"Why am I having this kind of dream..."
The next day, as Sakura sat in the Thunder Car, she kept recollecting the dream she had last night. That dream was too real, she could still vividly remember Lady Ino's soul-stirring screams, and the shadows of the staff repeatedly entering and exiting...
'No, I shouldn't think about it, let's just treat it as a nightmare...'
Sakura quickly banished the images constantly emerging in her mind. She had just showered and changed clothes last night, and her spare clothes were already used up. If she kept recalling it, she would definitely have to change clothes on the Thunder Car.
On the speeding Thunder Car, the medical team quickly returned to Konoha.
After letting the others return to the Konoha Hospital, Sakura went to the Hokage Office.
Upon learning that the prophesied disaster would occur every three days and could possibly happen in the Land of Fire, Sakura understood why they were called back.
If the disaster struck Konoha and the majority of the medical team wasn't in the village, Konoha would suffer heavy casualties.
With this knowledge, Sakura immediately returned to Konoha Hospital to make some urgent preparations; medical personnel and medicines had to be prepared in advance.
Sakura initially wanted to look for Ino, but with a pile of tasks at hand and hearing that Ino had just taken over Konoha's Barrier Security, she guessed Ino was also busy and gave up on the idea.
Tonight marks the new disaster in the Ninja World, and everyone in Konoha who knows about it is on high alert, treating the upcoming disaster as one of Ten-tailed calibre.
Uchiha Yoichi reaped substantial benefits last night, not only easing Lady Ino's loneliness but also gaining ample experience in refining Sixth-Grade Elixirs.
Now, even when refining Seventh-Grade Elixirs, Uchiha Yoichi has a high success rate. Although his Medicine Dust Memory only reaches Seventh-Grade Elixirs, Uchiha Yoichi's ability to control Abnormal Fire has reached a peak.
The Abnormal Fire has become part of his body, almost invariably succeeding when refining herbal essence, and the success rate for Condensing Pills has also increased significantly.
If given a few months, Uchiha Yoichi could quickly master Seventh-Grade Elixirs and even successfully refine Eighth-Grade Elixirs; as for spiritual power, Uchiha Yoichi, refining Sixth-Grade Elixirs with ten clones, hasn't felt fatigue.
A day quickly passed, and the disaster's onset provided Victor with excellent development time, although Sai had already investigated Victor.
However, with the Kamui Clone's reminder, Victor is aware of Sai's team's existence and deliberately guides them, leading Sai's team to waste time in the Land of Valleys and Land of Silence.
Regardless of how much they investigate, they won't find the Divine Tree; instead, they'll slowly discover some outer array members of the Shell Organization...this is Kamui Clone's idea for Victor. Since Victor decided he wants to control the Divine Tree, he straightforwardly redirects trouble, drawing attention from the Five Great Ninja Villages to the Shell Organization.
Although only Konoha is aware of them now, the Five Great Ninja Villages collaborate relentlessly against danger; once one ninja village discovers the Shell Organization, all five ninja villages will know about them.
Moreover, after the disaster, many unrestful individuals took the opportunity to cause trouble. Once the Five Great Ninja Villages capture these opportunistic marauders, the Artificial Divine Tree will have nourishment again.
As the Artificial Divine Tree grows, Victor's ambition slowly expands, and he possibly thinks he's well hidden.
Nonetheless, Victor's power simply can't threaten Kamui Dojutsu, even if Jigen comes, he can't deal with Kamui Clones, especially two Kamui Mangekyo.
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Nearing midnight, Konoha Ninja Village also fell dark; apart from some streetlights, every household dimmed, resting already.
But the Hokage Building remained brightly lit, with many ninja guarding there.
In the Hokage Office, Uzumaki Naruto was nearly ready to mobilize at any moment, and the Yamanaka Ino responsible for the Barrier Transmission was also there to ensure timely communication.
"Constant tension, huh? This kind of life is going to continue for a month..."
Uzumaki Naruto suddenly laughed, trying to ease the room's atmosphere; otherwise, no one spoke, making the tension too tight.
"Even after a month, we can't guarantee relaxation; those few exotic beasts in the deep sea haven't been found. They must all be eradicated to feel secure..."
Nara Shikamaru took out a cigarette, paused, and glanced at Naruto and Ino in the room; after they both waved their hands, he proceeded to light up and smoke.
"Leaving even one exotic beast could cause significant casualties."
"True enough..."
Uzumaki Naruto chuckled, then suddenly thought of something and continued to ask, "Shikamaru, is your family alright? I remember you said Temari seemed to have gone back, what about Lu Dai?"
"Yes, Lu Dai can make me feel at ease, even if Temari isn't home, it's no problem. He should be asleep now."
Nara Shikamaru replied smilingly. Temari has to return to the Hidden Sand Village periodically to see her two younger brothers. She used to bring Lu Dai along but went alone this time because Lu Dai is nearing exams.
While they chatted idly, time ticked away, and nearing midnight, they stopped.
Naruto stood up, looked out at the village through the window, and was ready to assist if enemies appeared.
The clock hands in the room aligned precisely at the twelve mark, seeing this, Uzumaki Naruto immediately activated Sage Mode but didn't sense any unfamiliar aura.
"Ino..."
"No issues, everything around Konoha Ninja Village is normal."
Yamanaka Ino also had just heard back from the Security Team and immediately spoke to Uzumaki Naruto.
The people inside the room let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this sentence. At least the disaster hadn't occurred in Konoha, which was somewhat good news.
"Shikamaru, contact the other Kages immediately!"
"I understand."
Nara Shikamaru quickly turned on the computer and requested a video conference with the other four Kages.
Soon, the video conference was connected, and during this time, the other four Ninja Villages were on high alert.
After connected to the video conference, Uzumaki Naruto asked, "Everyone, there haven't been any disasters near Konoha. How about your regions?"
Darui spoke up, "Everything is normal in Hidden Cloud Village, and there have been no disturbances around here. I've already dispatched ninjas to investigate the entire Land of Lightning, and we'll have news by tomorrow morning."
Kurotsuchi said, "Hidden Rock Village is also normal, and we'll know about the entire Land of Earth by tomorrow morning."
"Hidden Mist Village... nothing has happened yet, and we're intensifying the rebuilding."
"Hidden Sand Village is the same, but deserts are difficult to investigate, so it might be the day after tomorrow before we learn about the entire Land of Wind."
Each of the Kages reports the situation in their respective Ninja Villages, which eased Uzumaki Naruto's mind. However, he and the other four Kages shared some concern; the unknown is what makes people frightened. According to the prophecy, disasters or exotic beasts should have appeared by now.
If they haven't appeared in the Five Great Countries, then they are elsewhere, perhaps somewhere in the Ninja World.
If these exotic beasts aren't found, disasters could burst forth at any moment.
"Alright then, let's reconnect tomorrow morning. If there's information, we'll convene another video conference at any time..."
After Uzumaki Naruto finished speaking, he ended the video conference and then said to Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, send out the action squad. Make sure to have the entire Land of Fire scouted tonight and report any situation immediately."
"Hmm, understood."
After Nara Shikamaru finished speaking, he used the radio to issue orders to the Ninja Squad.
Once all this was done, about two hours had passed. After Uzumaki Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall, he patted Shikamaru's shoulder and said, "Shikamaru, it's not too busy anymore. You should head back; now there's only one person left at home."
Nara Shikamaru smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine!"
"Stop forcing yourself, Shikamaru. Now Lu Dai can only rely on you."
Yamanaka Ino also stepped forward to persuade, "If you get sick and collapse, then Lu Dai will have to take care of you. Go back and rest."
"Honestly... I can't argue with you. I'll leave it to you then, I'm heading back."
Nara Shikamaru laughed as he scratched his head, then handed over the work he was holding before leaving the Hokage Building.
After Nara Shikamaru left, Yamanaka Ino sighed and said to Uzumaki Naruto, "Naruto, you should find time to advise Shikamaru. He could get married... he has to handle village affairs and take care of Lu Dai, too difficult for Shikamaru."
"Well, indeed, I'll find time to talk to Shikamaru. Or I'll give it a try to alleviate some of Shikamaru's pressure."
"You really need to do your best; otherwise, if Shikamaru takes a day off, you'll be swamped!"
Yamanaka Ino shook her head as she looked at the piles of documents in the room and said, even with Shikamaru's help, it's still like this. Without his assistance, Naruto might be exhausted.
"Hahaha...."
Naruto chuckled awkwardly, then returned to his seat, determined to manage the village's affairs well.
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"Woo!"
In the Land of Wind, the fog gradually dissipated, and a long whale song faded into the air along with it.
It left behind destroyed Thunder Car rails and people lying on the ground.
Once the fog and whale song had vanished, Temari barely lifted her head and managed to open her eyes to take a look at her surroundings before fainting.
Slowly, as dawn broke, a search squad from Hidden Sand arrived here. Seeing the destroyed Thunder Car trail, one of the Hidden Sand Ninjas quickly exclaimed, "Captain, the Thunder Car here is wrecked!"
Other Hidden Sand Ninjas rushed over upon hearing this, quickly investigating the area. Then the Hidden Sand captain spoke, "Only one person is alive; let's take her back first. Once we find out her identity, we can possibly learn the reason for the Thunder Car's destruction."
Another Hidden Sand Ninja asked, "Captain, do you think the one who destroyed the Thunder Car could be what the Kazekage mentioned..."
"Idiot, if it were the disaster the Kazekage mentioned, how could it have only wrecked a segment of Thunder Car rail? This is more like sabotage from rogue ninjas. Investigate this woman's identity information first."