Konoha's Mission Master

Yakumo himself stepped forward and appeared in the Hokage Building.

Behind his desk, Minato Namikaze continued to write furiously. Although the integration of the villages could be considered a success, as the leader, Minato Namikaze had to handle a lot of work every day to make the integration as perfect as possible.

With a whoosh, Yakumo's true form appeared on the sofa opposite him.

Minato Namikaze looked up and, upon seeing Yakumo, immediately put down his pen and straightened his back.

"Minato, are the weapons I needed ready?"

Yakumo had already decided to set off as soon as possible, and without exchanging pleasantries, he went straight to asking about his goal for the trip.

"Ready."

Minato Namikaze immediately responded, carefully taking out several huge storage scrolls from a cabinet not far away.

"What do you have?" Yakumo asked.

"Currently, the major hidden villages have a total of approximately 4.5 billion explosive tags in reserve," Minato Namikaze replied.

Yakumo nodded. In fact, the explosive tags were not the most important weapons. Only the hidden trump cards of the various hidden villages could make him happy.

"In addition, there are the weapons that the other major hidden villages use as their trump cards: the Cloud Village's Thunderstorm Bombs, thirty of them; the Stone Village's High-Explosive Clay, fifteen tons; and the Sand Village's Dust Fire Bombs, fifteen of them," Minato Namikaze continued.

When the villages realized that ninjutsu could not defeat Yakumo, they picked up the technology they had once looked down upon and combined ninjutsu with technology to create many interesting gadgets.

Of course, these interesting props are actually powerful weapons.

Among them, the explosive clay of Iwagakure is very similar to the art that Deidara mastered. The two are essentially the same thing, although there are some differences.

The difference lies in this: Deidara pursues agile life, while Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) pursues greater destructive power.

The same applies to the Thunderstorm Bomb in Kumogakure.

These weapons were developed to target the strongest person in Konohagakure... namely, Yakumo.

However, with the sudden change in the situation, these weapons became Yakumo's trump card in conquering the final dungeon.

Yakumo took the scroll from Minato Namikaze and thanked him softly.

With a flash of light and shadow, Yakumo left.

Inside the office, Minato Namikaze stared at the empty seat, his eyes gradually revealing a complex mix of emotions, including confusion.

That number of weapons has already started a war.

It could even destroy several cities, level a majestic mountain, and change the course of rivers.

There shouldn't be any force in the ninja world that makes Yakumo so wary.

Minato Namikaze's eyes showed a thoughtful expression, and he had some guesses about why Yakumo borrowed those weapons.

Since there is no such enemy within the ninja world...

So, did the enemy come from outside the ninja world?

Shortly after Yakumo left, Konoha's Anbu appeared in the Hokage's office.

He was dressed entirely in black and his face was covered. He wasn't particularly tall or muscular, but he was very upright and exuded a cold and sinister aura.

"Lord Hokage, this is Lady Aoyama Reiko's leave request."

Minato Namikaze quickly took the leave request form, opened the scroll, and found that it clearly stated he was requesting a year's leave.

Could it be...? Could it be...?

Minato Namikaze sensed something was wrong. A few minutes later, he finally confirmed the remaining information: the four people who were like pillars of strength within Konoha had disappeared without a trace, as if they had left Konoha.

"This...chaos is imminent, things are going to get really bad."

Minato Namikaze sensed something was wrong and immediately gave an order.

"Try to block information about the disappearance of these adults. If that doesn't work, say they went on a trip to various parts of the ninja world. Also, summon the heads of the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga clans for a meeting."

Minato Namikaze's expression changed, and he immediately issued a quick order.

A few minutes later, the secret service reported...

"Lord Yakumo has returned to his residence."

Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he guessed that Yakumo's departure was inevitable, and the shadow clones at home were just deliberately left behind as a smokescreen to maintain Konoha's stability.

"From now on, it's my responsibility to find ways to protect this city."

Minato Namikaze stood up, gazing at the newly built district in the distance. His eyes became more determined than ever before, and his golden hair resembled leaping flames.

at this time....

The secret base, the second floor, where the four of them gathered.

Everyone was dressed in black combat suits, the fabric of which was designed to fit their figures well for ease of movement, making them look shapely.

Masako Mori and Reiko Aoyama were talking in hushed tones.

Yakumo could tell that Masako Mori was a little nervous, since she was one of the few people who knew the truth. This adventure was unusually dangerous, and even Yakumo wasn't sure if she could escape unscathed.

'What will the One-Punch Man world be like?' Yakumo asked in his heart.

The mechanical watch on my right wrist vibrated slightly.

[Hint: The gods were able to obtain the power to seal Saitama by essentially borrowing and being influenced by Hollow energy. If you succeed... the Hollow energy index of the universe will be suppressed to an extremely low level.]

The game system's answer appeared before my eyes.

'If I succeed, Saitama will be released.'

[Hint: That's correct.]

Looking at their faces, Yakumo finally spoke slowly.

"This exploration is extremely dangerous, but I cannot refuse, because it concerns whether that force will influence the ninja world in the future. Therefore, I have a reason to go, but you can choose again..."

Yakumo knew that this was a pointless statement, but he still said it anyway.

Perhaps he didn't want to bear the cost of everyone's deaths, or perhaps he wanted to give them more options.

Sometimes human nature is just that complicated.

Yakumo didn't want to fight alone, but he was also worried that they would die a violent death.

“Wherever you are, I will be there,” Masako Mori said.

“I’ve already taken a year off,” Reiko Aoyama replied.

"Master, you know me. I want to die for you."

"...Okay then."

Yakumo took out the key to the final dungeon, and his keen intuition made him sense an extremely ominous aura emanating from it.

In his hand, the key turned into red light and vanished.

The crimson light fell into the void and gradually spread.

If the portals of the past were like clear, transparent water, then today's portal is like a blood-soaked hell, exuding a terrifying aura that chills the heart.

Mori Masako's expression changed slightly. Judging from the color of the portal, she could indeed imagine... how dangerous the final instance was.

This pure, vibrant color instinctively evokes thoughts of death.

"Let's go."

Yakumo took the initiative to step forward and cross the teleportation portal.

The blood-red liquid coated the skin, becoming incredibly viscous, and slowly flowed across its surface. Surprisingly, this liquid didn't have much of a bloody smell; instead, it had a fresh, vibrant plant fragrance.

It makes people unconsciously fall asleep.

Immediately afterwards... Masako Mori, Reiko Aoyama, and Chiyuki Yukotsu entered the house.

Yakumo's formidable spirit seemed to lose its effectiveness in the crimson liquid, and he only managed to stay awake for less than thirty seconds before gradually falling into a deep sleep.

The others lasted less than twenty seconds.

Space becomes a vortex, and time is thus disordered.

The place that everyone goes to is special, existing outside of space and time.

It was a world that existed between illusion and reality.

......

Virtual Battlefield.

The blood-red sapling that had been growing slowly seemed to have awakened from its slumber and possessed its own terrifying will.

It began to sprout new buds rapidly, elongate its branches, and increase the diameter of its trunk, devouring the tangible, illusory energy around it.

The surrounding ethereal creatures immediately rushed towards the crimson sapling as if stimulated, disregarding the enemies around them. However, when they got close enough, they were crushed into ethereal energy by an unknown force.

All of them... were devoured by that blood-red sapling.

It devoured everything it could, and the pressure it released from its body gradually became terrifying, as if its strength was increasing in a bizarre way.

In the distant Holy City, Uchiha Juntama and Akai Mitsuki appeared out of thin air, along with a blond man with twelve pure white wings growing behind him. He was none other than the Holy Emperor, the ruler of the Holy Empire.

Behind the two sat countless cosmic giants.

The kind-faced old man was actually the chief archmage of the Arcane Empire, who once annihilated a star with a single strike using a nineteenth-tier chain spell.

There are many more experts of this caliber in this conference room...

At this moment, they were all focused on the changes on the distant battlefield, and on the blood-red sapling that was growing upwards under the nourishment of numerous illusory energies.

Although they didn't know what the sapling represented, they could sense how much Uchiha Runyu valued it.

"It has begun," Uchiha Runyu said softly.

"What?" the Holy Emperor asked.

"The plan has officially begun, and a new chapter is about to begin for you all."

The others' expressions didn't change much. Although they all knew that there was a plan that had been in place for many years with the goal of completely eliminating the source of the virtual energy, they knew nothing about the details of the plan.

Only a few core members knew the entire process.

Most of the core members who were originally established have entered a long period of eternal sleep, while only Uchiha Runyu remains active, like a monster that is ageless, immortal, tireless, and never gets bored.