Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

In fact, my delay in showing myself was intentional, designed to keep these people's attention focused here, creating a momentum so that our subsequent transaction could proceed smoothly. You know, it's somewhat inconvenient for me to bring two living people along for a transaction."

Kirito explained apologetically.

"Stop talking nonsense. I just want to know how we at Iwagakure have fared these past few days. You don't expect us to draw fire for you for nothing, do you?"

Huang Tu didn't want to hear Kirito's explanation; he only wanted to use this opportunity to gain more benefits for Iwagakure, and he pressed on aggressively.

He himself was unharmed by the assassinations these past few days, but he lost many loyal comrades from Iwagakure. He had to get revenge on Kirito, that unpunctual guy, for these losses. Otherwise, how could he face his fallen comrades and Iwagakure?

Upon hearing this, Kirito remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "I can do without the resources to train Jonin, but you must give me those Earth Release ninjutsu and S-rank ninjutsu."

"That's fair. Now, tell me, where is the new trading location?"

Seeing that Kirito was offering substantial benefits as a concession, Huang Tu decided to stop while he was ahead and nodded expressionlessly.

Kirito smiled without saying a word, and then, under the questioning gaze of Huang Tu, he turned into a puddle of water, directly dispelling his water clone.

At the same time, a wet wooden plaque landed on the ground where Kirito's clones had disappeared.

Huang Tu quickly went over and picked up the wooden sign. After he saw the words engraved on the sign, he immediately used Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique to crush the sign into powder.

"It's a good place to trade."

Huang Tu lowered his head, looking at the wood shavings in his hand, and murmured.

At the same time, in a forest seven or eight kilometers away from the town, a White Zetsu clone emerged from a large tree, looking solemnly in the direction of the town.

He had already activated his Byakugan, and with its power, he could see everything and everyone's actions in the town.

In fact, now that he has combined his Byakugan with his ability to sense natural energy, he can no longer hide anything from any of the powerful ninjas in the town.

He discovered that this small border town actually had a full twenty Jonin and two Kage-level powerhouses gathered there.

This lineup is truly luxurious.

The twenty-odd Jonin came from various factions, with Iwagakure and Konoha having the most, each with five Jonin. Next was Sunagakure with three Jonin, followed by Amegakure with two Jonin. Of the remaining five Jonin, one was Yamanaka Kumo, and the strength of the rest was unknown, but they were most likely lone wolves.

As for the two Kage-level powerhouses, one of them was Chiyo from Sunagakure, and the other was Kakuzu, the Undead.

"I never expected that this deal with Iwagakure would even attract Kakuzu. Is he here for the bounty on Hattori Masanari's head, or the bounty on Hirotsuchi's head?"

Kirito glanced at a ninja completely shrouded in black in a house in the town with his Byakugan, and thought to himself.

This person was none other than Kakuzu. He had already used illusion magic to control the people in the houses and used the tentacles formed by the Earth Grudge on his body to sneak underground, all the way to the inn where the yellow earth was located.

It seems that Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Technique, besides granting him immortality, also gives him the ability to detect things.

"Hmm~, someone is spying on me. Where is this spying coming from?"

On the other side, Kakuzu, who was being watched by Kirito with his Byakugan, was startled. He calmly observed his surroundings and used some kind of sensory ninjutsu to counterattack.

However, the feeling of being spied on never disappeared, causing his heart to gradually sink.

"It seems this bounty hunt won't be as enjoyable as usual."

Kakuzu realized that his sensory ninjutsu was useless, so he simply chose to give up, but he secretly became vigilant and mobilized the chakra in his body, ready to suddenly attack and hurt someone at any time.

He has now been exposed, so the wisest course of action now is to leave immediately.

He knew very well how troublesome an enemy was if his sensory ninjutsu couldn't counter it; the enemy was likely from a major ninja village and had many capable comrades by his side.

It was already extremely difficult for him, all alone, to snatch food from the jaws of death from these people. Now, having lost the advantage of being hidden in the shadows, it would be even more difficult for him to try again, and he might end up getting himself killed as well.

Although he was highly skilled, he never underestimated his opponents; this was an experience he had gained through longevity.

No matter what kind of enemy it is, we must go all out and not be careless or underestimating them.

Knowing that continuing like this would make his situation increasingly dangerous, Kakuzu did not choose to leave. He remained calmly seated in the inn, continuing to use the Earth Grudge Fear to monitor the actions of Yotsuchi and the other Iwagakure ninja.

"Trying to make me back down like this? Hmph, don't even think about it. I will never betray money."

Kakuzu noticed that the prying gaze lingered on him and immediately realized what the other person was thinking, and he sneered inwardly.

He came here because he had been hired by someone in the underground gold exchange to assassinate Hattori Masanari.

He has already accepted the generous deposit, and it's impossible for him to get his money back now.

He also had no intention of refunding the money.

That's for sure.

In this world, only money will never betray him.

Since money has not betrayed him, he naturally cannot betray money, nor can he betray the contract formed by money.

He will do his utmost to fulfill this contract made in money, even if it means his death.

"I can only say that he is indeed a Kage-level expert. He is highly skilled and daring. I have been watching him like this, and he still has no intention of leaving or escaping my gaze. I am truly impressed."

Kirito watched Kakuzu's every move with his Byakugan, and sighed when he saw that Kakuzu had clearly noticed his spying but remained calmly in place.

Powerful ninjas are extremely difficult to spy on because they develop a very strong sense of danger after experiencing countless bloody battles. Once they are being watched, they will immediately realize it.

Kakuzu was a contemporary of the First Hokage and had once escaped from the First Hokage's clutches. He was a powerful ninja who had lived a long time and experienced countless battles.

A ninja of this caliber must have already noticed his spying, yet he hesitated to leave, which shows how confident he was in his own abilities.

Honestly, if he hadn't gotten the Byakugan, he would have run as far away from Kakuzu as possible.

Because this guy is also a master of water escape techniques, and he is also proficient in the other four types of elemental escape techniques.

Using his Byakugan, he saw that the five hearts inside the body stored a considerable amount of the five elemental chakras.

Combined, that amount of chakra undoubtedly reaches the Kage level.

In the original story, although Kakuzu only used those five Five Elements Escape Techniques, it doesn't mean he didn't know other Five Elements Escape Techniques; it just means he was more proficient in those few.

If the White Zetsu clone were to fight him in the Land of Rain, it would most likely be unable to gain much of an advantage by taking advantage of the terrain, and would probably instead be taught a lesson by him using Lightning Release ninjutsu.

However, the White Zetsu clone now possesses the power of the Byakugan, and with the advantage of the Land of Rain's terrain and Sage Mode, it might have a chance to capture Kakuzu.

As the story unfolds, Kakushou will become a core member of Akatsuki and a very important character in Naruto.

If he can kill Kakuzu now, he will definitely get enhancement points.

It has to be said that this is a great temptation.

"Kakuzu's appearance was an accident. Since it was an accident, let's put it aside for now. The real challenge is this Sunagakure's ninja beauty. I captured her son and daughter-in-law and used them to make a deal with Sunagakure. She must hate me to the core."

If Huang Tu can't shake off her pursuit, Hattori Masanari, disguised as someone else, will inevitably have to fight her in a real battle. This Kage-level puppeteer is an all-rounder, with considerable skill in puppetry, medical ninjutsu, ninjutsu, and sealing techniques. Fighting her would be extremely dangerous for me.

If another corner nearby is also eyeing it, Hattori Masashige's disguise will be in danger.

Kirito shifted his gaze from Kakuzu and instead secretly glanced at a middle-aged woman who was maintaining a puppet in the basement of a house, his eyes revealing a serious expression.

He didn't dare to stare at Chiyo like he had with her earlier; he just glanced at her casually and then looked away.

Unfortunately, no matter how careful he was, Chiyo seemed to sense that someone was watching her, and her movements as she manipulated the puppet suddenly paused for a moment.

"This feeling of being spied on is probably from a Byakugan ninja from Konoha. But to be able to see through my sealing barrier and spy on me, this Byakugan ninja's Byakugan ability must be extraordinary. Could it be a Byakugan ninja from the Hyuga main family? Impossible, those guys are all cowards, they couldn't possibly be here."

But if it's not a Byakugan ninja from the main family, then which Byakugan ninja from the branch family has such power?

"Forget it, there's no point in thinking about this. The important thing is that I've been discovered by the people of Konoha. However, I haven't been in Sunagakure for that many days, so that substitute should have been exposed by now. It's time to move on; this place is not safe to stay any longer."

Chiyo continued to manipulate the puppet without showing any emotion, her mind secretly racing.

She quickly finished maintaining the puppet and then secretly left the border town as fast as she could.

Unlike the perspective of a lone individual, Chiyo bears the heavy responsibility of protecting and building Sunagakure. She cannot continue to stay in the border town while exposed, which would only increase the danger and would be irresponsible to both her and Sunagakure.

"It doesn't matter if you escape my surveillance. I've already memorized your soul's essence. No matter how far you run, I'll be able to find you again."

Kirito rolled his eyes as Chiyo gradually disappeared from sight and said coldly.

Like Kakuzu, Chiyo is a very important character in Naruto. Defeating her will definitely grant you power-up points, and the number will be substantial.

However, the power of White Zetsu's clone alone is not enough to kill this Kage-level puppeteer.

He needs help.

Chapter 144: The Power Test of the Byakugan

In Amegakure, Kirito secretly entered the village using a White Zetsu clone.

While it's called a ninja village, it's more accurate to describe it as a small industrial city. Tall concrete buildings are everywhere, and due to a lack of detailed planning during construction, the buildings are quite disorganized, with many illegal structures.

A vast array of enormous steel pipes are connected side by side, winding and twisting, their destinations unknown, creating a massive and chaotic sight.

If you don't live here long-term, you'd never know where these steel pipes lead. If you accidentally walk into one, you might never get out and end up falling into some unknown drain with the rainwater.

Kirito, disguised as an inconspicuous Rain Ninja, infiltrated Amegakure and then easily made his way to Hanzo's location.

The atmosphere in Amegakure was different from when he last visited.

The last time I came, the atmosphere in Amegakure was heavy, but there was also a sense of joy in the hard-won peace. The villagers had smiles on their faces, but now it was completely heavy and oppressive. The villagers looked terrified and looked at the Amegakure ninjas in black robes with fear.

The steel tower in the center of Amegakure symbolizes supreme power in the village, and naturally, this is where Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, usually resides.

As usual, heavy rain fell from the sky, enveloping the entire tower in the cold sound of rain colliding with steel. However, recently, a faint smell of blood had been lingering around the tower.

Although the smell of blood had faded considerably after being washed away by the rain, Kirito could still smell it.

Kirito wasn't too surprised by this, because he knew the source of the bloody smell was the dozens of corpses hanging from the tower.

The internal purge of Rain Village has begun.

Hanzo did not disappoint him. Since the last conversation, he had begun to deal with the internal espionage problem, using somewhat radical and brutal methods.

Dealing with spies is something a ninja of Hanzo's caliber can do very well if he wants to, even without excellent interrogation techniques, because ancient interrogation techniques are still practiced in Amegakure.

This ancient torture technique, though inefficient, was effective.

Those defecting Rain Ninja were clearly not tough nuts to crack; with severe torture, a few would eventually confess.

In recent days, Hanzo has personally exposed many spies and traitors.

Hanzo showed no mercy to those who had eroded Amegakure from within, leading to Amegakure's defeat. He hanged them all on the central tower to deter potential traitors.

"Although the process is arduous and painful, the result will bring light and new life."

Kirito looked at the dozens of corpses on the tower and said expressionlessly.

He felt no sympathy whatsoever for these hanged men. Traitors are inherently shameful, and from the moment they betrayed their compatriots for their own benefit, they deserved this fate.

"Hmm, the rain has lessened."