https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-562-Conclusion-of-Itachi-s-Mission/12558836/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-564-Reinforcements-Arrive-Turning-the-Tide/12558841/
Chapter 563: A New S-Ranked Skill
Chapter 563: A New S-Ranked Skill
【Name: Itachi Uchiha】
【Life Mission: Uchiha and Konoha】
【Main Objective: Resolve the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha, facilitating the Uchiha's integration into Konoha.】
【Mission Progress: 30.8%】
Although Itachi's life mission progress is still the lowest among all disciples, it is much better than before.
When Deidara and Might Guy's life mission progress surpassed 40%, Itachi's was only in the teens, a significant gap.
Now, while he still lags behind the other disciples, the gap has narrowed considerably.
Mu Yue then turned to the specific settlement rewards. With a substantial increase in progress, two sets of progress rewards were granted.
【Disciple Itachi Uchiha has increased in strength and fame, and his voice within the clan has grown. Taking a small step towards resolving the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, he has earned the following progress rewards—Chakra +1400, Ninjutsu Extraction Scroll·S (Mastery Level), and Dark Performance Art (Mastery Level)】
【Disciple Itachi Uchiha has improved his strength and promoted reform within the police force, taking a small step towards easing tensions between the Uchiha and Konoha. He has earned the following progress rewards—Chakra +1500, Yin Attribute Skill Extraction Scroll·S (Mastery Level), and Yin Attribute Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll】
The reward level was consistent with that of other disciples at the same progress stage, but the specific rewards were tailored to Itachi's strengths.
This was why Mu Yue always tried to help her disciples complete their life missions.
The rewards obtained elsewhere had a high degree of randomness, whereas the life mission rewards were not only of high quality but also took into account the disciples' specialties. Aside from the challenging task of completing the mission, there were no other drawbacks.
The basic chakra reward for both settlements totaled two thousand and nine, roughly equivalent to the total chakra of a Ninja Academy teacher—a resource Mu Yue would never turn down.
There were two S-ranked extraction scrolls: one for all types and one specifically for Yin Release.
The Dark Performance Art, an A-ranked genjutsu, was a practical and powerful illusion technique in the world of Naruto. Additionally, the Yin Attribute Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll allowed the user to choose their own ninjutsu specialization.
After confirming all the rewards, Mu Yue, as usual, cleaned her palms and silently recited the names of various gods and Buddhas before beginning the draw.
After all, these were two S-ranked extraction scrolls, and the proper ritual had to be observed.
Mu Yue chose to draw from the ordinary S-ranked scroll first. Clicking on the scroll and then the extraction option, a large roulette wheel appeared before her.
【Ninjutsu Extraction Scroll·S has been consumed. Skill obtained—Ice Age (Mastery Level)】
As the rapidly spinning needle came to a halt in a blue zone, a flood of training memories surged into Mu Yue's mind.
"A signature move of Kuzan, the Admiral. Not bad," Mu Yue muttered, identifying the skill's origin based on its name and the training memories.
Ice Age was the ultimate technique of Kuzan, one of the Three Admirals in the world of One Piece. When Kuzan unleashed Ice Age, he could freeze an entire island, and without external interference, it would take a long time for the ice to melt. It was indeed a formidable offensive skill.
Moreover, Mu Yue's proficiency in Ice Release was not too shabby, having reached the Mastery Level.
After organizing the training memories in her mind, Mu Yue glanced at her Ice Release proficiency, which had improved slightly since acquiring Ice Age.
Powerful skills could enhance one's chakra nature transformation, and Mu Yue had known this for a long time. Even when she drew Mu Wu's Single Slash, it had increased her Lightning Release chakra nature transformation proficiency significantly.
Although Mu Yue already possessed numerous potent ninjutsu, a Bloodline Limit skill like Ice Age could further diversify her arsenal.
Mu Yue then turned her attention to the S-ranked extraction scroll specific to Yin Release.
【Yin Attribute Skill Extraction Scroll·S (Mastery Level) has been consumed. Skill obtained—Kenbunshoku Haki (Mastery Level)】
Once again, a torrent of training memories flooded Mu Yue's mind, granting her instantaneous mastery of the localized Kenbunshoku Haki.
Compared to Ice Age, Kenbunshoku Haki was even more renowned. The moment Mu Yue laid eyes on it, she immediately recalled the concept of Kenbunshoku Haki from the One Piece manga.
Of course, knowing the original setting didn't hold much significance since the system would localize skills from other worlds to fit the Naruto universe.
After sorting through the memories of Kenbunshoku Haki, Mu Yue found that the localized version didn't differ much from its One Piece counterpart.
At their core, both were about perception and predicting attacks.
The most notable change was that the localized Kenbunshoku Haki required chakra to activate.
"Among the perception ninjutsu in Naruto, this should be top-tier," Mu Yue assessed.
Mu Yue had just tested her Mastery Level Kenbunshoku Haki and found that its range was no smaller than that of the Perception Jutsu she had acquired previously.
Her Kenbunshoku Haki encompassed all of Konoha, not just the main district, but also the surrounding areas like the Forest of Death that served as a training ground.
Like many perception ninjutsu, Kenbunshoku Haki could sense the strength of chakra, as well as the location and number of enemies.
Beyond basic perception, Kenbunshoku Haki had an advantage that ordinary perception ninjutsu lacked—the ability to perceive attacks during battle.
Even if an attack came from a direction outside her field of vision, Kenbunshoku Haki could still sense it.
Similar to Busoshoku Haki, Kenbunshoku Haki required no hand seals, and in combat, one could continuously use it as long as chakra was supplied.
Mu Yue tested it and found that if she didn't maximize the range, the chakra consumption for regular use of Kenbunshoku Haki was within acceptable limits. If she had to make a comparison, it consumed slightly less chakra than the Sharingan used by the Uchiha clan.
However, if she maintained the maximum perception range at all times, the chakra cost would be exorbitant, though there was rarely a need for that in normal circumstances.
"Secret Technique: Kenbunshoku!"
Mu Yue instructed her shadow clone to attack her, then she gathered a large amount of chakra and performed a Yin attribute chakra nature transformation, pushing Kenbunshoku Haki to its limits.
In the world of One Piece, masters of Kenbunshoku Haki could see a short distance into the future. Mu Yue wanted to test if the localized version retained this ability.
"Is it because my proficiency isn't high enough, or is there another reason?" Mu Yue wondered, subconsciously pondering the reason for her failure.
She shook her head in resignation, thinking that perhaps only when her Kenbunshoku Haki reached the Perfect Level could she verify if it held this ability.
Even in the One Piece world, only a handful of masters possessed the future-seeing aspect of Kenbunshoku Haki.
"I'll try teaching it to someone tomorrow and see what happens," she decided.
Like Busoshoku Haki, Kenbunshoku Haki was a versatile skill that could benefit anyone who trained in it.
While Itachi and the others possessed the Sharingan, its strength lay in dynamic vision and capturing enemies within its line of sight. Attacks from outside the Sharingan's field of vision couldn't be detected.
Hence, having the Sharingan didn't negate the need for Kenbunshoku Haki. In fact, Kenbunshoku Haki, with its ability to perceive attacks from beyond one's field of vision, could complement the Sharingan.
However, the current problem wasn't a big one; they could learn it casually for now and naturally improve their chakra control as they mastered it over time.
...
In the Land of Earth, at Iwagakure Village...
In the Tsuchikage's office within the Tsuchikage Tower, Tsuchikage Oonoki frowned as he looked at the latest intelligence report from the front lines on his desk.
He felt that something was amiss; this was a bit too aggressive and didn't quite match the usual style of the Konoha ninja forces in the Land of Grass.
"Could they have changed commanders?" Oonoki wondered.
The overall style of a ninja force was influenced by its commander; an aggressive commander would lead to a more aggressive force.
However, intelligence regarding changes in command was extremely difficult to come by unless a major war broke out, forcing the commander to take the field personally, or their intelligence agents scored a major victory in the intelligence war.
"Go and notify the other high-level members to gather in the conference room." After reviewing the intelligence for a while longer, Oonoki stood up and walked to the door, addressing the Anbu guarding it.
The decisions to be made next would impact the basic strategy he had established for Iwagakure since the war, so he needed to convene a high-level meeting and invite the elder advisors to discuss and decide together.
"Let's look at the intelligence first." Once all the high-level members had gathered, Oonoki spoke up.
A neatly organized set of intelligence was placed in front of each high-level member's seat.
"What are your thoughts on the request from our forces in the Land of Grass?" Oonoki asked after everyone had finished reading.
The conference room fell silent, and for a moment, no one responded to Oonoki's question.
Oonoki wasn't in a hurry, and he quietly observed the other high-level members.
"If we send ninja reinforcements to the Land of Grass now, won't all our previous efforts at disguise be in vain?" asked a long-bearded elder of Iwagakure after some thought.
Iwagakure had been biding its time, pretending to be weak, all in anticipation of the opportunity to "eat the tiger." But clearly, that time had not yet come.
"Elder Mokka, you're being a bit too cautious," countered a white-haired elder of Iwagakure, shaking his head.
"Even the weakest of the Great Ninja Villages can muster a few thousand ninja. Sending reinforcements to the front lines doesn't necessarily mean we're revealing all our efforts up to this point."
He didn't think that simply sending additional ninja to the front lines would lead to such serious consequences, as if they were deploying a large-scale invasion of multiple ninja villages at once.
"I agree with Elder Cho krystal. As long as we don't send too many ninja, it won't have a significant impact on our previous arrangements," said a muscular elder of Iwagakure in support.
"Moreover, recalling the forces to the Land of Earth will not only cause Iwagakure to lose face in the ninja world but also make our intention to preserve our strength too obvious."
The front-line ninja force commander had made two requests: either send reinforcements to engage in a major battle or recall them to the Land of Earth to lure the enemy deeper.
On the surface, this seemed like a choice between two options, but for the Iwagakure elders, the ultimate decision rested with them.
They could choose to ignore the request and have the forces carry out their previous orders, or they could reject the request and issue new instructions—these were the rights they held.
"In that case, maintaining the status quo is also a good choice," said Mokka, who felt they could reject the front-line forces' request and continue to observe the situation.
While this might not be the best option, it was definitely the safest.
"Mokka, you're being too conservative," Cho krystal disagreed, his face showing his displeasure.
Despite being older, Mokka was unexpectedly a stubborn conservative.
"Terumi, what do you think?" Oonoki ignored the two quarreling elders and turned to the rightmost seat at the end, where a slightly plump, round-faced Iwagakure ninja sat silently.
He was the jonin leader of Iwagakure.
In terms of position, the jonin leader was the lowest-ranking among the high-level members in the conference room.
However, Terumi was quick-witted, and Oonoki valued his opinions during these meetings.
"I think we should send additional forces this time," Terumi said after some thought. "On the one hand, it will calm the resentment of the front-line ninja, and on the other hand, it will further conceal our strength."
"As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Iwagakure has shown too little strength so far, and this may make the other Great Ninja Villages even more wary of us."
"We can send reinforcements, allow our forces to engage in normal combat, and strive for victory without holding back unnecessarily."
"We'll wait for Konoha to worry that we're about to launch a large-scale invasion of the Land of Fire, causing them to deploy a large number of ninja to the border to counter our forces. That's when we'll show weakness and deliberately lose, preserving our strength."
"Konoha's strength is well-known, and since the war, all the Great Ninja Villages, except for Sunagakure, which hasn't declared war on Konoha, have suffered defeats at their hands. Winning and then losing won't affect Iwagakure's reputation."
Upon hearing Terumi's explanation, Oonoki unconsciously nodded in agreement.
If the Iwagakure forces could defeat the Konoha ninja forces, it would have another important effect—it would stir up the desire to attack among the other ninja villages hostile to Konoha.
Twenty minutes later, the high-level meeting concluded with the decision to approve the front-line forces' request for additional troops.
However, the meeting wasn't over yet; they still had to decide on the number of additional troops, which ninja would be included, and who would lead the reinforcement force—these were all matters that required careful consideration.
When the high-level meeting finally concluded and the message reached Sasori's hands, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Finally, we get to counter-attack! This time, we'll show them the might of Iwagakure's blast forces!" Sasori exclaimed, his face contorted with a cruel smile.
The frustration of continuous retreats, the anger over the assassinations of their fellow villagers, and the dream of making Iwagakure great again—all these emotions mixed together, fueling Sasori's desire to blow off some steam against the Konoha ninja forces.
"For now, refrain from any offensive actions. We'll wait for the reinforcements to arrive, and then we'll hit them hard!" Sasori quickly assembled the jonin of Iwagakure and ordered them to consolidate their forces.
This served two purposes: first, it would create the illusion that Iwagakure was retreating, and second, it would preserve their strength. As Konoha dispatched small teams for assassinations, their main forces also showed signs of movement.
To prevent being caught in a vulnerable position, they needed to make one last consolidation before the impending major battle.
"Konoha, Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze..." Sasori clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with determination.
(End of Chapter)
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