When they arrived at the place, wow, it was all sand and stones; it was incredibly poor.
Perhaps they felt there wasn't much to gain in this place, or perhaps the third Raikage himself finally cooled down from his hot-blooded state and realized that his journey across more than a dozen countries, from the northeast to the southwest of the continent, was indeed a bit too abstract.
Meanwhile, the Village Hidden in the Sand, thanks to Rasa's efforts in displaying Magnet Style, temporarily united and prepared for a decisive battle.
The third Raikage, upon seeing this, realized that he was outnumbered and that a direct confrontation wouldn't be worthwhile. Besides, this place was in the middle of nowhere, so there was no point in taking it, and there was no chance of governing it.
Therefore, he had no choice but to lead his men on a strategic victorious retreat.
Afterward, adhering to the philosophy of claiming great victories, both sides declared overwhelming triumphs.
An internal crisis gave rise to a new leader. With his Magnet Style and his performance during the crisis, Rasa successfully rose to power and became the fourth Kazekage.
When a new official takes office, he always faces a few thorny issues: first, the previous Kazekage has mysteriously disappeared, and he has to give the whole village an explanation.
Secondly, in order to find people and prepare for the battle, they have almost emptied their savings. The arrow is on the bowstring, and they have no choice but to release it.
Third, having just taken office, he urgently needed to establish prestige and consolidate power.
After much deliberation, Rasa slapped his thigh. Alright, they can't abandon the old traditions. Let's put this big, round black pot on our old neighbor and good ally, Konoha!
Therefore, the Village Hidden in the Sand launched a surprise attack and declared war on Konoha.
When the Village Hidden in the Cloud saw the Village Hidden in the Sand's posture: Alright then, if you attack Konoha, then I'll attack Konoha too!
The Village Hidden in the Stones and Village Hidden in the Mist, watching from the sidelines, thought, "How could I miss out on this excitement?"
Since you're all here, I have to join in too. Otherwise, it would make our village seem like it has no presence.
After all, when the Five Great Ninja Villages stand together, the world lies beneath their feet.
Thus, the Third Shinobi World War, which affected the entire Shinobi World, broke out in full force amidst this seemingly absurd but actually chain reaction of years of accumulated conflicts and calculations of interests.
Thinking of this, Shinichi shook his head, dispelling the slightly sarcastic metaphors in his mind, and his eyes became calm and sharp again.
Humor aside, the cruelty of war is real, and he only had about a year left.
During this brief period of peace, he must make good use of the new privileges of the Chunin rank and the forthcoming blue talent to raise his strength to a level sufficient to stand firm in the coming storm and perhaps even influence the direction of the wind.
'What should I do next?'
Shinichi fell into deep thought. After the Chunin exams, with the new and subsequent upgrades further strengthening his abilities, he estimated that he would be roughly at the level of a full-fledged Jonin by then.
There may still be some slight differences in terms of overall experience, mission history, and handling of complex situations, but in terms of combat effectiveness alone, they are not far apart.
A year later, when the shadow of that great war truly began to fall, he was confident that he would be firmly standing at the level of a Jonin.
At that time, he was just ten years old, which was more than two years earlier than Kakashi, the genius who later became a Jonin at almost thirteen.
Furthermore, in Shinichi's opinion, when Kakashi was promoted to Jonin, his strength probably had not yet fully met the hard standards for Jonin.
After all, he suffered a great loss when fighting against the Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Stones. Even his short sword was broken, and he lost an eye. His true transformation was only completed under the intense stimulation of the Sharingan and the death of his companion.
"A year from now, I should be able to genuinely possess the combat strength of a full-fledged Jonin, or even stronger."
Shinichi silently estimated: "With this kind of strength, in the early stages of the turmoil, as long as I don't plunge headlong into the most brutal meat grinder battlefield or carry out the most dangerous missions, I should be able to protect myself."
Thinking of this, Shinichi withdrew his gaze from the starry sky and decided to end the day.
But just as he turned around...
A vague pull, an inexplicable and subtle feeling, welled up from the bottom of his heart without warning.
It wasn't intense, but like a pebble thrown into a still lake, it created clear ripples.
"Um?"
He let out a soft hmm, stopped what he was doing, and subconsciously brought up his system panel again, his gaze falling directly on the column for [Number of draws: 1 (Blue)].
At this moment, the vague feeling of sudden impulse did not dissipate, but instead became clearer and stronger, as if it was silently urging and guiding something.
The characteristics of the Auspicious Omen Talent are becoming increasingly apparent.
The last time he had a similar feeling was three years ago when he was talking to Kakashi at the Konoha graveyard.
That naive guidance ultimately led him to utter words that echoed the core of the second Hokage's dying words under the watchful eye of the third Hokage, thus successfully entering the vision of the higher-ups and gaining far more attention and resources than ordinary Ninja Academy Students.
So this time... Shinichi's gaze sharpened, and he no longer hesitated.
A ritual after returning to Konoha?
To hell with rituals!
Opportunity knocks but once.
In this border town's inn, under the starlight, it's the perfect time!
He took a deep breath to calm his slightly racing heart and focused all his attention on the line of handwriting that emitted an alluring glimmer.
Extract!
It was as if a barely perceptible ripple spread through his consciousness, only to subside instantly, and the 1 (Blue) mark on the panel returned to zero.
Immediately afterwards, at the end of the talent attribute list, a point of azure light bloomed, like a star illuminating the deep sea. Within the light, new words quickly condensed and solidified.
[Clone (Blue): You can create a clone of yourself and fuse it with the genes of another creature to create an independent, permanent, and continuously growing clone. The clone shares consciousness and memories with the original. The clone can inherit one occupation and 50% of the talent attributes (Rounded down) from the main body, including a maximum of one purple talent attribute. It cannot inherit talent attributes related to other occupations. The specific talents can be allocated by the main body. The main body can reallocate the inherited talents by contacting the clone.]
[Note: The external world can also perceive the clone, but the effect is only 50% of the normal effect, and all recognition generated will be directly fed back to the main body. Sacrificing one purple-quality attribute of the main body can upgrade this talent to purple quality; this is the only way to upgrade.]
[The main body can actively reclaim its clones, absorbing a small portion of the clone's essence to strengthen itself. Once a clone is reclaimed, it cannot be restored; similarly, a clone cannot be restored upon its death.]
Oh?
What a wonderful and unexpected surprise!
It seems he needs to adjust his plans for the future.
Shinichi's eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn upwards.