Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 314 Naruto Shimura

"The Sage of Six Paths must be worried now."

Unlike the frustration and anxiety at the Konoha camp, Tamura Hao was in a good mood, even drinking juice and eating beef with the Black Zetsu-possessed Thor.

Beef is a specialty of the Land of Lightning, and its production is quite large.

As for the dismemberment of Minato Namikaze, that was mainly used to scheme against the Sage of Six Paths and Ashura's chakra.

Targeting Uzumaki Kyuujin would be too obvious and would contradict his own character, while dealing with Namikaze Minato would be much simpler.

With Orochimaru's current methods and resources, it is impossible for him to cultivate a perfect clone, so he cannot cultivate a perfect lower body for Minato Namikaze.

Even with Tsunade leading the effort, they still relied on the life-giving water of the World Tree to perfect the cloned organs.

The best course of action for Orochimaru is to let Minato Namikaze regenerate slowly on his own, which will take time and is definitely not feasible in the short term.

Even so, it was useless, because his slash contained a powerful sword intent, which not only severed Minato Namikaze's body, but also his soul.

Without his lower half of his soul, even if Minato Namikaze were to regenerate his lower body, he would find it difficult to control or even perceive it, just like Orochimaru in the future, whose hands were taken away and who, despite Orochimaru's abilities, was never able to recover them.

"He must be anxious. He only has one choice left. If Asura's reincarnation is too young, the gap between the two will widen significantly."

Furthermore, it is necessary to establish a bond between the two. Given the current situation in the ninja world and Konoha, the only way for them to get to know each other is through the Ninja Academy.

Otherwise, with limited contact, even with chakra guidance from both, it would be difficult to establish a true conflict.

He picked up a slice of braised beef and stuffed it into his mouth, then took a sip of juice with great relish, eagerly anticipating how Hagoromo would salvage the situation.

The two were right. The Sage of Six Paths was indeed a bit confused. He had been racking his brains about how to guide the two to unite and create a body for Ashura.

The situation in Konoha was so terrible that the two of them had reservations about getting married and having children.

Originally, they planned to wait until after the war to take the opportunity to guide him, but who would have thought that the man would be cut in half at the waist.

If it weren't for Gamamaru giving him a Sage's Talisman, and with the Nine-Tails' assistance, his soul would have ended up in the Underworld.

Since I cannot show myself, it is impossible to help that young man recover quickly. What should I do?

The Sage of Six Paths pondered the information he had gathered about the ninja world through chakra recently and quickly identified a person, but this raised a new problem.

"Was the prophecy given by Gamamaru false?"

After sealing his mother away, he guessed that there was something wrong with Gamamaru and Mount Myōboku. He then took the initiative to become a monk to collect the remaining relics and inheritances of the monk lineage, and learned the true nature of the three holy sites.

Especially after discovering that his use of the Sage's Talisman to revive Hamura was not in Gamamaru's prophecy, he began to have some guesses.

He didn't pay much attention to it. By then, he was past the age of impulsiveness, and he was more rational in his actions, and he understood that his stance was the most important thing.

Since Gamamaru is on his side, he won't pursue the matter even if the other side has problems.

Moreover, Gamamaru, or rather the holy land of the monks, does indeed possess a certain prophetic ability. In the end, the image of the prophetic child given by Gamamaru is a blue-eyed boy who calls out the name of the nine-headed beast with a playful smile.

It just so happens that the young man's eyes were emerald green, so the body that allowed him to unite with that descendant must have been that of Asura.

But now that young man is crippled, and it will be difficult for him to recover in the short term.

Should I wait a few more years?

"After all, it's a prophecy that spans thousands of years, so it's normal for it to be a bit off."

Hamura Otsutsuki came over to comfort him. He had been observing the ninja world through his Tenseigan and naturally knew that the young man his older brother was concerned about had gotten into trouble.

Although he didn't die, it will take several more years before he can have offspring.

Indra's chakra has already been released for reincarnation, and Ashura's chakra must also be reincarnated as soon as possible; this cannot be delayed.

"That's true. A prophecy from over a thousand years ago is too long, and it's uncertain whether Gamamaru foresaw the future. That toad always speaks in a mysterious and cryptic way, half true and half false."

The Sage of Six Paths laughed, realizing that he was actually fixated on a prophecy, especially one given to him by Gamamaru.

That guy's words were only half true and half false, not to mention that he also had his own stance, which did not completely overlap with ours.

"The ninja world has been developing rather rapidly lately."

When Otsutsuki Hamura talked about the development of the ninja world, he said that the previous great war showed that the high-end combat power of the ninja world had increased rapidly, making it much stronger than the Warring States period before the ninja village era.

We now have powerful beings who can rival the reincarnations of the previous Indra and Asura.

"Their predecessor not only created a new era of political system, but also opened up a new level of power in the ninja world. It is normal for the overall power of the ninja world to increase."

However, this improvement is limited, especially for those ninjas who don't have our bloodline.

The Sage of Six Paths didn't take it seriously. With his current strength, he could easily kill even a ninja who had fused with the Bloodline Limit.

In the ninja world, the only way to fuse a bloodline limit is through the bloodline passed down between oneself and Hamura, fusing the Rinnegan or Tenseigan, and then becoming the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki. Otherwise, one can at most master Yin-Yang Release.

As for those Ninja Clan descendants who do not share their bloodline with Hamura, they have absolutely no chance of becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, let alone forging a Bloodline Limit.

Without a bloodline limit, no one is even qualified to stand before me; those who have obtained the power of a bloodline limit are merely large ants.

This is the confidence he has accumulated over thousands of years!

"They have indeed reached their limit."

Hamura Otsutsuki agreed with this, saying that those people basically relied on external forces to improve, either the cells left by Ashura's previous generation or the cells of Gamamaru and the others that gave them that Sage Mode power.

That Hidden Cloud Village is only slightly better; it's really nothing to worry about.

The remaining few were also under the control of the elder brother.

"Shouldn't we leave that tree alone?"

When people think of Kumogakure, they think of that tree.

That tree didn't contain his elder brother's chakra; it grew from the remains of his mother's divine tree, making it purer. He worried that it might grow into a second divine tree, thus alerting his mother's clan and causing them to descend prematurely.

"That tree has no chance of bearing fruit. We'll just have to wait until the Ten-Tails evolves into a divine tree and devour it."

The Sage of Six Paths wasn't worried about the tree. Although it was formed from the remains of the Divine Tree, it didn't contain much of the Divine Tree's essence and couldn't possibly evolve into the form of the Divine Tree. Right now, it was just in the Wood Release form.

The chakra provided by the ninjas of Kumogakure is only so-so; it will just become nourishment for the new God Tree in the future.

Once we lure our mother out, we might be able to produce a new chakra fruit.

This world has long been marked by my mother's people; it was bound to happen sooner or later, and they need to improve themselves as much as possible to cope with it.

Moreover, this was within my expectations and control, so there wasn't much of a problem. The only thing worth paying attention to was the backup plan my mother left behind.

After exchanging ideas for a while, the Sage of Six Paths began to guide them.

He needs to create a new body for Ashura as soon as possible, and the only option he can choose is Konoha. As for the descendants who have migrated to Kumogakure, they are not a good choice for the time being.

His main concern was that he needed to establish a strong bond between the new generation of Indra and Asura, rather than making them rivals and mortal enemies like the previous generation.

Therefore, a common camp is needed, and the only option is Konoha.

While the Sage of Six Paths was plotting and guiding, Orochimaru and the others had already returned to Konoha, mainly because the equipment there was better, allowing them to better guide Minato Namikaze's lower body regeneration.

However, Orochimaru soon discovered a new problem, an even more troublesome one.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing his friend's serious expression, Jiraiya immediately tensed up, as did Uzumaki Kyuujin, who was taking care of Minato Namikaze.

"Minato, this is a spirit transformation technique. Please use it."

Orochimaru didn't explain, but instead took a scroll from his mouth and unfolded it, which contained the training method for the Spirit Transformation Technique.

"Does Lord Orochimaru believe that my soul has also been damaged?"

Minato Namikaze, enduring the pain, spoke up; he too sensed something was wrong.

Even though Orochimaru had given himself local anesthesia, he was still in excruciating pain there, as if the pain wasn't coming from his body, but from a deeper level.

"First, separate your soul."

Orochimaru indicated that they could only wait and see, as he himself was not certain.

The soul is too mysterious; even now, I've only scratched the surface.

Minato Namikaze didn't say anything more, but carefully studied the scroll and quickly mastered the basics of the Spirit Transformation Technique.

The Spirit Transformation Technique is a Yin Release secret technique, and his own Yin Release power is not weak. He not only has the blessing of the Yin Nine-Tails, but also has a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan.

Although his Mangekyou Sharingan was incomplete, possessing only eye techniques and lacking Susanoo, its eye power was genuine.

With these conditions as a foundation, cultivation is not difficult.

Not long after, Minato Namikaze raised his hand and formed a hand seal, and then a phantom figure gradually emerged from his body.

Only Orochimaru, with his Mangekyou Sharingan activated, could vaguely see this illusory spirit. Upon seeing that the spirit indeed had no lower half, he sighed.

Minato Namikaze also saw his own spirit form and then silently deactivated it.

"Lord Orochimaru, is there a way to cure him?"

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Vortex Ninth Rank became even more anxious, realizing that the worst-case scenario might have occurred.

"I can only give it a try."

Orochimaru wasn't very confident about this, as he had previously focused more on physical research and hadn't made much progress in the area of ​​the soul.

"That kid is ruthless!"

Jiraiya was furious and cursed, "This is going to ruin Minato!"

"Jiraiya-sensei, Hao-jun has already gone easy on me. He genuinely wants to invite me and Jiu-pin to live in Kumogakure."

Minato Namikaze said with a complicated expression, "Although I am very disappointed with my current physical condition, I do not hate that guy."

They've already shown mercy, what more can I ask for?

Moreover, he guessed that the other party did this on purpose, in order to further force him to go to Kumogakure.

I believe that once we get to Kumogakure, they will definitely take out the other half of their severed body and reattach it.

But he underestimated my will, Minato Namikaze; this blow is not enough to make me yield.

"Lord Orochimaru, please go ahead and do whatever you want. Use any means necessary, and I will cooperate fully."

Turning his head to look at Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze placed his future on this man's shoulders.

"I will do everything in my power to help Minato recover."

Orochimaru smiled; he liked these guinea pigs who were willing to learn.

After Minato Namikaze's condition stabilized, Uzumaki Kyuuhan finally took some time to go home to pack his things and settle down there so he could take care of Minato. That's when he saw someone who was both a stranger and a familiar face.

"Who are you?"

Seeing the red-haired man appear in his home, Uzumaki Ninpoche was puzzled.

How did the other party get through the barrier they set up in their home?

"Don't you recognize me? I'm Bayi, back then..."

The vortex that controlled the body was very excited to see the vortex ninth rank return, and recounted their past.

As Uzumaki Bayi recounted his story, something seemed to shatter in Uzumaki Jiupin's mind, and fragmented memories surfaced one after another.

Although the image was tattered, it reminded her of the person in front of her.

"August 1st, you're still alive!"

Recalling the vortex of the Ninth Rank, he was both surprised and delighted, but then became wary again.

"You're supposed to be one of Shimura Danzo's men now. What did he send you here for?"

She remembered that when they were captured and taken to Root, she had her memories erased and was sent to Konoha, while Yaichi seemed to have joined Root voluntarily.

She trusted Bayi, but not Nashimura Danzo, and distrusted him, especially at this crucial time.

The wariness and defensiveness of the ninth-rank vortex startled the eighth vortex, followed by grief.

"So you really have fallen in love with Minato Namikaze?"

We promised to grow up together and start a family together, but you fell in love with someone else.

"sorry!"

That sorrowful look in her eyes made it impossible for Uzumaki Kyuumei to look her in the eye, but her heart now belonged to Minato.

These three words struck Vortex Bayi's heart like three heavy hammer blows, causing him to lose his senses.

It was during this brief moment that Shimura Danzo regained consciousness, took control of his body, and swiftly raised his hand to grab Uzumaki Kyuubi's slender neck.

Ten dark chains extended from his back and pierced into the abdomen of the Ninth Grader of the Vortex, tearing the seal and forcibly extracting the Yang Nine-Tailed Fox from within.

No matter how much Yang Nine-Tails struggled, it could not resist the Vajra Seal after its evolution and mutation. It was pulled out and devoured completely. Even the seal enhanced by Mito Uzumaki's chakra could not stop it. In the end, it was sealed and devoured along with the Nine-Tails.

With the seal shattered, the life force of the Ninth-Rank Vortex cultivator was rapidly draining away, and his face instantly turned ashen.

That wasn't the end of it. Shimura Danzo then tried to devour Uzumaki Kyuuban as well, but Uzumaki Yaichi's consciousness resurfaced and became extremely frenzied.

"Do you think you can stop me?"

Danzo Shimura snorted coldly, his killing intent palpable, and intensified his devouring, absorbing all of Uzumaki Ninth Rank's chakra and life force.

Uzumaki Yaichi remained silent, manipulating Shimura Danzo's other half to place his hand on Uzumaki Kyuuhan's abdomen. Using Shimura Danzo's Yin-Yang Release power, he erased the seal. Finally, he used a piece of Shimura Danzo's flesh as a base to seal it into Uzumaki Kyuuhan's body. He then used the Yin-Yang Release power to guide the fusion of the Yin-Yang Release within Uzumaki Kyuuhan's body to form an embryo, connecting the child's pure life force with the dying Uzumaki Kyuuhan.

After doing all this, Yaichi Uzumaki used all his remaining strength to leave with Danzo Shimura.

This was the last thing he could do; he would never let Jiupin die.

Here, Vortex Ninth Grader was still on the verge of death, lying on the ground. He had no strength to move, and even his consciousness seemed to be dissipating, very hazy and indistinct.

After an unknown amount of time, a tall figure appeared, still calling his name, and finally he was taken to a place.

"How's the ninth rank going?"

After Orochimaru finished his examination, Jiraiya hurriedly asked questions.

He had noticed that Kyuumei hadn't returned for a long time, so he went to check on him. However, upon entering Minato's house, he found Kyuumei lying unconscious on the ground, barely breathing. This startled him, and he quickly brought him to Orochimaru.

"She's pregnant!"

Orochimaru's expression was strange. He had not only examined Uzumaki Kyuujin's body, but also checked his memories. He knew what had happened and could roughly guess what was going on with Shimura Danzo.

"But even pregnancy shouldn't make a ninth-rank official this weak."

Jiraiya was puzzled, assuming that Minato and Kyuuban had already broken through to that level, but he was shocked by Orochimaru's words the next moment.

"The child is not from Watergate."

"Um?"

Jiraiya looked at his friend with a blank expression, not understanding what he meant.

Could it be that Jiu Pin cheated on his wife?

A ninth-rank official isn't that kind of person.

You'll understand after you see it.

Orochimaru knew it would be difficult to explain, so he used genjutsu to transmit the scenes he had seen in his ninth-rank memories to Jiraiya and began to explain.

"Kyu-han was originally one of the test subjects that Shimura Danzo found, but in the end, she was forced by the Third Hokage to take her away and become the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Before handing her over, I erased that part of her memory."

I never expected things to turn out this way.

To be honest, he found this whole turn of events quite melodramatic.

"Shimura Danzo!"

After seeing the memory scenes in the illusion, Jiraiya was so angry that his hair stood on end, and he wished he could kill that old man immediately.

"Is he Danzo Shimura's child?"

It took him a while to suppress his anger and look at the abdomen of the Ninth Grader of the Vortex.

"You could say that."

Orochimaru also looked at Uzumaki Kyuuhan's abdomen, quite curious about this method.

"That was an individual created using Yin-Yang Release based on Danzo's flesh and blood. It is now connected to the body of the Ninth Rank and is maintaining the Ninth Rank's weak vitality by relying on the life force of that embryo."

Danzo had previously drained all of her life force; without that embryo to sustain her, she would have died.

Even he couldn't achieve this level of Yin-Yang Release for the time being, which shows that Shimura Danzo had already surpassed himself in the power of Yin-Yang Release.

That makes sense, after all, Danzo had two tailed beasts in his possession, and his organization, which was only cultivated with the flesh and blood of some tailed beasts, couldn't compare to real tailed beasts.

"Can we remove that child? On the premise of saving Jiu Pin's life."

Jiraiya remained silent for a while before asking, "This child cannot be kept, otherwise Minato and the Nine-Rank will be finished."

"This is a bit troublesome, but I'll give it a try."

Orochimaru wasn't very confident, after all, it was created and connected using Yin-Yang Release, and Uzumaki Kyuujin's physical condition was currently too bad.

"What's wrong with being a ninth-rank official?"

At that moment, a figure strode over; it was none other than Minato Namikaze's shadow clone.

"It's hard to say, you'll see when you see it."

Orochimaru didn't explain much, but used genjutsu to transmit Ninja's memory fragments to Minato Namikaze, including his recent conversation with Jiraiya.

Compared to Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze was more qualified to decide that child's fate.

"Stay. It's not advisable to take risks for someone of Rank Nine."

After a moment of silence, Minato Namikaze finally decided to keep the child; he couldn't risk taking the ninth rank.

And it's just a child, and it wasn't conceived through that method. Although it's still a bit strange, he can accept it.

Maintaining one's rank of nine is the most important thing right now.

(End of this chapter)