Teacher, let us cooperate with Danzo.

Chapter 53: Teacher, Let's Cooperate with Danzo

On the way back, Tenten and Kazuha found it difficult to calm their minds.

"Chiba, will he be alright?" Tenten asked in a low voice during a break.

"I don't know."

Chiba only had slightly better comprehension; he was not a deity capable of divination. How could he possibly know whether the samurai would live or die upon his return?

However...

"The Kiyota clan is bound to fail. If the Village of Artisans had any intentions of rebelling, they wouldn't have delayed until now."

"Chiba is right. In both factions, only a small minority want to stir up trouble, and it will inevitably end in nothing." Kakashi glanced at him approvingly.

Neutrality for the Land of Iron and the Land of Artisans was the general trend. In the current ninja world, after three Shinobi World Wars, the situation had stabilized. These small nations could not hope to rise based on just one or two weapons.

Let alone the Land of Artisans and the Land of Iron, even if the Land of Waterfalls were added to the mix, they would still be crushed by the major powers.

"Sigh, that may be true, but I still worry about Mr. Yuuichi. He is a good samurai." Tenten sighed.

"Samurai like Mr. Yuuichi have their own goals and will not stop until they achieve them. We cannot dissuade them, we can only offer our silent blessings," Kazuha said softly.

"Just like how we have our own ninja ways?" Tenten murmured thoughtfully.

Kakashi nodded approvingly, then began to guide them: "Then, Tenten, Kazuha, what are your ninja ways?"

"To become a great kunoichi like Lady Tsunade?"

"Tenten, that is a goal, not your ninja way. Your ninja way is the kind of ninja you want to become." Chiba reminded them as he ran.

For ninjas like them, simply traveling was a bit monotonous, and having a chat like this was not a bad idea.

Tenten fell into deep thought without a word.

Kazuha, however, showed no hesitation: "I want to prove that even a kunoichi can become an extraordinary master of swordsmanship!"

Earlier, she had envied Tenten for finding her passion. Prompted by Chiba, she had also figured out her own goal. Therefore, she did not hesitate.

Tenten smiled as well and said, "I've thought of it too!"

Chiba had roughly guessed it, so he just smiled and remained silent.

"Oh?" Kakashi looked over with curiosity.

"Hehehe, it's a secret!" Tenten said, making a playful face at Kakashi.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and retorted, "You brats are getting harder and harder to manage."

"Still, congratulations. The two of you are now qualified to be called true ninjas."

Although he had praised them before, he had been on the verge of exhaustion at the time, and he barely remembered what he had said. He genuinely admired the cooperation of Chiba's trio.

Not to mention Chiba. His performance this time far exceeded expectations; this kid was fully qualified to serve as a Chunin.

The performances of Tenten and Kazuha, however, were what truly surprised him. Previously, although Tenten and Kazuha were not weak, they were mostly directed by Chiba, and their spontaneous coordination had not been particularly smooth.

Yet this time...

Tenten used ninja tools for manipulation and precisely deployed sealing tags. Chiba used ninjutsu and barriers to control the enemy. Kazuha stepped in with her blade for the assassination.

Without verbal communication, they tacitly formed the perfect coordination Kakashi had hoped for.

This was what a true team looked like!

In Kakashi's eyes, the three of them had graduated. If heading back in time for the Chunin Exams hadn't been impossible, he felt Chiba and the others were fully ready to give the exams a try.

"Qualified to be ninjas?" Tenten and Kazuha muttered to themselves.

"That's right. No one is perfect. Even Chiba is not good at nature transformation or genjutsu, and cannot undertake many types of missions. That is the very meaning of a team." Kakashi nodded.

Chiba listened from the side without speaking. If he spoke up now, he might disrupt the atmosphere Kakashi had worked so hard to build. After all, having two girls on his team seemed to bring quite a bit of pressure.

He remained silent while pondering a few matters.

Absorbing the barrier and working with Tenzo had been a spur-of-the-moment idea, but looking at it more broadly, the wonderful applications of this barrier were indeed not limited to cooperating with sealing techniques.

Take Kakashi, for instance. His combat power was astonishing, and the only thing limiting him was his chakra.

This technique was essentially equivalent to giving Kakashi a "mana fountain." As long as such a barrier was set up in the rear, Kakashi could return to recover whenever he ran out of chakra. The effect... would be absolute powerhouse territory on the battlefield.

To achieve this effect, one thing was still missing—a storage medium.

However, just a moment ago, Chiba had been wondering if it was possible to create a ninja tool similar to the Infinite Armor. It wouldn't need great combat capability; it just needed to temporarily store chakra contributed by others.

It was worth a try.

Chiba took out a pen and notebook while running to jot down his thoughts.

In addition...

"I wonder if Delu has made a decision yet."

The potential for developing sealing techniques and barrier techniques was vast, deserving much more attention than other arts. The Sealed Iron Wall, as a combination of both, was especially outstanding. Furthermore, there was the Talent of the Hermit Clan.

"Relying on myself alone, it's completely impossible to cover so many fields simultaneously. Fortunately, Tenten is a genius in ninja tools and is very interested in this path."

Chiba pondered inwardly and couldn't help glancing at Tenten.

Tenten noticed Chiba's gaze. She found it strange—why did Chiba keep looking at her?

But she quickly pushed those distracting thoughts aside, turning her mind instead to the four ninja tools inside her ninja scroll. Those were secrets of the Village of Artisans. Earlier, when Kakashi and Chiba asked her about her ninja way, she had set a small goal for herself: to crack the mysteries of the four great ninja tools.

If she could replicate one, that would naturally be the best outcome.

Under the continuous travel, Tenten and Kazuha's physical strength and stamina were soon exhausted, forcing them to temporarily stop to rest and recover.

After swallowing military rations, Chiba took out his notebook and voiced his thoughts.

Upon hearing them, the other three exchanged glances in silence.

Using a ninja tool as the core to relay and store the chakra of the absorption barrier...

It was yet another creative idea completely beyond their imagination.

Kakashi thought of himself. If he had such a ninja tool, the number of times he could cast ninjutsu would increase dramatically, and the invisible boost to his combat power would be extraordinary.

Moreover, who said such a ninja tool could only store ordinary chakra? What if it was Tailed Beast chakra?

His breathing quickened slightly: "Chiba, Tenten, Kazuha, don't spread the word about this after we get back. I will speak with Lord Hokage."

"Although the Four-Tapestry Celestials brought this destruction upon themselves this time, the four great ninja tools are treasures of the Village of Artisans after all. Without other methods, at best we can only keep them temporarily."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi frowned. He could read between the lines of Chiba's remark.

"Is there any chance we might run into rogue ninjas or someone similar on our way back?"

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!"

Tenten had just taken a sip of water and choked into a fit of coughing upon hearing this.

Wasn't... wasn't this just robbery?

"That's rather unlikely. Although Orochimaru is a rogue ninja, he hasn't appeared for a long time." Kakashi scratched his head.

Chiba thought for a moment, leaned in closer, and whispered, "Teacher, can we cooperate with Lord Danzo?"

"!!!"