"2222."
While Soma was talking with Ameyuri, he noticed that the numbers in the reputation column on the semi-transparent panel in front of him increased and then suddenly stopped, no longer changing.
"Is the war over?"
Zanpakuto, Great Grade Sword, or even Skillful Grade Sword—whenever there's a battle on the battlefield, it can somewhat increase Soma's reputation.
It's not the first time the Ninjato has been exposed, which brings some reputation, but still, it's limited.
"Uehara-san, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Soma snapped back to reality.
"Earlier, Ameyuri, you mentioned that you feel you might have a certain talent for Lightning Release?"
Ameyuri nodded.
"Yes."
"Previously, on the battlefield, I used Water Release and Nikkari Ao'e in combat, but my Water Release wasn't strong enough and hindered Nikkari Ao'e."
"Suddenly, I was affected by an attack with Lightning Release."
"But I didn't feel much harm."
"It was completely different from the other ninjas nearby."
"Some of the lightning even lingered in my hands."
"So I speculate that I might have a talent for Lightning Release."
"But..."
Ameyuri showed a hint of worry.
"In our village, there aren't any ninjas who are very skilled with Lightning Release. Raiga-san and other Thunder Swords users mostly rely on the Thunder Swords themselves."
"But I already have Nikkari Ao'e."
"Learning Lightning Release should be the most suitable for me."
"But it seems like there's no one in the village who can teach me."
Soma smiled.
He knew that Ameyuri had an exceptional talent for Lightning Release.
Her talent for Lightning Release surpassed even Raiga's.
Even though Raiga didn't perform well in the original storyline, he at least became a Thunder Sword owner and an elite Jonin of Hidden Mist Village. He also gained recognition from the Lightning Blade.
The feedback Soma received was Excellent-level Lightning Release talent.
"I know someone who can."
Ameyuri's eyes lit up.
"Soma-senpai, who?"
Soma didn't speak but just extended his hand.
A bolt of lightning gathered in his hand.
In the next moment, it transformed into the shape of a whip.
"Lightning Whip."
Soma flicked his wrist, and the Lightning Whip lashed out forcefully, hitting the ground.
"Crack!"
A mark appeared on the ground, scorched and blackened.
Ameyuri's eyes widened.
"Uehara-san, you can use Lightning Release?"
Soma nodded.
"Because I needed to use Lightning Release Chakra while developing Forging Techniques, I went and learned Lightning Release. If you want to learn it, I can teach you."
"Currently, I have mastered three Lightning Release Ninjutsu."
"Lightning Whip, False Darkness, and Chidori."
Ameyuri was taken aback.
"Chidori from Konoha's Hatake Kakashi?"
"That's right."
"How did you obtain Konoha's Lightning Release Ninjutsu?"
"Do you suspect me?"
"No, not at all."
Ameyuri shook her head repeatedly. She had no doubts about Soma's identity.
What a joke.
With Soma's abilities, how could someone from another ninja village possibly create so many Ninjato for Hidden Mist Village?
Even if Soma himself were willing, that ninja village would not be.
"Uehara-san, I'm just curious."
Soma said, "Chidori is actually not a very complicated Ninjutsu. It's just about concentrating Lightning Release Chakra in your hand and then controlling the Chakra to change its form."
"If you go to the front lines and someone questions how you learned Chidori, just say that you learned it by watching Hatake Kakashi use Chidori and then understanding it on your own."
Ameyuri was slightly taken aback.
This statement made Ameyuri feel that Soma learned Chidori because he had seen Hatake Kakashi use it at some point and then learned it.
"Uehara-san's Lightning Release talent is actually this impressive?"
The two arrived at the training ground.
Soma began teaching Ameyuri Lightning Release using his experience with Kakuzu.
However, Soma didn't explain in as much detail.
Kakuzu didn't initially know how good Soma's Lightning Release talent was.
But Soma knew just how good Ameyuri's Lightning Release talent was.
Soon.
"Lightning Release, Lightning Whip Jutsu!"
A whip made of concentrated lightning appeared in Ameyuri's hand.
Ameyuri's eyes lit up.
"Uehara-san, it seems my guess was correct. Using Lightning Release is much easier for me than Water Release, and it seems to complement Nikkari Ao'e's abilities even better."
"Nikkari Ao'e can immobilize enemies."
"Lightning Release can paralyze enemies."
"Uehara-san, thank you!"
Ameyuri was very excited.
On the front lines, Ameyuri's starting point was very high.
She immediately defeated Pakura's disciple, Maki. Achieving fame in one stroke.
After that, she briefly gained the title of the strongest among the younger generation after Kisame lost Kiriichimonji.
With Raiga's assistance, she even killed Hyuga Hizashi.
Even now, Ameyuri remains among the top of the younger generation.
But Ameyuri doesn't care about such fame.
She seeks to improve her strength.
With this mindset, Ameyuri quickly realized her problem.
Nikkari Ao'e's ability is very powerful.
However, to be effective, it must hit the target, and to hit the target, she must get close.
Initially, others didn't know about Nikkari Ao'e's ability, which provided more opportunities.
But over time, more people learned about Nikkari Ao'e's capabilities.
In this situation, enemies would deliberately keep their distance.
For Ameyuri, getting close to the enemy became very difficult.
Without getting close, the only method she had left was Water Release.
However, Ameyuri's Water Release isn't strong enough.
Especially when facing a small team like Kurenai and Mitarashi Anko.
Ameyuri knew that her strength was above those two, but she couldn't fully utilize it.
"But now, it won't be the case."
"My Lightning Release will be much stronger than my Water Release!"
A look of anticipation appeared in Ameyuri's eyes.
...
Night fell.
A figure arrived at Forging Island.
"Elder Genji."
"Chief Uehara, let's go to Lord Third."
"Alright."
The two entered the basement where the Skeleton Emperor was located.
The Third Mizukage's shadow appeared, eagerly asking, "Genji, how is the situation?"
"Report, Mizukage-sama, the battle is over."
Genji smiled and said, "We defended well and were not defeated by Konoha. The losses are within an acceptable range. Next, it's time for us to counterattack."
"Everything we lost before, we will get back from Konoha in multiples."
Konoha, unable to defeat the Hidden Mist army, had to "abandon" their campaign due to the threats from Hidden Rock Village and Hidden Cloud Village.
However, wars do not end just because Konoha says so.
Previously, it was Konoha's offensive turn.
Now it's Hidden Mist Village's turn.
The Third Mizukage sighed with relief.
"That's good."
To be honest, the Third Mizukage did not expect Konoha to be so decisive, completely diverging from Sarutobi Hiruzen's usual style.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Danzo…
The number of ordinary ninjas led by these three top ninjas was even greater than the number of ordinary ninjas in the Hidden Mist army.
Moreover, the Third Mizukage suspected that Konoha was secretly hiding many powerful forces and had a grand conspiracy.
With Konoha making a move, the Third Mizukage couldn't help but worry if Konoha had accumulated enough strength to initiate their grand conspiracy, and whether Hidden Mist Village would collapse under Konoha's assault.
But fortunately, it wasn't.
"Tell me the detailed process."
"Yes, Mizukage-sama."
Genji began to explain.
"Konoha suddenly launched an attack, catching us off guard. At first, the casualties were severe, especially since Fuguki and the others were suppressed."
"Fortunately, Kisame stepped up at that moment."
"Using the Sword of Wisdom created by Chief Uehara, he managed to hold off Orochimaru to some extent."
"This helped reduce further losses among the village's ninjas."
"However, we have to admit that Jiraiya and his team were too strong, and the number of Konoha ninjas they brought was too great. Our army was no match and could only fight while retreating."
"Fuguki was completely suppressed by Jiraiya."
"Kisame fell into a significant disadvantage against Orochimaru."
"Only Raiga gained the upper hand against Shimura Danzo."
"But overall, our army was already on the brink of defeat."
"At this time, the reinforcements from the village finally arrived."
"Terumi Mei, Hoshigaki Ryukame, Kaguya Clan, Hozuki Clan... Among them, the most important is Ao."
"With the Sword of the Darkness Flame created by Chief Uehara, he saved Fuguki from Jiraiya."
"He also severely injured Orochimaru."
"Additionally, the Sword of Wisdom erupted suddenly when Kisame was about to be killed by Jiraiya."
"It forcefully repelled Jiraiya and the nearby Konoha ninjas."
"…"
Listening to Genji's description, the Third Mizukage could imagine the urgency of the situation at that time.
He couldn't help but glance at Soma's location.
In his heart, he sighed—without Soma, the village would have been defeated beyond recovery in this battle.
Genji continued, "After a while, Fuguki ordered a return to the Land of Fire and pursued some of Konoha's ninjas."
"Significant results have already been achieved."
"The number of Konoha ninjas killed is almost catching up to the number of our village's ninjas who died before."
"Next, we will be collecting interest and gaining even greater benefits."
"Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village have cooperated with us."
"Konoha will fall into a very dire situation."
The Third Mizukage smiled.
"Since Konoha made such a choice, they should bear the consequences. We don't need to show mercy. We should devour as much flesh and blood from Konoha as we can."
"However, Yagura's performance, or rather, the performance of the person controlling Yagura, seems a bit strange."
This was something the Third Mizukage found puzzling.
The person controlling Yagura was from Konoha.
When Konoha launched their surprise attack on the Hidden Mist army, Yagura made no attempt to obstruct the actions of the Hidden Mist Village's reinforcements and even took the initiative to attack.
This made the Third Mizukage feel uneasy.
Even if the person controlling Yagura doesn't want Yagura to be exposed, there is no need to go to such extremes. Simply obstructing or causing minor interference wouldn't make anyone suspicious.
"Genji, does Yagura have any new orders?"
Genji responded.
"Yagura's orders are for the village to seize this opportunity to strike Konoha hard, to gain more benefits from Konoha, which aligns with our own plans."
Third Mizukage: "…"
"Does the person controlling Yagura want Konoha to die?"
"Could it be that this person is not from Konoha?"
"But that's impossible."
"Someone with both Wood Release and Sharingan—if not from Konoha, who else could they be from?"
The Third Mizukage was filled with doubt.
Suddenly, the Third Mizukage thought of something.
"Genji, do you remember the Akatsuki Organization that Kaguya Neko mentioned?"
Genji nodded.
The Third Mizukage continued.
"Kaguya Neko mentioned that the person who invited him to join the Akatsuki Organization claimed to be Uchiha Madara. While it's unlikely that he is Uchiha Madara, that person does have Sharingan."
"The Akatsuki Organization's goal is to correct the world?"
"Without sufficient power, they can't achieve that."
"Could the person controlling Yagura be a member of this Akatsuki Organization?"
"A hidden force that doesn't belong to any ninja village, besides having sufficient strength, weakening the power of other ninja villages could also be their goal."
"Therefore, intense warfare is something they would welcome."
The Third Mizukage's gaze flickered.
"If that's the case, the Akatsuki Organization deserves attention."
"However, this also means that Konoha might not be as formidable as I previously imagined."
"Konoha doesn't seem to have any hidden powers."
"Only Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Orochimaru..."
"We don't need to be overly concerned."
The Third Mizukage looked at Genji.
"Genji, closely monitor Konoha's subsequent reactions. See how Konoha responds under the siege of three ninja villages, and you'll be able to determine whether the ones who initially attacked me are indeed from Konoha."
Genji nodded seriously.
"Yes, Mizukage-sama."
Soma arrived at the dock to see Genji off.
Suddenly, a small boat sped toward them.
"Soma."
On the bow of the boat stood a person, waving at Soma from afar.
"Kisame?"
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