The sky over the village was gradually darkening. The Third Hokage sat in his office, the ember in his lit pipe flaring brightly before slowly fading into the twilight. Suddenly, a silhouette wearing a fox mask painted with red patterns emerged soundlessly from the shadows. Dropping to one knee, the operative spoke with profound respect,
"Hokage-sama."
"What happened?" The Third cast a brief, penetrating glance toward the Forest of Death. Naturally, he couldn't have missed the colossal uproar and the massive surge of energy that Hanao Shiki had unleashed just moments ago.
The Anbu operative hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing his words for the report, before replying, "Jiraiya-san has just engaged in combat with his student, Hanao Shiki."
The Third Hokage's eyebrows crept upward in surprise. "Is that boy truly so strong that he forced Jiraiya to resort to such large-scale techniques?"
Who better than him, Jiraiya's former mentor, to know his true strength? Whether it was taijutsu, ninjutsu, or fuinjutsu, Jiraiya had reached incredible heights in all of them, earning recognition throughout the entire shinobi world. Otherwise, Hanzo of the Salamander would never have dubbed him and the others the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha. Young Shiki must have demonstrated unimaginable power for Jiraiya to retaliate on such a massive scale. Still, Hiruzen could certainly understand how it might have happened.
The Anbu operative froze. He had absolutely no desire to shatter his leader's logical deductions, but duty bound him to speak only the truth.
"Lord Hokage... that explosion was caused by Hanao Shiki."
"What?" The Third's eyes widened in genuine astonishment. Yes, he highly valued Shiki's potential and talents. With the proper polish, this rough diamond could very well become a second Hatake Sakumo in the future. But to believe that a fresh graduate of the Ninja Academy was capable of unleashing such a devastating technique? It sounded like absolute nonsense.
"Report in detail," the Hokage ordered.
The Anbu operative recounted the entire clash between Jiraiya and his newly minted students word for word. Upon hearing the report, Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe. Only one thought echoed in his mind: This boy is terrifyingly strong! However, the Hokage quickly regained his composure and made a decision. Since such a genius had appeared in the village, it was absolutely imperative to win him over to his side.
"Maintain covert surveillance and protection over Shiki. And classify everything that happened today. No one must learn of his true abilities."
"Understood," the operative replied, dissolving into thin air and leaving the Third alone with his thoughts.
Despite holding the title of Hokage and formally serving as the supreme leader of Konoha, far from all decisions in the village were made by him alone. Often, he acted merely as a symbol, a figurehead thrust onto the political stage by numerous factions. The web of power in the village was far too convoluted. On one side stood Danzo, maintaining a vice-like grip on Root. On the other were elders like Utatane Koharu, backed by influential veteran Jonin. And that was to say nothing of the great clans: the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan, the Yamanaka Clan—their power could not be ignored. Even the capital of the Land of Fire and the Daimyo himself had their agents of influence in Konoha, constantly meddling in the hidden village's internal politics.
During the war years, external threats forced these disparate forces to unite into a single fist. But the moment peace arrived and the carving up of new spheres of influence began, Konoha immediately plunged into an abyss of hidden intrigue and underhanded power struggles. That was precisely why it was vital for him, as Hokage, to draw any valuable allies to his side. For instance, by utilizing his authority to sow the seeds of loyalty in the hearts of young graduates, gradually forging them into his own reliable pillar of support.
…
"So, what did you say your last technique was called?" Jiraiya asked with undisguised curiosity as they sat in a private booth at the barbecue restaurant.
"Light Release," Shiki replied casually. Since he had already used this power for all to see anyway, there was no point in hiding it. He had come up with the name right on the spot.
"Light Release?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully, beginning to doubt his many years of accumulated knowledge regarding ninjutsu. "Does such a Kekkei Genkai even exist in the shinobi world?"
Minato and Kushina exchanged glances of utter incomprehension. If the legendary Sannin was baffled, they certainly had nothing to add. Stuffed to the brim, Shiki lounged languidly in his chair and, with an absolutely straight face, continued to spout nonsense.
"I suppose it's my own unique nature transformation. Something like a mixture of fire, lightning, and wind."
Jiraiya measured the boy with a suspicious glare. It was hard to believe such tall tales, but then again, was there any other logical explanation for this phenomenon? Minato, on the other hand, fell deep into thought.
"Hey, what are you guys even talking about?" Kushina blinked in confusion. Why were these three sitting there with such profound expressions, as if they had just unraveled the mysteries of the universe, while she was the only one completely lost?
Noticing her bewilderment, Minato gently explained, "You see, every shinobi's chakra has a nature affinity. The most common elements are fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth. Besides those, there are the Yin Release and Yang Release. For instance, the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique and the Nara Clan's Shadow Possession Jutsu are based on them. However, some shinobi, due to their bloodline or other reasons, possess unique chakra properties. Usually, these are born from the fusion of two basic elements. Take the First Hokage's Wood Release, for example—it consists of water and earth. Such phenomena are called Kekkei Genkai. Special bodily mutations, like the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan or the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, also fall into this category."
Hearing this, Kushina frowned, catching an inconsistency.
"But Shiki just said that his nature transformation consists of three elements!"
Minato shifted his gaze to Shiki and nodded with a faint smile.
"Exactly. Aside from the combination of two elements, there exists an incredibly rare and terrifying fusion of three elements at once. This form of chakra nature transformation is known as Kekkei Tota. And in terms of sheer power, it exponentially surpasses a standard Kekkei Genkai."