Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 69 The Land of Waves

Things are getting interesting.

Kirito's soul clone thought with a smile, "I originally planned to kill Yamanaka Kumo, but I've changed my mind now."

Kirito didn't linger; he was busy and had many things to do. He became invisible again, returned to the White Zetsu clone underground, and then used the Mayfly Technique to quickly leave.

The Mayfly Technique is an outstanding movement ninjutsu. It not only allows White Zetsu to move at high speed through earth, rocks, grass, and trees without any hindrance, but also allows them to completely conceal their aura and disguise themselves as earth, rocks, grass, and trees.

In the blink of an eye, the White Zetsu clone traversed hundreds of kilometers, and a few minutes later, he arrived in the Land of Waves.

The Land of Waves is the farthest place Kirito has recently reached using his White Zetsu clones.

This is a very small island nation located near the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, and is currently a vassal state of the Land of Fire.

Because the Land of Fire is currently at war with the Land of Water and the Land of Clouds, the situation in the Land of Waves is still very stable. With the advantage of being backed by the Land of Fire and its own superior geographical environment, it has become an important distribution center for the Land of Fire's resources and an important place for the Land of Fire to export and acquire resources from the outside world.

However, because the government of the Land of Waves lacks sufficient military strength to suppress the powerful merchants from various countries who come here, and because the government of the Land of Fire deliberately indulges them and a large number of nobles secretly manipulate the situation, this place has now become a paradise for smuggling.

Therefore, the small Land of Waves is now a gathering place for a large number of merchants, ninjas, samurai, and ordinary people from all over the world who come here to make a living.

Here, various forces are mixed together, and the order is relatively chaotic.

But precisely because of this, it's a great place to gather intelligence, as merchants and ninjas from all over the world bring information from various countries.

In this era of frequent wars, intelligence is a vital resource. It can give countries an advantage in war, allow merchants to find business opportunities to make money, and also help countless ninjas and samurai who are chasing bounties to find clues about wanted criminals.

The White Zetsu clone finally stopped at a large mansion near the Daimyo's residence, and then emerged from under the master's bedroom.

The next moment, his appearance changed, and he became a young man wearing a kimono.

The young man had bright eyes and white teeth, was handsome, and possessed an air of nobility.

Gojo Makoto, that's the name of the boy that the White Zetsu clone transformed into using the Disguise Technique. He's a complete idiot ninja with no genin strength whatsoever.

Gojo Makoto's true identity is a local nobleman in the Land of Waves. His ancestors were related to the daimyo of the Land of Fire. He was once a prominent nobleman in the Land of Waves, but now he is just a fallen nobleman. He has fallen so low that only Gojo Makoto remains in the main line. Not long ago, the original owner of the body was assassinated and poisoned.

The murderer is Gojo Makoto's cousin, Gojoyama. He wants to kill Gojo Makoto in order to inherit his title and property.

After Gojo Makoto's death, Kirito used the Spirit Transformation Technique to read Gojo Makoto's soul, gaining all his memories. Then, through a White Zetsu clone, he absorbed the chakra from Gojo Makoto's body and perfectly transformed into Gojo Makoto.

He helped Gojo Makoto kill his cousin's entire family and a notorious merchant, thus avenging Gojo Makoto's family.

According to Gojoyama's memories, the deaths of Gojoyama's entire family were all orchestrated by Gojoyama's branch of the family in collusion with that wealthy merchant.

After Kirito used his White Zetsu clone to inherit everything from Gojo Makoto, help him kill his enemies, and incidentally take over their assets, he began to use the identity of Gojo Makoto to operate in the Land of Waves.

Although Gojo Shinzo had once been wealthy, he still had many connections. With money and ammunition and by demonstrating a certain level of military strength, he quickly obtained a military officer position and became an inconspicuous city defense officer in the city defense command, with a hundred men under his command.

With his outstanding abilities and the lure of money, he easily gained control over his group of cheap subordinates.

With power and connections, Kirito naturally began to collect protection money, just like his colleagues. His main targets were various merchants from outside the region who didn't have much background, and he started recruiting retainers.

On the surface, it was about recruiting retainers, but in reality, it was about recruiting wandering ninjas and some new-style samurai who could use chakra in combat.

With money and power, Kirito's recruitment went smoothly. In just one week, he recruited ten ninjas and twenty new samurai.

To Kirito, the strength of these ninjas and new-style samurai was insignificant. Among them, only two had the strength of a genin: one was a ninja and the other a samurai. The rest were at most ordinary people who could use chakra.

Kirito didn't mind. His purpose in recruiting these wandering ninjas and new-style samurai was simply to have them help him gather intelligence and protect some of his properties in the Land of Waves. He didn't expect them to fight against the ninjas from other villages.

"Someone come here."

After completing his disguise, the White Zetsu clone released the shadow clone that had been placed there and spoke.

Less than ten seconds later, the door opened, and a young, beautiful red-haired maidservant entered cautiously with a slight bow, awaiting Kirito's orders.

"Ryoko, go and call those two people over here."

Kirito spoke to the red-haired maid with a pleasant expression.

Ryoko Uzumaki, that's the name of the red-haired maid. She was bought by Kirito from a slave trader after he inherited Gojo Makoto's identity.

The once-famous Uzumaki clan fled to various countries after their country was destroyed, and many tragedies occurred during their journey.

For example, the Uzumaki clan, whose members belonged to the commoner class, was hunted down by wandering ninjas during their escape. Many clan members were killed, and the few remaining were captured and eventually became goods for merchants, sold all over the world.

Before meeting Kirito, Ryoko Uzumaki had been sold many times.

In Kirito's eyes, Ryoko Uzumaki is a rare talent. Although she is a bit older, already 15 years old, she is perceptive and has a strong drive to improve. Moreover, without any ninja training, her chakra level is already that of a Chunin.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, as long as Ryoko Uzumaki undergoes ninja training for a period of time, he will be able to acquire a capable subordinate in the Land of Waves.

However, we still need to observe her for a while, let her settle down here, feel safe and secure, and stop living in fear, so that she will naturally develop a sense of loyalty to us.

"Yes, Masahiro."

Ryoko naturally knew who the two people Kirito was referring to were, and immediately spoke respectfully before stepping away.

Soon, a young ninja and a young samurai came to pay their respects to Kirito. The two were named Fuma Ichiro and Itsufune, respectively. The former was a ninja of the Fuma clan, and the latter was from the Land of Iron, claiming to be one of the many junior disciples of the famous samurai Mifune.

Both of them bowed respectfully to Kirito, showing him awe.

Although their contact with Kirito was brief, after several exchanges, they had come to a deep understanding of the gap between themselves and Kirito, and also realized that the person in front of them could not possibly be Gojo Makoto himself.

However, by the time they realized this, they had already been cursed by Kirito without their knowledge.

They now find themselves unable to reveal anything about Kirito to anyone else; the moment they try to do so, the cursed seal on their bodies activates, causing them immense pain.

To their delight, after being marked with the curse, their previously stagnant strength began to advance by leaps and bounds.

Kirito's ability to use such a magical cursed seal technique naturally earned him the utmost respect and awe from the two of them.

It's tough for a new author to get ahead, so I hope all my fellow readers will visit often to increase the readership. After you finish reading, I hope you'll vote for this book and invest in it. If you could give me some monthly tickets and rewards, I would be extremely grateful. It's so hard for a new author and a new book.

(End of this chapter)