After sending off Ryuzetsu and nearly a hundred shinobi, Kabuto's arrangement was complete. They would take a merchant ship prepared by the villagers at the nearest seashore, and after completing the "rescue" of the Grass Hidden Village, they would directly join the ranks of Naruto's subordinates in the Land of Whirlpools.
Afterward, they would meet up with Gato's subordinates and directly begin smuggling activities.
The mission given to Hidan had also been relayed by Konan. Presumably, in a few days, they would meet in the Land of Whirlpools. The ninja tool manufacturing blueprints obtained from Shinno would also be handed over.
By now, Mukai no longer had to worry about the two missions issued by the Akatsuki organization.
For the remaining time, the two prepared to sort out what they possessed and then convert it into fighting power.
They had already begun to learn Yin Seal, Juinjutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Art of Physical Activation.
Juinjutsu and Clone Jutsu were given to Shadow Clones to learn.
Their main bodies, meanwhile, were practicing the Art of Physical Activation. This ninjutsu, when combined with the Eight Inner Gates Released Formation and Gogyo (Five Elements), could further elevate their physical qualities by another level, achieving physical capabilities that even pure Taijutsu users would find hard to reach.
After this, perhaps only Might Guy and the Fourth Raikage would be able to surpass the two in physical fitness.
Of course, if Shinno could successfully create the Zero-Tailed Beast, he would also be considered a peak Taijutsu user.
The progress of the Yin Seal was just one last step away. After completing the training for the Art of Physical Activation, Mukai would restart the cultivation of this ninjutsu.
Only three days remained until the start of the Great Ninja War.
The two waited in the Grass Hidden Village for two days, and used these two days to complete the initial application of the Art of Physical Activation. They still couldn't vitalize their cells to enhance their physical attributes, but they were already able to control cell recombination to eliminate the scars on their bodies.
Karin stared blankly at her smooth arms, her mind almost completely blank. Those scars each represented the pain she had suffered. She had even thought that even if she annihilated the entire Grass Hidden Village, the memory of that pain would follow her for a lifetime. But now…
"Brother Mukai!!!" An excited Karin hugged Mukai tightly. There was nothing special about it; she was just expressing her excited feelings.
Mukai gently stroked her head. After the Grass Hidden Village was sent away, they could finally say goodbye to that period of history forever.
Moments later, Karin loosened her grip on Mukai and looked at his body. The scars on his body had similarly disappeared during the process of cell recombination.
Karin smiled. Now, they were both the same.
Subsequently, the two set off again, heading to Konoha Village to make their final preparations.
…
At the same time, in Konoha Village, Jiraiya and Naruto, who had already returned to the village, had no choice but to face the Great Ninja War, which was now imminent.
Kakashi was sent to the Sealing Team to have the seal removed. However, due to lingering side effects, he would occasionally feel some headaches and discomfort. The medical team told him these were normal, and Kakashi subconsciously ignored the slight differences brought about by that Sharingan.
Naruto had returned to the village, and he had become more lively and cheerful. Even when met with cold stares from others, he could carelessly return a big smile. He became more enthusiastic, more fond of interacting with people, and even more… like Ashura.
As for Jiraiya, having failed to bring Tsunade back, he was once again cornered at the entrance by the elders.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sighed regretfully. They naturally knew that Jiraiya's personality was unsuitable for becoming Hokage, so they had greatly hoped he could bring Tsunade back. But unfortunately, Jiraiya failed to do so. In fact, in his report, which he had trimmed down by a "billion" details, Tsunade was even persuaded by Naruto to join his faction!
This was an extremely heavy blow to Konoha.
But at this moment, Danzo, standing behind the two, was overjoyed in his heart. Just as Naruto had said, the naive Jiraiya was much easier to deal with than Tsunade. Even if Jiraiya became Hokage, there was no way he could suppress Danzo like the Third Hokage did!
Putting aside everything else, the Third Hokage truly pushed it to the extreme when it came to Danzo. The Third Hokage practically threw all of the village's darkness onto Danzo, but right up until the Third Hokage's death, Danzo never managed to make a move.
Even during the Uchiha clan massacre, the Third Hokage allowed Danzo to coerce Itachi. After everything was over, he easily relieved Danzo of his elder duties and forced him to disband ANBU, dismissing the vast majority of its members. And Danzo was completely powerless to resist!
Homura Mitokado looked at Jiraiya and said to him, "What do you say now? The Great Ninja War is about to begin, and you still refuse to take responsibility as Hokage, leaving Konoha in danger of fracturing?"
During this period of the Hokage position being vacant, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had truly racked their brains trying to keep this mess going. But Konoha had lost a large number of excellent shinobi in the previous two surprise attacks. Those vacant positions and powers attracted a large number of competitors. Competition quickly led to infighting, and infighting automatically caused people to form factions. If this situation continued for a while longer, these factions would truly become entrenched.
Jiraiya took a deep breath. He glanced at Danzo, who remained silent, then asked, "I heard the village has already rebuilt ANBU. Is that true?"
Jiraiya naturally knew about ANBU's actions. Back then, it was precisely because the Third Hokage had always protected Danzo that he couldn't stand it anymore. He used the excuse of chasing after Orochimaru to leave the village, and remained silent for over ten years, never returning once.
And just as Naruto had said, although Danzo was a cruel man, he was indeed very capable. Jiraiya hoped that by taking the Hokage position, he could limit Danzo's influence and prevent the village from rebuilding ANBU. This way, it would both restrict Danzo's power and prevent things he found unacceptable from happening.
For example, ANBU's final training hurdle was killing a comrade they had trained with. Jiraiya simply couldn't accept such a thing happening.
However, when Danzo heard this, his eyes slightly flickered, and then a smile formed on the corner of his mouth. He secretly thought that Jiraiya truly was a naive little brat. He, who had never truly sat at the table, simply didn't understand what politics was.
Where would the Hokage himself personally get involved in such matters? Once his opinion was rebutted by others, it would be a huge blow to the Hokage's prestige. If the Hokage truly did get involved, it would have to mean he had absolute confidence!
Just like when he was relieved of his duties and ANBU organization by the Third Hokage back then, he had no room to resist whatsoever. Even before that incident happened, he hadn't heard any whispers. The Third Hokage made his move, and it was already over.
Danzo shook his head regretfully. Too bad this isn't a Konoha jōnin meeting; there are only the three elders present.
So, he spoke first before anyone else could, "This is a decision made by the collective will of the village. The existence of ANBU can greatly reduce the casualties in the village. Oh, right, speaking of this, ANBU recently sacrificed two precious spies and obtained the specific target that the Grass Hidden Village plans to attack. I hope that after you become Hokage, you can commend these ANBU members who made sacrifices. Absolutely don't let the village's heroes…"
"…shed blood and tears again!"
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