Warlock Invasion of Naruto.

Also, there's Uchiha Issei. He displayed amazing strength in the previous battles. My suggestion is to have him join Root.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback upon hearing this. It turned out that Danzo had gone through all this trouble because he wanted the Six Paths Ninja Tool, the Golden Rope, which was in the possession of Issei Uchiha.

10132337

[Chapter 163 Transfer]

In the early years of Konoha 49.

The City of Fire is the largest and most prosperous city in the Land of Fire, and it is the economic and political center of the Land of Fire.

In ordinary small countries, violent incidents might break out, and even vicious wandering ninjas and wanted criminals might attack officials and daimyo, but no ninja from any country would dare to cause trouble in the Fire Capital.

This place is home to elite Jonin, sent by Konoha, the strongest ninja village in the ninja world.

Even if the Shinobi World War breaks out, the five great nations will not openly assassinate officials and daimyo, because doing so before the outcome is decided would invite attacks from the entire shinobi world. The system of one country and one village is deeply ingrained and has no power to change the world. Battles between shinobi will only take place between shinobi.

At this moment, in the bank in the center of the City of Fire.

Sasori and Kakuzu, both dressed in matching black robes, pushed open the bank doors and stepped out onto the street.

Kakuzu held the passbook and seal in his hand, then carefully put them away.

The two of them deposited almost all of their earnings from missions over the past few months into the bank as operating funds for the organization, leaving only a small amount of cash for daily expenses.

"I've had enough! I joined the organization in pursuit of eternal life, and now I'm just doing missions every day to make money. This is not my art at all!" Scorpion muttered to himself, already regretting joining the 'Infinite Ring' organization.

"If you betray the organization, you'll be hunted down by the leader. Even if 'Kodama' intervenes, you probably won't survive," Kakuzu said seriously. "We'll take on more missions to accumulate initial funds, and then we'll move on to the next stage."

Sasori earned Kakuzu's approval through his own strength, which is why Kakuzu was willing to respond to him. Otherwise, Sasori would have perished long ago in Kakuzu's indiscriminate attack style.

Of course, there are some things that Jiaodu didn't say, namely that the next stage of rebuilding the country will require a huge amount of funds, so the current stage of accumulating funds will probably take a long time.

However, Scorpion's body is a modified human puppet, which has broken free from the lifespan limitations of ordinary people.

As for Kakuzu himself, thanks to the Earth Grudge Fear Technique, he can achieve immortality by constantly replacing the hearts of ninjas.

So a few years or a dozen years is not a long time, at least for Jiaodu.

"You really have absolutely no artistic talent. I bet you're only interested in making money, right?" Sasori complained, but unfortunately, he could only grumble verbally. Even with the puppet of the Third Kazekage, the strongest Kazekage in history, he could only have the upper hand in his battle against Kakuzu. As for that "Kodama," he was abnormally strong, and he was no match for him.

As for the even stronger "Dragon King" and "Crimson Flame," Scorpion has yet to meet them, and he even doubts whether these two people actually exist in the organization.

Could it be that the organization he joined only has a few people in total?

"If I don't betray money, money won't betray me," Kakuzu said to himself. This was his unwavering belief; his only faith was in money.

"We really don't have anything in common."

Scorpion curled his lip.

The two bickered as they walked out of the City of Fire.

At that moment, a group of people walked towards them, each wearing a Konoha headband.

Two of them had the Sarutobi clan crest printed on their clothes; they were none other than Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the eldest son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his youngest son, Asuma Sarutobi.

Sasori and Kakuzu stepped aside and watched the group leave.

"Hmm? The ninjas from Konoha... apart from that brat, the rest are all Jonin. Could something big have happened?" Sasori asked, looking at the backs of the Konoha ninjas.

Kakuzu took out a notebook and a pen, quickly flipping through it while muttering to himself, "Shinnosuke Sarutobi, bounty 2800 million ryo; Asuma Sarutobi, bounty 600 million ryo. Is it because he's the son of the Third Hokage that the price is increased? It seems there's a lot of room for it to rise. I should mark it first."

As he spoke, Kakuzu drew two circles around Sarutobi Asuma's name, and one circle around Sarutobi Shinnosuke's name.

Sasori, having partnered with Kakuzu for some time, had gained some understanding of Kakuzu's actions. Seeing Kakuzu circle Sarutobi Shinnosuke's name, he knew this meant Kakuzu was interested in the bounty on his head, and quickly spoke up:

"Hey! Kakuzu, you wouldn't be eyeing the Third Hokage's son, would you?! I'm already wanted by Sunagakure, and I don't want to be hunted down by the entire Hidden Leaf Village!"

"Don't worry, I won't take action against Konoha's ninjas for the time being. Even if I wanted to, the leader wouldn't agree right now."

Kakuzu calmly put the notebook back into his pocket.

Sasori's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He could tell from Kakuzu's implication that the organization would eventually take action against Konoha. Just who was the leader, daring to challenge Konoha, the strongest of the five great ninja villages?

He is the grandson of Chiyo, the Kazekage advisor of Sunagakure, the son of Akane and Shirasagi, two elite Jonin of Sunagakure, and a student of the Third Kazekage. He is well aware of just how strong Sunagakure is.

Even the powerful Sand Village could not defeat Konoha.

What's even more terrifying is that Konoha fought against the four major ninja villages of Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure simultaneously during the Third Shinobi World War, and ultimately emerged victorious.

What kind of organization did he join that dares to challenge Konoha?

This is insane!

"So many Jonin are heading to the Land of Fire, I wonder if something big has happened? Do you remember the battle that broke out in Konoha a while ago, and the Fourth Hokage was seriously injured and fell into a coma?"

Kakuzu suddenly changed the subject.

"This matter is already common knowledge, and doesn't the organization have its own intelligence network? They know a lot about what's happening in Konoha, so why are you asking me?" Sasori said irritably. "The Third Hokage of Konoha might have been reinstated by sending his two sons to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to gain experience. The Five Great Nations have this tradition of sending their best ninjas to the Daimyo as his personal bodyguards, thereby establishing a friendly relationship with the Daimyo. In the future, they can at least become high-ranking members of the village, or even compete for the position of 'Kage'."

"Okay, let's go." Kakuzu nodded without saying anything more and headed out of the city. Since he couldn't take action against the people of Konoha now, he didn't bother to think about it anymore. He just needed to inform "Kodama" about this matter, and he would naturally find a way to find out the reason and then report to Shiraha.

Kakuzu prefers making money to gathering intelligence.

On the other side, Sarutobi Asuma was walking in the group when he suddenly turned around and glanced back at Kakuzu and Sasori, who were shrouded in black robes.

"Asuma? What's wrong?"

When Sarutobi Shinnosuke saw that his younger brother Asuma had stopped, he also stopped and went up to ask.

Sarutobi Asuma asked suspiciously, "Big brother, those two people look very suspicious, they seem like they're not simple."

"Maybe they're bounty hunters, or wandering ninjas?" Sarutobi Shinnosuke asked. As the vice-captain of the Anbu, he had come into contact with many strong people in the village. Although he didn't have sensory abilities, he still had some sense for ninjas with powerful chakra. Kakuzu and Sasori did seem extraordinary, but he didn't want to investigate further.

“Maybe they’re wanted criminals!?” Sarutobi Asuma asked.

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded and said, "That is indeed possible."

“Then we…” Sarutobi Asuma was somewhat eager to try.

"Asuma, don't meddle in other people's business. Don't forget our mission. There are many powerful ninjas in this world, so we must never be careless," Sarutobi Shinnosuke said solemnly.

"Oh, I understand." Sarutobi Asuma shut his mouth and didn't say anything more. What he hated most was the way the old man and his older brother talked to him like they were lecturing a child. He was already an adult, but he was still not treated like a child. Many of his decisions were taken as jokes.

"Besides the mission, you should stay by the daimyo's side and learn from him. Observe how the daimyo governs this country. Perhaps one day in the future you will also need to shoulder the responsibility of leading your clan, or even..."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's words came to an abrupt end.

"I understand, brother. Why are you like the old man? I volunteered to be the daimyo's protector, it wasn't the old man's decision!" Sarutobi Asuma looked somewhat unconvinced. He didn't want to be burdened with the title of the Third Hokage's son forever. He hoped that in the future, when people saw him, they wouldn't call him "young master" but would call him by his name. Only by breaking away from the old man's protection could he truly become independent.

"Yes, I won't say anything more." Sarutobi Shinnosuke felt a little helpless about his younger brother. He knew about the conflict between Asuma and the old man. Asuma wanted approval too much, which was why he rebelled and seemed more childish.

Although Asuma kept saying he wanted to break free from the old man's protection, the task of guarding the daimyo was an opportunity that most people would fight tooth and nail for. Without the old man's connections, what right did Asuma, a Chunin, have to serve as the daimyo's guard?

Who were the ninjas who previously carried out the mission of protecting the daimyo? They were Konoha's White Fang Sakumo Hatake, one of the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru, and the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze. Only these people had the opportunity to get close to the daimyo.

Although the daimyo of the Land of Fire cannot directly appoint the successor to the Hokage, the daimyo and high-ranking officials have the right to vote and can participate in the election of the Hokage.

After all, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would certainly prefer that the future Hokage be someone he is relatively familiar with, preferably a ninja with whom he has a good relationship, so that future cooperation between the two sides will be smoother.

A long track record of protecting a daimyo is a ticket to the upper echelons of Konoha.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his group were soon received by the daimyo.

Upon learning that Konoha intended to seal the Nine-Tails' chakra at the Fire Temple, located dozens of miles from the Fire Capital, some high-ranking officials immediately and strongly objected, stating that such a dangerous entity should not be sealed under their beds.

However, after Sarutobi Shinnosuke's repeated assurances, and after seeing the letter from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and after taking a series of measures such as leaving his youngest son, Sarutobi Asuma, in the Land of Fire as a guard, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire immediately made the decision to seal the Nine-Tails' chakra in the Fire Temple.

......

In the Land of Whirlpools, in the territory of the Uzumaki clan, Bai Yu sat in Kushina's office, handling government affairs for her. After all, she had been pregnant for a year and a half and had gone through a difficult childbirth, so Bai Yu gave her a long leave, and even the baby was being taken care of by Kurama.

Bang!

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke rose from the middle of the office, and a small white snake, about the size of a palm, appeared.

Bai Yu paused slightly, put down his pen, and reached out his hand towards the little white snake.

The little white snake leaped up and landed in Bai Yu's palm, bowing its head respectfully: "Lord Bai Yu."

Then, the little white snake spat out a scroll from its mouth.

Bai Yu took the scroll, opened it, and smiled, "Konoha actually transferred the Nine-Tails' chakra to the Fire Temple? Interesting."

Through the perspective of Uchiha Issei, the incarnation of Kodama, Bai Yu sensed the terrifying Nine-Tails chakra within Kinkaku and Ginkaku. It seems that the rumors that the two consumed the Nine-Tails' chakra and flesh were true. The combat power that these pseudo-Nine-Tails Jinchuriki could unleash was also quite astonishing.

"Creating a pseudo Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would consume a lot of Nine-Tails chakra. Since Konoha has one ready-made, there's no need to use Kushina's own."

Bai Yu suddenly had an idea. As his and Kushina's descendants, Taiyi and Guangzi's physiques might be able to adapt to the Nine-Tails' chakra, and they could use the Fire Temple's chakra in the future. However, Konoha's Nine-Tails' chakra would be a key part of his plan in the future, so he did not plan to touch it at the moment.

boom--!

Just as Bai Yu was pondering his next plan, a tremendous explosion suddenly erupted outside the building.

"What happened?!" Bai Yu's expression changed slightly. He leaned out of the window and saw that a small hill in the distance had been flattened. He quickly activated his senses.

In today's ninja world, there are still people who dare to defy the powerful and launch an attack on the Uzumaki clan?

After Kushina finished giving birth, her combat power had fully recovered. Not to mention that Bai Yu had already moved from the spiritual energy vaporization stage of a first-level "Summoner" to the liquefaction stage. Even without Kushina's intervention, he could fight against a peak Kage-level expert on his own.

Just as Bai Yu began to mobilize his magic and chakra, he suddenly sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra.

At this moment, Kurama connected with Shiraha through chakra, and Kushina's voice came through: "Kurama, what's wrong? Has an enemy invaded?!"

"No, it's just that I accidentally accumulated too much chakra," Kurama said, sounding unsure of himself.

"Do you know what you've done? Didn't I tell you to take care of the children? Where are Taichi and Mitsuko?" Just from Kushina's voice, Shiraha could guess that she was furious, and her red hair was fluttering in the wind.

"Taiichi and Mitsuko are right next to me... Taiichi said I was bragging, so I just made a small Tailed Beast Ball..." Kurama chuckled sheepishly, then said seriously, "I swear, I really only used a tiny bit of chakra. Who knew it would have this kind of power? It's really not my fault..."

"You come back here right now!"

Kushina roared.

Nine-Tails: "Yes~"

10132338

[Chapter 164. The Promise (Large Cup Bonus Chapter 2)]

Time flies, and two years have passed quietly.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the 51st year of Konoha.