Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 359 Hope for Advancing to a Great Ninja Village

"Uchiha Madara!"

When Akashi discovered that Black Zetsu had transformed into Madara Uchiha, he was immediately horrified. A chill ran down his spine, and he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of fear.

This fear filled Akasago with shame and indignation, making him feel ashamed of his status as the Kazekage. However, his shame and resentment ultimately failed to inspire the courage within him to overcome his fear.

The reason is simple: the difference in strength between him and Madara Uchiha is too great, so great that he can hardly even look up to him.

A guy who can single-handedly destroy a major ninja village—that feat represents terrifying strength.

In his anxiety and fear, Akashi realized that he seemed to have no choice but to wait for death in front of Madara Uchiha. Unable to muster the courage to fight back, he didn't even have the courage to run away.

He feared that if he fled, Sunagakure would be destroyed.

He ultimately had feelings for Sunagakure, and his initial dream was to make Sunagakure the strongest ninja village in the ninja world.

"What exactly do you want me to do? Just tell me."

Akasuna suppressed his fear and pretended to be calm as he spoke.

But the next moment, Madara Uchiha in front of him turned back into Black Zetsu, who was looking at him with a mocking expression.

In an instant, Akashi realized that he had just been under a genjutsu, and that his ugly state had been seen by Black Zetsu as soon as possible. A strong sense of shame and indignation arose in his heart, making him feel ashamed.

"It seems your loyalty to Lord Madara is still trustworthy. However, Sunagakure doesn't really have much of a choice now, does it? Even if Lord Madara doesn't deal with Sunagakure, Iwagakure and Konoha won't continue to let Sunagakure go unpunished. Sunagakure only has one path left now: to cooperate with us. Hehehe~"

Black Zetsu took in the changes in Akasuna's face and sneered.

Akagami remained silent, his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on Black Zetsu.

Black Jue was completely unconcerned about the anger in Akasuna's eyes. The angrier Akasuna appeared, the more pleased Black Jue was, because it was all Black Jue's doing that had brought this human to this state.

The other person was being manipulated like a puppet on a string, and no matter how unwilling they were, they were powerless to do anything about it.

Humans are indeed a bunch of fools bound by emotions, and hatred is what they like to exploit. As long as there is hatred in people's hearts, they can use it.

For example, the Red Sand in front of it knew that this person's hatred for Iwagakure was far greater than that for it and Madara Uchiha. Therefore, it was certain that the Red Sand could not escape its grasp and could only obediently follow its orders.

Of course, hatred can also easily make a person lose their mind, so it is necessary to add a chain called love around the neck of the beast of hatred.

"Go to the Five Kage Summit and bring back everything that was discussed. This is the new order that Lord Madara has given you."

Black Zetsu suppressed his mockery and said coldly.

"Iwagakure and Konoha may already suspect that Sunagakure is cooperating with you. If I go there, wouldn't I be walking into a trap? Without me, everything in Sunagakure will become uncontrollable."

Akasuna said with a sullen face.

Although he had anticipated that Madara Uchiha would send him to the Five Kage Summit as a spy, upon hearing Madara's order, he couldn't help but feel a desire to back down.

He knows his own strength and capabilities, and if he were to attend the Five Kage Summit, his safety would be far from guaranteed.

"What about your son, Sasori? He's quite strong and shone brightly in this war. I think he's fully capable of becoming the next Kazekage. What do you think?"

Black Zetsu said coldly.

Upon hearing this, a strong killing intent erupted from Akashi, and a massive amount of chakra quickly surged within his body.

"You'd better stay away from him."

At this moment, Akagami was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, baring its teeth and claws at Black Zetsu.

In Akasago's heart, besides the village, the only things he cherished were his son and wife. Sasori was his greatest pride in life and regarded as the future of Sunagakure. Sasori was the only one who absolutely could not be harmed.

"Then do what Lord Ban asked you to do. Don't make excuses. This is an order, not something to discuss with you."

He didn't care about the killing intent posed by Kurozuki Akazasa and directly threatened her in return.

After saying this, it revealed another sinister grin, then slowly disappeared into the ground.

"Plop~"

As soon as Black Zetsu left, Akashi seemed to have all the strength drained from his body, collapsing to the ground with despair on his face.

Then, he suddenly tilted his head back and burst into manic laughter: "Hahaha~"

He knew he was really doomed this time.

Black Zetsu's words just now clearly meant that he should go and die, and if he didn't go, then the village and Sasori would cease to exist.

This is forcing him into a dead end.

He tried to negotiate with a tiger for its skin, but in the end, the tiger killed him. That was his final fate.

. . .

Amegakure Village, Chief's Office.

A ninja with graying temples walked in. He looked at the person now sitting in the familiar seat in front of him and said coldly, "Did you send me, a cripple, here just to show off in front of me?"

"A cripple? Who in Amegakure would dare call you, Hanzo of the Salamander, a cripple? Don't misunderstand, Hanzo, I didn't call you here to show off. If you're unhappy with me, I can give this chair back to you right now."

Hattori Masashige, played by the White Zetsu clone, immediately stood up and shook his head.

"Give it back to me? Hmph, forget it. I can't afford to sit in that chair now. Who told me I'm just a confined, washed-up old man?"

Hanzo the Salamander continued coldly, venting his dissatisfaction in front of the White Zetsu clone.

Since Hattori Masanari became the new leader of Amegakure under the election of the crowd, Hanzo the Salamander was quickly forgotten by the people of Amegakure and was placed under house arrest. The pretext was that he was sent to Konoha to recuperate, but being far away from Amegakure, he was no longer able to interfere in Amegakure's affairs.

Hanzo the Salamander thought he would die of old age in Konoha, but he was unexpectedly released by Konoha not long ago and was able to return to Amegakure.

However, the current Amegakure is very different from the Amegakure in his memory. The Amegakure of the past was full of reinforced concrete, but now it has been replaced by various wooden houses, and the style and layout of the houses are very similar to those of Konoha.

This shows that Amegakure's relationship with Konoha is truly extraordinary; in other words, Konoha has a very deep influence on Amegakure.

And the reason for all of this is the person in front of you.

"Hanzo, I know you're unhappy with me, but you've just returned to the village. Why not take a walk around? What you see might be different from what you expect. Amegakure and Konoha are friendly and have a close relationship, which isn't a bad thing."

The location where Rain hides necessitates a strong and capable ally; being a fence-sitter is unwise, and forcibly confronting other major ninja villages is even less desirable.

The White Zetsu clone listened to Hanzo's cold words and spoke earnestly.

"Pah! Stop lying to me! Who was it that said they wanted to make Amegakure strong? Does your idea of ​​strength mean being Konoha's dog? Don't you, Hattori Masanari, feel any shame?"

Hanzo the Salamander pointed his finger at the nose of the White Zetsu clone and cursed.

From the changes in the village, he knew that Amegakure was now learning from Konoha in every way, and that there were many Konoha ninjas stationed there, including many outstanding Jonin.

Is it reasonable for a ninja village to have so many powerful ninjas from other ninja villages?

Seeing this, Xiao Nan, who was standing next to Bai Zetsu's clone, couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to speak up for her leader.

As her secretary, she had witnessed all the efforts her leader had made for Amegakure. Although Amegakure often faced difficulties and unreasonable demands from Konoha during its post-war recovery, her leader always stood up for reason and tried her best to secure reasonable benefits for Amegakure, never bowing down to Konoha.

Otherwise, Amegakure wouldn't have been able to recover from the war so quickly.

Even though Hanzo the Salamander had made great contributions to Amegakure, she couldn't allow him to slander her leader like that.

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

Konan was about to retort when the White Zetsu clone stopped her with a gesture. The clone then said with a serious expression, "Hanzo, Amegakure is independent. Its relationship with Konoha is merely that of allies, not superiors and subordinates. I can guarantee you this with my life."

"snort."

Hanzo the Salamander still didn't believe it.

"Sigh~, I believe you'll understand in the future, Hanzo. Let's not talk about this now. The reason I called you here today is to give you a very important task. If you do it well, your dream might just come true."

Upon seeing this, the white-haired clone sighed.

As soon as he finished speaking, he tossed a scroll to Hanzo.

Hanzo, quick-witted and agile, opened the package and, upon closer inspection, his face gradually contorted with astonishment. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Is this real? Amegakure is participating in the Five Kage Summit?!"

"Of course it's true. The invitation was personally sent by the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure. Konoha and Iwagakure have already agreed to let Amegakure participate. Whether Sunagakure and Kirigakure, which is almost wiped out, object is no longer important."

The White Zetsu clone looked at the astonished expression on Hanzo's face and said with a smile.

When Hanzo heard the White Zetsu clone's explanation, he immediately believed it. He already knew about Kirigakure when he was in Konoha, and at this moment, a fire ignited in his heart—a fire called the desire to become a great ninja village.

Once upon a time, making Amegakure a great ninja village was his lifelong dream. He devoted most of his life to this goal, but he failed because he mistakenly chose Konoha as his target, and almost ruined Amegakure's future.

He thought he would never see Amegakure become a great ninja village in his lifetime, but fate played a cruel joke on him, giving him the opportunity to realize his dream.

He suddenly realized that the scroll in his hand was unusually heavy, even a little hot, and he could hardly hold it.

Is he qualified to represent Amegakure at the Five Kage Summit?

He asked himself honestly, wanting to say yes, but couldn't find any reason.

He knew very well that Amegakure's current strength was not because of him, but because of this old comrade-in-arms who was becoming increasingly unfathomable. It was because he had stolen the Five-Tails from Iwagakure and demonstrated great strength, as well as his good relationship with Konoha, that Amegakure had the opportunity to participate in the Five Kage Summit.

Looking back now, it seems that Amegakure has already met the requirements to become a great ninja village without anyone noticing. All that's missing is the accumulation of experience. Once the next generation of Amegakure ninja grows up, Amegakure will be able to become a new great ninja village simply by virtue of its strength.

For a moment, Hanzo's feelings became extremely complicated.

"Masaaki, it's me."

Hanzo stammered.

"Go, Hanzo, represent Amegakure at the Five Kage Summit. I can't think of anyone else from Amegakure who can go besides you. You know I definitely can't go. If I go, there will be no one to protect the village. Madara Uchiha is a madman and doesn't play by the rules."

The White Zetsu clone walked up to Hanzo, patted him hard on the shoulder, and said in an affirmative tone.

With the words "White Zetsu clone," Hanzo finally felt relieved and nodded, saying, "I understand. I will definitely complete this mission successfully."

"Very good. Then go back and prepare, and set off as soon as possible. Because of Madara Uchiha, this conference is being held very urgently. It will begin in three days. I will send Nagato and Yahiko with you."

The white-haired clone smiled with satisfaction.

"So eager?"

Hanzo exclaimed in surprise.

To be honest, he wasn't really mentally prepared. He had no experience in meeting with the Kage of other major ninja villages, and he didn't have a deep understanding of the current situation in the ninja world, making it difficult for him to secure benefits for Amegakure.

"It is indeed urgent, but you don't need to worry too much. We just need to follow closely behind Konoha. Our Amegakure's interests are now aligned with Konoha's."

The white Zetsu clone said solemnly, giving Hanzo a reassurance in advance.

Upon hearing this, Hanzo felt somewhat disappointed, but ultimately said nothing more.

Because he knew that Konoha's participation in the Five Kage Summit with Amegakure had already brought great benefits to Amegakure, Amegakure should therefore fully support Konoha.

. . .

Half a day later, Hanzo secretly set off from Amegakure with Nagato and Yahiko.

The white Zetsu clone stood by the window, watching the three leave with his Tenseigan. Then, he suddenly said to Konan, who was engrossed in processing documents, "Konan, I have a task for you."

"No way, I'm already so busy."

Upon hearing Bai Zetsu's clone's words, Xiao Nan's pretty face, with slight dark circles under her eyes, immediately showed a resentful expression as she said unhappily.

"Don't worry, I'm not giving you extra work. Just think of it as a relaxing vacation. My task for you this time is simply to protect Hanzo and the others from behind. If they encounter any trouble, you don't need to do anything. Just send a message to the village as quickly as possible."

The white-haired clone turned its head and smiled slightly.

Konan was a very sensitive and intelligent person. She immediately sensed something unusual in the White Zetsu clone's words and quickly asked, "Lord Masashige, could they be in some great danger?"

(End of this chapter)