Chapter 139 – Aftermath and Abilities
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window, watching the streets slowly fill with morning crowds. A trace of anxiety flickered through his eyes.
After an entire night of discussion, he and Danzo had reached no conclusion whatsoever.
The realization struck deeper than either of them wished to admit.
Had their control over Konoha ever truly been complete?
But there was no time for doubt.
The priority now was immediate suppression.
"It's your move," Hiruzen said in a low voice, glancing at Danzo beside him. After all, this chaos had begun with Danzo's initial maneuver.
"I will handle it," Danzo replied simply, turning and leaving the office to issue orders.
For once, the will of the upper leadership was unified.
And when Konoha's machinery moved in unison, its efficiency was terrifying.
Root.
ANBU.
Even the Military Police.
All received the same directive:
First discussion of rumors — warning.
Second discussion — arrest.
Anyone deliberately spreading rumors — immediate arrest.
Resistance — lethal force authorized.
Under such severity, the atmosphere shifted overnight.
---
When Taichi finished his morning training and stepped onto the street, he immediately sensed the difference.
The air felt… clean.
Gone was the murky chatter of recent days.
No whispering clusters.
No lingering glances accompanied by hushed speculation.
Just a tight, restrained silence.
He couldn't help but feel fortunate.
Good thing he and Kakashi had already agreed to stop.
With enforcement this intense, even the slightest misstep could have exposed them.
And in the short time he walked down the street, Taichi detected no fewer than four subtle gazes sweeping across him.
The hunt was still ongoing.
---
Life gradually returned to routine.
But the ripples of the incident lingered beneath the surface.
Root and ANBU, like a disturbed hornet's nest, combed through the village relentlessly — interrogating, monitoring, sniffing for any trace.
They found nothing.
Shadow Clones left no evidence once dispelled.
Taichi and Kakashi had ceased all activity.
The trail had gone cold.
Eventually, the incident was officially categorized as the work of an "unknown destabilizing force."
Time passed.
Under official suppression and collective fatigue, the rumors faded.
About Sakumo.
About Danzo.
Even about the Hokage.
They sank into the numbness of village life, buried beneath routine.
On the surface, peace returned.
---
Taichi's days resumed their familiar rhythm:
Dawn: unwavering taijutsu and kenjutsu training until sweat soaked his clothes.
Mid-morning: team drills with Yōhei and Saori.
Afternoon: assisting at Konoha Hospital or studying ninjutsu alone at home.
Evening: reading, occasionally visiting the orphanage to spend time with the children.
Missions: B-rank and occasional A-rank assignments with the team.
Stable. Predictable.
Comforting, even.
---
The only true change occurred with Sakumo.
The legendary "White Fang of Konoha" did not return to high-risk elite operations.
Instead, he submitted a request.
To become a standard jōnin instructor.
The Hokage Tower approved it swiftly.
When Taichi heard the news from Kakashi, Sakumo had already taken over a new genin squad.
Kakashi's tone carried something subtle — relief mixed with contemplation.
"Father… seems calmer," he said quietly. "He says this is better. No longer carrying such heavy burdens. Training rookies is troublesome, but watching them fail and grow… that means more to him now."
Sakumo appeared lighter.
As if an invisible weight had been set down.
He could still be seen occasionally at the training grounds — posture upright, blade sharp as ever.
But there was something softer in his eyes now.
A gentler steadiness.
Taichi listened in silence.
He saw the change in Kakashi too — the tension that had once drawn him taut like a bowstring had eased.
Perhaps this was the best possible outcome.
Sakumo had found a new role.
A new peace.
A different kind of strength.
---
Yet those who paid attention understood:
The storm had not truly passed.
It had merely settled.
Sharp-eyed shinobi knew exactly what kind of people possessed both the capability and the audacity to orchestrate such a rumor war.
A quiet dissatisfaction accumulated in many hearts.
Today it was Sakumo.
Tomorrow, it could be anyone.
And though the later rumors about Danzo and Hiruzen were suppressed quickly, they left behind something harder to erase:
A splinter.
Small.
Invisible.
But occasionally sharp enough to remind you it was still there.
Konoha looked calm.
But beneath that calm surface—
Something had shifted.
---
Time flows like an endless river.
It does not bend to human will, nor does it pause for grief or ambition. It surges forward relentlessly.
The countless events of the shinobi world—wars, conspiracies, betrayals—are but small ripples upon its vast current. Soon enough, even the loudest waves dissolve into silence beneath its immense force.
Spring arrived in the 46th year of Konoha.
Thunder stirred the earth.
Life awakened from winter's sleep.
Yet the warm spring breeze failed to disperse the heavy gloom hanging over the shinobi world.
If anything, the new year tightened the tension further.
The continent felt like a bow drawn to its limit—
silent, rigid, and on the verge of release.
What once had been covert maneuvering had now transformed into open military mobilization.
Across the Five Great Nations, border forces increased almost in unspoken coordination.
Sunagakure had already begun reinforcing its frontier the previous year. Sparse watch posts were replaced with fortified outposts. Organized Sand divisions moved frequently through the desert. Puppet corps activity had visibly increased.
This year, large Sand units even appeared within the borders of the Land of Rivers.
And the Land of Rivers… said nothing.
At the same time, the warlike Land of Lightning expanded deployments along both the Fire and Earth borders, making their intentions impossible to read.
The Land of Earth appeared restrained—but everyone knew Iwagakure was the clever wolf. If an opportunity appeared, they would bite without hesitation.
Even the usually isolationist Land of Water was stirring. Mist shinobi silhouettes were spotted along Fire Country's nearby seas.
War was no longer rumor.
It was preparation.
---
Konoha Under Pressure
Konoha responded with full defensive posture.
The rumor crisis of Year 45 had shaken public confidence. Though half a year had passed, its shadow lingered in people's hearts.
Now, surrounded on all sides by hostile nations, the Hokage Tower had no choice but to reassign forces.
Veteran jōnin and experienced chūnin squads were dispatched to border regions in greater numbers.
Team Eight was no exception.
Yamaguchi Masasuke, their seasoned combat jōnin, was reassigned as an independent spearhead unit.
The remaining members were reorganized.
A newly promoted chūnin joined them.
The new squad leader?
Taichi.
Since the new year began, infiltration, sabotage, and intelligence operations—missions once rare—were being distributed regularly.
Prices fluctuated daily.
The village atmosphere lost its former ease.
The air carried anxiety.
War was coming.
---
Taichi did not relax.
In chaotic times, only strength guarantees survival—and the protection of those you care about.
Morning sunlight slanted across his private training ground.
A boy stood at its center, short blade flashing in golden firelight.
If one ignored the shattered stones and bisected earthen targets, the scene might even look majestic.
One diagonal slash—
The stone split instantly in two.
Its cut surface glowed molten red.
At his current level, any unprotected target would fall in a single strike.
Near the end of his session, Taichi executed a sweeping horizontal strike.
Flames condensed into blade-shaped chakra.
The blazing arc cut through everything before it—
stone, earth mounds, wooden targets—
All severed cleanly at the waist.
The remaining force surged forward until it struck the perimeter barrier.
This barrier had once shattered at the slightest impact.
After half a year of reinforcement, it now withstood moderate attacks.
As long as Taichi did not go all-out, it held.
Which meant he could train freely.
His greatest achievement recently:
Full mastery of the Cremation Technique.
With Chakra Control reaching Level 10, the final weakness was resolved.
After months of practice—
He could now fully convert his body into flame.
Standing in the center of the training ground, Taichi closed his eyes.
Flames began forming from his fingertips.
His body dissolved inch by inch into drifting fire.
The flames collapsed inward, compressing—
Until only a brilliant golden mass remained.
Unlike ordinary flickering fire, this flame flowed upward in continuous circulation.
Then—
It reshaped.
Limbs.
Torso.
Head.
He reformed in midair.
When his eyes opened—
They glowed like polished rubies.
---
Sensory Shift
In flame state, his vision was no longer normal.
Layered over reality was thermal perception.
The world became gradients of red and blue.
Hotter objects burned bright crimson.
Cooler surfaces dimmed to deep blue.
He could float.
Slowly.
Movement remained clumsy—an obvious limitation.
To fully overcome this, Chakra Control would need to ascend further—allowing simultaneous multi-attribute manipulation even in flame form.
He extended his right hand.
A blade of pure chakra-fire formed.
Unlike his normal Flame Blade, this required no physical weapon.
It existed only in full flame state.
A casual swing nearly shattered the barrier.
He immediately restrained himself.
Repairing barriers was expensive.
Reverting to flesh took time—that remained the technique's flaw.
But its purpose was fulfilled.
Taichi no longer possessed traditional vital points.
Stab him anywhere—
Unless instantly fatal—
He could convert to flame and regenerate.
In practical terms—
He had achieved a battlefield pseudo-immortality.
---
Status Panel
Name: Matsushita Taichi
Rank: Chūnin Lv4 (183/600)
Age: 10
Attributes
Physique: 24
Strength: 23
Agility: 23 (+1 from training)
Spirit: 27
Chakra: 25,000 (24,500 current)
Attribute Points: 23
Skill Points: 23
---
Nature Transformation
Fire: Lv11
Wind: Lv10
Water: Lv9
Earth: Lv6
Lightning: Lv6
Yang: Lv8
Yin: Lv6
Chakra Shape Transformation: Lv9
Chakra Control: Lv10
---
Combat Skills
Advanced Taijutsu Lv4
Advanced Meditation Lv3
Advanced Kenjutsu Lv4
Derived Skill – Blade Momentum (Protection)
Monstrous Strength Lv7
---
System Evaluation:
War approaches. Your preparation is sufficient.
Now, young one—unleash yourself.
For once, the system spoke sense.
Unless he deliberately sought death or was sealed without escape—
Dying would be difficult.
After training, Taichi headed to the Mission Hall.
War pressure meant manpower shortages everywhere.
Rest periods had shortened drastically.
One mission ended—one day rest—another began.
Konoha was accelerating like a massive war machine.
Team members assembled:
Uchiha Yōhei
Furukawa Saori
New member: Kazewata Kizuna
Kizuna had lost his former squad and was recently promoted to chūnin due to wartime necessity.
Older than the others by four years.
Weakest in strength.
Quiet. Obedient. Aware of his position.
After three months of team integration, Taichi decided it was time.
He walked straight to the A-rank mission board.
Yōhei and Saori looked eager.
Kizuna looked nervous.
Taichi selected one:
Eliminate foreign shinobi infiltrating the Land of Fire.
Why this one?
It offered both freedom and worthy opponents.
The mission details were simple:
Large numbers of foreign shinobi were sabotaging supply lines and attacking small settlements.
Objective:
Eliminate all encountered enemy shinobi.
Kizuna hesitated.
"Isn't 'all' too vague? What if some are legitimate operatives?"
Taichi raised an eyebrow.
Before he could answer, Yōhei spoke:
"We're operating behind the battlefield lines. Anyone appearing there right now isn't here for sightseeing. And even if they were—"
He shrugged coldly.
"War isn't a game."
Silence settled briefly.
This was no longer rumor warfare.
This was real war.
And it had already begun.