Chapter 106: The Archive Room
At that thought, a bold idea suddenly rose in Kael's mind.
"Since funds are sufficient now, it would be best to recruit every child in the Land of Hot Water into the Ninja Academy. They can serve as a reserve force. After graduation, they don't necessarily have to become active shinobi; they can continue doing what they love. But this would undoubtedly create a nation of shinobi. That way, even if Konoha or the Hidden Cloud launch a large-scale offensive against us, I can calmly mobilize enough ninja to face them..."
Several days earlier, Konoha Village.
The Archive Room.
Located in a relatively remote part of Konoha, this building housed the files of all active Konoha shinobi, as well as personal information and ability assessments of known ninja from other countries.
Its importance went without saying, so it was guarded by Konoha shinobi year-round. However, most of the people working inside were ordinary civilians without ninja abilities, serving as clerks to organize the files.
Normally, few shinobi came here, but today was an exception.
On the second floor, where intelligence on foreign ninja was stored. Generally, once a famous ninja's profile was recorded, it wouldn't change for a long time unless their strength underwent a major shift in a short period.
"Minato, how is the intelligence compilation coming along?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked softly, taking a puff from his pipe.
Beside him, Minato Namikaze kept his head down, writing earnestly. "Almost done. I've nearly finished updating the analysis of his intelligence," he replied without looking up.
A few minutes later, he handed the freshly minted file to Hiruzen, breathing a slight sigh of relief. He felt more exhausted than he would after a major battle.
Hiruzen took the file and slowly opened it to read.
[Personal Intelligence: Kael Cross, Second Leader of the Hidden Hot Water Village]
Compared to the report provided by Danzo three years ago, the information had changed drastically.
The opening line was written in large, bold characters that immediately caught the eye:
This individual possesses a unique ability in the Shinobi World to cultivate Summoning Beasts!
"A giant eagle mastering the power of wind and lightning! A large yellow dog and a chicken in overalls mastering mysterious Yin Release abilities! And an unknown summon possessing a defensive jutsu capable of withstanding a continuous barrage of Tailed Beast Bombs completely unharmed! Plus two summons with space-time abilities..."
Hiruzen's expression gradually became grave. Smoke curled slowly from his pipe, which he forgot to remove from his mouth as his eyes continued down to the more detailed information.
Earth Dragon: Possesses the ability to travel underground. Despite its massive size, it has extreme speed, capable of dodging attacks from the Raikage's son in full-speed Lightning Style Chakra Mode. In the previous battle with Danzo Shimura, it demonstrated impressive defense, tanking a full-power Wind Style attack. It also masters a terrifying Earth-nature transformation never seen before in the Shinobi World—spitting a beam of light that turns humans into stone.
Note: There is one record of failure. The Third Raikage's son was hit directly but escaped, seemingly without major injury. However, judging by the reaction of his adopted brother, Killer B, the Raikage's son likely over-drafted his Lightning Style Chakra Mode to escape, causing immense physical strain.
Threat Level: A
Thunder-Wind Eagle: Masters extremely strong Wind and Lightning nature and shape transformation. Possesses rapid flight capabilities.
Threat Level: A
Big Yellow Dog (Goldie): Masters Lightning Style Chakra Mode and the Third Raikage's exclusive Hell Stab nintaijutsu series. Close combat ability is exceptional! Most critically, it possesses a bizarre Yin Release jutsu that controls the mind. Those gazed upon by it will involuntarily attack it. There are three recorded instances:
Used against Konoha Jonin Minato Namikaze; the target had no resistance.
Used against Root Leader Shimura Danzo; similarly, little resistance was shown, and he had to bite his tongue to break the genjutsu.
Used in conjunction with the "Overalls Chicken" to trap the Third Raikage's son, forcing him to attack the caster while ignoring all other attacks.
This dog can also shoot two incredibly thin, seven-colored beams from its eyes, causing extreme penetration and high-temperature burning damage. Judging by the reaction of the Raikage's son, even with Lightning Release Armor, he did not dare to take this attack.
Threat Level: A
Green-Backed Mantis (Void Mantis): Possesses extremely rare space-time abilities! Teleportation, intangibility, and extremely strong taijutsu make this mantis an assassin hiding in the void. If it gets close, it is a nightmare for any ninja! It has only one recorded action, but it successfully ambushed and heavily injured the Third Raikage's son, forcing him to use lightning to cauterize the wound.
Threat Level: S
??? Mysterious Summon (Void Mouse): Also possesses rare space-time abilities. The physical form has not been clearly seen, but it used a strange jutsu that twisted space, nearly dragging the Third Raikage's son into a spatial rift.
Threat Level: A
Overalls Chicken (Kun Kun): This summon appears to have no offensive capabilities, but its singing possesses powerful healing abilities. Its dancing seems to carry a strange magic in every movement, causing those who see it to lose control. It is suspected to master an extremely strong defensive ninjutsu with a massive range. Its suspected feat is tanking the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's Continuous Tailed Beast Bombs without a scratch.
Threat Level: A
??? Mysterious Summon (Tabby Cat): Suspected to possess possession abilities. Can emit a starlight ripple that repels all objects. Other abilities unknown.
Threat Level: Unknown
Gray Wolf: ...
At the very end of the file, Hiruzen saw a line of text specifically highlighted with a red underline.
[Kael Cross's Summoning Beasts are suspected to possess the ability for continuous growth!]
Hiruzen's expression suddenly turned dark. He unconsciously tightened his grip, crumpling the high-quality paper with a crunching sound.
He looked at Minato and asked in a deep voice, "Why do you judge that his summons have the ability to continue growing? Did the strength of the summons Danzo encountered before change compared to this time?"
Minato shook his head slightly, looking hesitant before speaking slowly.
"I met Kael Cross once, several years ago. At that time, there was a small yellow puppy lying on his shoulder. I remember it clearly; the puppy was very cute, with big ears and round eyes, and it even stuck its tongue out at me! I suspect that puppy is the current massive yellow dog. After all... they both master that bizarre Yin Release jutsu!"