In Konoha: I will spread the will of conquest throughout the ninja world.

The main gate of Kusakabe Village.

The small ninja village also takes vigilance seriously, and naturally, they wouldn't ignore the two ninjas wearing Konoha headbands that appeared at the main gate.

"Halt, Konoha ninja. State your purpose." The Kusagakure ninja guarding the gate feigned seriousness.

Orochimaru and Sakumo Hatake remained unmoved, both turning their gazes toward Isogen.

Isogen doesn't know much about Kusagakure Village. When he goes out for a stroll, he doesn't go all the way to Kusagakure Village to blast mountains or fish.

Not only is it remote, but the place is also small and underdeveloped.

The cost of gas alone isn't enough to cover the gas money for one trip.

As for the Elysium Box, which many protagonists in novels use as a power bank or a disposable chakra enhancer, he had no interest in it.

Instead, let's put our will to dominate into practice.

Generally, people improve their strength by choosing one of the Yin-Yang Escape attributes and moving forward. After reaching the current limit in a certain direction, they either continue to refine it or open up another path.

He's different; he's playing both sides.

At this moment, Orochimaru and his companion became curious about how Gekigen would handle the situation.

Fifty strings were not stingy at all; with a flick of his little finger and a grin, he showed off his skills.

"Let's go! Use ultrasonic cutting mode!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hyuga Mizuki's originally gentle and serene gaze suddenly turned sharp, as if a gust of wind was rising.

Whoosh!

Countless blue afterimages rained down on the Grass Ninja.

Sakumo Hatake's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Such precise chakra control, such a fast sword!"

With his extraordinary eyesight, he could clearly see that Hyuga Mizuki had attached Wind Release chakra to her arms and used her excellent chakra control to shape the chakra into a blade. In this way, she possessed both the extreme speed of Wind Release chakra and powerful cutting ability.

Based on this alone, it's no longer just simple chakra control, but a new technique.

However, attaching Wind Release chakra to one's hands could easily injure oneself, and he was very curious about how Hyuga Mizuki solved this problem...

No need to guess anymore.

Looking at the Fifty Strings of Yuge radiating a soft glow, he understood.

As we all know, the human body has a protective mechanism against pain, and many wounds go undetected until they are discovered.

Hinata Mizuki is currently utilizing this mechanism.

As long as my wound heals quickly enough, the pain won't catch up with me.

As she pondered this, Hinata Mizuki sheathed her sword, exhaled softly, and then looked at Isogen, her eyes crinkling, her face flushed, displaying a girl's shyness.

[Myojo-kun, it's finished.]

At first glance, the grass ninja who could run and jump had evolved into a corpse teacher in a very short time, with only his head retaining some of the activity he had before he was alive.

"he..."

His throat squeezed out a voice that didn't sound human, and the Grass Village ninja's eyes were wide open, as if he were telling a story of his lingering attachment to this world.

Ga.

He died.

Isogen lowered his head slightly and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"May the Infinite Heavenly Venerable grant that there be no death in the Pure Land."

"..."

Hatake Sakumo suddenly felt a soreness in his teeth.

Even if Kusagakure is just a small ninja village, it's still a troublesome matter to so arrogantly kill the gatekeeper at their doorstep!

Konoha has always been known as the most peaceful of the five great ninja villages. To attack them directly is something that Kumogakure would do.

And can someone tell him why Hinata Mizuki, a perfectly cute and shy little girl, could do something like this with such a calm expression?

Igogakure wasn't going to let him get away with it. Before Kusagakure could even react, he pointed again: "Round 2!"

Hyuga Mizuki took out two square, ticking objects from the sealing scroll and pasted them on either side of the Kusagakure gate. At that moment, Isogen gave the order.

Long live God!

"boom!!"

The enormous explosion brought a wave of heat, the earth trembled, buildings shook precariously, and the whole world seemed to be shaking!

The Grass Village ninjas who rushed over after hearing the commotion at the door were blown away by the heat wave before they could even get their footing, and some of them who were close by even suffered burns on their faces!

As the dust cloud that had billowed up from the explosion gradually dissipated, the scene before our eyes was starkly revealed: the original gate had vanished without a trace, and behind it lay a scene of utter devastation, the most devastating part being the epicenter of the explosion.

The pitch-black crater testifies to the intensity of the explosion.

The only evidence that this place was the gate of Kusagakure just a minute ago is the 'cadaver' that was blown up by the strong wind and stuck in the ground.

"..." Hatake Sakumo's eyelids twitched as he read.

"We're not here to declare war on Kusagakure, are we?!"

Sakumo Hatake had deep doubts about this mission.

That can't be right. He was given the task of finding someone here, so why did it go in this direction? Where did things go wrong?

"Orochimaru." He turned to look at Orochimaru, who was watching with great interest.

As a disciple of the Hokage and a strong contender for the next Hokage and the one after that, Orochimaru couldn't possibly be unaware of the potential consequences of rashly attacking other ninja villages.

Orochimaru grinned: "Sakumo-senpai, what do you think of the power of the explosives I helped design?"

He blinked, his eyes filled with surprise.

You actually had something to do with this!

"Hehe, senior, please calm down. Once you see our target this time, you won't have this expression anymore."

Sakumo Hatake felt somewhat relieved.

He wasn't entirely at ease with Igogami, but with Orochimaru's backing, he could wait and see.

Just then.

"Who is it!"

Several shouts rang out simultaneously, and surrounded by numerous Grass Village ninja guards, several elders of the "Grass Fruit" clan, wearing animal masks, rushed toward the gate.

Seeing the chaotic scene, both the elders and ordinary ninjas were enraged.

The elders glared at the newcomer with hostility, but once they saw who it was, their eyes cleared considerably, revealing a look of apprehension.

"Konoha's White Fang, Orochimaru, one of the 'Three Legendary Sannin'—does Konoha intend to wage war against Kusagakure?!" The elder wearing a monkey mask shouted sternly, determined not to back down.

However, a sense of unease crept into their hearts, a vague feeling of foreboding creeping in.

Unfortunately, the young people from Kusagakure were right behind them, and being suspended in mid-air meant they could only force themselves to speak and question.

Orochimaru's gaze was icy, and the way he looked at these people was not like he was looking at living beings.

Although he often felt embarrassed by Igogaku's unpredictable behavior, this kind of person in front of him didn't even deserve his attention.

He is not as good as Minato Namikaze.

"How dare the elders kill our people right at our village gate!"

"They're awful! Let's fight them!"

"They must pay the price!"

Upon seeing the gruesome death of the gatekeeper ninja, a group of young ninjas began to shout, their words sending chills down the spines of some of the elders.

Young people may not know, but these old guys certainly do. During the Second Shinobi World War, these major ninja villages fought a brutal and inhuman battle.

Orochimaru and Sakumo Hatake are powerful ninjas who have earned their reputations through the brutal battlefield.

Such a task is not easy to undertake.

However, the Third Hokage of Konoha has a kind and benevolent style, and if he were to take a tougher stance, the worst-case scenario might not necessarily occur.

It was the terrible scene at the main entrance that made them hesitant.

Suddenly, their eyes lit up.

"These two brats must be geniuses from Konoha to be following them. If we can find a way to capture them, it'll definitely make them hesitant to act."

"Not only that, did you see that girl's eyes? It's the Hyuga Byakugan! Being in this group, she's very likely from the main branch of the family!"

"If we can acquire those Byakugan, the rise of Kusagakure will be within reach!"

Orochimaru looked at the elders of the Grass Fruit with a strange expression as they experienced a series of intense internal orgasms.

These guys don't think they've hidden their little schemes well, do they?

"Tsk, this is terrible. What should have been a simple matter of dying has now become a lost cause."

Isogen glanced around casually, his gaze completely unmoved: "Is everyone here?"

Seeing that it was a child speaking from the Konoha side, several elders of the Grass Fruit frowned, quite annoyed, while only one looked suspicious.

"I think I vaguely remember what this kid looks like..."

"Forget it, I don't care anymore." Isogen waved his hands, his brain automatically gave up thinking, and his muscles took over his body.

"Keep an eye on the people, I'm going to get to work."

He, Yu Ge of Fifty Strings, is a powerful figure who has reached the Shadow level in both Yin and Yang attributes, and has an extremely keen sense of danger.

He was aware of all the wicked thoughts and evil emotions of Kusano and her group.

Just as Sakumo Hatake was about to speak, Orochimaru stopped him, his face calm: "Sakumo-senpai, no matter what happens later, our goal is to make sure no one gets away."

"Unless you want Konoha to never have peace again."

Seeing Orochimaru's seriousness, Sakumo Hatake felt a chill run down his spine, subconsciously thinking that Isogen's brain circuits were different from ordinary people.

The right palm faces upwards.

歘.

A standard-sized chakra scalpel appeared.

Isogen swept his hair back with his left hand, completing his less-than-perfect slicked-back hairstyle, and stared emotionlessly at the Grass Village ninja who was still chattering incessantly in front of him.

He grinned.

"The surgery has begun. This surgery will be performed without anesthesia."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.