Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

He had been unable to find a way to manipulate natural energy for a long time, but shortly after returning to the village, he actually found a clue to using natural energy from Kirito's improved sealing technique, the Vajra Seal. This discovery really shocked him.

He used to be arrogant about his own genius, but now he has finally realized that there is always someone better.

Compared to Kirito's improvement of the Uzumaki clan's unique sealing technique, the Adamantine Sealing Technique, at the age of 8, and his discovery of a way to utilize natural energy, his various previously developed secret techniques are truly insignificant.

He had a premonition that if he got Kirito's help, his research speed on a certain technique would definitely increase significantly.

"I wonder if Kirito is interested in the concept of immortality. Oh well, Kirito is still young and doesn't understand the meaning of life yet. Let's discuss this with him after he goes to the battlefield. Only those who have experienced death can know how wonderful it is to be alive..."

Orochimaru murmured, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

But he quickly masked this sadness, regained his cold demeanor, and headed towards his laboratory outside the village.

……

On the other side, Konoha Prison.

Under the protection of a group of elite ANBU ninjas, the Third Hokage broke through the numerous blockades inside the prison and continued to penetrate deeper into the prison.

Soon, he finally arrived at the deepest cell in the prison.

Here, he saw the people of the roots.

When the two Root ninjas saw him, they merely nodded indifferently without even offering a basic greeting. Furthermore, there were faint chakra fluctuations emanating from their bodies, indicating that they were preparing some kind of ninjutsu. If he were to trespass, even his Hokage would be among them to take action.

Although the third generation was dissatisfied with this, he said nothing.

He knew the root system very well.

These Root ninjas were either brainwashed or controlled by Danzo using cursed seals. Their only loyal follower was Danzo, and they didn't care about him, the Hokage, at all.

Therefore, Root is actually Danzo's private armed force, an armed force that operates outside the authority of Konoha.

The Third Hokage had noticed this problem long ago, but since he had just taken power and lacked control over Konoha, he needed Danzo's extra strength to help him handle things that were inconvenient for him to do outside. Therefore, he had been turning a blind eye to it.

Danzo always completed all the tasks assigned to him very well, regardless of their size, difficulty, or filth, and Danzo did his best to complete them, which greatly helped him.

His ability to quickly secure the Hokage position was inseparable from Danzo's silent support behind the scenes.

That period was when he was very close to Danzo. He trusted Danzo a lot and gave Danzo a lot of power and autonomy.

But at some point, his good friend began to change, outwardly obeying his orders but inwardly disobeying them, and even doing many things in his name and Konoha's name that he was unaware of.

When he finally realized what was happening and tried to deal with Danzo, he was shocked to discover that the Root organization led by Danzo had grown to a terrifying size, and that many parts of Konoha were now dependent on Root's help.

If he were to take action against Danzo, it would inevitably shake the balance he had painstakingly established in Konoha.

He was thus forced to temporarily suspend his dealings with Danzo, but began to restrict Danzo's connections, no longer sending people to them indiscriminately.

After that, his conflicts and disagreements with Danzo grew larger and larger.

If it weren't for the war, and Konoha's need to use Root, he might have disbanded or eliminated this armed force that was beneficial to Konoha's power long ago.

"It's too late to say anything now. Fortunately, he stumbled in front of Lord Mito, so he's easier to control now than before."

The Third Hokage's mind raced as he considered his current relationship with Danzo, his eyes gradually turning cold.

He came to see Danzo today to warn him.

The information Hattori Masanari gave to Konoha has been verified to be correct, but I don't know where that bastard Danzo got this information from, and now he actually sent the elite of Root to search for Hattori Masanari all over the Land of Rain.

Hattori Masanari had previously warned Konoha that trading was not allowed and would be disrupted by Root members.

Danzo's actions now are practically touching his sore spot.

Hattori Masanari's information is very important. This transaction between Konoha and Hattori Masanari must be completed smoothly. If Danzo dares to cause trouble and cause Konoha to miss the opportunity to defeat Sunagakure, he will absolutely not forgive Danzo this time.

He came here in person today so that Danzo would understand his determination.

"It's Hiruzen, isn't it? Since you're here, let's come in and talk. I've already made some tea."

Suddenly, Danzo's voice came from behind the cell door in front of them.

Upon hearing this voice, the third generation frowned slightly, then pushed open the cell door without hesitation.

The next moment, an unfathomable darkness appeared before him, and his old comrade-in-arms, whom he had not seen for a long time, was now completely shrouded in darkness, with only a pair of eyes that gleamed with a dangerous light in the darkness showing.

Chapter 141: The Third Hokage's Ultimatum to Danzo

"It's too dark, turn on the light, Danzo."

The Third Hokage stepped into the dark cell and spoke to Danzo with a blank expression.

After not seeing each other for a while, he found that his old comrade-in-arms had become more and more unfamiliar. The other party was getting closer and closer to the darkness, almost becoming one with it. The unsettling chakra fluctuations in his body had also become increasingly cold and sinister.

"Oh, you can't see clearly, Hiruzen? It seems you've been in the sunlight for too long, and your night vision has deteriorated. This is not a good sign. After all, it's common for ninjas to operate at night. You'd better practice more often, otherwise, if you falter at a crucial moment, it will be a fatal weakness."

Instead of immediately turning on the light as instructed, Danzo began lecturing the Third Hokage.

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage's eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp; how could he not hear the sarcasm in Danzo's voice?

This bastard actually mocked him for not having been on the battlefield for too long, saying his combat strength had declined.

He had indeed neglected his training for a long time, and it was inevitable that his strength had declined. But there was nothing he could do about it. He had a lot of things to do in Konoha, and he barely had enough time to rest, let alone train.

However, he recently fought the Nine-Tails and learned an interesting sealing technique from a cute and powerful junior, learning how to manipulate natural energy. With his current strength, he is more than capable of defeating Danzo and the Root elites hiding in the shadows.

The next moment, a terrifying wave of chakra erupted from the Third Hokage, his entire body glowing with fiery red chakra light, and cracks instantly appeared in the floor beneath him.

Under the impact of this terrifying chakra fluctuation, Danzo and the Root elites hidden in the darkness immediately felt short of breath. The immense pressure from the Third Hokage made their hair stand on end, and they felt that the Third Hokage in front of them was extremely dangerous. They couldn't help but have the thought of escaping from here.

They would be killed if he wanted to.

That's what they're thinking right now.

"Damn Hiruzen! His strength hasn't declined much, and his chakra seems even stronger than before. How did he do that? He's been working late into the night every day."

Danzo sensed the chakra fluctuations emanating from the Third Hokage, his face turning extremely grim, and he was inwardly astonished.

Being deep inside the prison, he had very little to do, so he could only spend his spare time exercising.

Thanks to the vast amount of training resources that Root plundered from the outside world, he, as the leader of Root, naturally had no shortage of training resources and various precious ninjutsu. He had recently clearly felt that his strength had improved.

Especially in order to target the Uchiha clan, who were masters of ocular jutsu, after successfully learning the S-rank ninjutsu Dark Travel Technique, he felt that his strength was no less than that of the Third Hokage, who had been away from battle for many years and spent countless nights working.

He was in the shadows, and in order to lead the Roots, he had personally led his troops to fight powerful enemies in the dark many times over the years.

It's just that ordinary people can't see the contributions he made to Konoha.

Years of fighting have kept his strength remarkably well-preserved; he remains at his peak and is even continuing to improve slowly.

However, he did not expect that the Third Hokage's strength was still so good, and he was not confident that he could defeat the current Third Hokage.

"Turn on the light."

The third generation reminded him again.

"Humph."

Danzo didn't dare to mock the Third Hokage this time, and just snorted coldly.

The next moment, the darkness in the room receded rapidly like a tide, disappearing into Danzo's body, and the room was illuminated again.

"Darkness Travel Technique, this guy actually managed to learn this S-rank ninjutsu. No wonder he was so arrogant just now, saying those kinds of things. His strength has probably improved quite a bit recently."

The third generation was startled by this scene and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Darkness Release Technique is a Yin Release ninjutsu developed by the teacher to counter ocular ninjas. It is an S-rank ninjutsu that uses Yin Release chakra to create a dark environment, stealing all light and completely sealing off the ocular ninja's ocular jutsu.

Without a doubt, this is an extremely powerful assassination technique. If the victim lacks sufficiently strong perception, they will be assassinated silently.

It seems that his old comrade-in-arms had been training diligently in prison, which allowed him to make breakthroughs in his ninjutsu skills.

"It seems I need to squeeze out some time for training. As the Hokage, it's really not right to neglect training for so long."

The third generation thought to himself.

Although he had preserved his strength well, he knew in his heart that if he neglected training for too long and continued to work late into the night as usual, no matter how strong his body was or how effective the supplements he usually took were, his body would not be able to withstand it.

In a few years, once his body has passed its peak, his abilities may decline significantly.

The only way to slow down the decline in skill is to train diligently every day.

He believes that as long as he increases his training time and takes some supplements prepared by his wife Biwako, it shouldn't be a problem to extend his peak physical condition.

It would be bad if my strength were surpassed by Danzo, who now trains whenever he has nothing else to do.

From childhood to adulthood, he has always been stronger than Danzo.

"Hiruzen, it's rare for you to come see me in person today. Is there something important you want to discuss with me?"

Danzo released the Dark Travel Technique, showing off in front of the Third Hokage. Then, noticing the surprise on the Third Hokage's face, he revealed a smug smile, but quickly suppressed it and said coldly.

In fact, he knew why the three generations had come without even asking.

There was no way around it; the Root members he sent were quite active in the Land of Rain, making it difficult to keep it a secret from the Third Generation.

As expected, Hattori Masanari, that damned Rain Ninja, is the core person the Third Hokage will be talking to next.

"Who exactly is this person? His ability to hide is so strong. It's already a miracle that a small village like Amegakure could produce a Hanzo of the Salamander. It's really unreasonable that he could produce someone with such a powerful ability to hide."

The thought of Hattori Masanari cast a shadow over Danzo's heart.

He was confident that the intelligence gathering and tracking capabilities of the Root organization he led were absolutely top-notch in the ninja world. But even so, after sending out many of the Root's best trackers, so many days had passed and he still hadn't found a trace of Hattori Masanari. This result was truly unexpected for him.

I thought it would be a piece of cake, but it's dragged on until now, and that idiot Third Hokage even found out. What a blunder.

"Immediately cease all activities of the Roots in the Land of Rain."

The Third Hokage also decided to cut to the chase and get straight to the point, stating the purpose of his visit to Danzo.

"Root's activities in the Land of Rain are normal intelligence gathering. I'm doing all this for Konoha. What's wrong with that?"

Danzo was not going to listen obediently; he immediately brought out his "get-out-of-jail-free card" that everything was done for Konoha.

"Danzo, this is an order, not a discussion with you."

The Third Hokage didn't want to argue with Danzo this time, and said it with extreme firmness.

After saying that, he unleashed another terrifying wave of chakra, which mercilessly struck Danzo, causing the previously composed Danzo to instantly stand up, take a few steps back, and break out in a cold sweat.

Hattori Masanari's information has been confirmed to be correct, so Konoha's deal with Hattori Masanari must be completed perfectly without the slightest mistake.

Therefore, he must crush any obstacle that hinders this transaction, even if it is Danzo's Root organization.

For the sake of Konoha, there is nothing he cannot give up. If Danzo dares to refuse or disobey orders today, he will personally take action to eliminate Danzo and those Root ninjas who do not obey orders.