Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 358 The Relentless Pace of War

With Tsunade and the others reaching a consensus, new orders began to circulate from the Hokage's office. Large numbers of Konoha ninja quickly assembled and then obeyed the orders to leave the village.

Such a large-scale ninja mission order was naturally hard to keep from those who were interested, and many people realized that the village was likely to have some big operation coming up.

Considering some of the horrifying news that has recently occurred internationally, the atmosphere of war is gradually spreading in Konoha.

Many villagers in Konoha were worried about this, but most others didn't feel much, because they were already familiar with war and believed that the Hokage could lead them to victory.

At the same time, messages began to be transmitted to the outside world in various covert ways, making many people who were paying close attention to the movements of Konoha quickly realize that Konoha's terrifying war machine was probably starting to move again.

In Kirito's laboratory, beneath the Konoha Orphanage.

Tsunade and the others had all left, leaving Kirito alone. But a few minutes later, an unexpected figure returned.

The newcomer was dressed in a neat and tidy kimono and had a pair of very pure Byakugan eyes. He was none other than Hyuga Kazuma, the head of the Hyuga clan.

Hinata Kazuma stood at the laboratory door, looking slightly nervous. Seeing that there was no response from inside, he wanted to turn around and leave several times, but in the end he insisted on staying and silently waiting at the door.

The ninja world is currently undergoing an unprecedented upheaval, but the future of the Hyuga clan remains uncertain.

Today, the Senju clan has been revitalized and has regained the power of Wood Release, the Uchiha clan has regained trust and has Mangekyou Sharingan within its ranks, but the Hyuga clan's strength remains unchanged and is even facing the crisis of splitting up.

Without a doubt, of the three great clans of Konoha, the Hyuga clan has fallen behind. If this continues, they will eventually be left far behind by the Senju and Uchiha clans and will no longer be able to participate in Konoha's high-level meetings.

To prevent such a terrible thing from happening, as the head of the Hyuga clan, he must bravely stand up and seek the power to change everything.

Unfortunately, the Hyuga clan has long been corrupt, making it extremely difficult to gain the power to change things.

Moreover, he himself has been unable to find a suitable power for the Hyuga clan for a long time.

Unlike the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan seems to lack the ability to evolve. From the moment a Hyuga ninja awakens the Byakugan until their death, the Byakugan's abilities remain almost unchanged, stuck at the awakening stage, unable to progress further.

He thought this was the end of the Byakugan, but he never expected that the Byakugan could continue to evolve.

According to the historical records of the Otsutsuki clan on the moon, the Tenseigan is also a type of ultimate eye technique, and it is no less powerful than the Rinnegan, the ultimate evolution of the Sharingan of the Uchiha Madara clan.

Clearly, this is the power that Hyuga Kazuma has been desperately seeking to change the Hyuga clan's continued decay and decline.

Once the Hyuga clan obtains the Tenseigan, they will no longer need to worry about the side effects of giving up the Caged Bird Seal.

Just as Hyuga Kazuma was fantasizing about the wonderful future that would unfold after the Hyuga clan obtained the power of the Tenseigan, the door in front of him slowly opened. Hyuga Kazuma quickly snapped out of his reverie and looked nervously at the young man standing behind the door.

No matter how wonderful his vision of the Hyuga clan's future may be, it's all just a mirage now. Only if this young man agrees to allow the Hyuga clan to access the Tenseigan will they have a chance to turn their fantasy into reality.

"Chief Kazuma, please come in. Don't just stand there any longer."

Kirito looked at the elderly man in front of him, who was over sixty years old, and sighed.

He had already spotted Hyuga Kazuma, but pretended not to see him. However, since the head of the Hyuga clan insisted on seeing him even after waiting for half an hour, he, as a junior, couldn't possibly refuse him any face.

"Lord Kirito, I will not go in. You must know why I am here. Our Hyuga clan asks for nothing more than to give us a chance. No matter the outcome, the entire Hyuga clan will willingly obey your orders."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Kazuma shook his head and bowed to Kirito.

Kirito saw this but didn't stop him or say anything; he just looked a little uncomfortable.

He knew perfectly well what Hinata and Ma wanted.

If he were to hand over such a treasure as the Giant Tenseigan to the Hyuga clan, the entire Hyuga clan would be obliged to kowtow to him.

After all, that is a power that can rival the Rinnegan, and it can be preserved and passed down for a long time. As long as one member of each generation of the Hyuga clan can gain the recognition of the giant Tenseigan, it would be difficult for the Hyuga clan not to prosper.

Of course, the giant Tenseigan is a double-edged sword. If it is to survive and be accepted by the Hyuga clan, it will probably require the Hyuga clan to continuously contribute Byakugan to it.

"You've really given me a tough problem. Fine, I can give the Hyuga clan a chance, but before that, you need to clean up the scum within your clan. I don't want to hear anyone treating the branch family ninjas like slaves anymore. I have to give my outstanding subordinates an explanation."

Kirito remained silent for a moment, his gaze shifting back and forth between Hyuga Kazuma and the floor. Ultimately, considering Hyuga Kazuma's sincerity and the pressure exerted by Uchiha Madara, he decided to give the Hyuga clan a chance.

When facing a powerful enemy, the right thing to do is to unite all forces that can be united.

As for what will happen in the future, we'll talk about that after we defeat our powerful enemy.

"Thank you, Kirito-sama. I will definitely show you a completely new Hyuga clan as quickly as possible."

Upon receiving Kirito's promise, Hinata Kazuma abruptly raised his head and excitedly exclaimed.

Kirito didn't give a reply for a long time, and Kirito's heart sank. He felt that his shameless plea was going to fail.

Fortunately, he persisted and did not leave, and in the end, he successfully obtained Kirito's promise.

"Then I'll wait for your good news. The power of the Giant Tenseigan is immense. If Konoha can obtain its help, we'll find it much easier to deal with Madara Uchiha. I hope your Hyuga clan can control it, but remember, you only get one chance."

Kirito nodded.

. . .

The following day, news of the large-scale mobilization of Konoha ninjas spread rapidly throughout the ninja world, bringing a tremendous impact.

For example, the battle between Iwagakure and Sunagakure, located far to the northwest of Konoha, quickly ceased because of this news.

Fearing that more Konoha ninja would come to Iwagakure's aid, the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Akazawa, immediately ordered his troops to withdraw from the front lines and return to the Land of Wind upon receiving the news.

At this moment, Akasago was pacing back and forth in his Kazekage office, looking quite anxious.

Unfortunately, ever since Konoha intervened in the war between Sunagakure and Iwagakure, Sunagakure's advantage in the previous war began to disappear rapidly. Although they could barely maintain a certain advantage on the main battlefield with their massive puppet army, they could not avoid the constant stream of bad news.

All of this was Konoha's fault. The Konoha ninja force sent to aid Sunagakure did not include a monster like Kirito Tohsaka, nor did it include an Uchiha ninja like Chizuru Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan. However, it did include Hiruzen Sarutobi, a seasoned Kage-level powerhouse.

What's even more infuriating is that Hiruzen Sarutobi actually awakened the Lava Release bloodline limit, so even though he's over fifty, his strength hasn't decreased but rather increased.

Furthermore, perhaps as a way for Iwagakure to repay Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi unleashed Lava Release Chakra Mode on the battlefield, turning him into a puppet killer who rampaged across the battlefield, scattering the puppet army's ranks.

In addition, the ninjas of the Senju, Hyuga, and Uchiha clans actually joined forces to form an elite force of fifty men. The weakest members of this elite force were all at least Jonin level, and each of them possessed the damned enhanced curse seal developed by Kirito Tohsaka.

Hiruzen Sarutobi used this elite force to carry out multiple assassinations against the puppeteers who controlled the puppet army, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of puppeteers and dealing a heavy blow to the puppet army.

Finally, the strength of those ordinary Konoha ninjas should not be underestimated. By comparing the casualty ratio, it is clear that these Konoha ninjas are much stronger than the ninjas of Iwagakure and Sunagakure.

Akasago had his subordinates conduct research and analysis, and the conclusion was that Konoha's medical system was outstanding and had greatly improved compared to the past.

The original text can be found at 6#9@book/bar!

Clearly, after Konoha appointed a new Hokage, the village placed great emphasis on medical ninjutsu, which significantly reduced the mortality rate of Konoha's wounded personnel on the battlefield. This indirectly greatly enhanced the strength of Konoha's ninjas, and even the allied Iwagakure village benefited from this.

Bad news kept coming from the front lines, leaving even Akasago, whose body had been largely transformed into a puppet, feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

The only good news was that Madara Uchiha's support for Sunagakure didn't falter at this time; large sums of money were sent to Sunagakure, giving them enough funds to purchase materials for making puppets.

Besides that, there are still ninjas from the Oni organization left to assist in the battle.

Although those ninjas from the Demon Organization were all lone wolves and it was difficult for them to cooperate with the ninjas from Sunagakure, they were quite good at carrying out assassination missions. They successfully destroyed several of Konoha's occupied medical hospitals and even joined forces to severely injure Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I need more support. Damn Konoha suddenly mobilized so many people; they must be heading straight for Sunagakure. They might have already discovered my collusion with Uchiha Madara. Damn Uchiha Madara, he wiped out Kirigakure without a sound. Doesn't he realize how much of a shock this will cause to the other ninja villages?"

Anxious and frustrated, Akasuna smashed a beautiful ceramic pot in the office, gritting his teeth as he complained.

"Watch your words. You should know very well who contributed to the strength of Sunagakure. If Lord Madara had heard what you just said, you and Sunagakure behind you would probably have ceased to exist."

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out in the room.

Akasago's expression changed drastically in an instant, and then he saw a strange man, half a hundred years old and half a dozen years old, emerge from the ground in front of him and look at him with indifferent eyes.

"Please forgive me, Lord Black Zetsu. There has been too much bad news coming from the battlefield lately, which has made me lose control of my emotions. I have no intention of blaming Lord Madara. Sunagakure is still Lord Madara's best ally."

Akasuna's expression shifted several times before finally adopting a flattering tone and speaking cautiously.

A person's name is like the shadow of a tree.

How could Akashi not feel fear when Madara Uchiha did something as shocking as destroying Kirigakure? Even though Sunagakure and Madara Uchiha were allies, Akashi was very worried that this ally, who could also destroy Sunagakure, might one day have a brain fart and wipe out Sunagakure as well.

In short, even though Sunagakure and Madara Uchiha are allies, they are no longer equals.

"That would be for the best, otherwise, there would be no point in your existence. Fine, considering that your village made a significant contribution to Lord Madara's successful operation this time, I will let you off this time. But if I hear you speaking ill of Lord Madara again, I promise I will make sure he hears it."

Seeing that Akashi was very sensible and bowed his head in front of him, Black Zetsu sneered.

"Thank you, Lord Kuroze. I wonder what orders Lord Madara has brought with you this time? The entire Sunagakure will do our utmost to fulfill them."

Hearing Black Zetsu say this, Akashi breathed a sigh of relief and then spoke with even greater respect.

No matter what, Sunagakure absolutely cannot do without Uchiha Madara's support now, otherwise Iwagakure and Konoha could wipe out Sunagakure without Madara even having to lift a finger.

"You should have received the invitation to the Five Shadows Conference by now, right?"

Hei Jue asked.

Upon hearing this, Akashi immediately understood Black Zetsu's intentions and quickly replied, "Yes, I have received it and was just about to explain this to Lord Madara. The fact that the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure suddenly convened this meeting is likely related to the major event that Lord Madara has undertaken."

"Kumakubi is nothing but a bunch of clowns. If Lord Madara hadn't had important matters to attend to and was temporarily unable to attend to them, he would have destroyed more than just Kirigakure."

Black Zetsu sneered, then stared at Akashi with a strange and chilling gaze.

Since Madara Uchiha destroyed Kirigakure, it basically means that the forces led by Madara Uchiha have officially declared war on the entire ninja world.

Therefore, Black Zetsu no longer needs to worry too much. Since he is going to be at odds with the entire ninja world anyway, it's not a bad idea to clean up the guys on his side who might be a hindrance or leak secrets beforehand.

Akashi felt a chill run down his spine and his body go cold under Black Zetsu's gaze. He began to realize that Black Zetsu's approach to him this time was probably not just about wanting him to continue being a tool.

They might even be planning to silence them.

For a moment, Akashi watched Black Zetsu with extreme vigilance, ready to strike first if anything seemed amiss.

But suddenly, the black Zetsu in front of him blurred and turned into Uchiha Madara.

(End of this chapter)