Iwagakure
Tsuchikage Office
" Hatake Sakumo defected??"
Ōnoki, who was reviewing documents, was stunned when he heard the news.
Isn't Hatake Sakumo a hero of Konoha?
" Kōdo!"
Ōnoki called out to Kōdo beside him.
" Lord Tsuchikage, please give your orders."
Kōdo bowed their heads respectfully.
"Prepare for war, and launch it the moment a spark ignites!"
Ōnoki is very excited now.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Konoha lost a right hand after losing Hatake Sakumo!
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
Kōdo nodded slightly.
He understood Ōnoki's meaning; Konoha was currently weaker than ever before.
Konoha suffered heavy casualties in the last war, and it is impossible for them to recover in just three or four years.
Moreover, their top combatants have now defected, which is making matters worse for Konoha.
It's fair to say that Ōnoki now believes that Iwagakure alone can rival Konoha.
"I wonder if Didaze managed to take the final step of his Dust Release..."
Ōnoki muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Didaze was practicing the Splitting Technique at home.
Dust Release had long since reached its final stage, but it was as if an invisible barrier was always blocking Didaze's way.
Didaze didn't intend to waste any more time, because he had been practicing at the bottleneck for several months without any effect, and he felt that he might as well practice the Splitting Technique.
Didaze spent several months practicing the Splitting Technique, and because of his previous experience practicing the technique of the Dustless Bewildering Cover, Didaze achieved a very high level of control over his body.
The Splitting Technique, simply put, is about manipulating one's own body to divide everything inside it in two.
Whether you cultivate the Dustless Bewildering Cover or the Splitting Technique first, the difficulty of the other will drop drastically once you've mastered one.
Now the three little ones can do missions independently. Nanako Uzumaki can skillfully use Sealing Jutsu and the Adamantine Sealing Chains in combination, Jonin are basically no match for her.
Reigyō's Wind Release has become incredibly effective in coordination with Watanabe Kawa's Fire Style. Combined with Nanako Uzumaki's Sealing Jutsu, the three of them could Jonin.
Reigyō and Watanabe Kawa kept using Fire Style Wind Release, while Nanako was responsible for using Sealing Jutsu to block the opponent's movement. When the two Chakra, they would ask Nanako to replenish it. This kind of fighting style was basically unbeatable, unless the opponent's strength far exceeded that of the three little ones.
Didaze also told Nanako about the Wood Release fusion, since the little guy had both Earth and Water Release, and his Yang Release was overflowing.
Yang Release Technique is essentially Mystical Palm Technique, and Nanako is a walking, human-shaped Mystical Palm Technique.
However, Nanako to fuse with it for almost a year yielded no results. After all, Wood Release is not easy to create, especially the First's blood.
The three kids have all been promoted to Chunin, and they can now go out on missions on their own without Didaze leading them.
As for the exam to advance Chunin?
The three kids single-handedly defeated a Chunin instructor, and their strength was among the strongest of the Chunin. After the defeat, they were promoted directly.
" The Splitting Technique!"
Didaze concentrated his Chakra throughout his body and then unleashed it with all his might!
Another Didaze slowly separated from Didaze.
Didaze also felt that his strength had suddenly dropped by half.
Both the power of the Clay Bomb he could conjure and the total amount of Chakra were reduced by half.
However, the reduction in Chakra refers to the Chakra of Didaze's main body; the Chakra of the Six-Tails is not included.
"There are no Tailed Beast inside the clone?"
Didaze sensed the clone; it had only inherited 50% of his original body's Chakra.
"Receive!"
Didaze made a hand seal, and the clone instantly returned to Didaze's body.
" Saiken... aren't you capable of splitting into two parts...?"
Didaze entered the mental space and said to the Six-Tails with a smile.
"Please split one of your own into my clone, let me see what happens."
Didaze said to Six-Tails.
"Um!"
Six-Tails nodded.
" The Splitting Technique!"
This time, Didaze also brought the Six-Tails from the Spiritual Dimension into the game.
The Six-Tails split off a smaller version of itself and entered the clone's body.
"Success!"
Didaze's face lit up with joy.
His power was weakened, but the Six-Tails wasn't!
The Six-Tails ' total Chakra reserves have decreased, but its power remains the same.
If it splits itself, it's like having two Six-Tails on the battlefield!
"Very good!"
After getting the result he wanted, Didaze withdrew his clone and prepared to go to the Tsuchikage's office to report the good news to Ōnoki.
This was something Ōnoki had specifically instructed him to do: if Didaze learned the Second Tsuchikage's techniques, he must tell him, as he wanted to see the Second Tsuchikage's abilities again.
Perhaps this is what happens when people get old and become nostalgic; Ōnoki also began to miss his master.
Tsuchikage Office
"Old man!"
Didaze quickly arrived at the Tsuchikage's Tsuchikage and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Ōnoki replied.
Didaze pushed the door open and entered.
"You've mastered the Splitting Technique?"
Seeing the joy on Didaze's face, Ōnoki knew that the other party must have good news.
"Right!"
Didaze made a hand seal, and then a clone appeared from Didaze body.
Didaze split into two people!
"Your talent is truly remarkable... I'm afraid even my master might not be as strong as you."
Ōnoki looked at the clones Didaze had created and was filled with emotion.
There was a time when he couldn't even find a successor.
But now, Iwagakure is thriving.
"By the way, Hatake Sakumo defected because of the rumors circulating after the mission failed."
After expressing his feelings Ōnoki suddenly said something.
He had originally planned to send someone to fetch Didaze to tell him the news, but since Didaze had come himself, he decided to tell Didaze the news while he was at it.
"Ah?"
Didaze was taken aback.
Wasn't Hatake Sakumo supposed to be dead? How could he have defected?
"It's incredible, isn't it? I find it incredible too."
Ōnoki, seeing Didaze's stunned expression, assumed that the other was shocked by the news of Hatake Sakumo's defection.
" Konoha has dug its own grave. They've driven their own hero to the path of missing-nin. The hearts of the others must be cold now."
"Furthermore, if Hatake Sakumo were willing, the Uchiha Clan might also want to defect with him, since the Hatake Sakumo Uchiha Clan seems to be frequently targeted recently."
Didaze thought for a moment and then said this.
If it were the Uchiha Clan from the original story, they definitely wouldn't be able to defect. But now that Hatake Sakumo Hatake Sakumo defected, if he were willing to help the Uchiha Clan Uchiha Clan, there's a very high chance they could successfully defect.
"Ze, you should get ready too. I feel like the Third Shinobi World War is just around the corner."
After hearing Didaze's answer, Ōnoki nodded in satisfaction and then gave him a word of advice.
"Understood."
Didaze knew very well.
One year later, the Third Shinobi World War began.