The 32nd year of Konoha, the 31st year of Iwagakure.
Chi Chen's strength also steadily improved through day after day of practice and learning.
At this moment, he was concentrating on controlling his chakra. Just like his teacher Ohnoki's signature, powerful but obviously pre-swinging Dust Release technique, Chichen was trying to refine and instantaneously release the power of Dust Release.
Following the guidance of his thoughts, five or six fist-sized cubes emitting faint blue light quietly condensed and floated behind him.
They are like living stars, rhythmically moving with Chi Chen's thoughts.
Chi Chen's mind moved slightly, and one of the cubes instantly turned into a slender but deadly blue beam of light that shot out, silently melting a small hole in the specially made rock wall in the distance.
"It's done!" A hint of excitement flashed in Chi Chen's eyes.
This move is the prototype of the "Dust Release: Skyfall" which he named. The unit consumption of this ninjutsu is far less than that of the large-scale Dust Release, and its advantage lies in its extremely fast speed and unexpectedness.
More importantly, as he gets older, Chi Chen can now mobilize certain forces in the environment around him more and more easily. Combined with his own chakra, he can even condense a small amount of Dust Release chakra directly outside his body, so this move can be regarded as a unique ninjutsu of Mu Yan.
His goal was to eventually break up the Dust Release into hundreds of smaller cubes, creating a rainstorm-like, covering attack.
Maybe in the future we can be like the legendary Ninja God, clapping our hands and releasing thousands of beams of light!
Although it was just a concept given his current chakra level, he still had to take one step at a time.
"Hmph, brat, fiddling with your 'little cube' again?" Ōnoki's voice floated from the side with a barely perceptible smile.
He was suspended in mid-air, arms folded, seemingly serious, but the gleam in his small eyes had already revealed the old man's mood.
This disciple was not only gifted with exceptional strength, but also surpassed his master in the creativity of ninjutsu, having taken Dust Release to new heights, something he himself could never achieve. Even he was amazed by the instantaneous, overlapping, and versatile use of Dust Release; this was exactly what a normalized Dust Release attack should be like.
Unfortunately, most people can't do what Chi Chen said, which is to sense a certain energy in the air, so Chi Chen has to learn it himself.
Chi Chen guessed that the energy was natural energy, but this could not be confirmed.
"Yes, teacher," Chi Chen replied, "I feel like I'm one step closer to my goal. If I can, as you said, elevate my understanding of the changing nature of chakra to a higher level, I should be able to support more sophisticated operations."
"The direction is right, but there's no rush!" Ōnoki floated closer and gently tapped Chichen on the head with the scroll. "Chakra is the foundation of a ninja, and controlling it precisely requires meticulous practice. Your 'Skyfall' idea is good, but wanting to create a 'rainstorm'? It's not too late to wait until your body has grown."
Although Ohnoki's words contained a hint of warning, the pride of "My disciple is indeed amazing" was almost overflowing from his upturned red nose.
In the past two years, Ohnoki has long regarded Chichen as his own child, and of course Chichen has long regarded Ohnoki as his father.
Here, Ohnoki is both the majestic Tsuchikage and the strict teacher, but also the "old naughty boy" who laughs heartily at his students' achievements and hums when his back pain is relieved by Chichen's precise earth escape massage.
"Yes, teacher." Chi Chen rubbed the place where he was hit, and the corners of his mouth curled up. This kind of family-like care really made people feel comfortable.
"By the way, teacher, I will be six years old in a few days."
"Hmm?" Ohnoki stroked his beard and looked at his disciple with consideration and expectation, "Time flies. What's up, what ideas do you have in your little head? Do you want me to give you a vacation, or do you want a special birthday present?" He joked deliberately.
Chi Chen shook his head and became serious: "Teacher, I want to apply for early graduation."
Ohnoki's altitude dropped slightly, his eyes sharpening. "Oh? The reason?"
"The basic theory and physical training at school are close to saturation for me. After all, there are limits. If I want to improve further, I need to accumulate real ninja experience and face more complex situations.
"Chi Chen paused, looked directly at his teacher, and spoke with a solemnity that transcended his age, "Besides, teacher, the ninja world is about to be in turmoil. The Second Ninja World War is about to break out!"
Ohnoki was slightly shocked, but remained expressionless: "Oh? How can you be so sure at such a young age?"
He possessed a wealth of intelligence, knowing that border friction was intensifying, supply allocation was abnormal, and a major war was imminent. Furthermore, the pressure on the village had already caused the old man, Ōnoki, to seek a share of the profits. However, Chichen's keen perception of this surprised him again.
Chi Chen sorted out his thoughts and analyzed clearly, "The main reason is to look at the difficulties faced by various countries!"
"The Wind Country, Sand Village, is going crazy with poverty! Border conflicts have been increasing over the years, just like hungry wolves fighting for food. With so few resources to begin with, internal conflicts are almost uncontrollable, so they can only rob from outside. They are not only eyeing the mines in the Earth Country, but also coveting the fat piece of meat in the Fire Country! They will also break through the Rain Country and earn a piece of land in the Grass Country."
"And Hanzo of the Rain Country is trying to take advantage of the chaos. The Rain Country is already sandwiched between our three nations. He's already dissatisfied with the actions of the other nations towards the Rain Country over the years. He'll definitely do his best to sow discord between Sunagakure and Konoha, or even create trouble, so he can profit from the situation."
"Konoha? It's too strong! The land is fertile and the people are strong, there are many talented people, and its strength is far ahead of everyone else. Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, who wouldn't be afraid of it? The lessons of the First Shinobi World War are still there, no one will sit idly by and watch it become stronger! A war that weakens Konoha and reshuffles the cards is something everyone will welcome. Kirigakure and Kumogakure will be happy to support it even if they don't participate."
He thrust his sword towards the Iwagakure area and said, "Look at us! Our business seems prosperous, but Konoha holds our lifeblood in its hands! Our food, ninja tools, and medicinal herbs...we rely on imports or are controlled by the Fire Nation's capital! If Konoha chokes us, we'll suffocate immediately. If war comes, we'll be ready to turn the tables. The Daimyo will be happy with this and will definitely provide us with substantial financial support."
Finally, he lowered his voice with a hint of helplessness: "Maintaining our huge civilian ninja system is almost overwhelming our finances! Pensions, schools, infrastructure are all in short supply. War is cruel, but the spoils of victory, new lands, and resources centralized during wartime are also the only opportunity to reform internally and alleviate the difficulties. Teacher, this is our chance to change the fate of the Land Kingdom!"
Listening to his disciple's clear and to-the-point analysis, Ohnoki could no longer conceal the admiration in his eyes.
He slowly descended from the air, his feet lightly touching the ground, walked in front of Chi Chen, and patted Chi Chen's shoulders heavily with his old but powerful hands: "Good! Good! Good! Thorough analysis! It seems that those scrolls were not read in vain, and it is worth it for you to attend the think tank meeting!" He said three good words in a row, and his red nose became even redder with excitement.
"Yes, the storm is coming. Sunagakure has revealed its scorpion tail, and Konoha will not tolerate provocations from surrounding countries!"
He paced around the office in a suspended circle, his hands behind his back. His hawk-like gaze swept over the map of the Land of Earth on the rock wall. "So, tell me, how do you think we, the Hidden Rock Village, should respond? How can we, in this chaotic situation, fight for a better future for the Land of Earth and for the Hidden Rock Village?"
He threw this heavy question to his disciple, who was only six years old but had already shown amazing potential.
Chi Chen took a deep breath and scanned the familiar outline of the Hidden Rock Village on the map, which was made up of countless rough stone houses and warm lights. He thought of the uncle selling pancakes on the street, Adai who worked as a helper in the grocery store, Yaya who always gave him pebbles, and his companions who sweated on the training ground... He wanted to protect these ordinary and precious daily lives. He couldn't care about other people, but for the sake of the Land of Earth!
He raised his head, his eyes burning with a firm and calm fire, his voice was not loud, but it was filled with rock-hard determination:
"Use it, Master! Use this great war, under the shadow of war, to gather all our strength, wisdom, and determination to break the shackles that have bound the Land of Earth for generations: the shackles of food, the scarcity of resources, the fragility of the economy!"
"We should develop our own agriculture, mining, and manufacturing industries, independent of others! We don't need to pay too much, we just need to demonstrate our strength and be given the opportunity to develop ourselves."
Chi Chen knew that the Third War would not come for more than ten years after the Second War. Negotiation in the meantime would not solve the problem. Only by winning and then reforming could things change in the Third War, which would truly determine the fate of the Land of Earth!
Feiliu, Yaya, Kuroiwa, Miko, Shino... everyone will not die. I'm sorry, I'm such a hypocritical guy. I have reasons to do this!
"This war is not for conquest, but for self-strengthening! Not for plunder, but for protection! Rebuild the faith of our Land of Earth!"
"The future of the Land of Earth shouldn't be about children sweating on the training grounds only to become consumables!"
"It should be a stone school, filled with the sounds of reading, where children, whether ninja or civilian, can learn knowledge and choose their own path!"
"It should be a terraced field, irrigated by underground springs, with granaries overflowing, no longer subject to the control of others!"
Chi Chen's voice trembled slightly, and the vivid faces of his companions flashed through his mind. "Fei Liu, Ya Ya, Hei Yan, Mei Zi, Shi Ye... and every uncle hawking on the street, and A Dai who worked as a helper... These children, whose fathers sacrificed their lives for the village, deserve a better life!"
He clenched his fists, as if he wanted to remember these people's faces firmly. "We need to recast our slogan. The Rock Consciousness shouldn't just belong to ninjas, but to all the people living in the Land of Earth, whether they are ninjas or civilians! We should make everyone realize that they are also members of the village, and we are here to make their lives better!
Chi Chen took a deep breath, his eyes burning with light: "Teacher, this is the future I want to create!"
··························································································
Support My Work!
Hi! I'm SAAD, the author of "Naruto: Rise of the Dust Release Tsuchikage". I'm working hard to continue writing and publishing new chapters for this story.
If you enjoy my work and want to support me, you can do so via PayPal here: https://www.paypal.me/saadmenai
Any contribution, big or small, makes a huge difference and helps me create more content for you.
Thank you so much for your support!