After teaching Rin Hyuga the "Blade Hiding Technique" and ensuring she knew how to practice it, Li Anshi sent her back to the Hyuga clan.
Just as he had said, only by being in a cage could one truly know the value of freedom.
The lifeless atmosphere of the Hyuga clan, where all members followed the rules almost to the letter, never overstepping their bounds, living like walking corpses according to their respective statuses, would only serve to stimulate Rin's potential even further.
Of course, this was also a huge challenge for her.
If she ultimately failed to withstand the pressure from her clan and submitted to the arrangements of her elders, becoming a woman confined to the courtyard, it would be a devastating blow to the current her.
At best, her strength would be greatly diminished.
At worst, she would suffer a mental breakdown and become a madwoman.
If fortune was not on her side, it was not impossible for her to perish entirely.
Li Anshi naturally did not hide these consequences from her.
However, just like Mikoto Uchiha, in three or four years, Rin would be arranged by her family to marry Hiashi Hyuga.
If she did not have the strength to resist the clan by then, she would be reduced to a breeding machine for the main family, with no future of her own.
Therefore, Rin also had to gain the strength to resist the Hyuga clan within three years.
It was for this reason that she did not refuse this method of tempering her will.
After sending Rin back, Li Anshi went to check on Mikoto and Nawaki.
In just three short days, both had grown considerably.
Especially Mikoto.
There was a good reason why the Uchiha clan valued the Sharingan so highly.
Many of the clan's combat techniques, which would take an Uchiha without the eye years or even decades to master, could be learned by an awakened Uchiha simply by activating their Sharingan, fighting with a senior who had mastered them, and copying their movements.
Besides combat techniques, there was also the use of the Sharingan itself.
Insight, copying, genjutsu...
All of these could be learned in battle.
However, the extent to which one could utilize these abilities depended on individual talent.
Nawaki, on the other hand, although he had also improved, was still far behind Mikoto.
Seeing this, Li Anshi did not specifically insist on the next stage of special training he had mentioned three days ago.
Instead, he let them continue to train with their respective clan elders.
The so-called special training was merely to allow them to integrate what they had learned into combat, so they could perform better.
The premise of all this was that they had to first learn the ninjutsu or techniques.
Otherwise, any special training he gave them would only make them more familiar with their old methods and would have no effect on what they had not yet fully learned.
As for Rin, who had already begun to practice her own will, she did not need his interference.
Moreover, the fighting style of the Little Li's Flying Dagger meant that she did not require his special training.
Of course, more importantly, she did not have his "obsession" with the technique.
Little Li's Flying Dagger, never misses its mark!
This was the "belief" he held in his heart when he practiced it.
In his view, this "belief" was even more important than his own will.
Therefore, the daggers he threw carried a certain "causality," a guarantee that they would hit their target.
Rin, however, was not familiar with the "spirit" of the technique. So, even though she had begun to practice the second stage, the daggers she threw were only faster, stronger, and more concealed.
He had already sensed this when he had caught her dagger with two fingers.
Because of the restriction of "never missing its mark," he currently only attacked targets within a hundred meters of himself, for fear of damaging the prestige of the Little Li's Flying Dagger.
Rin had no such restriction.
Within the range of her Byakugan, as long as her daggers could reach, it was her attack range.
Whether the enemy was only injured and not killed, or even managed to dodge, it would not affect her state of mind in the slightest.
But he was different.
The Little Li's Flying Dagger was a spirit.
In this world, it had even become a kind of faith for him.
It was what he used to anchor his existence from his previous life.
If one day his own flying dagger lost its "never misses its mark" characteristic, he felt he might lose himself.
Of course, this faith had also made his dagger a nightmare for all the ninjas in the world.
From just three recorded battles, all the ninjas had come to a consensus.
That was—
When fighting Li Anshi, one must absolutely not advance to within a hundred meters of him.
His safe distance was one hundred meters.
Even in his battle with the Cloud nine years ago, when he was besieged by over three thousand of their ninjas, they had not dared to approach closer than sixty meters.
After he had replenished his daggers, they had pushed the battle line back even further, to beyond eighty meters.
"The Third Raikage, A..."
Walking down the streets of Konoha, Li Anshi shoved his hands in his pockets, a strange look in his eyes.
Little Li's Flying Dagger, never misses its mark!
Ever since he had successfully mastered the technique, only the Third Raikage had survived a single blow from him.
This was, in a way, a stain on his record.
Of course, for him, this did not affect the characteristic of his daggers never missing.
At that time, the battle had basically subsided.
He had killed the Tailed Beast-transformed Two-Tails, and the tide of the battle between Konoha and the Cloud had turned in Konoha's favor.
However, the Cloud still had the advantage in numbers. If the battle continued, Konoha would suffer considerable casualties.
He didn't want the children who had just received their ninja headbands to die on a meaningless battlefield, so he had decided to step in and stop the war.
Carrying the prestige of having killed the Two-Tails Jinchuriki in one blow, he had enveloped the Third Raikage with the killing intent of his dagger, wanting to force him to a truce.
Of course, since it was a threat, he had not aimed the dagger at the Raikage's neck, but at his heart.
However, he had not expected that after being enveloped by his killing intent, the Raikage would disregard his own safety and erupt, launching an attack on him.
Well, perhaps he was very confident in his own defense, thinking his dagger couldn't break through it!
After all, the Third Raikage was an existence that could withstand the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb without injury.
The result of that was that the Raikage had been directly and severely wounded by him.
If not for the brief interference from the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B, and the fact that the Raikage's defense in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode was indeed strong enough, he would have probably been killed.
Even so, he had to be rescued by the Cloud's medical ninjas for a week before he fully recovered.
However, for Li Anshi, the existence of the Third Raikage was a constant reminder that his flying dagger had not yet reached its peak, and there was still much room for improvement.
"In this Great Ninja War, if nothing unexpected happens, the Third Raikage will be besieged by Onoki of the Stone and ten thousand ninjas for three days and three nights, and will die of chakra exhaustion."
"Although such a death can be considered heroic for a Kage. However, I feel that dying of chakra exhaustion, while heroic, lacks a certain panache for a Kage."
"Why don't I send him off on his final journey? It would be a fitting end."
"The Kage who survived my dagger will ultimately be buried by it..."
…
"Lady Tsunade, we have detected that both the Cloud and the Stone have recently sent ninjas into the Land of Rain."
"Is that so?"
Hearing the ninja's words, Tsunade couldn't help but stretch.
"Have those guys finally lost their patience?"
Ever since she had sensed that the situation in the ninja world was about to erupt, she had been sent by the Third Hokage to the border stronghold between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain to guard against a possible war initiated by the Rain ninjas.
To date, she had been at this stronghold for over half a year.
Although, every once in a while, some Rain ninjas would come to the border to provoke the Konoha ninjas, they had never shown any sign of attacking.
And Konoha, for its part, naturally did not want to bear the infamy of starting a Great Ninja War.
When you're out in the world, reputation is the most important thing.
Otherwise, why were the other great villages so obsessed with pulling Konoha down from its pedestal?
Besides feeling threatened by Konoha, weren't they all thinking of crippling it so that their own village could become the number one in the world?
Originally, everyone in the ninja world had thought that the Rain would start a war in at most three months.
But who would have thought that Hanzo of the Salamander was more patient than everyone had imagined, and also more cunning.
Every time the Cloud and the Stone urged him, he would complain to them, requesting supplies and repeatedly promising that as long as the supplies arrived, he would immediately attack Konoha.
And the Cloud and the Stone, because they had already invested a great deal of resources in the Rain, had too much sunk cost to back out and had no choice but to continue their investment.
Otherwise, not only would they fail to achieve their strategic goals, but they would also face pressure from both inside and outside their villages and fall into a difficult situation.
Unfortunately, for the past half a year, the Rain had been taking all the supplies, but had not made a single move.
Every time they were pushed by the two great villages, they would randomly send some ninjas to the border to provoke the Konoha ninjas stationed there.
However, their provocations were all purely verbal; they never took the initiative to attack.
And if the Rain didn't attack, the Konoha ninjas naturally wouldn't be the first to make a move.
Now, the flashpoint of the entire ninja world was focused on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Whichever side struck first would be branded with the crime of "starting a war" by the other.
Under these circumstances, the Rain had managed to drag things out for another half a year, using the time to digest the supplies from the two great villages, which had greatly increased their overall strength.
However, there could be too much of a good thing.
This was something that not only the Rain knew, but Konoha as well.
Now that the Cloud and the Stone had arrived in the Land of Rain at the same time, their patience must have reached its limit, and they were starting to force Hanzo to make his stance clear.
Otherwise, the distance between the Cloud and the Stone was great enough, with a mountain range and a plain in between.
If the two sides had not secretly communicated, it would be impossible for them to arrive at the Rain Village at the same time.
Under these circumstances, if Hanzo did not want to be targeted by both the Cloud and the Stone, he could only attack Konoha.
Although Hanzo was very confident in his own strength, he also knew just how big the gap was between his village and the five great villages.
Faced with an ultimatum from both the Cloud and the Stone, Tsunade didn't even have to think to know what he would do.
Attack Konoha, and as long as they survived the initial stage, they would gain two great villages as allies.
But if they didn't attack Konoha, the Rain would suffer retaliation from both the Cloud and the Stone.
To take on two great villages alone, or to join them in attacking another great village—was that even a choice?
Even a pig would know what to do.
"Send word. Keep a close eye on the Rain's movements."
"War is coming!"
After the ninja had left her tent, Tsunade quickly drafted an intelligence report and had someone send it to Konoha.
A ninja's battle was a battle of information.
On the front lines, Tsunade feared no one.
Even if her opponent was Hanzo of the Salamander, who was known as a "demigod," she was confident she could match him.
She had not been idle for the past half a year.
The diamond-shaped mark in the center of her forehead was her greatest trump card.
The Yin Seal!
"Let me see then, Hanzo of the Salamander! Just how much power do you have to dare to call yourself a 'demigod'!"
Before Hanzo's name had spread, there were only three "gods" in the ninja world who were recognized by the many.
The first, naturally, was the super powerhouse who had created the profession of the ninja, respectfully known as the "Sage of Six Paths."
The second was Hashirama Senju, who had ended the slaughter of the Warring States period and, with his friend with whom he had shared a long and complicated history of love and hate, had established the first ninja village.
For his achievements and his great strength, the ninjas of the world called him the "God of Shinobi."
The third was Madara Uchiha, who was on par with the First Hokage.
Because of his cruel methods and his transcendent strength, he was also given the title of "Asura of the Ninja World."
Besides these three, even someone as strong as Li Anshi was known as "Konoha's Little Li's Flying Dagger," not with titles like "God," "Sage," or "Asura"...