With a flick of his fingers, Inoiki used his psychokinesis to lift Deidara's unconscious body off the floating blade. The Akatsuki member was unceremoniously dropped through the open window, landing hard on the floor of the Hokage's office. The jarring impact snapped Deidara back to consciousness with a groan, his eyes fluttering open in disoriented fury.
A moment later, Inoiki leapt gracefully from his hovering sword and stepped through the window, landing inside the office as if it were the most casual thing in the world.
Tsunade, standing with arms crossed behind her desk, didn't wait for pleasantries.
"What were you thinking, entering Konoha like that?" she snapped. "You were carrying an Akatsuki member and still chose to fly straight through the village barrier—do you know how many alerts that triggered? You've captured high-level criminals before, Inoiki. You know the protocol."
Inoiki scratched the back of his head sheepishly, his expression more sheepdog than shinobi.
"Yeah, sorry about that… I was kind of distracted," he said. "I was thinking of new moves I could create with the weapon I acquired."
Tsunade sighed heavily, rubbing her temples.
"You and that sword are going to be the death of me," she muttered.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she glanced at the massive blade hovering just outside the window, its surface gleaming faintly in the fading evening light.
"So that's your new sword," she remarked, folding her arms. "But isn't it a bit... excessive? It looks far too large for practical use. Smaller weapons suit your psychokinesis better—you could control dozens at once and cause far more chaos than swinging around a single giant blade."
Inoiki nodded, unfazed by the criticism. "You're absolutely right, Lady Tsunade. Smaller weapons are better for precision and rapid strikes. But I also needed something for large-scale destruction—something that could slice through buildings or defensive barriers in one sweep. That's where this comes in."
As he spoke, the massive blade hovering outside began to shift. With a subtle wave of his hand, it broke apart like a puzzle unraveling. In a matter of seconds, the singular sword split into hundreds of short, razor-sharp blades, each floating in formation around the frame of the window like a deadly storm waiting to be unleashed.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed despite herself. "I see. So it's not just one blade—it's a weapon system."
Inoiki smiled faintly. "Exactly. I wanted versatility. And now I have it."
Tsunade gave a slow nod. "Well... it seems you've built the weapon you envisioned."
Inoiki nodded with quiet pride. "Yes, exactly. I've wanted a weapon like this for a long time. I designed it two years ago, but the materials weren't easy to find, especially on a large scale. That's why I had to go to the Iron Country—only there could I find all the metals I needed. Thankfully, I managed to get everything."
He glanced toward the hovering blades outside the window, the faint hum of chakra energy pulsing around them.
"Now that it's complete, I can finally create even more advanced techniques—ninjutsu far more destructive than anything I could manage before."
Tsunade folded her arms, her expression stern. "But the way you acquired those materials offended a lot of people—especially the Daimyō of the Land of Fire. And the Iron Country is still dissatisfied with you. And did you apologize to the Daimyō of the Iron Country… as I commanded?"
Inoiki nodded, though a hint of reluctance lingered in his voice. "Yes, I did. Only because you ordered me to. That's the only reason I apologized. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bowed my head to him at all."
He looked out the window briefly, his tone sharpening. "He's the one who gave me the locations of those black market bases to begin with. He used me as a weapon—sent me to wipe out those operations because they were protected by some of his own high-ranking advisors. Now that I've cleaned up his mess, he gets to play innocent and offended? If anything, we're equals. He wanted to get rid of those black-market bases, and I needed materials for my weapon. In the end, we both got what we wanted."
Tsunade let out a soft sigh and said, "There's nothing you can do about it. That's just how politics works."
Her gaze shifted to Deidara, who sat slumped on the floor, eyes burning with fury. The rage in his expression was unmistakable—he'd been treated like a rag doll, strung up on Inoiki's sword for hours. With no shielding against the high-altitude winds, his body had been battered constantly by the cold, slicing air, as helpless as a cloth fluttering in a storm.
Tsunade, however, ignored the glare. "Now, tell me—what did you manage to learn from him?"
Inoiki reached into his pouch and handed her a scroll. "Everything is documented here. I recorded each question I asked him and all the answers he gave. Also, while I was on route to rescue Kazekage Gaara, I was ambushed by a masked shinobi. I've included a description of that encounter and the enemy's abilities."
Tsunade took the scroll, her expression unreadable as she sat back in her chair and began unrolling it.
As she was unrolling, Inoiki continued, "Honestly, once I got what I needed from him, I figured he was more trouble than he was worth and almost killed him on the spot. But then I remembered the mess I made in the Iron Country—how much trouble that already caused you."
He paused, then added with a faint smirk, "If I'd killed a missing-nin from Iwagakure too, the Elders would've probably thrown a fit. Said we squandered a political opportunity, that we missed a chance to extend goodwill to Iwa, or that you were losing control of your shinobi. That kind of nonsense."
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