Visiting Anbu Headquarter

This is killing someone with a borrowed knife!

"If this is the case, the ninja envoys from the Cloud Village will not be able to escape from the Land of Fire easily. In other words..." Shikaku Nara didn't finish his sentence.

The Third Hokage interjected, "For the Cloud Village, it is very likely that an elite ninja team has already entered the Land of Fire, and a large number of ninja troops are moving towards the border."

"Right," Shikaku added. "If their envoy dies, the Fourth Raikage can put pressure on Konoha and increase his influence in his village. If their envoy survives, Cloud Village can gain the Byakugan, Sharingan, or even a Jinchuriki from our village..."

"Good calculation!" Both of them, being strategic ninjas, quickly formulated related plans.

"So, it is indeed very possible!" The Third Hokage's eyes lit up. The transfer of power and the confrontation between old and new forces are always full of danger. Having experienced two Hokage handovers, the Third Hokage understood this better than anyone else.

"Standing in the position of the Fourth Raikage, I might do similar things," he thought.

"Kazuya..." The Third Hokage said with great comfort, "Sure enough, I did not misunderstand you; you are indeed an excellent ninja!"

"Indeed!" Shikaku Nara, who seldom admired anyone in terms of strategy, found Kazuya's insight very admirable.

Kazuya smiled faintly. He knew all the plots and made his inferences backward from the results, which naturally made sense. Moreover, he wanted to seize this opportunity to rise to a higher position. The next events in Konoha, Orochimaru's defection, the Uchiha clan's massacre, and the future Akatsuki, as well as the Fourth Great Ninja War, were full of crises. Without enough power, he might be eliminated soon. Even to collect attributes, he needed to know where the Kage-level ninjas were!

"Kazuya, report to Anbu first," the Third Hokage said with a smile. "In the next few days, there might be a new S-level mission. Be prepared!"

"Yes," Kazuya nodded and left quickly. The Third Hokage looked at his back, his admiration evident. Even Shikaku Nara, who had high standards, felt the same.

...

Half an hour later, Kazuya arrived at the Anbu base. On the night of the Nine-Tails attack, he had been a team leader with three team members under his command, but unfortunately, they had all died in battle. Now, as a sub-captain, he led four Anbu squads, though he didn't know if any familiar ninjas would be under his command.

[You picked up 20 points of Chakra]

[You picked up 20 points of Chakra]

[You picked up 50 combat experience points]

[You picked up 30 points of Fire Style talent]

[You picked up 20 points of Fire Style talent]

Walking from the gate to the equipment window, Kazuya picked up over a dozen balls of golden light. Most were combat experience points, along with 50 points of Chakra and some Fire Style talent. Currently, Kazuya's Fire Style talent was at lv4 (450/1000), not far from the maximum level of lv5. Ninjutsu talents, like ninjutsu levels, ranged from lv1 to lv5, with each level requiring 1000 experience points. Kazuya's Fire Style talent was lv4, while Wind Style and Lightning Style were both lv3, and Water Style and Earth Style were lv2. As for Yin Release and Yang Release, they were both lv1 with zero experience.

This corresponded to his ninjutsu attribute strength: Fire Style was the strongest, followed by Wind Style and Lightning Style. Notably, after lying in the hospital for more than two years, Kazuya had all five Chakra attributes, making him an incredible master among Jonin!

"Captain Kazuya, here is your new equipment." The ninja in the equipment department handed out a set of Anbu costumes and masks, as well as some basic ninja tools.

"Thanks," Kazuya nodded.

"You're welcome. This is my duty," the ninja replied, evidently having a good relationship with Kazuya.

Kazuya took the equipment, went to the locker room, and changed into the Anbu costume, but didn't rush to put on the mask. Then, he walked quickly to Anbu's daily training ground. He missed it so much! He couldn't wait! The golden light he usually picked up daily was of average quality, but the golden light picked up during ninja battles was of excellent quality! And Anbu's ninjas were undoubtedly the elite among the elite.

Therefore, Kazuya wouldn't miss Anbu's daily training.

"Captain Kazuya!"

"Congratulations!"

"Haha, Kazuya-kun, you will be my immediate boss from now on!"

"Captain Kazuya!"

All the Anbu ninjas greeted Kazuya with smiles as he passed. It seemed Kazuya was quite popular in Anbu, having become an iconic hero after the Nine-Tails attack. Kazuya responded with a smile, his attention on the diffuse golden light.

[You picked up 10 points of Chakra]

[You picked up 30 points of Chakra]

[You picked up 20 points of Chakra]

...

[You picked up 10 points of Chakra]

Soon, he picked up more than a dozen golden lights, all of them Chakra. The notification sound exploded crazily! As soon as Kazuya arrived at the Anbu training ground, he picked up more than 300 points of Chakra. His Chakra volume instantly broke through the shackles.

[Your Chakra level has increased, currently Chakra: lv4 (1.20/100,000)]

lv4! Kage-level Chakra! The Chakra in Kazuya's body began to skyrocket, breaking through to Kage-level in an instant!

"Good!" Kazuya's gaze delighted. Only a few days after being discharged from the hospital, his Chakra level had broken through from Jonin to Kage-level. Indeed, the speed of picking up attributes outside was much faster than in the hospital! Kage-level Chakra was a qualitative change!

However, only his Chakra had reached Kage-level. Kazuya's combat experience and ninjutsu level still had gaps compared to Kage-level. Nonetheless, even a weaker Kage's strength was far beyond that of a Jonin! What's more, Kazuya had the Divine Grade attribute-picking system. By picking up more golden lights in Anbu, his overall strength would soon improve!

Suddenly, a shuriken flew towards Kazuya from the shadows!