Naruto: I Have Cursed Spirits!

"I know you're all worried about me, and it's because you care about my safety. But my wish is to protect our home on the battlefield. Please believe in me!"

Shiratori looked sincerely at Suishin and Rotsuki.

[Gratitude detected]

[Suishin: +2000 points]

[Rotsuki: +2000 points]

[Total accumulated: 4000 points]

[Energy transferred to Smallpox Deity]

[Development progress: 65.7%]

Suishin and Rotsuki looked at Shiratori, deeply moved.

What a thoughtful child.

Having Shiratori in Ame was truly its blessing!

"Alright!"

"We'll do our best to heal the injured in the camp!"

They clenched their fists and made their promise to him.

Only when everyone gave their all could Ame have a brighter future.

---

Having just earned a hefty amount of emotional energy, Shiratori wandered around the camp feeling completely satisfied.

Catching a glimpse of Hanzō from the corner of his eye, he stopped and stood in place, silently observing his every move.

Hanzō walked outside the camp, where a faint purple mist began to spread from him as the center, slowly but steadily expanding outward.

The mist clung to the ground like a living creature, silently covering the camp's critical outer zones.

Once the poisonous mist was deployed, he returned to the camp, only to immediately spot Shiratori not far away, watching him intently with glowing eyes.

Shiratori ran over to Hanzō, his eyes filled with unmistakable admiration.

"Sensei, you're amazing!"

He didn't believe anyone could resist a child's genuine flattery. When an adult gave flattery, it might feel fake.

But when it came from a child, could it even be called flattery?

No, it was pure and heartfelt.

[Affection detected: Hanzō +500 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 72.6%]

It was just spreading a bit of poison mist, Hanzō thought to himself.

What's so amazing about that?

His truly powerful techniques… the boy hadn't even seen yet.

"In my heart, you'll always be the strongest ninja!"

He continued his "offensive" without stopping.

[Affection detected: Hanzō +500 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 73.1%]

"Ahem."

Hanzō cleared his throat. He looked at Shiratori and reminded him:

"Now that you're on the battlefield, your training must not slack."

"Yes!"

Night fell.

Outside the tents, the wind howled, making the canvas flap and snap loudly.

Inside, the air was heavy. The ninjas sat tense and alert.

Hanzō sat at the head, with other ninjas seated neatly along both sides of the long table.

A massive sand table was placed on the table. It clearly depicted the terrain of the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind.

Wastelands, chaotic highlands, and Suna's defensive facilities, built on dunes, as well as their watchtowers, trap zones, and camp locations were all precisely marked.

Hanzō's presence was calm and intense, his sharp gaze fixed on the map.

Shiratori sat next to him, clearly standing out from the solemn atmosphere of the other ninjas.

"Suna's defenses seem tight, but they aren't impenetrable."

Amanagi pointed with a thin metal rod at a section of the sand table, flanking the Suna camp.

"This area is quicksand terrain. It's extremely difficult for them to lay traps or build outposts here. That makes it our best breakthrough point."

The Land of Wind was infamous for having the harshest geographical conditions of any nation.

Not only was it poor in resources, but dangers lurked everywhere.

That was exactly why Suna frequently initiates wars with other villages.

They attempted to seize the territories of other nations to compensate for the Land of Wind's lack of resources.

Mizu looked at Amanagi and asked in confusion, "Since this quicksand zone is a weak point in Suna's border defenses, how exactly are we supposed to cross it?"

Amanagi turned to the others. "That's what we're here to discuss, how to cross this quicksand zone. Can't we just have Earth Release users create a path through the quicksand?" one of the ninjas suggested.

Amanagi looked at him and replied helplessly, "The quicksand area is enormous.

To build a stable path across it using Earth Release techniques would probably require five thousand ninjas using earth jutsu at the same time."

The ninja immediately fell silent.

Five thousand?

Even Konoha, the most powerful of all the ninja villages, probably couldn't gather ten thousand Earth Release users!

So this quicksand zone was both a weakness and a natural defense of Suna's border.

"Then based on what you're saying, crossing the quicksand zone is basically impossible!" another ninja said, clearly discouraged.

He looked at Amanagi and added, "Unless every one of us has a flying summoning beast, there's just no way we can cross it. It's pure fantasy."

Ninjas with summoning beasts were already rare, let alone ones with flying summoning beasts.

Flying?

Summoning beasts?

Shiratori blinked and a thought popped into his head.

He didn't have a summoning beast.

But he had a broom.

Thanks to the system's explanation, he had gained a deeper understanding of the Tool Manipulation.

This technique worked by imbuing inanimate objects with "life" or "independent mobility," allowing the user to precisely control them using cursed energy for flight, attack, defense, or reconnaissance.

The broom was just one medium.

He could control other objects too, anything he chose.

If he could control one, then he could control many.

The Tool Manipulation had no upper limit on the number of objects.

He figured the number he could control depended on the amount of cursed energy he had. The greater his cursed energy, the more objects he could control at once. Controlling the broom didn't use much cursed energy at all.

Speaking of which… How much cursed energy does he currently have?

He mentally accessed the system.

[Cursed Energy Status]

[Personal Energy: 7,300,000]

[Cursed Spirit Energy: 33,520,000]

[Total Available: 40,820,000]

His eyes widened.

That was a massive amount of cursed energy!

He felt confident.

Completely free of hesitation, he said in a low voice, "I… I have a way…"

Instantly, countless eyes turned toward him like searchlights, all falling on him.

A ninja sighed and waved him off, "We're discussing something serious here. You go play for now, okay?"

That ninja was promptly smacked on the back of the head by Mizu, who was sitting next to him.

Mizu gave him a sharp look.

The ninja scratched the back of his head awkwardly and muttered, "I just meant to let him relax a bit! The kid's clearly nervous and spouting nonsense!"

Shiratori: "..."

"Shiratori," Amanagi looked at him, voice gentle,

"What's your idea? Go ahead and tell us."

He took out the broom he always carried with him.

Amanagi's eyes lit up.

Hadn't Shiratori been flying through the air on that broom during their journey?

"But…"

The light in Amanagi's eyes dimmed again.

"There's only one broom." He sighed, disappointed.

"The broom isn't the key. The key is the cursed energy on the broom."

Shiratori stood up from his chair.