Middle-Aged, Always Keep Goji Berries on Hand

As for Kakashi, no one doubts that he will grow to the level of Kage Level in the future.

He became Jonin at the age of twelve, breaking the records of the previous Sannin, Minato, and Meikyō, and becoming the youngest Jonin in Konoha's history.

Those who reached the Jonin at the age of thirteen or fourteen, without exception, became top-tier ninjas in the Ninja World, unless they died prematurely.

"Yes, I think Shisui also has the potential to grow to that level. Like Obito, perhaps one day in the future, he will also awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, a mundane life is not suitable for a promising Uchiha to grow. That would be a waste of his talent. In a peaceful era, only the Anbu can fully unleash the talents of these new generation geniuses."

Meikyō said to Dan Katō.

Dan Katō slightly.

"I remember Yamato, the Wood Style Ninja was discovered in Danzo's Root, was defeated by Shisui, right? He also has great potential with Wood Release, and he's about the same age as Shisui. Add Kakashi to the mix, and the three young people could make a team."

Dan Katō pondered for a moment, resting his chin on his hand, and then said:

"We still need to assign a capable and experienced ninja to lead the three of them. Although they are all very good, they still have a lot to learn, but there are no suitable candidates right now..."

"How about that young man from the Aburame Clan? He and Yamato both come from Root and are quite strong, so they should be suitable. The only drawback is that Danzo his personality a bit, which is perfect for Kakashi and Shisui to influence."

"You mean Ryoma Aburame? It's not impossible for him."

Ryoma Aburame was promoted by Danzo after Orochimaru defected in the future of the original timeline, and served as the second-in-command in Root. His strength was definitely at the level of Elite Jonin.

This ninja, who was only slightly younger than Meikyō, was forcibly Danzo from the Aburame Clan by Danzo after graduating from the Ninja Academy.

If it weren't for his outstanding performance at the Ninja Academy, Danzo wouldn't have targeted him.

However, precisely because of this, although Ryoma Aburame was also constantly being brainwashed by Danzo, he was much better off than those orphans who were abducted to Root when they were six or seven years old. He was taken away by Danzo when he was only ten years old, so he still had a considerable sense of identification with the Aburame Clan. Otherwise, Dan Katō would not have arranged for him to join the Anbu.

Their many years of experience working in the Root have given them a wealth of expertise in this area, making them fully qualified to lead Shisui.

After Dan Katō signed the transfer orders for the people involved in the matter, he called back Meikyō was about to leave.

"Is there anything else, Master Dan?"

"Haven't you mastered the fourth level of your Spirit Activation Technique yet?"

Dan Katō asked Meikyō.

"I'm still a little short. Last year, I had already cultivated the Spirit Activation Technique to the peak of the third level, but I still couldn't figure out the last bit. It seems to have reached the upper limit of my own Mental Power."

Meikyō replied.

"It seems you've encountered the same problem I did back then. The fourth level of the Spirit Activation Technique is the ability to influence reality with Mental Power. Only by cultivating Mental Power to this level can one separate the soul from the body and Spirit Transformation Technique."

Dan Katō gestured for Meikyō to sit down, then continued:

"Without the protection of a physical body, the soul cannot exist alone. A ninja's physical body and soul are interdependent. The soul brings spirituality to the body, allowing the brain to function properly and enabling each part of the body to perform its function. In turn, the physical body provides protection and nourishment for the soul. The strength of the physical body will also drive the growth of the soul. Only a strong soul can better control a strong physical body. Meikyō, your physical body is very strong, so there is no problem in this regard. However, the next step of the Spirit Activation Technique has little to do with the physical body."

As Dan Katō spoke, he took a cup and poured some goji berry tea from the kettle into it.

Meikyō gave Dan Katō a mocking look.

"Cough cough."

Dan Katō blushed.

"Your Teacher Tsunade's physical body is also very strong. If I want to subdue her, I will naturally need something to strengthen it."

"I understand, I understand, Master Dan. If you're too embarrassed to ask Teacher Tsunade for a tonic prescription, I can do it for you. I usually have the Anbu prepare the medicine for you."

It is said that women are like wolves in their thirties and tigers in their forties. Tsunade, who is now in her thirties, is at the age of being like a wolf and a tiger, while Dan Katō, who is middle-aged, is naturally often tempted by wolfberries.

"Ahem, we'll talk about these things later. Let's get back to the important matter."

Dan Katō pointed to the cup on the table filled with goji berry tea.

"The relationship between the soul and the body is like that between water and a cup. Without a cup, the water cannot be contained. But if I remove the cup and freeze the surface of the water into ice, thus forming an ice cup, it can still contain the water until the ice melts."

Meikyō knew that this was the principle behind the Spirit Transformation Technique.

"What you need to do next is learn how to turn water into ice. In the realm of the soul, that is, to transform your Mental Energy from the illusory to the real, and at the same time possess some characteristics of both the illusory and the real. This will allow your spirit to interfere with reality and form the most primitive telekinesis. In this way, your soul can temporarily leave the body under the protection of telekinesis. This is the Spirit Transformation Technique. Even when your ability to interfere with reality is further enhanced and combined with the Chakra system, you can transform into Psychic Style like me."

Dan Katō used his telekinesis to lift the water in the cup and demonstrated it to the Meikyō.

"How can we transform Mental Energy from the abstract to the concrete?"

Meikyō pondered for a moment before asking a question.

"It's very simple. Strengthen your spirit and temper your will with all methods. Just like when I was in a life-or-death crisis, my will was sublimated at that time, which allowed me to push the Spirit Activation Technique to the fifth level. However... there is also a way to use external forces."

Dan Katō said in a slightly nostalgic tone.

"What external force?"

"A meteorite, a meteorite called Star."

Dan Katō said this, then stood up and took out a map of the Ninja World.

"That meteorite was hidden in a small village called Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears. The local ninjas used the energy emitted by this meteorite to train and change the nature of their Chakra. They even developed a secret technique called the Mysterious Peacock Method. I was on a mission in the Land of Bears twenty years ago. At that time, I was just an ordinary Jonin. I accidentally entered that place while fleeing from enemy ninjas and came into contact with that meteorite."

Twenty years ago, Meikyō was probably just learning to walk.

"The people chasing me back then were the Explosion Release Squad of Iwagakure. That was the peak of the Explosion Release Squad's power, with more than ten Iwagakure Jonin who possessed Explosion Release bloodline limits. There were more than three Jonin chasing me at that time, which was almost an unsolvable situation for me."

"The only chance of survival is to use the Spirit Transformation Technique to allow my soul to travel a great distance and contact the other Konoha Ninja in the Land of Bears. At that time, we were a whole combat force that sneaked into the Land of Bears to attack the Suna logistics, but we were intercepted and scattered. Only by regrouping our main force can we have any chance of breaking out."

"With the mindset of 'do or die,' I used the Spirit Transformation Technique for the first time and successfully contacted my teammates. But just as I was about to return to my physical body, I discovered that my soul was on the verge of disintegration. If I returned to my physical body at this moment, I would become a vegetable, just like those in the history of the Kato Clan who failed to cultivate the Spirit Transformation Technique."

Dan Katō's gaze was serious as he recalled an experience twenty years ago that brought him incredibly close to death.

"In my Spirit Transformation Technique state, I was free from the limitations of a physical body, so I had extremely strong sensory abilities. At that time, I sensed the fluctuations of the ninjas in Hoshigakure using meteorites to practice Ninjutsu. It was a very special kind of radiation that could change Chakra. Chakra, as a combination of mental ability and Physical Energy, is closely related to a person's soul. If I had returned to my physical body at that time, I would have definitely become a vegetable. So I simply went to touch that meteorite."

"As long as I don't show myself, those Hoshigakure ninjas can't find me at all, so I successfully came into contact with the meteorite. My soul is also rapidly absorbing the meteorite's radiation energy, which replenishes and strengthens my soul power. It was during this process that I was able to use my Mental Power to influence reality in a preliminary way, to the point where I could move a needle. Later, during my escape, I even used my Mental Power to control a poisoned Senbon and kill an Iwagakure Ninja."

"But when I went to Hoshigakure again later, I found that the radiation there had no effect on my soul."

As Dan Katō recounted his story, Meikyō was also rapidly recalling everything about Hoshigakure).

Hoshigakure is a Shinobu village located in the Land of Bears. Its leader is known as "Hoshikage," though this title is self-proclaimed.

Because this village, let alone compared to the Five Great Ninja Villages, is no match for even the stronger Ninja Villages like Amegakure and Takigakure Shinobu Shinobi World War Five Great Ninja Villages Hoshigakure Land of Bears with limited territory, nestled among mountains, and its geographical conditions simply make it unsuitable as a main battlefield for the Five Great Ninja Villages. The number and strength of its ninjas are also of little use.

At most, as Dan Katō said, they could detour through the Land of Bears to launch surprise attacks on other strategic locations of the enemy.

This led to the village's arrogance, with the villagers believing that their Mysterious Peacock Method, which they had mastered using a meteorite, would allow them to challenge the Five Great Ninja Villages in the future. The village's leader even called himself "Kage."

It's just that they're too weak, and nobody cares about them.

Even someone as strong as Hanzo of the Salamander couldn't turn Amegakure into the sixth greatest ninja village. Even though people considered him a strongman no less powerful than the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages, no one acknowledged that he was a Kage.

After listening to Dan Katō's account, Meikyō immediately stated:

"I'll go to the Intelligence Analysis Unit later to see if they have any detailed information about Hoshigakure. I'll also take some people there. I believe Hoshigakure -Senior Orochimaru should be able to decipher the mysteries contained in this meteorite."

Meikyō acted quickly and was ready to depart in no time.

There were three subordinates accompanying him.

First, there was Might Guy, and then Sarutobi Asuma.

The latter is now also a student of Meikyō and is learning Breathing Technique.

After a series of tests, Meikyō taught him the art of Mist Breathing.

This is a breathing style composed of Wind Breathing and Flame Breathing. In the Demon Slayer World, which has been altered by the Meikyō, it was used by Tokito Yuichiro, who became the Mist Hashira through it.

Asuma was good at both Chakra and fire Chakra, and he was also a heavy Smoker!

That's right, Asuma, who is only fourteen years old now, is already a heavy smoker.

As for the last one, it is Yūhi Kurenai.

This girl was a teammate of Sarutobi Asuma. The teammate that the Third Hokage originally assigned to them, a Shimura Clan, died in the Third Shinobi World War.

Just then, two of Might Guy's teammates joined the Anbu, leaving him alone for the time being. So the three of them decided to form a new team and work together on the mission.

Meikyō, who originally intended to give the two students some experience, decided to include her as well.

Coincidentally, it wasn't just Meikyō who had his eyes on Hoshigakure.

The Land of Bears, on the border.

The Fourth Raikage, with his missing arm, grabbed a sizzling, oily bear paw and stuffed it into his mouth, ignoring the fact that it was burning his mouth.

"The objective of this mission is simple: led by Lord Raikage, we will storm into Hoshigakure and steal their Mysterious Peacock Method and the Star Meteorite. Our primary objective is to demand that their leader revoke his title of Kage."

A middle-aged white-haired ninja sat to one side roasting another bear paw and spoke to several Kumogakure around him.

His name is Sadui. He had always served as the deputy to the former Raikage's retainer Dodai. During the Third Shinobi World War, Dodai died while covering the rear against the combination of Uchiha Meikyō and Orochimaru, and Sadui took over the position of Raikage.

Although his abilities were not as good as Dodai's, he was the only person in the Kumogakure, which was almost entirely composed of brutes, who was suitable for the position. Following Tsuchikage's policies, the Kumogakure, which inherited most of the policies from the Dodai era, recovered fairly well.

At his suggestion, the ninjas of Kumogakure have begun to plunder various secret techniques and bloodline limits from the Ninja World, intending to enrich Kumogakure's foundation and accelerate the village's recovery.

Now, they've also come to set their sights on Hoshigakure.

"The leader of a mere ninja village with only a hundred or so Shinobu dares to call himself Kage! This is blatant provocation against the ninjas of the Five Great Nations! They deserve to be taught a lesson!"