Chapter 181: Even the Zanpakuto has a Chunibyo!

[Sword of the Darkness Flame contract successful.]

[Compatibility: Eligible.]

[Received yellow Blueprint enhancement, compatibility increased to Good.]

[Sword of the Darkness Flame's abilities have been slightly enhanced.]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Good-level Sensory Ninjutsu talent.]

Ao, aside from the Byakugan, is also skilled in sensing. The Byakugan, however, is an external power.

Soma was not surprised at obtaining a sensing talent.

A strong feeling of familiarity suddenly surged into Ao's mind. Instinctively, Ao looked at the Sword of the Darkness Flame in his hand, revealing a somewhat incredulous expression.

Ao understood the recognition of a Zanpakuto thanks to Juzo recounting his experience.

At the same time, Ao had seen many contracts between ninjas and their Zanpakuto. In this situation, when that sense of familiarity surged up, Ao knew that the Sword of the Darkness Flame had acknowledged him.

This greatly surprised and delighted Ao.

Ao had longed to obtain a Zanpakuto. To acquire the Byakugan, Ao had paid a heavy price and was severely injured. To say that it had no impact on his strength would be a lie. Moreover, like the Sharingan, the Byakugan also carries a certain "burden."

However, Ao didn't want to become just a tool for using the Byakugan.

Ao wanted to become a strong ninja capable of standing on his own. Since he couldn't improve himself further, he had no choice but to look outward. In that case, a Zanpakuto was the best choice.

Ao had witnessed firsthand the qualitative changes in the strength of many ninjas after obtaining a Zanpakuto. Even those who received Skillful Grade Swords or Great Grade Swords experienced significant improvements.

Ao greatly desired to have a Zanpakuto of his own. However, all of his previous attempts ended in failure.

Ao never blamed Soma. He knew that Soma had been very kind to him. Every time a Zanpakuto was crafted, Soma would offer it to him first to try. Ao was very grateful for that.

However, the repeated attempts and failures had left Ao with a strong sense of frustration. He had become somewhat numb and even began to doubt himself.

"Maybe it's because my talent is too poor," he thought.

For this attempt, Ao didn't hold any expectations. The Sword of the Darkness Flame was a fire-element ninjato.

Ao didn't think he had any talent in Fire Release. But this time, without any expectations, he actually succeeded.

"Soma?"

Ao looked at Soma, still unable to believe it.

"Ao-senpai, congratulations, the Sword of the Darkness Flame has acknowledged you."

Ao gripped the hilt of the sword tightly.

"Soma, thank you."

Soma smiled.

"Senpai, do you want to try out the Sword of the Darkness Flame's abilities now?"

"Sure."

Even without Soma's suggestion, Ao was already eager to try it out.

The two of them went to the seaside. Ao had seen Soma's previous attempts, but he still wanted to test it out for himself.

At the seaside, Ao raised the Sword of the Darkness Flame, gathering chakra in his hand and then channeling it into the sword.

However, the next moment, nothing happened.

Ao was stunned and instinctively looked at Soma.

"Soma, what's going on?"

Ao was a bit confused about the current situation. He clearly felt a sense of familiarity from the Sword of the Darkness Flame, which meant that the sword had acknowledged him. Moreover, Ao had seen Soma use the Sword of the Darkness Flame, and after injecting chakra, he could unleash extremely powerful flames. So why wasn't anything happening when he tried?

What went wrong?

Soma also found it strange. Ao's feelings might be mistaken, but the system's notification sound was definitely not wrong.

"Ao-senpai, let me take a look."

"Alright."

Ao handed the Sword of the Darkness Flame back to Soma. Soma gripped the hilt and infused it with chakra.

"Go!"

Immediately, a burst of flames ignited along the blade. Soma carefully sensed the fluctuations of the ninjato in his hand.

This ninjato is similar to the Lightning Blade, but not entirely the same. The sense of it being a living entity is much stronger. Soma could faintly feel that the Sword of the Darkness Flame was cooperating with his movements, but its enthusiasm wasn't very high. It was as if it were working reluctantly, forced to obey because Soma was its forger.

Suddenly, Soma thought of something.

"Burn, Sword of the Darkness Flame!"

In the next moment, Soma felt the Sword of the Darkness Flame suddenly become more excited, and even the flames on the blade burned more intensely.

At that moment, Soma confirmed that his suspicion was correct.

"Ao-senpai, I think I know what the issue is. This ninjato is somewhat different from the others. You might consider it having a consiousness between the Sword of Wisdom and other ninjato.

To use this ninjato's abilities, it might be helpful to accompany its use with some words."

Ao was a bit confused.

"What kind of words?"

"For example—'Burn, Sword of the Darkness Flame!' Or something like—'In my name, summon heavenly fire and obliterate them!' Things like that. You'll have to figure out what specific phrases excite the Sword of the Darkness Flame the most, Ao-senpai."

Soma speculated that the Sword of the Darkness Flame might have a bit of a "Chunibyo" personality, similar to Hiei. Hiei is clearly a classic case of Chunibyo, and since the Sword of the Darkness Flame's power originates from Hiei's demon energy seed, it makes sense that it might have the same trait.

Ao: "..."

This was the first time Ao had encountered such a situation. However, since Zanpakuto is a type of ninjato that hadn't appeared before, especially the Sword of Wisdom, Ao didn't find it too strange—just a little embarrassing. As a ninja, saying things like that during battle felt somewhat awkward.

To Ao, it seemed too childish. However, he couldn't refuse. Out of all the Zanpakuto, only this one had acknowledged him. Moreover, Ao had witnessed the power of the Sword of the Darkness Flame. It was an incredibly strong ninjato.

"I understand, Soma. I'll give it a try."

Ao took the Sword of the Darkness Flame again, gripped the hilt tightly, and looked out at the sea. He gathered chakra in his hand.

"Burn, Sword of the Darkness Flame! In my name, summon heavenly fire and annihilate them!"

In the next moment, a mass of flames suddenly appeared and quickly grew enormous, surging forward and crashing onto the sea's surface.

"Boom!"

It exploded like a cannonball, sending countless splashes of water flying.

"What incredible power!" Ao's eyes lit up, especially after comparing the damage effect with the amount of chakra he had used.

"This is stronger than any offensive technique I currently have!"

Ao's base attributes weren't bad. He excelled in Sensory Ninjutsu, and after acquiring the Byakugan, he gained its abilities as well. However, the Byakugan, in essence, is still a form of sensory ability. Ao was also skilled in Water Release, but not to the level of Hoshigaki Kisame or Fuguki Suikazan.

Ao was a Jonin, but one whose offensive capabilities weren't particularly strong. However, after obtaining the Sword of the Darkness Flame, everything changed. The Sword of the Darkness Flame not only made up for Ao's shortcomings in attack but even turned it into one of his strengths. Such powerful offensive capabilities instantly made him stand out within the Hidden Mist Village.

"This flame isn't ordinary fire!"

"Now, I have the strength of an elite Jonin."

Ao was a bit excited. Even if it required saying some embarrassing phrases during use, the power of this attack made it worth it.

Looking at the sea in front of him, Ao felt that maybe it wasn't so embarrassing after all.

The day came to an end. After completing the contract with the Sword of the Darkness Flame, Soma practiced Water Gun Jutsu.

There are two key aspects to Water Gun Jutsu. One is to produce the Water Gun itself, which posed no problem for Soma. He had mastered Hydrification Jutsu quickly, and Water Gun Jutsu is based on it.

The critical issue was the second aspect: accuracy.

Water Gun Jutsu primarily functions by shooting a droplet of water. To Soma, it was like a bullet—extremely fast with highly concentrated water. Once it hits, it causes significant damage.

Creating the "bullet" was not a problem for Soma. However, he wasn't as skilled at aiming. No matter how powerful the bullet is, if it can't hit the target, it's meaningless.

"The speed of Water Gun is faster than any other ninjutsu I currently know. Even high-level ninjas would find it hard to dodge from a few dozen meters away."

"One can even perform sniping from even greater distances."

"If the opponent's vigilance isn't strong enough, they can be easily killed."

"But this requires precise aiming."

"For example, the Byakugan."

Soma believed that the Byakugan had a high compatibility with Water Gun Jutsu.

"However, obtaining a Good-level Sensory Ninjutsu talent from Ao-senpai will also be quite helpful for my aiming."

...

...

Orochimaru, Danzo, and Jiraiya gathered at the Konoha military camp.

Jiraiya looked serious.

"This is an excellent opportunity!"

"According to Sarutobi-sensei, the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village are currently holding each other in check."

"This allows us to focus all our energy on dealing with the Hidden Mist Village."

"Once the war between Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village ends, such an opportunity will not come again."

"We must seize this chance."

"And we must end this war as soon as possible."

"Reassign the ninjas who were deployed back to their original positions."

"Otherwise, if the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village get wind of this, they will definitely strike at us."

The wars between ninja villages ultimately come down to a struggle for resources. Konoha is the one with the most resources. Various ninjutsu, secret techniques, bloodline abilities, sealing jutsu...

Each one is highly coveted.

Even though the Hidden Sand Village has impressive Puppet Jutsu and the Hidden Mist Village has introduced Zanpakuto, Konoha is still seen as the richest prize among the ninja villages.

This is why, in the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, Konoha almost defeated all the other four major ninja villages, and the Third Shinobi World War was no different.

In the early stages, Konoha and the Hidden Sand Village were not allies but adversaries. It wasn't until later that the two ninja villages began to cooperate.

Konoha's invasions of other ninja villages are few. Other ninja villages' invasions of Konoha are many. However, this doesn't mean Konoha is benevolent while the other ninja villages are malevolent.

For example, Danzo and Orochimaru are not known for their compassion. Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation as a great ninja leader is well-earned.

If the resources of the ninja world are likened to a cake, Konoha originally occupies the largest piece. When Konoha's strength wanes, their main issue becomes defense.

Just like this time, even though the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village are holding each other in check, Konoha's plan is to defeat the Hidden Mist Village's army rather than directly attacking the Hidden Mist Village.

Konoha knows that while directly attacking the Hidden Mist Village could cause greater damage and potentially yield some Zanpakuto, if the Hidden Rock Village and Hidden Cloud Village learned of this, they would not miss the opportunity to strike.

They would definitely attack Konoha.

Attacking Konoha, seizing the Byakugan, and capturing secret jutsu and sealing jutsu.

While Zanpakuto are strong, most major forces in the ninja world have already discovered that Zanpakuto users must meet certain conditions; not everyone can fully utilize a Zanpakuto's abilities.

The Byakugan, on the other hand, is an even more top-tier strategic asset in wartime.

And sealing jutsu.

Why was the Uzumaki Clan targeted?

That clan is like a country. They do not rely on ninja missions for their primary livelihood and have their own agriculture and commercial enterprises.

In terms of resources, the Uzumaki Clan did not have much competition with other ninja villages.

However, the Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu made many ninja villages both fearful and desirous.

One of the very important rules established by Senju Hashirama when he pacified the ninja world was the management of the tailed beasts.

Tailed beasts were treated as resources to be allocated.

Major ninja villages each had their own tailed beasts, and sealing jutsu happened to be a perfect counter to them.

Which ninja village wouldn't want better control over their own tailed beasts?

Which ninja village likes seeing their jinchuriki suppressed by another village's sealing jutsu?

It can be said that the extermination of the Uzumaki Clan was partly due to the existence of sealing jutsu and tailed beasts.

Another part of the reason is related to Senju Hashirama's management of the tailed beasts.

Of course, this doesn't mean Senju Hashirama deliberately targeted the Uzumaki Clan.

However, the phenomenon of "I did not kill that person, but that person died because of me" is not uncommon.

Danzo glanced at Jiraiya, feeling displeased.

Who is he?

A Konoha Elder.

The leader of ROOT.

The dark side of Konoha.

And Jiraiya?

Just a younger generation.

And now, with both of them present, Jiraiya is the one giving orders?

What is this about?

Can't an elder like him get a little respect?

Beside him, Orochimaru also felt displeased.

But his dissatisfaction wasn't with Jiraiya giving orders; rather, Orochimaru felt that Hiruzen's orders for him, Jiraiya, and Danzo to simultaneously launch an assault on the Mist Village's army were not based on the opportunities presented by the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village.

But rather, not allowing himself to return to the village. It's essentially a form of "exile."

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