After returning to Amegakure Aoki Tsuki, Aoki once again devoted himself to developing Ninjutsu. As he encountered more and more powerful opponents, his desire to improve his strength became increasingly urgent.
Of course, on the surface he was just an ordinary Jonin.
One person took over a training ground and experimented with his newly learned techniques.
Fire Release: Fireball Technique
call...
Although Aoki Tsuki mobilized a large amount of Chakra for nature transformation, his chest swelled up and he tried his best to breathe.
It could only blow out a fireball the size of a fist, which quickly went out.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Sigh, even the most basic Fireball Technique is so difficult. The road ahead is long and arduous."
Fireball Technique is followed by Large Fireball Technique, and then there's Great Fireball Technique.
"Even if you want to improve your strength, you should consider your own actual situation."
Konan asked, puzzled, "Developing Chakra attributes that one doesn't inherently possess is a waste of effort."
Aoki Tsuki's Chakra nature is lightning and water, and he's also learned Medical Ninjutsu. Now he's starting to develop Fire Release; will he also learn Earth Release in the future?
"Well... I'm taking a well-rounded approach, not aiming for excellence, but for breadth; there's always a time when it comes in handy."
"You always have a point; I understand you less and less."
"Haha... I have a lot of ideas, I want to learn a little bit of everything. Is there a new task for me?"
Konan is a very busy person. She has to take care of the village's affairs, manage Akatsuki, and look after Nagato's life.
One doesn't visit a temple without a reason.
Basically, every time I contact him, it's to assign tasks.
Konan shook her head and said, "I just finished a mission, so you should rest. I won't assign you any more tasks. I just felt a bit bored, so I came out for a walk."
Her pretty face was filled with deep sorrow.
Aoki Tsuki worried that the other party was testing his loyalty, and quickly said:
"If it's convenient... if Konan has any troubles, please feel free to speak to me; I'm willing to share your burdens."
"It's inconvenient!" Konan replied decisively.
"Uh... I see... That's such a shame..."
'If it's inconvenient for you, then hurry up and leave. I still need to practice my Fire Release techniques,' Aoki Tsuki thought to himself.
Just as he was struggling with this, Konan asked, "How's your Medical Ninjutsu training going?"
"Having learned Healing Technique, most injuries can be healed quickly, and my detoxification abilities are also decent." Aoki Tsuki said, a thought flashing through her mind. "Is someone injured and in need of treatment?"
No, you're overthinking it!
Konan turned and walked out of the training field, not wanting to continue the topic; she was extremely wary.
"Call..."
Just as Aoki Tsuki was about to breathe a sigh of relief after the woman left, she suddenly stopped and said, "You got Hanzō's inheritance, didn't you?"
puff...
'That wretched woman! She guessed this just by watching me practice Fire Release! I was being so careful... Ah...!!'
Aoki Tsuki was practically spitting blood.
As expected, nothing in Amegakure could be kept from the Lady Angel.
"Um... well... actually, I encountered Ibuse by chance while doing a quest... it was purely coincidental... I promise."
"I have absolutely no disloyalty to the leader, you must believe me..."
Seeing how nervous Aoki Tsuki was, Konan's lips curled into a smile. Taunting someone was one of the few ways she relieved stress in her life.
"Do you see Pain as such a petty person?"
Aoki Tsuki hurriedly shook his head in denial, "No, no, the leader is a man destined to change the Shinobi World, a reformer, a person chosen by fate."
I would be content just to be able to follow him.
Watching Konan's retreating figure, Aoki Tsuki, still uneasy, shouted, "Please trust my loyalty...!"
It gave the impression of someone straining their voice.
'Sigh... what a mess this is.'
Now I can't even concentrate on my cultivation, I'll go to ' Silver Fish Pavilion ' for some fish soup noodles.
Since taking over Kikuno Momo's restaurant, Aoki Tsuki has launched many new dishes, not just grilled salted fish.
When you go out on a mission, bring back all the fish-related dishes you find.
Whether it was due to the increased variety of dishes or his growing reputation, the restaurant's business gradually improved and returned to its former bustling state.
Ryōta, Shinichi, Mieko, and others all have their own things to do, and these people gradually grow into the backbone of the village.
Despite losing Hanzō and a large number of Jonin and Chunin Amegakure not decline; instead, it seemed to be revitalized and gradually prospered. Pain quelled all the major and minor rebellions and completely unified the Land of Rain.
People are full of hope for the future.
Beneath this calm surface, the shadow of war never dissipated, and those secretly spying on the village would attempt to infiltrate it every so often.
This group included ninjas from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure, as well as some unknown factions.
With the surveillance provided by the Rain Tiger at Will Technique and the assistance of the village's guards, these intruders were generally detected and eliminated in the first instance.
With these invaders never to return, Amegakure became increasingly isolated and dangerous in the eyes of outsiders, making it impossible to obtain any information about the place.
After some time, Aoki Tsuki was sent to the northeast to be in charge of market business development in the Land of Lightning.
He established his base in the Land of Hot Water, a prosperous country with thriving trade and excellent communication channels, where various countries had established liaison stations.
At the headquarters of the Jashin Cult, the high priest granted him access to the secret vault, allowing him to freely view the materials within.
He had his own ulterior motives for setting up a base in the Jashin Cult; he could use the Jashin Cult's resources and technology to help him develop his own new spells.
Borrowing a hen to lay eggs!
The researchers here are invaluable talents accumulated by the Jashin Cult over countless years. If you have any questions, just ask one of them and you'll suddenly understand.
I spent two or three months immersed in the secret library, building up my basic knowledge base.
Konan repeatedly urged him to strive for excellence and actively explore overseas markets, frequently showing him photos of his orders.
How many orders has Sasori completed? Jūzō has achieved a hundred kills.
Kakuzu took the lead, successfully hunting down the rogue ninja listed on the bounty list, with performance far ahead of others, making him undoubtedly the outstanding employee of the year.
They're all shrewd dogs!
'Sigh... I never imagined it would be this hard to survive in an assassin organization. This is so tough!'
Aoki Tsuki reluctantly began the operation. He was called the regional general manager, but in reality, he was just a salesman, the sales head of an assassin group.
Fortunately, I have two groups of believers under my command:
The outer members of Akatsuki were mostly rogue ninja; the members of Jashin Cult were thugs and villains who did nothing good.
Don't expect these two groups to have any moral bottom line or principles. It's already a miracle that they haven't committed murder or arson!
That day, he held two mobilization meetings and met with all the members who were active in the area in the morning.
"As you all know, the Land of Lightning is an extremely dangerous place. Therefore, I require you to operate with utmost secrecy. All requests should be submitted to me first, and then they will be distributed accordingly."
"Understood, Lord Azure Dragon!!"
High commissions, easy jobs can be done by people from the Akatsuki.
Let the Jashin Cult members do the dirty work, since the final sacrifice is to the Jashin anyway, and the dirtier the person, the more the Jashin should like them.
This is called the rational allocation of resources.
When the Jashin Cult members were summoned, Aoki Tsuki first led them in a collective prayer to the Jashin: "Thank you, Lord Jashin, Amen!"
"Thank you, Lord Jashin, Amen!"
In reality, none of these thugs truly believed in the Jashin; they were merely a group of perverts who used the banner of the Jashin to vent their inner desires.
After the prayers concluded, Aoki Tsuki addressed the assembly. "Faithful believers, I... the High Deacon of the Church, convey to you the divine message of our Lord..."
"Hear the divine decree of my Lord..."
A group of people in black robes knelt down on the ground with utmost devotion. Some of them would pick up the red necklaces around their necks and kiss them as a sign of piety.
An equilateral triangle embedded in a circle serves as a medium for communicating with Jashin; everyone has one.
"The Moon Festival is approaching, and the Divine Child is in place. We are about to offer a grand sacrifice to the Lord Jashin, and the target of the sacrifice is those despicable ninjas."
The war between Kumogakure and Konoha has entered a ceasefire negotiation phase, and the Shinobi World is about to enter a period of peace. Can we allow this situation to continue?
"No!!..." The believers protested collectively, their emotions running high.
Who are they? They're thugs!
Only a chaotic Shinobi World can allow them to thrive; once peace arrives, they will have nowhere to hide.
" The Lord Jashin detests peace; the Shinobi World cannot exist without war!"
"We need to kill; withered lives and splattered blood are the best gifts to offer to the Lord Jashin."
"For the sake of the Lord Jashin, the war must not stop."
Aoki Tsuki nodded in satisfaction, slightly raised his hand to press down, and after everyone quieted down, continued:
"Only the blood of ninjas can bring pleasure to the Lord Jashin. Those weak commoners are worthless. Next, we will spread our teachings towards the Land of Lightning."
When selecting targets, be careful to screen them. All tasks should be gathered here first, and I will distribute them after consulting with the Lord Jashin.
"I will obey the will of the Lord Jashin!..."
"Go, believers, let the darkness of my Lord obscure more of the light, and let slaughter and despair become an everlasting cloud over the sky of the Shinobi World."
"Offer my heart to the Lord Jashin!"
Next, the area surrounding the Land of Lightning became turbulent, with rogue ninja from the Akatsuki and members of the Jashin Cult secretly launching their activities.
The effects became apparent after three months.
Orders from several neighboring countries have surged several times over, especially for security-related tasks.
The Kumogakure, the Konoha, and the Iwagakure were overjoyed, as they desperately needed the mission reward to soothe the wounds inflicted by the war.
This made them both love and hate the Jashin Cult.
The day before the Moon Festival, the capital of the Land of Lightning was attacked, and several Guardian Ninja and nobles went missing. The next day, their bodies were found in an abandoned shrine on the outskirts of the city.
The corpse lay on the ground within a peculiar pattern drawn in blood, resembling the scene of some kind of evil sacrificial ritual.
Subsequently, Aoki Tsuki, in his capacity as the Grand Deacon of the Jashin Cult, publicly declared, "Our cult takes full responsibility for this attack."
Such unbridled behavior truly angered the Kumogakure ninja.
They immediately launched a counterattack, deploying border troops to conduct a thorough search, and within just one month, they successively eliminated more than ten strongholds of the Jashin Cult, suffering significant losses.
Aoki Tsuki had no choice but to suspend the believers' missionary activities to avoid direct confrontation.
Let the believers settle down for a while.