[Read up to Chapter - 92 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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The trigger for the Third Great Shinobi War was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage.
Suspecting Konoha's involvement, Sunagakure launched an attack on the Land of Fire's border and officially declared war on Konoha.
In truth, the Third Kazekage had been killed by Sasori, who didn't even leave the body behind—instead, he turned it into one of his human puppets.
But the Kazekage's disappearance was merely a pretext.
Even without it, the Third Great Shinobi War would have erupted regardless.
Sunagakure had long set its sights on Konoha.
And they weren't the only ones.
Many villages coveted the Land of Fire—rich in natural resources and home to the powerful Hidden Leaf Village.
To put it bluntly, the Great Ninja Wars were wars of profit.
Grudges and hatred were only secondary motivations.
"Sasori of the Red Sand… the Third Kazekage… I'll steal your thunder," Kanzou muttered with a smirk.
Kanzou had already entertained the idea of killing the Third Kazekage.
He wanted to personally ignite the fuse of the Third Great Shinobi War.
"But not yet... the nations aren't ready to fight right now."
It had only been 40 years since Konoha's founding, and according to the original timeline, the Third Ninja War wouldn't erupt for a few more years.
But Kanzou had no intention of waiting that long. At most, he would wait one more year—then, he would ensure the war breaks out.
Once war erupts, accumulating evil points would become much faster.
Even if killing one human only grants 100 evil points, what if he kills hundreds? Thousands?
Now he is no killing machine… but it's different when it comes to a war.
In a war, he has no other choice but to kill as many as he can… and if he kills enough… then he would also earn enough evil points.
Although the Third Ninja War wasn't likely to start immediately, Kanzou was already laying the groundwork.
And who said the death of the Third Kazekage was the only way to trigger it? There were plenty of other methods to start a war.
For instance, if Kanzou were to weaken Konoha's military strength, wouldn't the other Shinobi villages catch wind of it and pounce like wolves?
"All this, just to earn more evil points… what a burden," Kanzou muttered, half in amusement and half in frustration.
He opened the system shop, browsed through it briefly, then shut it again.
Kanzou's top priority was obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
No matter how tempting abilities like Kamui, Flying Raijin, or the Sage Body might be, he had resolved not to spend any of his evil points on them until he acquired the Eternal Mangekyō.
The system offered several types of Sage Bodies. Kanzou could afford some, such as the Sage Body of the average shinobi of the Senju clan or the Uzumaki clan—but he wasn't interested in those.
What Kanzou desired was the perfect Sage Body—that of Senju Hashirama.
The Sage Body possessed by Hashirama wasn't even in the same league as the ordinary ones inherited by the rest of the Senju clan.
…
The next day, after finishing up with the breakfast prepared by Mikoto, Kanzou made his way to the training ground.
Accompanying him was Mikoto.
He had no intention of keeping her at home like a decorative vase—he brought her along to train and grow stronger.
Mikoto specialised in ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
As for taijutsu, she was competent, but like most Kunoichi, she was generally at a disadvantage compared to male ninjas in terms of raw physical strength.
Of course, there were notable exceptions—Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, for example. Another was Uzumaki Kushina, Mikoto's close friend.
While Kushina was a master of sealing techniques, her taijutsu wasn't weak either.
What made both women exceptional was that they possessed strong Bodies, which not only provided vast chakra reserves but also significantly enhanced their physical capabilities.
Mikoto herself was adept with Fire Style and Lightning Style ninjutsu.
Kanzou, showing no hesitation, began teaching her Chidori.
Mikoto was deeply moved by Kanzou's willingness to teach her without reservation.
In the ninja world, it's important to understand that even fathers and sons, siblings, and friends often hesitate to teach each other ninjutsu without holding something back.
Mikoto was someone who could be easily moved by small gestures, which, naturally, worked in Kanzou's favour.
Kanzou had also been working on developing a new ninjutsu technique, a project he had been refining for over a day. Ever since acquiring Chidori from the system, Kanzou had been researching ways to evolve it into something greater.
Today, he finally made a breakthrough.
"Lightning Style: Raikiri."
Kanzou successfully released Raikiri, the bolt of chakra piercing cleanly through a solid steel pillar. Its destructive force clearly justified its rank as an S-class jutsu.
Compared to Chidori, Raikiri was not only more powerful but also lacked the major weakness of its predecessor. Chidori required a full-speed charge to build up momentum, relying heavily on velocity to amplify its piercing power. Without the Sharingan, it was a dangerously difficult jutsu to control—something Raikiri had overcome to a certain degree.
Due to the high running speed required, Chidori can easily miss its target if the user can't see clearly—worse, it opens the user up to counterattacks. That's why the Sharingan's perception is critical for using it effectively.
However, the need for a sprint to activate the jutsu is a drawback in itself. The further the sprint, the stronger the impact—but this dependence on movement limits its versatility.
Raikiri, on the other hand, is different. It can be activated from a stationary position and still delivers immense power—arguably even more than Chidori.
"Amazing," Mikoto murmured, genuinely stunned as she witnessed Raikiri's force firsthand.
She is an expert in Lightning Style… therefore, she understands the attack power of the Jutsu used by Kanzou.
The jutsu had pierced cleanly through a solid steel pillar—almost effortlessly. That kind of power was overwhelming.
If it could penetrate steel so easily, then against flesh and blood, it would be unstoppable.
It might even be capable of breaking through Susanoo's defence.
Moreover, Mikoto couldn't help but remark that she had never seen this particular Lightning Jutsu before. Curious, she asked,
"Kan-sama… is this a new Jutsu? Did you develop it yourself?"
"Did I develop it?" Kanzou murmured, blinking.
Considering that little Kakashi was still just a kid, there was no way he could claim credit for creating Chidori or Raikiri yet.
As for the moral question of stealing Kakashi's future technique and making it his?
Well, wasn't Kakashi famously known as the Copy Ninja only because of the Sharingan he stole from the Uchiha Clan? He even gained the title Kakashi of the Sharingan despite not being an Uchiha himself.
So if Kakashi could steal the Uchiha's eye, then why couldn't Kanzou steal Kakashi's Chidori?
Besides, even if Kakashi hadn't taken the Sharingan, Kanzou had no issues claiming someone else's glory as his own.
With a proud smile, he nodded and said, "That's right… I developed it myself. So, what do you think of this Jutsu?"
"It's really… lethal," Mikoto murmured, almost to herself.
"It is, isn't it?" Kanzou chuckled. "Lethal enough to pierce straight through a woman's heart in one swoop… and make her fall in an instant."
Mikoto tilted her head, her expression full of question marks. "???"
"Anyway… putting that aside, do you want to learn this Jutsu?" Kanzou asked.
"Will you teach me?" Mikoto replied curiously.
"Of course," Kanzou nodded. "You're my precious black swan. I'll teach you whatever's necessary to make you become the perfect version of yourself...."
Mikoto murmured shyly, saying, "I'll do my best to become the perfect version as per your tastes, Kan-sama…"
Kanzou nodded, "Of course, of course, I am sure you'll be able to become that…" then added after a pause, "Ah—but let's agree not to try to reach out for each other's hearts using this technique, okay? We don't need the chirping of a thousand birds to tell us about our feelings… I've got a little dragon that handles that job just fine."
Mikoto blinked and tilted her head again, still confused. "Chirping of a thousand birds, little dragon???"
Kanzou sighed in exasperation. "Sometimes, you really need Redditors in your life… It's the world that's wrong, not me."
Shaking his head, he continued, "Anyway, let's get started. At the basic level, it's an A-rank Jutsu—Chidori. Once you fully master it, it becomes the S-rank Raikiri. Though it may not match the Third Raikage's Hell Stab in raw power, there are variations of this technique that make it incredibly versatile—and worth mastering."
That technique, renowned as the strongest spear in the ninja world, was something Kanzou still longed to see for himself.
Now that the Third Raikage is still alive, Kanzou truly has a chance to witness that legendary technique.
After successfully explaining things about Chidori to Mikoto and guiding her to practice, Kanzou began to focus on his own things, such as perfecting the Raikiri… but he didn't stop there—he continued exploring other jutsu, particularly the integration of Nature-less Rasengan with Nature Transformation.
The Rasengan had immense potential—after all, even the protagonist Uzumaki Naruto used endless variations of it all the way to the end of the story.
"Fire Style: Rasengan!"
A fiery red, spiral-shaped sphere formed in Kanzou's hand.
He hurled it forward, and it exploded after travelling more than ten metres.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, Kanzou quickly retreated from the area.
Within seconds, the explosion's flames consumed the spot where he had just been standing.
"…Still not stable enough," he muttered.
It erupted just a few metres after being thrown.
Kanzou had envisioned the technique striking an enemy and then releasing flames that would engulf them entirely.
Unfortunately, it was still incomplete and unstable.
For now, Kanzou would have to continue refining it through trial and error.
The technique already showed considerable power—even in its unfinished state.
Its destructive radius spanned tens of metres, and the temperature of the flames was incredibly intense.
"If I had the terrifying chakra reserves of the Uzumaki clan, I might have completed this long ago."
The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was incredibly useful for developing new jutsu—but Kanzou didn't have chakra that vast. While he did use shadow clones to assist in his training, he could only create a limited number.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 92 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]