Chapter 59: Information on the Kazekage
He analyzed the situation for several minutes and reached a conclusion.
"My memories of the Naruto series are highly unreliable for details like this. Moreover, it's entirely possible that Konoha's Wind Release specialists also practiced these techniques extensively, but I simply never saw it in the series. This isn't particularly surprising. But I genuinely want to know if there was a shinobi in history who fully exploited the potential of these jutsu!"
At that moment, he caught himself.
"I'm focusing too narrowly and losing sight of the main objective. Let me decide which techniques to learn first."
After careful analysis, he decided.
"I'll begin by learning Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken, Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm, Wind Release: Dragon, Wind Release: Verdant Mountain Gale, and Wind Release: Body Flicker. I don't currently need the battlefield control provided by Air Current Wild Dance. For defense, Earth Release techniques and Rotating Shuriken are better choices than Gale Palm. Wind Release: Blade might prove useful, but I have another idea I want to test first."
While analyzing these techniques, Kaito also noticed two interesting possibilities. He thought to himself,
"Isn't Verdant Mountain Gale potentially superior to standard chakra flow for swordsmanship? I'm curious whether, in samurai-style kenjutsu, I can use it to project wind blades instead of just chakra-enhanced strikes. Also, can this technique be used simultaneously with chakra flow for compound effects?"
The other intriguing options were Wind Release: Dragon and Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm. The foundational principles of these two techniques were remarkably similar.
Could Kaito create wolves capable of launching Wind Release: Pressure Damage, or could he manifest multiple dragons simultaneously?
These experimental possibilities greatly excited his curiosity.
He decided to test these theories once he became strong enough.
After deciding which techniques to prioritize learning, Kaito thought to himself,
"Alright, the jutsu selection is complete. Now I'm going to search through the entire Library to discover if anyone has ever pushed these techniques to their absolute limits!"
He stood up and carefully returned the scroll to its proper place. As he rose, he noticed someone nearby.
"Huh, Mieko is here? I didn't even sense her arrival."
Then he consciously extended his sensing ability and detected,
"Oh, Hodaka is here as well. He's browsing in the D-rank section."
Both Hodaka and Mieko had arrived at the Library after Kaito.
Unlike Kaito, they received guidance from experienced shinobi parents within their respective clans.
Because they demonstrated sufficient talent and received direct instruction from their family elders, they had never needed to visit the village's public Library before—all techniques were taught directly to them by clan instructors.
However, this time, the clan elders respected Renjiro's training philosophy and permitted these children to conduct independent research at the village Library.
Of course, before allowing this, the elders would first discuss Mieko's and Hodaka's overall training plans with Renjiro directly.
Hodaka was currently reading a Body Flicker Technique scroll in the D-rank section. He thought to himself with frustration,
"The Library is filled with countless ninjutsu scrolls. I've examined some documentation about taijutsu styles, but they're all garbage! Nothing remotely compares to our clan's Gentle Fist. I really don't want to waste valuable time on ninjutsu training."
"I'll just inform sensei that I want to learn Body Flicker Technique. It looked really impressive watching Kaito flicker around during our assessment. Plus, if my opponent also knows this technique, I won't even be able to land a hit on them. Although Father will probably scold me for this decision. Don't they understand that I just want to focus exclusively on perfecting my taijutsu?"
Meanwhile, Mieko proceeded directly to the C-rank section and began systematically searching for more powerful Fire Release techniques. She thought to herself,
"Why does Father insist I research jutsu here independently? Can't they just teach me stronger techniques directly without all this effort?"
However, during her search, she discovered something that genuinely surprised her. She thought with confusion,
"Fire Release: Flame Finger? Why is this technique classified as C-rank? Shouldn't it be B-rank at minimum? And the advanced version should definitely be A-rank, right?"
She retrieved the scroll and began reading carefully. After finishing, she felt very satisfied with what she'd learned.
"Finally! This technique actually has some real offensive power."
Fire Release: Flame Finger operated similarly to Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique in principle, but used concentrated chakra through the fingers to release a precision heat beam.
However, the power at close range was significantly higher. This was essentially equivalent to stabbing with a superheated kunai. Mieko thought strategically,
"With this technique, I can actually engage in close-quarters combat with Hodaka and Kaito more effectively. Being struck by it would be extremely painful, and it's incredibly difficult to dodge at point-blank range. Although I'm reluctant to admit it openly, both of them possess far superior physical strength than me. Even though I have my Sharingan, Hodaka's Gentle Fist style is genuinely difficult to counter."
"With this jutsu, I can compete with them in close combat, and I already surpass them in long-range fighting capability."
She continued searching for additional techniques. She decided to learn Fire Release: Flame Sphere and Fire Release: Flame Shield as well, thinking practically,
"I don't possess any defensive jutsu yet. These might prove somewhat useful for protection."
Kaito ignored his teammates' presence and began researching information about the Kazekage. He knew remarkably little about Sunagakure's leaders. He thought,
"The Academy curriculum barely mentioned historical Kazekage at all. Moreover, the available books didn't detail which specific techniques were used by Kage from other villages. I remember Gaara, his father Rasa, and the Third Kazekage from the series. But there isn't much detailed content to review about their capabilities."
"Gaara manipulated sand, Rasa manipulated gold dust, and his predecessor controlled iron sand. All their documented battles revolved around these abilities. I hope the First and Second Kazekage weren't so limited in their arsenals. And it's impossible that the Third and Fourth Kazekage didn't know numerous other techniques."
He spent considerable time gathering all available information on the Kazekage lineage.
He'd already read about Rasa in the Bingo Book. Unfortunately, the Bingo Book didn't maintain detailed information on deceased shinobi.
After nearly two hours of reading various historical scrolls and compiling notes, Kaito gained understanding. He thought to himself,
"I see the pattern now. The First Kazekage possessed the Magnet Release kekkei genkai. He founded Sunagakure as its first leader. Unlike Hashirama's diplomatic approach, he established the village through overwhelming force. Many nearby clans and nomadic groups were forcibly absorbed or driven away."
"It appears he wanted to maintain the Kazekage position within his bloodline, so he declared his second son as his designated successor. But tragically for his plans, Tobirama killed all three of his sons during the First Shinobi World War. Later, the First Kazekage himself was killed by the Second Tsuchikage's Dust Release in that same conflict."
"Since no one sufficiently powerful remained in the bloodline, Sunagakure was forced to appoint one of the First Kazekage's most accomplished students as Second Kazekage. Simultaneously, they began intensively training the First Kazekage's grandson to eventually contend for the position of Third Kazekage."
Although all the Kazekage demonstrated mastery of Wind Release techniques, the Second Kazekage was considered the true Wind Release master of his generation.
The legendary Wind Release techniques documented in these scrolls should have all originated from his innovations.
To defend a critical strategic location, he once created a Wind Release: Dragon so massive that observers couldn't see its tail from the head.
He could also simultaneously create hundreds of wind wolves to assault enemy forces across entire battlefields.
Historical records indicated he could fly using wind manipulation and had engaged the Second Tsuchikage in aerial combat multiple times.
Interestingly, Danzo's Vacuum Release techniques also appeared to have all derived from studying the Second Kazekage's methods.
Tobirama killed the Second Kazekage near the conclusion of the First Shinobi World War.
However, Sunagakure didn't surrender but instead retreated deep into their desert territory, and no village dared launch a full invasion into that harsh terrain.
This raised an important question—how exactly did Konoha acquire these advanced Wind Release techniques?
It seemed highly unlikely that both Konoha and Sunagakure independently developed identical techniques. So either they originated from Sunagakure's research, or more plausibly, Konoha's intelligence operatives stole them from the Sand Village.
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