Chapter 560: Stealing a Sword with a Flying Thunder God Mark
Coincidentally, just as Pakura stopped everyone from watching any further, Neji also happened to return after being "persuaded" to give up.
At first, Neji had suspected that the masked Ao might actually be his father, who had faked his death.
But after Ao's series of shocking declarations of love toward Kakashi, Neji suddenly felt that this probably wasn't his father after all.
Or rather...
Neji would rather believe his father was truly dead.
If Ao really were his father, then before his identity was exposed, Neji would personally send him on his way.
The moment Neji returned, Naruto immediately dragged him over.
Pakura had been asking whether any Konoha ninja knew about the relationship between Obito and Kakashi.
Konohamaru genuinely didn't know.
As for Naruto... even if he had known, he'd already forgotten.
The only thing Naruto remembered was Kakashi-sensei once saying that Neji had helped him tremendously by stopping Obito's evil plan or something along those lines.
So the freshly returned Neji was immediately pulled over.
"Neji, you have no idea what horrifying scene we just watched! Hurry up and tell everyone about the love-hate relationship between Kakashi-sensei and Obito."
Naruto urged him excitedly.
"..."
Neji immediately fell silent.
A horrifying scene?
Was there really anything in this world more horrifying than what he'd seen recently—Kakashi and Obito using Kamui to manipulate the flow of a septic tank?
"I don't know. Maybe they're just really into... stirring shit."
After tossing out that single sentence, Neji took the opportunity to shake off Naruto's grip and ran away.
From beginning to end, Might Guy never came over.
He was still discussing taijutsu with Shira, completely unaware that his beloved Kakashi was about to be NTR'd.
...Wait, no.
Guy was actually the homewrecker.
Obito was the original partner.
Never mind then.
"They're into... stirring shit?"
Everyone was stunned by Neji's brief yet profoundly meaningful statement.
If he had said Kakashi's ninja hounds liked stirring shit, that would have made sense.
But why Kakashi and Obito?
A certain phrase immediately appeared in everyone's minds—A toilet plunger.
Could this be the unusual fetish the two of them had gradually developed during their relationship?
---
While everyone in Kirigakure leisurely enjoyed their vacation, feasting on gossip and juicy drama, something neither major nor minor happened back in Konoha.
A relic that had gone untouched for years, the Sword of the Thunder God, had been stolen.
The Sword of the Thunder God was a weapon that transformed into a "lightsaber" when chakra was poured into it, possessing incredible cutting power.
Yet strangely enough, the Second Hokage had never actually been seen using it.
When he fought Izuna, he used an ordinary sword instead.
Perhaps Tobirama had originally created the Sword of the Thunder God to cut through Susanoo.
Only to later discover it couldn't...
So he simply tossed it aside and stopped using it.
Since even its creator didn't care much about it, later generations paid it little attention as well.
Some inherited the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Some inherited Shadow Clones.
Others inherited Impure World Reincarnation.
Yet no one had ever bothered inheriting the Sword of the Thunder God.
Konoha had plenty of talented swordsmen, but no one had ever thought about rewarding it to anyone.
The weapon itself occupied an awkward position.
Since it consumed the user's chakra to function, its power depended entirely on the wielder.
Weak people couldn't use it effectively.
Strong people didn't need it.
But in the original story, there actually had been one weakling who stole the Sword of the Thunder God.
He was then effortlessly defeated by young Sasuke and young Naruto.
One Rasengan was enough to snap the Sword of the Thunder God in half.
Its combat record was on par with Kurosuki Raiga's.
That person...
Was a nameless nobody called Rokushō Aoi.
He was a Chūnin.
Because Konoha kept assigning him Genin teams instead of promoting him, resentment gradually built up inside him.
Eventually, he decided to steal the Sword of the Thunder God and defect to Amegakure.
He claimed that Amegakure had ordered him to steal the sword.
Which was rather bizarre.
At the time that story first appeared, Amegakure was nothing more than a background village filled with background characters from the Chūnin Exams.
But anyone who had read further knew that Amegakure was actually controlled by the Akatsuki and Pain.
Any order supposedly issued by Amegakure...
Was effectively an order from Pain.
If it were just some insignificant village lacking elite jōnin and powerful combatants, then wanting the Sword of the Thunder God as a symbolic weapon would at least make some sense.
But why would the Akatsuki need it?
To let Kisame dual-wield it alongside Samehada for fun?
Besides...
Rokushō Aoi never even handed the sword over.
He kept it for himself.
So there was every reason to suspect that, just like Black Zetsu blaming everything on "Mother's will," Rokushō Aoi had simply used Amegakure as a convenient excuse.
In reality...
He just wanted the sword himself.
Strangely enough...
His lack of strength was exactly why he remained a Chūnin leading Genin squads.
Wasn't that actually a good thing?
If someone without sufficient strength became a Jōnin and started taking dangerous missions, wouldn't they just end up getting themselves killed?
It could only be said that Rokushō Aoi simply wanted to climb the ranks too badly.
There was no helping it.
He was destined to defect sooner or later.
And now...
This was that "sooner or later."
Rokushō Aoi still stole the Sword of the Thunder God.
When Tsunade learned of it, she wasn't worried in the slightest.
She didn't even dispatch anyone to pursue him.
Because things were different from the original story now.
The biggest difference being—Senju Tobirama himself had already been resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation.
Now think about it.
After forging the Sword of the Thunder God...
Would Tobirama have casually engraved a Flying Thunder God seal onto it?
So there was absolutely no need to panic.
Retrieving the sword or capturing Rokushō Aoi was merely a matter of saying the word.
Besides, the Sword of the Thunder God wasn't some heaven-defying divine weapon or strategic asset.
It was actually more useful to let Rokushō Aoi defect first and observe where he intended to go.
That way, they could find out whether someone else was backing him.
Meanwhile, Rokushō Aoi was fleeing at top speed without stopping for a moment.
He had no idea Konoha hadn't sent anyone after him.
After all, in his mind, he'd stolen such a powerful legendary weapon.
Surely Konoha would dispatch countless ANBU to hunt him down.
So he didn't dare stop for even a second.
However, unlike in the original story, Rokushō Aoi didn't head for Amegakure.
The current Amegakure has become the center of the "modern ninja world," serving as the bond of peace and alliance between the Five Great Ninja Villages and the rest of the shinobi world.
Going there would only expose himself.
So where should he go instead?
Naturally...
Sunagakure or Kirigakure, where hidden anti-government forces still existed.
In the end, Rokushō Aoi decisively chose Kirigakure.
Compared to Sunagakure's endless desert with nowhere to hide, the dense forests and thick mist covering Kirigakure's islands were far better for staying hidden.
He had also heard that Kirigakure's new Mizukage was merely an ordinary woman.
Meanwhile, Sunagakure's new Kazekage was the One-Tail Jinchūriki and had a special relationship with Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto.
If he joined the rebels in Sunagakure, Konoha would likely throw its full support behind Sunagakure in wiping them out.
Kirigakure offered a much higher chance of survival...
And of successfully rebelling.
Thus, carrying the Sword of the Thunder God, Rokushō Aoi found Kirigakure's Blood Mist Restoration Organization.
There, he met Hoshigaki Nanami's younger brother and father—Two fanatics who were absolutely determined to restore Kirigakure to the era of the Bloody Mist.
(End of this chapter)