Just as Isshin won the National Swordsmanship Tournament championship and Minato Namikaze returned to headquarters, a sudden anomaly appeared high in the sky, deep within the massive cloud layer that had covered the entire southeastern coastline for days, where lightning and torrential rain alternated endlessly!
The lead-gray thunderclouds that had been rolling uniformly suddenly began to contract violently around a single point, as though an invisible giant hand had plunged deep into the sea of clouds and stirred it fiercely.
Clouds within a nearly a thousand-meter radius trembled.
The edges were torn into countless wisps before being swallowed by even more violent air currents the next moment.
Deep within the clouds, countless lightning serpents danced wildly!
At the center of this storm of lightning, Shinichi stood suspended amidst endless thunder, his eyes tightly closed.
Several hundred longswords, flowing with nearly liquid golden lightning plasma, surrounded him, with their tips pointed outward as they rotated slowly while dense golden electric arcs connected them to one another, weaving a gigantic pulsating electromagnetic network.
The violent natural lightning surging through the clouds seemed drawn by some irresistible force, and from all directions, it crazily converged upon this giant network.
It converged upon the floating golden blades and poured into them.
Some sword hilts fail under the overwhelming energy, emitting strained buzzing sounds before turning into clouds of golden smoke and dispersing within the lightning.
But whenever a certain number was shattered, Shinichi, standing at the center, would form hand seals.
New golden lightning swords would emerge from the void to fill the gaps.
Old swords collapsed, and new swords were born.
The cycle of destruction and rebirth played out endlessly within the thunderclouds, like a silent tug-of-war.
These golden lightning swords were the Blade of the Thunder Spirit copies by the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.
This Ninjutsu was an A-rank Ninjutsu created by the professor of Ninjutsu, the third Hokage, who drew inspiration from the second Hokage's Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Unlike ordinary Shadow Clones, the clones created by the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu possessed durability and resistance to damage far surpassing that of Shadow Clones.
After all, Shadow Clones were meant for probing, distraction, and support.
The objects produced by the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu were genuine weapons intended to kill enemies and contend against enemy Ninjutsu.
At this moment, Shinichi was using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu to transform the Blade of the Thunder Spirit into several hundred copies.
Then, using these duplicated swords as nodes, he laid down an enormous electromagnetic guidance network within the thunderclouds.
The difficulty of this operation exceeded that of simply using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu by countless times.
While maintaining the physical solidity of hundreds of Blade of the Thunder Spirit clones, he also had to preserve their internal lightning properties as much as possible.
He needed to divide his attention among every single sword, controlling its chakra structure, current capacity, and energy threshold.
The slightest imbalance would cause a sword to disintegrate within the thunderclouds.
The level of intricate micro-control and Lightning Style mastery involved was such that only Shinichi, with the support of multiple talents, could barely sustain this nearly insane concept on a theoretical level.
Yet even so, one Blade of the Thunder Spirit after another continued to fail under the relentless bombardment of lightning, dissolving into clouds of smoke amidst the roiling clouds.
However, under the enhancement of Seeing Through Things as Clearly as Observing a Flame, every sword's collapse gave Shinichi a deeper understanding of the conditions required for stability.
Every reconstruction was slightly more stable than the last and was slightly more enduring.
Hundreds of Blade of the Thunder Spirit clones slowly revolved around him.
Another thick silver-white bolt of lightning erupted from deep within the clouds and crashed into the formation of golden lightning swords.
Yet the rate of collapse was gradually slowing, and the speed at which new swords formed was steadily increasing.
No one knew how much time had passed before Shinichi slowly opened his eyes.
The surrounding Blade of the Thunder Spirit Shadow Clones had all disappeared, and only the original remained.
Shinichi picked up the Blade of the Thunder Spirit and stared silently at the fine cracks covering the hilt, lost in thought.
...
A short while later, at the Konoha southeastern army, in the temporary command headquarters.
With Minato Namikaze's return, Koharu Utatane once again convened an emergency meeting.
After quietly listening as Minato Namikaze slowly explained the situation, everyone fell into contemplation.
Koharu Utatane's gaze unconsciously landed on Shinichi.
Unexpectedly, after remaining silent for a long time, the young man raised his head and said something astonishing.
[Note: I believe, due to his change in appearance (He looked similar to an adult), it's time to call him a young man instead of a young boy.]
"Elder, launch the final offensive in three days."
The moment those words were spoken, the entire command headquarters fell silent.
After a pause, chief strategist Shikaku Nara was the first to break the silence. His tone was hesitant as he said, "Captain Shinichi, according to our original plan, we only need to continue harassing the Village Hidden in the Mist, gradually wearing down their combat strength. At the same time, once Captain Minato finds their logistics headquarters, we can close the net at our leisure."
"We're steadily accumulating advantages right now. The situation is becoming more favorable for us with every step."
"Why disrupt our rhythm at such a critical moment?"
"Time waits for no one."
Shinichi shook his head.
"Explain your reasoning, Shinichi." Koharu Utatane said.
"Elder, because heaven, earth, and people are all on our side at this moment."
After a pause, Shinichi continued: "As for the favorable terrain, I've already discussed that many times before, so I won't repeat it. Let me first explain the timing."
"According to my calculations, at noon three days from now, a massive typhoon will come directly from the eastern sea."
"It will affect Rinkai City and the entire surrounding coastal region."
The moment these words were spoken, confusion appeared on everyone's faces.
A typhoon was coming, but what did that have to do with launching a final offensive?
When a typhoon arrived, Village Hidden in the Mist's operations would be restricted, but would Konoha somehow not be affected?
Nature's wrath did not care whether one was a Konoha ninja or a Kirigakure ninja.
Under the torrential rain, violent winds, and towering waves, everyone was treated equally.
If anything, Kirigakure ninja came from the island nation of the Land of Water, and they had spent their entire lives dealing with storms.
In terms of combat experience and adaptability within typhoons, they far surpassed Konoha ninja.
Logically speaking, when a typhoon arrives, Konoha should suspend all operations and maintain defensive positions.
How could they instead launch a full-scale assault?
Although puzzled, no one interrupted, and they simply watched the young man before them and waited for him to continue.
"As for why this timing is so important..."
Shinichi smiled slightly.
"That brings us to the matter of people."
He continued speaking.
As Shinichi elaborated, everyone's expressions gradually changed.
At first, there was confusion; their brows furrowed tighter and tighter, then came surprise, and finally, shock.
"And when the Village Hidden in the Mist falls into complete chaos at that time, we can seize the opportunity to launch our final offensive and crush them in a single stroke!"
Shinichi concluded, and as his words fell, silence filled the room.
The reason was simple, but his plan was simply too insane.
Without giving them time to process it, Shinichi turned toward Minato Namikaze.
"Senior Minato, at that time, you and Captain Hiashi should take the opportunity to eliminate the logistics outposts we've already discovered."
"It doesn't matter if we still can't find Village Hidden in the Mist's logistics headquarters."
"Destroy as much as possible."
"If we succeed in this battle, the Village Hidden in the Mist will inevitably suffer devastating losses."
"After that, they won't be able to launch any meaningful offensives for a very long time."
After a pause, he added, "If your side finishes quickly, feel free to come join us and participate in the final offensive against the Village Hidden in the Mist."
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