Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

"I'm not too sure about that, but if you have time, go back and make an appointment. Don't keep Master Fukasaku waiting."

The messenger toad shook its head.

"I understand, I will definitely find time to go back as soon as possible."

Jiraiya nodded, a serious expression on his face.

The fact that Fukasaku is in such a hurry to send him back means it's probably something very important, and it's very likely related to the chosen one prophesied by the Great Toad Sage.

When Jiraiya thought of the chosen one, he couldn't help but think of Nagato.

To be precise, it was Nagato's distinctive eyes.

Will Nagato's child be the chosen one?

……

As the sun set, in Konoha, at the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at the latest intelligence report delivered by his son, Takashi Sarutobi, along with a messenger toad, and a serious expression appeared on his face.

This intelligence was sent back by Jiraiya. It detailed the process and outcome of the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse defeating Kakuzu and Hattori Masanari's deal with Iwagakure. It also mentioned that Hattori Masanari was suspected of possessing powerful counter-surveillance capabilities.

"Who is this mysterious Kage-level powerhouse who was able to defeat the immortal Kakuzu? Moreover, he actually mastered five basic chakra natures. The waters of this ninja world are still as deep as ever. This person is likely from a small ninja village. The other four major ninja villages do not have a ninja of comparable strength. Judging from his use of various powerful sword techniques, this person is likely a powerhouse from the Land of Iron."

The Third Hokage placed the intelligence document on the table, then leaned back in his chair, looking weary as he thought to himself.

A Kage-level expert is a serious matter no matter where you are. Konoha must obtain information about this mysterious Kage-level expert as soon as possible, otherwise, if this person becomes an enemy of Konoha and you have to fight him, Konoha will definitely suffer losses.

As for the conflict between Iwagakure and Sunagakure that occurred during Hattori Masanari's transaction with Iwagakure, and the final outcome, these are secondary compared to the origins of the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse.

This wasn't just him being overly pessimistic; ever since Lord Hashirama Senju passed away, Konoha, which occupies the rich Land of Fire, has been coveted and antagonized by other ninja villages, leading to frequent conflicts and even wars.

Just like Amegakure, because of the emergence of Hanzo, they dared to challenge Konoha.

If this mysterious Kage-level expert is from a small ninja village, perhaps one day that small ninja village will become arrogant like Amegakure after it acquired a powerful Kage-level expert, and then challenge Konoha.

"These are truly turbulent times."

The third generation turned to look outside and saw that the leaves on the trees had begun to turn yellow. He said with concern.

After resting for a while, he continued working despite his exhaustion.

Soon, he saw an application form from the Ninja Academy requesting early graduation.

Normally, if the Third Hokage saw this kind of application form, he would simply check the applicant's ninjutsu abilities and, if he found that the applicant had already mastered the Three Body Techniques, he would approve it without hesitation.

But the application form in front of him was a bit of a problem, because the applicant was actually Rope Tree.

"Has this kid already obtained Lord Mito's approval? If he secretly applied without my consent, and I approve it, then we'll be in trouble."

The third generation thought to himself with a bit of a headache, and then drew an X on it.

He knew Nawaki's strength; he could have graduated long ago. However, with only the strength of a Special Jonin, he wouldn't be able to make a significant impact on the battlefield. At least one would need the strength of an elite Jonin like Kirito to be able to make a difference on the battlefield and have a greater chance of surviving.

As for Nawaki, he's still a bit lacking; going to the battlefield would be much more dangerous for him than for Kirito.

"I wonder what Mito-sama's plans are. Let's wait and see. Kirito's strength is improving very quickly. Maybe there will be new surprises in a while. I really look forward to the day when he goes to the battlefield and causes trouble for Sunagakure. It will definitely be very exciting."

When the Third Hokage thought of Kirito, a smile appeared on his face, and his worries lessened considerably.

They have a true monster-level genius ninja on their side in Konoha.

Therefore, time is on Konoha's side.

Suddenly, the smile on the Third Generation's face vanished, replaced by a cold expression.

The next moment, a Root ninja wearing a dog mask and exuding a chilling aura suddenly appeared in front of him.

Chapter 149: The Departed and the New Sprout

"Is there some intelligence?"

The Third Hokage looked at the Root ninja before him and said coldly.

Since he successfully controlled Danzo with the cursed seal, the amount of information sent from Root has gradually increased.

While most of this information is of little value regarding the Uchiha clan, there is some that could be useful on the battlefield between Konoha and Sunagakure.

As a result, Konoha gradually regained some advantage in the war against Sunagakure.

All of this is thanks to his wise leadership as Hokage.

It was definitely the right choice to use the cursed seal to control Danzo back then.

"Ha~, Hokage-sama, Danzo asked me to send this over. Please take a look."

The Root ninja knelt on one knee, tilted his head back, and presented a scroll with both hands, speaking in a completely emotionless voice.

Upon seeing this, the Third Hokage extended a finger, manipulated a chakra thread to quickly take the scroll into his hand, then opened it and quickly browsed through it, his face gradually revealing a serious expression.

"I have received the intelligence. Go back and tell Danzo to continue the investigation and find the source as soon as possible. That's all, you can leave now."

The third generation closed the scroll, remained silent for a moment, and then answered.

"Ha~"

The Root ninja answered immediately, then used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear from the Third Hokage's sight.

"Sigh~, I didn't expect the Land of Wind to provide such substantial support to Sunagakure. It seems that the Land of Wind's invasion of the Land of Fire has been planned for a long time."

After the Root ninjas left, the Third Hokage sighed deeply.

The intelligence Danzo just gave him was that Sunagakure had recently received a large sum of money, which greatly boosted Sunagakure's already collapsing finances, enabling it to continue to purchase strategic materials from other countries and sustain the war.

The Third Hokage's biggest takeaway from the enemy, Sunagakure, was that they were poor.

This is an enemy that has been terrified of poverty, so this enemy is extremely resilient, and the ninjas born from this enemy generally have strong individual combat capabilities. The Konoha ninjas not only cannot gain an advantage, but will suffer a lot of losses instead.

Although this situation generally only exists among Genin and Chunin, and Konoha ninjas are generally stronger than Sunagakure ninjas after reaching Jonin level, on the battlefield, the advantage of Sunagakure ninjas having stronger individual combat abilities than Konoha ninjas is greatly amplified.

The only thing that could possibly limit the military strength of Sunagakure is their poor internal finances.

Because of insufficient resources, it is impossible for Sunagakure to rapidly increase its army. If it were to force this, it would only lead to its own financial collapse and eventual self-destruction.

Now that Sunagakure has received a large sum of money, it can purchase a large amount of supplies from outside, which will surely enable it to quickly train a large number of genin and chunin.

"Something doesn't feel right. The Land of Wind is quite supportive of Sunagakure, but the Land of Wind itself is also very poor. It shouldn't be able to provide Sunagakure with a large sum of money in a short period of time. We must find out where Sunagakure got so much money."

The third generation picked up his pipe, took a puff, and said with a worried expression.

Sunagakure gained a large sum of money, while Konoha was facing a financial crisis.

It seems impossible for this war to end in a short time.

Meanwhile, deep within Konoha Prison, in the office of the new leader of Root.

Danzo had just received instructions from the Third Hokage from the returning Root ninja. A hint of displeasure appeared on his somewhat aged face, but he said nothing and simply dismissed the Root ninja in front of him.

"Hmph, let me trace the source of the funds, fine, but it may take a long time, Hiruzen, this war will not end so easily."

Danzo sneered inwardly.

After the Third Hokage forcibly placed a curse mark on his body, he no longer harbored any illusions about the Third Hokage.

In his eyes, the Third Hokage was also an enemy of him and Konoha.

When dealing with enemies, he naturally wouldn't let them have their way.

In fact, he had already found out the source of the Sunagakure resources, but he didn't want the Third Hokage to know, so he directly deleted the most important part of the information.

"However, the Sand Village has produced another Magnet Release ninja at this time, and a special Magnet Release ninja who can manipulate gold dust. How infuriating! Could this be the favor of the Sand Village?"

Danzo recalled the entire contents of the intelligence, and a deep murderous intent quietly arose in his heart.

Danzo doesn't know much about this special Magnet Release ninja. Sunagakure has done a good job of keeping this Magnet Release ninja secret. He only learned a little bit of the specifics through the spy who infiltrated the upper echelons.

But without a doubt, this special Magnet Release ninja poses a great threat to Konoha. If he continues to use his abilities to mine for gold in the desert and provide Sunagakure with a steady stream of funds, Konoha will have to pay an even greater price to defeat Sunagakure.

Danzo, such a dangerous enemy to Konoha, could not be allowed to live any longer; he had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

But Danzo quickly suppressed his killing intent. Although this enemy from Sunagakure was despicable, there were even more despicable enemies in Konoha.

For example, the Uchiha clan, and that damned Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He still needs this war to weaken the Uchiha clan and Hiruzen Sarutobi's power for the time being.

The root system he controls also needs this time to rest and recuperate. As long as the root system can continue to contribute enough power to Konoha, it can continuously grow stronger with the help of Konoha's power.

He had seen through Hiruzen Sarutobi from the outcome of the war between Konoha and Amegakure. He was a weak fool. As long as he continued to maintain that weak attitude towards the outside world, Root would have no choice but to continue to grow stronger.

Konoha's martial arts-oriented ninjas don't need a Hokage who is weak in dealing with external threats.

"I'll just sit back and stir up trouble and reap the benefits of the war between Konoha and Sunagakure. Compared to these open enemies, those enemies who harbor malice towards Root in secret are more worthy of attention. The Night Organization has arrived, and now a mysterious samurai with Kage-level strength has appeared. The waters of this ninja world are as deep as ever."

Danzo quickly put aside the matter of Sunagakure and the Third Hokage to consider some more pressing matters.

He already knew about the annihilation of the Skull Squad; before he died, Gale used a summoning beast to send back crucial information.

"A mysterious Kage-level powerhouse, who exactly is this person? Why is he specifically targeting the Root members?"

Danzo felt his heart bleed at the thought of the annihilation of his powerful protective force, the Skull Squad. He wished he could find that mysterious Kage-level expert immediately and then torture and kill him.

Unfortunately, he could only think about it for the time being. With the power that he and Root currently had, it was almost impossible to deal with a Kage-level powerhouse who could easily annihilate the Skull Squad.

Moreover, he didn't even know who his enemy was, so he had nowhere to seek revenge.

He could only endure this grudge for the time being.

Fortunately, the situation at Root is improving. Root, which was somewhat out of control, is now back under his control. Although the Root intelligence network outside suffered heavy losses, its foundation is still intact. As long as the funding is replenished, it will be able to recover quickly.

He believed that given two or three years, restoring the roots to their full strength would be no problem at all.

Because he has already broken free from this hateful cage, although only his shadow clone can get out, but that is enough.

"Hiruzen, you will regret it, regret giving me the chance to get out of here."

Danzo touched the spot on his heart, a deep hatred flashing in his eyes.

From now on, he and the Roots will lie low for the time being, hiding in the deepest shadows, keeping as low-key as possible, avoiding the sight of others, and constantly accumulating strength, so that when the time is right, they can deliver a heavy blow to the enemy.

The next moment, a darkness emerged from behind, then rapidly expanded, eventually enveloping everything in the room in darkness.

Time continued to flow slowly, and the ninja world remained in constant conflict, but the biggest conflict was still the war between Konoha and Sunagakure.

The two behemoths of the ninja world were like two giants, constantly engaging in hand-to-hand combat, fighting to the death, with each side having its moments of advantage.

However, during this process, Konoha, relying on important intelligence obtained from an unknown source, destroyed several hidden warehouses in Sunagakure containing large amounts of important resources, which severely damaged Sunagakure's offensive and forced them to abandon a large amount of rich land they had gained and retreat from the front line.