Although I had heard of Morkel's reputation across the ninja world, and even witnessed the massive crystal mountain he created outside Iwagakure with my own eyes, nothing prepared me for the overwhelming sensation of standing within his Wood Style forest.
The sheer volume of Chakra he exuded left me stunned.
It made me wonder: when the gods created ninjas, did they divide Morkel's Chakra in half just to distribute it among everyone else?
Otherwise, how could one person possess such an absurd amount?
Then, suddenly realizing something, I asked him, "So… what exactly are you doing now?"
Morkel replied without hesitation, playing up his injury, "My strength is significantly reduced. At most, I can only recreate one-tenth of this forest."
In reality, this forest barely covered the entire Rain Shinobi Village. Saying he could only recreate a tenth of it was Morkel's clever way of feigning weakness to mislead Iwagakure.
But after hearing his words, I couldn't help swallowing nervously. "One-tenth…?"
"That's still terrifying!"
Morkel gave a casual shrug. "Let's not dwell on this. We should focus on finding the Five Tails."
I nodded. "But the Land of Rain is massive. How are we supposed to search it?"
Morkel pondered aloud, "I could deploy hundreds of thousands of Shadow Clones to comb the area, but that would take time... Or maybe I could cover the entire country with Chakra perception… but that would be mentally taxing."
Hearing this, both Chikaku and I instinctively stepped back.
Who could casually mention such insane ideas?
Shadow Clones in the hundreds of thousands?
Perceiving an entire country with Chakra?
Coming from anyone else, it would sound like pure nonsense—but from Morkel? We actually believed it.
Suddenly, I had a thought. "Why don't we capture a member of Akatsuki and interrogate them?"
Morkel smacked his forehead. "You're right. There are only so many places Akatsuki can extract Tailed Beast Chakra. Capturing one of them might lead us directly to the location."
Are you seriously that rich in Chakra? So powerful that you don't even have to think before choosing brute force? I thought, exasperated.
"Let's not waste any more time," Morkel said and led us out.
Back in the ruins of Rain Shinobi Village, a white snake coiled around a branch slithered away unnoticed…
---
In a small town in the Land of Rain, Morkel, Chikaku, and I moved swiftly through the streets, hunting down Akatsuki members.
Although Kisame and Sasori were elusive high-ranking members, the organization had countless agents involved in intelligence and logistics. Those were easier targets.
We purchased information from a bounty dealer and cornered a girl in an alley who looked innocent and terrified.
"Please don't hurt me! I'll give you money!" she sobbed, feigning panic.
If we hadn't been told she was a director of Akatsuki's intelligence division, we might have believed her.
Morkel folded his arms. "Drop the act. We know who you are."
"Qianye, right? Tell us the location where Akatsuki is extracting Tailed Beast Chakra, and I'll spare your life."
Her fake demeanor instantly vanished. "Ugh! We should have cleaned out those bounty dealers long ago!"
Morkel sighed. "According to intel, you're the most active intelligence director Akatsuki has. Who else would we interrogate?"
She glared at him. "You must be Morkel. Even if you're ridiculously handsome, I won't betray Akatsuki. Kill me if you must!"
Without another word, Morkel appeared behind her and struck the back of her neck, knocking her out. "Still pretending at a time like this?"
He placed a hand on her head and used a Soul Searching Technique. Her memories flowed into his mind.
"Well, this is disappointing," Morkel muttered. "Not much useful information. I was hoping to find Akatsuki's main base."
We left her where she lay and boarded Morkel's aircraft—an iron painting animated by Chakra.
"This is amazing!" I gasped. "You made this?"
Morkel nodded. "It's Chakra-activated. Disposable, easy to carry, just paper until activated."
"If you like it, I'll give you one."
"Really? Thank you!"
He never missed a chance to do business. Giving the Tsuchikage's granddaughter a sample wasn't just a gesture—it was good marketing. Once they experienced the convenience, they'd be back as paying customers.
Soon we arrived at a suspected stronghold.
"Want to go down and investigate?" Chikaku asked.
"No need," Morkel replied. "We'll just slice it open."
"S-Slice?!"
Morkel stepped to the cabin door, focused his Chakra, and formed a massive, thousand-meter-long Chakra blade.
Even Chikaku looked terrified. Was this still a scalpel? Or was he preparing to operate on the planet itself?
With a single swing, Morkel split the earth in two, creating a deep gully. "No one here," he muttered.
I stared in awe. Did he just split the ground like it was butter?
"What if you hit Five Tails by mistake?" I asked.
"No worries," Morkel said. "If he's still alive, I can save him."
"What if he's decapitated?" I pressed.
"Still can save him."
"What if his body's completely destroyed?"
Morkel smiled. "Reanimation Jutsu. Or I'll just make a new one from a lotus root."
I was speechless.
My grandfather always said Morkel was a ninjutsu genius. I hadn't believed it—until now.
He wasn't just a genius. He had reached a level where he could handle the living and the dead!
---
We continued flying, checking base after base. At each location, Morkel unleashed new techniques—flooding strongholds with rain, summoning lightning, even burning entire bases.
His abilities weren't just powerful—they were overwhelming.
"There are only three strongholds left," Morkel said as we reached a dense forest.
From the cockpit, he spotted a suspicious hill. "Looks like the base is underground."
He started forming hand signs. "Let's flood it."
"Wait!" I pointed. "There's someone down there!"
Morkel paused, narrowing his eyes. "Is this the Tailed Beast extraction site?"
He resumed forming seals.
"Wait!" I stopped him again. "If someone's alive down there, your jutsu might hurt the host!"
"I told you—I can save him," Morkel insisted.
"But what if they escape with him?" I argued.
Morkel considered this seriously. "You're right. The masked man has teleportation. We should be cautious."
He deactivated the plane illusion and prepared to descend.
I instinctively screamed, "Help—!"
But before I finished, Morkel covered my mouth. "Didn't you just say to stay quiet?"
I glared at him. You didn't warn me we were mid-air!
Yet to my surprise, we weren't falling—we were floating.
Even Chikaku was calmly suspended beside us.
I noticed thin layers of ice beneath his feet. Oh… Ice Release to stay airborne.
"Impressive," I said, "but Grandpa's rock technique lets him fly freely."
Morkel's interest piqued. "Tell me more."
"It's called Light-Weight Rock Technique. It reduces your body's mass so you can float."
Morkel nodded. "Sounds useful. I want to try it."
"It's not that simple," I warned. "It was invented by the Second Tsuchikage—"
"Like this?" Morkel interrupted.
I looked up—and there he was, floating unaided in the sky.
Ten seconds.
It took him ten seconds to master one of Iwagakure's secret techniques… from a verbal explanation.
Even Chikaku looked stunned.
This wasn't normal. This wasn't even genius.
This was monstrous.
---