Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 288 The Difficulty of Rain Concealment

Tamura Hiroshi remained calm and composed in his battle with Namikaze Minato, while Sara, whom he was carrying on his shoulder, was so frightened that she kept her eyes tightly shut. The golden lightsaber had narrowly missed her time and time again.

After fighting for more than ten minutes, Minato Namikaze seemed to sense something and suddenly disappeared, appearing beside Uzumaki Kyuujin.

At this moment, the ninth-rank vortex has been completely sealed off by the Wood Release, making it difficult to advance downwards or break outwards.

There are just too many Wood Release trees here, and they grow too fast. With the added power of Sage Mode, they are even more resilient, and it takes even more chakra to crush them.

Even though both she and the Nine-Tails have exhausted more than half of their chakra, they still haven't been able to break through any further.

If this continues, even if we exhaust all of the Nine-Tails' chakra, we still won't be able to reach the Dragon Vein.

"You stinky fox!"

This discovery infuriated Uzumaki Ninja, who cursed the stinky fox. If that stinky fox could unleash that power, she would definitely be able to break through and help Minato complete this mission.

"Jiraiya-sensei is injured. The plan has failed. Let's go!"

Using his chakra to entangle his fiancée, Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to his teacher.

He sensed that his teacher's chakra had suddenly weakened, a condition that only occurs when someone is injured. Clearly, the battle over there had already been decided, and there was no point in them continuing to fight.

He could only hold the guy back, but couldn't kill him, or even hurt the Loulan Queen who was with him, so he had to retreat.

"Little Rope Tree, you've gone too far. I've spoiled you for nothing."

Clutching his severed arm wound, Jiraiya glared at Nawaki with displeasure. That kid was heartless.

"I didn't use Wood Release to attack you."

Rope Tree looked around at the Wood Release techniques, but couldn't recall anyone using Wood Release trees to attack Jiraiya and the others; it was only that Raijin who was fighting.

"I mean you're treating me differently. You invited Orochimaru for tea, but why didn't you invite me?"

Jiraiya emphasized, "I used to treat you better, and I secretly shared all those erotic novels with you when I bought them, but now I'm even closer to that stinky Orochimaru."

Will your conscience hurt?

"Well, it's because Orochimaru-sensei won't become my enemy in the future. But it's different for you, Jiraiya-nii. When I seek revenge on that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi in the future, you'll definitely stop me. I don't want to put you in a difficult position then, so I might as well become your enemy now."

Rope Tree's expression turned cold; he was determined to seek revenge.

These words made Jiraiya's expression stiffen, and then he said bitterly, "Do we really have to seek revenge?"

"Go back and tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that I will definitely kill him and wipe out the entire Sarutobi family, including those old guys and their families. None of them will escape."

Rope Tree's determination to take revenge was very firm. In that bastard's words, he couldn't get through the process without revenge, and it would hinder his cultivation.

Those people must pay for their crimes in blood!

"The dragon vein now belongs to your Hidden Cloud Village. I hope you can take it."

Orochimaru ignored Jiraiya's changing expression and said to Raijin and the returning Tamura Hiroshi that they had lost the battle.

He didn't think he could complete the mission; Hao Jun alone made it difficult for them to take action.

That speed was too unfair; even I don't have any means to suppress or limit it right now.

Minato Namikaze silently used his chakra to grab everyone again and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to retreat.

Whether it's destroying the dragon vein or killing the Loulan Queen, it's all difficult to accomplish. This mission has completely failed, and Jiraiya has even lost an arm, so they have no choice but to retreat.

Those who had escaped death collapsed onto the scorching sand, panting heavily. Nara Shikaku, in particular, held Akimichi Choza's body tightly, struggling to hold back his tears.

Yamanaka Inoichi, who was being carried on his back, fell into a coma, with blood dripping from his nose. This was clearly a backlash caused by the use of mental magic, and a very serious one at that.

Orochimaru began to examine everyone's injuries, first looking at Akimichi Choza, and finally shaking his head to indicate that there was no hope.

He immediately examined Yamanaka Inoichi's injuries, and finally placed his palm on his head to repair the damage to the brain, mainly by repairing the ruptured blood vessels and meridians.

"If Nawaki seeks revenge on the teacher in the future, will you stop him?"

Jiraiya, whose disciple had bandaged and stopped the bleeding from his severed arm, asked a question. Nawaki's words had deeply affected him and dealt him a heavy blow.

"One is my teacher, the other is my only student, how can I choose?"

Orochimaru casually replied that he didn't intend to get involved in those things. In fact, he thought it would be better if his teacher were killed, or even better if that idiot Jiraiya became Hokage than if that old guy continued to sit in that position.

Jiraiya remained silent, and the others wisely pretended not to have heard anything; such matters were not for them to get involved in.

"Jiraiya-sensei, how did your arm suddenly get broken?"

Minato Namikaze timely changed the subject, expressing his confusion about his teacher's injury.

The teacher has improved considerably in recent years, especially with the enhancement of his physical skills by immortal magic. He shouldn't have been defeated so quickly, or even had an arm severed.

"I wanted to fight him in taijutsu, but his body was as hard as a lump of iron, and his strength was inhuman, even stronger than Tsunade's. My arm was blown apart as soon as we made contact."

Jiraiya was very frustrated. He thought he had found the right opportunity, but it turned out to be a trap. Not only did he fail to seriously injure the enemy, but he also had his arm smashed in the process.

If Orochimaru hadn't used the Adamantine Sealing Chains to pull him back at the last moment, he would have been blown to pieces by that punch.

"That should be Steel Release, a bloodline limit originating from Iwagakure. It is a bloodline limit formed by fusing earth and yang attributes, which can greatly amplify the body's defense and strength."

Orochimaru explained that he had studied various bloodline limits in the ninja world, including Steel Release.

"Do you have an arm with Steel Release?"

Jiraiya became interested in the Steel Release technique. Although his taijutsu had improved considerably, it depended on who he was compared to. If he were to compete with the group of people from Kumogakure who were skilled in taijutsu and swordsmanship, he would be pitifully weak.

He will inevitably have to fight against the Hidden Cloud Village in the future, and he must have the strength to deal with it.

"Not yet, but I have Steel Release ninja cells, I'll cultivate one for you later."

Orochimaru did not refuse; it was not a difficult task for him, and he did not intend to ask for any reward.

If it were someone else coming to him, it would naturally be a deal, but this idiot is out of the question. Besides, he knows him inside and out, and there's nothing about him that he's interested in.

"Will Steel Release conflict with Jiraiya's Dust Release?"

Minato Namikaze was quite worried, as conflicts were inevitable with different types of chakra, especially power transplanted from outside.

"Conflicts will definitely occur, but the bloodline conflicts that affect the body internally and those that affect the body externally, like Dust Release, will be much smaller."

Furthermore, he possesses both Yang and Earth attributes; if he can use his arm as a catalyst to fuse them into Steel Release, the conflict will be further reduced.

Orochimaru didn't think it was a big problem, and even if there were, the old toad inside him would definitely help solve it.

Back then, this idiot didn't master the Dust Escape technique on his own; at least, it couldn't have been that fast. He could guess the reason behind it to some extent.

"The nature of Yang Escape is not easy to cultivate."

Jiraiya felt a headache coming on. He had already mastered the nature transformation of Earth Release to its limit, but he had never practiced Yang Release before, and it would be even more difficult to reach the level where he could fuse with a bloodline limit.

"Afterwards, I will transplant a heart cultivated from first-generation cells into you, which will make cultivating Yang Release much easier. Moreover, according to my research, Steel Release is mainly Earth Release with Yang Release as a supplement. It does not have high requirements for the nature changes of Yang attribute, and it is the kind of nature change that amplifies the body's explosive power, so it is easier to cultivate."

Orochimaru said it wasn't a big problem and could be easily solved.

"If things continue like this, how many parts will I actually own in the future?"

Jiraiya did not refuse, but felt that this approach was not quite right.

He has already received a leg transplant, and now he needs an arm and a heart transplant. If this continues, he will have to replace his entire body.

After giving everyone a quick treatment for their injuries, Orochimaru led them on their way.

Minato Namikaze was no longer allowed to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to carry him away.

Minato Namikaze had already expended a lot of energy rushing here, not only from casting spells over long distances, but also from carrying so many people.

After another fierce battle, they were also quite exhausted, and the remaining chakra was not enough to take everyone back to Konoha.

Fortunately, there's no rush now, so we can take our time getting back.

Because of the wounded, the group moved slowly, and it wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that they left the desert area and entered a forest, where they rested.

In the middle of the night, Orochimaru, who was resting against a tree, suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look in the northwest.

There, his other body was found to be quite good.

"So that's where Danzo discovered the Rinnegan. No wonder he kept sending people to keep an eye on it."

His current state is strange; his soul is split into two, each merging into one body. His thoughts can be transmitted over long distances by consuming chakra, and if the distance is close enough, they can merge into one.

The body that was inhabiting the previous body had sent a message that it had gone to the Land of Rain with Danzo Shimura. The Root ninjas launched a surprise attack on Amegakure and discovered a pair of eyes there that were extremely similar to the legendary Rinnegan and possessed immense power, far exceeding that of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

That must be the Rinnegan.

"Is it a coincidence that a pair of Rinnegan has appeared at this time, especially within the Uzumaki clan?"

After some thought, Orochimaru felt there was something wrong with the appearance of those eyes; at least he didn't believe that a boy from the Uzumaki clan could awaken such eyes.

Although the Rinnegan, Sharingan, and Byakugan are known as the three great dojutsu of the ninja world, he understood that the Rinnegan must be a powerful eye that surpasses the Sharingan and Byakugan, and at least it is no worse than the eyes of Hyuga Hiashi.

Those kinds of eyes haven't appeared for thousands of years, how could they suddenly appear? There must be something wrong with them.

Leaving aside Orochimaru's thoughts and speculations, Black Zetsu on the other side also sensed the information transmitted by the clone.

He didn't completely merge into the Thor clone and take over this body; a part remained outside, especially in the areas of Nagato Uzumaki and Madara Uchiha, where he left a clone to monitor them.

Something has happened to Nagato Uzumaki.

"Shimura Danzo led a surprise attack on Amegakure, severely injuring Hanzo. His target seems to be Nagato. His clone has already arranged for White Zetsu to inform Uchiha Madara."

Black Zetsu looked at his younger brother, wondering if he should go over and lend a hand.

"Can you contact the Otsutsuki Relic?"

Tamura Hao pondered for a moment and thought of the Otsutsuki Relic. The other party had also been searching for the Gedo Mazo, so this would be a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

"I'll arrange it right away."

Black Zetsu understood and knew what to do. He then raised his Stormbreaker and aimed it at the Land of Rain, using the Heavenly Transfer Technique to teleport himself there. Tamura Hao also attached a chakra to Black Zetsu and teleported there together.

"That was quite a commotion!"

Upon arriving in the Land of Rain, Tamura Hao condensed his chakra into a shadow clone and looked toward the direction of Amegakure, where the chakra fluctuations were very strong and the commotion was quite significant.

"Where is Madara Uchiha?"

They inquired about the location of Uchiha Madara, wondering how long it would take for him to arrive.

"He's already used the Impure World Reincarnation technique; at his speed, it'll take him another ten minutes to get here."

Black Zetsu replied that he had a close connection with his clone, and the closer they were, the more accurate the information they transmitted would be.

"Where is the Otsutsuki relic?"

Then they asked about the Otsutsuki relic, saying that they would need to ask that person to cut the heretical demon statue next.

"As soon as the Gedo Mazo appears, he can sense it and arrive at the scene immediately."

Black Zetsu chuckled sinisterly. He had already made many arrangements here, and had even secretly guided Otsutsuki Rei to leave the coordinates of his eye technique here.

Once the Gedo Mazo is summoned, without the cover of the underground base's barrier, it will inevitably be sensed by the Otsutsuki Relic.

"Then we'll just watch the show, and avoid getting involved if we can, only waiting to seize a portion of the heretical statues at the end."

Tamura Hiroki's shadow clone smiled broadly and then ran towards Amegakure, ready to get a closer look.

Of course, he didn't forget to use his magical powers to conceal himself and avoid being detected.

Black Zetsu also concealed his past, waiting for the right moment to strike. He even changed his appearance and chakra, using the power of the Ten-Tails to simulate Isshiki Otsutsuki.

That's right, they were planning to frame Otsutsuki Isshiki, drawing Hagoromo and Hamura's attention further to Otsutsuki Isshiki and increasing the intensity of the search.

Leaving aside the schemes of the two old schemers on this side, the Hidden Rain Village on the other side has been reduced to ruins, Hanzo's salamander has been crippled, and Hanzo himself has also suffered heavy injuries.

"Nagato, don't worry about me, I'm dying. Take Konan to Kumogakure. Only there can you save your lives."

Despite losing half of his torso, Hanzo endured the pain and said that he knew he was beyond saving. If it weren't for the power of the Sage Art Seal, he wouldn't have been able to hold on to his last breath.

But this is already the limit.

I'm finished, and Amegakure is finished, but this isn't the end. Both of these disciples are very talented, and this is not the end.

"teacher!"

Nagato and Konan were both grief-stricken and furious; those black-clad ninjas were utterly despicable.

"None of you are leaving."

Just then, hundreds of black-clad ninjas rushed over and surrounded the three of them. They had no obvious markings on their bodies, making it difficult to discern their identities and origins for the time being.

These were all ruthless men who didn't talk much. Once the encirclement was complete, they decisively launched an attack.

They unleashed ninjutsu, ninja tools, and even swordsmanship all at once, as if they intended to blast the three of them into dust.

All three were in poor condition. Hanzo was severely injured and on the verge of death, while Nagato and Konan had also suffered huge chakra depletion. Faced with the siege of hundreds of Jonin, they could not help but despair.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Raising his hands, Nagato relentlessly channeled his chakra into his eyes, unleashing a tremendous repulsive force.

A terrifying repulsive force erupted, forming a sphere that rapidly expanded outwards, crushing all the attacking ninja tools and techniques.

Even the black-clad ninjas didn't have time to escape; they were pressed to the ground by the terrifying repulsive force and their bodies were crushed.

The scene fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the sound of raindrops hitting the ground again.

Nagato, who had just unleashed such a powerful burst of energy, was panting heavily, his body had become thinner, and his face was as pale as paper. Clearly, the burst of energy had pushed his body to its limits.

But the situation left him with no choice; if he didn't unleash his full power, they would all die.

"Nagato!"

Both of them stared blankly at Nagato Uzumaki. Although they had long known that those eyes were extraordinary and had seen Nagato unleash such a repulsive eye technique, the scale of this one was far more terrifying.

"Nagato!"

Noticing Nagato's weakness, Konan quickly reached out her left hand to support him.

"Don't let your guard down, there are still many enemies."

Taking a breath, Nagato Uzumaki cautiously looked around with his purple Rinnegan, while Kagura activated her Mind's Eye to the fullest extent to enhance her perception. At the same time, she stuffed a handful of soldier pills into her mouth and quickly chewed and swallowed them.

Just then, more black-clad ninjas leaped over and surrounded the three of them again. They were the same as the hundreds of people before, and at a rough glance, there were definitely over a thousand of them.

Upon seeing the thousands of men in black, the three were overcome with despair once again.

"Clap clap clap..."

Just then, a slapping sound came, and then black-clad ninjas from one direction made way for a figure to walk in.

"Shimura Danzo!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Hanzo immediately recognized him as his old rival, Shimura Danzo. He never expected that this guy would be the one to launch a surprise attack on Amegakure.

"Bring it up!"

Danzo Shimura ignored Hanzo and gave an order. Two Root ninjas brought over a boy, Yahiko, whom they had captured.

"Yahiko!"

Upon seeing that familiar figure, Konan was thrilled. They had previously thought that Yahiko had died in battle, but they hadn't expected him to be alive.

It's good to be alive, it's good to be alive!

But seeing Yahiko captured, Nagato and Hanzo felt a chill in their hearts, knowing that the other side must have some ulterior motive in capturing Yahiko.

Sure enough, the next moment Shimura Danzo revealed his target.

"Nagato Uzumaki, I'll gouge your eyes out, you old man..."

Danzo Shimura wanted to threaten Yahiko with his life, but before he could finish speaking, Yahiko's chest suddenly exploded, his chest was blown open, and his internal organs were blown to pieces.

With only his last breath, Yahiko struggled to lift his eyes and look at Nagato Uzumaki. He had no strength to say anything more, but his eyes conveyed a firm will.

He would not allow his friend to be threatened because of his own actions.

"You actually managed to seal an explosive tag inside your body; I'm starting to admire you!"

Shimura Danzo, covered in blood and fragments of internal organs from the explosion, had a sinister expression. He hadn't expected that the boy had sealed an explosive tag inside his body to take everyone down with him.

He liked this decisive and ruthless nature very much; it was perfect for developing within the organization. Unfortunately, he was an enemy, and it was also a pity that he was going to die.

However, this has now become a problem. It will be even more difficult to completely seize those eyes. It would be troublesome if the vortex boy would rather destroy those eyes than submit and hand them over.

"Yahiko!"

The death of his brother filled Nagato with rage and hatred, his mind filled with thoughts of destroying everything.

(End of this chapter)