Land of Water.
Hidden Mist Village, Mizukage Building, conference room.
"According to the latest intelligence, Konoha repelled Kumogakure in the Land of Hot Springs, forcing their forces to retreat back to their holand," the Hidden Mist Anbu leader reported.
"Iwagakure and Konoha are fighting again in the Land of Grass, and Konoha still holds the advantage."
"The war between Kumogakure and Sunagakure…"
The Anbu leader continued, unhurriedly reading out the newest war intelligence from across the continent.
"Konoha is gaining the upper hand again," a stern middle aged ninja said, frowning. "Facing attacks from two major villages at once, they still keep winning. As fellow Five Great Ninja Villages, why is Konoha so much stronger than Iwagakure and Kumogakure? Is Konoha too strong, or are those two simply too weak?"
Because of the ocean barrier, the Land of Water rarely involved itself in continental affairs. Travel was troubleso, and it was rarely worth the effort.
But as productivity rose and tis changed, that isolation began to loosen.
"Konoha winning repeatedly does not an they truly have the ability to fight two enemies at once," analyzed another ninja, the lower half of his face wrapped in bandages. "Neither Kumogakure nor Iwagakure has used its full strength. There is no need to exaggerate Konoha into sothing monstrous."
"They have not used their full strength," the stern man shot back, "but who can say Konoha has?"
"Konoha's strength is too great. If we want benefits on the continent, we must weaken Konoha first."
"Genji ," the Third Mizukage asked, eyes narrowing as he glanced at the man seated to his right, "do you think Konoha is strong?"
The mont the Third Mizukage spoke, the room fell silent. Every mouth closed. Every gaze turned toward the Mizukage and Genji .
The Third Mizukage often wore a faint smile and seed easy to speak with, but those who truly knew him understood that was only a mask. Treating him like a kindly old man was an excellent way to die without understanding how it happened.
"I can only offer conjecture," Genji replied, shaking his head. "I visited Konoha, yes, but why would they show their true strength?"
Other than being pressured by the Third Hokage's aura, he had only observed genin battles. The intelligence he gained was limited.
"In terms of overall strength," Genji said, "I believe Konoha is still the strongest village in the ninja world right now."
The Hidden Mist higher ups all watched him closely, waiting for the explanation.
If anyone else had said such words, the room would have erupted into rebuttals.
As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, openly admitting another village was the strongest, without even fighting, sounded like fear before the battle began. Even if it was true, you did not say it so directly. You were supposed to belittle the enemy, at least strategically.
"Because of an unexpected situation, I had a clash of aura with the Sandai," Genji said tactfully. "He is very strong, no weaker than the Third Mizukage."
In truth, Hiruzen was stronger, but this was a high level eting. Genji still had to leave the Third Mizukage so face.
And the people in this room were not fools. They understood the hint.
Several expressions shifted for an instant, then settled back into control.
At the level of a Kage, even if one was weaker, the gap should not be outrageous. If you could not win, you could at least stall. The problem was not imdiately fatal.
Outliers like Senju Hashirama were subconsciously ignored. Too many years had passed, and only one Hashirama had ever existed.
The Third Mizukage's expression did not change. He still wore a faint smile, eyes narrowed, thoughts unreadable.
"Also," Genji continued, "even after bringing excellent genin from our village, and gathering several young people above genin rank, not a single one reached the final battle. In terms of the younger generation, we have already lost once."
Genji did not know whether Konoha used the sa thods as the Hidden Mist, but Kakashi and the others looked no older than ten. Regardless of rank, the Hidden Mist had lost that comparison.
He went on with his conjectures. The fact that Konoha dared to hold Chunin Exams while fighting on two fronts was itself a display of confidence.
"Then it seems Konoha truly is strong at present," the Third Mizukage said, closing his eyes again.
"So what attitude should we adopt when facing this powerful Konoha?"
…
Two weeks after the Shunpo training, Mugetsu finished developing the Breathing Technique he designed specifically for training purposes.
It was faster than he expected. The Enlightennt state was indeed powerful, and it even proved useful during developnt.
But Mugetsu did not imdiately begin using it to train others.
Instead, he went straight to the Hokage's office.
"Mugetsu," the Sandai said, setting aside the docunts in his hands with a light chuckle. "Have you encountered any problems with your work?"
Mugetsu's willingness to teach and train ninja using the excellent Body Flicker Technique he developed showed that he took the mission seriously. That only made the Sandai more satisfied with him.
Mugetsu shook his head, then respectfully offered two scrolls.
"These are the taijutsu I developed," Mugetsu said with a gentle smile. "I wish to offer both to the village."
As he spoke, a faint light seed to shimr in his eyes, as if he was genuinely pleased to contribute to Konoha.
"You have a good heart," the Sandai said, smiling as he stroked his goatee.
Regardless of how strong the techniques were, the Sandai appreciated the action itself.
The five D rank ninjutsu Mugetsu had submitted earlier were already added to Konoha's library.
"The ninjutsu I submitted before are insignificant compared to what the village has rewarded with," Mugetsu said modestly.
If he used this Breathing Technique to teach Anbu and Root, it would be equivalent to handing it to Konoha anyway. So he ca to the Sandai first to submit it properly, and to earn the appropriate rewards.
Konoha did not force every ninja to submit the jutsu they created, but it did provide compensation. The stronger the jutsu and the better its effect, the greater the reward.
And to maintain his persona, Mugetsu would also inform Danzo after this.
The Sandai smiled at Mugetsu's reply and opened the scrolls.
One contained Shunpo.
The other was titled Darkness Breathing Technique.
He skimd both, and it was imdiately clear that the Darkness Breathing Technique carried real substance.
Seeing the Sandai already examining the contents, Mugetsu began to explain.
Even though Mugetsu suspected the Sandai already knew about Shunpo, he did not assu anything. He explained both techniques carefully.
Shunpo was simpler, so Mugetsu finished that explanation quickly and focused on Darkness Breathing Technique.
"Darkness Breathing Technique strengthens the body by absorbing large amounts of oxygen," Mugetsu explained. "The more focused the breathing, the greater the enhancent. It improves overall physical strength, and it can also accelerate recovery when injured."
"Once mastered, it can also accumulate breathing power to increase instantaneous bursts, allowing attacks far beyond the user's normal strength."
Body strengthening and faster recovery were basic traits of Breathing Techniques. Mugetsu's key adjustnt was different. He removed the training enhancent and shifted the value toward combat usage.
Because of that, Darkness Breathing Technique did not have a Constant State realm.
Compared to a normal Breathing Technique, it functioned more like an explosive secret technique.
The Sandai was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, mastering thousands of jutsu, but his taijutsu was no joke either. He quickly understood where Darkness Breathing Technique would shine most.
Surprise attacks and assassinations.
Using strength beyond the body's limit would inevitably create a burden. Darkness Breathing Technique clearly could not be maintained for long.
Of course, it would still be useful in ordinary combat, but the cost effectiveness of ambushes made it especially dangerous.
"A taijutsu full of ingenious ideas," the Sandai praised.
Darkness Breathing Technique did not follow the sa path as most existing Konoha taijutsu. Developing sothing at this level in a newer field showed that Mugetsu's talent for technique creation was even greater than the Sandai had expected.
"Shunpo can be classified as B rank taijutsu," the Sandai said after so thought. "Darkness Breathing Technique can be classified as A rank taijutsu."
In Konoha, ranking reflected learning difficulty. That was the primary basis.
Generally, higher difficulty ant greater power, but lower ranked jutsu were not automatically weak.
Even Fire Release Great Fireball Technique, a C rank ninjutsu, was used from academy students all the way up to jonin.
Mugetsu nodded. He had no objections.
He had deliberately made Darkness Breathing Technique relatively simple. If it sohow received an S rank evaluation, that would invite problems.
"I plan to use Darkness Breathing Technique for training," Mugetsu added. "It is very suitable for Anbu and Root."
"Haha. Then I will look forward to the test in two months," the Sandai said, letting out a breath of pale mist as he laughed.
Anbu and Root obviously could not waste ti on constant examinations, so Mugetsu planned a single assessnt on the final day of the special training to demonstrate the results.
"In the next two months, if you want to learn ninjutsu, you may go directly to the Ninjutsu Pavilion and consult what you need," the Sandai said. "If it is not there, then co to and apply."
At the end of his sentence, he made the decision clear.
He was granting Mugetsu the authority to freely consult the Ninjutsu Pavilion.
Normally, Mugetsu's current rits would not be enough for that level of access. But Mugetsu was a genuine ninjutsu genius, and the Sandai was satisfied with him in every aspect.
"Giving you this authority now may cause controversy," the Sandai explained. "But after the training ends, and everyone sees your ability, there will be no problem."
The reward still exceeded the rits, but the timing made it feel more legitimate. It would also push Mugetsu to teach even more enthusiastically.
"Thank you, Sandai sama," Mugetsu said, smiling with clear excitent, showing he understood.
From now on, aside from a few truly special techniques, he would not need to keep everything hidden anymore.
This ti, the Sandai was even more generous than Mugetsu had expected.
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