An eager Kurenai Yuhi rushed to Anya's house, only to find it empty. She felt a bit disappointed, but then remembered that the Third Battle had ended, and her spirits lifted. With the war over, he probably wouldn't be away on missions all the time anymore, right?
But for several days straight, Kurenai came by every time only to find the room empty, and her mood plummeted. What was going on? The war was already over—why hadn't Anya come home at all? Where exactly had he gone?
Forget it. She decided to go ask her father.
After returning to Konoha, Red had already learned most of the details about the Third Battle, but he still had trouble believing the story of Anya defending Mount Hakuto and killing over twenty thousand Allied Forces with poison.
"Could that really have been the work of that child?"
Sarutobi replied solemnly, "He's no longer a child. He's the Head of Anbu—the same position you once held. Right now, only Minato holds more power than him in Konoha."
Thinking about how both the Hokage and Anbu Head positions had been given to such young individuals, Red couldn't help but admire Sarutobi's boldness.
"Did he refuse to explain how the battle went?"
Sighing, Sarutobi said, "Yes. I can tell Anya is a man with his own ideas. I can't read him at all. What about you? What do you think of him?"
If it had been in the past, Red would've immediately declared that Anya was a good kid. But now, he was uncertain. Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know either."
Sarutobi understood Red's feelings and continued, "His Anbu codename, Night, has been officially declared dead. I can't allow other villages to know that Konoha ninja were responsible for what happened at Mount Hakuto, let alone that survivors still exist. The reason I gave Anya the position of Anbu Head was not just to give him power, but also to keep him in check. Now that I've stepped down, it's the perfect time to observe him closely."
Back home, Red was deep in thought. Anya's ruthlessness had shocked him. The need for absolute secrecy surrounding his Anbu identity meant that if the truth ever leaked, the other villages wouldn't let it go easily—potentially triggering the Fourth Great Ninja War.
As the winning side, Konoha was certainly infiltrated by spies from rival villages, so utmost caution was necessary. Sarutobi's final task for him was to uncover these infiltrators within the village and deal with them accordingly.
Just then, Yuhi returned home and quickly ran up to ask, "Father, do you know where Anya has gone?"
Red stiffened instantly, instinctively replying, "No, you must never look for him again."
"Huh?" Yuhi couldn't believe her ears. "What did you just say?"
"I said," Red repeated firmly, "don't look for him. His current identity is under strict confidentiality. The village will also arrange a new residence for him. There's no need for you to go to his place anymore."
"Why not?" Yuhi asked, confused.
"It's classified. I can't explain it to you."
For the first time, the father and daughter got into a heated argument. Eventually, Yuhi slammed the door and stormed out, leaving Red sighing helplessly behind.
Inside the laboratory, Anya, immersed in his research, had lost all sense of day and night. He looked terrible, disheveled and unkempt, much like the scientists from his former life when he was conducting experiments.
During this time, Danzo dropped by a few times, but Anya always stopped him at the door. As for whether Danzo would snitch, Anya wasn't too worried. After all, this was Root territory, and it was Danzo himself who restarted the experiment. If Danzo reported him, Anya had countless ways to shift the blame completely onto him, letting Danzo truly live up to his playful nickname, "Kage of the Pot."
The experiment's progress wasn't ideal. At this moment, Anya greatly missed the Serpent Master. When it came to knowledge reserves, he still lagged far behind. The available test subjects were also limited, and the entire process and equipment were pretty basic—this was still the result of the Serpent Master working things remotely. Otherwise, with just Danzo's men, this experiment would've already failed.
Anya did try introducing the cells directly into his own body once. The results were quite terrible—the section of flesh that absorbed the cells nearly turned completely wooden. Fortunately, he expelled them in time.
Hashirama's Cells possessed extremely active cellular properties, accelerating cell division and enhancing the body's vitality when injured. In this aspect, they were extremely similar to the cells of The Third Raikage. However, there was a fundamental difference.
The Third Raikage's cells required self-stimulation through lightning chakra, while Hashirama's cells needed no such activation. Put simply, one was active while the other was passive.
Anya also happened to study The Third Raikage's cells and gained even more insights.
He had witnessed the entire battle between The Third Raikage and ten thousand Iwa ninja from start to finish. His Sharingan had already thoroughly analyzed all the ninjutsu techniques used by the Raikage.
This time, through studying the cells, Anya developed a new defensive lightning release technique, naming it [Lightning Field]. Unlike the Raikage's Lightning Armor, this technique didn't form armor. Instead, it created a glowing eight-sided shield around the user. Each curved surface of the shield emitted blue luminescence, and these lights gradually converged, forming eight illusory forms of crackling lightning circling around the body from all sides, constantly rotating.
From afar, layers of barriers formed around Anya, overlapping outside his body in a regular spiral pattern.
One advantage of this technique was that it saved chakra. By dividing the body into eight zones for defense, when one area was attacked, lightning energy from other areas would flow in specifically for targeted defense. This significantly reduced the demand for physical toughness. However, the disadvantage was also apparent—the defensive power was definitely weaker than The Third Raikage's, and if attacked from all directions at once, this defense would become quite strained, making Rashōmon more practical in such situations.
However, in close combat, it was a significant enhancement, greatly increasing the room for mistakes.
Though his original objective hadn't been achieved, he did gain an unexpected benefit. Through analyzing the Raikage's cells, Anya discovered more applications for lightning chakra, beyond just Lightning Armor. Ippon Gogotsu also made Anya's eyes light up.
Lightning Release was a powerful offensive ninjutsu. As the ultimate spear, Ippon Gogotsu's power surpassed even Lightning Armor. Compared to that, Chidori, which was also a piercing technique, paled significantly in comparison.
This also happened to be perfect for researching his own Lightning Blade Art, potentially elevating it to a higher level.
Stimulating their body's cells with Lightning Release chakra, Anya enhanced their cellular activity. By using the Lightning Blade Art again under these conditions, its power would double. This was exactly how the Third Raikage channeled power throughout his body. Not only did this method grant immense defensive capabilities, but even the Pierce, executed under a high-speed charge, became extremely powerful. The fewer fingers used, the more concentrated the attack power became, unleashing greater destruction.
The primary point was concentration—focusing all chakra into a single point, compressing the Lightning Release chakra. The smaller the compression, the greater the resulting explosion of power.
Anya's body erupted with surging Lightning Release chakra. Crackling wildly around them, arcs of electricity flashed continuously across their form. Amidst thunder and lightning, the Blade of Indifference left its sheath. Lightning surged frantically into the blade from their body, as if weaving a heavenly net entangled within. The friction between lightning and blade emitted piercing screeches. This sound surged again and again, wrapping and coiling endlessly, trapping anyone in a scream that never seemed to end. When the sound abruptly stopped, the originally indigo-blue sword light transformed into a blinding electric brilliance. The blade's speed was like a flash of lightning—within a blink, the thick, steel-plated lab door was pierced, leaving a gaping hole.
[Lightning Blade Art – Mastery Achieved]
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>