Feiyu was going to investigate personally!
Since he had already made up his mind, the matter was essentially settled. No one opposed it. Under normal circumstances, if Feiyu wanted to leave for a mission, the senior advisors would be the first to object. The Mizukage was not supposed to leave Kirigakure without good reason. However, this time was different!
Because Feiyu's target was the number one enemy of Kirigakure!
He was also the greatest threat to Kirigakure in the past twenty years! There was no doubt that if Haruto Saito were allowed to continue growing unchecked, he might one day plunge the entire shinobi world—including Kirigakure—into the same kind of fear that once came from the legendary Hashirama Senju.
As long as Haruto Saito was alive, many people in the shinobi world would continue to suffer sleepless nights!
The Kirigakure meeting continued late into the night.
Feiyu's decision to personally go to the Land of Whirlpools required careful planning. He wouldn't be going alone, and Kirigakure needed to make special arrangements to prevent uncontrollable situations from arising while he was away.
---
A new day dawned.
At Gutian Village in the Land of Whirlpools.
Haruto Saito woke up early. He leaped up from his soft bedding, his figure flashing as he appeared next to the table. He was already draped in his black robe. With a wave of his hand, a pile of discarded cards appeared on the table, and he immediately activated the Elemental Furnace.
Lately, Haruto had developed a bit of superstition—superstition about luck!
It was undeniable that luck was something invisible and intangible. No one could prove its existence, yet it undeniably played a role!
And Haruto firmly believed in luck.
Yesterday, he had successfully synthesized the "Chakra Ascension Mode." He had spent the entire day practicing it, getting familiar with its usage. He hadn't attempted any further synthesis, believing that his luck had already been used up for the day.
"Spirits of heaven and earth, bless me…" Haruto muttered under his breath before grabbing a handful of cards and tossing them into the golden vortex.
Fusion!
Failure!
As expected.
He grabbed another handful and threw them in!
Fusion!
Failure!
Again and again!
Finally, on the seventh attempt!
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host has obtained an A-rank Ninjutsu card!"
Success—but it wasn't a mutation card!
He continued!
Grabbing another handful of cards, he threw them into the golden vortex.
Fusion!
Failure!
...
...
On the thirteenth attempt—
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host has obtained an A-rank Secret Jutsu card!"
Haruto was starting to get impatient!
Thirteen consecutive fusion attempts! Each attempt consumed at least eighty to one hundred twenty cards. He had already burned through fifteen hundred discarded cards, yet he had only succeeded twice, and neither result was a mutation card!
Now, he only had about two thousand discarded cards left.
"What's going on? My luck is this bad?" Haruto grumbled as he grabbed another handful and threw them into the golden vortex.
Fusion!
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host has obtained an S-rank Seven-Star Mutation Card!"
Two successes in a row! The first was an A-rank Ninjutsu card, and the second—
A mutation card!
It worked!
And not just any mutation card, but a top-tier Seven-Star Mutation Card! Due to its mutation, its capabilities far exceeded normal S-rank jutsu. In fact, a Seven-Star Mutation technique could rival S-rank forbidden jutsu!
In reality, an S-rank classification didn't refer to the power level of the technique but rather its difficulty in mastering!
Haruto's eyes lit up with excitement.
A card emerged from the golden vortex, and Haruto caught it in his hand.
He examined it carefully.
"Secret Jutsu: Houtu Shikigami!"
Description: A deity buried beneath the sands awakens from its slumber.
Haruto blinked at the rather cryptic description, then promptly shoved the card into his mouth and crunched down.
A flood of information surged into his mind.
---
Ten minutes later.
To the south of Gutian Village, in a secluded valley.
Draped in his black robe, Haruto materialized out of thin air, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Based on the information he had just absorbed, the technique he was about to perform was absolutely fascinating!
Similar abilities did exist in the shinobi world!
And that made it all the more intriguing!
Haruto pressed his hands together and began forming seals in rapid succession. His hands met and separated, clashing together repeatedly—forty-eight times in total—before he completed the sequence!
"Secret Jutsu: Houtu Shikigami!"
Boom!
A wild surge of chakra erupted from Haruto's body, shooting into the sky. An intense Earth Release chakra aura flared around him... The ground beneath his feet began to crack apart, stones levitated, then crumbled into sand.
The swirling sands encircled him.
Maintaining his hand seal, Haruto slowly rose into the air.
The growing mass of sand formed a swirling storm. Gradually, the sand condensed, shaping itself into a massive skeleton. Then it gained flesh, then armor, then weapons...
A towering chakra giant, forty meters tall!
Composed of fused sand and Earth Release chakra, clad in stone armor, wielding two massive greatswords—
It looked absolutely formidable.
It looked absolutely terrifying.
And it looked... very much like Susano'o!
But unlike Susano'o, which was an energy construct and semi-transparent, Houtu Shikigami was a solid entity, completely opaque, the color of desert sand!
Once fully formed, Haruto was concealed within its torso, essentially wearing an enormous stone exoskeleton!
From Haruto's perspective, it was like having a gigantic extra body. Although he was inside the Houtu Shikigami, unable to see or touch the outside world directly, its eyes were his eyes, its limbs were his limbs—he had complete control over it!
"Roar!"
The colossal Houtu Shikigami suddenly opened its glowing eyes and let out a thunderous bellow.
"Cough, cough!" it then coughed twice.
That was Haruto's voice!
"Huh? This actually works?" Houtu Shikigami muttered. But it was really Haruto speaking.
The enormous Houtu Shikigami moved!
It stepped forward and swung its greatsword!
The thirty-meter-long blade slashed through the valley, shattering a mountainside, sending debris flying everywhere!
Then, Houtu Shikigami started running!
Such an enormous being running caused the ground to tremble violently. Each step sent shockwaves echoing through the valley.
It ran up the mountainside, then ran back down!
The entire landscape of the valley was reshaped by its movements—it was simply too massive.
Haruto then controlled the Houtu Shikigami to sheath its dual swords before clasping its hands together.
He wanted to test if it could use ninjutsu!
---