Chapter 31: Rising Stars and Subterfuge
After finishing lunch, Main Yuto turned to Jenny, Gaia, and Tenko, his voice encouraging. "You three should start cultivating the Queen Star techniques. If you dedicate a month to diligent practice, the cultivation will eventually run on its own, so you won't have to worry about it in the future."
The girls listened intently, their eyes focused on Yuto. He continued, "This will free you from constant training and allow you to focus on other things. With the Queen and Monarch versions of cultivation techniques, you'll also have the ability to absorb different skills and methods. For example, I've integrated techniques like the Eight Inner Gates and demon cultivation. You can adapt qualities of animals by cultivating their essence—like the speed of a cheetah, the agility of a cat, or the strength of a lion's claws, by using just a drop of their blood."
His eyes twinkled with a playful thought. "And, honestly, I wouldn't mind having a rabbit, a cat, or a snow-white fox as pets around here."
The girls' eyes lit up with excitement, each one imagining their potential transformations. Jenny spoke first, grinning. "I'll become a rabbit girl!"
"I'll be the cat girl," Gaia added with a smile.
Tenko chimed in excitedly, "Then I'll be the ten-tailed fox!"
Yuto chuckled, shaking his head. "No need to actually become animals. These techniques will simply give you some of their powers. However, if you'd like, using Yang Release, you can create fox ears or a fluffy tail if that's what you really want."
The girls' initial disappointment turned to excitement at the thought. Seeing Yuto's gaze burning with intrigue and with some other emotions, they blushed, suddenly feeling shy.
After their lively conversation, Yuto directed the girls to practice within the dimension. He separated into various forms—Professor Yuto and chef Yuto stayed with the girls to help guide their cultivation, while the other Yutos set out to handle their respective tasks.
CEO Yuto teleported into the guild's headquarters, arriving suddenly and startling his secretary, who had been diligently working at his desk. The secretary quickly straightened, bowing in respect. "Good afternoon, my lord."
"Good afternoon," CEO Yuto responded calmly. "Bring me the main files from yesterday and today."
Without hesitation, the secretary hurried to retrieve the files. Moments later, he returned and placed a stack of documents on the table. CEO Yuto sat down, reviewing them with an analytical eye.
After reading through the reports, CEO Yuto's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So, it appears that the Hidden Rock Village intends to target the border of the Hidden Leaf Village. They seem to want to test the strength of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, is he recovering or his strength has been dropped."
Pausing, he reached out to his other Yuto selves, sharing his thoughts and observations. A moment of silent communication passed between them as they collectively discussed the potential implications of the Hidden Rock Village's actions. After a few minutes, they arrived at a decision.
"I think this could be a valuable opportunity for us," CEO Yuto said with a confident nod. "We can take this mission—it's ranked SSS and has a reward of 15 million. Not only will it bring us substantial income, but it'll also enhance the fear and reputation of our guild across all the ninja villages."
The other Yutos shared his enthusiasm. The plan took shape as CEO Yuto continued. "We'll send Tiju Yuto and Ninju Yuto. They'll disguise themselves as Anbu of the Sand Village since they haven't officially entered the First Great Ninja War. We'll let them bear some blame, encouraging the Sand Village to join the war."
Tiju and Ninju Yuto nodded, agreeing with the strategy. They prepared to teleport, but CEO Yuto stopped them with one last instruction. "Teleport to the Wind Country and strike from there, targeting the Hidden Leaf Village border. Destroy three key sentry posts.
If we attack from the Fire Country's side, the villages will start keeping an even closer watch on us, which would make our movements and future missions more difficult."
Ninju Yuto and Tiju Yuto nodded, understanding the strategic reasoning. They gathered the remaining Yutos who weren't actively engaged and merged into a more focused form, then teleported to a bustling marketplace in the Wind Country.
There, they smoothly changed into Anbu attire from the Sand Village, blending in with the local scene before setting off on their mission. Moving discreetly through the crowds, they traveled unnoticed toward the Fire Country border, their presence hidden under the guise of Sand Village operatives, preparing for the next stage of their plan to destabilize the region.