Inside the Hokage's office, the air was heavy with stale tobacco.
Danzo slammed his hands onto the desk, his face contorted with fury.
He had been stripped of his title as ANBU commander, and the humiliation burned.
"You are throwing away our safety to please a mob!" Danzo spat. "Ousting me only emboldens those who wish to see the Leaf weakened."
Hiruzen sat like weathered stone, staring at the official decree. The muffled shouts of protesters echoed through the walls.
"The people have lost trust in you, Danzo," Hiruzen said quietly. "I cannot ignore an assassination attempt on our own. You crossed a line."
Danzo leaned in, his voice a dangerous hiss. "And who will handle the Uchiha? Without me, that clan will tear this village apart. You need a shadow to do what you lack the stomach for, Hiruzen. Let me remain as your hidden hand."
Hiruzen felt a flicker of hesitation. The thought of an Uchiha uprising sent a chill through him. For a moment, Danzo's cold logic seemed like a necessary evil.
Is he right? Hiruzen wondered, his grip on his pipe tightening. Can I maintain order without his darkness?
"Your methods brought this chaos," Hiruzen finally said, though his voice lacked conviction. "You are removed from command. You will stay in the shadows, but this is not a license to act as you please."
Danzo walked toward the door with cold resolve. He knew his Root was still budding underground and could not sustain its training without the benefits he received as ANBU Commander.
Without the official funding and resources, his secret army would wither before it could bloom.
Seeing the doubt in Hiruzen's eyes, Danzo knew he had to keep that fear alive to survive.
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...
"Did you hear that? Danzo was ejected from his position!" Jiraiya shouted, his grin wide as he leaned back. He was clearly enjoying the news of the high-throne official finally tumbling from his nest.
Tsunade huffed and leaned against a pillar. She felt a sense of relief, though she knew the council's roots ran deep. Orochimaru remained silent, his pale fingers tracing the rim of his teacup while his golden eyes flickered toward Yoichi.
It is only a meaningless announcement, Yoichi thought, watching a leaf drift into the pond.
He knew Hiruzen's mind and his desire to keep Danzo close. The decree was a hollow gesture meant only to appease the public.
"It is merely a start," Tsunade remarked. "But men like him do not just disappear. He has been the shadow for too long."
Yoichi remained calm. It was somewhat alright.
As long as the names of Danzo and his colleagues were tarnished, public sentiment would grow awry at their presence. This was only the beginning.
"He is a snake with no skin," Orochimaru murmured. "He will hide in the tall grass until he can bite back."
Yoichi nodded. He had ruined the old man's reputation, and in the Leaf, that was a wound that would never heal.
The training ground grew quiet as he gathered the group.
Yoichi looked at Tsunade and Orochimaru, recalling the scrolls on acupuncture and alchemy he had given them.
He needed to know if they had grasped the basics for his next move.
"How are you progressing with the alchemy?" Yoichi asked. "I want to try something drastic, and I need your expertise to make it work."
Tsunade wiped her brow, her curiosity piqued.
"The medical applications are incredible, but why the rush for something drastic? We are already ahead of the hospital's research."
Yoichi pulled out a small, red medicinal pearl. "I want to mass-produce Qi Blood Pills. We will sell them to the wealthy and the daimyo's court. My stardom is the perfect brand, but your skill will be the engine."
Tsunade stared at him, unimpressed. "You want me to spend my nights over a bubbling cauldron just to play merchant? I have better things to do than sell candy, Yoichi."
"The profit margin is five hundred percent," Yoichi said calmly. "Your cut alone would cover your gambling debts for a lifetime and leave you with millions in revenue."
Tsunade froze. Her pupils suddenly transformed into glowing Ryō symbols, and a hungry grin spread across her face. She gripped Yoichi's shoulders with terrifying force, her eyes burning with financial greed.
"Millions?" she whispered. "Orochimaru, get the equipment! We are starting now! No one leaves until we are rich!"
Jiraiya jumped in, his face turning into a comical mask of shock. "Wait! What about the muscle? You need a handsome face to market these to the ladies of the capital! I can write the slogans!"
He struck a dramatic pose, his eyes also turning into Ryō symbols. "Think of the research funding I could have for my books!"
Yoichi watched them with a small smile. He had used their desires to bind them to his cause.
As long as they were focused on the pills, his influence would grow through every pocket in the Land of Fire.
The two manuscripts were far more advanced than any medical text in the Leaf.
The book on Acupuncture mapped the human anatomy as an interconnected web, showing how internal organs and energy flow influenced one another through hidden pressure points.
It taught that a single needle could trigger physical changes across the entire body.
The Alchemy Book focused on transmuting rare herbs into two potent recipes. The Qi Blood Pill was designed to bolster a shinobi's foundation by rapidly replenishing vitality and physical strength.
The Beauty-Retaining Pill focused on the essence of youth, refining the skin and internal organs to halt the visible signs of aging.
Yoichi knew these texts were the key to his next move.
The acupuncture provided the internal map, while the alchemy provided the fuel.
Together, they offered a way to manipulate the human form that bordered on the miraculous.
By mastering these recipes, he could provide the strength soldiers craved and the eternal youth the nobility desired.
These books were tools of political and economic power, intended to turn Yoichi into an integral force within the Land of Fire.
Of course, it was vastly different than Medical Ninjutsu.
Medical Ninjutsu relied on the user's chakra to manually accelerate a patient's natural healing process. It was a taxing method that required constant focus and a high level of chakra control, often leaving the healer exhausted.
The effectiveness was limited by the healer's own energy and the patient's ability to withstand the rapid cell division, which could shorten a person's lifespan over time.
In contrast, the Acupuncture and Alchemy techniques focused on the body's internal potential without draining the user's chakra reserves.
Acupuncture uses physical pressure to unblock the body's natural flow, allowing the patient to heal themselves from the inside out. It was a precise art that required knowledge of the body's map rather than raw power, making it more sustainable for long-term treatment.
Yoichi sat in silence as the Sannin pored over the manuscripts. He watched them, but his mind drifted to the man who had left this legacy behind.
The knowledge of the human body and these pill recipes did not belong to the shinobi world.
Where the hell did he find these? Yoichi wondered.
These were remnants of a Martial Arts World that operated on laws alien to the Land of Fire.
He knew the truth because he shared it.
The Martial Ancestor was a transmigrator, a soul from another place just like him.
He questioned if the man had possessed a hidden system or an overpowered artifact.
It was the only way to explain such profound wisdom.
Perhaps a relic had teleported him into a world where Qi and blood were the only currencies that mattered.
To gain such detailed alchemy, the Ancestor must have walked those distant paths.
Did he have a shortcut I don't have?
The thought of a world existing beyond the elemental nations made his curiosity burn.
If his predecessor had accessed such a place, then the limits of this village were just a cage.
Regardless of how the man gained the knowledge, it was now Yoichi's.
He didn't have a teleportation artifact, but he had the results.
He would use these "foreign" techniques to turn the mysteries of the Martial Ancestor into his own undeniable power.
Soon enough, the Alchemy journey began as Tsunade led them to the Senju Compound with Mito watching over them curiously, asking about their weird activities.
The elderly woman stood with her arms tucked into her sleeves, her sharp gaze fixed on the strange plants Yoichi was unloading.
Yoichi reached into his Space Pouch, pulling out bundles of rare herbs he had collected from his roulette system over the years.
Stacks of spirit-grass and crystallized roots piled up, finally being put to use after collecting dust in his inventory.
The air grew heavy with a potent, ancient aroma.
Mito recognized several herbs from her sensei's old teachings, yet she remained deeply skeptical. Her curiosity eventually peaked, and she turned to Yoichi to probe his intentions. She knew these materials were dangerous if handled without a master's touch.
"What are you planning with these, Yoichi?" Mito asked. "You are doing more than just making medicine."
Yoichi explained his goal to mass-produce the pills to dominate the village's economy and the daimyo's court.
He spoke of leverage over both shinobi and nobility. He wasn't just seeking strength; he was seeking a monopoly on vitality and youth.
Mito listened, her skepticism shifting into a wary respect. She saw the child calculating moves far beyond his years.
While the Sannin focused on the heat of the fire, Mito realized Yoichi was forging a weapon of influence more effective than any ninjutsu.
The refinement process began in earnest, but the transition from theory to practice was a brutal teacher.
Inside the Senju laboratory, the air grew thick with the smell of scorched herbs and bitter smoke.
Tsunade and Orochimaru worked like possessed souls, their eyes bloodshot as they tried to balance the volatile energy of the spirit-grass.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, sat in the corner on a wooden stool, his expression completely blank.
He scratched his head with a confused frown, his brain struggling to process the complex alchemical equations.
After the first few hours, he had given up on understanding the "molecular binding of vitality" and resorted to napping against the wall.
The first few attempts were disastrous.
One cauldron hissed and spat out a grey, foul-smelling sludge that looked nothing like a pill.
Another batch crystallized into a jagged rock that cracked the mortar and pestle.
By the fourth day, the room was a mess of shattered glass and blackened residue from the failed mixtures.
"It makes no sense," Tsunade mumbled, her hair disheveled as she stared at the latest failure. "The heat is perfect, and the Qi Blood flow is steady, yet the essence refuses to coalesce. Something is missing in the cooling phase."
Orochimaru didn't look up, his golden eyes narrowed as he adjusted the flame for the tenth time that hour. He was fascinated by the way the foreign herbs reacted to their Qi Blood, even if the results were currently useless.
He realized that the martial techniques required a different kind of rhythm than the ninjutsu they were used to.
Yoichi watched from the sidelines, his patience unyielding even as a week passed without a single success.
He knew the refinement process was a trial of spirit as much as skill.
The system had provided the ingredients, but the mastery of the flame was something his friends had to forge through their own frustration.
After a week of failures, the lab was filled with the bitter smell of charred herbs. Tsunade stared at the black soot in frustration, while Orochimaru's eyes were bloodshot from tracking the uneven heat. Jiraiya had long since given up, snoring in the corner over a stained manuscript.
Yoichi inspected the blackened pots.
He possessed only a bit of alchemical knowledge from his past life, but he realized the complexities.
He could see that the standard Leaf equipment was failing to distribute the heat needed for such volatile spirit essence.
"These pots are for basic poisons, not high-grade vitality," Yoichi noted calmly. "I can forge a set of specialized, spiritually conductive cauldrons for you. I spent time as a blacksmith in Amegakure, so I know how to build the right tools."
The Sannin froze in shock. Even Jiraiya woke up, his mouth hanging open at the revelation.
They knew him as a combat genius, but the idea of him being a skilled blacksmith who could forge complex tools seemed impossible.
"A blacksmith in the Rain?" Tsunade blurted out. "When do you even find time to breathe, Yoichi?"
Yoichi gave a simple nod, his mind already calculating the metal ratios. To dominate the market, he needed to provide the infrastructure for their success.
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