[A/N: Apologies guys. An awful month. Been busy shifting irl. Took away all my energy and I couldn’t write much 😓 Luckily, done with it earlier today. But will be traveling tomorrow (not necessarily a bad thing as I may be able to write all day). Hopefully I’ll be consistent in May.]

Hiruzen wasn’t surprised by Shikaku suddenly taking initiative, completely opposite of his usual lazy attitude. Irrespective of whether Akuro was an ancient expert or a con man related to Akatsuki, a deadly war was coming. As the lead strategist of Konoha, Shikaku couldn’t afford to be passive. Otherwise, his workload would increase multifold!

“I’ll also come. If he’s still there, I’d like my bugs to get a feel of him.” Shibi decided to join the army as well. Immediately after him, Hiashi said, “I’d like to take a look as well.”

His statement Immediately earned a few peculiar glances. A Hyuga clan leader almost never participated in any missions. Even in wars, they’d be assigned to protect the village and would only be deployed if the situation worsened beyond a limit.

Hiashi replied to the glances solemnly, “If the situation is as bad as we speculate, I’m afraid no one can escape the war. We can’t afford to be complacent.”

Everyone silently agreed with Hiashi. Other clan leaders wanted to join as well but they knew better than to put all their eggs in one basket.

With the discussions reaching an end, Hiruzen glanced at everyone in the room and said, “There may not be a confrontation today, but as Hiashi said, a Great War, exceeding all the previous Great Ninja Wars, is coming. We’re lucky to learn of it in advance. Start preparing each of your clans.

Tsunade and I will focus on raising our Elite Jounins to rank S, but we’ll have to depend on you to raise a large number of Jounins and Elite Jounins. You can’t rest easy with your clan members reaching just the Special Jounin rank.

Have your retired ninjas guide your youngsters. If they or your senior ninjas have any free time, have them participate in the Guidance Hall and teach the civilian ninjas. They’ll make the bulk of our forces this time. If need be, we’ll construct more Guidance Halls around the village…”

Hiruzen imparted his wisdom on the council, giving plenty of ideas which were easy to implement. He wasn’t sure how much of an impact a large Jounin force would have in the upcoming war, but it was undoubtedly much better to have them.

In the past wars, a large number of Genins from the reserves would be deployed to make up the numbers. However, Hiruzen wasn’t sure whether Genins would have any impact in the upcoming war. As such, Hiruzen hoped he could help as many as he could to promote up the ranks and strengthen Konoha.

Within that hope lied another hope, something everyone in the council room understood. Once a large number of ninjas started improving their capabilities and moving up the ranks, it was inevitable for several new talents to be unearthed. Konoha, despite producing the most talented ninjas of any village, desperately needed more!

——

“Phew…” While Konoha was busy preparing against the variety of speculations due to the mysteries around Danzo’s death, Fujin, the true perpetrator behind the incident and the real killer, exhaled a long breath. He had successfully got all the details of the Edo Tensei jutsu down!

Fujin thought, ‘As I expected, this jutsu is complicated beyond logic despite being rather easy to perform. Not surprising considering how miraculous the jutsu is. Exactly how did Tobirama create this forbidden jutsu? Was he purposefully trying to create it, or was it a lucky accident?

Due to the experiences from my previous life, I have an abundance of ideas and a unique perspective, giving me a considerable edge over other ninjas. However, there’s no way I can create something like this. Even in the future, it seems nigh impossible…’

If others were to learn of Fujin’s Myriad Tetragram Seal, they might place it at the same level as Edo Tensei jutsu. However, Fujin knew that wasn’t the case.

Fujin had created the seal by standing on the shoulders of others. The Eight Trigrams Divination Seal had come from the Uzumaki clan, which was initially based on the Four Symbols Seal. Minato had improved the Eight Trigrams Divination Seal further by tweaking it slightly to aid his son. Fujin had only used a brute-force method, trying countless permutations with the aid of his Shadow Clones, to improve the Seal and take it to a whole new level. It wasn’t the same as creating something new from scratch.

If a direct comparison were to be made, Fujin’s work with the Myriad Tetragram Seal could be compared to Kabuto improving Orochimaru’s Edo Tensei jutsu, which was an improvement over Tobirama’s Edo Tensei jutsu.

Fujin sighed, ‘Well, whatever. At least I have no need to create something so complicated right now. I’d rather capture Ten Tails and gain powers of Sage of Six Path than create something like this. That’ll be considerably easier.

That said, I wonder if I can reanimate Tobirama and make him do research for me…’

Having finally seen the Edo Tensei jutsu first hand, this seemed more tempting than ever. Unfortunately, there more than a few limitations. Konoha possessed Edo Tensei for a long time and could do the same. Fujin didn’t believe Tobirama would have any qualms in helping out Konoha even after his death. Yet, Konoha hadn’t done so for some reason. At least he hadn’t heard about it.

The other issue was Fujin himself. Someone like Tobirama would be far more perceptive than the likes of Hiruzen in some aspects. Fujin was confident in hiding most of them, but if he were to accidentally expose the Flying Thunder God seals to Tobirama, it could open up a whole new can of worms. Hiruzen and Shikaku weren’t fools. Fujin would have to ensure he never lost control over Tobirama and keep him sealed.

It wasn’t particularly difficult, considering Fujin already did the same for Kabuto but it was still an unnecessary risk without knowing if it’d work. It was also important to note that Edo Tensei wasn’t the only way to bring someone back. There was also the Rinnegan, while Hagoromo had his means too. Fujin didn’t think his seals would stop them.

Fujin decided, ‘I’ll think of it when I release his soul from the Shinigami’s abdomen. For now, I’ll test it out on Kabuto. The breakthroughs he had in his researches after Orochimaru’s death was astonishing to say the least. If he can replicate it for me, then I can take the risk. Anyway…’

Fujin turned his attention to his right forearm. Though it wasn’t visible to anyone else, Fujin could see a tiny seal imprint. The seal imprint contained the symbols of the Edo Tensei ritual. Fujin could now use the jutsu immediately just like how Hiruzen did while reanimating Danzo.

Fujin thought, ‘Though I have the required DNA of the Bishop, I should experiment first. I wonder which bandit group would like to volunteer this time. Unfortunately, that will have to wait. It’s time to return…’

Fujin glanced at his Shadow Clones, who were still busy sorting the other data and techniques. Knowing there wouldn’t be any conflict, Fujin let them continue and disappeared from the base.

——

“I’m back!” Naruto yelled the moment his sandals hit the familiar stone path of Konoha’s main gate.

Izumo sighed tiredly and asked, “Do you have to do it every single time, Naruto?”

Grinning, Naruto confidentally replied, “Of course! You better believe it!”

Jiraiya, walking behind him with his usual unhurried gait, chuckled, “Alright, loudmouth. Now that you’ve announced your return to half the village, how about giving everyone’s ears a break?”

Naruto ignored the jab and turned, eyes bright with curiosity, “So, what now? You’re going to meet Granny Tsunade, right?”

“Yeah,” Jiraiya nodded, “You go find your friends. I’m sure they’ve missed you.”

“But what about the trouble? You haven’t even told me what happened!” Naruto protested, his brows furrowing. He demanded, “Let me come along! I can help too!”

Jiraiya shook his head, waving a hand dismissively, “You’d just get in the way, Naruto. Go on…”

“No way! At least let me hear what it is first!” Naruto argued stubbornly, taking a half-step forward. His voice was loud enough to turn a few heads nearby, but he didn’t care.

Jiraiya sighed, giving up his futile attempts, “You’re impossible… Fine, but you’re keeping your mouth shut once we’re inside, understand?”

Naruto pumped his fist, “Got it!”

Needless to say, Jiraiya didn’t believe him. The two of them made their way through the crowded streets, the usual buzz of the village washing over them. At the Hokage’s office, Jiraiya pushed the door open, and the two entered to find Tsunade, Hiruzen, Shizune and Shikaku gathered around a small table stacked with papers and scrolls. Exhaustion and weariness was visible on all their faces!

Naruto opened his mouth to greet them, but Tsunade cut him off sharply, “Naruto, leave for now.”

“Ehh? Come on, Granny! At least tell me what’s going on!” he whined, his voice bordering on a shout.

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed, her glare sharp enough to make the air feel heavier, “I won’t ask twice.”

Naruto froze, swallowed, then scratched his cheek awkwardly, “Fine, fine… But you better tell me later!”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and stomped out, muttering under his breath about “old geezers keeping secrets.”

Jiraiya didn’t pay any attention to the exchange between his student and former teammate. Instead, a deep frown creased his face as he focused on a hooded figure standing quietly in the corner of the room, almost blending into the shadows.

Tsunade ordered, “Leave and seal the room.”

Unlike Naruto, her Anbu guards and everyone else in the office immediately followed the command. Just as the door was about to close, a figure suddenly appeared inside. The startled Anbu tensed, but relaxed the moment they saw who it was. Needless to say, it was Fujin.

As soon as the room was sealed, Fujin asked, “What’s the matter? And, who’s that?”

Just like Jiraiya, Fujin noticed the hooded figure instantly. Others may struggle to notice him, but the two of them stood at the peak of the current ninja world.

No one answered. Instead, the hooded figure stepped forward, out of the shadows, and slowly pulled back his hood. Instantly, shock flashed across both Fujin and Jiraiya’s faces. Their eyes widened, as if struggling to believe what stood before them was real! Unfortunately, the reactions of others confirmed it was no Genjutsu!

Jiraiya muttered in disbelief, “What in the world?”

Fujin directly asked, shock evident in his voice, “How did you die?”

————————————

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep