Speedrunning Konoha

Inside the Hokage's Office, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed ready to drip with water.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo Shimura with fury written all over his face, flames of anger burning in his eyes.

"Danzo, Rogge is my adopted son. He will definitely become one of Konoha's pillars in the future. Are you trying to drive him to his death? I absolutely refuse!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was filled with anger as he stared fixedly at Danzo Shimura, as though trying to see through his thoughts with his gaze.

"Hiruzen, don't tell me you can't see it. Right now is the best opportunity to suppress the Uchiha Clan. As the Hokage's advisor, I have a responsibility to make you choose correctly." A cold smile appeared on Danzo Shimura's face.

He did not care about Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger. Instead, he believed his plan was the right one.

Anger surfaced on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face. He truly wanted to slap that hypocritical smile right off Danzo Shimura's face, but he forcibly held himself back.

He knew this was not the time to act impulsively. He had to calm down and find a way to resolve the problem.

"Danzo, you understand the situation in the shinobi world as well. The Second Shinobi World War could break out at any moment. This is the time for us to recuperate. No matter how wildly the Uchiha Clan jumps around, we do not need to concern ourselves with them. It's not as if they would really dare rebel, right? Rogge is different. He is a successor to the Will of Fire whom I value highly. I must protect him until he grows up!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was full of helplessness as he tried to dissuade Danzo Shimura from using Rogge as a chess piece.

Danzo Shimura sneered. "Heh, Rogge is just a brat from another village. What right does he have to inherit the Will of Fire? Hiruzen, you will definitely regret teaching the Flying Thunder God Technique to Rogge someday!"

To Danzo Shimura, children from other villages were not worthy of much trust.

Or rather, to him, even Konoha's shinobi were merely tools to be used, expendable resources that would help him ascend to the position of Hokage.

A successor to the Will of Fire? A child from another village? Was he worthy?

Danzo Shimura's eyes were filled with contempt and indifference.

"Danzo, don't forget, I am the Hokage..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's aura weakened as he quietly emphasized the point.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head and added, "Sigh, as for the duel to the death... we'll do as you say. This is the best option for now."

By the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice had become extremely low. He had clearly compromised.

He knew he had no better solution at the moment. He could only compromise for now and wait for an opportunity.

Danzo Shimura burst into laughter and patted Hiruzen Sarutobi on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Maybe Rogge really will learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. If he can't beat his opponent, he can always run. Besides, perhaps Rogge might actually defeat Uchiha Shimizu... Then Rogge will publicly slap the Uchiha Clan in the face. Let's see how they can keep acting arrogant after that."

After hearing Danzo Shimura's words, which sounded like comfort but were actually mockery, Hiruzen Sarutobi was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead.

He knew Danzo Shimura was using Rogge to achieve his own goal, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.

Elsewhere, Rogge was holed up in his home, fully focused on familiarizing himself with the Flying Thunder God Technique.

[Grindlord System!]

[Flying Thunder God Technique: Not Initiated (1/200)]

The Grindlord System's red panel appeared at just the right moment.

Rogge sat cross-legged in the center of his room. In front of him lay the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him.

His gaze was intensely focused, as though he wanted to carve every word on the scroll into his mind.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across his body.

Rogge took a deep breath and gradually calmed his mind.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was an S-rank space-time ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It could be used for offense, shortening ninjutsu distances, disruption, surprise attacks, and transferring targets. Naturally, it could also be used to evade danger and flee.

Most importantly, the Flying Thunder God Technique did not require hand seals!

By leaving Flying Thunder God formula marks on targets in advance, the caster could instantly move themselves or objects indirectly in contact with their chakra.

Of course, if the caster repeatedly transferred large targets, they would consume massive amounts of chakra until they became exhausted.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was an extremely profound space-time ninjutsu that required exceptional concentration and precision to master.

Rogge slowly opened the scroll. The complex formulas and profound principles recorded within made him frown slightly.

Yet he did not retreat in the slightest. Instead, a powerful desire for a challenge rose within him.

Rogge began carefully studying the scroll, understanding its meaning word by word and sentence by sentence.

His mind raced as he continuously analyzed the structure and operation of the formulas.

At times, he sank into deep thought. At other times, he nodded lightly, as though engaging in a profound conversation with the knowledge contained in the scroll.

He knew that only by understanding the principles behind the formulas could he better master them.

After grasping the theoretical knowledge, Rogge saw the Grindlord System panel update!

[Flying Thunder God Technique: Not Initiated (100/200)]

Simply understanding the principles of the technique had raised his proficiency by a hundred points!

The Grindlord System was awesome!

Joy welled up in Rogge's heart. He knew his efforts had not been in vain.

But he also understood that this was merely the beginning. He still had a long road ahead.

Then Rogge decided to begin practical training.

He picked up a kunai from beside him, focused his mind, and tried to leave a Flying Thunder God formula mark on it.

His eyes remained fixed on the kunai as chakra slowly flowed through his hand, striving to find the right feeling for casting the technique.

However, his first attempt did not go smoothly.

His chakra control went off course, and the formula mark failed to form.

Rogge was not discouraged. He knew learning a new ninjutsu required time and patience.

He adjusted his mindset and tried again.

This time, he focused even harder, concentrating all his energy on the kunai in his hand.

Like nimble threads, his chakra gradually stabilized under his control.

Finally, a faint formula mark appeared on the kunai's handle.

A trace of delight appeared on Rogge's face as he looked again at the Grindlord System panel before him.

[Flying Thunder God Technique: Not Initiated (199/200)]

Successfully leaving the formula mark meant he was just one step away from initiation!

Good. Keep it up!

Rogge's heart was full of confidence. He knew he was about to take the most important step.

Next, Rogge began practicing instant movement.

He placed several markers around different parts of the room, then tried to use the formula mark on the kunai to instantly move beside them.

Once he started, he trained for three straight days, nearly driving himself mad.

"No way, am I stuck?" Rogge had never expected that, despite being only one proficiency point away from initiation, he would be unable to cross that threshold for so long.

Was going from zero to one really this difficult?

On the morning of the fourth day, after breakfast, Rogge once again sat cross-legged on the tatami in the living room and began training!

He closed his eyes, sensed the formula mark on the kunai, then focused and imagined himself instantly moving to the target location.

With a whoosh, Rogge vanished from where he stood and successfully appeared inside the bedroom wardrobe.

Rogge pushed open the wardrobe door and stepped out, a smile on his face.

He opened the Grindlord System's red panel and saw that the information had updated again.

[Flying Thunder God Technique: Initiated (0/1000)]

He had succeeded!

He had broken through from zero to one!

For every failure over the previous three days, he had carefully analyzed the cause and adjusted his casting method.

As time passed, his success rate finally reached one hundred percent. He had entered the beginner stage!

However, his casting time was still far too long. He needed a full three seconds of preparation before he could successfully teleport.

On the battlefield, every second could change in an instant. If his Flying Thunder God Technique could not reach the level of instant casting, he would have no way to use it to kill enemies in battle.

"It's fine. Now that I've gotten started, it'll be easier. As long as I keep raising my proficiency, I'll eventually reach instant casting!"

Rogge silently encouraged himself.

Ten days later, Rogge could finally teleport around the room skillfully.

In less than a second, he could instantly move to the location of a formula mark!

The Flying Thunder God Technique was a spatial ninjutsu that required no hand seals. Its greatest feature was speed!

It emphasized catching opponents off guard and winning through speed!

[Flying Thunder God Technique: Proficient (0/2000)]

"Not bad. My mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique should now be about on par with Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, during the Third Shinobi World War." Rogge's heart was filled with pride. He knew his hard work had paid off.

But he also knew he still had plenty of room to improve.

"However... I still need to combine the Flying Thunder God Technique with my Magma-Magma Fruit ability and create a killer move unique to me!"

No sooner said than done!

Rogge left behind a Shadow Clone at home to pretend that he was still there, deceiving the ANBU shinobi who had been monitoring him.

Meanwhile, his real body used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly transfer to... the Grass Country!

Why had Rogge suddenly been able to reach the Grass Country?

That required mentioning Konoha's commercial trade.

The Second Shinobi World War had not yet broken out, so Konoha was still open to the outside world!

In Konoha, certain goods and merchants needed to travel back and forth between two countries to conduct business, earning rich profits from each round trip.

One common commodity was rare medicinal herbs.

The Land of Fire, where Konoha was located, possessed abundant natural resources and grew unique, precious herbs.

These medicinal herbs were in great demand in other countries for medical treatment, pharmaceutical production, or ninjutsu research.

Merchants often hired Konoha shinobi as guards to transport these herbs to other countries for enormous profits.

In addition, specially made ninja tools were important trade goods.

Konoha's shinobi were famed for their exquisite ninja tool craftsmanship. The high-quality shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, and other ninja tools they produced were highly popular among shinobi from other countries. Merchants often collected these ninja tools and transported them abroad for sale.

Some pets or animals with special abilities could also become trade goods.

For example, ninja hounds capable of tracking scents.

These animals could sometimes play important roles in specific missions or battles, so buyers from other countries might be willing to pay high prices for them.

Merchants in the shinobi world were mostly experienced travelers familiar with the routes and cultures of various countries. They organized caravans, hired guards, carried goods across dangerous borders, and traded with buyers and sellers from different nations.

In addition, some shinobi also participated in cross-border trade.

They used their ninjutsu and connections to protect the safe transport of goods while profiting from the trade.

Rogge had taken advantage of Konoha's international trade to secretly leave his unique Flying Thunder God marks on ninja tools, crates, even civilians' clothing, medicinal herb packaging, and other goods destined for foreign lands.

After more than ten days, his Flying Thunder God marks had already spread throughout the major regions of the shinobi world.

The Five Great Nations and some small shinobi villages all had his Flying Thunder God marks!

Rogge finally had the ability to protect himself. As long as he wanted to escape, no one could stop him!

Even if he were forced to leave Konoha and become a rogue ninja, he would not panic in the slightest.

In the Grass Country, within a deserted forest.

Rogge returned to his true height of 185 centimeters, revealing himself as a handsome eighteen-year-old youth.

"In Konoha, I'm always being watched, so I can't display the true strength I gained after awakening the Magma-Magma Fruit. Now it's perfect. I can finally train at full strength!"

Rogge's eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement. He knew that here, he could unleash his strength to his heart's content without worrying about being discovered.

First came a derivative technique of the Flying Thunder God Slash—Flying Thunder God Fist!

In the original manga, Flying Thunder God Slash was a B-rank ninjutsu technique. First, the user used spatial movement to reach an opponent's blind spot marked with a Flying Thunder God formula. Then, at lightning speed, they struck the opponent's vital point with a blade. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had used this move to defeat Madara Uchiha's younger brother, Izuna Uchiha.

Of course, in actual combat, Rogge could throw kunai marked with Flying Thunder God formulas to distract his opponent. When the kunai flew behind them, Rogge could instantly teleport to it. This would make him vanish before the opponent's eyes, allowing him to evade their attack while circling behind them and using the kunai to cut them down.

His Flying Thunder God Fist, however, worked with the Magma-Magma Fruit's ability. He turned his fist into magma, teleported over, and punched straight through the opponent's chest for an instant kill! Just like Sakazuki in One Piece, using a magma fist to punch through Ace's chest from behind!

Boom!

A massive tree that took two people to encircle had its thick, sturdy trunk pierced through in an instant by the scorching magma fist, crashing to the ground.

"Not bad. This move catches enemies off guard. If they aren't prepared in advance, they'll be instantly killed by me!"

Rogge pondered for several seconds, thinking to himself, The check-in system's reward mechanism requires me to personally reach certain special locations before it will trigger a successful check-in notification. Next, I'll have to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel all around the world. I wonder what skill I'll receive after my next successful check-in...

"Heh, the check-in system really does make one look forward to it!"