Konoha's leaders had gathered here, a clear sign of how seriously they took the incident.
"The intelligence says this explosion wasn't caused by a tailed beast running wild, but by Yeyue Ziyun. If I'm not mistaken, that lightning must have been a new ninjutsu Yeyue Ziyun developed."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke as he tapped the intelligence on the scroll, his tone somewhat grave.
"A new ninjutsu?" Danzo and the two elders beside him were all taken aback.
Another new ninjutsu had been developed? From the intelligence, it was a powerful ninjutsu no less than S-rank.
All three of them frowned.
"If I remember correctly, Yeyue Ziyun is only a little over ten this year, yet he already has such talent. Even Teacher Tobirama hadn't achieved what he has at that age."
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado wore complicated expressions.
Konoha Village owed its present prosperity in no small part to its fine ancestors.
Leaving aside how the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had distributed the tailed beasts, securing the most fertile land in the entire ninja world for Konoha was the greatest legacy he had left the village.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had created numerous S-rank forbidden techniques.
Besides that, the ninja school, the Anbu, the Konoha Military Police Force... all these organizations had been conceived and successfully established during Tobirama Senju's tenure. Once word of his achievements spread, the major ninja villages followed suit.
Wealth and ninjutsu-their two fine ancestors had left them a rich legacy. That was why Konoha's geniuses continued to emerge in an endless stream.
But now, a ninja who had displayed the same talent as their teacher Tobirama Senju at such a young age had appeared in another ninja village. Konoha's leaders were bound to be restless.
"We can't let Yeyue Ziyun continue to develop like this. We have to kill this genius in his infancy."
A dark light flickered in Danzo Shimura's eyes.
He showed no mercy even when killing talented ninja from his own village, much less a ninja from another village.
"Easier said than done. The Third Raikage strengthened his guards after the last operation failed."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe, tormented himself.
Last time, Konoha had sent out numerous Jonin and even elite Jonin, hoping to steal the ninjutsu Yeyue Ziyun had invented and kill the genius, but the Third Raikage had stopped them.
According to the intelligence that came back, the Third Raikage had dispatched the elite Jonin Konoha sent almost instantly, and Konoha's Jonin couldn't even break through his defenses.
If even Jonin couldn't penetrate his defenses, then with strength like that, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself wasn't sure he could defeat the strongest Raikage in history head-on.
With him protecting Ye Ziyun, making a move against the boy would be incredibly difficult.
"Are we just going to let them keep developing, then? Hiruzen, don't forget that Hidden Sand Village and the Land of Rain are already stirring. War could very well break out! Once it does, Konoha won't have time to concern itself with Hidden Cloud Village."
"Before Yeyue Ziyun grows up, now is the best time to kill him."
Danzo spoke sharply, a flicker of greed passing through his eyes.
He had long been interested in Ziyun's ninjutsu and wanted to claim it for himself. Unfortunately, the last raid on Hidden Cloud Village had failed, and Danzo had lost several Root members in the process.
Fortunately, those members had gone disguised as ninja from Hidden Mist Village, so Hidden Cloud Village hadn't directed its hostility at Konoha.
If they didn't act again this time and waited until he grew up, it would be hard to say what might happen.
"All right, but this operation must be precise. We have to kill him in one strike!"
In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to snuff out Hidden Cloud Village's genius in the cradle!
"Don't worry. I found the right person long ago."
Danzo Shimura smiled coldly as an extremely suitable candidate came to mind.
Underground in Konoha, at Root's base.
"Lord Danzo, Orochimaru is at the entrance."
A Root member knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully to Danzo, who sat on the throne that symbolized his position as Root's leader.
"Let him in," Danzo said with a nod.
Orochimaru soon walked in.
"Take a look at this." Danzo tossed Orochimaru the scroll Hiruzen Sarutobi had just read.
Without another word, Orochimaru caught the scroll, opened it, and began to read. Before long, a strange light flashed in his slit pupils.
"That genius from Hidden Cloud Village has developed another new S-rank ninjutsu?"
The current Orochimaru wasn't yet as dark as he would be when the original story began, but his desire for ninjutsu and power was already beginning to show.
Orochimaru was very interested in a genius who could create his own ninjutsu at ten years old.
"Any problems with this mission?"
"None... I'd very much like to meet this Hidden Cloud Village genius myself." Orochimaru smiled.
Three days later, at Hidden Cloud Village's inpatient department.
Ziyun accompanied the Third Raikage, his son, Dodai, and the others to visit the Anbu ninja he had accidentally injured.
"Ziyun, take it easier from now on..."
Looking at the unconscious Anbu ninja before him, the Third Raikage lowered his gaze and spoke to Ziyun beside him.
Much of the laboratory had been damaged this time, and together with the Anbu ninja's medical expenses, it had cost a large sum of money. The Third Raikage was still somewhat pained by the expense.
After all, the Land of Lightning wasn't an economically developed place, unlike Konoha, which had vast funds to spend freely.
That was also why Konoha always had so many talented people.
With abundant resources and a developed economy, it was willing to pour money into ninjutsu research. It had many powerful ninjutsu, so naturally its strength surpassed that of other ninja villages.
Still, the Third Raikage only felt a moment's pain over the money. What had to be spent had to be spent.
"Um... actually, this is a ninjutsu I created by accident. I'm just not particularly proficient with it yet, which is why this happened." Ziyun scratched his head awkwardly.
After all, he had accidentally injured these Anbu ninja, and rather badly at that. He hoped they wouldn't suffer any lasting effects.
"Oh? It can cause that much destruction even before it's perfected? Can you tell me what it'll be like once it's complete?" The Third Raikage's interest was piqued.
Dodai and the Third Raikage's son, Yotsuki A, also pricked up their ears.
The enormous explosion three days ago was still fresh in their minds. At the time, they had thought a powerful enemy was attacking Hidden Cloud Village.
"Hmm... how should I put it? I call this ninjutsu Lightning Release: Thunder God. Once I activate it, I'm like a god who has mastered lightning... I can use any power of lightning, and when it's fully perfected, I might even be able to destroy a ninja village in one strike."
Ziyun didn't reveal anything about the Devil Fruit, making up a reason instead. After all, explaining it would take forever, and people might easily mistake him for a lunatic.
His reputation as a genius who created his own ninjutsu happened to provide him with some cover.
"A god who controls lightning? You've got some lofty ambitions, kid." The Third Raikage chuckled, not taking Ziyun's words seriously.
After all, Ziyun's claims were far too exaggerated: a god who controlled lightning... destroying a ninja village in one strike.
Only a young ninja who had never been on a battlefield would entertain such a naive fantasy.
If such a terrifying ninjutsu really existed, the balance of power in the ninja world would be lost, and war would break out immediately.
But that didn't mean the Third Raikage didn't value Ziyun's talent. After all, what young person didn't have lofty ambitions?
With more experience, he would naturally become more down-to-earth.
"Ziyun, I remember you've been in the laboratory ever since you graduated, so you haven't been assigned to a team, have you? Here's what we'll do. From now on, Dodai will be your Jonin instructor, and you'll be on the same team as A and the others."
The Third Raikage then remembered that Ziyun hadn't been assigned to a team after graduation, so he spoke up, intending to put him under his trusted subordinate Dodai and have him go on missions to gain some experience.
Dodai didn't decline. It was an honor to teach a genius like Ziyun, and it also showed the Third Raikage's trust in him.
As he spoke, the Third Raikage reached out his large hand as usual, intending to pat Ziyun on the head and encourage him.
But he soon noticed something was wrong.
Why did his hand feel so cold?
Where was Ziyun's head? Why couldn't he feel it?
"F-Father, your... your hand..."
"Z-Ziyun, your head... how, how did it get like that?"
Dodai and Yotsuki A-the Fourth Raikage in the original story-stammered, looking as though they had seen a ghost.
They had seen the Third Raikage's hand pass straight through Ziyun's head.
And where his arm passed through Ziyun's head, photons of lightning shimmered faintly, making for a somewhat eerie sight.
"Ziyun, is this another technique you've developed?"
The Third Raikage hurriedly pulled his hand back. He had been startled too, but he quickly calmed down.
Well-informed as he was, he knew that someone in Hidden Mist Village had developed a ninjutsu like Ziyun's: the Hozuki Clan.
Their Hydrification Technique also allowed them to dissolve their bodies at will, making it very similar to Ziyun's ninjutsu.
But Ziyun's whole body glimmered with lightning, so it clearly wasn't the Hydrification Technique. The Third Raikage therefore concluded that Ziyun was probably researching another new ninjutsu.
"More or less... But I can turn my body into an element, making me immune to most physical attacks. Apart from genjutsu and sealing techniques, I should also be immune to the vast majority of ninjutsu attacks."
Ziyun explained.
Apart from genjutsu, sealing techniques, and the Six Paths' senjutsu, Ziyun really couldn't think of anything in this world that could counter elementalization.
But the ninja world was vast, and Ziyun couldn't guarantee that a clan in some corner of it hadn't inherited some secret technique, so it was better to be careful.
"Immune to ninjutsu apart from genjutsu and sealing techniques?" The Third Raikage thought Ziyun was exaggerating.
As far as he knew, the Hydrification Technique of Hidden Mist Village's Hozuki Clan could only render them immune to physical attacks like slashes from swords and axes. It couldn't help them avoid ninjutsu.
Moreover, Lightning Release ninjutsu directly countered the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique.
The Hozuki Clan was, after all, a major clan with a long history in the ninja world. Even they hadn't fully developed their Hydrification Technique, so how could Ziyun have developed his more completely than theirs?
"Actually, I'm not entirely sure myself... So I was just thinking of testing it. How about letting Brother Yotsuki A be my opponent?" Ziyun said seriously.
"Are you serious, Ziyun? You may be Hidden Cloud Village's number one genius, but don't get too carried away... You only graduated three days ago. I don't want to hurt you."