"It seems the shop's opening will have to be postponed."
After sending Tsunade off, Li Anshi looked at the pile of documents on his workbench and thought to himself.
Now that he had the materials for the Flying Thunder God Technique, he would naturally have to devote more time to its research and practice.
As a result, there would be less time for carving more wood figures and toy weapons.
In a world like this, Li Anshi knew what his foundation was.
Opening a shop could indeed earn him the money to live in this world.
But only strength was the most real thing.
Furthermore, he estimated that information about him had already been studied over and over by the ninjas of all the villages, including Konoha.
Perhaps their understanding of him was even deeper than his own.
Under these circumstances, he had to "upgrade" himself, to always be stronger than what others "perceived."
The battles of ninjas were battles of information.
Detailed intelligence could allow ninjas to take targeted actions, putting themselves in an advantageous position, and even achieving victory against a stronger opponent.
Even someone as strong as Madara Uchiha, after being reanimated, had his body shattered by the Allied Shinobi Forces because of the information they had.
This meant that if Madara hadn't had a reanimated body, the Asura of the Ninja World would have been killed.
Regardless of whether Madara was careless, in a way, his "carelessness" was also a piece of intelligence the Allied Shinobi Forces had on him. Based on this personality trait, they had successfully defeated him once.
This forced Madara to "upgrade" himself, revealing the face of Hashirama Senju on his chest.
If even Madara could be caught off guard, Li Anshi didn't think he had the same level of confidence.
If he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could continue to be carefree for the next few decades.
If he couldn't, then he would have to spend more time making up for his weaknesses.
This would be very detrimental to practicing his "ninja way."
Strength was his greatest asset.
Without it, even if he knew the future of the ninja world for the next few decades, he could do nothing but pray to survive the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Only with strength could he have the right to exercise his "freedom."
He would not postpone improving his strength just to open his shop a little earlier.
Pushing aside the carvings on his workbench, Li Anshi began to organize the documents in his hand.
It took him two hours just to sort them.
Of course, the order he arranged them in was not entirely based on the timeline of the Second Hokage's development, but rather on the depth of the understanding of "space" within them.
To practice the Flying Thunder God Technique, the most important thing was to be able to sense the fluctuations of "space."
Therefore, for now, the most crucial thing for him was to try and see if he could sense these fluctuations based on the materials left by Tobirama Senju.
If he could, then he could continue his practice.
If not, he would need to find a way to sense them, or give up on the technique and find another way to compensate for his weaknesses.
In terms of high-level power, the strength of the ninja world had been declining since Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Besides her, only Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki were at the "Six Paths" level.
Even Hagoromo's two sons had not reached the heights of their father's generation.
However, the low-level power of the ninja world had been constantly improving.
When the Sage of Six Paths first passed down chakra, ninjas only used it as a means of telepathic communication.
It wasn't until his eldest son, Indra, created the "hand seals" that could manipulate chakra and transform it into wind, earth, water, fire, and lightning that ninjas gradually mastered power.
Subsequently, the struggle between Indra and Asura for succession to the Ninja Sect promoted the development of "hand seals." One ninjutsu after another was created, allowing the strength of ninjas to far surpass that of the samurai, gradually replacing their status.
Thus, in the Warring States period, the era of the samurai ended, and the ninja took the stage of history.
For hundreds of years, subsequent ninjas had built upon the foundations of their predecessors, creating powerful ninjutsu one after another. Geniuses had even combined natures to create "Kekkei Genkai," allowing their power to be passed down to their descendants.
Never mind the distant past; just comparing the Warring States period to the era of the ninja villages, the strength of low-to-mid-level ninjas had been raised a notch in just over a decade.
On the one hand, the villages had collected the ninjutsu of many exterminated clans, making them available to their Chunin and Jonin.
They could use their "merits" to exchange for these techniques and improve their strength.
On the other hand, the First Hokage's suppression of the ninja world for over a decade had prevented wars, giving ninjas more time to improve themselves.
Decades later, even the Asura of the Ninja World, Madara Uchiha, would have his body shattered once by the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Li Anshi did not want to follow in his footsteps.
He did not have a reanimated body to recover.
No…
Just as he thought of this, various fan-fiction novels he had read in his previous life flashed through his mind…
Some of them, like himself, had arrived early, only to be summoned by Orochimaru or Kabuto using the Reanimation Jutsu to live a second life…
Shaking his head, he cast the thought from his mind.
Speaking of which, if he were truly reanimated, the number of ninjas from the Allied Shinobi Forces who died at his hands might be several times more than those killed by Madara.
After all, with his flying daggers, as long as the supply held out, no one could match his killing speed.
After organizing all the documents, he began to study the materials on the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Let's see then…"
"What exactly are the fluctuations of space like."
…
The Hatake clan compound was decorated with festive red silk and lanterns today.
Though it was called a clan compound, it was really just a single residence.
As a samurai family, the Hatake clan had fallen into decline. When they joined Konoha, they were only slightly better off than ordinary commoners.
It was only after Sakumo Hatake grew up that the Hatake clan officially became a "ninja clan."
But at this time, the clan only had two or three members, and Sakumo himself had become the clan head.
Ever since he had taken the position of Anbu Commander three years ago, Sakumo Hatake had become, on the surface, second only to one and above all others in Konoha.
After the tenures of Tobirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the ninjas of Konoha seemed to have come to view the position of Anbu Commander as the reserve for the next Hokage.
And Sakumo had not disappointed anyone's expectations.
In these three years, the Konoha Anbu led by him had shone brightly in the ninja world.
There had never been a record of failure for any mission he undertook.
His White Fang sword style had given the other ninja villages a great deal of trouble.
At the same time, he was the second powerful ninja in Konoha, after Li Anshi, to make other villages declare that missions could be abandoned upon encountering him.
The fame of "Konoha's White Fang" had gradually replaced Li Anshi's, becoming the new super-powerhouse who intimidated the other villages.
Today was his wedding day.
As the most famous person in Konoha at the moment, the ninja clans of the village had all sent congratulatory gifts.
At the same time, the ninjas who were on good terms with him had also come to his residence to celebrate.
Li Anshi was naturally no exception.
As one of his few good friends, he had of course come to celebrate Sakumo's wedding.
When he arrived at the Hatake residence, Sakumo, dressed in a festive red ceremonial robe, was at the door greeting guests. The scene was bustling with excitement.
"Congratulations, Sakumo."
"Anshi, you're here."
Seeing Li Anshi, the smile on Sakumo's face grew even wider.
In contrast to him were the ninjas around him.
Hearing Sakumo's address to Li Anshi, they exchanged glances and, in unison, moved away from the two of them.
Ever since Li Anshi had bluntly stated his intention to kill Danzo Shimura at the Jonin meeting three years ago, a rift had formed between him and the ninja clans.
In these three years, the clans had not been without thoughts of repairing their relationship.
But unfortunately, Li Anshi had ignored all their overtures, and so the gap between them had grown wider.
Fortunately, what gave the clans some peace of mind was that although he had said he would kill Danzo, he had not actively wandered around the Shimura clan compound to create a "chance encounter."
Li Anshi's movements were usually confined to three locations: the Hokage's building, his woodcarving shop, and the Senju clan compound.
He went to the Hokage's building to post missions for carving wood.
The shop was his home, and also the place where he spent the most time.
As for the Senju clan compound, occasionally, when Tsunade stayed too long at his shop, he would escort her back.
Around these three locations, Anbu ninjas were often observing.
If there were any signs that he intended to leave for a certain place, the Anbu would send back a message, and another ninja would inform Danzo Shimura, to prevent the elder from truly stepping within a hundred meters of him.
No one dared to take his words as a joke.
No matter how tough Danzo talked elsewhere, claiming he was not afraid of Li Anshi in the slightest, wherever Li Anshi was, you would not find a trace of him within five hundred meters, let alone a hundred.
"Yes, how could I not come for something as big as your wedding?"
"These past few years, I've heard quite a few legends about you. The number of children ordering White Fang daggers at my shop is not small, and I've made a lot of money."
"Don't joke."
Sakumo Hatake shook his head and smiled. "Anshi, how can my fame compare to yours?"
Although his strength had improved greatly in these three years.
After becoming the Anbu Commander, he had thoroughly practiced his "ninja way" and entered the ranks of the Kage-level powerhouses, his strength no less than that of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In fact, in terms of direct offensive power, he even surpassed him.
This was determined by their fighting styles.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was proficient in the five nature transformations. His strongest attack was a combination ninjutsu, belonging to the category of large-scale, high-burst damage.
Sakumo's strength, on the other hand, was all in his single White Fang short sword.
Perhaps influenced by Li Anshi, he had also embarked on the path of "burst" damage.
In close combat, the threat of his strongest slash, even if it was not as good as Li Anshi's Little Li Flying Dagger, was very difficult for anyone to withstand.
It was precisely because of this that he had made such a great name for himself in the ninja world.
In this respect, there was also some manipulation from Konoha involved.
After all, the ninja clans were very unhappy with Li Anshi because of Danzo. They were worried that he would stand by and do nothing when Konoha was in danger.
Therefore, after Sakumo had displayed his superb strength, Konoha had intended to build him up to a reputation comparable to Li Anshi's, to deter the other great ninja villages.
And Li Anshi, because he had not acted for many years, and Konoha had not deliberately promoted him, his fame in the village was gradually being overshadowed by Sakumo's.
Of course, this was only in Konoha.
In the other four great ninja villages, although Sakumo's fame and strength were also formidable, they were not yet enough to make them place him on the same level as Li Anshi.
Although Sakumo was strong, according to the intelligence gathered on him, to kill him, one would only need a Kage-level powerhouse and three Elite Jonin.
While this price was also very high, it was not something the four great ninja villages couldn't afford.
And to kill Li Anshi?
At a minimum, three hundred ninjas would be needed to exhaust all of his daggers before the Jonin and Kage-level powerhouses would dare to approach him and attack.
Otherwise, as long as he still had daggers, no matter how many people, how strong they were, entering within a hundred meters of him was a certain death situation.
Sakumo Hatake was still aware of this.
However, because this propaganda was also very beneficial to Konoha, greatly boosting the morale of its ninjas, under the persuasion of the Third Hokage and others, he had not made any clarification.
But privately, he had still communicated with Li Anshi.
He didn't want to have a falling out with him over this matter.
Fortunately, Li Anshi didn't care.
Sakumo could also feel that he was not just pretending to be generous.
For Li Anshi, "ninja" and "woodcarver" were the same thing, just professions used to earn a living.