Only three words!
But they were enough!
Since there were no duplicate village names in the Land of Whirlpools, and while it wasn't the smallest nation, it also wasn't vast. There were only so many villages, and naming them uniquely was entirely feasible.
Hyuga Raiyo had always wanted to know where Haruto Saito had established his secret stronghold.
Now, he finally had the answer!
******
Land of Whirlpools, Furuta Village.
That morning.
"Brat, when are you coming back to the village?"
"In a little while, probably not too long. I'll come back to marry you."
"Mmm... Then be careful. Be mindful of Kirigakure's retaliation. When we return to Konoha, we might be assigned missions, so if you plan to come for me, let me know in advance, or we might not be in the village."
"I will."
In the western forest of the village, Haruto Saito was bidding farewell to Tsunade. As for Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Tsunade had already shooed them off to a distance, claiming she needed to speak with Haruto privately.
Tsunade had to leave!
Because Konoha still had missions waiting for them, and with the Land of Whirlpools no longer in danger, Furuta Village's connection to Haruto hadn't been exposed. That was enough for her to leave with peace of mind.
Haruto watched the three of them depart.
There was still much to do in Furuta Village. While he could spare some time to return to Konoha, a wedding wasn't something that could be arranged in just a few days. He couldn't host the ceremony openly in Furuta Village either. So, he decided that the wedding had to be done properly. First, he needed to secure the village, then he would return to Konoha.
...
Palace, Haruto Saito's chamber.
Haruto appeared out of thin air in his room, having returned using the Flying Thunder God Technique. He scanned the room, sensed his surroundings, and, after confirming there were no issues, sat at his desk.
With a wave of his hand, an enormous pile of cards scattered onto the table, forming a small mound!
Finally, he had time to sort through them!
Over the past few days, he had little personal time. He spent his nights with Tsunade, and since she was about to leave, there was no reason to sleep separately. Clearing out his card inventory was something that could wait.
Haruto knew he had collected over ten thousand cards during the Battle of Listening Tide Mountain.
But he wasn't expecting any incredible rewards.
Most of the ninjas who died in the battle were Chunin—low-level ninjas. High-level ninjas rarely perished in such attacks. Of course, some did, but they were few.
Still, he had to meticulously sort through the cards.
Not all low-level jutsu were useless!
Even though Haruto had already mastered most low-level Water and Wind Release techniques, there were still some unique clan-specific secret arts that could be of value to him.
Haruto started checking each card, moving quickly.
But there were simply too many.
Each time he examined a card, he would place it in a designated spot on the table. The ones he had already absorbed were stacked together. For instance, if he already absorbed six cards of a C-rank Water Release jutsu, consuming more would be redundant, so he grouped them together.
From morning to noon, after hours of sorting, he had checked most of them.
Then he picked up another card.
"Huh?" His eyes lit up.
He had just found a Special Weapon Random Card!
He had already come across A-rank jutsu cards—even A-rank Forbidden Jutsu cards—but the drop rate for Special Weapon Cards was much lower than that of A-rank cards. Based on past trends, only elite Jonin or higher typically dropped these!
And Haruto had killed plenty of elite Jonin, yet most hadn't dropped a Special Weapon Card.
By comparison, Kage-level enemies had a significantly higher chance of dropping one!
And if it were a true Kage-level opponent, the drop was almost guaranteed!
So, who had dropped this card?!
Haruto squinted, recalling the battle. The flood he had unleashed shouldn't have been enough to kill elite Jonin, and definitely not near-Kage-level opponents. However, some elite Jonin had died in the flood and subsequent firestorm.
One possible explanation: they were already gravely injured before the flood!
Perhaps due to assassination attempts sparked by Haruto's black market bounties. Many Konoha First Army elites had been assassinated, and some who survived were left gravely wounded, recovering in their camps.
Or maybe, during the chaos, Hattori Ryuya and Thirteen had wreaked havoc in the camp. With their strength, they could instantly take down elite Jonin in one-on-one combat. Even if their goal wasn't to kill but merely to create chaos, they could have seriously injured some elite Jonin.
Then, when the flood struck, those already injured couldn't escape in time.
A pleasant surprise!
Though Haruto already had several Special Weapons—some rarely used now—he had long considered forming a special unit armed with these weapons.
Something akin to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!
"Not bad, not bad," Haruto muttered to himself, putting the card into his mouth. He hadn't consumed any cards until now; this was the first one of the day.
Golden light burst forth, flowing into him.
It then radiated from his body, forming golden specks that streamed across his shoulders before settling on his right hand.
The golden specks coalesced, then spread out again, taking the form of a blade.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the Special Weapon: Windfang Blade!"
Haruto looked at the sword in his hand!
Its shape was unique—the blade had an extreme curvature, resembling the legendary crescent moon scimitar. Such weapons were rare in the ninja world, where straight-bladed swords were more common. Using this kind of weapon required a specialized sword style.
"What's its ability?" Haruto asked while examining the blade.
"Special Ability: 'Windfang'—when sufficient chakra is channeled into this blade, it activates its unique effect, unleashing an extremely powerful single-target Wind Release attack."
The card spirit's explanation was vague, as it always was with weapon abilities.
Haruto didn't bother pressing for details. He would test it out when he had the chance.
He resumed sorting.
Before long, he found an S-rank Water Release jutsu card. It was likely dropped by the same enemy who had dropped the Special Weapon Card. However, standard S-rank Water Release attacks were weaker than his Eightfold Waterfall Technique and consumed more chakra, so it wasn't an exciting find.
Then, after checking dozens more cards, he suddenly froze!
Because… he had just found another Special Weapon Random Card!
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