The images from the memory disk flashed before the eyes of everyone in the conference room, leaving them feeling dizzy.
Jiraiya, standing nearby, clicked his tongue, feeling like he hadn't woken up from drinking the night before.
Tsunade glanced at the rice ball in Linto's hand, then at the sky outside that was not yet fully bright. She parted her lips slightly, a jumble of chaotic emotions crowding her throat, unsure of what to say.
What was there to say?
They were still here, thinking about tactics, figuring out how to deal with enemies from the sky, and how to evacuate the civilians in the village.
Elite ninjas, one by one, were racking their brains, and the result…
Someone went to buy breakfast and solved the incoming enemies?
This made them seem…
A bit foolish.
The Hyuga and Nara families, having their first formal contact with Linto, all wore expressions of astonishment.
Just a few minutes ago, some of them had been prepared to die in battle, while others had been full of fighting spirit, eager to tear their enemies apart with their bare hands. They had been waiting to fight the Sky Ninja Legion in two days.
But after all that mental preparation, they were told the enemies were all dead. To describe their state of mind in a single sentence:
They drew their swords and looked around, utterly bewildered.
Everyone could only scratch their heads and smack their lips, slumping onto their chairs listlessly, waiting for the meeting to end so they could go home and catch up on sleep—Brother Yamanaka Inoichi had already fallen asleep, his snores rumbling.
The expressions of the two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, were even more amusing.
The second before, they were still saying Linto was daydreaming.
The next second, the disc landed on the table with a clap, as if slapping them in the face.
With Tsunade taking charge and Danzo's sudden death, the two advisors already felt their authority was being challenged in many ways.
Now they had been publicly embarrassed. Considering Linto's combat power and the achievements laid out on the table.
These two old-timers, neither soft nor hard, were stuck in an awkward, neither-here-nor-there state, like two half-dead worms.
They could only exchange glances, shrink their necks, and choose silence to hide their helplessness.
Tsunade finished watching the memory disc and let out a long sigh.
She looked up and met Linto's gaze, her eyes sharp and full of spirit.
They saw the same thought reflected in each other's eyes.
"Next… it's our turn to go on the offensive."
Being constantly on the defensive didn't suit Linto and Tsunade's personalities.
Only by hurting and killing the enemies who dared to attack could they prevent copycats later.
Moreover, from General Hornet's memory, it was clear that these people were aiming to prevent the expansion of the "Awakening Ideology" and to destroy the very foundation of the ninja villages.
As long as they harbored this goal, they could continuously obtain funds and support from various channels.
"Wipe out the Sky Ninja Legion," Linto said. "And ideally, follow the trail to find the sponsors behind them and have a good chat."
Kakashi picked up a tea break from the table, took a bite, and was about to swallow when he heard Linto's mention of "chatting," and his mouth twitched slightly.
Jiraiya scratched his head and said, "But, this sounds like… we're the villains in a novel, crushing the protagonist."
"It's different."
Linto said, "In stories, the villains send their subordinates to die one by one, creating space for the protagonist to grow."
"And us?"
Linto took out a Polaroid camera he carried from the phantom room.
"I'm going to chop some people up in a bit."
After repeated attempts, including using Hamon to create golden flames, water, and TVs, Linto found that the Polaroid had the most precise imaging effect, making it convenient for Star Platinum to draw the details.
Linto chopped down on the Polaroid with his palm.
"Hermit Purple."
The ability to take photographs was activated, and a photo slowly emerged.
Linto picked up the photo, and everyone leaned in behind him to look:
Shinno stood before a podium, his arms spread wide, his expression fervent. The background was pitch black, with only a light behind Shinno, as if a movie was being projected.
Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, and she slammed her fist on the table:
"This bastard still has the mood to watch a movie?"
Due to the strong contrast between the light and dark inside, the crowd couldn't see what video was being shown, but that wasn't a problem—
Star Platinum appeared beside Linto.
It picked up the paper and pen that had been used for tactical discussion, and with its other hand, it held the photo and quickly sketched on the paper.
The fine "shushing" sound of the pen tip on the paper continued, and the drawn image gradually became clearer.
Hyuga Hiashi's pale eyes widened as he was the first to react:
"Isn't this… the scene when Linto was fighting the sky fortress?"
With Star Platinum's precision, the battle scene was perfectly recreated—
Thousands of kamikaze pilots charged towards Linto, shouting slogans.
The sky fortress fired its destructive laser.
Linto, surrounded and attacked in the center, looked incredibly weak and helpless.
Jiraiya scoffed, "If Linto wasn't standing here, just looking at this picture, you'd think the Sky Ninja Legion was the victor."
"This is the art of editing,"
Linto said. "He's giving a live demonstration, showing 'them' the value of the Sky Ninja Legion."
No one asked who "they" were.
General Hornet's memory had made it perfectly clear.
The so-called "they" were the various financiers in different countries who wished to destroy Linto and the ninja villages.
Tsunade asked, "Can you do it again, from a different angle?"
She really wanted to know who was listening in the audience and who was helping Shinno, creating one devastating terrorist attack after another.
Linto nodded.
He took out another Polaroid camera from the phantom room and activated Hermit Purple.
He couldn't actively adjust the perspective, but as long as Shinno himself moved, the corresponding photographic angle would change.
The second photo emerged.
Tsunade leaned over the table and took the photo.
But…
There were no audience members.
Instead, there were rows of cameras placed in front of the stage, wires extending from behind the cameras beyond the edge of the photograph.
Whoever chose to invest in the Sky Ninja Legion didn't want to reveal themselves.
They didn't even want to send a servant.
Hermit Purple, this small vine, brought them a tremendous sense of pressure.
"I see how cautious these people are,"
Jiraiya said. "But we still can't deduce Shinno's location from this photo."
Hermit Purple could only roughly infer a direction, and this "roughly" was quite vague, with a certain delay and deviation.
If Shinno kept hiding indoors, finding him wouldn't be easy.
"I think… I know where he is."
Kakashi picked up the photo and pointed to a small beetle clinging to a camera.
"Desert beetles, they grow in deserts and arid regions. In most countries, these insects live in museums. There's only one place where they fly around freely."
"The Desert Country·Land of Wind."
Might Guy, sitting nearby, patted Kakashi's back forcefully.
"Not bad! You even know entomology!"
Kakashi's gaze was complex as he stared at the beetle in the photo and sighed.
"Yes, I even know that."
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