Chapter 244: A Second Child

 

A phantom emerged from Tonbo's forehead and rose into the air.

His body remained seated below while his spirit climbed above it.

"This feels better than expected."

The Spiritualization Technique changed his perception. In the spirit state, the world no longer reached him through ordinary eyes and skin. He formed hand seals with insubstantial hands and released a sensory technique.

Awareness spread through Konoha's streets, passed the great gate, and continued beyond the village. The range exceeded his previous linear perception, and details in the environment arrived with unusual sharpness.

He could still refine chakra, form seals, and use selected ninjutsu without a physical body. He could also lend chakra to another person.

The spirit moved faster than his flesh and ignored much of the terrain below. Walls did not define its route in the ordinary way. Distance still strained the connection to his body, however, and the empty shell remained motionless wherever he left it. Any practical use would require protection for that vulnerable center.

Tonbo flew outside Konoha and descended into a wild boar.

The animal's unfocused eyes became intelligent at once. It looked around, gave two thoughtful grunts, and moved exactly as Tonbo directed.

"The control is excellent."

Against an enemy, Spiritualization offered an extraordinary trump card. Tonbo could take a body and use it to attack allies who would never expect betrayal from their companion. The technique also gave him direct material for studying the power called soul.

Possession did not merely imitate movement. The boar's senses reached Tonbo from inside, and his intent passed outward through the animal's nerves. A human shinobi could resist with a stronger spirit or disrupt the invading chakra, but an unexpected entry during combat might end the struggle before resistance began.

Heart Steel needed that material. Spiritual and physical forces were among the foundations of every shinobi, and the Scroll of Seals had finally provided enough theory for serious research.

Tonbo left the boar and returned to his waiting body.

"How do I incorporate Spiritualization into another technique?"

Its transformation belonged to Yin Release, but transferring the property into Heart Steel was as difficult as creating a new kekkei genkai. Combining two nature transformations changed both. Tonbo needed the spiritual awareness without allowing Heart Steel to abandon its defensive structure.

If he succeeded, Heart Steel could recognize a change in his cognition rather than waiting for a fixed interval. The spiritual component would compare behavior, chakra rhythm, and intent from within the defense itself. Tsukuyomi or another mind-altering attack would then have to deceive both Tonbo and the independent awareness embedded in the technique.

While he studied, Konoha continued rebuilding.

Hammers rang through the streets. Residents worked beside Academy students such as Konohamaru, who divided training time with repairing classrooms and carrying materials.

Ichiraku used its own money to restore the main storefront before most of the residential district was complete. Tonbo did not need to redirect a single resource through the Hokage's office. Even during reconstruction, every branch remained crowded enough to support the repairs.

"Tonbo has certainly become busier since he took the office," Teuchi told Ayame between orders.

"He is only Acting Hokage. When the Fifth returns, he can go back to his usual life."

Ayame felt pride rather than resentment. Tonbo still visited the shop, trained the children, and returned home every day. The time was shorter, but he had not allowed the office to erase the family.

Teuchi lowered his voice only slightly. "He told me the two of you are preparing for another child."

Ayame glanced at the customers and blushed. "I am working, Dad. But yes. He has always wanted several children, and so have I."

Tonbo had once said he wanted at least four. Tenyu and Maki were now old enough to manage their studies and much of their daily routine. The family could afford one or two more children without sacrificing their care.

Teuchi smiled broadly. "If you both agree, I will happily welcome more grandchildren."

Tonbo's timing was not entirely innocent. Tsunade might return, see an Acting Hokage already established, and decide she could leave the office to him. A pregnant wife would give Tonbo another reason to insist that family required his time.

He did not intend to invent the pregnancy or force Ayame into it for politics. They both wanted another child. The possibility simply happened to strengthen his escape from an office he never desired. Tonbo saw no reason to reject a useful consequence of a sincere family choice.

The leverage merely accelerated a desire he had held for years. He wanted four children. Trying now allowed affection and strategy to point in the same direction.

At the Hokage Tower, an intelligence shinobi arrived at a run.

"Minister Sato Nojiri of Fire Country was assassinated. His private guards and the Konoha squad assigned to him were all killed. The capital suspects an internal family struggle."

Tonbo opened the report. The minister possessed his own soldiers as well as hired Konoha protection. Killing him and every guard required considerable strength.

"Which force carried it out?"

"Unknown. Investigators estimate two attackers. The site contains signs of ninjutsu used by the minister's defenders, but no identifiable technique from the killers. We found no evidence linking another shinobi country."

Two people, a high-value assassination, and almost no trace. Tonbo immediately thought of Akatsuki.

Most ordinary missing-nin would reveal a favored weapon, chakra nature, or retreat method after killing an entire security unit. Akatsuki paired specialists capable of overwhelming opponents before they learned enough to identify the technique. The absence of evidence therefore became evidence of exceptional competence.

The organization currently needed money. Political struggles inside a country created the perfect gap. A great hidden village would rarely accept a contract to assassinate another nation's minister; the act could ignite war. Akatsuki operated outside those restraints and treated the danger as a higher fee.

"Send Hyūga Tokuma's squad. They must identify the killers, but their objective is intelligence, not battle. The enemy is probably far stronger than an ordinary bounty team."

Tokuma was to reconstruct direction, count, and chakra signatures, then determine whether the killers remained inside Fire Country. If he found them, he would report instead of attempting an arrest. Tonbo did not need another squad erased merely to confirm the Akatsuki hypothesis.

The Byakugan gave Tokuma's group the best chance of finding residue and following a trail without approaching blindly.

"Warn the underground Land of Exchanges operating in Fire Country as well. Any posted contract targeting senior Fire officials will be shut down."

The great hidden villages were not the only source of powerful shinobi. Brokers in the Land of Exchanges connected clients to missing-nin and private killers. Akatsuki used those channels to reach contracts ordinary villages rejected.

Tonbo knew he could not suppress the entire underground market. Its name existed for a reason. Tightening one funding route was still worthwhile.

In Tanzaku Town, Tsunade's hands hovered over Orochimaru's ruined arms.

Medical chakra entered the damaged pathways. Then her killing intent changed its shape.

Kabuto's Chakra Scalpel cut across the treatment before she could complete it. Tsunade leaped back.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru said, "explain."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses without taking his eyes from Tsunade. "I am also a medical shinobi. No healer releases killing intent while repairing a patient."

Orochimaru understood at once.

"Tsunade, we were teammates. I offered to return Dan and Nawaki to you, and still you choose this?"

Her body trembled, but the killing intent in her eyes did not weaken.

"I want them back more than anything," she said. "They would never want me to heal you at the price of Konoha. So I will kill you instead."

Orochimaru had promised to use Edo Tensei for Nawaki and Dan if she restored his hands. The offer had reached through years of grief and brought her to the room. At the final moment, she understood that the two men she loved would condemn the choice, even if their summoned mouths could be forced to thank her.

 

The negotiation ended with Kabuto between them.