"Who came up with this Lightning Style nintaijutsu?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
"It's incredibly practical."
This technique went by several names: Lightning Style Armor, Lightning Cloak…
According to the memories extracted from Blue B's corpse, the Hidden Cloud Village officially referred to it as Lightning Style Armour.
It wasn't particularly hard to get started with. The basics were accessible.
But mastering it, refining it, and maintaining it as a constant state during combat? The difficulty didn't rise in a straight line. It climbed exponentially.
"Using Lightning Style chakra to activate the body. Stimulating neural response speed with electricity…"
"The lightning wrapped around the body tempers physical strength at the same time. And it serves as a hardened layer of armor."
"This is a nintaijutsu that pushes the human body to its limits."
A faint smile curved Hiruzen's lips. This Lightning Style Armour almost felt tailor-made for him.
In the months since taking over Konoha's administration, he had not achieved anything earthshaking. Still, the village had improved bit by bit.
Outwardly, his body showed no obvious changes.
Yet deep down, he sensed something subtle.
His talent seemed to have fused with Konoha itself. As the village's pulse grew stronger, his own ceiling rose along with it, slowly expanding in step with that rhythm.
The increase was small so far, but solid.
Like a seed buried deep in the soil, steadily drawing in faint traces of life, quietly stretching out its first roots.
All he had to do was convert that expanded ceiling into tangible strength, step by step.
"Training still takes real effort. But in this cruel shinobi world, how many people would give anything just to have a limit they can reach through hard work?"
Balancing village development while maintaining his own strength. Life was busy.
And strangely enjoyable.
After all, being able to soar through the skies and burrow through the earth never got old.
"Authority. Military. Economy. Education. Diplomacy."
Hiruzen turned those five pillars over in his mind.
Authority and military strength spoke for themselves. Economic plans were already underway.
As for diplomacy, the Hokage was quietly waiting for the Hidden Cloud Village to come barking accusations. When they did, he would respond properly and secure a tidy political gain.
"Education, though… that needs more attention."
He thought of the recent report submitted by Sakumo Hatake.
Some of the more elite students at the Ninja Academy were already outgrowing the standard curriculum.
Perhaps a monthly "Hokage in the Classroom" session?
At that moment, shinobi began filtering into the conference room one by one.
"You're here early, sensei?" Orochimaru asked, surprised.
He had deliberately arrived ahead of schedule.
"You're early too, Orochimaru."
Hiruzen chuckled. "Holding meetings in the Hokage Tower just means I'm thinking in a different room."
"Focus on your own responsibilities. Don't turn punctuality into empty formality. Just arrive on time."
Beside him, Danzo Shimura's brow twitched.
He had been debating whether he should arrive even earlier next time, beat Hiruzen to the room…
Damn it. Did that monkey just read his mind?
No. Coincidence.
Danzo sat stiffly, nursing his irritation in silence.
Hiruzen glanced at the clock. Everyone had arrived.
He cleared his throat.
"The operation against the Hidden Cloud Jinchuriki was executed exceptionally well."
"This meeting will focus on analyzing the intelligence extracted from the enemy Jinchuriki and the Head Ninja's corpses. Take a look."
A copied briefing from the Administrative Department lay before each attendee.
The intelligence showed that one major reason the Hidden Cloud Village had rushed to cultivate a Jinchuriki was their long-standing rival, the Hidden Stone Village, appearing to gain preliminary control over the Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
After a moment, Orochimaru spoke thoughtfully. "We need to put contingency planning for tailed beasts and Jinchuriki on the agenda."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavier.
Planning against enemy tailed beasts was one thing.
But within Konoha itself, the topic was sensitive.
Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Mito Uzumaki.
The First Hokage's widow. A former princess of the Uzumaki Clan. A master of sealing jutsu.
She retained control over the Nine-Tails, but she was elderly.
Were they supposed to extract the Nine-Tails in advance for the sake of some future war?
That meant death.
If they did that, Hiruzen's reputation and authority would collapse at terrifying speed.
If the Hokage could treat the First Hokage's widow that ruthlessly, what hope would anyone else have?
On this matter, even Danzo, who always preached toughness and sacrifice, chose to remain silent.
"Given the current trajectory of the shinobi world, if a Third Great Ninja War breaks out, tailed beasts and Jinchuriki will absolutely be deployed on a large scale."
Hiruzen spoke evenly. "We cannot hope the enemy's research into tailed beasts stagnates. At the Jonin level, we must emphasize and popularize anti–tailed beast techniques."
"Genjutsu. Sealing jutsu. Large-scale, high-power techniques. Coordinated multi-person combination jutsu designed specifically to counter tailed beasts."
"The village will open access to related resources and encourage Jonin to study them. But there will also be assessment standards."
"Talented shinobi must hold themselves to a strategic standard equal to a tailed beast. If there are difficulties, bring them to the village."
His gaze shifted briefly to Jiraiya and Danzo.
In terms of combat style, both excelled at large-scale techniques combined with summons. Used properly, they would not fall far behind a Jinchuriki on the battlefield.
"With preparation in advance, given the quality of Konoha's core forces, the strength of a Jinchuriki is not beyond matching."
Heads nodded.
Were Jinchuriki powerful?
Very.
But Konoha's elite were not weak either. With proper urgency and preparation, confidence in the future remained.
"As for our own village's Jinchuriki…" Hiruzen paused slightly.
Ears subtly perked around the table.
Now they were entering dangerous territory.
The kind that even a Hokage struggled to navigate.
"A report Orochimaru submitted, combined with Blue B's memories, provides valuable insight."
He did not mention Mito Uzumaki yet.
"By bloodline, talent, and temperament, Blue B had the qualifications to control the Eight-Tails. So why did he still lose control?"
"According to the Second Hokage's research notes, tailed beast chakra contains extremely negative emotions. And civilians, faced with a Jinchuriki who possesses overwhelming power yet carries the risk of losing control, will always harbor fear."
"Even if they don't speak harshly, they'll distance themselves. That's human nature."
"This creates an environment of extreme emotional isolation. Over time, the Jinchuriki's heart weakens. And the tailed beast breaks free."
He continued.
"Konoha is different. With Lady Mito here, the village's fear of Jinchuriki rampages is far lower than in other hidden villages where incidents occur frequently. That's our advantage."
"So starting now, we must shape public perception. Establish the concepts of 'controllable,' 'sacrificial,' and 'heroic.'"
"Blue B did not possess the special chakra of the Uzumaki Clan like Kushina does. That is her inherent advantage."
Danzo's voice cut in, cold and sharp.
"And if she loses control?"
"If we promote this narrative and it fails, the village's credibility will crumble. Who takes responsibility?"
The tension in the room tightened instantly.