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Other than my Sword Smithing, I had improved my smithing in general. For the rest, it wasn't as magical, but it was still a good enough increase. I had made myself a light armor under my Akatsuki coat, for example.
I had also improved in Force abilities, both in the Dark Side and the Light Side, although much more drastically in the latter. My swordsmanship had also improved as I learned things I did not think were possible.
With this, I got to fully enjoy the last enhancement I had gotten myself, the Chosen Level Force Sensitivity, and I must say, I felt the difference. I was a different man from a year ago.
After all, I had already made so much progress in a few weeks with lesser Midi-chlorians, so this whole year with Anakin's talent and none of his setbacks? And a stronger body?
Well, I'll get to test all of this very soon.
My plans had been to stay for as long as possible within the Land of Iron, as while I had a lot left to learn in the Force, I could train it anywhere. The same couldn't be said about swordsmanship however.
I wanted to be in Konoha by Naruto's birth, and arriving right before it would be a little too suspicious, so I originally intended to get there about two months before Naruto's birth. Since I had bought a little over 16 months in here, I would have spent 14 months in the Land of Iron and 2 in Konoha.
But while I peacefully trained in the land of the Samurai, the rest of the world was a little more restless. After the meeting a year ago, most of the villages ended up agreeing to the end of the war, which should have made things calmer.
However, no peace treaty had really been signed, it was more of a common agreement. Overall, it had been enough to mostly stop the hostilities. After all, ninjas were people, and no one liked fighting in a war. Especially since they had basically fought two in a row.
But there was always a but. The only people who ever wanted to start wars or continue them were those who did not fight in them, and this was exactly what happened.
It did not come from the one I expected, however. If I had to bet, I would have bet the Fourth Raikage, then the Third Hokage, followed by the Third Tsuchikage and finally the Third Mizukage.
As for Suna, they didn't even have a Kazekage at the time, although Rasa had become the Fourth Kazekage since then.
And out of all of them, it was the least Kage I expected, the Mizukage from Kiri.
He was an old man from the era of the foundation of the villages and the First Kages. He was nothing like them though, as while powerful, he would go on to be a nobody. His predecessor and his successor would both largely overshadow them as Mizukages, despite one being a child.
And it was precisely this old fool who was actively trying to spark the war back. Apparently, he wasn't happy with the way things had ended, especially with the Sanbi incident. He proclaimed it was a ploy from Konoha.
Well, he was half right I guess, considering Madara was the one behind the attack, to awaken Obito's Mangekyo I believe. But the only person who could command several dozen Anbu and seal the Tailed Beast of the village in another Jinchuriki, especially to send it to spread havoc in another village, was none other than the Kage.
So I'm pretty sure that if the Third Mizukage isn't under Madara's influence, he at least was during the war. And the only reason I think he might not still be was that Madara should have died already, although Zetsu might have been the one doing the illusion or manipulation.
Well, it doesn't really matter in the end.
Whether he decided to act the way he did out of his own volition or not, the old fool had upset many people, in his village first. No one wanted to continue fighting in a war they had pretty much lost, no matter what everyone said, and after several months of tension, civil war was about to break out in the country.
And that's where I come in. As the enforcers of peace, the Akatsuki can't just watch as a civil war unfolds. That's why they had to send someone to take care of the situation, one way or another.
And once it was decided that the best alternative to keep the peace was to put down the Mizukage, they decided I was the one they should send.
Had this been a year ago, I probably would have refused anything to do with this, as no matter how unremarkable the Third Mizukage was, he still was a Kage, and last time I fought one whom I nearly perfectly countered I almost died.
Even though now I would be getting some support from the faction opposing the Mizukage, that would have been too much of a danger, and since I couldn't just hop in God's Dimension to heal myself, not that I had the points, I definitely wouldn't have gone.
But now, I didn't have to feel the same apprehension. I was quite curious myself as to how strong exactly I had grown.
Besides, this was good for me too. Not only was killing a Kage potentially a mission, I would also be able to get to Konoha in a less suspicious way.
Having someone from the Akatsuki just drop into the village one day would raise some questions, especially with the follow up attack. But since I would be coming from Kiri after having dealt with their Kage, as a concerned party it shouldn't be too weird to head to Konoha next.
Oh well, I guess I'll see when the time comes.
Getting up from the ground, my left arm resting against my sheathed blade, I was untouched by the falling snow as I walked pass the napping fox.
It did not even react to me getting up, my presence still shadowed by my Force abilities. I wasn't exactly harder to see, I was harder to take notice of.
The ability was called Force Stealth, and it was basically me blending in with the Force, reducing my ego within it to a microscopic size, making it nearly impossible for any other Force Sensitive to feel me through the Force.
As for the more mundane world, it made my presence thin out, making it easier for others to ignore me. I wasn't invisible, but unless someone was actively searching for me or I particularly stood out, people wouldn't take notice of me.
I didn't really need to keep it on now that I had finished my meditation, but it was good training. Keeping the technique working required concentration, and so doing so for any extended periods of time was a challenge, which helps temper the mind.
However, the technique itself did not mean I was exempted from trouble, as barely an hour into my trek through the mountain, I was stopped by an eardrum-shattering howl.
I couldn't see a damn thing in the almost-blizzard like weather, but through the Force I could feel two presences ahead. And sure enough, following the howl was an equally as load screech.
Some distance ahead, I witnessed quite the amazing sight.
Two giant creatures were facing each other, one a wolf, the other a blue eagle. Both were easily a dozen meters tall, dwarfing everything around them as they fought.
Patting my sword, I turned a blind eye to them as I walked around, not too keen on involving myself in such a fight. Despite their size, they didn't feel that strong, so I would only be wasting time and energy, while also killing needlessly.
Neither of them seemed to take notice of me as I passed by their fight.