Chapter 109 – The Cremation Technique
Early the next morning, Taichi and his two teammates arrived at the Daimyō's estate to wait.
As expected, with his objectives already achieved, the Daimyō had no intention of making things difficult for them. The mission documents were stamped and approved without hesitation, officially marking the successful completion of Taichi's team's assignment.
Originally, the three of them had planned to spend a little more time enjoying themselves at the Daimyō's estate. However, after Yohei's little "incident" the previous night, Taichi was in no mood for sightseeing and immediately suggested returning to Konoha.
Saori, having already wandered through the night market, didn't feel like staying either. She had only hesitated because of Yohei's playful nature, assuming he would object.
Yet when she looked at Yohei, she found him unusually silent—offering no protest at all. That immediately raised her suspicions. Had something happened last night that she didn't know about?
Feeling Saori's gaze sweeping over him again and again, Yohei's scalp tingled.
After getting caught red-handed by Taichi, how could he possibly dare voice any objections now?
Forced to explain under Saori's curious stare, Yohei coughed awkwardly and said, "I, uh… I stayed out all night yesterday. Did everything there was to do. I'm tired now—might as well head back early and train."
Taichi curled his lips but didn't bother exposing him. Instead, he announced decisively, "We're leaving."
The journey to Kyoto had taken nine days.
The return trip took only two.
As Konoha's open gates came into view, they didn't look nearly as tall or imposing as Kyoto's walls—but an unmistakable sense of safety welled up inside them.
This, Taichi thought, must be what home feels like.
After submitting their mission credentials and entering Konoha smoothly, Taichi said, "Yohei, Saori—I'll turn in the mission. Let's rest today. We'll meet tomorrow morning at Training Ground No. 3."
"Got it!" ×2
---
Hokage's Office
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Taichi stood quietly outside the door.
A moment later, a voice from inside snapped, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
…Ah. Sounds like Danzō had just taken another loss here.
The door suddenly flew open.
Danzō emerged, his expression dark and stormy. When he saw Taichi standing there, he froze for a split second—then curved his lips into a strange, meaningful smile.
Bang.
The door slammed shut behind him as he stalked off down the corridor.
Does he think the door belongs to his family? Taichi grumbled inwardly.
Before he could finish complaining, a voice came from inside again.
"Come in."
Taichi carefully pushed the door open, poked his head inside to check for anyone else, then slipped in and gently closed the door behind him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched his cautious antics and chuckled. "You little rascal—who are you acting for? Stand properly."
Seeing the mood was relaxed, Taichi immediately straightened up and respectfully handed over the mission scroll.
Hiruzen glanced at it briefly and set it aside. A standard C-rank escort mission—nothing worth scrutinizing. If Taichi was standing here, then it had obviously gone smoothly.
"So," Hiruzen asked, "how did that mission go?"
"We can only say I've gained the Daimyō's preliminary trust," Taichi replied carefully.
He went on to recount the mission in detail—the repeated probing from Noda Sō during the escort, and the private audience the very night they arrived in Kyoto.
As he spoke, Taichi pulled out a storage scroll. "This contains the thirty million ryō the Daimyō promised, along with several ninjutsu texts I selected."
"Oh? He's quite generous," Hiruzen remarked.
He accepted the scroll—but didn't check its contents. After a moment, he handed it back. "Keep it. You earned it by risking your life."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Taichi was genuinely pleased. Trust was one thing—but having the items formally returned by the Hokage meant no one could later question their legitimacy.
"So the Daimyō only asked you to gather information on outstanding ninja in Konoha," Hiruzen said calmly, as though he'd expected nothing else.
"Yes. As for other tasks, he said he'd contact me later."
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment.
As expected, he thought. He wants to siphon off talent—but nobles still underestimate what ninja truly are.
"Later on," Hiruzen said, "I'll provide you with a list of individuals we can afford to expose. You may leak those names at appropriate times."
"Yes, sir." Taichi answered without hesitation.
After a pause, seeing no further instructions, Taichi prepared to take his leave.
But Danzō's strange smile suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
A flicker of unease crossed his heart.
"Hokage Grandpa," Taichi said, abruptly shifting to a playful tone, "this counts as a mission too, right? What's the rank? And where's the mission record?"
"I'll be taking the Chūnin Exams next year—I need to pad my resume!"
Hiruzen stared at him for a moment—then laughed. "You little fox. Don't trust me?"
"Of course I do!" Taichi protested loudly.
Not really, he added silently. Paper proof lasts longer than trust.
"A ninja's work must be precise," Taichi continued earnestly. "A mission is a mission—no cutting corners. That's what Teacher Yamada taught us."
"Alright, alright," Hiruzen waved him off. "I'll write you a mission scroll. No need to drag poor Yamada into this."
He quickly drafted the document.
Taichi stepped closer, pointing helpfully. "And here—and here—you need to stamp and sign it for it to count."
Hiruzen shot him an annoyed look, but still stamped and signed the scroll.
"Happy now?" he said, tossing it over. "Now get out of here!"
"Yes sir!" Taichi caught the scroll and fled the office at once.
Outside, he stared at the mission scroll for a long moment.
That unease from earlier finally faded.
Good. Now no one can twist this against me later.
He carefully stored the scroll, then headed to the mission hall to collect the escort reward—which he'd distribute to Yohei and Saori the next day.
---
Time passed quietly.
Nearly a month had gone by since the Daimyō's covert intelligence mission.
During that period, Taichi's team continued operating without a jōnin leader.
They could only accept C-rank missions—transporting supplies, escorting targets, village patrols.
Perhaps luck was on their side.
Not a single mission involved combat.
Everything passed peacefully… almost too peacefully.
And beneath that calm, Taichi's new goal burned steadily:
The Fire Cremation Technique.
After a full month of effort, setting aside all other improvements, two areas in particular had advanced by leaps and bounds:
[Fire Nature Transformation Lv9 (262/1600)]
[Chakra Control Lv9 (16/1600)]
At present, Taichi's mastery of fire nature transformation was already a full level ahead of wind and water, and far beyond his other elemental affinities.
The technique he had once demonstrated to Yohei and the others—coating an entire arm in flames—had now evolved further. He could envelop his entire upper body in fire.
This was not merely a matter of fire nature proficiency; it demanded extremely refined chakra control as well.
Of course, for now, it was still just a flashy trick.
Taichi's real goal was far more ambitious: to develop something akin to the Hōzuki clan's Hydrification Technique—turning his entire body into flames, allowing him to evade sudden attacks altogether.
On the battlefield, shuriken and kunai filled the air, and a stray arrow could come from anywhere. Dying without even knowing how it happened was far from rare.
And just like the Hydrification Technique, Taichi firmly believed that his future "Cremation Technique" would have many additional applications—such as dramatically enhancing the power of Fire Release techniques.
As for this Cremation Technique, Taichi finally had a breakthrough.
It all stemmed from the book he had brought back from the Daimyō's estate:
"On the Transformation of Chakra Between Matter and Energy".
The text explored hypotheses and experiments on how chakra could transform into fire, earth, wind, water, and lightning. In particular, its discussion of Earth Release delved deeply into the concept of matter–energy conversion.
In the ninja world, such ideas were difficult for most people to grasp—much like how people simply accept that one plus one equals two. That was likely why the book had been dismissed and left to gather dust.
But to Taichi, this theory instantly reminded him of the mass–energy equivalence from his previous life.
Though not identical, the underlying philosophy was strikingly similar.
Matter and energy could be transformed into one another under the right conditions—and in the ninja world, chakra was the medium that enabled this transformation.
At last, Taichi's ninjutsu development had crossed a critical threshold.
From zero… to one.
---
Just as Taichi was taking advantage of this rare period of calm to immerse himself in research, chaos erupted at Konoha's front gate.
A ninja, his entire body drenched in blood and nearly half of his right waist missing, collapsed before the gate.
The guards rushed forward cautiously. When one of them lifted the man's face, his expression changed instantly.
This was someone he recognized—
Konoha's elite jōnin: Yamaguchi Masasuke.
"Quick—get help! Take him to Konoha Hospital!" the guard shouted immediately.
As subordinates rushed to bring a stretcher, they carefully lifted Yamaguchi onto it. Even as they moved, the guard barked another order:
"Send someone to the mission hall—check what jōnin Yamaguchi was assigned to and report it to the Hokage if necessary!"
Before his sentence even finished, he was already running ahead of the stretcher, clearing the way.
Perhaps because he had finally reached Konoha, Yamaguchi's willpower gave out. He fell completely unconscious.
Without his deliberate suppression, the massive wound reopened. Blood poured out unceasingly, leaving a horrifying crimson trail along the road to the hospital.
---
The report traveled from the gate to the mission hall, from there to the duty officer, then to the department head, and finally to the Hokage's office.
By the time the information reached Sarutobi Hiruzen, half an hour had already passed.
When Hiruzen learned that Yamaguchi Masasuke was in critical condition and undergoing emergency surgery, his expression darkened.
He knew exactly what Yamaguchi's mission had been—
Investigating unusual movements along the borders of Sunagakure and Iwagakure, and determining whether the two villages were forming an alliance.
For Yamaguchi to rush back to Konoha in such a state meant only one thing:
He had obtained extremely important intelligence.
Unable to sit still, Hiruzen immediately stood and headed for Konoha Hospital.
---
Konoha Hospital – Outside the Operating Room
The red light above the door was still lit when Hiruzen arrived.
As if anticipating his arrival, Hospital Director Biwako was already waiting outside.
"How is he?" Hiruzen asked directly.
"Very bad," Biwako replied gravely. "Nearly his entire right waist is gone. His right kidney and part of his intestines are missing. The fact that he even made it back to Konoha is a miracle."
Hiruzen's expression sank.
Before he could speak further, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Moments later, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu arrived as well. All three were aware of Yamaguchi's mission.
Danzō wasted no time. "Hiruzen. Did he bring back the intelligence?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "We wait."
Reluctantly, the others held back their impatience.
Not long after, the operating room doors opened.
Director Fujita Sana stepped out.
"Director Fujita—how is he?" Biwako asked urgently.
Fujita scanned the people present—the Hokage, elders, and advisors—and immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
"He's still unconscious. We've only managed to stabilize his vital signs for now."
She then handed over a scroll. "This was clenched in his hand. It's sealed—we couldn't open it."
A masked ANBU stepped forward, accepted the scroll, and attempted to release the seal.
After several tries, he shook his head. "Hokage-sama, this is a top-tier password seal. Without the correct method, it can't be safely opened."
"Can't you force it?" Danzō demanded sharply.
"With enough time, perhaps. But brute force risks triggering self-destruction."
"How long?" Danzō pressed.
"At least a month."
Silence fell.
Danzō's murderous glare locked onto the ANBU, as if asking whether he was being mocked.
A month was unacceptable. For time-sensitive intelligence, that delay rendered it meaningless.
"Let the Yamanaka clan extract it directly from his mind," Danzō proposed coldly.
"Absolutely not," Director Fujita cut in. "He's already on the brink of death. Forcing memory extraction now carries an extremely high risk of failure—and death."
"Agreed," Koharu added. "Konoha hasn't fallen so low as to sacrifice its own people for intelligence."
Not out of mercy—but because if such a thing became known, morale would collapse.
Finally, Homura sighed. "His mission was assigned by me. For security reasons, a seal was placed directly on his mind. Unless he speaks voluntarily, no one can extract the information."
The corridor fell deathly silent.
"So… we can only wait for him to wake up," Hiruzen murmured.
He turned to Fujita. "Is there a chance?"
"Very slim. His physical injuries are catastrophic, and his mental state has suffered as well. We must first repair his body."
"Then do it!" Danzō snapped.
Fujita ignored him. "The only viable option is Living Tissue Regeneration Technique. But due to the recent surge in missions, most senior medical ninja are currently deployed. We don't have enough specialists here who can reliably perform it."
Hope dimmed further.
Konoha's pride—its overwhelming mission volume—had become a crushing burden.
And now, the question hung in the air:
Was there truly no other way?