"I have a mission for you this time."
Natsuki looked at Yahiko and the other three and said.
"What mission?"
Yahiko asked impatiently.
Nagato, Konan, and Hyo-onna also looked at Natsuki.
Mainly because Natsuki rarely assigned them missions.
Most of their time was spent training in the courtyard.
The Akatsuki organization's affairs were all handled by Kakuzu, Chino, and the others.
With a sudden mission, besides being surprised, they mostly wanted to complete it perfectly and not let down Natsuki's long-term teaching.
"Go investigate Hozuki Castle and find the location of the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
Natsuki replied.
"Where is Hozuki Castle?"
Yahiko scratched his head and asked. "And what is the Box of Ultimate Bliss?"
"Hozuki Castle is in the Land of Grass. Although it belongs to Kusagakure, it's actually a public prison holding criminals from various hidden villages."
Natsuki explained patiently. "The Box of Ultimate Bliss is a legendary ninja tool of the Sage of Six Paths. It is hidden within Hozuki Castle."
As a ninja, one should be clear about the specific details of a mission before executing it to avoid unexpected situations.
Having been taught by him for so long, Yahiko and the other three could already be considered qualified ninjas.
"A ninja tool of the Sage of Six Paths?"
A flash of surprise crossed Nagato's eyes.
"What does it look like then?"
Yahiko pondered for a moment and asked.
"It's just a giant cubic box with human faces carved on its four sides."
Natsuki paused and said. "The warden of Hozuki Castle, Mui, knows its exact location."
"Is Mui a Jonin?"
Konan asked.
"Yes."
Natsuki patted her head and said. "He excels in Fire Release."
"Is there a time limit?"
Yahiko asked again.
"No."
Natsuki reminded them. "Your mission is to find the Box of Ultimate Bliss, not to force your way into Hozuki Castle and fight Mui."
If Yahiko and the other three teamed up, defeating Mui wouldn't be a big problem.
But besides Mui, there were also many capable prison guards in Hozuki Castle.
Once surrounded, it would be very difficult for them to escape.
However, it was hard to say for sure.
After all, if Nagato unleashed his full power and used the Rinnegan, he could naturally escape.
"With Hyo-onna's Blood Demon Art, we can definitely complete the mission!"
Yahiko promised.
Hyo-onna had Blood Demon Art: Eyeball Clone, which was very suitable for this kind of mission.
In fact, this was also the reason Natsuki sent them to Hozuki Castle.
They had the ability to complete the mission.
Besides that, it was to train them.
Constantly learning ninjutsu in the courtyard wouldn't allow them to accumulate experience.
Now that their strength was quite good, they could try taking on more missions.
"Be careful in everything."
Natsuki nodded and added. "The New Year is coming up. Wait until after the New Year before heading to the Land of Grass."
"Natsuki-sensei."
Hearing this, Konan looked at him and asked with an expectant tone. "Are you going to celebrate the New Year with us today?"
"I can this year."
Natsuki thought for a moment and said. "Wait for me then. I'll use space-time ninjutsu to hurry over."
Yahiko and the others all revealed expressions of pleasant surprise.
"Alright, you guys continue training."
Natsuki chuckled and said.
The four of them resumed their respective training.
Yahiko had already learned Water Breathing and was now learning Water Release.
Nagato was currently learning the five nature transformation ninjutsu, as well as researching the usage of the Rinnegan.
Konan was still learning the Art of Weather.
Hyo-onna was learning Ice Release while simultaneously learning Rokushiki and Armament Haki.
In the evening, Natsuki returned to Konoha.
The New Year always came quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was December.
And a plan Natsuki had previously formulated could finally be implemented.
When he first became the captain of the Fourth Anbu Squad, he used the excuse of familiarizing himself with their strength to fight the Jonin of the Fourth Squad.
Now he could repeat the trick, fight all the Jonin in the Anbu, and incidentally unlock his abilities.
Natsuki hadn't implemented it earlier because the Anbu was too busy.
Rashly gathering all the Jonin together would seriously affect their missions.
But as the New Year approached, the number of missions would drop significantly, giving them the chance to gather in Konoha.
Anbu Training Ground.
Under Natsuki's orders, the vast majority of the Anbu Jonin arrived on time.
Only the Jonin of the Fourth Squad were absent.
After all, Natsuki had already fought them, so there was no need to invite them again.
The rest were the Jonin from the other three squads.
Including Vice Commander Zo, there was a total of twenty Jonin, a very astonishing number.
After all, it was the Anbu. The ninjas who could enter were all elites.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am Natsuki, the newly appointed Commander."
Natsuki said with a smile. "Although I know all your names, this is the first time I'm meeting many of you today."
The crowd finally understood the reason they were called here.
Natsuki wanted to meet them.
But that was normal.
As the Commander, he had to get to know them.
"To understand each other better, let's have a simple sparring exchange next."
Natsuki said without changing his expression. "We'll start with the First Squad."
A sparring exchange?
The crowd couldn't help but be somewhat astonished.
You mean you're going to fight the twenty of us alone?
Many also recalled a rumor.
It was said that after Natsuki became the captain of the Fourth Squad, he single-handedly defeated all the Jonin in the Fourth Squad.
Now it seemed it wasn't an unfounded rumor.
"Lord Natsuki, please advise."
The captain of the First Squad, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, stepped forward.
Natsuki nodded.
He had already reviewed the files of these twenty Jonin beforehand.
If nothing unexpected happened today, he could unlock four abilities.
Lightning Strike Spear, Fire Sealing Method, Concealment Barrier, and Tekkai: Steel.
They required defeating Lightning Release Jonin, Fire Release Jonin, Sensory Jonin, and taking the strongest attacks of three Jonin head-on, respectively.
Among them, the progress for Lightning Strike Spear and Fire Sealing Method was both two-fifths, only needing two Lightning Release Jonin and two Fire Release Jonin.
For Sensory Jonin, he needed five.
Although Sensory Jonin were scarce, they were standard issue in the Anbu.
Anbu regulations required every squad to have a sensory ninja.
Because most Anbu missions involved infiltration.
Without a sensory ninja, it would be very difficult to complete an infiltration mission perfectly.
Taking the strongest attacks of three Jonin head-on went without saying. All twenty of these Jonin met the condition.
Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!
At the very start of the battle, Sarutobi Shinnosuke used the classic Fire Release ninjutsu of the Sarutobi clan.
He opened his mouth and spat out a fierce stream of fire.
The flames surged, flying toward Natsuki like a tidal wave.
Geppo!
Natsuki leaped into the air.
Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!
He skipped the incantation, and six beams of light immediately appeared around Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke immediately sensed something was wrong.
Surrounded by the light, he was instantly immobilized.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke hurriedly mobilized his chakra, surging it outward in an attempt to destroy the six beams of light.
Although his speed was very fast, Natsuki's speed was even faster.
One-Sword Style: Iai — Lion's Song!
Natsuki drew his sword from its sheath.
His body abruptly appeared in front of Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke stiffened in place.
The sharp Minazuki was already pressed against his neck.
"I yield."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke immediately sighed in admiration. "Lord Natsuki's strength truly lives up to its reputation."
Although he knew Natsuki was very strong, he hadn't expected him to be this strong.
He only used one Fire Release: Great Flame Technique, and was defeated at the speed of light.
The others also felt a sense of shock.
For Sarutobi Shinnosuke to be the captain of the First Squad, it naturally wasn't just because he was Sarutobi Hiruzen's son.
His own strength was not weak either.
"Thank you for the match."
Natsuki smiled slightly and dispelled Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro.
Regaining his freedom, Sarutobi Shinnosuke stood up and left the field.
The second Jonin from the First Squad stepped onto the field.
Natsuki used a different method to win, freezing him with Blood Demon Art: Freezing White Princess.
Time slowly passed.
By the afternoon, Natsuki had fought all twenty Jonin once. Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Zo, and the others all looked at him with extremely horrified eyes.
In twenty battles, Natsuki used various nature transformations and secret jutsu.
Including swordsmanship, Rokushiki, Blood Demon Arts, Lightning Release, Water Release, Wind Release, Fire Release, and so on.
Besides that, there was another thing that made them feel it was unbelievable.
That was, after fighting twenty consecutive battles, Natsuki's chakra didn't seem to be depleted at all.
Regardless of how many doubts they had, one thing was certain.
Natsuki's strength was even more terrifying than the rumors.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke even had the illusion of facing Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Especially when Natsuki used the five nature transformation ninjutsu.
Although the power of his five nature transformation ninjutsu couldn't compare to Sarutobi Hiruzen's.
Natsuki hadn't learned many five nature transformation ninjutsu.
The most he knew was Water Release.
The other nature transformations were mainly learned to unlock character template abilities.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Misaka Mikoto template Ability 2: Lightning Strike Spear]
A line of text appeared before Natsuki's eyes in a timely manner.
Lightning Strike Spear, as the name suggested, had the effect of releasing a blue-white spear of light formed by powerful electric currents.
Its power was great, but it was still quite a bit lacking compared to the Lightning Giant and the True Lightning Strike.
With the unlocking of the Lightning Strike Spear, the Misaka Mikoto template only lacked the last ability, the Hacker ability.
Its unlock condition was the birth of the internet.
Natsuki had already established a Computer and Internet Department within the research institute in the Land of Snow, specifically dedicated to researching computers and the internet.
But when it would be successful was an unknown.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Jiraiya template Ability 4: Fire Sealing Method]
The Fire Sealing Method, strictly speaking, was a Fuinjutsu.
It wasn't very useful normally, but if he encountered flames that couldn't be dealt with, like Amaterasu, it would come in handy.
With this, the Jiraiya template only had one last ability left, which was Sage Mode, yet to be unlocked.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Bruno template Ability 4: Tekkai: Steel]
Tekkai: Steel, the Tekkai among Tekkais, possessing the strongest defensive capability.
But being the strongest didn't mean there was no upper limit.
Once it encountered an attack exceeding its upper limit, the defense of Tekkai: Steel could still be pierced.
After Tekkai: Steel was unlocked, all the abilities of the Bruno template had been unlocked.
Of course, the most valuable ability was still the Door-Door Fruit.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Kikyo template Ability 5: Concealment Barrier]
Natsuki nodded in satisfaction.
This wave was a massive profit.
"Thank you for your hard work today, everyone. I hope we can cooperate well in the future and make more contributions to Konoha."
After saying some polite words, Natsuki turned and left.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others watched him disappear, standing blankly in place, unable to recover their senses for a long time.
After the New Year, the Anbu became busy again.
In the first week of work, Natsuki received a pleasant surprise.
The Anbu had found Hiruko's location.
He was currently hiding in a valley in the Land of Rice Paddies.
Natsuki thought to himself, no wonder it took so long to find him.
Because the Land of Rice Paddies didn't have a hidden village.
The main job of Konoha's Anbu was to monitor and gather intelligence on other hidden villages.
Without a hidden village, the Land of Rice Paddies was considered a secondary location.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a primary focus.
Perhaps this was also why Orochimaru chose the Land of Rice Paddies after defecting and established Otogakure there.
Natsuki stroked his chin.
Should he learn from his teacher and establish an Otogakure?
There were actually quite a few geniuses in Otogakure. But there was a problem.
These geniuses weren't necessarily natives of the Land of Rice Paddies, but were kidnapped by Orochimaru from all over the ninja world.
However, he could have Chino make a trip there to see if she could recruit some useful ninjas.
In the Akatsuki organization, Kakuzu was in charge of finances, managing the Dawn Company in the Land of Rain and the rainwater business with Pakura.
Honoka was in charge of the research department, researching various useful devices.
Fuushin was in charge of the Dawn Company in the Land of Demons.
Chino was in charge of training at the orphanage and recruiting members for the Akatsuki organization.
Natsuki snapped out of his thoughts and planned to make a trip to the Land of Rice Paddies.
He had never been to the Land of Rice Paddies, so he couldn't use the Door-Door Fruit directly.
But fortunately, he had been to the Land of Iron.
And the country bordering the Land of Iron to the left was the Land of Rice Paddies.
Natsuki making the trip personally could also be considered opening a new teleportation point for the Door-Door Fruit.
Thinking of this, he stood up and raised his hand.
An Air Door quickly opened.
After inputting enough chakra, it stabilized.
Compared to the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Door-Door Fruit had one drawback: opening a door for long-distance teleportation required time.
If in the middle of a battle, it would be very difficult to perform a long-distance teleportation.
However, short-distance teleportation could achieve an effect similar to Flash and could be used in combat.
Natsuki walked into the Air Door and arrived in the Land of Iron in the blink of an eye.
He determined the direction of the Land of Rice Paddies, leaped into the air using Geppo, and flew into mid-air.
Once in the air, he used Magnet Release to fly.
He could also continuously use the Door-Door Fruit for short-distance teleportations.
But flying felt better.
Following the location provided by the Anbu, Natsuki quickly arrived at the valley where Hiruko was hiding.
He landed on the ground outside the valley and then activated his electromagnetic wave sensing.
He instantly knew the situation inside the valley.
Besides Hiruko, there were three other ninjas, most likely his subordinates or assistants.
Natsuki formed hand seals and created three Shadow Clones.
He wanted to ensure that none of the four, including Hiruko, could escape.
After the other three Shadow Clones went in three different directions, Natsuki walked in.
Deep inside the valley was a laboratory.
After taking a few steps, Natsuki was noticed by Hiruko and the others.
The four of them walked out of the laboratory.
"A Konoha ninja?"
Seeing Natsuki's Konoha forehead protector, Hiruko's face instantly darkened.
"Hiruko."
Natsuki said unhurriedly. "Surrender without a fight."
"Kill him!"
Hiruko immediately ordered.
Hearing this, the three ninjas behind him charged at Natsuki.
Before getting close, they all formed hand seals and used the Chimera Technique.
Thus, Natsuki saw half-beastmen in the ninja world.
One ninja merged with a lion, one with a snake, and one with a ninja hawk.
Although they became much stronger after merging, their strength still didn't reach the Jonin level.
Railgun!
Natsuki flicked a kunai.
Countless bolts of lightning spread out.
In the blink of an eye, the kunai hit the ninja hawk's wing.
The ninja merged with it didn't even have time to react before being sent flying backward and pinned to the laboratory wall.
Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan!
Natsuki waved his left hand. Multiple hexagonal pillars flew out at an extremely fast speed, hitting the ninja merged with the snake.
Various parts of his body were pierced, pinning him to the ground, unable to move.
Meanwhile, the ninja merged with the ninja hawk had already flown into mid-air. Pressing his hands on the ninja hawk, a massive amount of feathers fell down.
The feathers were like kunai, gleaming with a sharp light, completely enveloping Natsuki.
Blood Demon Art: Wintry Icicles!
Natsuki clenched his fist.
Countless icicles appeared above the head of the ninja merged with the ninja hawk.
The icicles smashed down, causing him to plummet rapidly to the ground, falling unconscious.
When the feathers reached Natsuki, they were blocked by the barrier formed by his Armament Haki.
At this moment, Hiruko couldn't help but widen his eyes, an ominous premonition rising in his heart.
From the moment he gave the order to the time Natsuki defeated his three subordinates, no more than three seconds had passed.
Even he would find it difficult to defeat his three subordinates in such a short time.
Undoubtedly, Natsuki's strength was very high.
The thought of escaping instantly arose in Hiruko's mind.
"Your subordinates have already used the Chimera Technique. What about you?"
Natsuki asked casually. "How many Kekkei Genkai have you fused?"
"How do you know so much about the Chimera Technique?"
Hiruko's gaze narrowed, and he couldn't help but ask.
"My teacher is Orochimaru."
Natsuki replied.
"You are Orochimaru's student?"
Hiruko's face instantly turned very ugly.
The reason he researched the Chimera Technique was out of jealousy for the talent of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
And now, his Chimera Technique hadn't even been successfully researched, yet the Sannin of Konoha were already famous throughout the ninja world.
He had even heard of the Sannin's deeds in the Land of Rice Paddies.
Now even Orochimaru's student was this powerful... wait!
"You are Natsuki?"
Hiruko suddenly thought of something and blurted out.
"I am indeed Natsuki."
Natsuki smiled and said.
Hiruko was momentarily stunned.
After regaining his senses, he turned and ran without hesitation.
Although he hated Orochimaru and the others, he had self-awareness.
Natsuki raised his hand toward him. Bakudo #81: Danku!
A giant protective wall descended from the sky, blocking Hiruko.
Unable to dodge in time, Hiruko crashed directly into it, feeling dizzy.
Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!
Before he could react, he was already bound by chains.
Natsuki stepped forward and separated a drop of blood.
This person, Hiruko, had decent research capabilities, so he planned to keep him.
But as for his strength, it was rather average.
Natsuki didn't plan to make him one of the Twelve Kizuki. Giving him a little blood to control him would suffice.
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