Itachi, upon his return, took some time to rest before heading to the Root headquarters to deliver his report. As Aoto had mentioned, Itachi had been tasked with spying on Aoto and assessing his capabilities during an ambush. Instead of writing a report, he directly briefed Danzo.
The more Danzo heard, the more he trembled. He hadn't intended for an ambush involving a tailed beast. His initial goal was merely to test whether Aoto was as fearsome as he had appeared during their previous encounter, or if it had all been an illusion.
However, with each passing detail, the scars of his past resurfaced to haunt him. Even a tailed beast had disappeared. Despite Konoha being on high alert when reports of a tailed beast near the border emerged, he had never anticipated an event of such magnitude.
"Never breathe a word of what transpired to anyone," Danzo ordered.
Itachi bowed and departed. After a few moments, Danzo continued, addressing someone named Fu.
"Make certain no one saw you leave or return, Fu."
"I assure you, Danzo-sama, I went unnoticed."
"Hmm..."
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A month had elapsed since then, and many changes had occurred within Konoha. Some skilled blacksmiths had arrived in the village following Aoto and the others' return. As a result, Aoto had to recruit individuals to learn blacksmithing from them, aiming to craft katana and other weapons from the strongest metal available.
Naturally, all of this occurred under close supervision. The Hokage himself arranged for a separate location near Aoto's residence to ensure everything proceeded in an orderly and secure manner. Edward was entrusted with the responsibility, and he managed it to the best of his abilities.
One aspect that greatly surprised Aoto was that the Hokage chose not to inquire about his techniques and didn't mention the completed mission either. This left Aoto somewhat taken aback.
"Has the Hokage turned into a saint or something?"
However, as long as this lack of interference continued, Aoto was content. Another astonishing development was that the Uchiha clan was permitted to travel outside the village to distribute some of the supplies Aoto provided. Konoha allowed this without imposing any restrictions. They were even granted permission to transport Adamantium and return with chakra-conductive rocks. This mission was highly confidential, so the arrangement left Aoto quite surprised. It almost seemed as if Konoha was granting the Uchiha some leniency.
Could this be a strategic move to assess the Uchiha's actions and intentions, planning to intervene later? Only time would unveil the truth. But one thing for sure was happening to Aoto. And that was his income was rising very fast. The sale of kunai and shuriken made of Adamantium and chakra conductive mental had slowly started and this was making his pockets full pretty fast to which was he was very thankful.
He would soon be the wealthiest individual in Konoha, which would grant him more freedom. Perhaps he needed to establish a company that could consolidate all his diverse holdings and manage them while he lounged around. Of course, his "lounging around" actually meant studying magic and honing his combat skills, given that he still considered himself the weakest.
One reason to celebrate was that he had finally progressed from being a novice talent to a low-grade talent. This achievement brought immense relief to Aoto, who had previously felt as if it might take another century or so to reach this point. Now that he had overcome the initial hurdle, he was determined to conquer the next.
Supreme talent was his next aspiration! After all, dreaming was a prerogative of life, wasn't it?
However, there was another notable event that took place. Chomei was extremely agitated during the initial days. It struggled, attempted to break free, and made every possible effort to escape. It even cried out in an attempt to be released from its captivity, but to no avail.
It's important to mention that Chomei couldn't maintain its actions indefinitely. The jinchuriki would eventually deplete their chakra, requiring replenishment. Once the jinchuriki had been adequately nourished, Chomei would emerge and proceed to rampage aimlessly, seemingly unaffected. The system designated this as autopilot mode for the jinchuriki. However, if this state persisted, it could lead to the jinchuriki's demise.
Moreover, if Chomei remained unable to break free from the seal, Chomei itself would perish. It appeared that the individual currently stuck in the autopilot, zombie-like mode didn't have much time left. Hence, they needed to extract Chomei promptly before time ran out.
This cycle continued for several days. In the recent days, Chomei's rampaging had ceased, and it seemed to have accepted its fate. Aoto had been engaging with it since its capture, allowing it to observe the vast library where it had been imprisoned. While Chomei was intrigued by what it saw, it didn't pay much heed and primarily focused on finding ways to escape, which invariably ended in failure.
Hence, out of the blue, Aoto had decided to initiate a conversation with Chomei and explore if there was a solution to their predicament. Thus, one weekend evening when everyone had completed their tasks and was engrossed in reading at the library, Aoto approached Chomei, who had yet to fully manifest.
"Hey there, are you willing to talk?"
The jinchuriki, who appeared to be in slumber, opened its eyes and regarded Aoto with crimson irises. Within seconds, the jinchuriki's form dissipated, replaced by the enormous insect with seven wings on its back. Hearing the commotion, everyone in the library rushed over.
"Who in the world wants to converse with you, you despicable individual? I don't comprehend what's amiss with this place, but once I'm liberated, the first person I'll kill is you," Chomei shrieked in its high-pitched voice. Those around remained spectators, interested in observing Aoto's next moves.
"You'll perish if the jinchuriki dies. You're aware of that, right?" Aoto inquired. This caused Chomei to pause momentarily before responding.
"Who said I'll perish? I'm on the brink of breaking free from this seal, and when I achieve that, you'll be my first victim."
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