That night.
Seiki Shimaseki calmly stared at the sapling in the palm of his hand before igniting it with flames.
"As expected, no luck. Even my Wood Release isn't that much stronger than Mizuki's."
Through the experience of possessing Mizuki's body, he had largely unraveled the secrets of Wood Release over the past two years.
Mizuki not only showed no resistance to this but was actually thrilled about it.
In Seiki Shimaseki's eyes, Mizuki's loyalty to him was already almost on par with that of Kimimaro from the original *Naruto* series. Even if he wanted to take over Mizuki's body, the other would likely be more than willing to hand it over.
Of course, he didn't share Orochimaru's obsession with stealing bodies.
After a long pause, Seiki Shimaseki took out a scroll and summoned Hashirama's cells to study them.
"This powerful vitality—is it because of Yang Release?" Seiki Shimaseki mused slightly. "The combination of earth and water creates the Kekkei Genkai known as Wood Release. Adding Yang Release still results in Wood Release. Why isn't it a completely new form of Kekkei Tota?"
His eyes narrowed. "Unless Yang Release-enhanced Wood Release isn't actually a Kekkei Tota, but rather an upgraded version of Kekkei Genkai that exists between Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Mora!"
"Yang Release and Yin Release can combine into the extremely powerful Yin-Yang Release. Maybe before reaching Kekkei Mora, there also exists an intermediate form—Five Elements Release."
"The root of Hashirama's powerful Wood Release lies precisely in the fact that his Kekkei Genkai skipped both the Kekkei Tota and the Five Elements entirely, directly possessing characteristics of Kekkei Mora, thus completely overpowering other Kekkei Genkais. In terms of strength, it even surpasses ordinary Kekkei Totas!"
Thinking about this made Seiki Shimaseki's expression grow heavy.
If this was truly the case, then those Otsutsuki were at least two or three levels above the shinobi world. No wonder they looked down on everyone else.
"Five Elements and Yin-Yang… Should I cultivate one first, or consciously start blending them from early on…"
At the same time, the group from earlier gathered again.
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
"Lord Kazekage, do we have urgent matters to discuss tonight?"
Rasa whispered, "Is this related to that Konoha special envoy, Seiki Shimaseki?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately perked up.
"You don't mean... we're going to raid him tonight?"
"Tsk, you seemed so relaxed agreeing to his request during the day, Lord Kazekage. So this was all just a ruse to keep him off guard!"
"But his strength is really overwhelming. He also possesses the Flying Thunder God Technique as a means of escape."
Their feelings toward Seiki Shimaseki were mixed. Part of them felt grateful for his help; another part couldn't forgive his threats.
Don't be fooled by how fast they turned around—it was just seizing the opportunity to save face under pressure.
After all, compared to being forced into promising aid after threats, agreeing willingly at least allowed them to maintain some dignity.
Sly old fox Rasa stared at them in shock—raiding Seiki Shimaseki? Where did you guys get such an idea?
Before anyone could drag him into more trouble, Nae blurted out, desperately trying to avoid getting dragged into anything.
"How can you even say something like that! Lord Seiki Shimaseki is our Sunagakure's benefactor—he will forever remain our Sand Village's dearest friend!"
This time, everyone looked even more confused.
Are you telling us this after calling us here in the middle of the night?
Coughing lightly, Rasa straightened his posture. "The reason I summoned you all is because of a letter—an apology letter from Danzō of Konoha."
"An apology letter?" Everyone expressed confusion. "Could it be that he feels unworthy of Elder Chiyo and thus sent a letter to apologize?"
Rasa twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. "Danzō mentioned in his letter that Special Envoy Seiki actually arrived one day earlier than expected. He treated the poisoned ninja of Konoha and even rested an entire night before departing for Sunagakure. For this, he sincerely apologizes."
"But isn't Danzō known for being extremely aggressive toward outsiders?" one Jonin asked curiously. "Why does his tone sound so humble here?"
Another Jonin added puzzledly, "Isn't it normal for someone to treat their own people first?"
"You think like this only because Head Surgeon Seiki's surgery didn't hit any complications!" Rasa said, narrowing his eyes. "But what if, back then, had Seiki arrived even one step too late and our ninja had died? How would you feel upon reading this letter then?"
A Jonin frowned. "Although it might not lead to conflict, there definitely would have been some lingering resentment."
Nodding his head, Rasa continued, "And this also serves as an excuse—an excuse for us to refuse payment by lodging a formal protest."
"I get it now!" Chuura suddenly realized. "If we file a protest, Danzō could use the pretext of damaging the diplomatic relationship between the two villages to suppress Jonin Seiki!"
Hearing this, many Jonins' eyes lit up with gossip-filled curiosity—seems like even within Konoha, peace was merely an illusion!
Meanwhile, Saseki furrowed his brows and asked, "I've heard that Danzō is quite cunning; wouldn't it be out of character for him to hand such incriminating evidence to us?"
"Normally speaking, this indeed looks like an ordinary apology letter. Even if we made it public, no one would really criticize us for it; they'd probably just think he's growing old and not as tough as he used to be."
Said Rasa warily, "Yet in reality, Danzō accurately perceived my stingy... er, thrifty personality and guessed I would try to take advantage of this letter!"
"Unfortunately for him," he went on, "he still underestimated Jonin Seiki. Not only did Seiki complete the mission flawlessly, but he also helped us uncover the truth behind the Third Kazekage!"
Everyone nodded earnestly, deeply resonating with his words—[Three-Day Moon Medical Jutsu] truly left them speechless.
Chuura asked, "Kazekage, what do you plan to do next? Just pretend we never received this letter?"
Rasa smiled. "How could that be possible? Of course, I will subtly imply to Danzō that we will formally protest afterward."
"Wait a minute," Chuura exclaimed. "Earlier, weren't you saying that Jonin Seiki is forever a good friend of Sunagakure?"
Rasa replied solemnly, "I'm trying to help Jonin Seiki clearly recognize Danzō's true nature! Seiki cares about his future well-being even while staying in Sunagakure—what a wonderful person! How could I bear watching my friend fall victim to such plots?"
Ebizō coldly explained, "Even among allies, an overly powerful Konoha still doesn't align with Sunagakure's interests!"
"Let the conflict between Seiki Shimaseki, representing the progressive faction, and Danzo Shimura, representing the conservative faction, escalate. Only then will our Sunagakure's position become more valuable!"
Everyone got it now — and couldn't help shooting Rasa looks of disdain. Hmph! Like you even deserve to be called a close friend!
A jonin asked, "Lord Kazekage, then who should we support?"
"It's not about who we support winning — it's about supporting whoever is going to win!" Rasa sighed, placing both options openly on display. "Seiki Shimaseki and Danzo Shimura — listen to your instincts and tell me who you'll back?"
Everyone pondered briefly before quickly reaching their conclusions.
One was the rising sun at eight or nine in the morning, while the other was nearing its twilight... Wait, even if he is like a setting sun, he's still the Third Hokage!
Who? Danzo Shimura? Just some flyweight player — barely even a flicker on the radar.
When all reached a consensus, exchanging knowing smiles, they said together, "Naturally, we'll sell off Elder Danzo!"
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