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Konoha, the Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in quiet contemplation, his eyes falling upon the crystal ball on the desk before him. He was just about to channel his chakra into it, intending to observe the current state of the village more closely.
Kakashi, for the moment, seemed stable. Though he had endured no shortage of suffering, his resilience remained admirable, a trait worthy of respect.
The investigation into the mysterious organization and Uchiha Obito had been handed over to Danzo. As for Kitagawa Gen, he was under the watchful eye of Jiraiya. That left Hiruzen with some room to breathe, perhaps even a rare moment to relax.
"Hiruzen."
Just as he was about to inject his chakra into the crystal ball, the door was suddenly flung open. Shimura Danzo stepped in without warning, throwing Hiruzen into momentary disarray.
"Danzo? What brings you here?"
Feigning surprise, Hiruzen casually reached for a cloth and draped it over the crystal ball before speaking.
"Has something happened with Kirigakure?"
"Hmph."
Danzo snorted. He knew all too well what Hiruzen had likely been up to, but he could not be bothered to call it out.
"There's been some progress in our investigation into Kirigakure. The situation over there appears to be descending into chaos. There's even a risk of civil war breaking out."
Danzo spoke plainly. He was well aware that if he hoped to reclaim his authority, honesty was the safer path for now.
After all, he was not the Hokage!
"Civil war?"
Hiruzen paused for a moment, his expression tightening and a glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes.
When it came to Kirigakure, he and Danzo shared similar sentiments. Their distaste for that village ran deep. A civil war erupting there would not be unwelcome news to either of them.
Yet given the current state of affairs, Hiruzen was forced to consider the situation more carefully.
"So, you're saying the people we're tracking may be supporting one of the factions?"
"Precisely."
Danzo gave a small nod.
"Although the situation is tense, I don't believe it has yet reached the point of no return."
"Oh?"
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, suspicion flickering in his gaze. He had a distinct feeling his old friend was about to stir up trouble again.
But for the moment, he could not pinpoint the issue. After a brief silence, he finally asked,
"Tell me your thoughts. What have you discovered this time?"
"I've found traces of Orochimaru. He's currently in the Land of Hot Water."
Having resolved to sell out Orochimaru, Danzo did not hesitate in the slightest.
"Orochimaru is a member of that organization, and the fact that he hasn't yet made his way to the Land of Water means the situation hasn't reached a critical stage.
Which is why I intend to dispatch more of my operatives to conduct a deeper and more comprehensive investigation.
At the same time, someone needs to pursue Orochimaru. That may yield better results."
"Orochimaru…"
Hiruzen's brows furrowed tightly. Now he understood Danzo's true aim.
Dispatching his own subordinates was just another step in slicing off pieces of the pie, slowly regaining the power he once held.
And yet, Hiruzen found himself with little choice. Entrusting Root with the investigation was, in all fairness, the most logical move. As for Orochimaru, he could not afford to ignore him.
"Very well. I understand."
He fell silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
"If the situation were truly dire, Orochimaru should already be in the Land of Water. However, if he is in the Land of Hot Water, he can still reach the Land of Water via the sea.
Investigating his movements is reasonable. As for your side…"
At this point, Hiruzen paused again, as though still weighing the decision. After a long moment of deliberation, he gave a faint nod.
"I will temporarily permit you to mobilize Root operatives, but you know the rules. No information is to be exposed under any circumstances. I trust you understand that clearly."
"Hmph, I don't need you to remind me. I know very well."
Danzo gave a cold snort in response, his tone indifferent. But in his heart, a deep excitement surged.
His objective had been achieved!
"Then I'll take my leave. There's still much I must attend to."
Without another word, Danzo turned and walked away. This time, even his steps seemed noticeably lighter.
"…"
Watching Danzo's departing figure, Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temples.
He didn't bother to say anything. After all, a mountain of matters still awaited his attention.
He lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, then gave an instruction.
"Someone go and summon Jiraiya. I need to speak with him."
***
Deep within one of Konoha's secluded forests, Jiraiya wore a mischievous grin as he looked at Kitagawa Gen.
"Kid, looks like you're still struggling, huh? How many days has it been already? You still haven't quite grasped the essence of it."
"It has been troublesome, that's true."
Gen admitted without the slightest sign of irritation. He shrugged his shoulders lightly and added,
"But if you didn't keep interrupting me all the time, Lord Jiraiya, maybe I would have mastered it by now."
Time had flown by swiftly. In the blink of an eye, an entire week had already passed.
During this time, Gen had been earnestly working to recall and organize everything he remembered about the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After all, it wasn't something granted to him by the system, and the scroll had long since self-destructed. He couldn't make a copy even if he wanted to, which made the effort of internalizing and studying it twice as difficult.
Still, such secrecy was understandable. Measures like this were necessary to protect its secrets.
Jiraiya, though often unreliable in demeanor, had been by Gen's side throughout these days. And in order to prevent the young man from becoming too consumed by his frustrations, he had made various efforts to ease his burden.
For example, he would take Gen to relax in a hot spring now and then, or teach him other techniques, hoping to broaden his perspective and prevent him from obsessing over his troubles too deeply.
As he liked to say, it was all about balance between effort and rest. All ninjutsu shared some underlying principles, and learning something different might unexpectedly yield insight.
These were good intentions, no doubt, but to Gen, they had indeed become a source of interference.
"You talk big without thinking things through. And you, kid, really don't know how to appreciate kindness," Jiraiya said with a dramatic roll of his eyes, slumping down on the ground with a look of irritation.
"Mastering space-time ninjutsu is no simple task. Even this great sage has never truly grasped its secrets. The complexity of this technique far surpasses that of ordinary jutsu. Otherwise, why do you think only the Second and Fourth Hokage ever managed to master it?
"Obsessing over it too much will only trap you in a dead end. Sometimes a little relaxation helps more than you think. That is my wisdom from experience.
"And besides, you're too stubborn. I told you to form a summoning contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku, but you refused. Summoning jutsu is a kind of space-time technique too, is it not?"
"No. I just don't like toads," Gen replied at once, shaking his head firmly. Yet within his heart, a deeper and more complicated reason left him silently troubled.
If he still had an ordinary bloodline, he would have gladly agreed. The Flying Thunder God might very well be considered a variant of summoning jutsu, and mastering summoning would surely help him grasp the deeper principles of space-time techniques more quickly.
But the problem lay in his bloodline.
"My blood runs with the lineage of the Otsutsuki. That old toad once guided the Sage of Six Paths in his battle against Kaguya Otsutsuki. If anything were to be discovered, it might become very dangerous for me."
To be safe, Gen had ultimately decided to give it up.
"Tch. Suit yourself," Jiraiya muttered, pursing his lips in mild frustration. He did not bother lecturing Gen any further. At that moment, his gaze suddenly shifted upward as he spotted an ANBU approaching swiftly from the distance.
"What now? More trouble?"
He raised an eyebrow, then rose to his feet and turned to Gen.
"Looks like you're on your own today. Train well and give it your best."
"Understood. I'll do my best," Gen replied with a slight nod.
Without another word, Jiraiya leapt into the air and disappeared into the forest alongside the approaching ANBU.
Watching Jiraiya's figure vanish into the distance, Gen stretched his limbs slightly with a deep breath.
"Time to really put in some effort. This Flying Thunder God technique is driving me crazy."
The other techniques Gen had learned in the past, even those not provided by the system, had never been as difficult as this one. As for those granted by the system, no matter how complicated they were, the knowledge would be broken down and directly implanted into his mind in minute detail.
That made learning them both effortless and efficient. But now, he was forced to rely on his own memory and understanding, repeatedly reviewing and reconstructing every detail. Naturally, his learning speed had dropped significantly.
What made it worse was how exceedingly complex the Flying Thunder God was, its scope touching on numerous aspects of chakra theory and space-time manipulation. It was no wonder it had taken him so long just to digest the core concepts.
"Still, I've almost finished absorbing all the theoretical knowledge. I suppose it's time to start trying it for real."
Closing his eyes, he began to focus inward, carefully channeling his chakra in accordance with the intricate framework he had reconstructed in his mind.
Bit by bit, the minutes slipped away, and the chakra within Gen's body surged with increasing intensity.
Suddenly, a faint ripple of spatial distortion brushed against his senses, as though he had caught the edge of something elusive.
And in the instant he tried to fully grasp that fleeting trace
A sharp hum echoed around him.
In that very moment, he felt his chakra explode forth from every corner of his body.
More importantly, he could sense his very blood beginning to boil.
**
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[Chapter End's]
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