Just as Yayoi had expected, while the various countries seemed to be preparing precautions for a Shinobi World War after the previous talks broke down, Konoha took no action afterward, as if it had completely forgotten everything that had happened before.
But in Yayoi's view, this might have been Konoha's way of resolving the issue.
At this moment, anything Konoha did could easily provoke intense vigilance from the other great powers.
Since that was the case, it was better to remain still than act. They might as well do nothing, pretend nothing had happened, and keep their heads down as they continued building their ninja village.
Once the other countries' taut nerves gradually relaxed, Konoha could look for another opportunity to make its move.
He just did not know whether Tobirama Senju had proposed that suggestion.
Still, this would likely cause some minor setbacks to Konoha's development in the short term.
Many countries' dealings with Konoha had been forced to halt because of Madara's actions. The Land of Night was one of the few countries in the Ninja World that still maintained contact with Konoha at this time.
In Yayoi's view, no matter what Konoha did, it would be difficult for outside forces to intervene. Rather than overthink it, he might as well proceed at his own pace.
He would handle his relationship with Konoha the same way he always had.
Normal diplomacy, normal trade.
Konoha had not done anything yet. If his own side fell into disarray first, that would truly make no sense.
No matter what, as the nation's highest authority, he was the one who absolutely could not panic.
General's Residence, Inner Court, training ground.
The sky was gray and overcast. Snowflakes drifting down from above gradually blanketed the earth, and many buildings in the Inner Court wore white caps.
Bang!
Bang!
Each dull tremor unleashed a gale-like blast of force, sending the fallen snow around him swirling wildly through the air.
In the middle of the training ground stood a massive black cuboid.
It was not made of stone, but a huge cube forged entirely from steel.
Its length, width, and height all exceeded five meters.
Moreover, special chakra alloys had been incorporated into the steel, greatly increasing both the cube's weight and its durability.
Yayoi wore a tight-fitting black ninja outfit. A solid Chakra Cloak, as dense as armor, flowed like mist and surged like rising flames, tightly enveloping the surface of his sturdy body.
Clearly, he had entered Chakra Armament Mode. Every aspect of his physical ability had been greatly enhanced in this state.
Every punch he threw seemed capable of tearing apart the air, producing a terrifying, chilling howl.
Then his fist exploded against the steel cube with a muffled bang, sending out shockwaves no weaker than a gale and sweeping the white snow around him into the air.
Even so, Yayoi's punches could not make the steel cube visibly shift.
They only made the massive cube tremble, leaving clear, sunken fist marks across its surface.
With every blow that landed, fine cracks appeared in the iron plating on the cube's surface before flakes of metal the size of fingernails broke away.
Yayoi was not disappointed by this. Constructing this steel cube alone had taken considerable effort. It was an excellent Taijutsu training tool.
Its ultimate purpose was to simulate the intensity of fighting Susanoo.
Although he knew Madara's Susanoo possessed defense far beyond that of this steel cube.
If he wanted to climb such a towering peak, however, he could only chase it step by step with both feet on the ground.
If his attacks could not even shake and destroy a steel cube like this, then he had no hope of contending against Madara's Susanoo.
The advantage of Taijutsu over Ninjutsu was that although its attack range was smaller, its destructive power was more concentrated.
Ninjutsu that appeared grand and massive did not necessarily inflict more effective damage than Taijutsu with a seemingly smaller destructive range.
Yayoi intended to first push his Taijutsu abilities in Chakra Armament Mode to their limits, then study and develop offensive Ninjutsu suited to that mode.
If his body was not tough enough, the Chakra Cloak he wore would leave him sore and aching after prolonged use.
Even now, after remaining in this mode for three hours, his bones had begun to creak and his muscles throughout his body throbbed with pain.
At this rate, in another half hour, this technique would squeeze his body to its limit.
That was clearly unacceptable. He had to eliminate this mode's side effects on his body.
There was no shortcut to eliminating those side effects. He could only build up his physique through countless rounds of tempering, raising his physical strength until it could withstand Chakra Armament Mode.
That included his earliest idea of infusing nature transformation into the Chakra Cloak. When that time came, the demands on his physical condition would be even more brutal than they were now.
"Although I still have plenty of chakra, my stamina has already run dry. As expected, this mode still needs more time to be properly adjusted. And my power needs to be more concentrated as well. It can't be too scattered. I need to compress the destructive range into a single point as much as possible. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to break through Susanoo's Chakra Armor."
Yayoi released the Chakra Cloak around his body. The crushing weight pressing down on him immediately eased considerably, and he took a deep breath, as if trying to expel all the exhaustion that had accumulated over the past few hours.
Thanks to the extremely slow dissipation rate of his Active Chakra, as long as he did not waste it recklessly, he had more than enough chakra to fight a prolonged battle.
"Also, this mode places far too much strain on the body. I can't casually use Shadow Clones to accumulate experience, or it'll cause irreversible damage. Once my physical strength has improved significantly, I can use Shadow Clones to speed up my training.
"Right now, having one Shadow Clone handle official duties at the Tenshu Tower while my original body trains here is already the limit."
Yayoi twisted his neck and pressed his shoulders and nape, which were nearly stiff enough to stop moving. A series of crackling sounds rang out as he concluded that he could not place excessive hopes on the experience accumulated through the Shadow Clone Technique.
First, he was unlike the original protagonist, Uzumaki Naruto. He did not have the Nine-Tails inside him to share his fatigue.
Second, Chakra Armament Mode was different from ordinary techniques. Its burden on the body was comprehensive and all-encompassing, and the fatigue it accumulated was far beyond that of normal techniques.
Third, he was not the type of ninja with an extraordinarily large chakra reserve. The number of Shadow Clones he used had to remain within a certain limit.
His chakra reserves could only be considered excellent. They far surpassed those of ordinary people, but they did not reach the very top tier.
The reason he could fight for a long time was because his chakra dissipated more slowly and was of higher quality, allowing him to bring Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu to their fullest effect with only a small amount of chakra.
As far as training was concerned, he had never forced himself in pursuit of power, only to cause irreversible damage to his body.
Victory and defeat between ninja should not be decided by a single duel or a single war.
Only the one who laughed last was the true victor.
"A healthy, long-lived body—and time—can also be weapons for defeating one's enemies."
Yayoi had ample confidence in his own longevity.
Ninja of this era did not live long, partly because the intensity of war was too high and order was too chaotic. The other reason was that ninja excessively drained their bodies, frequently using chakra in overloaded combat and overextracting their physical and spiritual energy.
Once or twice might not matter much. But if they kept doing it year after year, it would inevitably accelerate their bodily decline.
He strongly suspected that the First Shinobi World War had not involved the first-generation Kage of the various ninja villages because those first-generation Kage were either too old to leave their beds, suffering under the torment of illness and unable to take the battlefield at all.
Or they had fought too frequently in the past, leaving too many hidden injuries and dying of old age before their time.
This era belonged to them, but ten or so years from now, these powerful older-generation ninja would either be bedridden and unable to move or already lying in coffins. Meanwhile, he would be in the prime of his life, still young and strong...
Without a doubt, that would be his victory!
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