"It looks like things are far more serious than we imagined." Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows were tightly furrowed, his tone grim.
Every jonin present felt heavy-hearted. What did he mean, serious? Things had been serious for ages!
Since Konoha Year 48, no major wars had broken out in the Shinobi World, nor had there been any particularly significant clashes between nations or villages.
Even against that backdrop, Orochimaru remained one of the S-rank rogue ninja jointly designated by the Five Great Nations. That alone spoke volumes!
Mitaraishi Anko had reported this as early as the second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams! Yet the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had avoided taking drastic action in the name of maintaining stability!
"Third, I'm afraid things are far more serious than we imagined," Kakashi Hatake said. "Gekko Hayate's wounds look like they were caused by Magnet Release ninjutsu. Could it be..."
"The Land of Wind is our ally," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "We cannot suspect the people from Sunagakure based on Magnet Release ninjutsu alone. Plenty of people can use that kind of chakra. Perhaps Orochimaru's subordinates are trying to mislead us."
Kakashi Hatake had nothing more to say.
Tianming listened to their exchange below without saying a word! The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was a very peculiar man.
Call him incompetent, and yet under his rule, the Land of Fire ranked first among the Five Great Nations! Konoha was also the foremost ninja village. Everyone, from ninja to ordinary civilians, respected him!
Call him competent, and yet Hiruzen Sarutobi was an arrogant man who centralized power. His ambitions were more those of a politician than a Hokage. Most of the Konoha High Command were his people, their influence reaching throughout Konoha as they pushed out anyone who opposed them.
Yet this complicated, two-faced man lacked the most important thing: strength! Hiruzen Sarutobi possessed chakra of every nature and knew countless ninjutsu, but his strength had never dominated an era the way the First's and the Second's had.
Even the Fourth, who succeeded him, had a more impressive record.
Beyond that, he lacked self-awareness, including over the fact that Orochimaru's impending invasion of Konoha was already no secret.
Hiruzen Sarutobi still prioritized stability and saving face. Even when he died at Orochimaru's hands, he left behind the image of a kindly mentor.
"Qingchuan Tianming, did you discover anything else when you found the body?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.
"No." Tianming shook his head. Expose the Sand Ninja? Not a chance. First, he had no intention of interfering with a major historical event like this. Second, given Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual behavior, even if he told him, the man would still die at Orochimaru's hands. The outcome would not change in the slightest.
"Lord Third, Qingchuan Tianming was probably lucky. If he had run into Orochimaru's people, he likely wouldn't have returned," Kakashi Hatake said.
"Yes, that makes sense." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tianming again, his gaze filled with kindness. "You found Gekko Hayate and reported it. The rest is for the jonin to handle. Go back, get some rest, and prepare for the third round."
After receiving permission, Tianming turned and left the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was right. He only needed to concern himself with the third round.
After leaving the Hokage's office, Tianming did not head straight back to the Aokawa Clan. Instead, he went directly to Team 7's training grounds.
He stood beside the stream in darkness so deep he could not see his hand before his face. Suddenly, a bright yellow aura swirled upward, and threads of electricity gathered in his palm.
This was the check-in reward he had just received: Lightning Release mastery!
Previously, when he had used ultimate chakra to learn Kakashi Hatake's Lightning Cutter, Tianming had altered the state of his chakra to imitate it.
Now, however, he was using genuine Lightning Release ninjutsu!
With a thought, he drew the chakra back into his body, then sat cross-legged beside the stream and closed his eyes.
The ninja clans of Konoha all had their own exclusive ninjutsu or ninja arts to some degree! Though the Aokawa Clan was an unremarkable family, it too possessed a ninjutsu manual!
It was the Lightning Release: Mountain Thunder Seal manual Tianming had been using to prop up a table leg!
This ninja art was his father Qingchuan Daihui's signature technique! Mountain Thunder Seal condensed lightning chakra into an enormous mass that attacked with the crushing weight of a mountain!
Overwhelming and unstoppable!
Unfortunately, Qingchuan Daihui had been an ordinary ninja with neither a Kekkei Genkai nor ocular techniques.
Lightning Release: Mountain Thunder Seal had not been particularly impressive in his hands.
Fortunately, it was now in Tianming's hands.
"Lightning Release: Mountain Thunder Seal!" Tianming uttered softly.
Dense lightning chakra erupted from his body, instantly spreading across a hundred-meter radius!
Lightning filled the entire area, its intricately interwoven web dazzling to behold!
Yet that lightning did not destroy a single tree or blade of grass!
Such was the terrifying control granted by Tianming's ultimate chakra!
"Condense!"
Tianming formed hand seals with both hands. The web of lightning spanning a hundred meters abruptly contracted, compressing into a towering mountain of lightning!
It worked! Delight surged through Tianming's heart. Then he waved his hand, and the lightning mountain dispersed...
He had learned a technique in a single attempt and mastered it completely! There was no second person in Konoha who could do that.
By then, dawn had arrived, and the sky was beginning to brighten.
Just as Tianming returned to the war orphan residential district, he spotted black smoke rising from the Aokawa Estate.
Someone attacked Karin?
Tianming became a blur as he raced back to the Aokawa Estate. It turned out Karin had not been abducted-she had blown up the kitchen?
"Karin, what are you doing?"
"I... I wanted to cook... and it ended up like this." Seeing Qingchuan Tianming return, Karin Uzumaki pursed her lips and spoke in an aggrieved voice.
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