"Sword of the Thunder God?"
Mikami Yuu raised an eyebrow.
He had a slight impression of that name.
If he remembered correctly, it seemed to be a ninja tool once used by Senju Tobirama. Its nature was somewhat similar to Kirigakure's Lightning Blades, Kiba—both were blades capable of controlling lightning. Supposedly, it had originally been meant to be used together with the Flying Thunder God, but for various reasons, it had later been sealed away.
And now Konoha was actually giving this thing to him?
That was a little interesting.
"Is there anything else besides that?"
Yuu asked curiously.
"Uh…"
Kurenai scratched her head, her cheeks faintly red. "I don't know either. I only heard it secondhand from Asuma, and I haven't seen the actual item. Why don't we go find Lord Jiraiya and Shikaku-sensei together?"
"Sure."
At once, Yuu and Kurenai went to the command post, where they met Jiraiya and Nara Shikaku.
The moment Jiraiya saw the two of them,
he laughed loudly and walked forward, habitually patting Yuu on the shoulder hard enough to make his body jolt.
"Haha, congratulations, Yuu! The old man has officially approved your nomination as a Konoha jōnin!
"Tsk, tsk. An eleven-year-old jōnin, and one promoted on solid military merit. You were only granted special jōnin rank half a month ago, too… This is practically a triple jump. Even Minato back then didn't rise as fast as you. At this rate, it probably won't be long before you become one of the village's new pillars, just like him!"
Faced with Jiraiya's praise,
Yuu merely smiled. "Thank you, Lord Jiraiya. I haven't been a ninja for very long, so how could I possibly compare with Minato-sensei? Besides, Konoha's current pillars are you, Lord Orochimaru, and Lady Tsunade. We're still far behind."
"Hahaha, you really know how to talk, kid. But being too modest isn't always a good thing. Young people should be a little more flamboyant."
Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh.
After chatting for a bit about the situation back in the village, Yuu casually steered the topic toward his reward and asked about the "Sword of the Thunder God."
"Huh, you already know?"
Jiraiya slapped his forehead, then turned and took a simple, old-fashioned sword case about a meter long from the side and placed it on the table.
The entire case was black, engraved with intricate sealing formulas, and carried a heavy sense of history.
When Jiraiya opened the case, a thin sword with a strange design lay quietly inside.
The hilt was wrapped in old dark leather, and embedded in it was a bright blue crystal the size of a pigeon egg.
The blade itself was like a chopstick, roughly forty centimeters long, yet only two or three centimeters wide. It had a silvery-gray sheen similar to the White Fang short blade.
At first glance…
it looked a bit strange.
Its form did not even really look like a sword.
Beside him, Jiraiya had already begun explaining.
"This sword was something Tsunade specifically brought up to the old man. She said you made a great contribution this time, and an ordinary ninja tool wouldn't be worthy. Knowing that you're quite skilled in swordsmanship, she remembered this thing that the Second Hokage tinkered with in his youth.
"This sword was an experimental item the Second made while researching Lightning Release nature transformation and space-time ninjutsu. Supposedly, it has a special device embedded inside, so even without Lightning Release chakra, it can draw out the power of lightning. Its sharpness is unmatched.
"However, in actual use, it demands extremely high chakra control. The lightning it releases is hard to control precisely, and the slightest mistake can cause backlash against the user. So after the Second Hokage passed away, it was shelved. If Tsunade hadn't mentioned it, everyone probably would have almost forgotten that such a ninja tool existed."
Jiraiya's tone carried a trace of reminiscence.
After all, as Sarutobi Hiruzen's disciple, he had seen Senju Tobirama—and even Senju Hashirama—when he was young. Toward these two pioneers who founded Konoha, he naturally carried some respect.
Of course, there had actually been one more pioneer, and his employee number was even earlier than Senju Tobirama's.
It was just that what that person had done was far too outrageous. He had even indirectly caused Senju Hashirama's death during the battle at the Valley of the End, triggering a chain reaction of later events. Konoha had long since placed him on the blacklist. So under normal circumstances, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning him.
Jiraiya paused, then looked at Yuu.
"If you feel this thing doesn't suit your hand, you can apply to exchange it for something else. That's fine too."
"…No need. I'll take this."
Yuu said.
He did not know the specific performance of this Sword of the Thunder God. After all, this thing had barely done anything in the original story. It only appeared for one or two episodes and was even shattered by Naruto and Sasuke.
However, since Tsunade had recommended it, it should still be decent. After all, she was now his teacher in name, and based on her personality, she probably would not deliberately trick him.
"Alright. Since it's your own choice, I won't advise you further. I hope you can let this weapon show its edge in the ninja world once more."
As Jiraiya spoke, he solemnly held the sword case with both hands and passed it over.
Yuu accepted it and felt that it had some weight to it.
However, Yuu had already increased his constitution quite a bit through the galgame system, so at this moment, it was not heavy enough to press him down. He even felt it was a bit light and not quite satisfying in the hand.
After that,
Jiraiya seemed to remember something and said, "Right, there's one more thing…"
"Yuu, regarding what you reported two days ago about the Root ninja killing innocents, I discussed it with Shikaku and the others. We've decided to temporarily remove that ninja from front-line duties, have him properly bury the affected villagers, and pay compensation to the victims' relatives out of his own pocket.
"As for the survivors of the villages near Mount Kikyo, those willing to relocate into the Land of Fire will be received and assisted by Konoha. Those unwilling to leave will also receive some compensation. I can personally speak to the old man about this. What do you think of this arrangement?"
"…"
You're asking me about this?
Yuu muttered inwardly, then nodded.
"That's acceptable. I'll leave this matter to Lord Jiraiya's judgment."
It would not matter even if it weren't acceptable.
After all, Shimura Danzō and his Root were like a dark tumor with tangled roots inside Konoha's great tree, or a nation within a nation. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen had to treat them cautiously. As the front-line commander, Jiraiya being able to withstand the pressure and make that Root ninja pay a real price, while also arranging for the civilians, already counted as doing his best.
As for directly moving against Root as a whole…
first, there was not enough justification.
Second, it was not the right time.
He just didn't know whether that stubborn-brained Obito would hold a grudge over this.
But if Obito really did hold a grudge, there was nothing Yuu could do. After all, the ones who had acted were Root. If Obito darkened, he should go take revenge on Root. He couldn't just throw the blame onto Mikami Yuu.