Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

Chapter 152 Sage Art: Susanoo

In late February of Konoha Year 51, the Blood Mist policy of the neighboring Hidden Mist Village continued to escalate, resulting in constant killings. The Fourth Mizukage did not impose any restrictions, and defectors had already appeared among the Hidden Mist ninja.

Although Konoha did not gather complete information, most Konoha ninjas felt incredibly fortunate in comparison!

Compared to the Fourth Mizukage, the Fourth Hokage was far superior.

Leaving aside individual abilities, the difference in village governance between the two sides is quite obvious.

After the new Mizukage took office, the funding from the Land of Water did not change, and the village was barely able to maintain basic operations.

After the Fourth Hokage took over, the Land of Fire not only increased its budget for the second half of the year, but the village's revenue also increased.

The excellent medical system is working hard, and although most ninjas are still unable to engage in production, the availability of special medicines and herbs is enough to support some welfare policies.

The annual visit by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is approaching again, and the Konoha ninja are eagerly anticipating it.

If nothing unexpected happens, the budget for the new year will increase, and life as a ninja will only get better in the future.

-

Thanks to the merchants' promotion, news about Konoha Village spread very quickly.

The ninjas of Amegakure naturally heard the news, but unlike in previous years, this time the Amegakure ninjas didn't need to be envious, because they also had an "angel".

After Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, completed the reforms, the Angel took over most of the village's power.

Recently, the number of commissioned missions has increased, all thanks to the negotiations between the Angel and Kirigakure. With the Konoha ninja maintaining "high-pressure rule," these commissions are a lifeline for many ninjas.

Although the village's strength has been reduced, most of the Rain Village ninjas choose to carry out their missions honestly as long as they can live in peace.

In just one month, the turbulent Amegakure was completely pacified, and the reputation of the angel resounded throughout the Land of Rain. The Amegakure ninjas also had their own wise leader!

On a rare sunny day, Konan leaned on the railing of the central tower in Amegakure Village, quietly overlooking the entire village.

After returning to Amegakure, the girl rarely wore the Akatsuki's black coat anymore. Perhaps because she stopped killing, she regained her calm and gentle personality.

Konan is becoming increasingly efficient in handling affairs, and under her leadership, Amegakure seems to be showing signs of resurgence.

Nagato was greatly pleased with his friend's transformation. This was the gentle and kind Minami he remembered, and his decision to bear the darkness was absolutely right!

"Konan, did you see the technique that Madara Uchiha used?"

"It's an incredible power. No wonder he's confident in attacking Konoha. We need to be extra careful."

Nagato walked to his friend's side and whispered a reminder. Konan initially agreed, then added in a low voice:

"The timing of that intangibility ninjutsu is still uncertain. Many of the opponents we've witnessed so far have lost control of their bodies immediately."

"Without sustained attacks, it's difficult to judge the duration of the invisibility."

"What's even more terrifying is that technique called Susanoo. I can't think of any good way to break through the opponent's defense."

The two were secretly recording Madara Uchiha's abilities. Even now, neither of them believed the other's identity, nor did they believe the so-called "reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths".

Intelligence is extremely important; often, crucial intelligence can determine the life or death of a ninja. The main reason Nagato was wary of Uchiha Madara was because the latter possessed most of his abilities.

Nagato felt that Madara Uchiha must have left some means to prevent him from using the Six Paths Techniques, as almost all of them were taught to him by Madara. This feeling of having crucial information controlled by someone else was extremely unpleasant.

"A sustained attack?"

"Fortunately, the Rinnegan can also absorb his ninjutsu, so Madara Uchiha is probably intentionally avoiding fighting us."

"He seems to be more concerned with the Golem. As long as I still have the ability to use the Golem, he can only serve us."

A strange light flashed in Nagato Rinne's eyes. Controlling the Gedo Mazo had almost become his trump card, and even that mysterious guy had to compromise with him on certain issues.

Xiao Nan noticed this as well, but when she thought of that enormous blue giant, she couldn't help but frown again.

Nagato's Preta Path ability can absorb the opponent's chakra, but there is a limit to its power. Madara Uchiha's proactive display of it clearly indicates that the opponent has a way to counter it.

"Nagato, be careful! That guy seems to crave your eyes!"

"Although he was wearing a mask, I have observed carefully that his true purpose was the Rinnegan and the Gedo Mazo."

Upon hearing his friend's reminder, Nagato nodded solemnly. This was also the reason why he planned to use a puppet to go to Konoha with his friend. If he were killed and his eyes were taken, his friend and the Land of Rain would be completely finished.

After a month of comprehensive modifications, the puppet's combat power has greatly increased. Although it no longer looks human, Nagato still praises his friend:

"Thank you, Xiao Nan. These puppets will protect me."

"Your talent was indeed buried in the past. If you had been born in a great power, you might have had the chance to become a shadow!"

"I'll leave the affairs of Amegakure to you for the next few months. I'll make one last effort."

Thinking of those puppets that had been modified into bizarre shapes, Xiao Nan was slightly taken aback. She didn't know what was wrong with her; once she took on this kind of work, all sorts of inspirations kept popping into her mind.

Fortunately, Nagato was quite satisfied with the "non-human" puppets, so Konan stopped thinking about it in detail.

"What do you think about us secretly taking control of the Land of Rivers?"

"Although the Land of Rivers also has ninjas, their strength is very weak. We can take control of the river mouth ourselves."

"Once Kirigakure is stabilized again, we can open up trade routes with the Land of Water and strengthen maritime trade."

After Konan finished speaking, she paused for a moment, and Nagato's cold expression vanished, as if he had returned to the quiet and gentle boy he once was, looking puzzled as he rubbed his forehead.

"You can decide!"

“If needed, I can secretly help you control the Land of Rivers during this period.”

"I'm not very clear about these matters, Konan. Go ahead and try. Amegakure won't get any worse. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Nagato gave an affirmative answer, and at the end, a smile appeared on his face. He was happy that his friend had gotten rid of the shadows of the past.

When Xiao Nan was the only one left in the room, the girl stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself in a daze.

I just celebrated my 18th birthday a few days ago. With sufficient nutrition, my figure is much better than before, and I don't even know when the original scars disappeared.

Looking at herself, who seemed somewhat unfamiliar, Konan stretched out her pale hands. These hands were not what one would expect from a seasoned ninja:

"What...what happened to me?"

Furukawa Osamu's spirit was also examining this body. Despite his intention to control it, the effect of the Sage Chakra he converted after learning Ryuchi Cave Sage Technique was still too good.

The life energy nourished the cells, allowing the girl to unknowingly repair minor bodily problems. The more frequently she used the secret technique, the faster the erosion occurred.

With a thought from Furukawa Shu's spirit body, Konan stopped worrying about her body and began to think about the future development of Amegakure by looking at the map on the wall.

The girl suddenly had an idea: in the future, the Land of Rain, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Water would merge into one, and this place would become her new home.

-

The changes in Amegakure were naturally noticed by the Konoha ninja. After the news reached Konoha, Tsunade summoned several of her old advisors, which was quite unusual.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado have been focusing on the movements in the Uchiha clan's territory. Danzo has disappeared, and they need to continue the will of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Upon hearing about the changes in Amegakure, the two remained silent for a long time, feeling somewhat uncomfortable as they hadn't dealt with such matters in a while.

"I didn't expect them to have this kind of relationship with the Land of Water. If it's just some requests, the impact won't be too great."

Hiruzen Sarutobi responded, pipe in hand, straining to recall information from both countries, before adding in a low voice:

"The internal strife in Amegakure has resulted in the deaths and injuries of more than half of the village's Jonin. Although no one has defected, it will take a long time to recover to the pre-war state."

"As long as we continue to develop steadily, the gap will only widen. Tsunade, just maintain the status quo."

The ANBU ninjas have more important tasks at the moment, and their direct ANBU members are all tied up. Protecting the Jinchuriki and the village is the top priority.

“Hiruzen is right. It’s just a small country. We can ask Sunagakure to send more people.”

"As an ally, the Sand Village ninjas can contribute in this regard."

Koharu, squinting, offered her suggestion, to which Mitokado Homura agreed and added a few words of simple agreement:

"It can also allow the Sand Village ninjas to sabotage the relationship between the two sides. As long as there are problems with the entrusted mission, Amegakure will inevitably experience internal strife sooner or later."

"As for that 'angel,' we can continue to have intelligence personnel gather information and resolve this problem when necessary."

In the end, Mitokado Homura almost said, "We can leave the trouble to the Root ninjas," but after being elbowed by his old friend, he changed the subject.

The three veteran advisors all felt that Amegakure was not a big problem, and Tsunade suppressed her inexplicable sense of crisis and smiled to show her approval.

After the meeting ended near noon, Tsunade saw the three off and then went to the window with her arms crossed.

Osamu Furukawa replaced Minato Namikaze on an S-rank mission. During this time, she missed him a bit. Without her disciple's company, she found handling government affairs particularly boring.

"Tsunade-sensei, lunch is ready!"

"TunTun, where have you been hiding again?!"

A quiet, energetic voice appeared, placed the bento box on the table, and then caught a little pig in the corner.

"What a coward! He always hides whenever he's with me."

"It's the same at home; they just hide behind Xiu..."

Tsunade was speaking when she immediately picked up the bento box to cover it up, almost revealing that her disciple often lived with her.

Fortunately, the girl didn't notice anything amiss. She giggled and rubbed the teacher's soft head, and seeing the teacher engrossed in eating her lunch, she happily exclaimed:

"The little guy must have sensed the teacher's power!"

"Although Xiu is very capable, he is a gentle person, as Tun-Tun knows!"

Tsunade almost choked on her own words. Just by judging the Sage Chakra, she knew that Furukawa Osamu had surpassed everyone in the village.

As for gentleness, it is quite fitting. Tsunade sometimes falls asleep from exhaustion after training, and her disciple has indeed taken good care of her without overstepping any boundaries.

Unaware of her teacher's thoughts, Jingyin, holding the little pig, said expectantly:

"After this S-rank mission is over, Xiu should be able to rest for a week!"

"The cherry blossoms are in bloom right now, maybe we can go on a trip together..."

The girl shared all her hopes and dreams with her teacher, and Tsunade felt inexplicably guilty. She felt she had taken up too much of Furukawa Osamu's time, but seeing the documents on either side, she comforted herself.

"It's all part of the job. As the Hokage, there's nothing I can do about it."

-

Late at night, in the capital city of the Frost Country, where the daimyo resided, the rebellious ninjas lay dead in pools of blood. The daimyo's residence was unusually quiet. Furukawa Osamu slowly walked alone toward the room of the owner of the place.

The daimyo, bound by two ninjas, whimpered. The young Kumogakure ninja glared at the "fat pig" before him and muttered angrily.

"Why would it be him carrying out the mission?"

"What message did that damned fat pig send to the Konoha ninja?"

The stench of blood grew stronger. The dark-skinned middle-aged ninja tried to control his emotions, but his hand holding the kunai still trembled with fear.

"Let's abandon the mission!"

"Lord Raikage won't blame us, and killing this fat pig now won't do any good."

The middle-aged ninja survived the battlefield. He was fast enough to escape with his life, but his good days didn't last two years before he inexplicably encountered Osamu Furukawa.

In the courtyard outside the room, Furukawa Osamu pushed open the door, and kunai with explosive tags attached to the wall immediately shot towards him.

"boom!"

After a loud bang, Furukawa Shuichi waved his hand, and the deep purple bones around his body grew again. Suddenly, the giant skeletal hand punched out, and the wooden door in front of him and the pillars on both sides shattered instantly.

With a loud bang, two figures sped out, not even glancing at Furukawa Osamu, and fled frantically in different directions.

When the two noticed that Furukawa Osamu hadn't moved, they instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, assuming that he had given up on chasing them.

As the Cloud Village ninja jumped onto the ground to accelerate again, spikes suddenly appeared on the smooth stone ground.

"what..."

The middle-aged, dark-skinned ninja was pierced through the body on the spot, letting out a scream before falling silent.

Another young ninja reacted quickly enough to barely dodge the spike attack, but as he twisted his body and landed back on the ground, he suddenly realized the ground was sinking, and he couldn't get any leverage. He instinctively shouted:

"No!"

In the sunken ground, a rock suddenly turned into a spike, piercing through the young ninja's body. He hung on it and died instantly, never understanding what had happened until the very end.

The daimyo of the Frost Country was buried under collapsed houses and pulled out by a deep purple skeletal hand; he was on the verge of death.

Furukawa Osamu sighed and had to convert some more Sage Chakra. Soon, a deep green light appeared in his deep purple hand, and the fat daimyo of the Land of Frost was healed by more than half.

"cough..."

After coughing up a mouthful of blood, the obese daimyo finally came to his senses. Ignoring the collapsed house, he looked at Furukawa Osamu, who was playing with a small silver snake, and immediately crawled over, shouting with delight:

"Is that Furukawa-kun?!"