Only after reading the entire document did Li Anshi realize he had misunderstood the other four great ninja villages.
In the document, they had praised him to the high heavens, practically comparing him to the First Hokage, Lord Hashirama Senju, the "God of Shinobi" who had ended the Warring States period and ushered in the era of the ninja villages.
Only at the very end did they state their request.
As long as Konoha promised to sign the "no first use of Little Li's Flying Dagger" agreement, the four great ninja villages were willing to transfer one-tenth of their mission volume to Konoha.
For the past three years, the four great villages had been fighting amongst themselves. Although they had gained some benefits, with some ninjas growing to become pillars of their villages, on the whole, they had also lost a large number of ninjas in the wars.
As of now, all four villages intended to end the fighting and begin a period of recuperation.
The Land of Whirlpools was to be their final battle.
On one hand, they wanted to use its resources to recover some of their losses.
On the other, they intended to use the opportunity of destroying the country and dividing its spoils to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss a truce.
However, no one had expected that just as they were about to destroy the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha's Little Li's Flying Dagger would charge onto the battlefield, lead more than thirty Uzumaki children out of the encirclement, and inflict over six hundred casualties on them.
Li Anshi's actions had made the four great villages suspect that Konoha wanted to come in at the last minute and snatch the fruits of their victory.
Therefore, after destroying the Land of Whirlpools, they had not immediately divided up its resources, but had instead sent envoys to Konoha to inquire about its intentions.
The "promise not to use Little Li's Flying Dagger first" was an agreement they had proposed to Konoha with a "nothing to lose" attitude.
If Konoha disagreed, they wouldn't lose anything.
If Konoha agreed, they were willing to give up a portion of their mission volume.
Currently, due to the prolonged wars, the four great villages had frequently requested military funds from their Daimyo.
And the Daimyo's policy of supporting the ninja villages was implemented by issuing a large number of missions and increasing their rewards.
Although most of these missions were welfare-type missions allocated by the Daimyo, due to the shortage of ninjas, missions had begun to pile up in all the great villages.
For ninjas, failing to complete a mission within the time limit was also considered a "mission failure."
Failing a high-risk mission was rarely criticized.
But to fail even a welfare mission was an absolute disgrace for a ninja village.
Under these circumstances, completing these welfare missions as quickly as possible was the top priority for all the great villages.
Otherwise, if the Daimyo believed you couldn't even handle welfare missions, how could they possibly entrust you with higher-level ones?
"Heh, I didn't realize I was so valuable."
After reading the agreement, even Li Anshi couldn't help but smile.
One-tenth of a village's mission volume. From four villages, that was almost half the mission volume of a single village.
If Konoha could take it all, its development would surely enter a period of rapid growth.
Of course, both Li Anshi and Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that the four great villages wouldn't give up a tenth of their mission volume forever, but even one or two years of it would be more than enough for Konoha to feast on.
"So? What are your thoughts?"
"Then sign it."
Li Anshi closed the document and handed it back to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"In any case, Lord Hokage, you know me. Under normal circumstances, I prefer to run my woodcarving shop."
"It would be a waste not to take advantage of this."
"Besides, even if I really did make a move, they wouldn't have the guts to question me directly."
"You..."
Hearing Li Anshi's words, Hiruzen couldn't help but shake his head.
"Anshi, I know you have a resistance to the definition of a ninja."
"However, I hope that no matter how you define it, you understand that integrity is not something to be lost."
"As long as you have a good reputation, countless people who believe in and support you will stand behind you, becoming your strength."
"But if you lose their trust, no matter how powerful you are, you will eventually find yourself with no one by your side."
"Don't worry, Lord Hokage."
"I know that much."
Li Anshi did not refute Hiruzen's advice.
He was not the type of person to break a promise.
The word "freedom" was, in itself, a set of rules.
The part that stood out was his will to say "no."
"Mm."
Hiruzen nodded.
He also believed Li Anshi could do it.
His earlier reminder was just the advice of an elder to a junior.
Li Anshi had a mind of his own, and his thoughts and ideas were beyond this era.
All he could do was not let him forget his original intentions.
"Since you've agreed, I'll sign the agreement this afternoon."
Placing the document on his left and weighing it down with an inkstone, Hiruzen asked, "Alright, Anshi. What did you come to see me for this time?"
Hiruzen knew that if there was nothing important, Li Anshi would rarely come to see him.
Otherwise, he came to the first floor of the Hokage's building almost every week to post a mission, but in the past three years, his visit eleven days ago had been the first time he had come to see him.
That time was to ask about the impact of bringing the Uzumaki clan back to Konoha.
And this time, the Uzumaki children had not yet returned, so he must have something else on his mind.
"Yes."
Li Anshi nodded.
"Lord Hokage, three years ago, I obtained the data on the Flying Thunder God Technique left behind by the Second Hokage, Lord Tobirama Senju, from Tsunade."
"Based on this data, I have also made some progress in my training of the technique."
"The reason I've come to see you this time is to view the complete Flying Thunder God Technique left by the Second Hokage."
"What? You've been training in the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Hiruzen's jaw dropped. He looked at Li Anshi in shock.
He had never imagined that Li Anshi would have a talent for space-time ninjutsu and could practice the technique left by his master, Tobirama.
It was precisely because of this jutsu that Master Tobirama had been known as the "fastest in the ninja world."
A fire ignited in Hiruzen's heart.
With Li Anshi's abilities, if he truly mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could be called "invincible."
As he was now, it might still be possible to encircle and kill him by exhausting his daggers with a large number of ninjas.
But once he learned the technique, that method would be useless.
No one could block the daggers he threw.
Similarly, no one could stop the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique!
The Cloud had had to resort to a conspiracy to encircle and kill Tobirama, bringing Hiruzen and the others along to use as his weakness, forcing him to stay behind and hold them off so that they could escape.
"Yes, I've made some progress."
Li Anshi raised his hand, and in the next instant, four flying daggers suddenly appeared in his palm.
"Th-this is..."
Hiruzen shot up from his chair, his hands braced on the desk, his upper body leaning forward as he stared at the four daggers in Li Anshi's hand.
On the blades of the daggers, black runes formed the shape of an iris, blooming on the steel.
As Tobirama's disciple, Hiruzen was no stranger to the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Although he had failed to learn it because he couldn't sense the fluctuations of space, he knew that upon mastering it, one could leave a personal mark on a kunai.
Through this mark, one could achieve spatial transfer.
Although the iris on Li Anshi's daggers was different from the mark on Tobirama's kunai, Hiruzen was certain that this was the mark of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Since Li Anshi could already leave his own unique spatial mark on his daggers, it meant he had already achieved a certain level of mastery in the technique.
Perhaps he could already use these spatial marks for spatial movement.
"Anshi, this is more than just 'some progress'..."
Hiruzen looked up, his voice filled with deep meaning.
Now that he thought about it, the four daggers that had suddenly appeared in Li Anshi's hand earlier were not because his Blade Hiding Technique was too strong for him to see when he had drawn them, but because he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique directly, transferring the daggers to his hand.
"How should I put it..."
Li Anshi closed his hand, and the daggers in it disappeared instantly.
"Originally, I thought I could complete my training of the technique based on the data left by the Second Hokage."
"But I don't know where I went wrong. In the end, the spatial mark I left on the daggers couldn't allow me to move to their location."
"Instead, I can move the daggers with the spatial mark to my side."
"I see."
Hiruzen nodded.
In a way, the jutsu Li Anshi had successfully cultivated based on the data left by Master Tobirama could be considered a different jutsu from the Flying Thunder God Technique.
And from this jutsu, Hiruzen could also understand why Li Anshi had dared to leave without a sealing scroll.
It was a good thing the four great villages had proposed a "no first use of Little Li's Flying Dagger" agreement. Otherwise, if those people knew that he could actually apply the Flying Thunder God Technique to his daggers, they would probably lose sleep again.
Just a moment ago, they had judged that it would take the lives of at least fifteen hundred people to even get a chance to attack him.
And now, they learned that he could recall his daggers with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Wouldn't those people have a breakdown?
You can't play like that!