Naruto: Nara's skill set is incredibly sneaky.

After Tsunade became familiar with the conversion of natural energy, Shikatoki took the wildly playing Kurama away from Tanabata Street.

Our next destination is Yongji-dong.

Nine-Tailed Lion frowned, flicking its paw in disgust. "What are you doing here, deer? It's all slimy and uncomfortable!"

Lu smiled.

"To fulfill our original promise."

The moment the deer arrived at Ryuchi Cave, the White Snake Sage had already sensed it.

Princess Ichikishima was waiting early. "Lord Shikatoki, the White Snake Sage requests your presence."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

I entered a familiar place again.

The White Snake Immortal remained seated in the main position.

However, at this moment, the White Snake Immortal's snake eyes were filled with anticipation and longing.

"Deer, you're now perfectly integrated with your surroundings. Have you succeeded?"

"The immortal has a discerning eye, but I need to try it out, after all, humans and snakes are different." Lu Shi didn't make his statement completely.

The White Snake Immortal climbed down and came to the deer's side. "Try it!"

Lu Shi never expected the White Snake Immortal to be so impatient.

However, since it had spoken, Lu Shi did not hesitate and immediately began to mobilize natural energy to try to help the White Snake Immortal complete the first transformation.

Everything went smoothly at first.

Just as the conversion was about to be completed, a powerful surge of chakra interrupted it.

The deer was directly blasted away.

Nine-Tails' pupils narrowed. As he caught the deer with his tail, he glared at the white-haired immortal with a hostile expression. "Snake! What are you doing?!"

The White Snake Immortal looked regretful.

It senses things most clearly within its own body.

It was just a hair's breadth away.

Shika steadied himself, pondered what had just happened, and then asked somewhat uncertainly, "Was that Sage Chakra?"

The White Snake Immortal did not deny it.

"That's right, it's Sage Chakra that's repelling pure natural energy."

"That's a bit troublesome."

The White Snake Sage has lived for an unknown amount of time, and the amount of Sage Chakra within him is enormous.

"Sorry, I don't have a clue at the moment."

The White Snake Immortal wasn't annoyed. He slowly crawled back and said, "You've been taking care of Bai Si all this time, and it's grown up very well. Don't let it follow in my footsteps. Perhaps after it succeeds, I'll have a new path to take."

Lu Shi hadn't expected the White Snake Immortal to be so carefree.

"Alright! Then I'll trouble the White Snake Immortal to wait a little longer."

"Your lifespan isn't short now, and I can live a long time to come. Anyway, I've already waited so long, I'm not in a hurry! Let's take it slow!"

This is the White Snake Immortal's truest thought.

Previously, when there was no hope in sight, the White Snake Immortal would get anxious and search for various ways to transform into a dragon.

But now, the deer has given it hope.

Naturally, it would want to use the safest method to achieve its dragon transformation.

"Thank you for your understanding, White Snake Immortal. Kurama and I will be leaving now."

"Um."

Leaving Ryūchi Cave, Kurama couldn't help but remark, "That old serpent has quite the scheme!"

"It doesn't matter, Ryuchi Cave won't affect the ninja world anyway."

"That's true. What are we doing now?" Nine-Lama asked casually.

"Find a safe place to absorb the Box of Bliss."

I checked in the editor, and the Elysium Box must be added to Sage Mode to have the storage effect.

After the templates of the evil god and the god of death were added, Lu Shi also understood that the templates added to the immortal mode were essentially applied to himself, and this absorption process required time.

The two ultimately chose the island tortoise as their destination.

Aside from the people of Kumogakure, practically no one else knows about this place.

It's quiet and safe; it's a good place to retreat into seclusion.

After finding a cave, Lu Shi sat down and said, "I will absorb the energy for about a year. You can go out and explore on your own."

Nine Lama looked at the deer, then lay down beside it.

"I'm tired. I haven't slept in a long time. I'm going to sleep for a while. You can absorb the nutrients. I'll leave when I want to."

Lu smiled knowingly.

She knew that the Nine Lamas intended to protect her, but she was too embarrassed to say it outright.

"Thank you."

The deer closes its eyes and adds a template.

……

Time flies, and a year has quietly passed.

Inside the Hokage's office in Konoha Village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi convened a meeting of Jonin.

"Gentlemen, the Anbu has just sent us the latest intelligence: there has been a large-scale disturbance in Sunagakure recently. The specific details are still under investigation," Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a somber tone.

Danzo Shimura's face was grim. "These Sand Ninja are truly courting death. I suggest we send someone to warn them."

"No! This could escalate the conflict!" Nara Shikaomi quickly warned.

"Right now, the focus is still on intelligence gathering." Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he couldn't be too aggressive, so he changed the subject and looked at Owl: "Is Sakumo willing to take on this mission?"

"Sakumo-senpai said that he is no longer a ninja, so..." Owl replied cautiously.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. "Never mind, Shikaomi! Any news from Shikatoshi?"

Nara Shikaomi shook his head. "Shikatoki wrote back a year ago saying he had something to take care of, and we haven't heard from him since. I wonder what that brat has been up to!"

"Where is that Oni-no-Naga priestess named Akane?" Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to find a roundabout way to achieve his goal.

Nawaki stepped forward and said, "Miss Akane left Konoha after waking up half a year ago, and I don't know her current location."

Danzo Shimura's face darkened. "What kind of business is the Senju clan conducting themselves? Akane is a crucial bargaining chip, and you're just letting her go like this!"

Nawaki is not Uchiha Fugaku.

As the patriarch of the Senju clan over the years, he has personally experienced the current predicament of the Senju clan and has grown considerably as a result.

Furthermore, he has many experts behind him, so he is not afraid at all!

Nawaki slammed his hand on the table, pointed at Shimura Danzo's nose, and yelled, "Miss Akane is a priestess of the Land of Demons! Don't you know what the Land of Demons' status is in the eyes of the five great daimyo? Give me back why I let her go! Why don't you stop her yourself?!"

"Not to mention, Zhu Yin and my sister are best friends, so that means she's my sister. It's like my brother-in-law isn't here, otherwise you old hag, your face would be swollen, believe it or not!"

Shimura Danzo pointed at Nawaki, wanting to retort, but found that Nawaki's little mouth was constantly chattering, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

And Rope Tree is right.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Miroku is the current priestess of the Land of Demons; Akane is Miroku's master.

The Land of Demons holds a high position among the Five Great Nations, not in terms of power, but because it has sealed away too many demons and is located in a remote area, posing no threat to the Five Great Nations.

Therefore, the daimyo of the five great nations were naturally willing to give face to the priestess of the Land of Demons.

If anyone does anything detrimental to the priestess of the Land of Demons, they will be held accountable by the daimyo.

Danzo Shimura was aiming to become Hokage, so how could he possibly offend a daimyo for this!

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the frustrated Danzo and cursed under his breath for being useless.

"Alright, alright! Let's put Nawaki, Akane, and Shikatoki aside for now. What about Tsunade? You know about her, right?! The situation is special right now, let her come back."

Rope Tree scratched his head awkwardly.

"Third Generation, I always thought my sister was in Tanabata. I sent people to look for her, but she wasn't there at all. The people in Tanabata said that my sister suddenly left Tanabata a year ago and they don't know where she went."

"Send more people to search." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, turned to Kushina Uzumaki, who was slacking off next to Nawaki, and asked patiently, "Kushina, where's Minato? He's been researching that ninjutsu for almost two or three years, and it's still not done?"

Kushina shrugged innocently.

"Third Hokage, I could still see Minato a few years ago. A year ago, Minato said he had made a major breakthrough with the Flying Thunder God Technique and went into seclusion. I haven't seen him in ages! I really don't know what that blockhead is researching!"

"Where are Orochimaru and Jiraiya?"

The owl spoke again, "Lord Orochimaru has not returned since he went out to find research materials, and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

"As for Lord Jiraiya, his whereabouts have always been elusive. We only know that he has appeared near hot springs many times, but this is his latest book."

The owl shakily pulled out a copy of "Intimate Paradise".

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on.

He felt increasingly regretful.

When the deer left before, it was probably just because they had less money.

The current situation in the ninja world is turbulent and unpredictable.

When he turned around, he realized that apart from himself, there wasn't a single high-level combatant in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

You mean Shimura Danzo?

Don't be silly, he knows his old friend's capabilities best.

To put it bluntly, it's questionable whether Shimura Danzo can even defeat Nawaki and Kushina now.

An eerie silence fell over the meeting room because of these questions.