"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The sealing jutsu on the minds of the three boys was ultimately performed by Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
Although Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane also knew sealing techniques, their knowledge was merely superficial, while Hiruzen could be considered proficient.
It wasn't just sealing techniques; Hiruzen also had considerable skill in the five basic nature transformations.
In the future, he would even earn the title of "The Professor."
Having Hiruzen perform the sealing jutsu on the three boys was the safest option.
With his strength, it was not a difficult task.
In less than a minute, Hiruzen had completed the seals.
Under his control, black, tadpole-like runes made of chakra spread across the boys' heads, finally gathering on their foreheads to form a "☫" shaped pattern.
"It is done."
"Sagawa, Kondo, Sakamoto, I have placed a sealing jutsu in your minds."
"If any external force tries to extract memories from your minds, this seal will instantly destroy your brains and scramble your memories."
After speaking, Hiruzen waved his hand, and a ninja wearing a white animal mask appeared, kneeling on one knee beside him.
This was the Hokage's direct Anbu subordinate!
"Lord Hokage."
"Hawk, for the next period of time, I entrust the Anbu training of these three to you."
Since it had been decided that the three would become Anbu candidates, they had to undergo some of the training.
In particular, they were all commoner ninjas before, and had many shortcomings compared to those from the ninja clans.
If they didn't make up for these deficiencies, never mind whether they could successfully be promoted to the Anbu, even if they did, they would likely die due to some mistake while on a mission.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The Anbu ninja named "Hawk" acknowledged the order and led the three boys away.
As Anbu ninjas, they had their own specialized training grounds.
Compared to the surface-level training grounds in the village, these were far superior in both secrecy and practicality.
After resolving the matter of the three boys, Li Anshi parted ways with the Third Hokage and the others.
Danzo Shimura had entered the prison, awaiting the judgment of the Jonin council.
…
"Lord Anshi, the Hokage has summoned you."
"I know. I'll be right there."
In the afternoon, before Li Anshi could finish the carving in his hand, an Anbu ninja appeared at his shop's entrance, conveying the Third Hokage's summons.
Placing the unfinished carving on the ground, Li Anshi stood up and went with the Anbu ninja to the Hokage's building.
Upon entering the meeting room and seeing the many familiar faces, Li Anshi guessed what the meeting was about.
It had to be said, the Third Hokage's efficiency was quite strong.
He had only mentioned holding a Jonin meeting this morning, and by the afternoon, he had already gathered all the Jonin in the village.
"Anshi."
"Lord Anshi."
"Lord Anshi."
Seeing him, Sakumo Hatake, Shikafuku Nara, Takuji Akimichi, Shin Yamanaka, Jin Uchiha, and other Jonin familiar with him all greeted him with a smile.
The other Jonin also nodded at him with smiles.
"Little Li Flying Dagger" Li Anshi was, for this period, the ninja with the most prominent reputation in Konoha.
In terms of battle records, even the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, paled slightly in comparison.
Only the First Hokage, hailed as the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, and the "Asura of the Ninja World," Madara Uchiha, could be placed above him.
However, Hashirama and Madara were both predecessors confirmed to be dead, while Li Anshi was still just a boy who had recently turned sixteen.
No one knew if, given more time, he could grow to the level of the First Hokage and the Asura of the ninja world.
Of course, the ninja clans with long-standing traditions also knew that reaching the realm of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha was not something that could be achieved through training alone.
There was a more fundamental reason.
Bloodline!
Whether it was the Senju clan or the Uchiha clan, both were clearly recorded as having the blood of the Sage of Six Paths.
The ability of Hashirama and Madara to reach such a realm was inseparable from their own bloodlines.
Li Anshi was just a commoner ninja, with no powerful bloodline of his own.
Most estimated that he might have already reached his peak, and the possibility of him breaking through again in the future was very small.
But, given that he had developed the ordinary throwing of ninja tools into the "Little Li Flying Dagger" that never missed its mark, who could say with one hundred percent certainty that he couldn't break through again?
However, even if he did, it was unlikely he would reach the level of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
Still, even if he couldn't break through further, his current abilities were enough to be a great deterrent to the other ninja villages.
After the details of his battle with the Cloud were exposed, the other villages knew that to ambush and kill him, they would have to pay the price of at least three hundred ninjas.
And that was only if both sides fought to the death without retreating, as in the battle with the Cloud.
If Li Anshi fought while retreating, the number of casualties would be much higher.
And the ninjas surrounding him simply could not stop him if he wanted to escape.
Those who could keep up with him would have to be Jonin.
In this era, especially after the war, the number of Jonin in a village, even counting the hidden ones in the clans, would not exceed three hundred.
In other words, it was almost impossible for other ninja villages to encircle and kill Li Anshi.
If all their Jonin died, the Chunin and Genin couldn't catch up to him and might even be hunted down by him in turn.
Of course, if they invested ten thousand ninjas like the Stone Village would in the future to encircle the Third Raikage, and if Li Anshi's supply of daggers was insufficient, it might be possible to succeed.
But would the other four great ninja villages risk the complete annihilation of their powerhouses to kill him?
It was simply impossible.
Therefore, Li Anshi's deterrence to other villages surpassed that of a Tailed Beast.
"Everyone has arrived."
"Lord Hokage."
"Lord Hokage."
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi enter the meeting room, the forty-odd Jonin all stood up and greeted him.
"Everyone, I have convened this Jonin meeting today because something has happened in the village."
"Not long ago, Jonin Li Anshi taught his secret flying dagger art to his three subordinates…"