Konoha, Akimichi Yakiniku Restaurant.
"Haha, Minato truly lives up to his reputation as Lord Jiraiya's disciple. He actually managed to sway the tide of over half the battlefield single-handedly."
Inoichi Yamanaka had brought several subordinates here to treat them for their hard work over the past few days.
Gulp!
Tonbo Tobitake stuffed a grilled chicken wing into his mouth. Ever since he decided to pursue Ayame, it had been a long time since he'd treated himself to barbecue.
Hearing the department head's words, he smiled and remarked, "Indeed. Senior Minato and Lord Orochimaru are truly powerful!"
"I heard that during the meeting, Lord Third Hokage proposed that he would retire and enjoy his old age once the war ends?" Shimon asked curiously, bringing up the latest village rumors.
Smack!
Mawashi Dokuraku slapped him on the back of the head. "Don't wag your tongue about things you shouldn't. We don't even know who the next successor will be." Despite his words, his eyes were fixed on Inoichi Yamanaka.
Inoichi laughed. "It's true, but no decision has been made on who will take over yet."
"There's no need to say it; it will definitely be a choice between Lord Orochimaru and Senior Minato Namikaze," Tonbo stated confidently. Very confidently.
Inoichi Yamanaka showed appreciation for his analysis. Currently, the most likely candidates were indeed the Third's disciple, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze. These two had the greatest merits and the loudest fame in this war—one won the Battle of Kikyo Pass, and the other won the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Both were exceptionally strong Jonin.
However, the fact that Tonbo realized this surprised him. For someone in the Intelligence Department to deduce this simply from the single data point of the Third's retirement was impressive.
It seems he really is suited to be a member of the Analysis Class, Inoichi thought, becoming more satisfied with Tonbo.
The others thought about it and found it made sense.
"Come, cheers! In a few days, Lord Orochimaru and the others will return. Prepare yourselves to attend the funerals."
"Yes, sir!"
The war was over. The troops were returning to the village.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Training Ground No. 98.
"Aaaah!"
A miserable scream rang out, as if someone had seen something terrifying.
"Hey, can you practice dispelling Genjutsu once in a while? You're a sensory ninja; you have talent in this area, you know."
Tonbo felt quite speechless as he released the Hell Viewing Technique he had cast on Shimon. After the technique was lifted, Shimon snapped back to reality, looking at Tonbo with lingering fear. "I have been practicing! You're just a freak. How do you make your Genjutsu so hard to break? I clearly dispelled it, but then I fell right back in!"
"Is that so? I guess I'm just too strong," Tonbo scratched his head. To make Shimon lose his composure with a simple Genjutsu meant the past few days of training hadn't been wasted.
"You still haven't said how you did it," Shimon asked curiously. He had disrupted his chakra exactly as they were taught in the Academy; why did he get caught again?
Tonbo pointed to his head. "Because I modified the Temple of Nirvana Jutsu. I integrated my insights from the Psycho Mind Transmission, treating the Genjutsu as a piece of memory information implanted into the enemy's chakra. As long as the enemy accepts the concept that they've 'fallen into a Genjutsu,' that information becomes a seed. Unless they realize the problem lies within their own subconscious, the victim essentially casts the jutsu on themselves repeatedly."
"...Doesn't that mean if they don't realize it, they'll live in your Genjutsu forever?" Shimon was deeply shocked. Was this even still the Temple of Nirvana Jutsu?
"Hmph, serves you right for still being a Genin. As long as you have no fear, you won't get caught," Tonbo said, very satisfied. The experiment was a success.
"How can someone have no fear?" Shimon muttered. Just now, he had seen himself struck by a stray shuriken on the battlefield, dying on the spot.
Tonbo continued: "I'll teach you another way to deal with it. This technique has a glaring weakness. Ultimately, it just implants a suggestion. As a sensory ninja, if you can briefly overcome the fear, you can use your high-level perception to specifically disrupt the 'seed' in your subconscious with chakra."
"Really? Try it on me again." Shimon's eyes lit up.
The corner of Tonbo's mouth curled. Hook, line, and sinker.
"Here it comes." He formed a seal and pointed.
Shimon suddenly felt himself back on the battlefield, surrounded by stray bullets and hidden weapons. This time, he remembered Tonbo's words. He forced himself not to be swept away by the illusion, focusing instead on perceiving his own memories and emotions. Sure enough, after a moment, he found a foreign point of information. He gave his chakra a targeted nudge.
The illusion vanished instantly. The battlefield was gone as if it never existed.
Seeing Shimon break free in an instant, Tonbo raised an eyebrow. It seemed his technique still needed some refinement.
"I knew it! Next time, once I'm ready, I won't lose again." Shimon looked defiant. They were classmates; their grades had been similar, but after a stint on the battlefield, Tonbo had not only become stronger but had also been promoted to Chunin.
"Hey, do you think you could beat Kakashi or Hayama now?"
They had only been classmates with Kakashi for one semester, but the brilliant Kakashi was hard to forget. Hayama Shirakumo, due to his outstanding talent, had also graduated early for the war during their fourth year at the Academy. Now, one was a Jonin and the other a Tokubetsu Jonin.
"You brat, are those two people I can beat? They're already Jonin."
Tonbo felt Shimon was trying to use others to vent his frustration. If Tonbo said he could fight them, Shimon would probably egg him on to start a fight after the war; if he said he couldn't, Shimon would feel better about having been beaten just now.
"Hehe, but those two really are amazing. Jonin at twelve years old! That guy Inabi Uchiha is still just a Chunin like you."
Shimon felt the gap between people was immense. He was still a Genin while others were skyrocketing.
"Mhm. What's the point of comparing these things?" Tonbo said.
"Winter is silent, yet it freezes ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers.
The wind is wordless, yet it blows away the red and purple of spring.
We are all parts contributing to Konoha. No one is nobler than another; they just have better talent and thus, greater responsibility. If you want to compare yourself to them, compare your contributions, not useless combat power. Combat power is for stopping enemies and securing survival—it's not a luxury item for vanity or measuring yourself against your comrades."
As Tonbo spoke, he thought to himself: Promoting the Will of Fire must be done at all times, because this is the 'correct answer' for the next version of Konoha.
Hearing this, Shimon felt himself instantly fired up. Tonbo was right; he too was silently contributing to Konoha.
Unknown to them, their conversation was being watched. Hiruzen Sarutobi, having finished his busy workload, had thought of the boy with the bandage wrapped around his head. He had used the Telescope Technique to take a look and happened to overhear their exchange.
"Winter is silent, yet it freezes ten thousand miles... The wind is wordless..."
Hiruzen smiled. "As expected, a child who has inherited the Will of Fire. At this age, he already understands its true essence."
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