Chapter 99: Secrets of the Thunder God and Shadows of the Root

Tsunade's eyes widened in astonishment. "Why haven't you mentioned this before? When did you figure it out?"

Gin scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Didn't I say something?"

In truth, he had confirmed it years ago—three months after he began training in the Flying Thunder God Technique. He had intended to bring it up, probably thought he already had… but with so much training and business every day, it was easy to forget.

"Ca-ka!"

Tsunade's face darkened. Her fists clenched, a vein twitching at her temple. She strode forward ominously and suddenly pressed her knuckles against his head with a twist.

"OW! Hey—okay, okay!" Gin yelped and recoiled, rubbing his temples. "I thought I told you! I really did just forget! Plus, there wasn't much point in saying anything before. You've already used the contract numerous times, teleported countless distances. Your talent for space-time ninjutsu has already matured. And since you're already well-versed in fuinjutsu, mastering the Flying Thunder God will be quick!"

Gin raised his hand, gently touching her forehead. A surge of mental energy passed between them—he transmitted not just the technique, but a vast portion of his personal understanding of it. With his current power, direct transfer of knowledge was no longer a difficult feat.

Tsunade's eyes fluttered shut as her mind drowned in a torrent of spatial insights.

Gin turned, heading toward Mikoto, Minato, and Kushina.

"What's up with her?" Mikoto asked, noticing Tsunade's trance-like state.

Gin smiled awkwardly. "She's just assimilating the technique and memories I passed to her."

"Weren't you supposed to teach her that ages ago?" Minato raised a brow.

"Ha-ha… yeah, forgot again. But hey, now's as good a time as any. With her talent, she might even master it before you guys!"

The group straightened, clearly motivated. They'd already completed the preliminary fuinjutsu training and were close to beginning the full development of the technique. Gin's teasing lit a spark in their competitive spirits.

"We'll just have to step up, then," Kushina said with a smirk.

Around them, more shinobi from the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans gathered, their expressions shifting from awe to inspiration. Even among those who had previously signed a contract with Gin, few had realized the extent of his strength.

He was no longer just a young master. He stood among the elite.

Without warning, Gin stomped once. A massive barrier re-emerged, expanding in a 3-kilometer radius.

Outside the Barrier

Black Zetsu stopped in his tracks, a whisper of chakra licking the edge of his senses.

"What is this… again?"

They couldn't penetrate it.

"Seems like the Uzumaki Clan again," White Zetsu muttered.

"Some serious battle happened here… but we can't investigate like this. If the barrier can block us, then they definitely know we're here." Black Zetsu frowned. "Let's retreat. For now."

Both Zetsu sank into the earth, but Black Zetsu lingered just out of reach. Curiosity itched beneath his skin. What happened in this valley? He'd wait until the barrier fell… and then he'd investigate.

Inside the Barrier

"Something wrong, Gin-sama?" Uchiha Shichida asked, glancing around warily. Others activated sensory jutsu, but found nothing.

"Color stool!" Gin clapped, drawing their attention. "Relax! No new enemies. I activated the barrier because I have something to say."

He waited until everyone's tension eased.

"Many of you have likely noticed that some of your clan members… well, they've changed. They've grown stronger, faster than expected. Some of them might seem like they're hiding something."

Murmurs spread.

"Some of them have signed contracts with me," Gin revealed. "In exchange, they gained strength, but also responsibilities. Until now, not everyone met the criteria—but now, you do."

He opened his hand. Hundreds of glowing contract runes emerged and floated to those who were unbound.

"Just touch the rune and accept."

Without hesitation, people reached out. The runes dissolved into light, sinking into their bodies and minds. Knowledge and power poured in, and they instinctively closed their eyes, absorbing the flood.

Tsunade, now fully alert again, joined Gin.

"This is the first time I've seen such a massive contract ritual," she remarked.

"I once saw a mass contract at a clan school… but even that was smaller," Mikoto added with a smile.

Gin turned to Tsunade. "So? How long do you think it'll take you to master it?"

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Honestly? Half a month. The improved technique is much clearer than Grandpa's version. His… would've taken years, even for me."

She scoffed at the thought.

"Hey now," Gin chuckled. "Creating a space-time technique from scratch is no joke. The Second Hokage was a genius. He probably thought his version was already 'simple enough.'"

Tsunade sighed. "Yeah… you're probably right. He did tend to assume everyone was as smart as he was."

Ten minutes later, the new contractors opened their eyes, excitement shining in every direction.

"So that's how they grew so fast!"

"Damn, why didn't anyone say anything?!"

"Tyanka, you surpassed me and I thought it was all hard work—but it was Gin-sama!"

"Hey! We earned his trust first! That's fair."

Playful boasting and laughter filled the air.

Gin clapped again. "Alright, enough chatter. Let's clean the battlefield! Bury the common Ame-nin, seal jōnin in scrolls for evidence. I'll take Hanzo's body. We also need to gather the bodies from the other end of the valley—Danzo and the Root ninja. We don't want to be blamed later."

"Roger!"

As the group dispersed, Tsunade walked beside Gin, watching him seal Hanzo's body into a scroll.

"What do you need his body for?" she asked.

"A nearly Kage-level corpse? We can either use it for research… or prevent someone else from resurrecting him. Oh, and…"

Lightning arced from his hand, vaporizing all bloodstains left behind.

"Where's the salamander?" he asked, glancing around.

"That coward ran off with a summoning jutsu. Ugly poison beast. I'd much rather sign with my slug."

"I was actually planning to visit Shikkotsu Forest soon, to learn Sage Mode. Maybe even perfect it. Could be the path to true immortality."

Tsunade paused. "If anyone can master that… it's you."

"You didn't manage it, huh?"

"Nope. Me and Orochimaru both failed. That idiot Jiraiya somehow did it. Made it worse by gloating. We eventually decided only fools or people with simple minds could achieve Sage Mode."

Gin chuckled. "Sage Mode requires the 'unity of heaven and man'—oneness with nature, clarity of mind. That kind of mental state is rare. But I might be able to create a method that simplifies it."

Tsunade's eyes lit up with hope. "You think you can do it?"

"I haven't tried yet," Gin replied. "But nothing's stopped me so far."

Tsunade smiled. "I'll wait for your good news. Oh—by the way, Danzo might have more Sharingan. You should check."

Gin nodded and teleported to the far end of the valley, where Danzo's poisoned corpse lay among others. The fog had cleared.

His first scan revealed a semi-activated Reverse Four Symbols Seal in Danzo's body—triggered by contact. Dangerous.

"Still scheming even in death…" Gin muttered. Tsunade arrived, scanning the body.

"Need help?"

"Nah, I got it."

With a gesture, he neutralized the seal. Then he carefully removed the bandages from Danzo's face and extracted the Mangekyō Sharingan from the right eye.

Tsunade gasped. "A Mangekyō? From where?!"

"It belonged to Uchiha Kagami… probably taken after he was murdered. My mother believes Danzo and the Third were behind it."

Gin cleansed and preserved the eye in a nutrient tube. The chakra was nearly depleted, the eye almost blind. Its genjutsu-based ability allowed manipulation of short-term future events—one minute into the future, with a ten-day cooldown.

Not a bad ability. But it was nearly useless now.

"We need to raid the Root base before Hiruzen finds out," Tsunade said grimly. "Once the Curse Seals on Root members fade, the truth will spread."

"Exactly," Gin replied.

He placed his hand on Danzo's forehead and extracted memories directly using his vast mental power. After filtering for relevance, he retrieved crucial secrets—Root operations, hidden Sharingan caches, even the location of Kagami's second eye.

He stored Danzo's corpse in a suspended time-space pocket for later use.

"There's enough evidence here to ruin Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura," he said coldly. "It's time to clean house."

"I'll return to the village now," he added. "My clone will stay and support you at the camp. I'll try to be back before tomorrow's battle."

With that, Gin vanished, leaving behind only a shadow clone… and the distant whisper of thunder in his wake.