The First Step

After the mission in Bluestone Town ended, Konoha settled into two starkly different states. On the surface, the village remained peaceful, with everything running smoothly. Behind the scenes, its leaders stayed on edge, afraid to let down their guard for even a moment.

As soon as Tsukimi and his team submitted every clue from the mission, Hiruzen Sarutobi launched an investigation on three fronts.

First, the Medical Department repeatedly extracted and tested samples from Kawada's and Toji's bodies and the tableware bearing traces of poison. They compared the samples' properties to determine where the toxin had come from.

Second, he sent elite Anbu teams to comb through every Green Velvet Grass trading route and supply chain in the Land of Fire, screening anyone suspicious.

Finally, he handed the dead Death Soldier Chunin's body over to the intelligence department in the hope of extracting information from his brain.

Unfortunately, the Chunin had been a loyal Death Soldier operative trained by the enemy in the Land of Rivers. His superior had worn a custom mask every time they made contact, and the intelligence department found nothing of value.

After days of nonstop testing, comparisons, and painstaking searches, both the Medical Department and the Anbu made crucial breakthroughs at dusk on the fourth day.

Working with Orochimaru, the Medical Department identified the toxin's core structure and unique characteristics. Meanwhile, an Anbu team uncovered a transit hub. Green Velvet Grass had been dispersed after its initial sale in the Land of Fire, but most of it had eventually passed through that hub. This confirmed that some group was secretly buying it up.

The two classified reports arrived together and landed on the Hokage's desk.

Hiruzen Sarutobi set the reports down, lit his pipe, and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. He tapped the desk a few times with his right hand.

"Go get the two advisors."

"Yes!"

Before long, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu arrived together. They spotted the documents on the desk as soon as they entered.

"Third Hokage, did both leads turn up results?"

"Read them first." Hiruzen Sarutobi handed them the reports.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu read every word. Only when they had finished did Hiruzen Sarutobi speak again, his expression grave.

"According to the Anbu, all the Green Velvet Grass circulating in the Land of Fire since last year has ended up with a mysterious group."

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses. "Buying medicinal herbs on this scale... It seems Nara Tsukimi's earlier suspicion was right. Another major nation must be behind this. An ordinary group could never pull it off."

"What do you plan to do, Third Hokage?" Utatane Koharu set down the report and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"For now, nothing."

"We can't do that, Third Hokage." Utatane Koharu immediately stepped forward, urgency in her voice. "If another major nation really is involved, sitting back now will put us at a disadvantage."

"Easy, Koharu." Mitokado Homura put a hand on her arm to calm her. "Don't rush. I think I understand what the Third Hokage has in mind. You want to wait for news from the Medical Department?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his face blurred by smoke.

"Exactly. Once the Medical Department uses the toxin's properties to determine its source and place of origin, we can act accordingly. If we move in now and fail to catch them, and the Medical Department comes up empty, we'll be in the worst possible position."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's analysis left both advisors silent. They weighed the risks and benefits, then nodded in agreement.

"All right. We'll hold off for now and wait for the Medical Department's findings."

While Konoha's leaders kept busy over the next few days, Tsukimi did not spend his time relaxing.

He took out the Second Hokage's research on Yin Release Chakra. Hiruzen Sarutobi had given it to him as compensation after Danzo's failed ambush, but team assignments and missions had followed one after another, leaving him no time to study it. Now, during his break, he could finally sit down and examine it properly.

Susanoo was, at its core, Chakra made solid. The original story had made that clear.

The Uchiha, though, had an unfair advantage. Their Mangekyō Sharingan acted as a special "converter," letting them use the power of their eyes to conjure a giant armored figure directly.

For an outsider to create Susanoo, three conditions had to be met. The first was immense reserves of Chakra. Without them, forming Susanoo was a pipe dream.

The second was a deep understanding of how to make Chakra solid.

The third was exceptional Chakra control. Only then could someone combine the first two and shape such a vast amount of Chakra.

Since the Tara Mask had awakened, Tsukimi's mind and body had grown steadily stronger, and his Chakra reserves had risen with them. Even before graduation, he had possessed as much Chakra as a Kakashi.

The Blade Squad ability he had unlocked recently, along with Shadow Shaping and his Rasengan training, had also deepened his understanding of Chakra shape transformation and the more advanced process of making it solid.

Sitting beneath the veranda in his backyard, Tsukimi opened the Second Hokage's research notes. The farther he read, the stranger his expression became.

The notes began with an analysis of the general principles of Yin Release Chakra. That seemed normal enough. But as Tsukimi kept reading, the subject shifted. Nearly the entire second half concerned research on the Uchiha.

Tsukimi's mouth twitched. That's Tobirama Senju for you. Give him a spare moment and he'll study the Uchiha.

That evil old white-haired bastard!

Still, it worked out in Tsukimi's favor. Tobirama's notes contained an in-depth study of Susanoo, and much of it matched Tsukimi's own analysis. It would save him a great deal of trial and error.

Five days later, Tsukimi stood in the yard, cleared his mind, and prepared to attempt Susanoo for the first time.

He formed the Ram hand seal and produced a large amount of Yin Release Chakra. Then he focused every thought and every bit of Chakra on his right hand.

With only a Kakashi's worth of Chakra, trying to form a full Susanoo—or even a giant portion of one—was wishful thinking. So he planned to take it step by step, starting with a single body part at human scale. If he could get the basic method working, he could build on it once his Chakra reserves grew.

The ability granted by the Ninja Tribe let Tsukimi control the path of every strand of Chakra with precision. He compressed it again and again, pressing it tightly against the surface of his right hand.

It did not go smoothly. From palm to fingertips, he had to compress and shape it one centimeter at a time. Every new section took dozens of rounds of reinforcement and adjustment. The hardness, density, and stability of the Chakra had to be perfectly uniform everywhere, without a single flaw.

Tsukimi adjusted, compressed, and shaped it over and over. After countless attempts, the Yin Release Chakra around his right hand finally held its form and solidified completely, creating the most basic prototype of Susanoo.

Tsukimi raised his right hand, turned it back and forth, and flexed his fingers as he examined the black “Chakra glove.” It was ink-dark, fitted perfectly to his hand, and gleamed with a cold sheen.

Good. The giant armored figure project has taken its first step.