalls.
But that left the Third Raikage facing the pressure of two Iwa-nin Jinchuriki. Now that they had cover, Ōnoki in midair could also build up his Dust Release attack without restraint and bombard the Third Raikage.
If not for the lightning-fast speed granted by Lightning Release Armor, the Third Raikage would have already died on the spot!
High above.
Riding on the giant hawk's back, Uchiha Jun had now switched to the [Shimura Danzo] template. As he made his preparations, he suddenly realized that the Sharingan he'd used up during the earlier attack on the Daimyo Palace and his battle with Uchiha Hikari hadn't recovered.
He still had only four Sharingan available.
"Looks like I'll have to find a few Three-Tomoe Sharingan to restock. The only ones who'd even have Three-Tomoe Sharingan to spare are probably the Uchiha Setsuna faction's old holdouts. That works. I can trick Uchiha Fugaku later."
"I'll get him to launch a 'purge,' then stir up a little 'trouble' along the way, and I'll have my hands on some Three-Tomoe Sharingan!"
"Since you, Uchiha Fugaku, plan to assimilate into Konoha, you've got to 'prove your loyalty,' right? Heh."
Realizing he could no longer rely on his Revival Coin and recklessly throw himself into danger, Uchiha Jun looked down at the battlefield.
As time passed, even the mighty Third Raikage couldn't come away unscathed while being attacked by three Kage-level powerhouses at once!
The Lightning Release Armor covering his body had visibly dimmed compared to before!
"Now!"