Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

"My path has come to an end, but the family needs to continue and prosper."

"Yuri is too young and not yet qualified for this position. Therefore, I, in my capacity as the nineteenth head of the Ringo family, hereby appoint my son-in-law, Tamura Hiroshi, as the twentieth head of the family. From now on, all members of the Ringo family must obey him."

Taking a breath, Ringo Hyakka used her last strength to utter her final words, passing on the position of clan leader.

"I?"

Tamura Hao was stunned, never expecting that his father-in-law would pass the position of head of the family to him.

"Take it. We have all witnessed your abilities. Only with you as the head of the family can the Ringo family go further. We will even fully support you if you want to compete for the position of Mizukage."

Ringo Mari wiped away the tears that she finally couldn't hold back and expressed her support for her niece's husband's succession.

She had talked to her younger brother before and was very supportive of his choice.

Although he could take over the position of family head, he was unable to lead the family to prosperity, and his own potential had been exhausted, making it impossible for him to break through to that level.

This nephew-in-law is different; he is extremely talented. At only ten years old, he has already killed an elite Jonin. Given time, he will surely reach that level.

Most importantly, the other party possessed strong research and development capabilities, and the puppet armor they developed greatly enhanced the strength of the clan's ninjas.

This is clearly just the beginning, and its future achievements are limitless. It may even have the potential to compete with the Mizukage.

Looking at Ringo Jasmine, then at her dying father-in-law, and finally at the Ringo tribe members around her, she made her decision.

"I understand. I will lead the Ringo family to an unprecedented peak. When Yuri comes of age and marries me, I will pass on the position of family head to her."

"Master!"

Everyone exchanged glances, and then knelt down on one knee to pay their respects to the new head of the family.

Although they found the old patriarch's choice strange, they did not object to him becoming the new patriarch.

They were aware of this person's abilities; the puppet armor they were currently using was made by him and could greatly enhance their abilities.

In addition, the opponent is also very strong; they used to be able to fight the old clan chief to a standstill.

The new clan leader is only ten years old, and it is foreseeable that he will surpass the old clan leader in the future, and may even be able to compete for the position of Mizukage.

Finally, they stated that once the old patriarch's only daughter comes of age, she will pass on the position of patriarch. They are also the old patriarch's son-in-law, so they are considered family.

Hearing all the clansmen shout "Clan Head!", Ringo Hyakka finally breathed her last and felt relieved.

Of course, he didn't completely hand over the family to that son-in-law. With his sister watching over things, there shouldn't be any problems.

"father in law!"

Sensing that his father-in-law's chakra was beginning to dissipate, Tamura Hao quickly turned around, his face filled with grief.

"dad!"

Ringo Amuri also noticed, and tears streamed down her face.

"Master!"

All the Ringo people share the same grief.

After a while, the mourning subsided. After a simple funeral, the old clan chief's body was sealed away, to be brought back to the family cemetery for burial in the future.

Tamura Hao treated the injuries of the others. His father-in-law had taken away the nine special Jonin, and these nine people were all injured to varying degrees, some even with internal organs damaged.

Because of his exceptional chakra control, Tamura Hao has mastered medical ninjutsu very quickly and is currently the strongest medical ninja in the Ringo clan. He personally treats the injuries of these people.

This is also an inheritance left to him by his father-in-law, and he must take good care of it.

After treating the injuries of the nine people, Tamura Hiroshi discussed the next steps with Ringo Mari.

"Auntie, the village can't go on like this anymore. I want to change it."

In his very first words upon meeting, Tamura Hao stated that he not only wanted to change Kirigakure, but more importantly, he wanted to seize the position of the Fourth Mizukage from Yagura Karatachi, so that he could change the even more brutal policies that followed, namely the destruction of Kirigakure by Obito Uchiha.

That person is seeking revenge; they want to destroy Kirigakure.

"You really did have those thoughts."

Ringo Mari sighed, not surprised by this.

In fact, she had discussed her nephew-in-law's future with her younger brother before. His talent was too good, and it was only a matter of time before he grew into a Kage-level powerhouse. In fact, his future achievements would be even greater.

Such talent and potential are beyond the capacity of the Ringo family to bear; she will inevitably rise to a higher position, namely the position of Water Shadow.

They were happy to see this happen, as the Ringo family would also benefit from it if this person became the Mizukage.

This is also a major reason why the younger brother passed the position of family head to the other party, because he understood that with the little guy's potential and ability, he wouldn't be able to hold the position of family head for long.

"If you want to compete for the position of Mizukage, you must have the strength of a Kage-level expert. This is the most basic requirement."

The Third Hokage is old, and he is paving the way for Yagura Karatachi. Although there is interference from ninja factions, it will only delay things by a few years, at most five years.

Otherwise, if Yagura Karatachi or someone else becomes the Fourth Hokage, it will be difficult to compete again.

The key to the competition is that at this stage, the only option is to compete for the position of the Fourth Mizukage. Otherwise, if someone else becomes the Fourth Mizukage, the position will remain for at least the next twenty or thirty years.

Even if the nephew-in-law gains greater power by then, it will be difficult for him to take power, because that would require a coup, which would be much more difficult and have many potential consequences.

Therefore, competing with Yagura and others for the position of the Fourth Hokage is the only option now, which requires this nephew-in-law to improve himself quickly.

Even with great talent, it's not easy to become a Kage-level powerhouse before the age of fifteen.

"I will train diligently to improve my strength. In addition, I have some ideas that require the full support of my aunt and the family."

Tamura Hao knew the importance of strength. If he wanted to compete to become the Mizukage in his teens, he had to demonstrate greater strength and subdue everyone.

He has some thoughts on this, which he originally intended to implement gradually, but now it seems he needs to speed things up.

"Bai Ren already said that you can use all the power of the family."

Ringo Mari was supportive, and even secretly looked forward to it.

"I can't speed up my own cultivation anymore, but external things can. That is, the puppet armor I am currently developing and upgrading, and the puppet armor of my clansmen also needs to be continuously upgraded."

I need the legacy of ninja tool crafting from the Craftsman Village, the more the better, and ideally, I should also get my hands on all the materials they've accumulated.

Secondly, among the latest intelligence sent by my family, I saw that ninjas wearing strange armor have appeared in the Land of Snow, which seem to amplify the wearer's strength.

I need a set of their identical armor to study and crack, and to obtain the technology to integrate into our puppet armor.

In addition, according to records, a flying ninja tool appeared in the Sky Ninja Village during the Second Shinobi World War.

Although it was still immature and led to the destruction of the Sky Ninja Village, there might be some remnants in their ruins. I want to go and take a look. If we can give the puppet armor the ability to fly, we will be invincible.

Tamura Hao clearly understands that competing for the position of Mizukage is not a matter for one person alone; it also requires the support of a powerful force.

As a commoner, and with his father having betrayed Konoha, his background was already problematic, making it even more difficult for him to become the Mizukage.

They can only demonstrate overwhelming strength and power, so it is imperative to enhance the strength of the Ringo family.

"When are we leaving?"

After a moment's thought, Ringo Mari thought it was feasible.

"The sooner the better."

"I'll make the arrangements; we'll depart tomorrow."

After the two agreed on the plan, Tamura Hao went back to take a shower and go to sleep. During this time, he had been working on treating the injuries of the nine people, which had consumed a lot of his chakra and mental energy.

He slept soundly until dawn. When Tamura Hiroshi woke up, he found a figure in his arms, none other than his fiancée, Yuri.

The little girl was curled up in his arms, her little hands tightly gripping her pajamas, her face streaked with tears, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed, as if she were having a bad dream.

"She's just a little girl after all."

Raising his hand to wipe away the tear stains on that fair little face, Tamura Hao slapped that not-so-perky perky spot.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound echoed in the room, and the little girl's body trembled. Then she slowly opened her eyes, panting heavily, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on her forehead.

Did you have a nightmare?

Tamura Hiroshi put on a gentle expression, as if he hadn't been the one who had just slapped him.

"Mind your own business!"

Finding herself nestled in that pervert's arms, Yuri blushed, then glared fiercely before quickly getting up and running out.

She was scared last night and came to find that guy to keep her company, but she fell asleep right away.

But why does my back hurt so much? Could it be that I slept in the wrong position last night?

Did you hit me in the back again?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he went to the bathroom and questioned the person who was brushing their teeth.

"Why would I hit you from behind? Hurry up and wash your face and brush your teeth. You're coming out with me and your aunt today."

Tamura Hiroshi, who was brushing his teeth, turned his head and gave a puzzled look.

There is no best!

Yuri stared at it suspiciously for a while before finally glaring at it and leaving.

"Little brat."

With a light laugh, Tamura Hao continued brushing his teeth and washing his face. After gathering the necessary items, he set off with his fiancée.

This was at his aunt's request yesterday, so that he could take the little girl out for a stroll and relax.

Ringo Mari has already assembled thirty clan ninjas, as well as three special Jonin with minor injuries.

Among them was Ringo Iwato, who detonated the explosive tags at Hokage Cliff. She was skilled in Earth Release ninjutsu and would be well-suited for excavation.

Without delay, the group set off on the Ninja Hawks, heading first to the Land of Snow.

The main reason is that the sea area they are currently in is relatively close to the Land of Snow, and at the current speed of the Ninja Hawk, they can arrive in a day.

As night fell, the group rode the Ninja Hawk into the heart of the Land of Snow and then parachuted down.

"Let's go check out the Snow Ninja Village first."

After unfolding the map and comparing it, Tamura Hao looked towards the location of the Snow Village.

Previously, we were only looking for a general landing location, and we couldn't get too close to the Snow Village, otherwise we would likely be discovered.

Without a word, everyone followed Tamura Hao toward the Snow Village.

Tamura Hao then activated his sensory ninjutsu and located several sentries that the Snow Village had placed outside.

The Ringo ninjas stealthily infiltrated and took them down one by one. Compared to the Kirigakure ninjas, one of the five great ninja villages, the Yukigami ninjas were far inferior in quality and strength.

Not to mention that Ringo ninjas are the elite of Kirigakure, far superior to Yuki ninjas.

Of course, they couldn't go head-to-head with the Snow Village. No matter how small or weak their village was, it was still a village, and their small number of people couldn't handle it.

After capturing and interrogating the ninja sentries, they obtained the information they wanted.

"Wolf Fang Avalanche, Capital City."

Tamura Hao seemed to be deep in thought. The leader of the armored ninjas who appeared in the Snow Village was named Wolf Fang Avalanche. He had been acting quite high-profile recently, gathering a group of subordinates in the Snow Village. No one knew where the armor came from, only that it could enhance the power of the wearer's ninjutsu.

He's not currently in the Snow Village; it seems he's gone to the capital, which reminds him of the coup in the Land of Snow.

"We will travel to the capital aboard the Ninja Eagle."

After some deliberation, Tamura Hiroshi decided to travel to the capital of the Land of Snow.

Now that we've come to the Land of Snow, and that chakra armor has appeared, we must get our hands on it.

The group remained silent and retreated quietly. After retreating some distance, they summoned ninja hawks and, under the cover of night, headed towards the capital of the Land of Snow.

The Snow Village was not too far from the capital of the Land of Snow, and the group arrived at the capital city a few hours later.

"There are twenty-three chakra sources, one of which is an elite Jonin level, and the rest are all Chunin level. Seventeen of them are hidden in the same place, and the other six are in that castle, including that elite Jonin."

Standing on the back of the ninja hawk, Tamura Hao sensed the chakra of those people.

"I'll take some men to take down those people who are gathered together. You go to the castle."

Ringo Mari glanced at the location her nephew-in-law pointed to and made battle arrangements.

"Keep the noise down as much as possible."

After saying this, Tamura Hao leaped down and swooped down towards the castle.

Ringo Iwato and the other two jumped down in quick succession, as did Ringo Ameyuri, who climbed directly onto Tamura Hiroshi's back.

He tapped the little girl on the head, then landed outside the castle and attached his body to it.

Ringo, Iwato, and the other two also adhered to the castle wall. After observing for a while, they flipped inside and used their transformation magic to become the guards inside, forming a patrol team that moved around the castle.

With Tamura Hiroshi's sensory abilities, the group quickly captured the five Chunin scattered throughout the castle.

Facing three Jonin, plus the overpowered Tamura Hao, the Chunin were no match for them and could barely even make a sound.

After interrogating the five people and obtaining the code, Tamura Hao and the other four transformed into their appearances and headed to the room where Wolf Fang Avalanche was located.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

After knocking on the door for a while according to the code, the door finally opened, revealing the luxurious interior.

"What happened?"

Seeing that the five subordinates who had been sent out to monitor the castle had all come over, and that they all looked very serious, Wolf Fang Avalanche realized that something must have happened.

Feng Hua Nu Tao, who was sitting on the sofa, also turned his head to look, his face showing displeasure.

I was explaining things to Wolf Fang Avalanche when I was interrupted by these five people.

Tamura Hao was too lazy to waste words with Wolf Fang Avalanche, and controlled the ten finger blades to shoot out.

It was late at night, and the room was only lit by some dim yellow lights. The light was not strong, and the ten finger knives were very small, making them difficult to detect.

However, the finger strike missed, as it was blocked by a chakra barrier.

"Damn it!"

Wolf Fang Avalanche, who had just realized what was happening, was furious and prepared to raise his hand to form hand seals and unleash a ninjutsu.

However, Ringo and the other two had already used the Instantaneous Movement Technique to instantly appear beside Wolf Fang Avalanche, grabbed his arms and twisted them forcefully. With a crack, his arms twisted and the inner arm bones were broken.

The pain of the fracture almost made Wolf Fang Avalanche scream, but a hand pressed down on his chin first, sealing his mouth tightly, and the chakra barrier was not triggered.

Facing three Jonin, and with them being caught off guard by the enemy's strategy, even though Wolf Fang Avalanche was an elite Jonin, he still found it difficult to put up a fight.

Not to mention that Wolf Fang Avalanche is only a pure ninjutsu-type ninja, with relatively average taijutsu. Once he gets close, he's like a fish on a chopping board.

"It's still far from good enough!"

Tamura Hao was slightly disappointed; it seemed that the chakra armor was not yet perfect at this stage.

However, that's enough. He only needs to acquire this foundation, and then he can improve it on his own by relying on the resources he gained from Konoha.

Not to mention that going to Takumi Ninja Village later should also be fruitful, and in the end, we can combine the strengths of each to make up for our weaknesses.

"Don't move, Mr. Wind and Waves, your armor is useless."

Turning his head to look at the wind and waves that were trying to run away, Tamura Hao gave a friendly reminder.

The wind, flowers, and raging waves wouldn't listen; they even used chakra to prepare to smash through the glass and rush out.

But the next moment she tripped and fell to the ground; it was Ringo Ameyuri who had made the move.

That wasn't all. After tripping over Fuuka Nutō, Ringo Ameyuri pressed a towel she had prepared earlier against his mouth and nose.

Although Feng Hua Nu Tao had cultivated chakra, he was not a ninja and had poor combat skills. Even when his mouth and nose were covered, he subconsciously struggled to breathe a few times before losing consciousness.

This chakra armor is clearly not perfect, and the automatic defensive barrier also has flaws. It can instantly defend against rapidly approaching ninjutsu and objects, but it cannot defend against slowly approaching ones.

This was originally designed as a method of identification, but now it has become a flaw in the chakra armor.

After using drugs to aid his illusions, Tamura Hiro extracted the information he wanted from Fuuka Noto. Following his instructions, he opened the secret room in the house, which turned out to be a laboratory where Fuuka Noto was secretly developing chakra armor.

He possesses valuable materials collected using his identity, including chakra-conducting metal, his own notes, some design blueprints, and even several unfinished chakra armor pieces.

Tamura Hao didn't even need to lift a finger. After dealing with the Wolf Fang Avalanche, Ringo Iwato and the other two went inside and packed everything in the laboratory into the sealed scrolls they had brought. They even packed up the unconscious Fuuka Nutō as a corpse and took it away.

"Boring!"

Ringo Amori found it incredibly boring; what she craved was the thrill of battle, especially against a strong opponent.

But his raging demeanor just now clearly showed he was a half-baked ninja, not even a proper one. He could easily defeat the chakra armor once he knew its weaknesses.

"This is the castle of the Daimyo of the Land of Snow. Do you intend to go on a killing spree?"

Tamura Hao smiled. This girl really is worthy of being from Kirigakure.

"Ninjas not only engage in direct combat, but also employ methods such as infiltration and assassination from the side."

He didn't want to make a big fuss; it would be best to get rid of these people quietly to avoid attracting attention.

This time, the gains were considerable. Not only did he obtain information on the Chakra Armor and a batch of precious materials, but he also changed the plot of the Land of Snow. He just felt a significant force of destiny enter his account, which will allow him to develop stealthily for a long time to come.

(End of this chapter)