Flying Thunder God Technique!
Hanekawa returned to the Anbu base.
After sitting down, he called out, "Haru!"
The door opened, but instead of Haru, an Anbu ninja wearing a hawk mask entered.
"Lord Hanekawa."
The hawk-masked ninja bowed slightly. "Captain Haru is on a mission and is not at the Anbu base."
Hanekawa raised an eyebrow, though he wasn't particularly surprised.
Haru was an Anbu ninja, not his personal guard, so it was normal for her to be on missions.
But having someone else report to him felt a bit unfamiliar.
Hanekawa once again thought of his earlier plan—to cultivate a few loyal subordinates.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. The perfect candidate was Samui.
Samui had stayed in Konoha to oversee Kumogakure's mission hall.
However, the eight-person team worked in shifts.
As the team leader, Samui only had to be on duty for no more than three days a month.
That meant she had plenty of free time to serve as his Anbu.
After all, with a mask on, no one would know her true identity.
"Go find someone named Suien. He's a rogue ninja from Takigakure."
Hanekawa snapped out of his thoughts and ordered.
"Yes."
The hawk-masked ninja immediately responded.
"Wait."
Hanekawa narrowed his eyes. "Also, find someone named Kakuzu. He's a regular in the black market."
After defecting from Takigakure, Suien had essentially gone into hiding and wasn't well-known.
The shinobi world was vast, and finding him wouldn't be easy.
That's when Hanekawa thought of another rogue ninja from Takigakure—Kakuzu.
Having an extra person increased the chances of success.
Compared to Suien, Kakuzu was much easier to find.
In the original story, Kakuzu's life was nothing short of legendary.
In his youth, he was an elite jonin from Takigakure.
The village elders ordered him to assassinate the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
After accepting the mission, he infiltrated the Land of Fire and fought Hashirama, only to suffer a crushing defeat and barely escape with his life.
However, the Takigakure elders tried to punish him for failing the mission.
Enraged, Kakuzu stole the forbidden technique Earth Grudge Fear killed the village elders, and fled the village.
His greatest passion was amassing wealth.
After becoming a rogue ninja, he frequented the black market, taking on missions and bounties to earn money.
Eventually, he was recruited by the Akatsuki, specifically by Pain (Nagato).
Kakuzu partnered with Hidan, captured Yugito Nii, killed Asuma Sarutobi, and was ultimately killed by Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki.
At this point in time, he was likely still in the black market, making money.
"Yes."
The hawk-masked ninja bowed again and left.
Hanekawa picked up a document from his desk and began reading.
Half an hour later, after finishing the documents, he stood up and formed hand seals.
Summoning Technique!
In a puff of smoke, Katsuyu appeared.
"Lord Hanekawa, it's been a while."
Katsuyu's voice was gentle.
When Hanekawa had been training in Sage Mode, he would meet with Katsuyu every day.
But Sage Mode training was incredibly time-consuming.
Knowing he lacked the innate talent, Hanekawa had reduced the frequency of his visits.
From daily, to weekly, and now to monthly.
Katsuyu had naturally guessed the reason and didn't press the issue.
Over the centuries, it had seen too many people fail to learn Sage Mode. Hanekawa was just one more.
At most, it felt a bit sorry for him.
After all, among all its contractors, it considered Hashirama Senju and Hanekawa the most unique.
When summoned, it wasn't to fight tailed beasts or Kage-level ninja.
"Lady Katsuyu, could you use the Reverse Summoning Technique to bring me to Shikkotsu Forest?"
Hanekawa didn't know what Katsuyu was thinking. He wanted to test his newly acquired talent.
"Of course."
Katsuyu was surprised but didn't ask questions. It disappeared in an instant.
Hanekawa waited for a moment before feeling a summoning force.
He didn't resist, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in Shikkotsu Forest.
"Lady Katsuyu."
Hanekawa looked at the giant Katsuyu before him. "I want to train in Sage Mode."
Katsuyu looked at him in surprise.
It had thought Hanekawa had given up on Sage Mode, but it seemed he was determined to continue.
"Then let's begin."
Katsuyu didn't refuse and spat out a barrel of liquid to aid in Sage Mode training.
If this were Ryūchi Cave or Mount Myōboku, wasting so much precious liquid would have been unthinkable.
But Katsuyu was different—gentle and patient, not minding the loss.
Even though it believed Hanekawa lacked the talent for Sage Mode.
Hanekawa removed his shirt and, with a wave of his hand, used chakra to coat his body with the liquid.
He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
In the past, nothing would have happened at this point, but now things were completely different.
He could clearly sense an intangible energy around him, like butterflies fluttering about.
Without a doubt, this was natural energy.
Hanekawa suppressed his excitement and, using the method Katsuyu had taught him, gradually drew the natural energy into his body.
"Huh?"
Katsuyu couldn't help but be slightly startled.
It could feel the natural energy flowing toward Hanekawa.
This meant he had successfully sensed natural energy.
Katsuyu was puzzled.
If he had no talent, how could he attract natural energy?
If he had talent, why had he made no progress in the past year?
But being able to train was a good thing.
Katsuyu snapped out of its thoughts and focused intently on Hanekawa.
The next step was the most dangerous.
He needed to balance natural energy, spiritual energy, and physical energy in a 1:1:1 ratio to create senjutsu chakra.
Once senjutsu chakra was present in his body, facial markings—or eye markings—would appear, signifying the success of Sage Mode.
However, if the balance between natural, spiritual, and physical energy was disrupted, the consequences could be severe.
At best, injury; at worst, death.
Katsuyu's role was to save Hanekawa before the natural energy spiraled out of control.
A day passed quickly.
Hanekawa hadn't successfully created senjutsu chakra.
But he wasn't discouraged, because he finally had a progress bar.
[S-Level Jutsu: Sage Mode (Not Acquired).]
[Trigger Condition: Learn Sage Mode.]
[Current Progress: 1%.]
Having a progress bar meant he had officially started the journey. The rest was just a matter of time.
With enough time, he would master Sage Mode.
"Thank you, Lady Katsuyu."
Hanekawa stood up, put on his shirt, and said.
"I should congratulate you for finally being able to sense natural energy."
Katsuyu said softly. "As long as you train diligently, I believe you can master Sage Mode."
Hanekawa thought to himself that Katsuyu really knew how to say the right things.
In every sense of the word.
"Lady Katsuyu, see you tomorrow."
Hanekawa smiled.
With Katsuyu's help, he returned to Konoha.
Two weeks later, it was December.
A year had passed since the end of the Third Great Ninja War.
This post-war year had been Konoha's fastest period of population growth, with many newborns.
Among them were the Konoha 12.
Of course, the last one, Hinata Hyūga, hadn't been born yet.
Her birthday was December 27th, making her the youngest of the Konoha 12.
Hanekawa stood up, stretched, and prepared to head to Shikkotsu Forest.
Over the past two weeks, he had been fully focused on Sage Mode training, and his progress bar had now reached 20%.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Hanekawa raised an eyebrow and sat back down.
"Lord Hanekawa."
The hawk-masked ninja entered and handed him a scroll. "We've located both Kakuzu and Suien."
"Good work. You may leave."
Hanekawa took the scroll and immediately opened it to read.
Suien had taken over a mountain in the Land of Birds, gathering many rogue ninja.
It seemed he was preparing to retake Takigakure.
The Land of Birds bordered the Land of Rain to the west.
As for Kakuzu, he was in the Land of Wind, hunting a rogue ninja from Kirigakure.
The bounty on the rogue ninja's head was five million ryo.
Hanekawa closed the scroll and fell into deep thought.
His plan only required one rogue ninja from Takigakure.
Suien had a sizable force, making him a suitable candidate.
But letting Kakuzu go would be a waste.
If he could join the Akatsuki, why couldn't he join Hanekawa?
When it came to making money, Hanekawa had far more methods than the Akatsuki.
Plus, he could lay the groundwork for the Land of Fire.
When Hanekawa became Hokage, he didn't want a daimyo above him.
Kakuzu could manage his finances.
In the original story, after joining the Akatsuki, Kakuzu had been a diligent and trustworthy worker.
"The Land of Wind? Perfect timing."
Hanekawa thought of Mukade.
In the original story, it was Mukade who used a special jutsu to break the seal left by Minato Namikaze.
Under normal circumstances, an ordinary jonin would never be able to break a seal combining the Flying Thunder God Technique and Uzumaki clan techniques.
Such a special jutsu would require extensive research.
Hanekawa's plan was to find Mukade and see if he was conducting such research.
If not, he would use his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to subtly guide him toward the Dragon Vein.
With this in mind, Hanekawa didn't waste any more time and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
An hour later, he arrived in the Land of Wind.
Hanekawa casually put on a fox mask.
Whether meeting Mukade or attacking Takigakure, he couldn't use his real identity.
At the same time, his signature Wood Release was also off-limits.
"It seems I'll have to let the Uchiha clan take the blame."
Hanekawa planned to use his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
After all, he hadn't used it since awakening it.
His Susanoo had also reached its second stage, yet he had never used it.
As for the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities, he was torn between Kamui and Yata no Kagami.
Hanekawa closed his eyes and activated 'Mind's Eye'
He quickly located Kakuzu.
The reason was simple.
Kakuzu had five distinct chakra signatures.
Normally, a person only had one chakra signature, but Kakuzu was an exception due to the forbidden technique Earth Grudge Fear
Earth Grudge Fear allowed him to steal hearts and chakra from his victims.
In other words, Kakuzu had five hearts and could use five elemental releases: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning.
Additionally, Earth Grudge Fear granted him near-limitless vitality and immortality.
As long as he had at least one heart remaining, he wouldn't die.
Only when all five hearts were destroyed would he perish.
Hanekawa leaped into the air and disappeared at incredible speed.
In the desert, Kakuzu was walking slowly.
He had just killed his bounty target and was heading to the black market to collect the reward.
The next second, he stopped and turned to look into the distance.
A figure was approaching him without any attempt to hide.
"How bold."
Kakuzu said indifferently.
In his eyes, this figure was too reckless.
"Kakuzu."
Hanekawa landed in front of him.
"Who are you?"
Kakuzu examined his mask.
Only by knowing his name could he determine his bounty in the black market.
If it was high enough, it would be worth his time.
In the original story, after joining the Akatsuki, he often killed his teammates and cashed in their bounties.
It wasn't until his partner became the immortal Hidan that he was forced to stop.
"I heard you like money."
Hanekawa got straight to the point. "Why not work for me? I can give you more money than you can spend."
"Are you joking?"
Kakuzu snorted. "Do you think just anyone can earn my loyalty?"
He was a ninja who had fought the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and lived to tell the tale.
Not to mention, he possessed Earth Grudge Fear, making him incredibly powerful. Why would he submit to someone else?
"Looks like we'll have to fight."
Hanekawa smiled.
In the original story, the Akatsuki's recruitment method was simple: fight.
Though crude, in a world where strength was respected, it was highly effective.
Especially for rogue ninja.
They didn't want to die and had no village to protect them. Joining a powerful organization like the Akatsuki made sense.
"With you?"
Kakuzu shook his head. "How strong can someone who hides their face really be?"
Water Release: Water Ball Technique!
After a moment of thought, Hanekawa clapped his hands together.
He usually used Tobirama Senju's Water Release techniques.
But this Water Release jutsu came from the Hōzuki clan of Kirigakure.
Countless transparent bubbles appeared around him and quickly floated toward Kakuzu.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
Kakuzu reacted quickly, forming hand seals to raise an earthen wall in front of him.
But the next second, his expression changed drastically.
The bubbles exploded upon contact with the wall.
Boom!
In an instant, all the bubbles triggered a chain reaction.
The earthen wall shattered in moments.
In a critical moment, Kakuzu didn't hesitate to activate Earth Grudge Fear
His clothes disintegrated, and countless black threads, like tentacles, surged out to envelop him.
But the black threads were continuously destroyed in the explosions.
Kakuzu's expression turned grave, and he was filled with disbelief.
How could a Water Release jutsu have such destructive power?
Kakuzu formed hand seals again.
Earth Release: Earth Spear!
His skin hardened, taking on a faint black hue.
A few seconds later, the explosions stopped.
Kakuzu breathed a sigh of relief.
Chakra surged, and the destroyed black threads quickly regenerated.
"Do I have the qualifications now?"
Hanekawa stood in place and asked.
"We'll see after the fight!"
Kakuzu no longer underestimated him, but he wasn't going to submit after just one Water Release jutsu.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
From the mass of black threads, a mask flew up.
It opened its mouth and spat out a compressed ball of wind.
The wind ball, once released, created a violent gust of wind.
The gust swept up the desert sand, forming a massive sandstorm aimed directly at Hanekawa.
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