Warlock Invasion of Naruto.

Bai Yu used his chakra scalpel to swiftly strike the white creature, instantly stopping its struggle.

However, in Bai Yu's perception, the energy field of this white creature was still very active.

"What is this thing? It looks like a human, but why does its energy field resemble that of a plant? I can't even detect it without actively activating my 'sixth sense' to enhance my perception."

Bai Yu's mind raced.

"Looks like you're not so simple after all!" Bai Yu glanced at the little white snake coiled on his shoulder. He had thought it was just an ordinary snake spirit beast with a pitifully weak energy field, but he hadn't expected it to be so perceptive.

"Something's fishy here, we'd better leave!"

Bai Yu used a sealing scroll to store the white creature's corpse and quickly left the forest with the little white snake.

......

Just a few miles from the forest where Bai Yu left, there is a naturally formed cave.

It's hard to imagine that there's a hidden world right below the cave.

Tick-tock...

Tick-tock...

Tick-tock...

The sound of dripping water echoed in the dark and damp underground space.

An elderly man with gray hair sat on a stone throne, and a sickle-shaped weapon leaned against the wall next to the throne.

Given the old man's current appearance, one would probably associate him with the Grim Reaper from hell at first glance.

"Hey! Ban! Guess what interesting thing I found out outside?! You'd never guess!" A somewhat boisterous voice rang out, completely shattering the previously eerie and tranquil atmosphere.

A humanoid creature, entirely white, emerged from the ground and approached the old man named "Ban," seemingly hoping to see his curious expression.

However, the old man didn't even lift his eyelids, and just sat quietly on the stone seat.

"Ugh, this is so boring!" the white creature couldn't help but complain.

At this moment, the old man slowly opened his eyes and said indifferently, "Afei, what have you discovered?"

"I've spotted an interesting ninja these past few days. He's been searching for something nearby, like some kind of grass. So I sent a clone to eat all the interesting-looking grass in the area beforehand—it was awful! By the way, I think I've lost my sense of taste, unless…"

Ah Fei kept rambling on, and the topic kept veering off course.

"Get to the point," Ban said calmly.

“Just now! My clone was observing him at close range, hiding less than a meter from his feet, but he discovered me. By the time I got there, he had already killed the clone, and he collected the body before it even hit the ground,” Afei explained.

"Oh? You've been discovered?" Madara raised an eyebrow, his tone somewhat surprised.

He was fully aware of White Zetsu's abilities.

As a special life form cultivated using Hashirama cells, White Zetsu's body can use the 'Mayfly Technique,' perfectly merging with the earth.

The speed at which White Zetsu moves underground is in no way inferior to the speed at which a ninja runs at full speed on the surface.

Most importantly, White Zetsu's chakra reaction was extremely weak.

To sense a White Zetsu, one needs extremely strong sensory abilities, or the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.

Even so, when a single White Zetsu is integrated with the earth and remains still, it is very difficult to be observed by sensory abilities and the Byakugan.

"What should I do? Should I go and snatch the clone back?!" Afei seemed eager to try.

"Ignore him. Be careful in the future and don't expose yourself again." Madara did not allow the White Zetsu to leave.

Afei was a little disappointed: "Okay, what a pity, I wanted to play with him a little longer! What about my mission?"

"After the Fourth Shinobi World War ends, you can slowly look for candidates. The Uchiha ninjas will not disappoint me."

Ban said calmly, then closed his eyes again.

Ah Fei left the underground space dejectedly.

The entire space seemed to grow even darker.

Behind the stone seat, there seemed to be a huge shadow, the nature of which was unknown. Only something resembling a conduit could be seen extending from the darkness, connecting to the back of Ban's head and back.

It's hard to believe, but Madara Uchiha, who fought the legendary battle against Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, at the Valley of the End more than 20 years ago and was thought to be dead by the outside world, is still alive today.

However, he is now over seventy years old and has lost the aura that once dominated the Warring States period and intimidated the ninja world.

Now, Ban is just an old man clinging to life, waiting for death.

......

Bai Yu arrived at a small town not far from Kusagakure and met up with Uchiha Chiho and Hyuga Hideto.

Then, the three of them headed to the front-line camp together.

When Bai Yu returned to the camp, he clearly sensed that something was wrong.

When he saw Orochimaru in the tent, his expression was very bad.

Upon inquiry, it was discovered that the village's delegations sent to Sunagakure and Iwagakure had been attacked.

The delegation sent by the village to Iwagakure consisted of six Jonin, led by Tsunade. After finalizing the details of the alliance, they were attacked by two groups of ninja on their return journey.

The team's elite Jonin, Kato Dan, and two other Jonin were killed in action.

Jonin are high-level combatants, and Kato Dan, as an elite Jonin, learned the Spirit Transformation Technique developed by the Second Hokage.

The Spirit Transformation Technique is an S-rank soul ninjutsu that allows the soul to leave the body. It separates one's spirit from the body, transforming it into a spirit that can travel across distances and possess an enemy, causing the enemy's spirit to collapse from within and die.

With his Spirit Transformation Technique, Kato Dan's strength was second only to the Sannin and White Fang in Konoha.

On the other side, the four-man Konoha team heading to Sunagakure was also wiped out, along with the five ninjas from Sunagakure who came to welcome the delegation.

The loss of seven Jonin to Konoha was not a crippling blow, but it was still a significant loss.

The key point is that they did not die fighting the enemy in the war, but were ambushed and killed by the enemy when Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure were preparing to form an alliance.

Immediately, the ninjas on the front lines were filled with righteous indignation, demanding an explanation from Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

However, Sunagakure and Iwagakure are playing a game of cat and mouse with Konoha.

Sunagakure claims that Iwagakure is behind this and demands an explanation from the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

Onoki stated that Iwagakure was unaware of this.

The Third Kazekage wrote to the Third Hokage, requesting to join forces with Konoha to demand an explanation from Iwagakure.

The Third Tsuchikage took a tough stance, stating that he was not afraid of a battle.

"Orochimaru-sensei, what does that village mean...?" Bai Yu already had a guess in his mind.

"The Third Hokage wants me to lead the army back to the village after I have completed the defense deployment on the border." Orochimaru looked tired.

"Sunagakure and Iwagakure are weakening the village's power as much as possible in preparation for the next war."

Bai Yu frowned deeply.

“You and I both understand this, and the higher-ups know it too, but what they want is to end the war immediately. That’s an order! We can only obey. Tell Chiho and Eito to prepare, and they’ll come back with me soon.” Orochimaru revealed a deep weariness; he loathed war, but he loathed politics even more.

Life is so fragile.

Even the most elite Jonin in a village can die in an instant.

They died for peace, becoming a cold name on a memorial, and heroes in people's mouths.

Even if it only brings a false and temporary peace.

"I understand, I'll go prepare right away."

Bai Yu nodded, rarely seeing Orochimaru display such an obvious emotional reaction.

10132234

[Chapter 60. In Search of Eternity!]

Sunagakure Village.

Fengying's office.

A middle-aged man is looking down at the village, which is shrouded in sandstorms, through the glass.

This person is none other than the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history.

Under his leadership, Sunagakure has undergone more than a decade of development, resulting in a significant improvement in its overall strength.

This is also a key reason why Sunagakure was able to challenge Konoha, the dominant force in the ninja world, during the Third Shinobi World War.

If the roles were reversed, and he were the Third Hokage with the superior innate conditions of Konoha, he might even dare to launch a war to unify the ninja world!

Bang!

The office door was pushed open forcefully, and a woman in her forties, still quite attractive, stormed in aggressively.

As soon as she entered the office, she demanded, "Third Hokage, what are you really thinking? Do you really intend to negotiate peace with Konoha?!"

"Chiyo, I knew you would come." The Third Kazekage said with a hint of helplessness.

Chiyo was the only one who would barge into his office without knocking and speak to him like that.

Chiyo nurtured a large number of puppeteers for Sunagakure, and the Third Kazekage held her in high esteem.

"I originally intended to provoke Konoha by forming an alliance, and then attack Konoha together with Onoki. I didn't expect the Third Hokage to tolerate even this! Now I can only go with the flow and form an alliance with Konoha for the time being." The Third Kazekage explained in response to Chiyo's questioning.

"So you're really going to call a truce?! What about the feud between Chiyou and Baisha? How am I supposed to explain this to that kid, Scorpion?!"

Chiyo said angrily.

The Third Kazekage sighed: "There's nothing we can do. Our people were also attacked. I suspect it was that old man, Onoki, who did it."

"With Iwagakure wavering, we have no chance of winning if we continue fighting Konoha. We can only cease hostilities for now and make further plans after we've recovered our strength!"

“Now that the war has ended, Konoha can also recover its strength. Can Sunagakure compete with Konoha in terms of resources?” Chiyo understood the Third Kazekage’s predicament, but she was still unwilling to accept it. Her son and daughter-in-law had died tragically at the hands of Konoha, and their bodies had been taken away. They were probably already lying on Konoha’s autopsy table. Her heart was bleeding.

"In terms of resources, we may not be able to beat Konoha, but next time, we can bring in Kumogakure and Kirigakure together. We refuse to believe that Konoha can withstand the combined might of all four of our villages!"

The unwavering path of the Third Kazekage.

"I hope you're not lying to me," Chiyo said with an unfriendly expression, then turned and left.

"and many more!"