Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Chapter 262 Bounty: 360 Million Taels

Although Danzo pinned all the blame for those illegal human experiments and missing persons on Orochimaru, none of the Konoha ninja clan leaders were fools.

The various clans actually have a good idea of ​​what Danzo's Root organization has been doing all these years.

Why are the vast majority of the geniuses that have emerged in Konoha in recent years from commoner backgrounds? Is it really true that ninja clans with secret techniques can't produce geniuses?

of course not.

The real reason is that whenever a promising talent with even a little potential appears in the family, Danzo will forcibly drag them into Root and brainwash them with all sorts of high-sounding reasons.

The mountain wind of the mountain tribe and the aburame torune of the aburame tribe are living examples.

And that doesn't even include the ninja clans that disappeared. How did they vanish? Where did their secret techniques go?

Did the third generation really not know these things?

It's just turning a blind eye, or even tacitly approving it.

Now that Danzo's fig leaf has been completely torn off, the Third Hokage still chooses to protect him, which has brought the dissatisfaction of the major ninja clans in Konoha to its peak.

Furthermore, the news that the Third Hokage was about to step down somehow leaked out, causing a dramatic shift in the political climate of Konoha.

The various ninja clans began to actively align themselves with Tsunade, attempting to establish their allegiance before the new Hokage took office.

Tsunade was no pushover either. Taking advantage of this momentum, she immediately began a thorough investigation and inspection of Konoha Hospital and its logistical supplies.

This investigation immediately put the two senior advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, on edge.

They knew perfectly well that if Tsunade really became Hokage, given her personality, she would definitely bring up past grievances, and then neither of them would likely escape unscathed.

Therefore, these two advisors also began to exert their efforts in secret, contacting various forces and doing their utmost to prevent Tsunade from taking over the position of Hokage.

What troubled the Third Hokage even more was that Jiraiya also rushed back from outside after hearing the news of Orochi's defection.

While traveling, Jiraiya not only learned of Orochimaru's defection, but also discovered information about Danzo's secret collusion with Hanzo of Amegakure.

Jiraiya suspected that the deaths of Yahiko and the other two were also related to Root, but when he returned to the village and heard that Orochimaru had taken such a big blame, he immediately exploded.

As a former comrade, he knew Orochimaru very well. Although Orochimaru was ruthless, he would never do such heinous things.

Therefore, Jiraiya insisted on a thorough investigation and vowed to remove the blame placed on Orochimaru.

This infuriated the Third Hokage.

He originally wanted Jiraiya to come back and help persuade Tsunade to stabilize the situation in Konoha and ensure a smooth transition of power.

Ironically, Jiraiya's return only added to the trouble, lifting the lid that Jiraiya had so painstakingly put down.

With Jiraiya's god-like assistance, which drew the Third Hokage's attention, Tsunade's situation became much easier.

In short, the Konoha leadership at this time was practically staging an extremely exciting palace intrigue drama.

That's why Hiruzen Sarutobi issued that transfer order, allowing Aoba Yamashiro to remain on the front lines.

He knew Aoba's strength and personality all too well.

If Aoba were to return to the village and really want to do something, only Tsunade could persuade him; no one in the entire Hidden Village could control him. So, it's best to let Aoba stay on the front lines for the time being.

Meanwhile, inside the Konoha front-line command post.

Aoba was leaning back in his chair, flipping through the intelligence he had received from Mr. Dan. It felt like watching a drama online. After finishing the intelligence, Aoba thought for a moment and then took out a scroll and wrote down instructions for Tsunade to focus on checking the number of ninjas currently employed by the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mito clans. As for the Shimura clan, there was no need to check.

That old bastard Danzo would love to squeeze every advantage out of his family; it would be good enough if he didn't bleed his clan dry.

Just after Aoba sent the scroll out, a lizard emerged from the corner of the tent and quickly climbed onto the table.

The little lizard touched Qingye's fingertips, and a scene immediately flashed into his mind.

A familiar figure appeared in the swamp, lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance!

And that person was none other than Ryoichi!

"How is that possible?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Aoba's eyes.

You have to understand, Ryoichi now is no longer the ordinary genin who could be easily manipulated.

After transplanting White Zetsu's arm and Blood Dragon Eye, Ryoichi's strength has undergone a tremendous change.

Furthermore, he has mastered the pseudo-sage mode of [half-beast transformation] as a trump card. If he unleashes his full power, he will definitely be able to fight against the Kage of each village.

Even if you can't win, it's not difficult to escape unscathed.

Who could possibly have injured Ryoichi to such an extent that he was forced to use reverse spirit communication to escape?

"Still water".

"exist!"

Uchiha Shisui, who had been guarding outside the tent, suddenly appeared in front of Aoba and knelt on one knee.

"I have to leave for a while. Contact me through Ninja Crow in case of any emergency!"

"yes!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Qingye quickly formed hand seals.

Hai—Xu—You—Shen—Wei!

Reverse psychic abilities!

boom!

With a puff of white smoke, Qingye's figure vanished instantly inside the tent.

Inside the ruins cave in the Blue Marshland.

At this point, Ryoichi had already been moved to the stone platform.

Ryoichi's eyes were closed, and his face was a strange dark red; he had fallen into a deep coma.

Several large lizards surrounded Qingye, and upon seeing her appear, they all let out low growls before crawling out of the cave one after another.

Aoba stepped forward and could tell at a glance that the person had been poisoned. There weren't many wounds elsewhere, but none of them had healed, clearly indicating that the toxins in the body were preventing the wounds from healing.

Swish!

Ryoichi's clothes were torn open at the shoulder, the area where he had been poisoned, as if he had been stung by something.

But after carefully observing the strange wounds on Ryoichi's body, Aoba's eyes suddenly became playful.

He already understood that Ryoichi had been injured by some kind of puppet.

"If that's the case—"

Instead of immediately starting the detoxification process, Qingye clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

An indescribable, wondrous wave emanated from Qingye and spread outwards.

The next moment, the natural energy in the surrounding air seemed to be summoned by some strong force, and rushed wildly into Qingye's body.

Then faint blue scale patterns appeared on his cheeks and under the skin of his arms.

A moment later, when Qingye opened his eyes again, a strange purple eyeshadow appeared around his eyes.

Sage Mode, activated!

Compared to his previous half-human, half-lizard, half-beast form, Aoba now exhibits fewer and fewer beast-like characteristics in Sage Mode.

This is one of Aoba's biggest gains this year.

He has finally broken free from his dependence on the Grell Stone. His body has begun to adapt to and integrate with natural energy, and he is able to actively enter Sage Mode.

Although the duration of this effect is still limited, it is already a qualitative leap.

After entering Sage Mode, Aoba's ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu were greatly amplified.

He placed his hand, covered in Sage Chakra, on Ryoichi's body.

As the power of nature flowed in, two pale lumps of flesh were forcibly squeezed out of Ryoichi's body.

It's White Zetsu!

Clearly, the White Zetsu that had been squeezed out were still somewhat dazed, with one of them looking at Aoba with disbelief.

"How is this possible—how did you find us?!"

White Zetsu's ability to infiltrate is unparalleled in the ninja world. Their spore clones can even infiltrate directly into other people's bodies, making them extremely difficult to detect even for ninjas with exceptional sensory abilities.

They deliberately let Ryoichi go, intending to infiltrate his body and steal intelligence once he returned to headquarters.

Unexpectedly, Aoba saw right through him!

Aoba, of course, had no habit of explaining things to his enemies.

As the two White Zetsu were pushed out, the sand on the ground instantly turned into sand ropes, binding the White Zetsu tightly in place, unable to move.

"Damn it! Let us go!"

White Zetsu struggled desperately, trying to use the Mayfly Technique to sneak underground and escape, but the sand ropes, imbued with Aoba's Sage Chakra, were as hard as steel and impossible to break free from.

Aoba slowly walked up to them, and his originally black Sharingan instantly transformed into a scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan.

Genjutsu, Sharingan!

The powerful child force instantly pierced the mental world of the two White Zetsu.

Before they could even scream, the two White Zetsu's bodies stiffened abruptly, then went completely limp, their consciousness erased entirely by Aoba's illusion.

Aoba took out a blank scroll and formed a hand seal with one hand.

With a "bang," the two White Zetsu were sealed inside the scroll.

White Zetsu are valuable items. Even though Aoba can clone White Zetsu, the more experimental materials the better.

After doing all this, Aoba turned her gaze back to Ryoichi on the stone bed.

With the potential dangers eliminated, Aoba began treating Ryoichi.

With the help of Sage Mode, Aoba didn't even need to prepare an antidote; he directly extracted the toxins from Ryo's body.

Ten minutes later.

As the last bit of black blood was extracted from Ryoichi's body using chakra by Aoba, Ryoichi's bluish-purple complexion finally began to slowly regain its rosy hue.

Without the continuous erosion of toxins, and thanks to the super healing ability granted by the White Zetsu cells, Ryoichi's external wounds are healing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Cough cough—"

With a violent cough, Ryoichi slowly opened his eyes.

"Lord Aoba—"

"Lie still and don't move."

Aoba pressed down on his shoulder and asked calmly, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Ryoichi quickly recounted the events of his attack.

Just as Aoba had predicted, it was the Akatsuki organization that attacked him.

There were three people, one of whom attacked him was the Scorpion of the Red Sand.

"The intelligence trade in the underworld has caught their attention."

Ryoichi swallowed hard. "It must have been those people at the gold exchange who leaked my information—"

Qingye nodded slightly, showing little surprise.

It was probably the information about Danzo's collusion with Hanzo that caught Nagato and Konan's attention, which led them to investigate the source of that information.

As for leaking intelligence, that's perfectly normal. They're just a bunch of intelligence brokers; how much professional ethics can you expect from them?

"Lord Aoba, I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

Ryoichi lowered his head in shame.

From Ryoichi's description, we can infer that he was indeed careless, or rather, overconfident, and was directly poisoned after being hit by the scorpion.

He was defeated before he even had a chance to fight, and he almost lost his life.

"Alright, learn from your mistakes."

Aoba nodded and patted Ryoichi on the shoulder. "The ninja world is vast, and all sorts of strange and unusual secret techniques are constantly emerging. Never underestimate anyone. Consider this a lesson learned. Next time you encounter an unfamiliar opponent, the first priority is to gather information before you make a move."

"yes!"

Ryoichi nodded seriously.

The Akatsuki members are masters of "first-meeting kills," so it's lucky that Ryoichi survived, though their defensive tactics also played a part.

However, since he hurt my people, as the boss, he has no choice but to retaliate.

I'll also go see an "old friend" while I'm at it!

On the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain, there lies a desolate Gobi Desert.

A strong wind whipped up a cloud of yellow sand, turning the world into a hazy gray expanse.

Three figures dressed in black trench coats embroidered with red cloud patterns and wearing straw hats walked forward at a leisurely pace.

Leading the way was a strange figure with a hunched back, seemingly lying on the ground; it was Sasori of the Red Sand, hiding within the Scarlet Amber.

The next two are Kakuzu and Konan.

Just then, Scorpion, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Kakuzu frowned.

There are people ahead.

Scorpion's voice carried a chilling undertone.

As the sandstorm gradually subsided, they saw a person sitting quietly on a huge rock dozens of meters in front of them.

The man was dressed in a standard Konoha ninja outfit and a Jonin vest, with a Konoha headband on his forehead.

Upon seeing the person blocking his way, a hint of disdain flashed across Hiruko's ugly mask.

"Another one looking for trouble."

Scorpion sneered, his steel stinger already poised to strike.

However, when the horn beside him saw the person's face clearly, the green-eyed boy suddenly shrank back.

Almost instinctively, he pulled a thick bounty booklet from his pocket and quickly flipped through it.

slam-la-

The sound of pages turning was exceptionally clear in the wind.

When Kakuzu's gaze fell on the latest wanted poster, his breathing instantly became heavy, and his eyes erupted with unprecedented fervor and fear.

"Three hundred and sixty million taels?!"

Kakuzu gasped, his voice trembling slightly.

Upon hearing this number, even the usually aloof Xiao Nan couldn't help but turn her head, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

A bounty of 360 million taels is extremely rare in the entire history of the underground black market.

It's important to know that even the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages typically have a bounty of only around one or two hundred million.

At the same time, a high price also signifies strong capabilities!

"Scorpion, be careful, the opponent is very strong."

Kakuzu closed the bounty booklet, his eyes fixed on Aoba sitting on the rock, his tone more serious than ever before, "This guy is Konoha's twin stars, Yamashiro Aoba!"

Yamashiro Aoba!

The moment the name was uttered, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

Recently, this name has become a household name in the ninja world.

He defeated the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, crushed the Fourth Kazekage in public, and even severely injured the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's combined forces on the front lines of the Land of Lightning!

Such a terrifying record is enough to make any ninja tremble with fear.

Xiao Nan turned her head slightly, looking at the green leaves on the rock, her clear eyes flashing with complex light.

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