Opening and Closing

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At the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, flipped through the intelligence report in his hand and said, "So the commander of the Konoha forces confronting us is Danzo?"

Kitsuchi, standing at his side, answered, "Yes. According to the information gathered by the Intelligence Division, Danzo is the one commanding the Konoha army opposite us."

Iwagakure's sudden mobilization forced Konoha to make corresponding deployments.

Among the three members of Konoha's advisory council, Danzo had been assigned by the Third Hokage to the Iwagakure front. Koharu Utatane had personally gone to Sunagakure to discuss an alliance. Homura Mitokado was responsible for the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire, guarding against a surprise attack from Kirigakure.

This information was difficult to conceal, so Iwagakure's intelligence department intercepted it immediately.

After a brief silence, the Third Tsuchikage asked, "What about the Third Hokage?"

Kitsuchi shook his head. "There is no accurate information yet, but it is said he remains in Konoha, overseeing the village."

"Hiruzen really can keep his composure." The Third Tsuchikage smiled, then seemed to think of something. "Right. Have we found the Konoha shinobi who killed Iwamata?"

As captain of one of Iwagakure's few remaining decapitation units, Iwamata had been one of the village's limited elite jonin. His death naturally left the Third Tsuchikage deeply pained and furious.

"According to information from the spies planted in the Land of Demons, the ones who killed Iwamata were Konoha ANBU Team Eleven."

The Third Tsuchikage frowned. "Konoha's ANBU?"

In any village, the identities of ANBU members were classified. Finding detailed information on Konoha ANBU Team Eleven would not be easy, even for Iwagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

"Has this ANBU Team Eleven appeared on the battlefield?"

Kitsuchi seemed to have already gathered the relevant information and answered at once. "No."

This clash between Konoha and Kumogakure had drawn the attention of almost every shinobi village in the world. Among them, Iwagakure was undoubtedly the most invested.

So from the beginning of the fighting, Iwagakure had sent a large number of shinobi skilled in Earth Release infiltration techniques into the Land of Fire. As independent observers, they had obtained a great deal of first-hand battlefield intelligence.

Judging from the reports, Konoha had undoubtedly suffered a major loss this time.

Several defensive lines on the front had all been easily broken by Kumogakure. The losses in supplies and personnel were shocking.

There were even rumors that the Land of Fire's daimyo had flown into a rage.

The Third Tsuchikage clasped his hands behind his back and laughed. "If Kumogakure continues attacking fiercely, they might reach Konoha's village within a few weeks."

Seeing his old rival in such a miserable and awkward state made the Third Tsuchikage very pleased.

More importantly, this battle had stripped away Konoha's aura of invincibility. It allowed everyone to see clearly that Konoha was no longer the force that had once suppressed the entire shinobi world.

Kitsuchi was not as optimistic as the Third Tsuchikage. He shook his head. "After Jiraiya of the Sannin arrived, Konoha's situation on the main battlefield improved greatly. Kumogakure's offensive has been temporarily contained."

At present, no one knew why Jiraiya had arrived a full week later than expected. But regardless of the reason, his arrival had successfully halted Kumogakure's advance.

The Third Tsuchikage thought for a while, then said, "Konoha's reaction this time is strange. Their strength on the main battlefield is clearly insufficient, yet the Uchiha Police Force cannot be seen on the battlefield, and that fairly capable ANBU Team Eleven is also missing. There must be something behind this. Send people to investigate carefully. I want to know why."

"Yes. I'll arrange it immediately."

In the Land of Fire, inside Kumogakure's camp.

After receiving the message from the rear, the two jinchuriki and Aida, the Storm Release user, looked at each other in confusion.

The message contained very little.

Only two words.

Suspend attack.

Killer B scratched his head and asked the people beside him, "Why would the village send an order like this?"

Aida shook his head. "It makes no sense. We've already destroyed Konoha's frontal defenses. If we stop attacking now, all our previous effort will be wasted."

Yugito said, "Did something happen back at the village?"

Killer B and Aida immediately agreed with Yugito's guess. Only that kind of reason could explain why the Raikage, who had always been forceful, would send such an absurd order to the front line.

Inside the Konoha camp facing Kumogakure.

Shikaku hurried into the command post and said to everyone inside, "Kumogakure seems to have stopped attacking."

Hizashi Hyuga, standing nearby, immediately frowned. "They clearly have the advantage. Why would they suddenly stop?"

Jiraiya, who knew more than the others, said, "Maybe the old man's strategy worked."

After that, he briefly explained that the Third Hokage had arranged for a direct ANBU unit to raid a warehouse near the border of the Land of Lightning.

After hearing this, everyone sighed.

A mission to infiltrate enemy territory and raid an important facility was extremely dangerous even when the target belonged to a minor village outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages. This time, the target was Kumogakure, whose strength was already no weaker than Konoha's.

In everyone's eyes, even if the mission was completed, the ANBU who carried it out were likely doomed.

In the Land of Hot Water.

Naoki washed alone by the lakeside and removed the dark goggles from his head.

The clear lake water reflected the white eyes in his sockets.

He stared carefully into the water for a while and confirmed that this was indeed the Byakugan. It was exactly the same as his Byakugan before he injected the gene fluid. There was no change at all.

After confirming it repeatedly, he slowly closed his eyes and channeled chakra into them. Then he suddenly opened both eyes.

The moment he did, his eyes shone with a sapphire-blue light. They seemed to contain stars within them, and the world in his field of vision became much clearer. Even the texture of tree bark in the distance was visible in fine detail.

"Heh. So that's how it works."

Naoki chuckled and let out a breath.

This encounter had turned misfortune into fortune. He had figured out how to open and close the Tenseigan. After several attempts and the final confirmation just now, he discovered that the Tenseigan could be temporarily closed, much like an Uchiha could deactivate the Sharingan.

He was also surprised to find that once the Tenseigan was closed, the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead became effective again.

That discovery sparked great interest in the Caged Bird Seal. The curse mark was clearly more than an ordinary restraint. It had to contain many secrets.

Suddenly, Naoki found that the Caged Bird Seal seemed to hold real research value.

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