This leap on the mental plane brought Yagyū Souma effects so obvious that he no longer needed the Sharingan to possess terrifying insight.
At times, he even had a faint sense of predicting the enemy's next move—
As if he could feel how the opponent would act in the very next instant.
That said, the sensation came and went.
For now, Souma had no intention of treating it as a reliable ability. If he did, he'd probably die a miserable death sooner or later. He treated it as nothing more than an intermittent intuition.
His real focus was still the same:
Breaking down ninjutsu.
Over the past half month, he had crammed an enormous amount of theory related to chakra nature transformation.
Nature transformation itself wasn't difficult.
The five basic elements, plus Yin and Yang—the two special transformations.
After a single week of theory, Souma had already mastered them completely. The following week, he tested dismantling techniques together with the guard unit.
The result was—
…Not good.
Some ordinary C-rank ninjutsu could be handled, but only those composed purely of chakra energy, such as Fire Release or Lightning Release.
Once it came to Water Release or Earth Release, which involved direct materialization of chakra, it was impossible unless he countered them with corresponding nature transformations. Otherwise, there was nothing to "break," because the chakra had already become matter.
That, at least, was Souma's conclusion.
In everyone else's eyes, however—
"Anko, did Lord Souma call you over again to test ninjutsu dismantling?"
"Yeah. This time he even set up a barrier. My Dragon Flame Technique didn't work at all. Then he started muttering things I couldn't understand and said it still wasn't enough."
"Sigh…"
The two of them sighed in unison.
The troubles of geniuses were something ordinary people simply couldn't comprehend.
"What are you chatting about?"
"L–Lord Souma! We—we're discussing ninjutsu!"
Anko's body went rigid.
Souma narrowed his eyes, then weakly nodded.
"Good. Tsunade-sama has something for me. Train on your own for now—if you don't understand something, go ask Jiraiya-sama."
"Yes!"
The two answered in perfect unison.
Souma nodded once more, then vanished in a flash.
Konoha — Hokage Tower.
Tsunade paced back and forth, utterly unable to calm down. The Third Hokage rarely came to the office anymore; once tomorrow's ceremony was complete, she would officially become the Fifth Hokage.
Yet—
At this very moment, the daimyo's side was pressing relentlessly.
It was honestly—
"Only an idiot would want to be Hokage! And I'm that idiot!"
Tsunade roared, nearly smashing the desk with a punch.
Creaaak—
The door opened. Souma stepped inside.
"Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?"
"Come here. Look at this."
She forced down her anger and shoved a document at him.
"These greedy nobles—sure, they have money, but negotiating with them is a nightmare."
Souma skimmed the document and immediately understood.
The daimyo and his affiliated nobles wanted Konoha to dispatch experts to guide the establishment of guardian ninja and civilian-support ninja systems.
On top of that, they mentioned the unstable political climate and requested additional protection.
Between the lines, it practically screamed:
We want you, Yagyū Souma, to come in person.
Souma fell silent.
"You look like you know something," Tsunade said, frowning.
"Yes. I previously discussed my plans with the daimyo, and he fully supported them. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't suddenly change his stance."
Souma voiced his doubt.
This generation's daimyo wasn't incompetent. He wasn't the type to flip-flop just because someone whispered in his ear.
"You're saying…"
Tsunade's brows knit together. "Someone made him change his mind?"
"Most likely."
Souma nodded.
The daimyo had ambition. Anyone capable of making him willingly alter his plans…
There weren't many such people.
Souma vaguely recalled one of the Guardian Twelve Shinobi—the name escaped him, but he remembered such a person existed. Someone who might even possess a resurrection-type technique.
Probably him.
"And who do you think it is?" Tsunade asked.
"…Hard to say. I've only read about it. The daimyo once formed the Guardian Twelve Shinobi, and someone capable of swaying him would most likely come from that group."
Souma paused, then added,
"Maybe Asuma-senpai knows more."
"Asuma's still in the village. Fine—since the daimyo wants protection, we'll send two squads. Your First Team and the Tenth Team will go together."
Tsunade's expression turned grave.
"Whoever appeared by the daimyo's side at this timing definitely isn't helping him."
"You mean—"
"They might've joined Akatsuki. Using the daimyo to lure you away, then making a move on Naruto."
Tsunade spoke with absolute seriousness.
Souma didn't know what to say.
Logically speaking, Tsunade's conclusion was flawless. He couldn't poke a single hole in it.
The only problem was—
Souma knew the truth.
That person wasn't after the daimyo.
Their real target was Konoha.
Still…
Drawing him away didn't necessarily mean a feint.
After thinking it through, Souma nodded.
"I'll go to the daimyo's estate and see who's behind this. If I get any information, I'll send it back via Flying Thunder God."
His Flying Thunder God was now stable enough to transport objects.
Living beings—
Parasitic insects worked without issue. He hadn't tested the Insect King, but an insect general only slightly smaller had already traveled safely from Konoha to the Sound Village.
This was likely another benefit of his spiritual evolution.
Tsunade hesitated.
"Is your body really fine?"
"My body? What could be wrong with it?"
"You can fool others, but not me. Your mental state hasn't been great lately."
She looked genuinely worried.
Mental issues—
Even she was unfamiliar with that domain, with no idea how to treat it.
Souma hadn't expected this.
In half a month, he had only met Tsunade once—and that conversation had lasted less than three minutes.
Yet she had noticed his slight mind–body delay.
He smiled helplessly.
"You're worrying too much. My spirit's just too strong—my body needed time to catch up."
"Heh."
Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"Too strong? Since when is that a problem?"
She didn't believe him, but still said,
"If you feel something's wrong, don't push yourself. Jiraiya or Kakashi can handle the daimyo too."
"It's really fine."
Turns out telling the truth didn't mean people would believe it.
Souma sighed inwardly.
"Alright. When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow. After your inauguration ceremony, we head straight for the daimyo's estate."
The next day.
Below the Hokage Tower, the crowd roared with excitement. Tsunade stood atop the platform, the Hokage's ceremonial hat resting on her head.
"From today onward—
I will govern the Hidden Leaf Village."
"I am the Fifth Hokage!"
"…!"
She removed the hat. Her tall, commanding figure stood at the edge of the tower rooftop, blonde hair dancing in the wind.
Tsunade—
Officially took office as the Fifth Hokage.
Looking up from below, Souma couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Jealous?"
"Honestly? No."
Souma answered truthfully.
"Being Hokage is exhausting. Until my strength reaches the level I want, I have no interest in wasting my life behind a desk buried in paperwork."
Hearing that, Tenten couldn't hold back.
"Do you have any idea how punchable that sounds to people like us who can only envy it?"
Souma turned and grinned.
"Unfortunately, you can't beat me. Even if Kazusa joins you, you're still not my match."
"Hmph. I'll beat you one day."
Tenten snorted and looked around for Kazusa.
Souma took her hand.
"Don't bother looking. Kazusa would never come somewhere this crowded. Let's go—she's waiting for us on the outskirts."
"What's today's mission?"
"Classified."
Souma answered calmly.
Tenten followed behind him, muttering,
"I swear, you're the real captain now. Tsunade-sama assigned the mission without even telling Captain Yamato—he came to ask me what was going on."
"Uh… timing coincidence."
Souma rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed.
Normally, Yamato should've been informed. Somehow, both he and Tsunade had forgotten.
"Captain Yamato won't mind. I was just saying."
"I know."
When they met Yamato, Souma apologized properly.
Yamato truly didn't care.
From the start, he had positioned himself as someone whose job was simply to accompany important figures. If he did that well, it was already a great contribution.
Authority?
He had known from the beginning he wouldn't have it—and never would.
Yamato scanned their surroundings, then looked back at Souma.
"Anyone else coming?"
"Yes. We're waiting for Team Ten."
"Understood."
Tenten and Kazusa responded instantly; Yamato nodded silently.
Moments later, four figures arrived.
Team Ten.
Souma waved.
Asuma waved back, quickening his pace, then complained,
"Why pick this timing?"
"Speed is key. What—interrupting time with Kurenai-senpai?"
"Cough—don't talk nonsense. We're just good friends."
Asuma's face reddened.
Shikamaru followed behind, utterly speechless.
Sensei, you're basically wearing 'happy' and 'annoyed' on your face.
"This is important. We'll go over details on the road."
Souma spoke decisively.
"Let's head for the daimyo's estate."
"Registered already?"
"No need. We've been assigned a special mission."
With that, Souma took off, the others following immediately.
Once they were beyond Konoha's borders, Souma set up a barrier in a forested area. During their brief rest, he summarized the situation.
Asuma listened, stunned at first—then—
"You think the other party is one of the Guardian Twelve Shinobi?"
"Not certain. There's no concrete intel yet. But someone the daimyo trusts more than me is rare. It should be a ninja he holds in extremely high regard."
Souma explained his reasoning.
Asuma fell into thought.
"The Guardian Twelve split apart long ago. I'm not even sure who's still alive."
"Why did they split?" Shikamaru suddenly asked.
"…That's complicated."
Asuma hesitated, then sighed.
"Factional conflict. Back then, the guardians split into two sides—one believed they should protect the daimyo, the other believed their loyalty should lie with the Hokage."
"Then the other party must be from the daimyo faction," Souma said calmly.
Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
He thought the same—
Most likely, it was one of the old guard.
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