Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

"Idiot, don't do that again."

In the Sound Village of the Land of Rice Fields, Tsunade spent an entire day stabilizing Jiraiya's arm injuries, and couldn't help but glare at him.

That's just how I am; if it were anyone else, I would have suggested amputation long ago.

"That's for sure."

Jiraiya, his face deathly pale, forced a weak smile; he felt utterly exhausted.

Because this woman didn't give herself anesthesia during the surgery, and he had to constantly give feedback based on his pain, she suffered terribly.

"Don't move for three months, or you'll really be crippled."

Tsunade handed the final bandaging work to Shizune, taking off her sunglasses and nose plugs as a reminder.

She still has hemophobia, so she needs to conceal it before undergoing this level of surgery.

"Is your hemophobia still not cured?"

Jiraiya's expression was complicated as he looked at Tsunade taking off her sunglasses.

That once dashing and tomboyish woman is unexpectedly fragile.

Tsunade ignored him and went over to Orochimaru to watch his surgery.

The surgery here is not bloody; it mainly involves transplanting his great-grandfather's cells into that Uchiha brat.

While the Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan is powerful, it's not very practical, especially the Susanoo, which constantly drains the body's resources. However, his great-grandfather's cells can compensate for this deficiency to some extent, and the Mangekyou Sharingan's power can also counteract the corrosive nature of his great-grandfather's cells to some extent.

The two can be perfectly combined.

However, Grandpa's cells were just too strong; a pair of kaleidoscopes alone couldn't suppress them.

"As expected, Madara Uchiha's eyes have surpassed the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Seeing that he could not suppress it in the end, Orochimaru sighed and prepared to cut off the cell.

He originally intended to transplant Hashirama's cells into this Uchiha boy, but he still overestimated the Mangekyou Sharingan.

While the Mangekyou Sharingan is powerful, it is clearly a level below the power of the First Hokage. Perhaps only eyes of the level of Madara Uchiha could rival the cells of the First Hokage.

"Wait, I also have the eyes that my father and grandfather left me."

Uchiha Shisui, who had been forcing himself to speak, managed to open his mouth with difficulty. He then bit his finger, formed a hand seal, and summoned two crows.

Both crows have Sharingan eyes with intricate patterns, clearly at the Kaleidoscope level.

However, they were unusually dim, far less bright than Uchiha Shisui's current eyes.

These are the eyes left by his father and grandfather. Although they are close to their limit, they are still kaleidoscopes.

Lord Orochimaru had explained the cell transplantation experiment very clearly before, and he could clearly sense that it was greatly helping him. The stinging pain in his eyes from forcibly using Susanoo had been relieved considerably.

Therefore, this transplant surgery must be successful so that I can gain greater strength and then change my family.

"A triple-double should be enough to compete."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up. He took the eyes of the two crows and transplanted them onto the eye sockets and the area between the eyebrows and mouth of the face formed by Hashirama's cells, creating a cross shape.

Uchiha Shisui also cooperated by using his own Mangekyou Sharingan power to resonate with those two eyes. Perhaps because of their blood relation, the resonance went relatively smoothly.

Faced with the suppression of the three pairs of Kaleidoscope Eye Power, Hashirama's cells finally calmed down.

"Can the Sharingan balance the First Hokage's cells?"

Jiraiya, having caught his breath, walked over and looked curiously at the face on Uchiha Shisui's chest.

He had heard about the experiments on the first generation of cells, and that was one of the reasons Orochimaru was driven out of the village.

However, the experiments at that time all failed because the first-generation cells had extremely strong corrosive properties, which no one could withstand. It is said that even the Thousand Hands Clan could not withstand them in the past.

I never imagined that I could use the Sharingan to balance the suppression.

"It's just about creating a balance through the confrontation between the two, not the integration I most want to see."

Orochimaru was slightly disappointed. What he wanted to see most was the fusion of the Sharingan and Hashirama's cells, not this balance of opposing forces.

"If my grandfather's power were so easy to steal, my second grandfather and grandmother wouldn't have sealed that experiment away back then."

Tsunade expressed her disdain, saying that her great-uncle had conducted experiments using her great-uncle's cells back then, but unfortunately, he had never succeeded.

She didn't believe Orochimaru's talent could surpass her second grandfather's; if her second grandfather couldn't do it, Orochimaru couldn't possibly do it either.

"Why didn't you two come to find me sooner?"

Jiraiya suddenly became full of resentment and even developed some hostility towards Orochimaru.

He had noticed before that Tsunade had been living here for a long time. Could something have happened between the two of them?

"idiot!"

Orochimaru glanced sideways, then continued to observe Uchiha Shisui's body, hoping to find an opportunity to fuse the two powers.

He didn't want a balance of power, as that would prevent him from fully unleashing the power of the First Generation, which would be useless to him. Only by fusing the two powers could he achieve his desired outcome.

"I haven't even asked yet, what happened on your end? How did it get into such a mess? Does your village have such a deep grudge against Kumogakure? Could it be that those old guys really want to use the war to weaken the Hyuga and Uchiha clans?"

Tsunade was quite puzzled. She thought the war in the Land of Hot Springs would end soon, but it had lasted for more than three years, and now the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki had been killed.

This is truly a fight to the death.

"That's not how it is. Not only was the Hyuga clan head's daughter kidnapped that day, but also Minato's child, who is also a new generation of Jinchūriki."

Jiraiya glanced at Uchiha Shisui and finally revealed the reason.

Although it was Shimura Danzo who said it, he believed that Shimura Danzo would not deceive him on such a matter, and apart from this reason, he could not think of any other reason why his teacher and others would bring the war to such an extent.

"The ninth-rank child has been kidnapped?"

"Are those old guys all useless?"

Tsunade was first surprised, then furious.

The ninth-rank official is dead, and now even the ninth-rank official's child can't be saved. Why don't those old geezers just die?

Uchiha Shisui also turned his head to look. So that's the reason.

Were they kidnapped at the same time?

Orochimaru's eyes flickered, and he began to make some guesses.

What clues do you have?

Noticing Orochimaru's unusual expression, Jiraiya quickly asked.

"It's not something an ordinary person can do to kidnap both the Hyuga clan head's daughter and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki at the same time, but I happen to know someone who can."

Licking his lips, Orochimaru figured it must be that one.

"Who?"

Tsunade asked a question, while Jiraiya and Uchiha Shisui stared intently at her.

This incident severely damaged Konoha, prolonging the Fourth Shinobi World War for over three years, resulting in countless deaths and immense losses of resources.

"The Fourth Mizukage, Tamura Hiroshi, knows the Flying Thunder God Technique. If it were him, he would definitely be able to kidnap those two children silently right under the noses of the Hyuga clan and the Anbu."

Upon learning who that person was, Orochimaru was eager to have another match with him.

"The Fourth Mizukage!"

"How does he know my great-grandfather's Flying Thunder God Technique?"

Jiraiya and Tsunade were both very surprised, especially Tsunade.

It should be noted that the Flying Thunder God Technique was developed by my second grandfather, and to this day only Minato Namikaze has mastered it.

How could the Mizukage of Kirigakure possibly have obtained the Flying Thunder God Technique?

"I was there during the coup in Kirigakure. Three Uzumaki ninjas appeared in that battle, and one of them had a chakra that felt somewhat similar to Kushina's back then."

Speaking of his discoveries during that battle, he had been observing the entire battlefield from afar. He saw the enemy use the Adamantine Sealing Chains to seal the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, who had fully transformed into a tailed beast, and he also saw the three female ninjas who applied the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

"Is Kushina still alive?"

Tsunade became excited. Back then, everyone thought that girl had been killed, but who would have thought she was still alive.

"It's just a resemblance. I only saw that girl once back then, and it was too long ago to be sure. But since the Fourth Mizukage knows the Flying Thunder God Technique, it's highly likely that it's that girl."

Orochimaru thought that must be it. Kushina used to live with that person, so it's not surprising that she had seen the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Moreover, he couldn't think of any other possibility besides this one line.

"I'm going to Kirigakure!"

After thinking it over, Tsunade decided to go to Kirigakure to confirm whether it was indeed Kushina.

"Don't go alone. Wait until I'm healed, then I'll go with you."

Jiraiya also wanted to go to Kirigakure to bring back Minato's children and Kurama.

The village cannot be without the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Orochimaru, do you know who the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki of Takigakure is? I need to take the Seven-Tails to see the Great Toad Sage. The Great Sage seems to be able to communicate with the Tailed Beasts and says he can find out the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails."

Jiraiya wanted to confirm this further, as this was no small matter and he didn't want to make another blunder.

Thinking back on those compatriots who died in the Land of Hot Springs in recent years, I felt a pang of heartache and self-blame, and at the same time, I couldn't help but feel some resentment towards that teacher.

If I had told myself this sooner, there wouldn't have been so many sacrifices.

This means they're even on guard against themselves.

This mistake cannot be repeated, and there is another suspect: the mysterious person who released the Nine-Tailed Fox back then.

"Takigakure is long gone. Last year, a huge explosion suddenly occurred in Takigakure, and it was completely destroyed. It was probably because the Seven-Tails went berserk and disappeared."

Orochimaru casually replied that the Land of Rice Fields was not far from the Land of Waterfalls, separated only by the Land of Iron, so he knew something about it.

"It's gone berserk!"

Jiraiya was shocked and went berserk.

Was Takigakure destroyed using a Tailed Beast Ball?

This is even worse than the Nine-Tails attack that Konoha experienced back then.

"Then let's go to Kirigakure in three months. Orochimaru, are you coming?"

Tsunade decided to go to Kirigakure in three months to see if it was Kushina.

"My battle with the Fourth Mizukage isn't over yet."

Licking his lips, Orochimaru had been looking forward to another showdown with that person, and had prepared quite a few gifts for it.

Count me in!

At this moment, Uchiha Shisui spoke up, expressing his willingness to go along, though he was also filled with resentment.

Because of the loss of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, too many people have died in the past three years. If it was indeed the Fourth Mizukage who kidnapped them, they must pay the price.

Far away in Kirigakure, Tamura Hao was unaware that he was being targeted. At that moment, he was cultivating, his consciousness immersed in the Kamui space within his body.

That's right, he integrated Obito Uchiha's Kamui dimension into his body, specifically into his abdomen, and expanded it considerably using sealing techniques, reaching a diameter of 500 meters.

One-third of the space inside was filled with liquid chakra, and there was a large vortex in the middle that emitted an astonishing suction power.

This is the result of his training over the past few years. As early as last year, he successfully fused with the Dark Release technique and then used the Kamui Space sealing technique to integrate it into his body, forming a real space to store chakra.

This liquid chakra was what he had been refining and sealing in the amber bottle over the years, and finally transferred here, where he then absorbed and transformed it using Dark Release chakra.

With this massive chakra boost, the absorption and assimilation ability of the Dark Release is greatly enhanced.

This is also a characteristic of Dark Release. The ability of Dark Release to devour and assimilate depends on one's own chakra. The more and stronger one's own chakra, the higher the level and efficiency of devouring and assimilation.

Just like Hiruzen, whose natural limits are not high, he was unable to absorb Naruto Uzumaki's Wind Release: Rasengan shuriken. But Tamura Hiroshi could easily absorb it and assimilate it with the vast Dark Release chakra in the Kamui dimension.

In particular, the giant vortex further enhanced the absorption and assimilation capabilities of the Dark Release, crushing and dispersing the absorbed chakra to aid in assimilation.

Furthermore, this is not just Dark Release chakra, but also incorporates natural energy, making it a Sage Art Dark Release chakra, which is far stronger than simple Dark Release chakra.

This was also what he had envisioned: the danger of Sage Chakra lies mainly in its corrosive effect on the body and its ability to go berserk and out of control, but it would be much safer if fused outside the body.

Tamura Hao is currently fusing Sage Art: Dark Release Chakra within the Kamui dimension, but since it doesn't integrate into his body, there's no risk of him going berserk.

Furthermore, one can gradually try to integrate it with the body. As long as that point of convergence is found, even without a medium like the toad oil from Mount Myōboku to erode the body, one can still form a true Sage Mode.

Furthermore, due to the overwhelming devouring power of the Dark Release, it not only draws in and fuses natural energy into Sage Chakra, but also devours and refines it to enhance chakra, a level that has reached the cultivation level of the three great holy lands.

The spirit beasts of the three holy lands become so strong and even have longer lifespans by absorbing and refining natural energy.

In addition, he gained another benefit during these three years: he completed his chakra attributes and became qualified to possess seven types of chakra: Yin, Yang, Wind, Fire, Lightning, Water, and Earth.

This stems from his practice of sharing chakra with others. When someone who receives his chakra uses ninjutsu to release chakra, it eventually appears in his body, just like when a shadow clone uses the Shadow Clone Technique, the shadow clone will eventually transfer the remaining chakra back to the original body.

And it will also carry the chakra attributes of those people.

Moreover, this chakra can be perfectly absorbed and assimilated by Dark Release chakra, becoming its own chakra.

As he received more chakra, his own chakra attributes were gradually strengthened, which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, the past few years have been incredibly fruitful, with our strength improving by a tremendous margin.

"This can be considered a knock-off of the Northern Darkness Divine Art. All the ninjutsu in the world can be used by me, just like the Northern Darkness, which can carry both large and small boats and accommodate both big and small fish."

Feeling the chakra within the Kamui dimension, Tamura Hao couldn't help but sigh.

The potential of this Dark Release bloodline was better than he had imagined, especially when combined with the unique characteristics of his own chakra, making it even more perfect.

"It's a pity there isn't a single Kunkun to match the occasion."

After a moment of reflection, Tamura Hiroshi stood up, stretched his limbs, and went outside for a stroll.

Cultivation should not be a matter of blindly shutting oneself away in seclusion; a balance between work and rest is the key.

Furthermore, it is necessary to frequently visit the village to personally experience its development and identify any potential problems.

A qualified leader cannot just sit in the office; they also need to go out and get a real understanding of the situation. Some things cannot be clearly expressed in written documents, and they must be wary of being deceived by their subordinates.

After dinner, they went to a beach near Kirigakure Village, where Tamura Hiroshi prepared to sunbathe and admire the bikini-clad beauties.

This is the perfect time to see it; in two months when the weather turns cooler, you won't be able to see it anymore.

Then, upon arriving, I saw a rather unpleasant scene: the five creatures, Nine-Tailed, Seven-Tailed, Six-Tailed, Four-Tailed, and Three-Tailed, were lying on beach chairs sunbathing, all wearing sunglasses, floral shorts, and floral shirts.

The nine-tailed and four-tailed creatures were even sitting with their legs crossed, looking quite comfortable.

"You guys are getting better and better at enjoying life."

Tamura Hiroshi walked over and lay down on an empty chair, complaining about how the others were enjoying themselves.

"If we earn so much money and don't use it to enjoy life, what's the point?"

As Nine-Tails spoke, she took a sip of the chilled juice through the straw, and it tasted absolutely delicious.

Looking back now, I realize I wasted my life. Hiding in the deep mountains and forests, I enjoyed nothing. The so-called freedom was meaningless. All I did was eat and sleep all day. It was so boring.

"That guy Niugui is dead. He said he'll come over as soon as he's resurrected, and he wants you to prepare his salary."

The Four-Tails, who was also slurping juice, said that he rushed over to join the organization immediately after his resurrection, otherwise he would have been captured and sealed away by Iwagakure long ago.

They also visited Shimotakigakure, wiped it out with a single Tailed Beast Ball, rescued the sealed Seven-Tails, and brought it all over to join the ranks of beasts and enjoy their beast life.

This is called sharing the good fortune!

Now it's that guy, Ushioni's, turn.

"Another expense!"

Tamura Hao couldn't help but complain again, this has really built up a good reputation, and now everyone wants to join and enjoy the beastly life.

Fortunately, their Hidden Mist Village has recovered, and the resource harvesting plan is about to begin. At that time, there will be a lot of money, enough to pay these guys a lifetime's salary.

"Lord Mizukage."

At this moment, Kakashi and his friends walked over, wearing matching floral tops, shorts, flip-flops, and black sunglasses beach outfits. Their perfect figures and muscular physiques were quite eye-catching.

"Please sit down, please sit down. There's no Mizukage here. The Mizukage is working in the office."

Tamura Hao appeared very casual. He was no longer in the identity of the Mizukage; his miserable shadow clone was still working in the office.

Kakashi and the others knew his personality, so they all found a beach chair and lay down to sunbathe. Kisame even applied sunscreen to his wife.

There's no way around it; a married man is a different story, especially one who's about to become a father.

"Kisame, how about we switch weapons? You can use my trident, and I'll use your Samehada."

Tamura Hiroshi suddenly saw Samehada frolicking and rolling around on the beach not far away, and an idea came to his mind.

I was regretting not having a Kunkun before, but now I have one right here.

Furthermore, this thing is also very adept at absorbing chakra, which would perfectly complement his Dark Release technique. Perhaps he could even combine it with the ultimate summoning beast he brought back from Summoning Island. (End of Chapter)