Konoha Akimichi BBQ Restaurant.
"Haha, Minato truly lives up to being Jiraiya-sama's disciple; he influenced the situation of more than half the battlefield."
Inoichi Yamanaka brought a few of his subordinates to reward them for their hard work over the past few days.
Gulp!
Satoru stuffed a grilled wing into his mouth. Since he decided to pursue Ayame, he hadn't eaten BBQ in a long time.
Hearing his superior's words, he also smiled and sighed, "Indeed, Minato-senpai and Orochimaru-sama are truly powerful!"
"I heard that the Third Hokage-sama, during a meeting, proposed retiring after the war ends?"
Seishimon asked curiously, having heard the recent rumours in the Village.
Smack!
Dokuro smacked him on the head. "Don't spread rumours about some things. We still don't know who the next Hokage will be."
Though he said that, his eyes were fixed on Inoichi Yamanaka.
Inoichi Yamanaka: "Haha, it's true, but no successor has been decided yet."
"Needless to say, it will be one of Orochimaru-sama or Minato Namikaze-senpai," Satoru said confidently.
Very confident.
Inoichi Yamanaka praised his analysis.
Currently, the most likely candidates are the Third Hokage's disciple Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze.
In this war, they both had the greatest merits and the loudest reputations.
One won the Battle of Kikyo Pass, and the other won the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.
Moreover, both are very strong Jonin.
However, Satoru's realisation of this point surprised Inoichi.
As someone from the intelligence department, to deduce this from just the Third Hokage's retirement was truly unexpected.
It seems he is indeed suitable to be a member of the Analysis Team.
Inoichi Yamanaka was even more satisfied with Satoru.
The others, upon hearing this, thought about it and also felt it was true.
"Come, cheers! In a few days, Orochimaru-sama and the others will be back. Get ready for the funeral."
"Yes, sir."
The war ended, and the troops returned to the Village.
… …
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Training Ground 98.
"Ah~"
A scream, as if seeing something terrifying.
"Hey, can't you practice dispelling genjutsu more often? You're a sensory Ninja, after all; you have talent in that area, don't you?"
Satoru was extremely speechless. He dispelled the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique he had cast on Seishimon.
After the genjutsu was dispelled, Seishimon recovered and looked at Satoru with lingering fear. "I am practising, okay? It's just that you're too abnormal. How do you make genjutsu so difficult to dispel? I dispelled it, but then I fell for it again?"
"Is that so? It seems I'm just too strong!" Satoru scratched his head.
One genjutsu made Seishimon lose his composure. It seems the training these past few days wasn't wasted.
"You still haven't said how you did it?" Seishimon asked curiously.
He had disturbed his Chakra according to what he learned in school, so why did he still fall for it?
Satoru pointed to his head. "Because I improved the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, incorporating my insights from the Mind Reading Technique. I treat genjutsu as a form of memory information, implanting it into the enemy's Chakra.
As long as the enemy accepts the concept that they have fallen for a genjutsu, this information becomes a seed.
As long as they don't realise it's their problem, they will cause the genjutsu to activate on themselves."
"…Doesn't that mean the person who falls for it, if they don't realise it, will live in your genjutsu forever?" Seishimon was greatly shocked.
What kind of genjutsu is this? Is it still the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique?
"Hmph, serves you right for still being a Genin. As long as you have no fear, you won't fall for it." Satoru was very satisfied.
This genjutsu experiment was a success.
"How can there be no fear?"
Seishimon pouted.
Just now, he saw himself being hit by a hidden Shuriken on the battlefield and dying on the spot.
Satoru: "Let me teach you another way to deal with genjutsu. This genjutsu also has very obvious flaws. Ultimately, this technique only implants a subconscious suggestion into the opponent's mind.
As a sensory Ninja, as long as you can temporarily overcome your fears, you can use your incredibly high perception to disrupt the subconscious seed with targeted Chakra manipulation."
"Is that so? Try it on me again?"
Seishimon's eyes lit up at his words.
Satoru's lips curved into a smile. He fell for it.
"Here I come."
He formed a hand sign and pointed.
Seishimon suddenly felt like he was back on the battlefield, with stray Shuriken and bullets everywhere.
This time, he remembered Satoru's words, enduring the genjutsu's influence and perceiving his memories and emotions.
Sure enough, after a while, he discovered a different information point.
He lightly disturbed it with Chakra.
Immediately, the genjutsu disappeared, as if those battlefield projectiles had never happened.
Seeing Seishimon break free in just an instant, Satoru raised an eyebrow.
It seems it still needs improvement.
"Indeed! Next time, when I'm ready, I'll fight you again. I won't lose anymore." Seishimon looked unconvinced.
They were classmates, and their grades were similar, but after a stint on the battlefield, Satoru not only became stronger but also became a Chunin.
"Hey, do you think you can beat Kakashi or hayama now?"
Although they were only classmates with Kakashi for one semester, the outstanding Kakashi was still remembered.
And hayama, due to his exceptional talent, graduated early from the academy in his fourth year because of the war.
Now, one is a Jonin, and the other is a Special Jonin.
"You brat, are those two people I can beat? They're both Jonin!"
Satoru felt that Seishimon was using others to vent his frustration. If he said he could beat them, Seishimon might instigate a fight after the war. If not, Seishimon's mood, having just been beaten up, would improve.
"Hehe, speaking of which, those two are outstanding!
They're only twelve and already Jonin. That guy Uchiha Inabi, he's still a Chunin, just like you."
Seishimon felt that the difference between people was truly vast. He was still a Genin, while others were rapidly promoted.
"Hmm, what's the point of comparing these things?
Winter, without a sound, freezes thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.
Wind, without words, yet blows down a riot of colours.
We are all contributors to Konoha. No one is nobler than another; it's just that they have better talent and greater responsibilities.
If you want to compare yourself to them, compare contributions, not meaningless combat power.
Combat power is used to stop enemies and gain the capital for survival, not to compare with comrades and gain vanity."
Satoru said.
Propagating the Will of Fire must be done at all times, because this is Konoha's answer for the next era.
Seishimon heard his words and instantly felt his whole being ignite. Satoru was right; he was also silently contributing to Konoha.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.
After dealing with his busy work, Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered the young man with bandages wrapped around his head.
So he used the Telescope Technique to observe and happened to overhear their conversation.
"Winter, without a sound, yet freezes thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.
Wind, without words, yet blows down a riot of colours.
As expected, he is a child who has inherited the Will of Fire. At this age, he already understands the essence of the Will of Fire."