Naruto: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

Chapter 284 The Hidden Agenda: The Remains of the Divine Tree.

clap clap!

Accompanied by a burst of crisp applause, a tall, slender figure in black appeared beside Hunter.

The newcomer was a tall, slender young man dressed in black, who was none other than Wuwei, the key figure in this operation by the Hidden Grass Village.

"Lord Kari's Steel Release technique is indeed as good as its reputation. The Takigakure leader's desperate attack was nothing more than an ant trying to shake a tree in front of Lord Kari."

Upon hearing this, Shou withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at the dust-filled ruins in the distance.

The leader of Takigakure, Shibutsu, lay there, his fate unknown, but after being struck by his counterattack, he was probably beyond saving.

He turned his head and looked at Wuwei, a smile playing on his lips: "Lord Wuwei's mastery of fire-style techniques and sealing techniques is equally extraordinary. I never imagined that there would be someone like Lord Wuwei in Kusagakure."

Wuwei remained expressionless and bowed slightly: "Lord Shou is too kind. My meager skills are nothing compared to those of the Iwagakure people. Without their strong support, Kusagakure alone would probably not even have been able to reach the gates of Takigakure, let alone stand here and speak. The success of this operation is entirely due to Lord Shou and Lord Murasaki's presence here."

"However, now that we have the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki..."

After offering a compliment, Wuwei's gaze fell on the unconscious Seven-Tails Jinchuriki at his feet, and he continued, "The Konoha side should have received the news by now, and may even be on their way. To avoid any unforeseen complications..."

"Lord Gari, we should retreat."

"yes."

Kari nodded, glanced at the sky, and said thoughtfully, "Judging by the time, the people from Konoha should already be on their way here."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kakuzu's figure appeared silently not far away.

At this moment, he had three transparent glass bottles in his hand, filled with some kind of clear and transparent mysterious liquid.

Hero's Water.

"Mr. Kakuzu, you've come at the right time. We were just discussing our retreat."

Seeing this, Shou smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three bottles of water. He nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Wuwei beside him and said meaningfully, "Then, let's proceed to Gray Mist Valley as planned and begin the so-called sacrificial ceremony! Let me see for myself what kind of thing that legendary Box of Bliss left behind by the Sage of Six Paths really is."

Gray Fog Valley.

It is a huge rift valley located at the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Grass. The cliffs on both sides are steep and towering as if cut by a knife and axe. The valley is bottomless and is shrouded in a thick, grayish-white fog that makes it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face all year round, hence the name Gray Fog Valley.

The valley is filled with jagged rocks and hidden currents. In narrow places, only a few people can pass sideways, while in wide places it is as intricate as a maze. The airflow above the canyon is extremely turbulent, and the gale swirls and surges between the valleys. People have to walk in the valley with their hearts in their mouths, and the slightest carelessness will result in being smashed to pieces.

At the deepest part of the canyon, there is a naturally formed depression, like an open giant bowl embedded in the valley floor. This is the place that Iwagakure and Kusagakure villages chose after discussion, to be used for the ritual of opening the Box of Bliss.

"Yes."

Wuwei's expression remained unchanged, but his heart sank. He didn't know whether someone in the village had tipped off Iwagakure, or whether Iwagakure's intelligence network was simply all-pervasive.

In short, Kusagakure's purpose in attacking Takigakure and stealing the Seven-Tails' chakra to open the Chest of Bliss could not ultimately escape Iwagakure's notice.

Just as the Kusagakure faction was at a loss and even terrified because their plan had been exposed, the Iwagakure faction's reaction greatly surprised everyone.

Instead of pursuing any responsibility for the deception, they surprisingly granted Kusagakure's request directly.

Iwagakure can help attack Takigakure and capture the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, with only two conditions.

Firstly, the location for the offering ceremony of the Box of Bliss was chosen by Iwagakure.

Secondly, after the sacrifice is completed, the body of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki must be handed over to Iwagakure.

They did not want the opportunity to make a wish after the success of the Bliss Box ritual, nor did they want Kusagakure to hand over the Bliss Box afterward.

The generosity of Iwagakure left the high-ranking members of Kusagakure completely baffled, unable to guess what the other party's true intentions were.

Therefore, this is precisely why, even though everything is progressing smoothly, Wuwei finds himself increasingly unable to let go of his worries.

The closer he got to success, the more uneasy he became, and the more worried he was about what might go wrong, such as whether Iwagakure would suddenly turn against him at the last moment of the sacrificial ceremony.

Even so, Kusagakure had no way out. The arrow had already been released, and they could only go down a dark path.

Shou glanced at the man beside him who was trying to maintain a calm expression, and could roughly guess what he was thinking.

To be honest, Iwagakure had absolutely no interest in that so-called Box of Bliss.

To be precise, they never believed that the broken box was really left by the Sage of Six Paths, nor did they believe that it had any ability to grant wishes.

Hidden in the grass?

It's just a small ninja village, a nobody that can be wiped out with a flick of the wrist. How could it possibly possess anything left behind by the Sage of Six Paths?

Whether the Sage of Six Paths ever actually existed is still a question.

This Box of Bliss must have been some strange artifact that the ancestors of Kusagakure obtained from somewhere, or perhaps an ancient object that was exaggerated and misrepresented through generations of oral tradition.

As a result, the ignorant country bumpkins in Kusagakure treated it like a treasure, genuinely believing they possessed some incredible divine artifact.

The reason why Iwagakure, knowing that Kusagakure had concealed the matter of the Box of Bliss, not only did not pursue the matter but also readily agreed to their request was due to three crucial factors, in addition to the direct benefits and long-term strategic interests brought about by Kusagakure's complete defection.

Firstly, it is this box of bliss.

However, Iwagakure was only thinking "what if"—what if this Box of Bliss really had some secret, and could actually grant people's wishes? Then Iwagakure would immediately turn their backs on them and take both the wish and the Box of Bliss for themselves without hesitation.

What Grass Village? What agreement? This tiny ninja village dares to compete with Iwagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages?

Give them some small favors to appease them; do you think they'll cause any trouble?

Secondly, it has seven tails.

Unlike the Grass Village, which is full of country bumpkins who have never even owned a tailed beast and have no idea about the specifics of tailed beasts, the Stone Village actually possesses tailed beast jinchūriki, and has already replaced them with the second generation.

After so many years of exploration and research, the Iwagakure faction has gained a certain understanding of the characteristics of the Tailed Beasts.

Tailed beasts are indeed as the legends of the ninja world say: even if they die, they will be reborn, and their chakra will be regenerated when it is exhausted. However, this so-called rebirth after death is not something that suddenly appears randomly in some corner of the ninja world, but rather it is subject to specific conditions.

The tailed beast will re-condense at the place of its death, or on the corpse of its jinchūriki. During this time, its chakra will gather, nurture, and eventually take full shape in the corpse at an extremely slow pace. This process takes about three years.

(I'll talk about Lin's later.)

This explains why, after the battle at Linhai City, Kirigakure fought desperately to retrieve the corpse of the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and it is also the real reason why Iwagakure is demanding that the corpse of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki be taken after the mission is accomplished.

During this three-year buffer period, Iwagakure can find a suitable candidate to select and train a new Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. Then, the resurrected Seven-Tails will be sealed away in one fell swoop, and Iwagakure will officially have its third tailed beast.

Thirdly, and this "thirdly" is the most important point, which can even be said to be the real purpose behind Onoki's personal approval of the plan.

That is to kill Shinichi Higashino!

Last month, Iwagakure held a long meeting on the topic of "how Konoha will react after the attack on Takigakure." The village's staff debated the issue endlessly, with opinions remaining deadlocked.

However, at this moment, a young strategist casually remarked, "Since the outbreak of this Ninja World War, all of Konoha's strategic deployments have been carried out according to Shinichi Higashino's plan. Instead of discussing whether the Third Hokage will send troops, we should discuss whether Shinichi Higashino will send troops."

Upon hearing this, the entire staff fell silent.

Subsequently, a consensus was quickly reached.

Given Shinichi Higashino's assertive style, Konoha will definitely send troops, and it is highly likely that he will personally lead the attack.

Thus, from the moment Takigakure sent the distress signal, to Konoha's response and the scale of their troop deployment, the situation unfolded in a continuous process.

From which people to send and which troops to deploy, marking all possible troop routes around Konoha on a map, screening and comparing them one by one, and finally even pinpointing when Shinichi Higashino would arrive at Takigakure, Kinpei spent a whole month conducting a simulation.

They repeatedly broke down, weighed, and calculated each variable, and finally arrived at an optimal prediction!

After Takigakure requests reinforcements, Konoha will definitely send troops, and Shinichi Higashino will definitely lead the way personally. At his speed, he should be able to reach Takigakure within a day.

The temporary force he could bring was at most a thousand men, and their speed was far slower than that of Shinichi Higashino. By the time he arrived, the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure had already completed their objective and retreated calmly.

Given Shinichi Higashino's ruthless and decisive style of action, he would most likely choose to pursue, and the other troops could not keep up with Higashino's speed.

Therefore, they deliberately chose Gray Mist Valley as the location for the sacrifice, where turbulent currents raged above the canyon, making it difficult for birds to fly and obscuring the view with thick fog.

On that day, the advantage of flying was almost completely diminished.

The combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure, totaling over three thousand men, had already been deployed at various passes and strategic points in Gray Mist Valley, forming an inescapable net.

Even Shinichi Higashino would find it difficult to fully utilize his advantages in flight and speed in such a place.

Even if Higashino Shinichi brings all of Konoha's remaining thousand-plus troops, he will still face an encirclement and annihilation by forces three times his size, who are well-rested and ready.

At that time, with more than three thousand troops against one thousand, launching an attack with a force advantage of more than three times, they will have the opportunity to wipe out this Konoha scourge, which the Third Tsuchikage Onoki regarded as a major threat, in the Gray Mist Valley in one fell swoop.

Not to mention, if he were alone, venturing deep into enemy territory...

As for the sacrificial ritual, the Box of Bliss, and the Seven-Tails' chakra, those are nothing more than bait on a fishing hook.

What Iwagakure truly wanted to catch, from beginning to end, was Shinichi Higashino's life.

Of course, if Konoha sends someone else, Iwagakure has other contingency plans, but if Shinichi Higashino really comes, then this Gray Mist Valley will be his best coffin.

(The predictions made by Iwagakure are just like the predictions made in everyday life—take it all in stride, don't take them too seriously.)

"Evacuate from Takigakure, target Graymist Valley." Without further ado, Kari gave the order crisply and decisively.

At his command, the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure quickly regrouped like a receding tide, carrying the unconscious Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, and retreated towards the border along the predetermined route.

Moments later, the once noisy and tragic battlefield was reduced to rubble with lingering smoke and still burning flames. The once peaceful and tranquil Takigakure Village was now a scene of devastation.

"Leader! Hold on! Konoha has replied to us! They're on their way, and Shinichi is leading the way! Once Shinichi reaches the village, everything will be alright!"

A young medical ninja, his hands trembling, desperately activated his medical ninjutsu to treat Shibuchi while shouting at the top of his lungs.

"I...cough cough cough..." Shibuya tried to say something, but coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood, feeling his eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

After drinking the Hero's Water, his body was already rapidly weakening, and then he was directly hit by Shou's domineering and unparalleled counterattack, resulting in extremely serious damage.

He wanted to say that he couldn't hold on any longer, and he wanted to tell the young man in front of him who was still desperately trying to save him not to waste his energy, but to save that energy to save his compatriots who still had hope. But he was too weak to say those words at that moment.

However, perhaps it was his personal will, or perhaps he wanted to see Konoha's reinforcements arrive with his own eyes, that made him willing to close his eyes.

Shibuya, who thought he would never make it, actually managed to hold on for several more hours.

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually darkened from the hazy daylight. Just as Shibutu's consciousness was about to fall completely into darkness.

Above the sky, a figure broke through the clouds and slowly descended from the dim sky.

He was a young monk, dressed in a snow-white robe, holding dark brown prayer beads in his hand. His face was handsome and serene, and a faint, gentle aura seemed to emanate from him.

When his feet touched the ground, not a speck of dust was stirred up. His clothes fluttered gently in the evening breeze, and he stood on this scorched earth and ruins, yet he seemed completely untouched by dust.

"The Tripitaka Master? Cough cough... I didn't expect the Master to come too—"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Shibutsu seemed to be infused with a faint surge of power, and his previously unfocused gaze became slightly more concentrated.

His lips trembled, and he opened his mouth again, his gaze instinctively drifting behind Sanzang, as if wanting to ask where Shinichi was.

However, Sanzang seemed to have already seen through his thoughts and said softly, "Master Dongye is checking the surrounding area to see if there are any enemies lurking. He sent me ahead to keep an eye on things."

"Your injuries are too severe, please do not speak any more. Let me stabilize your condition first."

Upon hearing this, Shibutsu's lips moved slightly again, as if he wanted to say something more.

But Sanzang's finger had already gently touched his brow.

The next moment, a gentle and clear green chakra light bloomed from between his fingers, softly spreading like a gentle breeze across withered grass, or a light rain soaking the parched earth.

As the green chakra was injected, it seeped into Shibutsu's limbs and bones in waves. His battered body was like parched earth finally receiving rain, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Under the stunned gaze of the Takigakure ninja, the leader, who had been on the verge of death, gradually regained some vitality.

After a few breaths, although Shibutu's face was still extremely pale and his body was still frighteningly thin, he looked as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

Shibuto looked down in disbelief at his body, which had regained its vitality, then looked up at the smiling young monk before him, about to say something.

brush!

In the sky, a figure pierced through like a meteorite, interrupting Shibuto's words.

It was Shinichi Higashino!

At this moment, Sanzang's gaze was fixed on the towering tree in the distance, and his eyes suddenly became incredibly meaningful.

The remains of the divine tree!

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