"What about Yin-Yang Release?"
Orochimaru was slightly taken aback when he heard Gekko Chizan's question.
He hadn't expected a fourteen-year-old child to ask something like that.
Interesting. Very interesting.
"Although it's a bit early for someone your age to understand this, since you've asked, I'll explain it to you."
"The concept of Yin Release and Yang Release is as follows: Yin, born from spiritual energy, creates form from nothing. Yang, born from physical energy, breathes life into form."
"Take the Uchiha for example— their Sharingan is a pure representation of Yin Release. In contrast, the Senju's power, especially the First Hokage's Wood Release, is the embodiment of Yang Release."
"One emphasizes the mind. The other, the body."
Gekko Chizan nodded. He already had some understanding of Yin-Yang Release, but it was based on the manga he'd read in his previous life.
Orochimaru's explanation, however, was far more accurate and insightful.
"Alright, I'm about to begin my experiments. If you don't have anything else, go outside and train your Ninjutsu."
"You can start trying out the Wind Release techniques and the self-created Jutsu I gave you."
"Once your mindset stabilizes a bit more, I'll start bringing you into the lab for experiments."
In Orochimaru's eyes, Gekko Chizan still wasn't qualified to enter the lab. He was too impatient, still rough around the edges—he needed more polishing.
Gekko Chizan was happy to oblige and immediately ran outside the lab to begin his Ninjutsu training.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
Over the course of that month, Gekko Chizan had fully mastered Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and a series of Wind Release techniques.
Orochimaru was quite satisfied and, in a rare move, gave Gekko Chizan a break.
Why? Because Orochimaru was going to be away from the village for a while. The Third Hokage had assigned him a mission, and Chizan still needed to take care of his younger brother. So Orochimaru didn't insist on taking him along.
Though truth be told, Orochimaru rather wanted to take him along.
...
Hokage Tower.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wore a heavy expression as he read through the scroll in front of him, word by word.
This intelligence report had been delivered from the front lines, paid for with the lives of countless spies.
According to the information, Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, and Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning were all showing signs of suspicious activity.
The troop movements, the shifting resources—everything pointed to one thing.
War was coming. Again.
Hiruzen took drag after drag from his pipe, the smoke thickening with each breath.
But it was as if he couldn't feel it. He remained deep in thought.
The Second Great Ninja War had just ended not long ago, and already these villages were starting to stir again.
Sigh... Was peace really so difficult to maintain?
War—a word all too familiar to him.
Since Hiruzen became Hokage, the ninja world had been in a constant state of conflict.
First, war with Kumogakure after the death of his teacher, the Second Hokage.
Then, battles with Iwagakure and Sunagakure one after the other.
"Hokage-sama, you called for me?"
Suddenly, a tall, imposing man pushed open the door.
It was none other than Konoha's White Fang—Sakumo Hatake.
As the current captain of the Anbu, Sakumo was the sharpest blade in Konoha's arsenal.
"Sakumo. Iwa, Suna, and Kumo have all made moves."
"I suspect war is about to break out again."
Hiruzen pointed casually at the intelligence report beside him. Sakumo picked it up and began reading.
After he finished, his entire presence changed, like a sword being drawn from its sheath—sharp and ready to strike.
"Hmph. I knew those bastards wouldn't stay quiet."
"Hokage-sama, I'm ready to head to the front lines at any time."
Sakumo didn't hesitate in the slightest. As the man who earned the name White Fang on the battlefield, he feared no enemy.
Any foe who stood before him would be cut down by his ninja blade, like the scythe of the Reaper himself.
"Be prepared. Put all Anbu personnel on standby."
"At the same time, bolster the delivery of intelligence from the front. We must stay updated on the movements of the three villages at all times."
"Especially Iwagakure. Onoki is the most ambitious of them all."
"Sakumo, do you think we'd succeed if we sent someone into Iwagakure for intel again?"
Sakumo furrowed his brows slightly at that.
It was obvious—even just the intel on this table had come at the cost of many lives.
But war was looming, and intelligence was crucial.
For a moment, Sakumo fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Iwagakure might be off-limits for now. Once war breaks out, they'll definitely be a major combat force."
"As for Kumogakure, the intel brought back recently by Yamanaka Heichi and Gekko Chizan gives us something to work with."
"But Sunagakure... we don't have any solid reports. The intel we've received is vague at best."
"We can't afford to ignore Sunagakure."
In the last war, he'd fought against Sunagakure. Whether it was their sand manipulation or their Puppet Techniques, both were extremely troublesome.
Especially the Puppet Techniques—not a problem for top-tier combatants, perhaps, but deadly to average shinobi.
He remembered Sunagakure had several powerful puppet masters at the time.
Even he had suffered some losses in the beginning.
Though he ended up slaying several of them, their side had paid a heavy price.
"Hmm... Chiyo, huh? She is a tricky one."
"Sigh... if war breaks out, we'll probably be facing attacks from all three villages again."
At that, Hiruzen's brows knit tighter with worry.
Konoha had always been the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, which also made them the primary target in every war.
"This won't do. I'll personally lead a team to the Land of Wind."
"It's just an intel-gathering mission—nothing should go wrong."
Confidence—that was the first thing Sakumo Hatake always brought to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Let's wait a bit longer. Graduation from the Ninja Academy is coming up soon. We can talk about this again then."
For now, Hiruzen shelved the scouting operation.
After all, the intel had just arrived. There was still time.
"Sakumo, do you think your son will apply for early graduation?"
Setting aside the concerns of war, Hiruzen smiled and asked about Sakumo's son—Kakashi.
Speaking of his son, Sakumo smiled faintly.
"Maybe. Ever since Chizan's stealth class repeatedly tripped him up, he's been more motivated than ever."
"He's made impressive progress in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Physique training."
"Even I have to admit—bringing Gekko Chizan in to teach at the Academy was definitely the right call."
Hiruzen let out a hearty laugh.
"Well then, I'll be looking forward to it."
This year's Ninja Academy curriculum had advanced quickly, especially with the addition of new classes.
The stealth course taught by Gekko Chizan had earned the approval of many instructors—and even the students had come to love his lessons.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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