Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 46 Darkness of the Sand

"Bang!"

The team members had no time to dodge and crashed heavily into the earthen wall.

Then, the pursuing puppet stretched out a hand and used a sharp blade that quickly sprang from its palm to pierce the heart of the team member along with the earthen wall.

Jiu Qilong looked at his dead teammates, their eyes wide open, and a hint of guilt flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

A few seconds later, four Sand Ninjas with white headscarves appeared in front of him.

The leader was a middle-aged man with long eyebrows. He moved his right hand slightly, and the puppet immediately came to his side, guarding him like a loyal servant.

"I never expected that the person who would awaken my memories this time would be you, Lord Ebizo."

Upon seeing the true face of the middle-aged puppeteer before him, Jiu Qilong immediately took a few steps back and said with some fear.

"Hehe, don't be nervous. You're still very useful. I won't take your life, as long as you can bring me useful information."

Ebizo smiled coldly, then extended his hand towards Jiuqilong.

Upon seeing this, Jiu Qilong tried to dodge, but found that he could no longer move his body.

Unbeknownst to them, Ebizo had secretly bound him with the chakra threads in his hand that were so thin they were almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"I can't believe it," Jiu Qilong said in despair.

He was once captured by the Sand Village ninja. Unable to withstand the torture, he surrendered to the enemy. Afterward, he was given a ninjutsu that could temporarily seal a part of his memory and make it difficult to be detected, so that he would completely forget the fact that he had been captured and betrayed the village, and become a spy of the Sand Village ninja infiltrating Konoha.

The person who planted this ninjutsu in him was none other than Ebizo, the top intelligence chief of the Sand Village.

Later, he was awakened and sealed away multiple times, providing the Sand Village with a great deal of valuable information.

Because of this ninjutsu, he had no memory of betraying Konoha or killing his close colleagues, so each time he was awakened, it was like undergoing a torturous psychological torture, and each time it was more painful than the last.

"Don't make that ugly face. It's happened more than once or twice. You need to get used to it. And don't worry, you'll soon forget these painful things and can continue to be a happy and proud Konoha ninja, as long as you can bring me useful information."

Ebizo said coldly, his fingers twitching slightly, increasing the tightness of the restraints on Jiu Qilong, causing Jiu Qilong to show a pained expression.

Jiu Qilong was ultimately a spineless coward. With just a little nudge from Hai Bizang, he gave in again and obediently revealed the latest border map and the recent personnel changes at the border.

After obtaining the information he wanted, Ebizo once again used the Mind Control Sand Technique on Kyūkyū, causing Kyūkyū, this "clean" pawn, to lie dormant once more.

Afterwards, Jiu Qilong, who was almost poisoned to death, was discovered by another patrol team, and once again he luckily brushed past death.

. . .

A week later, in the Root headquarters underground in Konoha, in the Root leader's office, which resembled the Hokage's office, Danzo received an urgent report. A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he sneered, "I didn't expect that kid's value to be far greater than I imagined, actually attracting such a big fish."

The urgent report that just arrived contained very little information, only five words: "Ebizo has gone missing."

He obtained this information from the black market for a high price. The person he traded with was a high-ranking official in Sunagakure who had done business with him many times before, so the information was highly credible.

Combining the recent incidents of Sand Ninja attacking patrol teams along the border, he instantly realized that this must be related to Ebizo, the Sand Ninja's intelligence chief.

As expected, the Desert Fox has already left Sunagakure, and his purpose is most likely to assassinate Kirito, the Konoha Magnet Release ninja who has been regarded as a thorn in the side by Kazekage.

"However, this guy is very cautious. If the chance of a successful assassination is slim, he probably won't make a move. Once he senses something is wrong, he might even run away immediately."

Danzo touched his chin and pondered.

He and Ebizo were the intelligence chiefs of Konoha and Sunagakure respectively, and they were old rivals who had carried out many meticulously planned assassination attempts on each other.

Several times, he almost fell victim to it.

Therefore, he knew very well that Ebizo, like himself, was a very cautious person who would never make a mistake easily and was the kind of guy who wouldn't act until he saw a clear benefit.

"Someone come here."

Danzo shouted loudly.

The next moment, a Root ninja knelt on one knee in front of Danzo and said respectfully, "Lord Danzo, please give your orders."

"Go and bring the latest information about Kirito."

Danzo gave the order.

"ha."

The Root ninjas obeyed the command and immediately formed hand seals, disappearing from their original positions.

Within about a minute, a detailed intelligence report was delivered to Danzo.

This intelligence report details everything Kirito has done in the past few days, presenting it in a data table. It also summarizes the frequency of various tasks he performs daily and estimates his strength based on the ninjutsu he has revealed and some combat experience.

"Looks like this kid's going to be tough."

Danzo had reviewed the intelligence and, with his perspective as the darkest figure in Konoha, came to this conclusion.

From this information, he could tell that Kirito was a very self-disciplined person. Since graduating, he had been living a life of going to the hospital, working hard until the end of the workday, and then going straight back to the Senju clan's territory.

In the middle, its main body never went anywhere.

What kind of place is the hospital? It's a place that Konoha pays close attention to. On the surface, it doesn't seem to have much security, but in reality, it's heavily guarded. There are no fewer than ten Jonin guarding the place, including elite Jonin from the Hyuga and Yamanaka clans.

With elite Jonin from both clans in charge, no suspicious person could possibly escape the notice of the guarding ninjas in the hospital.

Furthermore, the hospital is equipped with numerous sealing barriers and traps; anyone unfamiliar with the hospital's interior who ventures in will quickly become aware of its layout.

The Senju clan's territory is an even more terrifying place than Konoha Hospital.

The reason is simple: the strongest ninja in Konoha is stationed there, so no evil spirits can cause trouble inside.

Kirito himself spends his days in two places, and he is followed by a large number of ANBU ninjas. It would be strange if the Sand Village spies could find a good opportunity.

There are also the three shadow clones he creates every day when he goes to work. Two of them went into an orphanage and a branch of a pharmacist's restaurant, respectively, and never came out again.

The Root members had secretly followed these two shadow clones to investigate. The Yakushi Gourmet Restaurant branch was okay; they could follow them inside, but there was a barrier inside, making it impossible to follow them in. The orphanage, on the other hand, was completely blocked by the barrier, and they couldn't even get in.

As for the remaining clones, they spent their days wandering around the village, playing, and buying various things to bring back to the Thousand Hands clan's territory.

Unsurprisingly, Kirito uses this shadow clone for fishing and for amusement.

Unfortunately, not a single fish has been caught so far.

"This won't do. That old guy won't stay away from Sunagakure for long. We need to find a way to lure him out."

Danzo threw the intelligence report on the table, a sinister smile gradually spreading across his gloomy face.

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(End of this chapter)