Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

"If something happens to you here, I don't want to stay here. The island is surrounded by nasty seawater..."

The Nine-Tails curled up in a ball, squinted, and whispered a reminder, but Furukawa Osamu didn't take it seriously. He continued to concentrate his chakra in his eyes, observed the surrounding environment, and quickly found a place to stand.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the roar of the waterfall could be heard, the monotonous and heavy sound of the water seemed to be impacting one's mind.

Furukawa Osamu's spirit arrived at the familiar spot in his memory, decisively sat cross-legged on the grass, and casually responded while concentrating his mind:

"This mere trial of 'inner demons' will not cause any surprises with my 'heart yearning for the Dao'!"

"?"

The nine-tailed fox inside the sealed space was full of questions. It understood the words, but didn't know what they meant when put together.

Furukawa Osamu, however, was too lazy to explain. He gradually cleared his mind, and a mysterious force began to draw his spirit in.

"Interesting! It can actually channel the power within spirits!"

The night suddenly turned into a clear day. Furukawa Osamu's spirit looked around. At this moment, he could even smell the fresh scent of grass and trees, and he couldn't feel that he was in an illusory space at all.

As the spirit was walking around and observing on the water's surface, another identical spirit, Furukawa Osamu, suddenly appeared in the waterfall.

Unlike the normal state, the spirit that appeared had red eyes and made a "hehehe" laugh as soon as it appeared.

"I'm finally out. Looks like you've had enough of those ninja games too."

Why play along with those brats? Why not confront your desires directly?

"Let me take control of this body..."

The evil spirit appeared and immediately began its verbal attack. Furukawa Osamu ignored its words, circling around and observing it, occasionally revealing a thoughtful expression, which made the evil spirit subconsciously take a step back.

"I am you! Embrace your true self!"

"Kill to your heart's content, mate to your heart's content..."

Furukawa Osamu's spirit eye twitched. Hearing the other party about to describe the beauty of "grassroots heroes," he had to interrupt:

"You are me? Are you sure?"

"Hehehe... You already know the answer in your heart!"

The spirit with glowing red eyes tried to continue its seduction, but Furukawa Osamu showed curiosity again. Focusing his mind, the spirit used the [Gather] function with its right hand, and a wisp of red light appeared:

"Since you are me, it seems you should know what this is."

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? My power, refine it for me!"

The evil spirit, terrified by the red light on his palm, turned and fled. Furukawa Osamu gave a low shout and instantly pounced behind it, his right hand piercing through the evil spirit. The spirit immediately screamed in agony.

"Ah! Stop..."

[Collection] Continued activation; the evil spirit quickly transformed into a pure white sphere of light. Seeing the familiar energy, Furukawa Osamu channeled it into his body and instantly sensed the spirit's transformation:

"It seems even more agile and solid now! It truly is a fine treasure!"

After a sigh, the illusion vanished. The White Zetsu Jinchuriki, who was sitting cross-legged on the grass, opened his eyes. As Sage Chakra erupted from his spirit body, the Nine-Tails within him cried out in surprise:

"What...what did you do? How did you suddenly convert a portion of my chakra?!"

"Is this what they call malice? I've accumulated so much without even realizing it, but it's quite 'delicious'!"

"Big fox, you're also secretly using chakra to corrupt me, aren't you?"

Furukawa Osamu's spirit appeared in the sealed space and looked at the Nine-Tails, who was curled up in a ball. The latter did not admit it directly, but turned its head away and pretended to be innocent.

“Kid, this is the instinct of a tailed beast. Chakra itself carries dark emotions. This is not my problem.”

"If humanity wants to control power, it must endure this darkness. What exactly have you done?"

While the Nine-Tailed Fox was still making excuses, Furukawa Osamu's spirit disappeared again, and he sat cross-legged on the grass, concentrating his mind. Soon, the illusion reappeared, and the evil spirit made its appearance with a villainous laugh.

Too lazy to listen to any more of his verbal sparring, Furukawa immediately stepped forward to "collect" the energy. As the evil spirit was refined, a ball of energy reappeared.

"Good darling! Let's see how much power you can unleash."

A glint of greed flashed in Furukawa Osamu's eyes, and he began to perform actions that resembled "exploiting a bug".

As evil thoughts constantly emerged and were refined, the spirit within the White Zetsu Jinchūriki became increasingly agile and solid.

"what!!"

As the final scream rang out, dawn broke, and mist began to fill the air around the waterfall. Furukawa Osamu, who was sitting cross-legged, wanted to continue his cultivation, but he could no longer sense any evil thoughts.

The spirit, having finished its cultivation, stirred its will, and natural energy was violently absorbed. Furukawa Osamu, manipulating the White Zetsu Jinchuriki, instantly entered Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode, carefully experiencing the power within his body, and murmured with satisfaction:

"With calm mind and focused spirit, the elixir is formed and the meridians are unblocked."

"What are you saying, you evil brat? Why is my chakra being constantly converted by you?"

Nine-Tailed Fox asked in alarm, as it vaguely felt a connection with its surroundings.

Osamu Furukawa appeared in the sealed space and responded with a smile:

"This shows that you're starting to understand and accept me like family."

"What?! How could this happen? You evil brat, give me back my chakra!"

The nine-tailed fox bared its teeth and roared angrily, but Furukawa Osamu ignored it. With a thought, he left a Flying Thunder God rune containing his spiritual consciousness on a large tree and then pondered silently:

"The experimental subject still needs to be observed. The spiritual energy in the main body is too large, and it will take more time to fully convert it."

"Relying on powerful 'numerical values' to fuse the power of the Six Paths should be more reliable than comprehending the meaning of life and death..."

Manipulating the White Zetsu Jinchuriki, he summoned a live slug using a summoning jutsu. The slug quickly crawled onto his shoulder, its tentacles twitching as it sensed the surroundings, then cheerfully said:

"It seems that this part of Master Xiu's spirit has broken free from the influence of the powerful chakra!"

"After completing your cultivation, Master Xiu can now peacefully reproduce with his original body!"

"Ahem, prepare the Reverse Summoning Technique, then fly away from here and return to the Wet Bone Forest..."

-

At the end of July, with both the Konoha ninja and the Kumogakure ninja declaring victory, the Fourth Shinobi World War came to a complete end.

After the ceasefire agreement was announced, a clause regarding the Tailed Beast Alliance sparked heated discussions among the ninjas:

"Should the four major ninja villages unite in the face of the Tailed Beasts issue?"

After confirming the relevant information, the ninjas of Takigakure issued a statement condemning the incident. Last year, their Jinchuriki had been targeted by ninjas from major ninja nations, indicating that the four great ninja villages were clearly plotting something bigger.

The Konoha ninjas naturally paid no attention to these voices. With the heroes returning, everyone crowded to the village gate early in the morning, and the nearby streets quickly became congested as well.

At 9 a.m., as Minato Namikaze and Osamu Furukawa arrived with the last few squads, a deafening cheer erupted.

Wearing a white robe and a Hokage hat, Tsunade received the Daimyo version of the ceasefire agreement from Osamu Furukawa, and a smile immediately appeared on her fair face.

"Teacher, I hope you are satisfied with this result."

Furukawa Osamu's eyes were bright and open. Tsunade, who had looked up, was drawn to her disciple's gaze and subconsciously took a step back. Suddenly, a cheer erupted behind her, which brought her back to her senses.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Tsunade lowered her head and subconsciously pulled her hat down. She had almost walked into her disciple's arms just now, and her cheeks felt hot for a moment.

More and more ninjas gathered, and the young ninjas were shouting happily. Might Guy, who couldn't squeeze to the front, let out a strange cry and finally shed tears of youthful passion. Kakashi, seeing this, immediately moved away.

"Hey! Kakashi, aren't you happy?"

"It took more than two years, and so many predecessors sacrificed themselves to achieve this peace, sob..."

"Captain Minato and Xiu Zhen are amazing! They've been fighting monsters on the front lines to protect us!"

Might Guy grabbed Kakashi and then, while shedding tears, loudly declared his youth. The young people around him were moved by his emotions, and many of them had tears in their eyes.

"Kai, I just want to go to the back. It's too crowded here, and it's inconvenient to take care of Lin."

"It's okay, Kakashi! I think it's great!"

Wearing a Chunin green vest, Rin Nohara smiled happily and held Kakashi's left hand tightly. The girl looked forward to a peaceful life in the future.

Minato didn't follow Tsunade and Furukawa Osamu. After greeting everyone, he smiled and said goodbye, squeezed his way out of the crowd, and couldn't wait to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique to go home.

"Minato, welcome back!..."

Kushina wanted to say more words of blessing, but Minato pulled her into his arms. She was a little embarrassed for a moment, but after sensing her husband's emotions, she hugged him tightly in return.

"Sorry for the past two years, thank you for your hard work. I'll take care of Naruto's 3rd birthday!"

Minato smiled happily and whispered a promise. Kushina nodded, then pulled her husband into the living room, hugged Naruto tightly, and gently reminded her son:

"Naruto, Dad's home!"

"Why are you still shy? Haven't you always hoped that Dad would celebrate your birthday with you?"

Naruto, who will be 3 years old in just over two months, saw his somewhat unfamiliar father and quickly called out "Dad," a happy smile gradually appearing on his little face.

Looking at his son, who shared the same hair color, Minato hugged them both again, and unconsciously whispered as he recalled that night that filled him with dread:

"I will protect you!"

In the Uchiha clan compound of the Naka Shrine, Itachi Uchiha, sitting in the corridor, looked at the sulking Sasuke Uchiha and couldn't help but smile, tapping his younger brother's head with his index and middle fingers:

"There were too many people in the village this morning. I know the teacher; he won't mind."

"Your father and mother have both passed away, and you just turned three. It's safer for us to stay at home."

"It hurts! My brother always brushes me off..."

Sasuke covered his forehead, complaining in a childish voice, a slight blush on his face. Seeing his brother beckoning, he finally sat down obediently beside him.

"Brother, can you learn ninja knowledge at the age of 3? I think I heard Father mention it."

Itachi Uchiha suppressed his smile, patted his younger brother's head, and noticed the expectant look in Sasuke's eyes. He then explained softly and helplessly:

"It's still too early for you. Communicate more with kids your age. You can talk about training at the ninja academy later."

"Brother Ming is only 7 years old!"

Hearing his younger brother's complaints, Itachi Uchiha was slightly taken aback. Thinking of his own experiences, he shook his head, looked up at the azure sky, and softly said:

"Sasuke, I hope you have a happy childhood and make many friends."

"Don't worry about what others expect, just grow up healthy and happy..."

Chapter 192 Villains All Have Big Ambitions...

In early August of Konoha Year 54, Konoha held a memorial ceremony for the ninjas who sacrificed their lives in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Danzo, dressed in all black, did not appear in everyone's sight. He stood alone above the Shadow Rock, squinting as he gazed into the distance.

Under the setting sun, Danzo watched for a long time until Ryoma Aburame came to his side, then asked in a deep voice:

"Ryuma, were you rejected by the ninja clan? It seems the Fourth Hokage has already given the order."

Ryoma Aburame immediately lowered his head, feeling guilty for failing to complete the task.

"I'm sorry, Lord Danzo, most ninja clans use the excuse of too many casualties, and this time the Root ninjas may not be able to replenish their ranks in time."

After saying this, Ryoma Aburame showed a look of resentment. For more than two years, the Root ninjas had given their all in the war, but after peace was restored, their ranks were reduced.

Training a qualified ANBU takes a lot of time. When the Hokage's direct ANBU suffered heavy casualties, it was thanks to the Root ninjas that they survived the difficult period.

Danzo seemed to see through his subordinate's thoughts. He felt no anger or betrayal; if he were in his subordinate's shoes, he would have made the same decision.

"It's alright, some ninjas are destined to be drawn to the darkness."

“These special people are not suited to living in the sunlight. As long as the roots are still there, we can always find replacements.”

"After the war ends, the most important things are developing the tailed beasts and hunting down the enemy. The village will still use Root ninjas."

"What we need to do is wait for the right opportunity and correct it in time when the Hokage makes a wrong decision."

Upon hearing Danzo's words, Aburame Ryoma nodded solemnly in response. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked in a low voice:

"Lord Danzo, why did the previous Tailed Beast Plan fail?"

"It seems that the Jinchuriki of Takigakure Village received the news in advance."

The plan was originally proposed by Root, and the intelligence agents in Takigakure were also Root ninjas. With the Anbu unable to intervene much, they could only watch as the Jinchuriki disappeared.

When this matter was mentioned, Danzo's eyes twitched slightly. The reason the mission failed was actually because of him; Madara Uchiha obtained the information from him.

Danzo had no intention of sharing this unspeakable secret, and turned to his deputy for a brief reply:

"The Root ninjas are unlikely to be the problem; the temporarily promoted Anbu members most likely leaked the information."