Chapter 25: Incursio Handover, Power Test, and Rising Village Tensions
Ding... [Tsunade has achieved initial mastery of A-grade weapon "Incursio." Talent Replication activated: Host gains Earth-attribute chakra.]
Naraku suddenly felt a refreshing surge through his body—he now had an additional nature.
It wasn't the one he wanted most, but at least it was another one.
Tsunade, after being hit by the Great Fireball, felt a bit cocky and told Naraku to hit her with a high-power Fire Release.
Naraku naturally didn't hold back. He quickly formed seals and unleashed Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation—a technique he had only recently learned.
Although Naraku's chakra reserves appeared to be only 2 Ka—not much on paper—that was still twice Kakashi's jōnin-level capacity.
Naraku roasted Tsunade with full force. One second, two seconds, three seconds...
It wasn't until ten seconds later that Tsunade finally felt a slight burning sensation in her chest—after all, the center of Naraku's flames was aimed right there, and that area of hers was particularly prominent.
Tsunade was very satisfied. With her speed, she wouldn't even need one second to escape the flame range.
In other words, this armor paired with Tsunade's monstrous strength had quite high compatibility.
After testing a bit more, Tsunade released the armor summon.
She felt the armor's chakra consumption and physical strain were completely acceptable for someone of the Senju clan.
...
Afterward, Naraku and Tsunade returned together to the Senju clan grounds. By now, Nawaki finally got to see the armor he loved.
After Tsunade and Naraku finished explaining,
"Incursio!" With a loud shout, Nawaki gripped the hilt. A shadowy armored figure with arms crossed appeared behind him.
But unlike Tsunade's summoning, the helmet's face gradually cracked open, revealing Tyrant's ferocious maw. The entire armor slowly moved forward as if embracing Nawaki.
Tsunade watched the scene and thought darkly: So this is what Naraku meant by a more compatible summoning vision?
Seeing the terrifying mouth in the helmet, Tsunade couldn't help feeling a little worried.
Naraku, however, had his guess completely confirmed: Sure enough, only a hot-blooded idiot was the perfect fit for this armor.
The high-EQ way to say it: pure-hearted innocence. And with Nawaki carrying Senju blood, he would surely grow rapidly thanks to this armor.
Naraku was very curious whether Nawaki could unlock the armor's final ability "Choice," and what Nawaki's decision would be.
At the very least, Naraku no longer had to worry that Nawaki would get blown up by explosive tags before he obtained Senju bloodline.
Next came the standard ability testing. After Nawaki finished trying everything one by one,
Ding... [Nawaki has achieved initial mastery of A-grade weapon "Incursio." Talent Replication activated: Host gains Water-attribute chakra.]
"Fuck! Not Lightning again!" Naraku was completely speechless.
He could only comfort himself that there would be more chances later. With Nawaki's perfect compatibility with this armor, he should eventually get it.
"Nawaki! Do you have Lightning Release chakra?" Naraku asked the boy who was still testing nearby.
"Yeah, why?" Nawaki answered honestly.
Naraku: "Fuuu—"
Naraku thought to himself: I still have 1000 draws. Surely I'll get something good.
...
After Naraku handed Incursio over to Nawaki, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura finally learned the full details.
Hiruzen sat in his office, troubled over how to handle Uchiha Naraku. Although Naraku never emphasized being an Uchiha—and usually just introduced himself as "Naraku"— as Naraku's importance grew, Hiruzen found him harder and harder to place.
Moreover, the more contributions Naraku made to the village, the wider his network became. It was easy to predict his connections would only grow larger in the future.
Danzō glanced at Hiruzen and immediately knew his old friend was inwardly suspicious of Naraku. He said: "This Naraku is getting more and more impressive. The biological material used in this weapon had power close to some tailed beasts. I wonder just how strong the limit of this forged weapon really is!"
Hiruzen flared up: "So what are you trying to say? Hand Naraku over to your Root? You should know that's impossible now! Forget the Uchiha clan—even the village's powerhouses, my disciples, and even the gradually disappearing Senju clan would never let you have him! Give up already!"
Danzō rarely saw Hiruzen this angry. He mocked: "So just let Naraku unite the village's strength through forging, and in the end, have them all rally behind an Uchiha to take the Hokage seat!"
Seeing Hiruzen fall silent, Danzō sensed an opening and pressed harder, throwing mud: "That Naraku's forging method is truly miraculous—actually fully fusing a terrifying monster into armor. What if he fused the Nine-Tails into some weapon? Who in Konoha could stop him? Naraku is already so close to the Senju clan. What if he used the First Hokage's body to create a weapon? Who could stop him then? With invincible power in Uchiha hands, plus Naraku uniting the village clans and jōnin—the Hokage seat would belong to the Uchiha! That's why I want to test Naraku's loyalty to Konoha!"
If Naraku had been present, he would have given Danzō a thumbs-up. As expected from the ninja world's most famous schemer—he had practically guessed everything Naraku wanted to do. Truly sharp judgment!
Just as Danzō smugly thought Hiruzen would agree to hand over Naraku, Hiruzen gave a different answer: "But! I refuse! At least during this period before the war begins!"
This time Danzō wasn't too angry. He knew Hiruzen had already loosened his stance—and he didn't want to kill Naraku too quickly anyway.
So Danzō gave a cold "hmph" and left.
Back in the Uchiha compound, Naraku ignored everyone and went straight to bed.
...
Uchiha Chikara and Uchiha Min sat facing each other drinking tea.
Chikara said: "Naraku has been doing quite a lot of impressive things lately. First gifting a blade to Orochimaru, then to Hatake Sakumo, and now forging a powerful armor but giving it to the Senju clan! Yet the only things he gives the clan are ordinary ninja blades. Some people in the clan are starting to have opinions about him!"
Min naturally knew what the clan head wanted. He replied without mercy: "The weapons are forged by Naraku himself. Who he gives them to is his decision. What right do you have to interfere?"
Chikara hadn't expected Min to be so blunt. He had originally hoped the two of them could pressure Naraku together. So he stopped being polite: "Remember—I am the Uchiha clan head! I will never allow any clansman to betray the clan!"
Min slammed the table: "Even as clan head, you have no right to control another person's personal assets! You will regret this!"
With that, the two parted on bad terms!
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