Chapter 473: You Ranked Among The Top Killers In This War, And Now You’re Preaching Peace And Humane Treatment Of Prisoners?

Even his Basic Genjutsu had unexpectedly upgraded into Proficient in Genjutsu.

Clearly, quite a few people had concluded, after reading the intelligence reports, that his so-called Growth Acceleration Technique was an application of Genjutsu.

In addition, another talent that he had long expected, but which still made him laugh when it finally appeared, was Thousand Faces.

[Thousand Faces (Blue): Your disguise abilities have undergone a qualitative transformation. The roles you portray have begun to possess genuine weight. You are capable of switching between multiple personalities and identities in a short period of time, as though hundreds or thousands of different souls reside within you. To a certain extent, you can even simulate your target’s chakra signature and combat style. Against the vast majority of conventional probing and investigative methods, your disguise remains firmly intact.]

This talent had naturally evolved from the green talent, Disguise.

Without giving it much thought, Shinichi understood why: The society’s ideals and his speech that day.

Especially his declaration regarding the Rinkai City Convention.

All of it had undoubtedly convinced many people that he was utterly hypocritical and possessed first-rate acting skills.

You ranked among the top killers in this war, and now you’re preaching peace and humane treatment of prisoners?

If that isn’t acting, then what is?

Among those contributing the largest share of cognition, Village Hidden in the Cloud was probably ranked number one.

After all, Shinichi had personally wiped out Village Hidden in the Cloud’s logistics and medical personnel.

Looking at this newly upgraded talent, Shinichi shook his head helplessly.

No matter what, an upgraded talent was still a good thing.

Judging from the effects of Thousand Faces, he was getting closer and closer to the Seventy-Two Transformations he had always envisioned.

Now that he could already simulate chakra signatures and combat styles, if this trend continued, then perhaps upon reaching Purple Level 1, the next step would be to simulate another party’s bloodline genes, allowing his disguised body to perform Hidden Jutsus that normally required specific Kekkei Genkais.

And beyond that, if he were to reach levels above Purple Level 1 or even higher levels, it would likely no longer be mere outward imitation.

Instead, his very body would begin to transform at the cellular level, and by that point, disguise would no longer be necessary.

A thousand forms would all be real and ten thousand appearances would all be himself.

The formless form, that alone would be true reality.

That would be the true Seventy-Two Transformations.

Furthermore, while his original purpose had indeed been cognition, he also sincerely hoped that the Shinobi World would become a better place.

Heaven knew that, for someone whose soul came from earth in his previous life, there were many times when looking at this world felt no different from staring into a cesspit.

Hypocritical? Sanctimonious? Heh!

Shinichi let out a contemptuous snort inwardly.

Yesterday you misunderstood me, Shinichi Higashino, and today you misunderstand me again.

Perhaps tomorrow you will misunderstand me as well, but I am still myself, and I have never feared being misunderstood!

...

Meanwhile, at Kusagakure.

A high-level meeting was underway, presided over by Mui and Morihara Hayato, with all twelve advisors in attendance.

Among all the ninja villages in the current Shinobi World, Kusagakure probably had the largest number of advisors.

Other villages usually had only two or three advisors, and some had none at all.

Kusagakure, however, had a full twelve, each bearing the name of one of the twelve zodiac animals.

(Author Note: In the movie, several high-ranking Kusagakure officials who questioned Mui wore masks representing the Twelve Zodiac Animals, so this is my own creative adaptation.)

Mui had returned to the village the day before.

Perhaps because their leader, Morihara Hayato, possessed an instinctive desire to prolong his life, or perhaps because he knew his days were numbered and, even if he could not be cured, wanted to personally see what was hidden inside the legendary Box of Ultimate Bliss that was said to grant any wish before he died.

For that reason, it had taken Mui less than a single day to persuade Morihara Hayato to approve his plan.

Today, what he needed to do was persuade the twelve advisors.

The meeting progressed far more smoothly than Mui had expected.

He had originally thought he would have to spend tremendous effort and time convincing these advisors, especially the six who had never gotten along particularly well with his teacher. He had even rehearsed several different arguments in his mind beforehand.

Yet to his surprise, the moment he proposed opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss, they displayed even greater enthusiasm than anyone else.

Their eagerness for the Box of Ultimate Bliss far exceeded his expectations.

As for the other six advisors, who had always supported Morihara Hayato in the first place, there was naturally even less need to say anything.

Thus, with all of the senior leaders in agreement, the plan to seize the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki of Takigakure was approved without difficulty.

However, the discussion was immediately confronted with two successive problems.

The first problem was Konoha.

For decades, the relationship between Takigakure and Konoha had remained exceptionally friendly. Although Takigakure had not dared to take sides openly during wartime, exchanges between the two villages had indeed been quite frequent in times of peace.

More importantly, the Seven-Tails itself had originally been personally allocated to Takigakure by the first Hokage during the first Five Kage Summit.

Whether from a legal standpoint or historical ties, Takigakure’s Seven-Tails was inextricably connected to Konoha.

If Kusagakure moved to seize the Seven-Tails, it would be tantamount to slapping Konoha directly in the face, and given Konoha’s conduct as the foremost of the Five Great Ninja Villages, it would inevitably respond forcefully.

At this point in the meeting, the previously lively atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and silence settled over the room.

After a long time, one of the advisors wearing a tiger mask spoke hesitantly.

"Konoha is currently fighting the Village Hidden in the Sand, Village Hidden in the Cloud, and Village Hidden in the Mist all at once. They probably... Won’t have the spare attention to deal with us, right?"

That was what he said, but everyone present knew perfectly well that the war between Konoha and Village Hidden in the Cloud had long since become a war in name only.

Over the past six months, there had not even been a single minor clash between the two sides.

Throughout the Shinobi World, this was already an open secret.

Yet the advisor wearing a tiger mask deliberately pretended not to know, as though saying so could give him just a little more confidence.

"Even if Konoha only sends the tiniest fraction of its strength against us, it would still be a catastrophic disaster for our village."

The advisor wearing a dragon mask said with a cold laugh.

Silence once again descended upon the room.

After all, they were talking about Konoha, the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

A moment later, the advisor, wearing a sheep mask, spoke slowly.

"The only thing capable of standing against a great ninja village is another great ninja village."

Everyone turned toward him simultaneously, and the advisor wearing a dragon mask frowned.

"You mean...?"

"Yes. The Village Hidden in the Stones. We completely align ourselves with the Village Hidden in the Stones."

The advisor wearing a sheep mask nodded.

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