Chapter 80: Countering Space Ninjutsu with Space Ninjutsu (First Daily Update)

The Jonin meeting: The Jonin of the village had received the news early on. Except for certain clan shinobi and those required to remain at their posts, all Jonin had gathered at the Hokage Tower.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and the other two advisors entered the room, their expressions grave. Orochimaru, too, looked somewhat troubled—he bore the marks of having been pestered by Jiraiya the entire night.

“Regarding last night’s explosion, the ANBU spent the entire night investigating but only found three enemy corpses. The preliminary conclusion is that Root, while pursuing the enemy, tried to capture them alive and used a barrier to trap them. Unexpectedly, the intruders, ready to die together, triggered their explosive tags,” Hiruzen said in a low voice. Not only did he refer to Root’s dead as enemy corpses, but he also shifted all responsibility for the incident onto Root’s actions—it was their carelessness that gave the enemy the opportunity to use the explosives.

Homura Mitokado continued, “The enemy not only intended to gather intelligence; carrying so many explosive tags suggests they planned to create chaos in the village, but happened to be caught by Root’s barrier.”

When Homura finished, Koharu Utatane added, “Other than the loss of two Root squads, there are no further casualties at present. Some residential buildings were damaged and will need to be repaired…”

Danzo’s face was as still as a deep, undisturbed pool. He had nothing to say; the incident had already been defined as Root’s responsibility. With war looming, Root would also be required to compensate for ANBU’s losses. After some negotiation, two Root squads would be reassigned to ANBU.

After all, Root’s official function had always been as an ANBU training division—this was Hiruzen’s original check on Danzo, though he had never before transferred personnel under that pretext.

Tsunade, sitting below, gave a silent snort. She didn’t believe a word of these men, but both Kahn and the old man would never tell her the truth.

Hiruzen then informed everyone of the border outpost’s attack, linking it with the previous night’s explosion—enough to convince ninety percent of the shinobi that the enemy was responsible.

With the briefing complete, Hiruzen took the opportunity to requisition more shinobi from the various clans, mainly the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame, to form new reconnaissance and patrol squads in preparation for potential war.

…

When the meeting adjourned, the Jonin departed the Hokage Tower, and the Uchiha Police Force began informing villagers of the previous night’s events.

“Tsunade, wait up.”

Jiraiya hurried after Tsunade as she was leaving the building.

Tsunade stopped and turned. “What is it, Jiraiya?”

“Nothing much, I just wanted to ask if you think the old man was telling the truth.” Jiraiya scratched his head. He’d spent the whole night harassing Orochimaru, but that guy still hadn’t told him anything. The one who attended the meeting earlier had just been a shadow clone.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. “How should I know? If you really want to find out, why not ask the old man directly? I don’t know any more than you do.”

“Then can you tell me about Kahn? We met him on the Rain Country battlefield, but I never learned much about him…”

Tsunade’s brows knit slightly. “Why do you ask? He’s just an ordinary merchant… Never mind, there’s work to do at the hospital. I’ll be going, Jiraiya.”

With that, Tsunade turned, her twin golden ponytails flicking as she left.

After discovering something off about Kahn last night, Tsunade had no intention of discussing him with anyone. She’d only made a deal with a foreign merchant; Kahn was neither the first nor would he be the last in Konoha, and yet things had escalated to this point.

With Tsunade making it clear she didn’t want to talk, Jiraiya scratched his head and left. He was getting nowhere with his questions. After yesterday’s events, he realized war was truly imminent, and decided to help his students gain more mission experience.

And then there was Minato Namikaze. The thought of this disciple filled Jiraiya with pride; unlike his other two students, Minato did not solely seek powerful techniques from him but aimed to refine his own combat style.

It’s not the technique that makes one strong, but the person!

For someone his age to understand this, Jiraiya had to admit that Minato’s potential might one day surpass his own.

But after some time with Minato, Jiraiya realized that most of his own jutsu didn’t suit him. Jiraiya specialized in probing with ninjutsu and deciding the outcome with large summoned beasts, while Minato was clearly unsuited to that style.

Minato was more like an assassin, using various means to conceal his intentions and delivering a single, lethal strike.

“Should I teach him a body flicker technique? But I’m not that skilled with those either. Maybe I should ask the old man…”

With that thought, Jiraiya turned back toward the Hokage Tower. When it came to jutsu, no one in Konoha understood them better than Lord Hiruzen.

…

“Kushina, what are you doing?” Kahn asked curiously as he returned and saw Kushina holding a pile of scrolls.

He’d spent the day discussing reconstruction with Nanami, both for his shop and his own house—this time, he planned to reinforce the foundations with additional steel layers.

All thirteen shops had been affected; reopening would be impossible for at least a month or two. Those damaged needed rebuilding, those undamaged needed repairs, and for a while, ordinary villagers might be too wary to shop there.

“These are sealing techniques. I’ve already mastered quite a few, but some of the Uzumaki clan’s advanced techniques are still difficult. I plan to practice more tonight. Boss, would you like to learn some sealing jutsu?” Kushina explained, then looked at Kahn with bright, blinking eyes, only to shyly avert her gaze after a moment.

She couldn’t help recalling how bold she’d been the night before, giving her boss a massage.

“That won’t work; I’ll be leaving Konoha soon. I have business to attend to elsewhere. And it’s probably not wise for you to teach sealing techniques to outsiders—wouldn’t the Third Hokage punish you if he found out?”

Kahn declined after a moment’s thought. He was interested, but accepting right away would reveal too much.

Kushina pouted. “These are Uzumaki clan techniques; some aren’t even known to Konoha. Granny Mito said I could teach them to others…”

Her voice grew quieter, remembering that Granny Mito had permitted her to pass them on only to those she trusted—and now, without much thought, she wanted to teach them to her boss.

“Not this time—maybe next time,” Kahn said, patting her red hair, which felt surprisingly smooth. “When I return, I’ll bring you some new gifts.”

At that, Kushina’s eyes narrowed in delight. She tilted her head so her hair brushed against Kahn’s palm, enjoying the sensation. “Then I’ll prepare some introductory notes on sealing techniques for you…”

As for leaving Konoha, Kahn was indeed planning to do so. He’d handled most matters in the village—both those planted in his trading company and the ANBU who’d targeted him the night before. The pain they’d suffered should keep Konoha quiet for a while.

Next, he needed to expand his business. The Mist Village alone was no longer enough.

The Land of Wind was mostly desert, but rich in oil and minerals. Kahn could trade basic supplies and medical goods for oil and mining rights from the Sand Village.

As for medicines, he could provide the Sand Village with unprocessed powders and instruct them on dosages; whether they made pills or tablets would be up to them.

Even if Konoha grew suspicious, as long as they didn’t catch him in the act, Kahn would never admit to anything.

And with a flood of resources, Sand’s ambitions would quickly swell. If shinobi cannot prove their strength through war, where else would their missions come from?

Rasa’s decision to collaborate with Orochimaru on the Konoha Crush plan was prompted by the Wind Daimyo handing all domestic missions to Konoha. To prove his village’s worth, Rasa was left with no choice but to cooperate with Orochimaru.

The shinobi world was like an uncivilized feudal society. Industrialization had emerged, but neither the lords nor the shinobi saw its significance.

…

Kahn only told Tsunade, Kushina, Orochimaru, and Nonoyu about his departure.

Danzo and Hiruzen also learned of Kahn’s leaving, since he left Konoha openly and the gate guards reported it to both of them.

“Danzo, don’t make a move against him for now. Unless we are absolutely certain, let me handle this,” Hiruzen said after exhaling a puff of smoke.

Just imagining Tobirama-sensei was enough for them to understand how troublesome someone with space-time ninjutsu could be. Kahn’s space-time jutsu couldn’t even be blocked by barriers, and his terrifying explosive techniques… In hindsight, Hiruzen realized that explosion was nothing like a typical explosive tag.

If Kahn decided to retaliate, Hiruzen could only imagine what a nightmare it would become.

The only way to counter space-time ninjutsu is with space-time ninjutsu.

Thinking of the blond youth he’d met the previous day, Hiruzen sighed inwardly, hoping Minato Namikaze could master the Flying Thunder God Technique. Otherwise, not even all of Konoha could deal with Kahn, let alone the forces behind him.

Training Ground Four in Konoha

Only Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were there; the other two students were practicing ninjutsu elsewhere. Jiraiya hadn’t simply let them go unsupervised—he’d taught each a C-rank jutsu tailored to their chakra nature for potential teamwork.

For a Genin to learn a C-rank jutsu was already rare, and Jiraiya had only taught them because they were civilian shinobi.

“Minato, you’ll have to study the Flying Thunder God Technique on your own. Even as your teacher, I’m not very skilled with space-time ninjutsu,” Jiraiya said, laughing heartily, making no attempt to hide his lack of expertise. He added, more seriously, “But if you need anything, your teacher will do his best to help.”

“Thank you very much, Jiraiya-sensei,” Minato replied with a bow. He was genuinely grateful. The Flying Thunder God was a forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, inaccessible to most, but Jiraiya had managed to secure it for him from the Third Hokage.

“But Minato, you seem troubled lately. Is something wrong?” Jiraiya asked. He’d noticed this a few days ago and, with free time today, planned to offer some life advice to his student.

Minato was silent for a while before finally speaking. “Jiraiya-sensei, how can I make someone I like fall in love with me?”

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Chapter 80: Space-Time Ninjutsu versus Space-Time Ninjutsu (Daily Update One)