At the northeastern headquarters of the Land of Fire, inside the command center.
To prepare for the large-scale assault Kumogakure was certain to launch next, Orochimaru, serving as supreme commander, gathered all the jōnin in the camp for a strategy meeting.
Although every jōnin had attended in name, the only ones who actually spoke during the meeting were Shinichi, Namikaze Minato, strategist-advisor Nara Shikaku, and the leader of the Konoha reinforcements that had arrived earlier that day—the head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku.
Shimura Danzō did not attend the meeting personally, merely sending one of his representatives in his place.
"If there are no objections, then we'll proceed with these arrangements. Return and make your preparations."
Two hours later, Orochimaru's hoarse voice brought the meeting to an end.
"Yes, sir!"
The gathered jōnin acknowledged the order solemnly and filed out of the command center one after another. Shinichi followed the flow of people outside, but before he had gone far, a steady voice called out from behind him.
"Shinichi-kun, please wait."
Hearing that, Shinichi stopped and turned around. The one calling him was a tall ANBU jōnin wearing a mask painted with the image of a mountain monkey—Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
He was also one of the reinforcements from Konoha who had arrived that day, serving as the representative of the ANBU division.
Shinnosuke pulled a storage scroll from inside his robe and stepped forward to hand it over.
"Senpai, this is...?"
"Inside is the Second Hokage-sama's former sword—the Sword of the Thunder God. Before the Hokage-sama left the village, he learned that your blade had been destroyed during the previous battle against Kumogakure, so he specifically instructed me to deliver this sword to you for your use."
Shinnosuke explained. His voice, muffled through the mask, carried little emotion, but inwardly his feelings were extremely complicated.
As the eldest son of the Third Hokage and one of his closest aides, he knew the full story.
Originally, his father had planned to personally present this meaningful Sword of the Thunder God to the outstanding young genius on Shinichi's birthday, during his intended visit to the northeastern front a few days earlier.
But the unusual movements from Kirigakure had disrupted those plans, forcing his father to remain in the village. As a result, this gift that he had been unable to hand over personally became something that lingered heavily on his mind. Even on the night before Shinnosuke departed, his father had specifically called him into the office just to remind him about this matter.
The sheer level of importance and care his father placed on this left even Shinnosuke, his biological son, unable to stop himself from complaining internally for a moment.
Were he and Asuma even really their father's sons?
Why had their father never shown this much concern for either of them?
Still, complaints aside, Shinnosuke understood that his father regarded the talented young man before him as the inheritor and successor of his ideals. That was why he paid such close attention to everything concerning him.
"This..."
Shinichi froze briefly before a solemn expression appeared on his face. He respectfully accepted the scroll with both hands.
"Many thanks for the Hokage-sama's generous regard! I will never betray the Hokage-sama's trust and expectations!"
Shinnosuke nodded and said nothing further before vanishing into the night.
Shinichi remained standing there, lowering his head to look at the scroll in his hands.
The Sword of the Thunder God.
The Second Hokage's blade.
Looks like the Third Hokage... no, probably quite a lot of people already see me as a replacement for the Second Hokage.
But the path I intend to walk is far more than simply becoming another Senju Tobirama.
The thought flashed through Shinichi's mind before he turned and headed back toward his camp.
…
After returning to his tent, Shinichi released the seal on the storage scroll and pulled out a black iron-colored hilt with a somewhat rough design.
The Sword of the Thunder God!
Unlike ordinary ninja blades, the Sword of the Thunder God did not possess a fixed blade structure. Its true function lay in the user pouring chakra into it, activating the core within and generating an indestructible blade of lightning.
After examining it for a moment, Shinichi's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly poured Lightning Release chakra into it.
Shinichi could use Lightning Release chakra now as well. After all, he possessed Isshin's Lightning Release training experience alongside the amplification provided by the green entry [Lightning Release Proficiency], making his mastery of Lightning Release nature transformation progress at an astonishing pace.
It was simply that Shinichi himself rarely used Lightning Release ninjutsu.
Bzzzt! Crackle!
As Lightning Release chakra flowed into the hilt, the sound of thunder and crackling electricity instantly rang out. A brilliant golden blade of light extended from the hilt, arcs of terrifying lightning flickering across it from time to time, fully displaying the extraordinary nature of the weapon.
Golden lightning?
Lightning was usually blue-white in color, and Lightning Release techniques were the same. Golden lightning did exist in nature as well, generally occurring when clouds absorbed part of the light spectrum, causing the lightning to take on a yellowish hue—a rather unusual natural phenomenon.
And in this world, anything associated with the color gold was often tied to Yang Release. Shinichi recalled that the Sword of the Thunder God had apparently been an experimental weapon created during the Second Hokage's younger years, yet there had never been any mention of what materials it was made from or where those materials had come from.
With that thought in mind, a glass-like sheen flashed across Shinichi's eyes. [Clear Insight] and [Flash Step] activated together, allowing him to see through the black iron hilt and perceive a blue crystal hidden within it—one faintly radiating a golden glow.
A chakra crystal!
A product similar to the First Hokage's necklace. However, the First Hokage's necklace had been a Wood Release chakra crystal, while this one was a Lightning Release chakra crystal, perhaps even carrying a trace of Yang Release properties as well.
'This was probably left behind by some Senju ancestor highly proficient in Lightning Release.'
Realization dawned on Shinichi inwardly. The Senju Clan was born with exceptionally powerful Yang Release bloodlines. Only that kind of bloodline could nurture such a special chakra crystal—one containing both the overwhelming destructive power of Lightning Release and a portion of Yang Release vitality.
He dispersed the Lightning Release chakra, and the golden blade of light vanished with it. The hilt once again became silent and plain, as though nothing had happened at all.
Holding it in his hand, Shinichi suddenly found the situation somewhat amusing.
Did this mean he was now a man with two swords?
With that thought, Shinichi inexplicably drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist. Then, holding the Kusanagi Sword in one hand and the Sword of the Thunder God in the other, he carefully examined them both.
Still, speaking of weapon forging, while his main body had no time for it, he could have Isshin try developing forging-related entries in the Land of Iron.
The Land of Iron was the nation of samurai, but it was also famed as a nation of blacksmithing. It gathered the finest smiths and forging techniques in the shinobi world, inheriting ancient and exquisite methods for crafting weapons and armor.
It would also serve as preparation for personally forging weapons—or even divine weapons—for himself in the future.
After all, every time he used the Adamantine Staff, he had to summon the Monkey King Enma. In the end, that was somewhat inconvenient. If one day Enma happened to be unavailable, or if the Third Hokage was using him at the same time, Shinichi would be completely out of luck.
Besides, a top-tier master blacksmith would naturally possess an extraordinarily detailed understanding of all kinds of weapons. That would certainly deepen Shinichi's own mastery over weaponry and provide some additional support to his combat strength.
With that thought, Shinichi put away both swords and stepped out of the tent once more, planning to gather his squad members and brief them on their mission.
"Shinichi!"
After only a few steps, a gentle voice called out to him.
"Minato-senpai?"
Shinichi stopped and turned toward Minato.
"Is something the matter?"
"Take this."
Minato handed over a Flying Thunder God kunai and explained: "I discussed things with Orochimaru-senpai again just now. Your mission is extremely important, and the pressure and danger you'll be facing are immense. When the time comes, I'll try to find opportunities to support your side whenever possible."
"This..."
Shinichi pondered briefly before ultimately nodding.
"Then I'll be troubling you, Minato-senpai."
"What's troublesome about that? We're all fighting for Konoha. In the battles ahead, your side needs to pay extra attention to safety."
Minato spoke earnestly.
"I understand. Please don't worry, senpai."
Shinichi responded just as seriously.
"Minato-senpai's responsibilities are even heavier. The pressure you'll bear will only be greater, so please make sure to take care of yourself as well."
Minato nodded and was about to leave when Shinichi called out to him again.
"Minato-senpai, I have a few questions regarding the Flying Thunder God Technique that I'd like to ask. Would it be convenient for you?"
Hearing that, Minato froze slightly, but soon revealed his usual gentle smile again and nodded.
"It's fine. Go ahead and ask."
The Flying Thunder God Technique was an S-rank space-time ninjutsu recorded within the Scroll of Seals, one of Konoha's highest secret arts. Its principles and details had always been classified at the highest level. Without the Hokage's permission, no one was allowed to come into contact with it.
But Namikaze Minato understood that if Shinichi truly wanted to learn it, the Hokage would undoubtedly open every possible door for him.
Besides, he was merely asking a few questions. There was no harm in that.
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