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Twenty minutes later, the Earth and Stone Shadow Clone had finished, having only copied the Dust Release, Light–Heavy Rock Technique, and the Weighted Boulder Technique.
Well, that speed was actually very fast. A single ninjutsu involves a lot of content, and it takes more than ten minutes just to carefully read a scroll. Deeper study naturally takes more time.
And the ten Shadow Clones of Earth and Stone took only twenty minutes to copy three jutsu—three powerful techniques at that.
This was mainly thanks to Uchiha Kiyo's original body, who had recorded his black market copying experience from last time.
The core and most complex part of any ninjutsu is chakra control, and Uchiha Kiyo had already clearly marked these processes.
This was something Uchiha Kiyo had always done—when recording chakra operations, he wrote down the sequence numbers of each cycle in order, which greatly saved time when copying scrolls.
The ten Earth and Stone Shadow Clones used the same method.
When encountering a cycle that wasn't marked, or a sequence whose numbering wasn't entirely clear, the Shadow Clone would carefully record it.
Of course, such cases were rare.
After all, Uchiha Kiyo had analyzed almost every B-rank and below Earth Release technique. Nearly all chakra cycles involved in Earth Release had been indexed. If there were new cycles unmarked, that meant the ninjutsu was unique, with a special function.
Like several cycles in the Light–Heavy Rock Technique that adjusted gravity—these were particularly complex. For example, nodes 123, 456, and 789 would proceed through three cycles in that order, with an extra 347 sequence as a normal cycle. Some special sequences in Light–Heavy Rock were 1234564789731—a combination of smaller cycles.
Cases where the sequence numbers couldn't be remembered were extremely rare. Before this operation, Earth and Stone had memorized the sequence arrangements for Earth Release over a long period.
"Huh? Can't hold it? Still, it lasted longer than expected. In that time, I even copied the Weighted Boulder Technique."
The lead Shadow Clone received the message from the real body that time was up and signaled the others to return.
"Bring over the copied contents, then dispel in place."
Each Shadow Clone handed their scrolls to the first, then dispelled, leaving only one.
"That's it."
Looking back toward the Tsuchikage's office, the last Shadow Clone returned the Iwagakure scroll to its place, reduced the barrier seals, and used Earth Movement Technique to leave.
It placed the scroll exactly where it had been, then sank underground, moving toward a gap in the village's barrier.
Outside the barrier, it released the underground chakra suppression, surfaced, applied a Concealment Technique, and returned to the cave where Earth and Stone usually stayed.
The next moment, a rock in the cave vanished, replaced by the real Earth and Stone.
Without hesitation, Earth and Stone used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport out of Iwagakure.
Normally, the Great Ninja Villages keep their barrier seals active to block space-time ninjutsu, but activating this consumes great resources, so they aren't always on. The rumor of Earth and Stone's space-time technique wasn't fully confirmed, and during the first attack, the seal hadn't been activated.
In Iwagakure, the remaining Shadow Clone continued controlling the Lava Giant against the Four-Tails.
"Hm?"
Just as he returned, Earth and Stone received memories from the clone left in the village.
"Defeated so soon?"
He frowned, then relaxed.
"So, Ōnoki intervened—and guessed correctly, striking the Shadow Clone directly."
After switching to clone control, he hadn't guarded much against ĹŚnoki. When the Tsuchikage attacked, he couldn't react in time and was struck.
"Well, next time they'll probably think I'm still there. But really—if I know space-time ninjutsu, why would I fear being attacked?"
Under normal circumstances, his marker seals were placed at the head, torso, abdomen, and limbs—allowing him to shift positions at will with Flying Thunder God.
"This time, the goal was achieved."
Dust Release acquired.
It still needed to be sorted out.
Because of division of labor, the training content for Dust Release was split into ten parts. The same applied to the other two jutsu. They needed organization before study. The copied versions used number codes, which were easy to read, but converting them back was better. Many details—sequences and simultaneous cycles—were unique, so he needed to transcribe them now while fresh in memory.
A good memory is not as good as written notes.
Uchiha Kiyo had an excellent memory, but not perfect recall, and Earth and Stone was the same.
The fight between the Lava Giant and the Four-Tails was spectacular. The whole of Iwagakure could see it—news could not be hidden. Within half a day, information on Earth and Stone's attack reached other villages.
"Hmph. That old man Ōnoki is lying! Claiming to be fighting the Four-Tails' jinchūriki again? Who believes that?"
When Danzo received the report, he sneered.
"Root must accelerate. This Earth and Stone's techniques are too dangerous—we must investigate fully."
His eyes glinted coldly with greed.
"If we could acquire such a jutsu, all the better."
Since taking control of Root, Danzo had learned more Konoha secrets—Wood Release, Mangekyō Sharingan…
The more he learned, the greater his hunger for ultimate power.
Root's research on First Hokage cells wasn't truly for Konoha—it was for himself.
With Wood Release development stalled, Hashirama's power was out of reach, but now Earth and Stone had appeared, wielding a technique akin to the First Hokage's. For Danzo not to covet it was impossible.
"This kind of dangerous ninjutsu shouldn't be in someone like Earth and Stone's hands. It's a threat to Konoha. I must possess it—to protect the village."
It wasn't just Danzo who doubted Ōnoki's version—Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Kazekage all shared skepticism.
Iwagakure had suffered losses, but the battle still seemed absurd.
Why would Earth and Stone attack them?
It made no sense.
The main reason people believed the technique was linked to Iwagakure was its style—clearly modeled after Hashirama's jutsu. Such an imitation was no simple feat.
Even developing one A-rank ninjutsu was difficult—let alone an S-rank+ technique like the Lava Gundam Mode.
That it came from a previously unknown shinobi strained belief.
Although Earth and Stone had made a name after the Second Shinobi World War—attacking Iwagakure's Four-Tails, the Three-Tails, and the Eight-Tails—he'd never shown development talent in his early years.
More believable was that he'd acquired the technique from Iwagakure itself.
Everyone knew the Second Tsuchikage's skill—second only to Tobirama Senju. Such jutsu being theirs wasn't impossible.
Why it surfaced now? Likely it was incomplete in the past, only perfected recently, with Earth and Stone one of the few capable of mastering it.
…
Konoha.
Leaving aside Earth and Stone's chaos, the six-man squad led by Namikaze Minato returned to Konoha, reporting the mission details to the Hokage. All six had succeeded, each gaining two more S-rank mission credits.
With these, Hui was closer to elite jōnin—just two S-rank and five A-rank missions away.
"The missions aren't urgent. My strength is already there—titles won't change that. Even if I rank up, it's not like I'll suddenly get stronger."
Hui was unfazed.
Mainly because of a new Shadow Clone…
"The Third Shinobi World War is a major turning point. The manga's account of it is far more detailed than the first two wars, but the exact timeline isn't clear. So we need to prepare early."
Tensions between Kumogakure and Konoha were rising, their invasion intent no longer hidden. The shinobi world situation was worsening.
Having lived through the pre–Second War atmosphere, Hui could sense war approaching, even without plot knowledge.
It wasn't yet at its peak—the fuse hadn't appeared.
One could guess by the upcoming disappearance of the Third Kazekage, but the exact timing was uncertain.
He could vanish at any moment.
Plans had to start now.
The Third Shinobi World War had no singular protagonist—it was all-out chaos.
But Konoha would face three villages at once, involved in almost every battlefield. Any plan had to start there.
The war's major turning points were tied to Konoha—Nagato's fall, Obito's turn to darkness…
Nagato's could be influenced via the Cloud front, but Obito's required arranging an intervention.
This task fell to Hui in Konoha.
Finish that, and promotions could come later.
Hui couldn't stop Madara directly, so the only way was through the other participants.
The Kannabi Bridge mission involved Obito, Kakashi, Rin, and Minato.
Minato was too mature to influence; Obito might already be marked by Madara, making it dangerous; Kakashi was too sharp and aloof.
That left only one person to approach.
Rin.
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