Hokage Building. Kirito had only been here once before, and that was because Sandaime had told him to come. Now that he was here on his own initiative for the first time, the person he wanted to find was naturally Sandaime.
Kirito did not hide his identity and, under the watchful eyes of many powerful ANBU shinobi both near and within the Hokage Building, strode into the building.
Asking to see the Hokage is undoubtedly no ordinary matter. Kirito's current ninja rank is not high enough for him to go directly to see Sandaime; he needs to make an appointment in advance. After all, the Hokage has a million things to attend to every day, and his work is very busy, so time is precious.
Kirito is very obedient and does not use his current special status to get any privileges. After entering the Hokage Building, he went to the front desk and sweetly praised the young lady at the front desk for being pretty, and then explained the reason for his visit.
The receptionist was very happy to be sincerely praised by such a cute and polite 9-year-old child as Kirito for being beautiful, and she immediately helped Kirito find someone to contact Sandaime.
On the other hand, before the receptionist could successfully find someone to convey Kirito's request to see the Hokage, the message that Kirito wanted to see Sandaime had already reached Sandaime's ears in the Hokage's office.
Kirito's real identity is not low. He is Mito's personal disciple, the younger brother acknowledged by Tsunade herself, the current number one seal ninja in Konoha, with the strength of an elite jōnin, and personally the link between the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan. These factors combined are enough to make Sandaime look at Kirito differently.
"It's surprising that this brat has time to meet with me today. He's quite a rare visitor, but I assume there's something important. Please have him come and see me now."
Sandaime's face showed surprise when he heard his subordinate's report, but after a moment's thought, he chuckled.
At the same time, he began to think unconsciously about Kirito's purpose for coming here.
Unconsciously, Kirito's status in his heart had become very high.
This was unavoidable. He needed to rely on this 9-year-old shinobi for a lot of things. Not to mention his ability to seal Kyubi, Kirito was also currently showing great potential in medical ninjutsu. The new type of anesthetic he and Tsunade had reasonably developed previously had reduced the casualties of his compatriots on the front lines by a lot, which was a considerable contribution.
After the incident, he learned from Tsunade that Kirito had actually completed most of the research and development of the new anesthetic by himself. This shows how outstanding Kirito's medical ninjutsu talent is. With a little training, he will be second only to Tsunade in the future, able to take over Tsunade's duties at the hospital, and perhaps even surpass her.
However, compared to Kirito's medical ninjutsu talent, he values Kirito's combat talent even more. The previous conflict between Kirito and Hyūga Ishi has fully demonstrated his strength, which is already at the elite jōnin level. Otherwise, how could he easily defeat Hyūga Ishi, who has the strength of a jōnin?
Moreover, from a combat perspective, Kirito has developed Magnet Release very well, and has even combined it with his signature sealing technique.
In this way, Kirito will inevitably become a powerful force for Konoha to defeat Sunagakure.
The reason why Sunagakure has been able to gain an advantage on the battlefield is that, on the one hand, their shinobi and chūnin are generally stronger than those of Konoha, and on the other hand, their puppet master troops are terrifying. These puppet masters, who are proficient in killing techniques, are the nightmare of Konoha shinobi. If they are accidentally injured by the poison-coated weapons on their puppets, they will die if they do not have the antidote on them.
The reason why he hasn't let Tsunade go to the front line to fight is so that she can use Konoha's excellent medical resources to quickly crack the poisons used by the puppet masters of the Sunagakure and create corresponding antidotes.
From the current point of view, Tsunade has done a very good job. She has successfully cracked most of the toxins used by the puppet masters of the Sunagakure and created corresponding antidotes, which has greatly reduced the casualties caused by the puppet master troops of the Sunagakure to the Konoha ninja.
Even so, the Sunagakure Puppetmaster troops remain a very difficult force to deal with. Coupled with the fact that the toxins on their bodies are also being rapidly updated, they basically have the strength to defeat ninja of the same level, and they still put Konoha under enormous pressure on the battlefield.
Kirito's mastery of the Magnet Release jutsu is a powerful tool for restraining puppet masters. The fine iron sand will seriously interfere with the puppet master's control of the puppet, greatly reducing the puppet master's strength. Coupled with his ability to use the Spirit Transformation Technique, he can easily find the puppet master's hidden location. He is literally the nemesis of puppet masters.
Therefore, once Kirito goes to war, he will definitely be able to make a huge contribution to Konoha's victory over the puppet masters of the Sunagakure, laying a solid foundation for Konoha's victory over the Sunagakure.
"What is this kid here for today? If it has something to do with the battlefield, I'll have to persuade him to go to war sooner rather than later. With his current abilities, as long as he is careful, self-preservation is not a problem at all,"
thought Sandaime.
He had wanted to send Kirito to war a long time ago, but Kirito himself was too cautious and had never volunteered to go to war, citing studies as the reason. Coupled with the protection of Lord Mito, he had never issued an order to send Kirito to war.
As Hokage, he was qualified to order those ninjas in the village who had undergone ninja number certification to go to war.
Kirito is a ninja who graduated from the Ninja Academy, and naturally entered Konoha's ninja personnel numbering system early. He has the obligation and responsibility to serve Konoha unconditionally in times of war.
Now that Lord Mito is dead, it's about time he issued an order for Kirito to go to war.
And with the certification of ninja ranks, he doesn't think it would be a big deal to grant Kirito special jōnin status now, and everyone else should be convinced.
However, if Kirito is unwilling to go to war so early, he can't force him to go. Although Mito is no longer here, Momo and Tsunade are still here. He can ignore Momo's opinion, but he can't ignore the opinion of Tsunade, his considerate little cotton-padded jacket.
He watched Tsunade grow up, and in his heart, Tsunade is not only his proud disciple, but also his considerate little cotton-padded jacket. If Tsunade gets upset with him, he will have a headache.
"How should I persuade him? It seems that the boy lacks for nothing these days, and he doesn't seem to care about the position of Hokage at all. He's much more difficult to deal with than that boy Nawaki. What a headache."
Sandaime covered his forehead with his hand and said with some distress.
While Sandaime was racking his brains over how to persuade Kirito to go to war sooner, Kirito had already received Sandaime's consent to his request for an audience from the ANBU ninja who had come.
"Lord Hokage has agreed to see me. Thank you for your help, Kaoruko-neechan,"
Kirito said with a smile, turning to the young lady at the front desk, Sarutobi Kaoruko, after learning the news.
"Ah, yes, when you see Lord Sandaime, remember to use honorific speech,"
Sarutobi Kaoruko said with some surprise.
Then, as she watched Kirito's departing back, she muttered, "Why was this time's efficiency so fast? Just who is this young man? Could he be the descendant of some big shot?"
Kirito was very famous among the high-ranking ninjas of Konoha, but not so well-known among the lower ranks. Coupled with the fact that he usually kept to himself, perhaps only the ninjas and villagers who had been to the hospital had seen him. Most villagers might have heard of him, but had never seen him before. This very well highlighted the fact that Konoha's methods of keeping important ninja information confidential were still quite good.
Soon, Kirito arrived at the Hokage's office and then politely bowed to Sandaime, smiling and saying, "Sandaime-sama, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to see me."
"You and I don't need to be so formal. Kirito, you are an important master of sealing techniques in the village. You must have come to see me about something important, and I made sure to come and see you first. So, what is it?"
Sandaime was very pleased with Kirito's respectful attitude and said kindly.
Unlike someone else, Kirito, the young sprout of Konoha who had inherited the Will of Fire, had great respect for him as the Hokage.
"Actually, it's not a big deal, but can I set up a shielding sealing barrier here for the time being?"
Kirito scratched his head and said a little embarrassed.
"It seems to be a very important matter if I have to open the seal array to talk about it."
Hearing this, Sandaime's heart lurched, feeling that something was amiss, and then he nodded seriously.
With Sandaime's permission, Kirito immediately clapped his hands together, and a large number of sealing techniques were immediately released from his body, and then quickly covered the entire Hokage office.
In less than ten seconds, a sealing barrier with powerful shielding capabilities appeared in Sandaime's eyes.
Sandaime's mouth opened slightly in surprise at this sight.
To be honest, he had seen Kirito's sealing technique abilities during the Nine-Tailed Inheritance incident, but now that he had seen them again, he had discovered that Kirito's sealing technique abilities were even higher than he had imagined.
A shielding-type sealing barrier that clearly required at least four outstanding sealers to spend some time successfully arranging, had been completed by Kirito in less than ten seconds.
What does this show? It clearly shows that many advanced seal techniques have become regular skills in Kirito's hands, and he can use them casually.
He is fully aware of how powerful the ninjutsu technique of Sealing Technique is, otherwise Danzo, a Kage-Level powerhouse, would not have been easily manipulated by him.
For the first time, Sandaime felt danger from Kirito.
"If I underestimate my opponent, I might be defeated by this kid's sneak attack with Sealing Technique,"
Sandaime thought to himself, gradually becoming alert, and began to regard Kirito as a dangerous person who could threaten him.
Kirito saw the change in Sandaime's expression in his eyes, but he didn't care. With the speed at which his strength was improving, it was only a matter of time before Sandaime became jealous.
However, it didn't matter if Sandaime was jealous of him right now, because he was not yet in a position to threaten Sandaime's position, and Sandaime himself would not consider him capable of becoming Hokage.
Therefore, for the time being, he will not receive any pressure from the third generation, but instead, he will become more and more valued by him.
In this way, the request he will say later will also incline the third generation to agree to him.
The request of a strong person is always of great value, and the third generation definitely understands this.
"Sandaime-sama, the seal is complete, so I will not continue to waste your time. I have come this time to request to go to the battlefield to participate in the war between Konoha and Sunagakure."
Kirito's smile quickly faded, and he said with a grave expression.
Hearing Kirito's words, Sandaime's eyes lit up. He had been thinking of what reason to use to persuade Kirito to go to war, but he never expected Kirito to take the initiative to request to go to war this time.
He immediately praised Kirito with a smile, "You are worthy of being a disciple of Lord Mito, Konoha has not cultivated you in vain. It is very good that you have this heart. I agree to your request. Don't worry, I will arrange a task that best showcases your abilities for you, so that you can contribute to your growth as soon as possible."
"I appreciate Sandaime-sama's trust in me, but I haven't finished yet. The time for me to go to war is not now, but after I turn ten."
Kirito saw that Sandaime-sama immediately agreed, and smiled, before continuing to state his request.
Going to war after the age of ten was his bottom line. If Mito were still alive, he would have planned to go when he turned twelve.
The battlefield is no good. Why is he in such a hurry to die? It's best not to go if you can avoid it.
But there was no choice. After Mito's death, there was no one left to shelter him from the wind and rain. And now that he was a Konoha ninja, not a rogue ninja, in order to protect Konoha and the people here who were worth his concern, he had no choice but to go.
It is now his turn to take over his teacher's position and become a big tree for others to take shelter from the wind and rain.
However, before that, he still needs a little time to prepare. The training of Lightning Release clones and the creation of puppets both require time. It will take at least half a year to complete these tasks, which will coincide with his tenth birthday.
Finally, he also needs to buy Nawaki a little more time to develop. After Mito's death, there was no one in the Senju clan who could control him. Momo and Tsunade's words basically went in one ear and out the other, and he never paid them any mind.
Recently, this single-minded guy has been encouraging him to go to war together and win glory for Konoha.
Nawaki is very competitive, and when he learned that Minato was going to become Hokage and that he had recently had some very impressive performances in battle, it made him feel a great sense of crisis.
It has to be said that Minato is indeed a genius. With the tutelage of the genius Orochimaru and the tempering of blood and iron on the battlefield, his strength has improved by leaps and bounds. Recently, I heard that he cooperated with Hanare and Dōto to kill a jōnin-level puppet master. In terms of battlefield performance, he can be said to be outstanding among his peers.
Because Minato is a civilian ninja, he is now very famous among the bottom rung of Konoha society, not to mention the Ninja Academy, where his teacher brags about him to inspire the students.
Kirito now recognizes Nawaki's strength, and as long as he doesn't lose his mind in battle, the chances of survival are high.
Because Nawaki now has the strength of a Jōnin purely based on his physical skills, if he uses the Shadow Clone Technique together with other ninjutsu, he might be able to temporarily compete with elite Jōnin.
However, Nawaki has only opened the second gate of the Eight Gates of Death Technique, and there is still a significant gap in explosive power.
If Nawaki can open the fourth gate of the Eight Gates of Death Technique, then even if he encounters an elite Jōnin, he will be able to escape safely even if he cannot defeat them.
Due to Nawaki's special status, once he is on the battlefield, he will almost certainly receive special treatment from the enemy, and the chances of attracting elite jōnin are very high. There might even be several of them, and if Nawaki moves with him, there will be even more.
If they encounter the simultaneous attacks of seven or eight elite jōnin and hundreds of chūnin, Kirito will be able to defend himself, but he is not sure if he will be able to successfully bring Nawaki back.
The people from the Sunagakure are all very cunning. During an attack, they will definitely use poison to kill the enemy. If Nawaki, a taijutsu-type ninja, is not careful and gets hurt by a poison-coated weapon, the consequences will be huge.
Therefore, it is very necessary for him and Nawaki to further improve their strength. If they can't fight, they must at least be able to run.
Of course, the point is that he can fly with Nawaki on the battlefield and survive any situation.
"After the age of ten? Can't you do it now? With your current strength, you are more than enough to go to the battlefield, what is the reason for postponing it?"
Sandaime slightly frowned when he heard Kirito's request for time, and inquired.
"Yes, my Spirit Transformation Technique has reached a critical point in its cultivation. I estimate that if I'm given some more time, I can make a breakthrough. At that time, my soul perception ability will increase substantially, and my various abilities in the Spirit Transformation Technique will also be enhanced. This will allow me to play a more useful role in battle. There are also several drugs in the hospital that are in the critical stage of research and development. I am the main person in charge of research and development, so I cannot leave for the time being."
Kirito immediately gave the prepared reason.
"Is it true that the Spirit Transformation Technique is facing a breakthrough?"
Sandaime's face once again showed surprise when he heard Kirito's reason.
After all, it had only been a little over a year since Kirito had obtained the Spirit Transformation Technique, and it was truly amazing that there had been a new breakthrough in such a short period of time.
To be honest, he was also shocked when he first learned that it didn't take Kirito long to learn the Spirit Transformation Technique.
However, learning and breakthroughs were two different things, and the latter was much more difficult than the former.
Kato Dan had been learning the Spirit Transformation Technique for seven or eight years, but he had never heard of any signs of a breakthrough.
Therefore, when he heard that Kirito was about to face a breakthrough in his training of the Spirit Transformation Technique, even though he knew that Kirito was very talented at it, he still didn't quite believe it.
"That's right, recently my soul power has begun to undergo a strange change, and a new ability has been born, just like this."
Kirito said with his eyes wide open.
After he finished speaking, a bluish light appeared in his eyes, and he quietly released his spiritual power. The pen that Sandaime had used to approve documents three generations ago suddenly flew up into the air.
Seeing is believing, hearing is not. Sandaime was able to discover that Kirito was not releasing ninjutsu at the moment, because there was no chakra fluctuation at all due to the mobilization of chakra.
Obviously, the pen would fly up into the air, and this was an action completed by Kirito using another kind of power.
This kind of power should be spiritual power.
He had never heard of Kato Dan being able to do such a thing. I think Kirito has surpassed Kato Dan in his training in the Spirit Transformation Technique thanks to his outstanding talent and the support of the Senju clan.
He is truly awe-inspiring.
"If Kirito's Spirit Transformation Technique really makes a breakthrough, then his survivability in battle will definitely be greatly improved. Although delaying it for a while may cost Konoha a lot of manpower and resources, if Kirito can grow up successfully as a result, then it will all be worthwhile."
Sandaime looked at the pen and other objects that had flown up in front of him, secretly calculating the gains and losses in his heart.
Soon, he made a decision and nodded to Kirito, saying, "I didn't think that soul power could actually do such a thing after being raised to a certain level. It seems that what you said is true. Okay, I agree to your request. I'm looking forward to your performance. Oh, be sure to hurry up and let yourself make the breakthrough. The situation in the village is not very good right now, and it is very necessary for you, a Magnet Release ninja, to step forward."
"Please rest assured, Hokage-sama, I will do my best to repel the invaders for Konoha."
Kirito received a positive response from Sandaime and immediately used his soul power to restore the pen and other items to their original positions, speaking sternly.
...
Meanwhile, deep within Konoha Prison, in the new Root Leader's office.
Danzo had just learned from a message transmitted by his subordinate Yamanaka Ryu using the mind transfer technique that Kirito was meeting with Sandaime, and his expression immediately became serious.
"What the hell is this brat saying to Hiruzen that he needs to set up a barrier to communicate? It must be something important. Damn, now I won't know what they're talking about,"
Danzo cursed in his heart.
Since he deduced that the reason why his original plan to secretly instruct the Root ninja to destroy the Senju clan's barrier had failed was because Kirito had mastered the Spirit Transformation Technique, he had never stopped paying attention to Kirito, always thinking about how he could get rid of this brat who had ruined his plans and caused him to end up in such a situation.
Now, Kirito and Sarutobi Hiruzen, two of his enemies, were plotting in secret, so it must be something bad, perhaps something that was aimed at him.
"Could it be that my men were discovered after they went to the Senju clan cemetery? No, that's impossible. Although my men did go to the deepest part of the cemetery, they didn't trigger the seal technique there, so they couldn't have been discovered."
As soon as he thought about this possibility, Danzo started to daydream.
A few days ago, he learned that Mito had died, and he was very happy about it.
For this reason, he specially sent someone to the Senju clan cemetery to bring back Mito's remains.
The purpose was to use this to try to activate a forbidden technique to control the bitch Mito.
Impure World Reincarnation.
This is a forbidden technique that he has been researching recently. This forbidden technique is a powerful ninjutsu created by his teacher that can be used to make the dead fight.
The reason why he set his sights on this ninjutsu was still because of the damn curse mark on his body.
He needed a skilled seal technique ninja to remove the curse mark on his body, and the most powerful seal technique ninja he remembered was undoubtedly Mito.
Therefore, when he learned that Mito was dead, he was very happy and wanted to use the forbidden technique of Impure World Reincarnation to control Mito, then remove the curse mark on his body, and take this opportunity to get revenge.
Of course, after starting to research Impure World Reincarnation, he also set his sights on the corpse of the god of the ninja, Senju Hashirama. If he could summon this great man with Impure World Reincarnation to help him, then he would gain the powerful power of Wood Release, and eliminate all those who stood in his way of becoming Hokage, as well as the enemies of Konoha.
At the mere thought of this, Danzo felt an overwhelming sense of excitement and excitement.
Unfortunately, although he knew the location of the Senju clan cemetery, the people he sent to investigate ultimately found nothing.
The reason was that the deepest part of the cemetery had been sealed with a powerful seal technique called the Four Symbols Seal, which had been further improved. Many seal techniques not found in the Four Symbols Seal had been added, greatly enhancing its power and making it more difficult to break the seal.
The trigger condition for the powerful Four Symbols Seal at the deepest part of the cemetery was to open the sarcophagus.
The seal technique ninja he had sent was not capable of breaking this powerful seal, so he had to return frustrated.
Upon hearing the news, he immediately knew that it must have been Kirito, that brat, who did this. The damned brat had once again ruined his plans.
Therefore, he now suspected that Kirito had set up some sort of early warning measure in the graveyard, and that the people he had sent there had been discovered.
"Those people need to be dealt with as soon as possible. We definitely cannot afford to let them go like last time, and then have them leave evidence behind. That brat's sealing technique is also very powerful, and he might be able to break the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal I placed on those people."
After Danzo felt a sense of crisis, the first thing that came to his mind was to silence the witness.
There was no other way. His current situation was still very difficult.
Once it was revealed that he had sent someone to the Senju clan cemetery to take the bodies of Uzumaki Mito and Senju Hashirama, with Sandaime's temper, he would definitely activate the curse mark to kill him as soon as possible.
"That bastard Hiruzen will definitely choose to kill to cover up the fact that he sent me out. He will definitely do it."
Danzo touched his chest with his hand, and the overwhelming hatred inside began to surge, making him a little unable to control his inner killing intent.
A powerful killing intent and a dark and oppressive chakra suddenly radiated from Danzo's body, causing many ANBU ninjas lurking nearby to be shocked. They secretly gripped their weapons in case Danzo suddenly went crazy and hurt someone.
Ever since the Root leader was given a stern talking to by Sandaime, his emotions had become a little abnormal. Sometimes he would laugh heartily, other times he would let out sneers full of hatred. He would also often activate the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique to bury himself in darkness, and the whole person became a little crazy.
"Hmph,"
Danzo noticed the movements of the ANBU ninja in the shadows, and gave a disdainful snort, before suppressing his killing intent and chakra.
He closed his eyes and used his powerful will to suppress the hatred that was stirring within him, and thought rationally again.
"Research on the forbidden technique Impure World Reincarnation cannot be stopped, but this forbidden technique cannot continue to be researched in the Root stronghold in the village. A new secret stronghold needs to be set up outside."
Danzo reopened his eyes, regained his calmness and rationality, and quickly filled in the loopholes in his research on the forbidden technique Impure World Reincarnation.
"If we can't find Uzumaki Mito's body, then who are the other ninjas in the ninja world with powerful sealing techniques? And where can we get the power of Wood Release?"
Danzo closed his eyes again and continued to think hard about a way to solve the curse mark on his body and how to obtain the power of Wood Release.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and a flash of light appeared in his eyes.
He had an idea, or rather, he had an idea of where to get a new replacement.