Year 62 of Konoha Calendar.
More than three years had passed since the Land of Stars successively defeated the two great nations, Land of Wind and Land of Earth.
Within the Star Ninja Academy in Star City, vitality and energy were as always.
On the training ground, a high-grade practical combat training session was fiercely underway.
Karin's vibrant red hair flew as she nimbly dodged several shuriken formed from sand that whistled towards her.
Without a moment's pause, she raised her right hand and shouted sharply:
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Instantly, three golden Chakra Chains, as if possessing life, surged from behind her. Carrying powerful sealing force, they shot straight towards Gaara opposite her.
Gaara's expression was focused. His giant gourd of sand was strapped to his back. A large amount of sand rapidly flowed back under his precise control, solidifying into a sturdy sand shield in front of him, completely and thoroughly protecting him.
However, the unique sealing power of the Adamantine Sealing Chains had a strong suppressing effect on Chakra Constructs. Although the golden chains didn't directly pierce the sand shield, the sealing force they emitted noticeably made Gaara's control over the sand sluggish and heavy.
On the nearby spectator stands, Temari and Kankuro watched their younger brother inside the arena with tense expressions, their faces full of worry.
Sitting beside them, Kurotsuchi waved her fists, loudly cheering Karin on. "Karin! Go! Break that guy's turtle shell!"
Seizing the moment of the sand shield's sluggishness, Karin burst Chakra from her feet. Her figure shot like lightning, swiftly closing in on Gaara.
She clenched her fists, her knuckles covered with a layer of solidified chakra. Using the [Iron Fist Sanction] she learned from her Taijutsu teacher, she aimed at a minute gap in the sand shield caused by the energy interference and struck fiercely!
Thud!
A dull sound rang. The sand shield's defense was precisely penetrated. Karin's fist, trailing sand grains, solidly landed on Gaara's cheek, sending him stumbling back several steps.
However, just as Karin hit her target, at the moment her old force was spent and new force not yet generated, a sudden change occurred!
The seemingly scattered sand on the ground around her, as if living creatures, abruptly surged up like a yellow wave, instantly entangling Karin's legs and rapidly climbing upwards.
In the blink of an eye, it completely engulfed and bound her, forming an airtight sphere of sand.
Sand Coffin!
Gaara, after being knocked back, steadied himself and stood up from the ground.
He raised a hand, gently wiping away a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. His emerald-green eyes were calm and unruffled as he looked at Karin, completely trapped by the sand, and announced plainly:
"I win."
The referee, Pakura, immediately stepped forward and announced loudly, "Combat ends. Winner: Gaara!"
Only then did Gaara move his will. The sand binding Karin rapidly dispersed like a receding tide, flowing back into the gourd on his back.
Karin, now free, puffed out her cheeks angrily. She pointed at Gaara, complaining loudly, "You! You knew I'd rush in to hit you, didn't you? That's why you didn't even use a Sand Clone and used your real body as bait!"
Her Adamantine Sealing Chains were extremely sensitive to Chakra Perception… whether it was a clone or not was easy for her to discern.
Gaara crossed his arms in front of his chest, controlling the last wisp of sand back into the gourd. His tone remained flat. "If I didn't lure you close, should I just trade long-range attacks with your Adamantine Sealing Chains? I'm not as dumb as Kankuro."
On the spectator stands not far away, Kankuro, innocently caught in the crossfire, could only awkwardly wipe sweat from his forehead upon hearing his brother's merciless evaluation.
Kurotsuchi jumped down from the stands, ran to Karin's side, and patted her shoulder in consolation. "Alright, alright, don't be mad. This guy's basically a monster. It's normal for us normal humans not to beat him!"
Karin was still a bit unconvinced, pouting and muttering softly, "Hmph! If I could manifest five golden sealing chains, I'd definitely tie this guy up nice and tight. Let's see how he acts all high and mighty then!"
In an office building in the distance, one with an excellent view.
Kabuto, now grown into a young man, wore a neat Star Ninja uniform, his trademark round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
He smiled, pushing his glasses up, and looked through the bright glass window at the energetic children on the training ground below. He said to the gentle-tempered Nono beside him, "Principal, this year's batch of students really has remarkable talent and strength."
Nono wore her usual gentle smile on her face. Her gaze swept lovingly over each figure on the field below as she explained softly, "Kurotsuchi is the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, so her talent is naturally outstanding. Gaara is the son of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and moreover the One-Tail's Jinchuriki, with immense potential. Karin is a princess of the Uzumaki Clan, with a special bloodline. She also hasn't lacked 'special attention' in practical combat training from her older brothers and sisters like Kimimaro and Haku."
"These little ones' strength has long reached Chunin level. The reason they're still at the school is entirely because Shura-sama wants them to have a relatively complete, carefree childhood."
Kabuto nodded in agreement, his tone carrying a trace of emotion. "I originally thought Kimimaro and Haku's batch was already the golden generation. I didn't expect this batch of little ones to surpass their predecessors..."
Over these past three years, the Land of Stars had entered a period of rapid development.
The people's livelihood and economy steadily improved. Science and technology, especially the combination of Chakra Technology and civilian technology, showed significant results. National defense power also advanced with each passing day.
As the nation's strength grew, the Star Ninja Academy's enrollment scale continuously expanded, establishing multiple branches throughout the Land of Stars. Every spring and autumn, talented children from across the nation were selected for enrollment.
Now, the Academy could supply over three hundred qualified Ninjas to the Star Ninja Army and Police Force each year.
Combined with Ninjas selected and trained from the ordinary populace, and the large-scale deployment and iterative updates of Scientific Ninja Tools like Chakra Armor, the Land of Stars currently had over three thousand professional Ninjas in active service.
And as quasi-military forces and important reserve forces, the Police Force and various reserve personnel totaled over five thousand, forming a vast and efficient military system.
Nono seemed to remember something. She took out a small, exquisitely wrapped gift box from a drawer and handed it to Kabuto, a gratified smile on her face. "By the way, Kabuto, I haven't had the chance to congratulate you on your promotion to Captain of the Anbu Intelligence Division. This is a gift for you. Congratulations."
Not long ago, the former Anbu Intelligence Division Captain, Terumi Miru, after marrying Anbu Commander, Hoshigaki Kisame, resigned from her position to become a full-time housewife.
After much consideration, Menma personally ordered the capable and meticulous Kabuto to be transferred back to serve as the captain of this crucial Anbu Intelligence Division.
Kabuto accepted the gift with both hands, a sincere look of gratitude on his face as he thanked her earnestly. "Thank you very much, Principal."
Whatever the principal gave, the sentiment made him feel incredibly warm.
Nono looked at him, her tone carrying a hint of understanding, and asked softly, "However, you specifically came back this time, probably not just to hear my congratulations, right? Are you... here to ask me for personnel?"
Kabuto, having his intentions seen through, pushed up his glasses, revealing a helpless smile that said 'as expected, nothing escapes you', and explained, "After taking over the Intelligence Division, I realized the manpower shortage is much larger than imagined. Especially the long-term infiltration plans for Kirigakure and Kumogakure require fresh blood. Young orphans with clean backgrounds are easier to integrate and less likely to arouse suspicion."
Hearing this, Nono let out a soft sigh.
She well knew that each Ninja Village's counter-espionage capabilities were continuously strengthening. Infiltrating as an adult was extremely difficult. Orphans with no one to rely on were indeed the most suitable candidates.
However, she regarded every child at the Ninja Academy as her own. From the depths of her heart, she was unwilling to see these young lives prematurely step onto that shadowy battlefield, burdened with heavy missions and danger.
Kabuto understood the principal's feelings and patiently explained, "Principal, please rest assured. The current Anbu Intelligence Division has a complete training system. All preparatory personnel undergo at least half a year, or even longer, of systematic training, including infiltration, intelligence gathering, crisis management, psychological resilience, etc."
"Only those who pass all strict assessments, confirmed to possess sufficient ability and temperament, will be dispatched. The path of a Ninja... has never been easy. You know that too."
Nono shook her head, her gaze firm. "Precisely because I know this path is full of thorns and darkness, I want even more, through education, through changing this Ninja World, to let future children not have to repeat such a fate."
She fell silent for a moment, ultimately compromising. "...Let's still follow the rules. If any student voluntarily chooses to join the Anbu and passes the relevant screenings... I won't stop them."
Kabuto bowed slightly. "Thank you for your understanding and support, Principal. I believe, with our increasingly complete logistical support and intelligence network, many of them will definitely live to see the day the Ninja World is unified and true peace arrives with their own eyes."
Nono looked out the window at the clear blue sky, her tone carrying a trace of hope and heaviness. "I hope so."
At the same time, deep underground in the military district of Star City, inside an advanced laboratory.
The atmosphere was completely different from the Academy's liveliness. Here, it was filled with the cold gleam of metal and the low hum of various precision instruments.
Orochimaru's face was dark. Accompanied by several assistants in white coats looking nervous, he walked quickly down a corridor to a thick alloy door.
Coincidentally, another figure also came from around the corner.
Hiruko looked sideways, eyeing Orochimaru with a somewhat mocking gaze, his tone indifferent. "Well, well, Orochimaru, heard you took quite a loss over at the Akatsuki?"
Orochimaru's golden snake-like pupils abruptly contracted. His cold gaze swept over Hiruko, his voice carrying a dangerous rasp. "Who told you that?"
Some time ago, he had attempted to ambush Itachi to seize those coveted Mangekyo Sharingan, only to be instantly defeated by the other party's Genjutsu. If not for his numerous life-saving methods and decisive escape, he might have been finished there.
This was undoubtedly a huge humiliation for him.
Hiruko gave a light snort, seeming to enjoy seeing Orochimaru's discomfiture. "The Akatsuki posted quite a bounty on you at the Exchange. With your personality, if you hadn't taken a big loss, why would you obediently return here?"
A cold aura began to emanate from around Orochimaru. His tongue subconsciously flicked over his lips. "Oh? You think I'm injured, and my strength was greatly reduced? Want to test me while you have the chance?"
Hiruko didn't back down. His right hand instantly became covered with a cold metallic sheen, using Steel Release: Steel Transformation. His five fingers were like sharp blades as he said coldly, "If you want to stretch your limbs, I just happen to want to test how powerful my newly fused Kekkei Genkai really is."
The air between the two instantly became tense and filled with the smell of gunpowder.
The assistants following them, like Tono Katasuke and the others, sensing the dangerous aura emanating from these two scientific madmen, were as quiet as cicadas in winter, trembling, wishing they could shrink into the wall cracks.
At this tense moment, the alloy door of the laboratory hissed open, sliding to both sides.
A figure walked in. It was Menma.
He swept a glance over the two confronting each other and said in a stern tone:
"Both of you, quiet down."
With just that simple sentence, the dangerous aura around Orochimaru and Hiruko instantly subsided by more than half.
Hiruko had been personally subdued by Menma and deeply understood the terror of his strength.
And Orochimaru, after personally experiencing the despair-inducing suppression from Itachi and Pain, held even deeper apprehension towards Shura.
Menma looked at the two, especially Orochimaru, and continued, "The reason I called you here this time isn't for you to fight like animals here. Both of you, follow me inside!"
Hiruko and Orochimaru exchanged a glance, temporarily suppressing their mutual hostility. With their respective assistants, they followed Menma into a more spacious, more advanced laboratory.
Here, several of Menma's shadow clones, wearing white coats, were already busy before various complex instruments.
Menma at this time appeared in his twelve-year-old main body. However, due to ample nutrition and good development, his physique looked more like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old, tall and straight teenager, with a hint of authority beginning to show between his brows.
Without any preamble, Menma directly removed his upper garments, baring his robust upper body, and sat in the complex experimental chair in the center of the room.
Seeing this, Hiruko and Orochimaru immediately entered work mode. Directing their respective assistants, they began skillfully operating various instruments to conduct a comprehensive physical examination on Menma.
Two years ago, after repeated experiments and refinements, the stable version of the [Chimera Technique] was finally successful.
Using the improved technique, Menma successfully absorbed the cells of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, supplemented with the gentle-natured White Zetsu's cells as a neutralizing and stabilizing agent.
Now, his body was undergoing a world-shaking transformation. Whether it was physical strength, vitality, or the total amount and quality of Chakra, it had reached an extremely terrifying level.
Orochimaru looked at the Chakra monitoring instrument connected to Menma. The numbers displayed soared continuously, finally stabilizing at a jaw-dropping level.
He couldn't help but let out a hoarse exclamation, his golden snake-like eyes flashing with a mix of awe and greed. "Truly... an astonishing evolution of life. This Chakra quantity is practically comparable to a Tailed Beast!"
On the other side, Hiruko held a sharp scalpel infused with Chakra, carefully attempting to make a small incision on Menma's arm to extract the latest cell samples for comparative analysis.
However, the moment the blade just made a tiny cut, almost in the next second, the muscle tissue at the wound wriggled and healed at a visible rate, instantly restoring it to its original state without leaving a trace.
Hiruko frowned, having to hold his breath and focus again, more carefully concentrating Chakra on the blade tip, cutting the skin once more.
The same situation occurred again… the wound healed instantly.
Even Hiruko, a seasoned Elite Jonin, had to try three times repeatedly. Finally, relying on extremely precise Chakra Control and lightning-fast hand speed, he managed to extract a minuscule amount of cell tissue in the instant before the wound healed.
He looked at the precious sample in the petri dish, then at the calm Menma on the experimental chair. His eyes were also filled with shock.
This near-immortal regenerative ability, immense vitality, and vast, sea-like Chakra… this was the perfect physique they researchers dreamed of.
Sage Body!