Fumori masaki nodded at Uchiha Kagami, and then his figure transformed into a puff of smoke and vanished. After such a long time and another battle, his Shadow Clone had finally reached its limit and could no longer be maintained.
"The journey ahead will be a bit lonely. I should speed up and head back," Uchiha Kagami murmured softly.
Then, Uchiha Kagami glanced at the corpses of the Jashinists nearby, letting out a soft "tsk." Since these individuals were all on flat ground and hadn't approached the nearby jungle, he formed hand seals and exhaled a ball of high-temperature orange-red fire, engulfing the corpses.
After dealing with the corpses, Uchiha Kagami finally turned and left. He did this to prevent the bodies from affecting any potential passersby and also to be cautious, in case these Jashinists had some means of feigning death.
The strange immortality displayed by the self-detonating Jashinist earlier had made Uchiha Kagami somewhat wary of Jashinists. Although the other Jashinists who had fallen earlier seemed less formidable than the self-detonating one, there was no guarantee they didn't possess special abilities, so it was better to be thorough.
No matter how bizarre their methods, if there were no corpses left, it would be impossible for them to revive. Even the Uchiha clan's Izanagi required an active state to reset after the body was gone. He didn't believe these Jashinists' methods could be more powerful than Izanagi.
Some time after Uchiha Kagami left, the ground, which had once been a battleground, suddenly began to bulge. Then, a figure emerged from within—a robed individual, completely black, as if covered in ink.
It was Black Zetsu.
"What a bunch of fools," it said, staring at the indistinguishable traces that would soon vanish with the passage of time and the elements. "I don't know why we have to choose these mentally unstable individuals."
Perhaps due to an instinctive subconscious drive, Tobi—or rather, Uchiha Koya—while serving as a Guardian Ninja in the capital, also cultivated his own personal forces abroad. Among those chosen were followers of Jashin, whom Uchiha Koya strengthened by providing them with his specially formulated secret medicine, similar to how he trained chakra samurai.
Because Uchiha Koya frequently had to be active in the Land of Fire's capital, he had to entrust the management of his foreign operations to others. Black Zetsu, who appeared before Uchiha Koya and claimed to serve him with all its might, was chosen to manage the Jashinist organization, which somewhat frustrated Black Zetsu.
As a being that had lived for a thousand years, even without much personal experience, Black Zetsu had observed many people's management styles. It could somewhat handle the role, but it had always been a schemer in the shadows, never appearing in public. Its first public appearance was not as smooth as it hoped.
Black Zetsu, relying on the name of "Jashin," had a significant, but not complete, influence over the organization. This led to individuals acting on their own initiative. Upon hearing that a Leaf ninja was traveling alone to the Land of Demons, some decided to teach the Leaf Village a lesson and ran off on their own. By the time Black Zetsu arrived, it was long over.
Black Zetsu carefully examined the ground, confirming the traces of Fire Release, and nodded slightly. It seemed the intelligence stating that Uchiha Kagami was heading to the Land of Demons was correct.
Black Zetsu felt a twinge of emotion for this fortunate individual. Not only had he survived Uchiha Setsuna's attack, but he had also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, making him a legend within the Uchiha clan.
According to the intelligence Black Zetsu had ordered to be collected, Uchiha Kagami's trip to the Land of Demons was to strengthen alliances and relations with friendly nations. It didn't sense any problems with this, as it was exactly what the Leaf Village was doing, and it was unaware of what Uchiha Kagami had obtained on this trip.
Black Zetsu knew of the Totsuka Blade's existence, but it had no idea where it was or how to obtain it. Even a being that had lived for a thousand years would have things it didn't know. After all, it was just one entity, and in the past, its primary focus was on following the transmigrants and monitoring their situation. It didn't have the energy to pay much attention to other matters.
Therefore, Black Zetsu could never have imagined that Uchiha Kagami's main purpose for this trip was to acquire the Totsuka Blade to deal with it, and now Uchiha Kagami had succeeded. It also wouldn't have imagined what it truly meant for it to move from being a schemer in the shadows to a "minor character" in the open, all to assist Uchiha Koya's actions.
After confirming that no one else had survived, Black Zetsu had no intention of staying there. It needed to hurry back and deal with the situation within the organization. Such unauthorized actions must not happen again. It hoped Uchiha Kagami hadn't sensed anything amiss.
If the Leaf Village were to conduct another purge, Black Zetsu would simply have to take the organization into hiding and resurface once the storm had passed.
Black Zetsu slowly merged into the ground and disappeared. No one else passed through or appeared there; only the wind blew gently, making a soft sound.
The moment Fumori masaki's Shadow Clone vanished, his main body in the Leaf Village instantly received the Shadow Clone's memories. A flood of information poured in, and Fumori masaki frowned slightly. He was very happy about the news of finding the Totsuka Blade, but the subsequent encounter with the Jashinists made his expression somewhat grim.
He hadn't expected the long-unheard-of Jashinists to reappear and even attack the Leaf Village's envoy. Although they seemed to be a group of reckless fools who didn't even know Fumori masaki was the Hokage and arrogantly attacked, the message they conveyed was not simple.
Especially the secret medicine the Jashinists consumed; the aura it emitted was truly bizarre. Why would it possess the aura of the soul world? Furthermore, besides this,Fumori masaki also felt another sense of familiarity. It must have been something he had seen a long time ago, but he had probably only seen it once or twice and hadn't paid much attention to it, which was why he couldn't recall it immediately.
What exactly was that thing?Fumori masaki vaguely felt that if he could remember it, he might gain a clear understanding of the Jashinists' problem. However, he couldn't recall what that familiar feeling was or where he had seen it.
"What's wrong, Father?" Akemi, holding a teacup, slowly sipped her tea. SeeingFumori masaki's somewhat solemn expression, she couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing,"Fumori masaki snapped out of his thoughts. Seeing the gazes of the others around him, he didn't voice his concerns. Now was not the time to discuss this; they had other things to focus on. "I just think the Aerial Combat Unit is doing well."
Currently, tests for the members of the Aerial Combat Unit were underway.Fumori masaki had instructed Hattori Heizo long ago, and Hattori Heizo had meticulously designed a series of trials for the Aerial Combat Unit members' abilities, such as activities in complex terrain or combat tests against ground ninjas.
In the spacious secret training ground underground, aerial combat personnel moved at high speed in the air using wind wings, launching attacks against ground combat members through high-altitude throws, ground dives, and other methods. Because it was a test, they didn't carry live ninja tools, but rather training ninja tools.
While reducing their power, as long as they hit the target, the training ninja tools would show a hit mark, thus determining if they had been "killed," and then they would withdraw from the test based on the situation.
Fumori masaki was quite satisfied with everyone else's performance, but the one he paid the most attention to was undoubtedly Namikaze Minato. He had already learned about Namikaze Minato's special talent from Hattori Heizo. Upon learning this, he felt a slight sense of relief. Although time and space had changed, the Yellow Flash still seemed to have a chance to reappear in this timeline.
And now,Fumori masaki saw Namikaze Minato swoop down from high altitude. The target on the ground didn't even have time to react before being easily hit in a vital spot. The people nearby couldn't even catch up before Namikaze Minato returned to the sky.
Fumori masaki raised an eyebrow slightly. With the keen senses brought by Sage Mode, he could perceive Namikaze Minato's subtle movements during high-speed maneuvers. The impact didn't seem significant, but that was because he was dealing with ordinary ninjas. The Aerial Combat Unit had a significant advantage and a strong suppression capability against regular forces.
However, this "power" would gradually diminish as a ninja's strength increased. Genin and Chunin-level ninjas, when equipped with wind wings, had a strong suppressive force against enemies of the same level. Upon reaching the Special Jonin and Jonin stages, they would possess the ability to counterattack.
And in the case of Special Jonin and Jonin, when fighting with wind wings, while still having an advantage, the suppressive force was not as strong as before. This was because with the significant increase in ninja strength, the amplification provided by the wind wings no longer created as large a gap as it did with ordinary ninjas.
Fumori masaki understood this well. In the future, no matter how new ninja tools developed, the role of high-level ninjas would still be very important, but they would not have the same immense impact as before. With the advancement of warfare models and technology, the influence that high-level ninjas could exert in a war would decline.
In battles among high-level ninjas, if the wind wings were to maintain a combat advantage, it would require more emphasis on subtle operations, unlike the simple throws or dives when facing ordinary ninjas. It was precisely for this reason that Namikaze Minato's displayed micro-control ability further highlighted his talent.
Hattori Heizo had been observingFumori masaki's gaze, knowing that Fumori masaki's attention was primarily on Namikaze Minato. In fact, he was also very satisfied with Namikaze Minato's performance. Among his peers, Namikaze Minato was undoubtedly outstanding, and after realizing Namikaze Minato's special talent, he looked forward to his future even more.
Meanwhile, Akemi and Orochimaru were observing the Aerial Combat Unit's performance using the wind wings. This would provide them with excellent reference value for designing the next generation of wind wings. Besides standardized mass production, they could also make subtle adjustments and designs based on individual characteristics.
Time slowly passed. When all the tests were concluded, Hattori Heizo instructed his subordinates to organize the data and information for grading, then turned toFumori masaki and asked, "Sensei, who do you think will be first place?"
"I specifically told you to pay attention to a certain person, but this test was very fair, with no special treatment for anyone. Even so, I think that person should be first place,"Fumori masaki said.
Hattori Heizo said, "I think so too. Sensei's insight is indeed sharp. You saw his talent so early. If I hadn't carefully observed his performance in training, I really wouldn't have noticed."
"Just experience,"Fumori masaki, of course, couldn't say that this was something he had gained from spoilers, and at first, he had only held expectations, not certainty that Namikaze Minato in this timeline would also have such talent.
"What reward does Sensei want to give to the first-place winner? Is it an important position in the Aerial Combat Unit?" Hattori Heizo asked.
"That can be earned by performing well. There's no need for a special reward, although it's true that this test determines important positions in the combat unit,"Fumori masaki nodded slightly and said.
"Then what is it?"
"You'll know soon."
A moment later, the scores for each test of the thirty aerial combat members were organized and presented to Fumori masaki and the others. After careful review,Fumori masaki and Hattori Heizo ranked them and finally found the person with the best performance.
This choice did not surprise them. The person with the best overall score was Namikaze Minato. Fumori masaki was very pleased; if it had been someone else, it would have been quite troublesome. Fortunately, Namikaze Minato did not disappoint him.
Next, Hattori Heizo displayed the results to all members of the Aerial Combat Unit. The standards and scores for each test were clearly listed, all transparent and public. Everyone had some understanding of each other's performance during the test, and they generally accepted the judgment of the results.
Namikaze Minato walked up to Fumori masaki, looking at the ruler of the Leaf Village. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, whileFumori masaki stared at this "Fourth Hokage," smiling and nodding slightly.
"The Aerial Combat Unit is a newly established unit, and we, the high-ranking officials, have very high expectations for it, and the same goes for you, our first batch of students. In the future, you will undoubtedly be the backbone of the Aerial Combat Unit. Namikaze Minato, you are the most outstanding person in this test. As this unit holds great significance for the village, I personally want to give you a special reward: from now on, you will be my student and receive my guidance."
When everyone heard Fumori masaki say these words, they were all shocked. Hattori Heizo looked surprised; he hadn't expected the reward his teacher spoke of to be this!