Unexpected Rewards!

Little did they know, upon hearing that he could obtain a jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals, Kawaki Aoba shouted internally.

Flying Thunder God Technique, Spirit Transformation Technique, Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!

These were the three Kawaki Aoba craved most: one for instant teleportation, one for astral projection, and one for playing with life and death.

With these three as the offerings for his sacrifice, even if he didn't immediately soar to the top, he would certainly be able to make waves in the shinobi world.

However, he was well aware that unless Sarutobi Hiruzen had a screw loose, he would never hand over the Flying Thunder God Technique or the Spirit Transformation Technique to him right now. As for the latter, Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, it was a taboo among taboos; he shouldn't even dream of it.

Sure enough, after some consideration, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already decided in his heart which jutsu he felt was most suitable for Kawaki Aoba.

"Darkness Technique. This is a genjutsu developed by my teacher, the Second Hokage. Although its learning difficulty is A-rank, its effects can sometimes rival S-rank ninjutsu. It is one of the most prized techniques developed by the Second Hokage throughout his life."

"Er, thank you, Your Majesty." Kawaki Aoba bowed respectfully, though he felt disappointed by the Darkness Technique in his heart and had a strong urge to complain.

Was Sarutobi Hiruzen serious about giving him a technique that plunged the enemy's vision into darkness?

Did Sarutobi Hiruzen want him to blind others during battle and then defeat them using his own rich experience?

Also, saying this technique could rival S-rank ninjutsu in certain situations—that must refer to dealing with the Uchiha Clan, which would explain why the Darkness Technique was one of Senju Tobirama's proudest works.

After thanking the Hokage again, there was nothing else to do. The four-man squad withdrew and headed toward the Yuhi Residence.

Although their mission abroad was short, they had encountered far too many accidents, and the team needed time to properly process everything.

Not long after they left, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo were notified by the Anbu one after another and arrived at the Hokage Building to meet with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen, you called us here at this hour—is there new movement from Sunagakure?" Danzo was the last to arrive, but he was the first to speak.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured for Danzo to sit, then picked up his pipe before saying, "More or less. It's intelligence brought back by a squad I sent to the Land of Wind. The genius ninja of Sunagakure, Sasori, has defected. He assassinated the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet."

"What? The Third Kazekage was assassinated? Hiruzen, is this information accurate?" Mitokado Homura was shocked, his voice trembling with disbelief.

"The source of the intelligence is absolutely reliable, and the recent movements in Sunagakure happen to confirm its authenticity. Therefore, I called you here to notify you to prepare for the worst."

"Prepare for the worst! Hiruzen, do you mean Sunagakure is likely to initiate a large-scale war against us?" Utatane Koharu frowned, a look of worry appearing on her face.

"Hmph, mere Sunagakure. As long as they dare to provoke Konoha, I will personally lead men to the front lines and wipe them out." The only one who could say such a thing was, naturally, Shimura Danzo. After speaking, he stared straight at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Hiruzen, this time they provoked you first. You should have no reason to stop me now."

Looking at his old partner, Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand. "Danzo, sit down and let me finish. If it were only Sunagakure, I wouldn't be worried at all. However, I called you here to discuss something of greater importance: the potential outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War."

As Sarutobi Hiruzen's words fell, all three, including Danzo, felt a violent jolt in their hearts.

"The Third Shinobi World War? Hiruzen, do you know what you're saying? How much time has passed since the Second Shinobi World War?" Mitokado Homura stared intently at Sarutobi Hiruzen, hoping for an answer.

The other two were the same.

Inside the Hokage Office, a fierce debate began over whether the Third Shinobi World War might break out.

Meanwhile, at the Yuhi Residence, two figures were engaged in a fierce clash.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A continuous series of physical impacts echoed through the air. This was a duel of taijutsu, though an occasional cry of pain could be heard.

Shave!

Finger Pistol!

Kawaki Aoba unleashed two powerful Six Powers techniques in succession. His figure, with chakra surging from his body, had turned into a blur in the courtyard. Red and Asuma, watching from the sidelines, couldn't track his movements at all.

Yet, as the target of the attacks, Yuhi Shinku hadn't even let Kawaki Aoba touch the hem of his clothes.

"You see, Aoba? This is your current weakness. No matter how impressive your self-created taijutsu is, it's useless if you can't hit the enemy. And this strange body-flicker of yours—it's enough to deal with average chunin, but against a jonin, it's very difficult to inflict damage unless you're launching a sneak attack."

Through this sparring session, Yuhi Shinku made Kawaki Aoba realize how lucky he had been to severely injure that elite jonin, and how much he had relied on the element of surprise. If it were a head-on confrontation, as long as the jonin wasn't careless, the probability of landing a direct hit was infinitely close to zero.

"Alright, Aoba. After practicing until now, you should have an understanding of your reaction speed against a jonin. Now, your teacher is going to get serious. Be very careful not to get hurt."

As he finished speaking, Yuhi Shinku rapidly fired several shuriken to block Kawaki Aoba's escape route, then surged forward himself.

Yuhi Shinku wanted to use himself as an example to properly instruct Kawaki Aoba, preventing him from becoming arrogant and complacent after taking down an elite jonin, which would surely get him killed in future missions.

However, to Yuhi Shinku's complete surprise, his attacks were easily dodged by Kawaki Aoba.

"Master Shinku, I don't deny that I felt complacent about taking down that elite jonin. That mindset was my shortcoming. But when facing a jonin, I will always maintain twelve-fold vigilance. I wouldn't dare to be the slightest bit careless."

It was the max-level Observation Haki's ability to foresee the future. Only this ability to predict Yuhi Shinku's attacks in advance allowed the current Kawaki Aoba to react early and evade the strikes.

After several more continuous attacks, Yuhi Shinku realized this. Based on Kawaki Aoba's raw reaction speed, he absolutely shouldn't have been able to dodge those attacks, yet the boy was able to evade in advance with precise prediction.

It was simply too mind-boggling.