"Is there anything to drink here? I need to rinse my mouth."
The Tatsumaki, whose taste buds felt bombarded and tainted, desperately needed to be saved.
"Because we knew you were coming from Fubuki, we prepared the Grow-Tall Brand Milk a long time ago."
Meikyō pointed to the portable mini-fridge.
"Who eats barbecue with milk?! You idiot!"
"But I remember you don't drink. Although there's beer here, Fubuki said that even if it's beer, you..."
Tatsumaki's eyes gradually turned dangerous.
"Never mind, sister, there's still chilled lemonade in the fridge."
Fubuki calmed the raging Tatsumaki down, and the two of them went to the portable refrigerator to get lemonade.
"Teacher Meikyō!"
"Meikyō!"
Just then, Genos and Saitama also went to see Meikyō.
"What's wrong? The barbecue should be alright, right? These are all high-quality ingredients supplied by Evolution Group."
Meikyō sat casually and asked Genos and Saitama.
"Ah, this meat is indeed very good. It's a pity that they don't have the seafood steak you had last time. That would definitely be great for grilling!"
Saitama ate a lamb skewer and muttered something under his breath.
"I'll bring some next time I have the chance."
Meikyō knew that Saitama was referring to the flesh of the Sea King.
"Teacher Meikyō, there is something I would like to ask you."
"What's up?"
"I wonder if you know about the Neo Organization. They contacted me a while ago, asking if I wanted to switch sides with them. I also heard that many outstanding heroes have been invited by them. I want to know if they have also contacted you, Teacher Meikyō."
"I've looked for it."
Meikyō nodded.
Saitama's face immediately fell.
"Damn it, why did you all look for me but not me? Do you look down on me?!"
At this moment, Saitama felt absolutely no goodwill towards the Neo Organization.
Although many people in the Hero Association don't think Saitama that powerful, after all, he has a face that could be drawn by a kindergarten child, and he wears a ridiculously tacky hero uniform, making him look like a minor character.
But at least for now, Saitama is an A-rank hero in the Hero Association, second only to S-Class Hero. He has a high salary, and is provided with housing and free utilities.
"So, Teacher Meikyō, what's your answer?"
Genos asked the Meikyō.
"I choose to wait and see, Genos. Your strength has improved a lot compared to the past, and you are perfectly capable of choosing to stand aside. The Hero Association's internal system has problems, but what about the Neo Organization? You can choose to wait for a while and see which one is more in line with your inner inclination before making a decision."
"So, Teacher Meikyō has chosen to stay with the Hero Association?"
"That's the case right now."
"Since neither Teacher Meikyō nor Master Saitama intends to leave, I won't leave either. After all, those people couldn't even discover Master Saitama's true strength, which is enough to show that their vision is outdated."
Upon hearing Genos's words, Saitama patted Genos on the shoulder with satisfaction.
"Alright, let's put those topics aside for now and continue our barbecue party. I heard that Sweet Mask has prepared a show and will be live-streaming it online."
Meikyō raised an eyebrow and pointed to the open-air stage on the other side.
Saitama took Genos to join in the fun.
Because in addition to the barbecue, they also offer complimentary small cakes.
The barbecue party lasted until the early hours of the morning.
Not a single grain of food was wasted at the entire barbecue party, thanks to Pig God's generosity.
He bought all the remaining grilled meat, and the chef who grilled it for him was exhausted.
The next day, in the morning, Meikyō and Fubuki went to Q City for training and returned in the afternoon.
Meikyō now needs to figure out how to develop and utilize the information he obtained from observing Solar Storm using his Mirror God Eye.
And now he already has some initial ideas.
We'll start with the Sun Breathing, which can give rise to countless Breathing Techniques. It's highly inclusive and has great potential for development, and it's also highly compatible with Solar Storm.
The Amaterasu Dragon Dance and other moves were developed from this, so Meikyō's idea is to develop a Solar Storm version of Amaterasu Dragon Dance.
"Under normal circumstances, flames are high-temperature gases in an excited state. However, flames formed using Chakra are not simple flames. Although Fire Style can control flames and even be used to start fires, it still requires Chakra control. Moreover, the flames that are produced are simply caused by high temperatures. Rather, Fire Style is a form of Chakra manifestation that has the shape of flames."
"I've tried it before in space. Fire Style, including Amaterasu, can exist in the vacuum of space, so they also have all the characteristics of plasma."
"There are also high-energy charged particles and super-strong electromagnetic radiation. These can also be simulated using Chakra abilities such as Lightning Style. It can be said that Chakra is a high-level practical energy with multiple uses created by the Otsutsuki Clan."
A ball of Chakra appeared in Meikyō's hand, simulating Solar Storm.
After taking the Golden Potion for many years and obtaining the Sage Body through genetic modification, Meikyō was able to use Wood Release, and naturally also possessed the Water and Earth Chakra attributes that he did not originally have.
However, his mastery of these two Chakra natures is slightly lower than his original mastery of the three Chakra natures of wind, lightning, and fire.
The latter three have already reached an extremely high level through years of training. When the amount of Chakra is comparable, even the Third Hokage might not be able to use them better than him.
The time it took to obtain water and earth was relatively short, so the difference was quite significant. Even though Meikyō himself had a deep understanding of Chakra and possessed a commanding position at the Six Paths level, he had only completed the most basic nature and Shape Transformation for these two Chakra attributes.
Although for Meikyō, this "basic" level actually surpasses that of a considerable number of Jonin who specialize in this field.
However, precisely because of this, Meikyō believes it is sufficient.
"Sizzle... sizzle".
The chandelier hanging in the room made an electrical hum at that moment, and then went out.
Immediately afterwards, the power supply to the entire building was cut off.
"Why is the power out!"
"Damn it! I'm playing in my promotion matches!"
"What's going on? Didn't they say that the Hero Association headquarters would never lose power and that they had super-powerful backup batteries?"
Because of the power outage, curses and swears filled the air.
In apartment 103, Genos stared blankly at the sparks of electricity crackling on his body.
Because he was relatively close to Meikyō's 105, he was significantly affected.
Knowing that such a commotion had occurred outside, Meikyō simply put away the ultra-miniature Solar Storm in her hand.
"It seems that the electromagnetic radiation is not being properly controlled, which is why it is leaking out. Oh well, let's find another place."
With a wave of his hand, Meikyō opened another Teleportation Circle to Mercury.
I've already been to Mercury, where we have spatial coordinates based on matter. Even if a planet's orbit shifts, the Meikyō can pinpoint its location precisely.
The moon is too small and too close to Earth; if it were to cause any major disturbance, it would be difficult to handle. Although Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets, it is at least more resilient than the moon and is also farther away from Earth.
At this point, the Solar Storm had ended two days prior, and Mercury, which had faced the Solar Storm just two days earlier, had returned to its lifeless state.
The enormous sun overhead remained as sacred as ever, occasionally spewing out flame-like plasma.
This is normal solar activity; although it does release energy and matter, it is far less terrifying than Solar Storm.
But at this very moment, a small Solar Storm has once again appeared on the surface of Mercury.
"Let me think. Simply doing it this way won't work. We have to combine the energy together, otherwise the energy combining efficiency will be too low. Also, there's plasma. Can we change from a simple Fire Style to Amaterasu? However, I don't Kagutsuchi, so I can't control the Shape Transformation of Amaterasu. I still have to use Fire Style as a preliminary guide..."
"It can also be incorporated into some of the previous moves..."
If astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts were observing the surface of Mercury at this moment, they would certainly be completely baffled.
Because Mercury's surface now has countless large craters.
The Naruto World.
It is located on the western side of the Land of Fire, at the border with the River Country.
A river more than ten meters long runs through this area, marking the border between the two countries.
Fourteen-year-old Uchiha Itachi, dressed in a red-cloud black robe and wearing a straw hat, sat quietly on a rock fishing.
"So you were here after all, Itachi."
Uchiha Shisui Three-Tomoe Sharingan, emerged from the shadows of the forest trees behind him, holding the Demon Slayer Blade upside down in his hand, and stared at Uchiha Itachi.
"You did come here, Shisui."
Uchiha Itachi put away his fishing rod, released the fish he had caught back into the river, and turned to look at Shisui.
Did you know I would come?
Uchiha Shisui suddenly frowned and looked around.
"No need to look. It's just you and me here, no one else. I didn't set up an ambush. I also know that the information came as a surprise to you. Even if you notified others, they wouldn't have time to get here in time to make sure we could catch up."
Uchiha Itachi slowly stood up, turned his head to look at Shisui and said.
"What do you want to do? Do you want to settle things with me here, alone?"
Shisui, gripped his sword, and tried to delay as much as possible.
He didn't understand what Itachi was up to, but as Uchiha Itachi had said before, he had informed the others before setting off.
The longer it drags on, the greater his chances of winning will be.
"Of course, we need to settle things once and for all."
Uchiha Itachi stood up, took off his red cloud-patterned coat, threw it away, and let it float away with the river.
Soon, a fierce contest unfolded between the two Uchiha geniuses, starting with probing with shuriken, a favorite weapon of the Uchiha Clan, followed by clashes of Ninjutsu like the Great Fireball, then Genjutsu battles, and close-quarters combat.
Even though Uchiha Itachi had Madara's guidance during this period, he was still too young.
He is only fourteen years old now. Without the Mangekyo, although his strength surpasses that of ordinary Jonin, he is still no match for Shisui.
But when he actually used the Mangekyo's Dojutsu...
"Tsukuyomi!"
In a blood-red Genjutsu world, Uchiha Shisui frowned as he surveyed his surroundings.
"Even if it means being severely injured by me, you still want to use this Mangekyō Sharingan Genjutsu, Itachi...?"
"I'm here."
Uchiha Itachi's voice came from behind Shisui's consciousness.
The moment Shisui turned around, the entire Genjutsu world changed, transforming into the banks of the Naka River in the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"I remember when I was six years old, Grandpa Yu brought you and me here to practice Fire Style. He also said that Senior Meikyō first learned Ninjutsu from him here."
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi was not wearing the chain inner armor in the Genjutsu world, but the blue-gray long robe most commonly worn by Uchiha clan members, with the Clan Crest of a red and white Gunbai patterned on the back. Moreover, he was not wearing the Konoha Rogue Ninja Forehead Protector with a scratch on his forehead.
It's a proper Konoha Ninja Forehead Protector.
"Itachi, what exactly are you...?"
"I'm sorry, Shisui, for making you and others worry all these years."
Shisui remained silent for a long while before finally speaking:
"How can I be sure you're an undercover agent, someone on our side?"
"My father, Senior Meikyō, and the Fourth Hokage all know that I went undercover. Listen, Shisui, Madara doesn't completely trust me. This time, I took a great risk to find an opportunity to act alone. In the past, there was always another Akatsuki Organization member by my side to monitor each other."
"This time, I have obtained important secrets about Madara, which is why I set up this scheme."
Uchiha Itachi stood beside Shisui, looking at the lake and green mountains he had created with his own Genjutsu, and said.
"A crucial secret about Madara?"
"Yes, Uchiha Madara, as the former head of the Uchiha Clan, not only possessed the Uchiha Kama and the Uchiha Flame Fan, but also held a large number of secrets, some of which were not passed down to subsequent clan heads."
Uchiha Itachi twisted his hands together, and a figure immediately appeared on the lake.
Upon closer inspection, Shisui realized it was an Uchiha girl.
A female member of his tribe whom he had never met before.
"She was the ultimate weapon of the Uchiha Clan a hundred years ago. She was extremely powerful. Madara believed that under certain circumstances, she could use the ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan to unleash power that even the Eternal Mangekyo could not match. During the Sengoku Period, she was sealed away by the Senju Clan, who were wary of her strength. Madara only recently unsealed her."
"Her name is..."
"She had no name until Madara, as the 37th Uchiha clan leader, restored her original name, Uchiha Hikari."
Uchiha Itachi sighed.
"This is the first thing that Uchiha Hikari has ever owned, even though it is a name that others have from birth. In addition, given Madara's status as the 37th clan head, Uchiha Hikari trusts Madara a lot, and you could even say he depends on him."
Uchiha Shisui was somewhat moved.
What kind of life did she lead back then?