XX-level Hokage

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon," Mashiro murmured.

Kushina didn't dislike Mashiro; she was just a little out of place in this era and wary of Mashiro's deception. She was very uneasy, but Naruto forced her to be strong.

Mashiro has already used "Bewitching Power" to leave a mark on Kushina's consciousness, making Kushina try to fall in love with her.

However, because Kushina's love for Minato was very intense, and "Bewitching God" was not like Kotoamatsukami, it could not directly modify Kushina's consciousness. Therefore, Mashiro could not make Kushina fall in love with her directly, but could only leave some marks.

However, that's enough. With these marks, a small opening was torn in Kushina's devotion to Minato, thus making Mashiro and Minato competitors. However, Minato is no longer here, so it's only a matter of time before Mashiro wins over Kushina, and then Kushina's burning love will be transferred to Mashiro.

Mashiro desperately wanted the Nine-Tails' chakra. She currently only had enough chakra to be at the level of an ordinary Chunin. Although she could dominate the ninja world with just her eye techniques and the Otsutsuki bloodline, the scarcity of chakra still made her somewhat uncomfortable.

In the afternoon, Mashiro arrived at the Hyuga clan's underground training room.

A shadowy ninja appeared, went to the corner of the wall, and began to dig. After a moment, the soldier dug out a black box and respectfully handed it to Mashiro.

Mashiro gently opened the box, revealing the scroll inside. The thing sealed in this scroll was the result of the artificial Tenseigan experiment.

"I hope it succeeds." Mashiro put away the scroll, muttered to herself, and then disappeared into the shadows. In the laboratory of the "Root" underground headquarters, Mashiro appeared out of thin air.

Kabuto, who was conducting his research, saw Mashiro and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Lord Mashiro, you're back." "How's the research on the snake-woman shrine maiden going?" Mashiro asked softly.

"Reporting back to you, sir, we still have no clue. There are not many traces of experimentation on her. Instead, it seems to be naturally formed, with all the different forms of power fused together and inseparable."

"But I already have a direction, and I believe I'll have a result soon," Kabuto replied. Hearing this, Mashiro nodded slightly and then left.

She had originally planned to let Kabuto study this unfinished Tenseigan, but it seems she should give up on that idea for now.

Scientific research talent is truly rare in this ninja world. Mashiro couldn't help but sigh.

Then she went to another laboratory.

At this moment, Tono Hosuke was directing several researchers to operate a huge black cube, while he was constantly recording something.

"How's the storage device, Hosuke?" Mashiro suddenly appeared behind Tono Hosuke and asked softly.

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhu hurriedly turned around respectfully and bowed, saying, "Reporting to Your Excellency, it is basically ready. After these days of testing and improvement, the stability and output efficiency of the storage device have been greatly improved. The only problem now is mass production."

"How many storage devices have been produced so far?" Zhen asked himself.

"Reporting to you, sir, two perfect storage devices have been produced, while three have defects," Fang said somewhat nervously. "What exactly are the defects?" Mashiro asked again.

"The main problem is instability. There are no issues with storing or releasing chakra, it's just not stable enough. During testing, it almost exploded," Fang Zhu replied.

"That's such a waste," Mashiro said regretfully.

“Lady Mashiro, these flawed items actually have other uses.” At this moment, an incredibly young researcher suddenly said. “Oh, why don’t you tell me?” Mashiro looked at the researcher.

“Yes, sir, in my opinion, since the flawed product has no problem storing and releasing chakra, but lacks stability, why not make it into a bomb? With a huge amount of chakra stored inside, it will definitely produce tremendous power when it explodes.” The young researcher glanced at Fang Zhu, then mustered up his courage and said to Mashiro.

"A bomb? That's a good idea, but how do we ensure it explodes when it's supposed to, and doesn't harm ourselves or others?" Mashiro asked. "The instability of defective goods lies not in the instability of storage, but in the instability of outputting them after storage. Based on this characteristic, we can completely transport them first..."

The past is empty, then chakra is artificially injected into the battlefield, and then quickly output to detonate it.

It is even possible to transform flawed items into weapons, pre-store chakra, and then manually control the weapons to attack. At the same time, explosions can be caused. Such weapons would definitely have unexpected effects on the battlefield.

Moreover, because the chakra is pre-stored, even ordinary people can wield this weapon. In addition,..." the young researcher said, becoming excited and starting to gesticulate wildly.

Seeing this, Tono Kazusuke quickly gave him a wink, but he didn't see it. Mashiro listened with great interest, nodding slightly from time to time.

Only after the researcher finished speaking did he realize that he had lost his composure and quickly lowered his head.

“Your idea is excellent,” Mashiro praised. The young researcher’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“However, this is rejected. This weapon is built on sacrifice, and Konoha's principles do not allow us to do so,” Mashiro changed the subject.

Upon hearing this, the young researcher's excitement vanished, replaced by nervousness. "What's his name?" Mashiro asked softly, looking at Tono Fusuke.

"My lord, his name is Tono Katasuke," Tono Katasuke said, somewhat awkwardly touching his nose.

Qi Bai naturally didn't care about the relationship between the two of them, after all, she had always admired intelligent people.

"I'll allocate him a solo lab later and approve some research funding. I want to see what his abilities are like. If he's capable, then the position of deputy director can be finalized," Mashiro said softly.

“Yes, sir.” Tono Kazusuke was very pleased.

"Thank you so much, sir. Katsuke will certainly live up to your expectations." Tono Katsuke was even more excited. Mashiro didn't say anything more and turned to leave the laboratory.

I don't know about the other ninja villages yet, but in Mashiro's opinion, Konoha only has a few scientific research talents, and most of them specialize in different areas. The Second Hokage, Senju Mima, specializes in forbidden techniques, Kabuto specializes in biomedicine, and Tono Katasuke specializes in science. There is only one all-rounder, Orochimaru, who doesn't get along with her very well. Now, another one, Tono Katasuke, has appeared, but he has given Mashiro an unexpected surprise.

Time flies, and soon I was back with the Red Team.

With everyone gathered, the party proceeded as planned at Mashiro's villa. (I won't elaborate further here; there will be a bonus chapter if you're interested.)

After the party ended, Mashiro looked at the white papers scattered around the bed and muttered to himself, "Let's begin." For the second challenge, the village assigned Naruto, Sasuke, and Koro a task.

Soon after, news broke that a mysterious organization had attacked the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Following this, news of the Jinchuriki's disappearance began to circulate throughout the ninja world.

Meanwhile, Konoha dispatched envoys to Kumogakure to discuss matters related to Jinchuriki.

Chapter 131: The Great Battle of the Cloud Ninja (Part 1)

In a cave in Kusagakure, Kakuzu and Sasori were resting. Due to the severe damage to the drainage system, Sasori revealed his true form.

“We failed,” Kakuzu suddenly said. Sasori remained silent.

The order to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was given to them by Shinji.

Mashiro provided them with the location of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and told them not to use excessive force. Following Mashiro's directions, they successfully encountered the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, leading to a fierce battle. Ultimately, the capture failed, and the two wolves escaped.

At first, the two of them didn't really go all out, after all, they were just going through the motions because of Mashiro. But in the end, even if they went all out, they couldn't do anything to those three young people.

This was a significant blow to both of them, especially to Kakuzu. "What should I say when I get back?" Kakuzu muttered to himself.

"Give it back?" Scorpion countered. "That's true."

They no longer need to return to Xiao.

Kakuzu rose, and the two emerged from the cave, disappearing into the forest. Deep within the Tower of God in the Land of Rain.

"The Jade Maiden and the North Star have failed and their whereabouts are currently unknown." Obito appeared beside Nagato and said, "I understand." Nagato said calmly.

"We only need the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails to gather all nine tailed beasts. What are you planning to do?" Obito asked softly.

"I will take Rokudo and Konan to Kumogakure to capture the Eight-Tails. The Nine-Tails is yours to handle," Nagato said softly, looking at Obito.

Looking at Nagato, Obito seemed puzzled, but he didn't say anything. He simply nodded and then used Kamui Dimension to disappear from the spot.

After Obito left, a pile of white paper floated over and coalesced into Konan's face. She looked around and said, "He's gone?" Nagato nodded slightly, then his grey-purple Rinnegan gazed into the distance, and he whispered, "The plan is about to begin. Be careful in everything." Konan whispered, her eyes still showing some worry.

On the other side, on a cliff within the Land of Rain, Obito appeared, accompanied by Kaguya Mashiro. "Senpai seems to have known that Tamamo and Hokuto would fail," he suddenly said.

Obito scoffed at this, saying, "If the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were really that easy to capture, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble." "What? Does Senpai have any complaints about Zero's decision?" Shingo asked with a smile.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little surprised that he chose to go to Kumogakure instead of Konoha," Obito said, shaking his head slightly.

"After all, Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, is hailed as the perfect Jinchuriki. Perhaps he doesn't trust others and is preparing to take action himself," True Self said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Obito nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with the true self's statement. After all, in terms of strength alone, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is the strongest and most difficult to capture among all Jinchuriki.

"It doesn't matter anymore. After capturing the Eight-Tails, Nagato will be useless." Obito said coldly, then activated Kamui Dimension and disappeared from the spot with his true self.

At this time, the envoys sent by Konoha to Kumogakure had also set off. Although they were called envoys, there were only two people, Mashiro and Sakura.

The most important reason for bringing Sakura along was that, after Mashiro's suggestion and Shizune's own repeated consideration, she ultimately gave the summoning scroll of Shikkotsu Forest to Sakura.

In the plan, Nagato was definitely going to launch "Super Shinra Tensei"; otherwise, Mashiro didn't think many Cloud Ninja would survive.

Mashiro's goal was simply to trigger the Five Kage Summit, not to have the Cloud Ninja destroy the village, which highlights Sakura's importance.

In response, Mashiro specifically asked Tsunade to inform the Sage of Shikkotsu Forest beforehand, so that Koro could summon even more and larger ones.

Even so, there is still a huge problem that Mashiro needs to solve: Sakura's chakra. No matter what, Sakura's current chakra level is definitely not enough to deal with "Super Shinra Tensei".

Therefore, Mashiro would need someone's help, and coincidentally, Mashiro was very familiar with that person. Thinking of this, Mashiro smiled softly.

In the Hidden Cloud Village, Yugito was strolling through the streets when she suddenly felt uneasy. She looked up into the distance and muttered to herself, "Why do I always have this ominous feeling?"

"What's wrong?" Samui asked.

"Nothing, just a bit cold," Yukito said casually.

"Cold?" Samui glanced at Yukito's clothes, then at himself.

Yugito noticed Samui's gaze and said, "Not everyone is like you." Every time she looked at Samui's figure, she felt a deep sense of frustration.

Seemingly sensing Yugito's gaze, Samui rubbed his shoulders and said, "They're a little sore."

Because of the mysterious organization, Yugito hasn't taken on any missions lately; after all, she was captured once and is still traumatized. As for Samui, she's been resting recently.

As two outstanding female Jonin from Kumogakure, and sharing some similarities in personality, Yugito and Samui had a fairly good relationship, which led to...

We took a rare break and decided to go shopping together.

In Yukito's eyes, Samui had delicate, aloof features, fair skin, short, light yellow hair, an incredibly hot figure, and was mature, calm, knowledgeable, and taciturn.

Samui sees Yugito as having delicate and proud features, fair skin, beige braids, a tall figure, great strength, a proud personality, understanding, gentleness, and giving people a very cute feeling.

“Let’s go to the ice cream parlor and have some dessert,” Samui said.

Upon hearing this familiar name, Yukito paused slightly, then nodded gently.

Whether it's the Xuezhi family, the ice cream shop, or other industries, they have already established themselves in other countries. However, due to a lack of high-level support and suppression from local similar industries, they have not expanded as rapidly as Konoha. Nevertheless, these industries have still won the favor of many locals with their outstanding quality, especially the wealthy locals, since the ice cream shop takes a high-end luxury route.

Stepping into the ice cream parlor and taking a seat, Samui looked at the prices on the menu and couldn't help but exclaim, "They're really expensive."

Because of the inability to expand, coupled with the suppression of similar products in the local area, and the need to consider labor and material transportation, the price of ice cream shops in Kumogakure is much higher than that in Konoha.

As Yugi looked at the familiar desserts on the menu and their prices, she realized for the first time that the things she used to eat so often were actually so expensive.

They ordered a few things casually and started chatting.

"I wonder when I'll be able to live the carefree life of an ice cream parlor," Samui said softly.

Although she's usually quiet, she'll occasionally talk more when she's relaxed. Actually, I've already achieved that.

Yugito silently sipped his tea, then reminisced about his life in Konoha.

Although she has returned to the Cloud Village, she actually prefers life in the Leaf Village—prosperous, peaceful, and with no worries about food or clothing. It's truly captivating.

As she pondered, a figure surfaced in Yugito's mind. Yugito couldn't help but pull out the black card that Mashiro had given her earlier. "Is this a membership card?" Samui asked.

"I guess so, but it's a Konoha membership card, I don't know if it's still valid," Yugito said.

“The black card should be universal,” Samui said, having read some books on business models. “Really?” Yugito hesitated for a moment, then called for a waiter.

Hello, after verification, your membership card is valid at all stores and is the highest level membership card, which allows you to eat for free at the stores.

"All desserts are available for takeout." The shop manager said, respectfully handing the black card to Yugito.