It was obvious—this couldn't possibly be something Haruto Saito buried here! There was no way it was a hoax!
The Black Armor of War had disappeared after the fall of the Black War Nation, vanishing for nearly seventy years. It had never resurfaced since then. Haruto Saito was only twelve years old. How could a treasure lost for seventy years end up in his hands? He was just a low-ranked ninja from the Rain Ninja Village. If the Black Armor of War had been in the Rain Ninja Village all along, then its owner would undoubtedly have been Hanzo, the leader of the Rain Ninja.
While this armor was a great treasure for samurai, it wasn't as significant for ninjas. However, its historical value made it extremely valuable!
The entire ninja world, including all ninjas from major and minor villages, rogue ninjas, defected ninjas, and those who had retired due to age or injury, barely numbered a hundred thousand. Meanwhile, the so-called mundane world—the ordinary people governed by the feudal lords—numbered in the billions!
Ninjas were merely a small fraction of the world's population.
This meant that the highest-valued objects weren't necessarily those useful to ninjas! The vast majority of wealth in the ninja world was still controlled by ordinary people—merchant tycoons, feudal lords, and aristocrats. They were the ones with real money!
If these people learned that the Black Armor of War, missing for nearly seventy years and with a thousand-year history, had resurfaced, who knew how many of them would bid astronomical sums for it?
Moreover, the Black Armor of War wasn't entirely useless to ninjas. After all, both ninjas and samurai used chakra!
How could such a valuable artifact have been in Haruto Saito's possession all this time?
And why would he take out such a treasure… just to play a trick?!
Tsunade didn't feel like she was being tricked. She didn't think this was a carefully designed scheme. This time, she truly admitted defeat. That made it all the more difficult to understand.
Finger calculation? What nonsense!
"Hey! Can you guys stop looking at me like that? I know I'm handsome, but if you keep staring, I might get arrogant." Haruto Saito glanced around and then lowered his gaze, picking up the sheathed short sword. He drew it from its scabbard.
The blade was black!
The edge was dark red!
Even after being buried underground for decades, neither the armor nor the short sword showed any signs of decay. Haruto Saito took out his kunai with his other hand and crossed his arms, striking the black short sword against the kunai. With a sharp snap, the kunai broke instantly.
"What a fine blade!" Haruto Saito praised.
"This sword is called Black Fang. It's a set with the Black Armor of War, but it wasn't used in combat. Instead, it was used to execute traitors and uphold royal authority. Historically, anyone temporarily entrusted with Black Fang by the Black Warriors had the power to directly execute ministers of the Black War Nation," Jiraiya explained.
"So, it's basically an imperial sword of execution?" Haruto Saito murmured. The function of Black Fang was strikingly similar to the imperial swords used by ancient rulers.
Standing beside him, Tsunade squinted at Haruto Saito, still trying to figure out his so-called "finger calculation" trick. She had started considering the possibility of a sensory ninjutsu technique, but even that didn't make sense. No matter how powerful a sensory ninjutsu was, it could at most detect the presence of something unusual underground—how could it determine its worth?
"What are those?" Haruto Saito lifted his head and gestured at the three scrolls, directing his question at Jiraiya.
"One is an imperial edict for succession, another is an appointment decree signed by the last Black War Nation's great general, and the last one is a plan for the Black War Nation's revival during the chaotic era."
"Oh, so that's how you confirmed the armor's authenticity?" Haruto Saito asked again.
"Exactly!" Jiraiya nodded. "Moreover, by cross-referencing the information recorded in these scrolls with historical records I've studied before, I was able to reconstruct the general events of that time."
"Back then, the last great general of the Black War Nation, Muguimaru, found himself trapped with no way to escape. So, he entrusted his personal guard, Sharo, to take the Black Armor of War and these documents and flee the enemy's encirclement. His mission was to find Muguimaru's son, Takitetsu, and pass on the title of great general to him…
But clearly, something went wrong! The one who buried the armor here must have been Sharo. Perhaps he intended to retrieve it later, but he never returned."
"Historical records state that the Black War Nation was destroyed six months after Muguimaru's death. Its downfall wasn't solely due to overwhelming enemy forces, but primarily because the Black Armor of War was lost. Without the Black Warriors, the nation lost its spiritual backbone and inevitably fell apart."
"I never expected Lord Jiraiya to be so knowledgeable," Haruto Saito praised sincerely.
"Haha, of course! I've read every single book in my master's study!" Jiraiya laughed proudly.
"You were probably just looking for erotic passages in those books," Tsunade remarked coolly.
Jiraiya's expression instantly turned awkward. He dared not argue with Tsunade and quietly rolled up the scrolls, putting them away.
This was the truth!
Haruto Saito believed it!
After all, Jiraiya was known in the original story as the "Pervy Sage" for a reason!
"We should leave here first. We can talk more on the way," Tsunade urged.
"I won," Haruto Saito turned to Tsunade and said.
"Hmph!" Tsunade snorted, glaring at him.
Haruto Saito placed the armor and short sword back into the box. When he picked up the helmet, he paused for a moment before trying to put it on. It suddenly struck him as inconvenient—though he had a storage space for items, he couldn't reveal that ability in front of Tsunade and Jiraiya.
So, he wanted to see if he could wear the armor himself. If it fit, it would be much more convenient. Otherwise, he'd have to carry the large box during his missions.
Haruto Saito was thin and small, barely more than a child. The Black Armor of War was clearly designed for an adult, so it seemed unlikely to fit. But he wanted to try—what if it somehow worked?
The helmet was semi-enclosed, covering the sides, back, and top, leaving only the front open.
Haruto Saito placed the slightly oversized helmet on his head and shook his head slightly. The helmet wobbled, its fit far from perfect.
"It's way too big," Haruto Saito muttered. Just as he was about to remove it, he suddenly sensed a surge of energy from the helmet—stronger than before.
"Chakra?" Haruto Saito was startled. He sent his own chakra into the helmet to investigate.
At that instant, the helmet shrank, adjusting perfectly to his head, molding itself as if custom-made for him!
Tsunade and Jiraiya both noticed the transformation. Tsunade, who had been about to urge Haruto Saito to hurry up, swallowed her words in shock.
"This is incredible!" Haruto Saito widened his eyes in realization.
The Black Armor of War could change its size!
It had to! This armor had been passed down through generations of Black War Nation generals—dozens of them. Were they all the same height and build?
Of course not!
The answer was simple: from the moment it was created, this armor was designed to resize itself! That was the only way it could be worn by successive generations of generals.
Haruto Saito understood now. Without hesitation, he took out the armor from the box, removed his own clothing and equipment, and swiftly put on the armor.
As soon as chakra flowed through him, the oversized armor shrank, fitting him perfectly!
And in that moment, as he moved, a dark mist seeped from the armor's gaps, enveloping him entirely.
"The Black Warrior!" Tsunade gasped.
Haruto Saito had become the very legend written in history!
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