I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

The intelligence was simple: Iwagakure wanted to sow discord between Konoha and the surrounding small ninja villages in order to undermine Konoha's defense system. He had obtained similar intelligence countless times over the years.

Clearing his mind of distractions, Jiraiya headed towards the town where Tsunade was.

So what if he loses face in front of Tsunade? He's lost face countless times over the years after his confessions were rejected. Even if he fails this time, it won't matter. He'll just try again next time.

However, if Tsunade agrees to become his ally, he can force the old man to step down and change the village's terrible situation.

Even if he bears the infamy of disobeying his teacher, he doesn't care. As one of the three legendary Sannin of Konoha, he will eliminate any enemy that hinders the development of Konoha, whether the other party is an enemy or the Hokage.

Chapter 169 Grass Village

Inside Ryuchi Cave, Naruto is battling the giant snake, Shinja.

For Naruto, mastering Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation Technique is not a difficult task. As long as he can extract a large amount of Sage Chakra, even a Jonin can easily control it.

Looking at the giant snake Shinja fighting the earth in the distance, Naruto conjured spikes on the ground, intending to surround Shinja and end the battle with the summoned beast.

Just then, the giant serpent Xinya leaped high into the air, spraying out purple corrosive acid from its mouth.

When the acid touched the ground, the condensed earth spikes retracted one by one, abandoning their advance on the giant serpent, Sinya.

Seeing this, Naruto smiled helplessly. Although the Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation Technique gave life to inorganic things, it also awakened their biological instincts to avoid danger and caused them to avoid attacks that might harm them.

It's unclear whether this characteristic is good or bad.

Thinking of this, Naruto forcibly commanded the inorganic matter to attack the giant snake, Shinja, and quickly trapped Shinja in the soil, with only its head sticking out.

Xin Ya wasn't annoyed and started playing in the soil.

After finishing his battle with Orochi Shinja, Naruto deactivated Sage Mode and looked towards the entrance of Ryuchi Cave.

Calculating the time, he had stayed in Dragon Cave for about two months, far exceeding his agreement with the old clan leader. However, since the impure body and the caster had a telepathic connection, there was no need to worry about any major problems arising from it.

He gained a lot from this trip to Ryūchi-dō.

Not only did he learn the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode, but Kurama also mastered the ability to refine chakra. He also obtained Sage Techniques and some information about the Pure Land from the White Snake Sage.

Now, it's time to leave Ryuchi Cave and return to the ninja world.

Thinking of this, Naruto called over Mizuki and said to her, "Mizuki, tell the White Snake Sage that I'm leaving Ryuchi Cave."

Mizuki nodded and said, "The White Snake Sage has gone into seclusion, but before she went into seclusion, she asked me to tell Lord Menma that Lord Menma can leave Ryuchi Cave at any time."

Naruto naturally didn't believe the news that the White Snake Sage was in seclusion. He figured the sage was just worried that he would ask about the secrets of the ninja world again, so he simply used the excuse of seclusion to hide away.

These sacred sites and their revered elders are all the same; the more they know, the more they avoid them.

It's unclear whether they're guarding against the Sage of Six Paths or other powerful figures lurking in the ninja world.

Without further thought, Naruto headed towards the entrance of Ryuchi Cave. After walking along the passage for half an hour, he finally saw a faint light outside the cave.

After entering the cave, Naruto squinted and looked into the distance.

The scenery in the distance was completely different from what they had seen before entering Ryuchi Cave; it was clearly another place. This confirmed Naruto's guess that Ryuchi Cave was a small world independent of the ninja world.

After his eyes adjusted to the glaring sunlight, Naruto didn't rush on his way, but instead sat cross-legged in the shade of a tree.

Unlike sacred training grounds like Ryuchi Cave, the concentration of natural energy in the Ninja World is significantly lower, which greatly reduces the speed at which both the absorption of natural energy and the refinement of Sage Chakra can be achieved.

A few minutes later, Naruto successfully extracted Sage Chakra and unleashed a Wind Release ninjutsu enhanced by Sage Mode.

The Wind Release technique was only so-so, stopping after cutting down only a few dozen large trees.

However, this result was within Naruto's expectations. After all, the difference in natural energy concentration between the Ninja World and Ryuchi Cave is more than tenfold. Unless the Shadow Clones continuously provide Sage Chakra, the activation speed and endurance will be greatly reduced.

As for using the power of the Nine-Tails, that naturally allows for instantaneous opening.

The Nine-Tails can even mobilize all the natural energy in the surrounding land, and activating the Fox Sasuke is no problem for it.

However, his goal is to still possess strength surpassing the Five Kage even after he is free from the Nine-Tails' help, so he still needs to continue working hard.

After finishing his training, Naruto used his transformation jutsu to stop a passerby.

According to the passersby, this place is no longer within the Land of Stone, but has entered the Land of Grass. The famous small ninja village of Kusagakure is just over ten kilometers away.

Naruto from the Land of Grass is no stranger to us.

This is a small country with a glorious past. At its peak, it almost ruled the entire ninja world. However, the current Grass Country is just a small country struggling to survive, with the surrounding great powers eyeing it covetously.

If it weren't for its location at the site of three major conflicts, and the fact that a great power needed a buffer zone, it would probably have disappeared in the Fourth Shinobi World War long ago.

The situation in Kusagakure was even worse. Due to the low quality and reputation of its ninjas, Kusagakure ninjas could only accept commissions at extremely low prices in order to compete with the ninjas from the major powers.

However, accepting orders at extremely low prices does come at a cost.

Although the profession of ninja is high-paying, medical care and weapons require a lot of money to purchase. In particular, medical care often makes ninjas unable to make ends meet, and most ninjas can only barely make ends meet.

The cost of medical care for Kusagakure was transferred to others, namely the descendants of the Uzumaki who lived within the village.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Naruto headed towards Kusagakure and soon arrived at the border of the village, looking down at the village below.

Unlike ninja villages like Konoha and Kirigakure, which are called villages but are actually as large as towns.

Grass Village is a village in the true sense of the word. Not only are there fewer ninjas than in the great ninja villages, but the buildings are also sparse, with only a few scattered high-rise buildings.

Walking down the street, Naruto was quickly stopped by the Grass Ninja, but after revealing his noble status, the Grass Ninja became even more respectful, since the Grass Village's main business was serving nobles and merchants.

After being led around by the Grass Ninja, Naruto bought a lot of local handicrafts and then went to the mission center.

This four-story building is almost the tallest building besides the Kusakabe Building, and it also represents Kusakabe's service-oriented attitude.

Standing inside the mission center, Naruto activated Kagura's Mind's Eye, expanding his perception range to the entire Kusagakure area.

Soon, Naruto noticed several unusual things, a meaningful smile appeared on his face, and he then shut down his sensory abilities.

Naruto had anticipated that many other ninjas were active within the Hidden Grass Village.

Apart from the five great ninja villages and Amegakure and Uzumaki, it would be difficult for the other ninja villages not to be infiltrated. However, what he cared about was not these spies, but the large number of White Zetsu active underground.

Although White Zetsu are distributed throughout the ninja world, they can be said to be everywhere.

However, this number of White Zetsu is clearly suspicious, indicating that the Akatsuki organization intends to take action against Kusagakure. Kusagakure has neither tailed beasts nor rogue ninjas worth recruiting, so it is not worth the Akatsuki's attention.

The only possibility is that Nagato listened to his advice and began to look for another path besides the Tailed Beasts Project.

Chapter 170 Karin Uzumaki

Inside the Kusakaku Village Hospital.

"Hurry up, hurry up! My arm is almost broken! Let me cut in line, I need immediate treatment..."

"Why should I let you cut in line? I'm injured too, and even more seriously than you are."

"Hmph, your injuries can heal at home in ten days or so. There's no need to come here for treatment."

"What's it to you? If I don't fulfill the commission for more than ten days, are you going to make up for the money I missed during that time?"

"I'm doing this for the future of Kusagakure. What if that woman dies like his mother? Who will treat me then?"

"We'll deal with the future later. The higher-ups won't treat us unfairly."

The injured ninja were chatting in line in the corridor.

Unlike other ninja villages that require medical ninjas to perform surgery, the treatment method in Kusagakure is very simple: just bite a blood pack and you can recover.

This blood pack belongs to Karin Uzumaki, a descendant of the Uzumaki clan.

Karin was already used to the injured person's cursing and arguing.

He stretched out his arm expressionlessly, allowing the wounded grass ninja to treat themselves. The wounds healed at a visible rate, at the cost of his own life force.

After the treatment ended, Karin coldly dismissed them, then closed the door to the medical room and stared blankly at the photograph on her desk.

Her coldness in public is just a facade; once the facade is removed, she's nothing more than a helpless little girl.

But living in this small ninja village, a place of three wars, if she didn't act tough, the treatment would only intensify. At least her indifference had earned her a private medical room.

While Karin was grieving alone, Naruto was observing this strong little girl from the corner.

Unlike the infatuated Karin he remembered, the current Karin is clearly much stronger, but he doesn't know whether infatuation or strength is Karin's true nature.

Sensing Karin's chakra, Kurama couldn't help but say, "Naruto, you lied to me and said you came to Uzushio Village for tourism, but you actually came for this little girl, didn't you? Her chakra is very similar to yours."

Naruto nodded: "I really came here for tourism. Meeting my clansmen was just an accident. However, judging from the number of White Zetsu underground, it seems that the Akatsuki organization has designs on this village."

Kurama didn't believe Naruto's nonsense at all, and continued, "But I'm more curious, why didn't you just take this child away? Why did you just watch her life force being devoured by those people? Isn't the Land of Whirlpools short of talent?"

Naruto didn't speak, but just quietly gazed at Karin not far away.

Karin's situation was tragic. Not only was her mother a remnant of the Uzumaki clan, but her father was also a complete unknown. She herself was subjected to inhuman treatment and was used as a medical tool, forced to watch helplessly as her life force ebbed away.

However, there are many, many people in the ninja world who have tragic fates, and even more in small countries.

Although Karin is his clansman, this alone is enough for him to save Karin. As for her future growth and development, we'll have to wait and see how he develops her.

After crying silently for a while, Karin wiped away her tears and took out medical books from the drawer.

Although she hates the ninjas of Kusagakure and hates being used as a medical tool, her existence in Kusagakure as a student of the Ninja Academy is a deal between her mother and the higher-ups in Kusagakure.

She would not let her mother down, nor did she want to miss the opportunity to gain power.

Although Kusagakure forbids her from using combat-related ninjutsu, medical ninjutsu can also kill. As long as she fully masters medical ninjutsu, she can still have the power to protect herself.

dong dong dong.

Not long after, the door to the medical room was violently pushed open.

Karin's expression returned to its indifferent state as she looked at the Grass Village ninja who had come to treat her illness. However, upon seeing the appearance of this Grass Village ninja, Karin couldn't help but frown.

This person is a high-ranking member of Kusagakure, a ninja who rose to power through nepotism.

Despite his lack of strength, he was responsible for dealing with the ninjas within the Grass Village and was one of the most hated people by the Grass Village.

While Karin was observing the Grass Ninja, this Grass Ninja was also observing Karin. He had received orders from his leader to secretly take Karin Uzumaki away.

Their previous exploitation of Karin was based on the premise that the Uzumaki clan had been wiped out.

However, in recent months, news about Uzushio Village has been circulating one after another. Regardless of whether the news is true or not, Kusagakure has to consider the attitude of Uzushio Village.

Upon hearing that the leader of Uzushio Village possessed the strength of one of the Five Kage, the higher-ups adopted a policy of courting Karin. At the very least, they aimed to prevent Karin from developing hostile feelings towards Uzushio Village, and perhaps even gain their favor.

However, after a series of actions, the higher-ups realized that Kusagakure could no longer leave Karin Uzumaki.

The Uzumaki clan's medical abilities are like poison. Once this inexpensive medical method is lost, Kusagakure's strategy of accepting low-priced requests will collapse, and the village's reputation will plummet.