Tianyuan brought Minato Namikaze back to Konoha from Sunagakure.
The fact that he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique left Hiruzen Sarutobi so shocked that his jaw practically hit the floor.
At only nine years old, Tianyuan already possessed the strength of a Jonin. Furthermore, he had mastered the Rasengan in a remarkably short time and even developed variants of the technique. This level of talent was nothing short of monstrous.
He was a genius who surpassed even Kakashi.
But this time, Tianyuan had actually learned the Flying Thunder God Technique. More importantly, his mastery of the spatial jutsu seemed even more impressive than that of Minato Namikaze himself.
One had to understand that the difficulty of practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique was immense. Until now, only the Second Hokage and Minato Namikaze had ever mastered it.
Now, a third person had clearly been added to that list: Tianyuan.
And Tianyuan's grasp of the technique was even more profound.
"Is it really you, Tianyuan?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, staring blankly.
"It is I, Lord Hokage," Tianyuan replied with a wry smile.
Fortunately, it was only Tianyuan and Minato in the room. If any other shinobi had seen Hiruzen in this state, they might have genuinely believed the man was suffering from early onset dementia.
"I never imagined your ninjutsu aptitude of 843 would be this terrifying," Hiruzen said, his voice full of wonder.
"So, you're saying Sunagakure is gathering a massive force to move against Konoha?" Hiruzen slowly regained his composure, his voice turning grim.
"Lord Hokage, it might be more than that. Based on Sunagakure's strength alone, I don't believe the Kazekage would have the courage to do something like this," Minato Namikaze interjected.
"You're suggesting other hidden villages might be involved?" Hiruzen quickly caught his meaning.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. The possibility is very high," Minato said.
"Tianyuan, what do you think?" Hiruzen asked.
"I agree with Minato," Tianyuan replied. Though they didn't yet know which village or how many villages Sunagakure had allied with, it was clear that for them to move against Konoha so boldly, they must have some form of backing.
"Understood. I will summon the Konoha high council. We will reconvene here in the Hokage's Office in one hour. Konoha must enter a state of combat readiness," Hiruzen Sarutobi declared solemnly.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Tianyuan and Minato Namikaze then excused themselves from the room.
One hour was not a long time, but it reflected the extreme urgency of the situation.
Of course, it took time to gather the key decision-makers among the Konoha shinobi, and Hiruzen also needed a moment to digest the intelligence he had just received from Minato and Tianyuan.
After leaving the Hokage's Office, Tianyuan and Minato went their separate ways for the time being. Tianyuan headed back to his own residence first. Because of the investigation into Sunagakure, he hadn't bathed for several days, to say nothing of the time spent in that place where yellow sand filled the sky.
Luckily, Tianyuan wasn't a complete neat freak, so it hadn't bothered him too much during the mission.
After washing up, as the meeting time drew closer, Tianyuan wandered through the streets of Konoha.
The modern styles and the ancient architectural aesthetics of Konoha merged perfectly together, giving Tianyuan a faint sense of having returned to his previous world.
"Tianyuan! Tianyuan!" A familiar voice called out. A young girl holding a stick of dango in her right hand came running over.
"Oh, Anko." Tianyuan turned around. The girl was his teammate, someone he was very familiar with.
"Tianyuan, I heard from Orochimaru-sensei that you went off on some mission recently," Anko said hurriedly.
"Yeah, a secret mission," Tianyuan said with a smile.
"A secret mission? I guess that means you can't talk about it." Anko looked a bit helpless at that. Having become a shinobi, she understood the protocols for Konoha's various mission types. Shinobi were strictly forbidden from discussing secret assignments with outsiders.
"Anko, aren't you out on a mission with Orochimaru-sensei?" Tianyuan asked.
"Since you left, our missions have been put on hold. I don't know what Orochimaru-sensei has been up to lately; he rarely comes out," Anko said, looking bored.
"A mission might be coming up very soon, though this one might be dangerous," Tianyuan said, thinking of the impending attack from Sunagakure.
"What do you mean?" Anko asked curiously.
"You'll find out soon enough." Tianyuan shrugged. "Maybe today, maybe tomorrow."
"Playing the mysterious expert again," Anko huffed, though it was unclear where she had picked up such a phrase.
"I was going to give you some dango, but now I'll just eat it all myself!" As she spoke, Anko took a large bite of the dango in her hand, eyeing Tianyuan sideways.
"Tianyuan." At that moment, a cold, ominous voice rang out from behind him.
"Orochimaru-sensei." Tianyuan didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
"Orochimaru-sensei!" Anko was so startled that she immediately hid the dango behind her back. However, with her cheeks still bulging from the bite she had just taken, she looked quite ridiculous.
Orochimaru gave Anko a faint glance before turning his gaze toward Tianyuan. "Shall we head over together?"
It was obvious that Orochimaru knew about Tianyuan and Minato's mission to Sunagakure; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Tianyuan to accompany him.
"Huh?" Anko looked back and forth between them, confused. What were Orochimaru-sensei and Tianyuan up to?
"Of course." Tianyuan gave a slight smile. "Anko, I have some business with Orochimaru-sensei. I'll take my leave for now."
"Oh... oh, okay." Anko stood there in a daze, nodding blankly.
In Anko's eyes, the way Orochimaru and Tianyuan interacted seemed incredibly strange.
"Tianyuan, did this investigation yield any unexpected harvests?" Orochimaru asked as they walked.
"There was indeed a certain harvest. I just don't know if you'll like it, sensei," Tianyuan said flatly.
"What is there for me to dislike? However, if Hiruzen-sensei is summoning the Konoha shinobi so solemnly, I fear something very unpleasant has happened." Orochimaru's eyes were filled with a calm indifference. "Perhaps another Shinobi World War is about to begin."
With Orochimaru's intellect, he was more than capable of guessing the truth.
"I heard that your title as one of the Legendary Sannin was earned during the Second Shinobi World War," Tianyuan noted. "If a great war truly breaks out, I'll have to look to you for guidance, Orochimaru-sensei."
"As a teacher, I will naturally guide my student," Orochimaru said slowly.
By then, the two of them had arrived at the Hokage Building.
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