Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

In order to prevent external enemies and protect Killer Bee and Yugito, the Hidden Cloud Village is secretly improving the Heavenly Summoning Technique. Once this ninjutsu is perfected, they will no longer need to rely on the Summoning Technique to protect the Jinchuriki.

If the Jinchuriki can be transferred in time, the Hidden Cloud Village can unlock the "Tailed Beast Cannon" again. When the war is launched again, even the Leaf Village, which has lost the Nine-Tails, will have to submit to the power of the Hidden Cloud Village.

Inside the Raikage Building, the summoned Jonin gathered together, discussing matters related to their journey to the Land of Fire in hushed tones. When the Fourth Raikage, A, appeared, the room immediately fell silent.

"A letter from the Hidden Stone Village ninja."

"After that rogue ninja organization is destroyed, we should fulfill our previous agreement."

"As agreed, we will attack the Land of Fire together. However, that old man Onoki has gone back on his word again, and Iwagakure will no longer seek land in the northwestern region of the Land of Fire."

"They want to absorb Kusagakure and Takigakure, and the Iwagakure ninja are willing to pay a considerable commission if we are willing to help."

Upon hearing that the plan had changed, many members of the Jonin squad frowned. After a moment's thought, Tsuchida took over the conversation and added in a deep voice:

"It's obvious that there's a problem with the Jinchūriki of Iwagakure. Time is on our side, so we can agree to it this time."

"The northwest direction of the Land of Fire is not important to us. It is more in the village's interest to wait for the Jinchūriki of Iwagakure and Sunagakure to take control of the power."

"Only by having all three parties activate the Tailed Beasts together can we force Konoha to compromise, and help Iwagakure continue to plant intelligence agents."

The loss of the Nine-Tails by Konoha is beneficial to the agreement between the three parties from years ago. By using the power of the tailed beasts to attack the Land of Fire, the Konoha ninjas will inevitably compromise due to casualties.

Under the bombardment of Tailed Beast Balls, the role of ordinary ninjas in war is merely that of logistical personnel. Konoha may have powerful ninjas, but no matter how strong an individual is, they cannot protect the border defenses.

"Lord Raikage, what if the Iwagakure ninja changes their minds later? I don't trust that despicable Tsuchikage!"

A dark-skinned middle-aged Jonin suddenly spoke up with a question. When he mentioned the Tsuchikage, his face was full of hatred. The Third Raikage was killed because he was ambushed by those villains.

"Go back on your word? If Onoki decides to back down then, with the Heavenly Gift Technique at our disposal, Bi and I will teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

"This is the best opportunity to conquer the Land of Fire in decades, and that old man won't miss it."

Ai looked at everyone and replied with great certainty that once the Land of Frost, the Land of Fields, and the Land of Hot Springs were swallowed up, the Hidden Cloud Village would only need to obtain the resources of the northeastern region of the Land of Fire to further develop its industrial strength.

The grand plan to gradually erode the opponent and eventually achieve unification has been formulated since the time of the Third Raikage, and A has already seen hope for it.

"We still need to be careful about that unknown and powerful enemy!"

“Strong individual power is the root of turmoil. Lord Raikage cannot be careless. If there is an opportunity, it would be better to cooperate with the three parties to eliminate the threat.”

Tsuchikage made the same suggestion again, and this time the Fourth Raikage did not object. Thinking of his upcoming trip to Konoha, he responded in a deep voice:

"Very well, let's take this opportunity to discuss this matter with the Fourth Hokage."

“Those cowardly guys aren’t scary. The fact that they can capture tailed beasts means there are problems within the village.”

"The barrier team must not let their guard down; we must never allow a repeat of the Turtle Island situation."

Mentioning Turtle Island, some Jonin showed frustrated expressions. No matter how much they strengthened the barrier, the unknown enemy would invade again.

Fortunately, the other side was wary of the powerful Kumogakure and did not choose to invade the village; otherwise, they would have become a laughing stock in the ninja world.

At the end of the meeting, Tsuchikage subtly reminded the Raikage to mention the unknown enemy when he went to Konoha, as this was also an opportunity for them to eliminate potential threats.

"Lord Tsuchidai, must we really start a war in a few years?"

As the girl in hemp clothing was organizing the meeting minutes, she asked in a low voice that she had known about the inside story for a long time and felt very anxious when she thought about the war.

"The world should be unified, but negotiations cannot solve the problem; only war can realize this long-cherished wish."

"More fertile land and more resources can only be obtained through war."

Tsuchidae calmly answered the question. He had always enjoyed plundering, and didn't see anything wrong with it. However, Mabui lowered his head after hearing the answer:

"What about the hatred accumulated during the war? How will ninjas survive if they no longer have missions?"

"Then it will be up to you young people to figure out a solution. We are just fulfilling our own mission, and you also have your own tasks."

Seemingly surprised that the girl would think so much, Tsuchida offered another word of comfort after seeing Azabui's downcast expression:

"This is not something that can be accomplished in one generation. Changing the mindset of ninjas may even take several generations, which is why we insist on developing industry."

"Ninjas who lose their mission rewards can earn money to support their families in another way. Although we don't know if it will work, we should at least give it a try."

Mabu-i nodded. Perhaps she was overthinking it. She always felt that unification would create more disputes, and perhaps there was a more suitable way in the world.

-

In early June, the operation to capture Akatsuki members was expanded again. The ninjas of the Great Ninja Kingdom demonstrated their power, and many Akatsuki members could only flee in disarray.

Unless one masters that legendary power, even the most powerful ninja will only face defeat and death when confronted with an organized siege.

When Kisame was surrounded in the Land of Rice Fields, he couldn't help but curse Madara in his heart. At this moment, he missed Kirigakure more and more. Akatsuki was indeed unreliable.

In the dense forest, Kisame dared not stop. Looking at the runes on his left shoulder, a rare sense of panic arose in his heart:

"Damn the Flying Thunder God Technique! I wonder if the base provided by Lord Xiu can solve this problem..."

To prevent him from dying during his undercover mission, Mei Terumi recently provided him with a map of outposts in various countries, so he could seek help if necessary.

Approaching the designated location, Kisame quickened his pace, stopping in front of a large tree. He then formed a series of hand seals and uttered a low shout:

"untie!"

When the illusion was broken, Kisame hurriedly ran towards a grassy area. After careful observation, he discovered a metal pull ring on the ground and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Kisame opened the entrance to the passage and jumped down. When he reached the bottom, he used the dim light to run wildly through the passage again.

It wasn't until they spotted the mark of the Hidden Fog Division outside a room that they pushed the door open and entered. Upon seeing the replenished pills and food, they hurriedly ate them voraciously.

"Are you even human? How can you be so ugly?"

"Tell me what it feels like to need to poop, and I'll help you solve your problem."

A white Zetsu with a whirlpool-like face suddenly appeared from the wall and greeted him in a comical tone. Kisame immediately swung his greatsword Samehada and slashed at him.

"How did you get here? Damn it, has Madara Uchiha been hiding here all along?"

"No! I have already sworn allegiance to Lord Xiu."

Tobi emerged from the ground, responding proudly to Kisame's puzzled expression. However, time was of the essence, and he didn't bother to think it through, quickly replying:

"See the mark on my shoulder? Can it be removed here?"

After peeking out and seeing the Flying Thunder God mark, Afei, who was resting his chin on his hand, immediately placed the scroll on the ground and quickly used the summoning technique.

"This body utilizes the latest technology and also contains a trace of Master Xiu's spirit."

"Don't move. This is a rare opportunity for experimentation. I will finish it as soon as possible."

Tobi actively enveloped the special White Zetsu, then his right hand suddenly transformed into a palm and pressed down on Kisame's shoulder. Soon, his palm merged into Kisame's body.

"At this point, we can only try to relocate."

Kisame suddenly noticed that White Zetsu's aura had changed, and then he witnessed a strange scene: runes flowed down the shoulder and onto the strange creature's body.

"Incredible! Has Lord Xiu descended upon us?"

Kisame, praising loudly, showed excitement on his face. Tobi transferred the runes to his prepared companion's body. As he unwrapped the package, White Zetsu, who was carefully sensing, suddenly spoke up in response:

"It's just a wisp of spirit that split off. Hold on for a while longer, and you'll be able to return to Kirigakure soon."

"You've really run into big trouble this time. Luckily, the other side didn't risk moving, otherwise you would have had to come in lying down."

The experiment was a great success. After a preliminary analysis of Jugo's body, the White Zetsu test subject replicated some of his abilities. Although Osamu Furukawa could forcibly erase the mark using his spiritual energy, "replacement" was clearly a better option.

"Lord Xiu, shall we ambush them here?"

“There’s no spatial barrier here, so it’s very difficult to ambush a speed ninja, but this body can definitely help you cover your retreat.”

Furukawa carefully sensed the rune structure on White Zetsu's body, but the split spirit's energy was insufficient to analyze it in detail. However, Minato had clearly updated the technique.

"It's probably to reduce chakra consumption..."

"As expected of Master Xiu, Pain seems to have stopped caring about us members lately. There might be problems with the Akatsuki."

After praising him, Kisame hurriedly explained that it wasn't that he hadn't tried his best, but that Nagato had given up and the promised support had all disappeared. With morale low, everyone ended up running away.

"You did a great job. The Akatsuki will be forced to disband for the time being."

“Even searching for information about the Tailed Beasts has become difficult. Nagato’s whereabouts have recently been exposed, and he can no longer take care of you.”

Osamu Furukawa briefly explained the recent situation: the three parties were jointly searching and hunting down Nagato, and Jiraiya and Minato were frequently fighting Nagato. The marked puppets had become useless, so the support had naturally disappeared.

Upon hearing this, Kisame sighed helplessly; the speed of the ninja was terrifying!

Although he couldn't see the battle unfold, with careful thought, it wasn't hard to imagine Minato Namikaze constantly using the Flying Thunder God Technique to gather intelligence.

"Lord Xiu, I must leave now. I will return to the Land of Rivers to continue my undercover work."

"That strange black guy hasn't shown up for a long time..."

When Black Zetsu was mentioned, Kisame looked puzzled. In more than a year, he had only seen him once and had no idea what he was doing.

Ah Fei crossed his arms and nodded repeatedly, quickly picking up the conversation in a comical tone to remind him:

"That guy hid a lot of information; even Lord Madara was deceived!"

"Perhaps it has already escaped, after all, the Eye of the Moon project was destined to fail."

Kisame scratched his head, puzzled, bowed, and quickly left; his undercover work wasn't over yet.

Furukawa Osamu was too lazy to guess where Black Zetsu had gone. Like Otsutsuki Isshiki, this kind of guy who had been lying low for thousands of years had extraordinary patience.

"Set up the trap, and you should leave here as soon as possible."

"The main focus during this period will still be on intelligence gathering."

Afei nodded repeatedly. After seeing that Bai Jue had lost consciousness, he immediately rubbed his hands together and stuck the prepared explosive tags onto his body.

Although this simple trap wouldn't do any good, the explosion still brought him pleasure; without eavesdropping, he desperately needed new amusement...

When Minato led the Konoha and Sunagakure ninjas to this location, he immediately signaled to stop. He could still sense his own mark, but since the target was underground, he needed to be more cautious.

"Captain Minato, have we lost the enemy's position?"

As soon as a young Konoha ninja uttered a question, the ground began to tremble, followed by a violent explosion. Debris flew everywhere, and everyone present looked on with lingering fear at the sight.

"I never imagined that he would choose suicide to avoid leaking information!"

The Sand Village ninja covered the newly appeared wound on his face and sighed, while Minato frowned and remained silent. Not long ago, he had received some inexplicable information from the Land of Rivers.

A merchant delivered a letter, the contents of which, once deciphered, revealed the hidden story of the Nine-Tailed Night.

Minato was completely bewildered at the time, but he had been thinking about it carefully these past few days. When he saw the explosion, he inexplicably remembered the contents of the letter:

"Does Xiu harbor hidden ambitions?"

Chapter 238 Thinking Tools...

In mid-June, with the visit of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to Konoha, the Joint Chunin Exams received another round of publicity.

The news that Itachi Uchiha of the Uchiha clan planned to take the exam alone aroused the interest of the visiting nobles. Considering his age of 10, more and more people began to look forward to Itachi's performance.

Danzo, now a "retired old man," is also keeping an eye on Itachi Uchiha. Since reaching an agreement with Fugaku, he has put aside all his underhanded tactics.

As he expected, as long as Fugaku Uchiha acted like a normal father, Itachi naturally made friends.

Danzo, who was secretly observing Itachi Uchiha's changes, was very satisfied. The mentally unstable Uchiha had no idea how to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. This darkness still had to be borne by him!

During the ninja academy's lunch break, Danzo slowly entered the campus, leaning on his cane, observing the surroundings as he went, feeling somewhat disappointed.

The false peace has made these children forget the true nature of ninjas. If we want the ninjas of Konoha to be great again and to unify the ninja world, we should strengthen the education of ninja qualities.

Upon arriving at the principal's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked surprised to see Danzo knocking and entering. He then lit up his pipe and joked:

"I never imagined you would leave your roots and walk in the sunlight!"

"That's good. Retire early. If you get bored, you can participate in the training of ANBU ninjas."

Danzo squinted and sat down on the sofa to the right. When he looked at his old friend, he noticed that the other had aged a bit more, and immediately sighed softly:

"I can't believe you're still so naive at this age!"

"The operation to hunt down the Akatsuki is going smoothly, but once this temporary enemy is gone, war will surely break out again."

"The power of the Tailed Beasts will breed more ambition, you should know that, but you just don't want to think about solutions."

The cursed seal on his heart constantly reminded Danzo of the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. With the Nine-Tails gone, he firmly believed that cultivating the Mangekyou Sharingan was the best way to protect the village.

Ninjutsu may be lost, but as long as it is propagated properly, bloodline limits will not disappear.

Once the Mangekyou Sharingan is awakened, not only can it protect the village, but it might also completely remove the cursed seal on him. Danzo needs more support for this win-win approach.

After exhaling and exhaling a cloud of smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly. He was well aware of the ambitions of Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure.