Aozora suddenly recalled something and asked, "Clan Leader, why didn't you bring up Naruto at the meeting?"
He was still hoping to learn the [Flying Thunder God Technique] and consult Minato whenever he encountered problems!
Fugaku replied, "I already talked about it with Torifu and the others before the meeting. I'll be raising Naruto from now on, but we need to wait until the house is ready."
Hearing this, Aozora's eyes flickered as he asked, "Are you planning to move back to the original compound?"
Fugaku nodded and said, "To make handling official duties at the Hokage Tower more convenient, I've already repurchased my former residence. We've been getting it ready these past few days..."
He paused, then addressed Kyudai and Aozora, "If you both like the houses in the original compound, you can buy them back too."
Kyudai nodded, "I'll go home and talk to my father about it. We'll move back to the original compound soon."
As Fugaku's personal assistant, Kyudai obviously needed to relocate closer to work.
Aozora simply nodded and said, "I'll consider it!"
He only worked half a day per week anyway, so there was no need to live inside the village.
Besides, the new compound was much quieter with more training grounds, making cultivation far more convenient.
After that, Aozora requested Anbu positions for members of the Sleeping Dragon Squad. Then, seeing that Fugaku and Kyudai were about to start on the paperwork, he gave an awkward chuckle and opened the office door.
Seeing this, Fugaku shook his head with a sigh and picked up a dossier from the pile of documents.
In the upper right corner of the file was a photo of a young man with a gentle smile and a distinctive round nose.
"[Shisui]... It's you then!"
"You're definitely more hardworking than Aozora!"
...
Aozora had no idea that upon leaving the Hokage Tower, Fugaku—annoyed by his slacking—had decided to recruit his older brother Shisui instead.
Returning home, he retrieved two scrolls containing forbidden techniques.
[Spirit Transformation Technique]... [Impure World Reincarnation]...
He first taught the [Flying Thunder God Technique] to his Keshin. Through preliminary screening using shadow clones, Aozora discovered he possessed great talent for two other forbidden techniques among the remaining ones.
The first was the [Spirit Transformation Technique].
According to his memories, this S-ranked forbidden technique allowed the user to separate their spirit from their physical body, transforming their soul into an ethereal form. Only Dan Kato mastered it.
This ethereal form had unique properties, giving the technique multiple functions.
First, free from the limitations of the physical body, the Spirit could travel through space quickly—its speed slightly inferior only to spatial ninjutsu.
Second, its sensory perception surpassed ordinary humans greatly. It could sense all living beings nearby, track enemies' movements, and even determine whether they were alive or dead.
Finally, the Spirit could possess or attack another person's soul, which made it useful for transmitting information or killing silently without physical damage.
At first glance, the [Spirit Transformation Technique] seemed like the perfect secret jutsu—versatile and powerful, somewhat resembling an enhanced version of the Yamanaka Clan's mental techniques.
However, just like the [Multiple Shadow Clone Technique], the [Spirit Transformation Technique] also had significant drawbacks—which was why it was sealed within the Scroll of Seals.
Both required extremely high standards from users; while the former demanded large Chakra reserves, the latter required strong spiritual power and innate talent. Such talents were one in ten thousand, and Aozora estimated that there probably weren't five people in the entire Konoha who met these criteria.
Even with such talent, there's no guarantee someone would dare cultivate it, because the consequence of failing Spirit Transformation Technique is a complete separation of body and spirit, leading to a silent death.
It's perfectly normal for Aozora to possess the talent for Spirit Transformation Technique, as his spiritual power has always surpassed that of ordinary ninjas.
Moreover, cultivating [Embodying Beyond the Self] gave him additional control over his soul. He'd even managed to send out his Soul Division to possess Corpse Crow, making him somewhat experienced in spiritual projection.
The second technique is [Impure World Reincarnation].
This S-rank forbidden jutsu was developed by Tobirama Senju. It can summon souls of deceased ninjas back to the human world and resurrect them as physical bodies.
The reason Shadow Clone determined Aozora had potential for Impure World Reincarnation was because the method of calling souls used in Tongyou overlapped somewhat with what he'd already learned.
Thus, for Aozora, mastering Impure World Reincarnation meant only learning the complex Summoning Sealing Formula. As for connecting with spirits from the afterworld—a challenge for most—it wasn't difficult for him at all.
After comparing both secret techniques, Aozora decided to focus on Spirit Transformation Technique first and assigned the study of Impure World Reincarnation to his Keshin.
Spirit Transformation Technique involved intricate soul manipulation requiring full concentration. Shadow Clones wouldn't assist in its cultivation; rather, they might interfere.
On the other hand, the difficulty with Impure World Reincarnation lay primarily in the sealing arts, an area also essential for studying Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Perhaps exploring one could enhance understanding of the other.
Inside the Summoning Realm,
Within Taiyi's spacious palace, countless square white papers were now spread out densely across the floor. Each paper bore sealing formulas extracted from Summoning Jutsu and Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
Taiyi and his Shadow Clone were walking around comparing notes when suddenly Taiyi stopped.
Recalling the extremely complicated sealing formula used in Impure World Reincarnation, Taiyi couldn't help but curse loudly.
"Damn it, Aozora! I'm Demon Emperor Taiyi, not Donghuang Taiyi from the Yin-Yang School! Stop sending me all these damn sealing formulas!"
However, Taiyi's complaints were useless. The moment Aozora received the message, he shut down the cross-realm communication channel—fully enjoying his admin privileges.
...
The night sky was pitch black, the stars barely visible.
In a dense forest near the outer wall of Sarutobi Compound, a dark figure darted through the trees, swift and nimble like a monkey.
Soon, the figure arrived at the protective outer wall. He quickly formed hand seals.
Immediately, a special rune appeared then vanished on the giant wall protecting Konoha.
Then the man pressed his palm against the ground, forming a hidden tunnel beneath the wall.
Moments later, someone emerged from the underground passage.
Noticing how much Asuma had matured, Nobusuke's face softened with satisfaction. He stepped forward to pat Asuma's shoulder.
"Asuma, you're back."
He had barely finished speaking when three figures wearing black cloaks jumped out from the same tunnel.
Nobusuke's expression immediately darkened. He leapt backward and drew his kunai.
"Asuma, who are they?"
Asuma stated, "They're my allies."
After saying that, he locked eyes with Nobusuke and coldly asked, "How did the old man die?"
The idea that Doctor of Ninjutsu died during practice was utterly ridiculous.
Nobusuke fell silent upon hearing this. He didn't want to tarnish the image of The Third in Asuma's heart.
After a long silence, he said, "Just believe that he passed away during practice!"
Asuma gazed deeply at Nobusuke. "It was the Uchiha, wasn't it? Before the old man died, the Uchiha Clan's ninja were attacking the Hokage Tower!"
Upon hearing this, Nobusuke didn't immediately deny it. Indeed, the Uchiha were directly responsible for Hiruzen Sarutobi's death.
After a moment, he said, "Asuma, don't ask anymore."
Then he asked Asuma, "What have you come back for?"
Asuma looked disappointedly at Nobusuke. "The old man is dead, yet you do nothing? Despite how much he valued you!"
Nobusuke's expression darkened. There was nothing he could do.
His father took his own life as an act of atonement, and if he caused trouble, The Fifth would dredge up the past, disgracing his father forever.
Sighing, he said, "Asuma, you simply fail to see…"
"That's right, I don't understand!" Asuma snapped. "I don't understand how the old man who worked tirelessly for Konoha could die from such a ridiculous reason, with his most prized son and closest companion saying nothing at all!"
After speaking, Asuma didn't even look at Nobusuke anymore and strode past him. The three ninja in black robes behind him followed closely.
As he passed Nobusuke, Asuma said coldly, "I'm different from you. No matter how much I hated him, I carry his blood in me!"
Startled, Nobusuke turned around to face Asuma's retreating figure and shouted, "Asuma, you don't know anything! Don't do anything foolish!"
Hearing this, Asuma hesitated slightly in his steps but continued toward the village.
Seeing this, Nobusuke's eyes flickered with determination. Softly, he said, "Don't blame me, Asuma!"
With that, he burst forth with chakra and charged toward Asuma.
However, before he could reach Asuma, two members from Asuma's group sprang into action.
One immediately released a swift, coiling python from their sleeve, tightly wrapping around Nobusuke.
"Orochi…"
Before he could finish speaking or struggle free, another ninja in black had already closed in and struck him with an open palm.
Nobusuke was surprised that the blow seemed to carry no power at all—until suddenly, warmth spread across his chest as [Cursed Seal] markings began crawling outward from there, quickly covering his entire body.
Before escaping the python's constriction, he was completely immobilized by the sealing technique.
Asuma glanced back at Nobusuke, concern visible in his eyes.
From beneath the black cloak came Danzo's icy voice, "Rest assured—it merely binds him for now!"
Hearing this, Asuma nodded slightly before turning to look at the other person.
Under the black robe, Orochimaru slid his long tongue across his lips, saying, "I have absolutely no interest in Nobusuke!"
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