At noon the next day.
Kushina walked alone into the command headquarters at the city gate.
"Where is Yagami-kun? Didn't he come?"
Seeing Kushina arrive by herself, Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, a hint of curiosity in his golden eyes as he asked.
The other Jōnin all wore the same puzzled expression.
They had already been here for quite some time, waiting for Yagami and Kushina to arrive together.
"He said he was going to develop a new technique today," Kushina answered seriously, feeling all the gazes gather on her. "So he won't be attending today's meeting."
In truth, she didn't really understand what Yagami was up to.
But since he'd said that much, Kushina hadn't pressed him for details.
"...Huh??"
"Develop a new technique??"
Everyone in the command room, including Orochimaru, froze with dumbfounded expressions.
Seriously? This is a war, we're on the front lines… and he picks now to develop a new jutsu?
His strength was already overwhelmingly powerful.
Couldn't he wait until after this battle to focus on research?
An awkward silence spread through the room as everyone gave the exact same "are you serious?" look.
Their original plan was clear:
Today, while Chiyo of Sunagakure was seriously injured and Rasa's life or death was still unknown, they would launch a full counterattack, driving the Sand shinobi completely out of the Land of Fire.
But with Yagami absent at this critical moment…
All of their carefully arranged plans collapsed in an instant.
With their nearly three thousand shinobi going up against the remaining five thousand from Sunagakure, they needed both Yagami and Orochimaru—two Kage-level powerhouses—to spearhead the assault.
Otherwise, if they just charged in with their current numbers, the most they could hope for was mutual destruction.
"How many days is he planning to 'develop' this technique?"
Nara Shikaku of the Ino–Shika–Chō trio rubbed his temple, asking helplessly.
Without Yagami and Orochimaru fighting side by side at the front, today's counterattack idea had to be shelved.
"He said… he said one day would be enough."
Remembering what Yagami had told her yesterday, Kushina felt a little embarrassed, but still relayed his words honestly.
"...One day?"
Hearing Kushina's answer, everyone in the command room looked at each other in disbelief.
What kind of technique could be developed in just one day?
No matter how much of a genius Yagami was, a single day was far too rushed.
It sounded less like research and more like he was just messing around.
"Haha…"
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, breaking the heavy mood.
"Since Yagami-kun is going to focus on developing ninjutsu today, let's move on to today's battle plan."
He thought for a moment, then smiled as if to reassure everyone.
"One day isn't that long. We can afford to wait."
And more than that—he had a strong hunch Yagami wasn't just talking big.
In Orochimaru's mind, he could already picture it: Yagami most likely hadn't just started developing this technique today. The research must have begun long ago, and now he was finally in the last stage of completion.
Thinking back to the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken that Yagami had created before, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity toward the "new technique" being practiced right now.
Will it be another powerful S-rank ninjutsu this time?
"Hey… it can't be helped."
Hearing Orochimaru's conclusion, everyone could only shake their heads with bitter smiles.
Yagami's decision did feel a bit willful.
But with someone that strong, who among them had the qualifications to complain?
And since Orochimaru, the commander-in-chief, had no intention of criticizing him, it certainly wasn't their place to do so.
Outside Kikyo Castle.
Deep within a rocky canyon—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Violent explosions had been echoing through the ravine for nearly an hour.
Because the two Devil Fruits' abilities had clear precedents and users he could reference, Yagami hadn't run into too many obstacles in developing their techniques.
He had already grasped almost all of the offensive "release-type" skills.
Only teleportation-type and some auxiliary abilities were still beyond his current control.
Logia-type Devil Fruits really were the easiest to develop.
Most of their attacks were simply high-powered elemental blasts.
"God's Verdict!!"
Yagami shouted, thrusting his right hand forward.
In an instant, his entire forearm shone with dazzling light.
A pillar of golden lightning, thick enough that two grown men would need to join arms to encircle it, roared out in a single flash.
RUMBLE—!!!
The deafening roar shook the entire canyon.
When the blinding thunder beam finally faded, a bottomless-looking hole had been carved straight into the canyon wall.
Dust billowed everywhere, rubble scattering across the ground.
The devastation alone was enough to prove just how terrifying that attack was.
"Haa… haa…"
After such intense training, Yagami's chakra and stamina had been heavily drained.
He flopped back onto a large boulder, lying there as he caught his breath and slowly recovered his strength.
"The ninja carrying the battle report should've reached Konoha by now, right?"
"I wonder if he handed the Den Den Mushi over to Mikoto…"
Thinking of the instructions he'd given the messenger yesterday, Yagami reached into his clothes and took out his other Den Den Mushi.
Konoha Village.
Hokage Building, conference room.
"Hahaha… splendid. This is exactly the report I was hoping for."
After listening to the report personally delivered by the ninja returning from Kikyo Castle, the Third Hokage burst into hearty laughter.
Ever since the outbreak of this war, all three intelligence reports that had reached him while he was awake had been nothing but good news.
Konoha's upper echelon could barely contain their joy.
The oppressive weight that had been pressing on everyone's hearts because of the war had already begun to lift.
"That Yagami kid is insanely strong…"
"Right? Not only did he behead Sunagakure's newly promoted Kage, Rasa, he also severed one of Chiyo's arms. That kind of record is unbelievable."
"Yeah. Ever since that first report about him cutting down a hundred enemies by himself, I knew he was something special—but I didn't expect this level of strength."
"Indeed… that's how it is."
The conference room buzzed with excited voices.
There were exclamations of admiration, gasps of shock—
And of course, a few sycophantic officials clapping a little too loudly, their flattery almost echoing off the walls.
Mixed in with all the noise was a clear sense of celebration and relief.
While the entire room was lifted by the string of victories from the front lines, Shimura Danzō felt a sharp pang in his chest.
Right now, he regretted it—regretted ever having crossed Yagami in the first place.
He himself had created such a deep rift between them.
"Bru~ Bru~ Bru~ Bru~ Bru~"
"Bru~ Bru~ Bru~ Bru~ Bru~"
Just as the conference room was filled with laughter and chatter, a strange ringing sound suddenly echoed through the air.
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