Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Konoha seized the opportunity to pursue, but Sunagakure displayed great resilience and fighting spirit, and Konoha suffered heavy casualties before forcing Sunagakure back to the vicinity of the border.

However, the good times didn't last long. Konoha had only forced Sunagakure back to the border for a little over three months when Sunagakure suddenly launched a secret counterattack, reclaiming the land they had been forced to give up, and even seizing more land.

If Sunagakure hadn't been worried about stretching the battle lines too far and the supply lines not keeping up, they might have been able to seize even more of the Land of Fire's rich lands and resources, expanding their gains.

The war between the two major ninja forces continues as a result, with no end in sight.

Three months passed, and it was finally Konoha Year 33. Kirito was nine years old.

At the hospital entrance, Kirito, who had just finished get off work, watched the snow falling from the sky. He waited for a moment, but when he realized that Tsunade had not yet come out, he returned to the Senju clan's territory alone.

During this period, he was basically immersed in his studies, learning a lot of medical knowledge from Tsunade, and his medical skills improved significantly. This was not only reflected in medical ninjutsu, but also in pharmacology and pharmaceuticals.

Recently, he and Tsunade have been developing a new type of anesthetic. This anesthetic is easy to produce, can be mass-produced, and can effectively reduce the pain of patients during surgery. It also has certain therapeutic effects and can speed up the patient's recovery.

It is said that after Konoha acquired this new type of anesthetic, casualties among soldiers on the battlefield decreased significantly.

Upon hearing this news, Kirito immediately felt that his medical studies had been of great value.

Of course, during this period, he developed not only new anesthetics, but also various cheap and easy-to-use common drugs, such as cold medicine, rheumatism medicine, stomach medicine, and other drugs that the general public needs.

He introduced these invented drugs as new products to the Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company, which was run by Kado. This made the Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company's business even more booming, and its business coverage expanded. Currently, there is a Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company specialty store in Konoha's commercial street, which is under renovation and will be officially open for business soon.

With the help of Masanari Hattori, Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company successfully established a branch factory in the Land of Rain. It became very popular among the people of the Land of Rain with its various cheap medicines, among which the rheumatism medicine sold the best.

As the business of Biyuanhua Pharmaceutical Company grew larger and larger, he, as the behind-the-scenes boss, naturally made a fortune and acquired a large amount of funds.

He used 30% of these funds for the operation of the Other Shore Flower Pharmaceutical Company, but 60% for the development of the Night Organization.

The Other Shore Flower Pharmaceutical Company and the Night Organization are now two sides of the same coin. When the Other Shore Flower Pharmaceutical Company opened in the Land of Rain, the Night Organization naturally followed suit and established itself locally.

Because the Land of Rain had just experienced war, there were a large number of homeless war orphans. The Night Organization easily absorbed these orphans and then trained them based on the talents they showed during their studies, turning them into ninjas or other professions to serve the Night Organization.

Of course, ideological education is of paramount importance. Ideological education classes are held every day to enhance their loyalty to the night organization.

These orphans will be the backbone of the Night Organization's future growth and expansion, and the best among them will be absorbed into the Night Organization's core members.

He used the last ten percent of the funds on himself. After improving his medical skills, he began to focus on developing drugs that could enhance his strength, such as drugs to assist his cultivation.

After research by him and a large number of medical personnel within the Other Shore Flower Pharmaceutical Company, he finally found a plant that could stimulate soul growth. It was a special plant that only grew in the Swamp Country, a sealed land that contained the demonic monsters. The locals called it the Dead Soul Flower, and it was rumored that any creature that ate it would turn into a walking corpse.

This special plant contains an unknown, deadly toxin, but strangely, the toxin only takes effect when an entire Dead Soul Flower is eaten.

At first, no one could understand why this poison would work in this way. Later, Kirito used his spiritual vision through the Spirit Transformation Technique to discover that the poison of the Dead Soul Flower was a soul poison. After a creature ate it, its soul would immediately collapse, while its body would be completely unharmed.

The toxin in the Death Soul Flower is very fragile; if it is not collected using special methods, it will immediately evaporate and disappear once the Death Soul Flower is damaged.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, for the soul poison in the Dead Soul Flower to take effect, the creature must consume the entire Dead Soul Flower.

The Soul Poison of the Dead Soul Flower is terrifying, but it is a good medicine for Kirito to use in cultivating his Spirit Transformation Technique.

The soul poison of the Death Soul Flower is only relative. It can kill the souls of ordinary people, but it can also stimulate the growth of ordinary people's souls. However, this promotion is passive. Once the soul is not strong enough, the soul itself will collapse.

Kirito's soul is strong enough that the soul poison of a single Death Soul Flower cannot kill him; at most, it will severely damage his soul. However, as long as he can successfully endure the torment of the Death Soul Flower's soul poison on his soul, he will find that his soul has become purer and stronger.

With this astonishing discovery, Kirito embarks on a painful yet joyful training journey, using the soul poison of the Dead Soul Flower to accelerate his Spirit Transformation Technique training once again.

Since the Spirit Transformation Technique was upgraded using enhancement points, the cultivation speed relying on Soul Incense has become incredibly slow. Without enhancement points, at this rate, it might take more than ten years of cultivation to upgrade the Spirit Transformation Technique again.

Now that he has the Soul Poison Pill, made from the Soul Poison extracted from the Dead Soul Flower using highly complex techniques, he is confident that he can shorten this process many times over.

If he finds other substances that can stimulate the growth of the soul, his spiritualization technique could be upgraded even faster.

……

Walking through the snow, Kirito made his way back to Nawaki's house without incident.

At that moment, Rope Tree was training naked in the courtyard, carrying a huge barbell in the dead of winter.

A large amount of scalding sweat poured down his body, dripping onto the ground where the snow, melted by the heat emanating from him, had become damp.

"You're really working hard."

Kirito watched as Nawaki, his face flushed red, gritted his teeth and continued exercising, and gave him a compliment.

Rope Tree has officially begun practicing the Eight Gates Technique, a forbidden physical technique that is entirely self-destructive and requires persistent training of both body and will.

If an individual lacks any talent, they may collapse during the training process due to the damage their body cannot withstand, becoming a useless person.

Nawaki possesses the bloodlines of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans, so his talent in mastering the Eight Gates technique is naturally top-notch. The damage that normal people suffer from high-intensity physical training is nothing to him; he can simply have a good meal and a good night's sleep and everything will be fine.

Therefore, in just three months, Rope Tree successfully opened the second gate of the Eight Gates Formation, and he said that the third gate was not far away.

"Kirito, you're back. How about we have a manly contest?"

When Nawaki noticed Kirito's return, he immediately put down the heavy barbell he was holding, pointed his thumb at Kirito, and then flashed a row of gleaming white teeth at him, saying with a smile.

Kirito stared at Nawaki's gleaming teeth and gestures, gradually falling silent.

In Kirito's opinion, Nawaki's training in the Eight Gates was good in every way, except that it seemed to have turned his brain into muscle, making him even more straightforward than before.

In his opinion, Rope Tree has a tendency to become Kai.

This may be related to his recent acquaintance with a genin named Might Guy who is also passionate about taijutsu training.

"No, I just finished a full day of work, I'm exhausted."

Kirito quickly came up with a plausible excuse, as he was going to visit his teacher later.

"Don't lie, stop making excuses. Watch this, Leaf Whirlwind."

Although Nawaki was straightforward, he knew Kirito very well and instantly saw through Kirito's excuse, shouting loudly.

As he spoke, he quickly kicked at Kirito.

His speed, achieved through sheer physical strength alone, had already reached the level of a Jonin.

The advantages of the Eight Gates technique are not only that one can instantly gain power beyond one's own by opening the gates, but also that one can effectively enhance one's physical strength.

Of course, the increase in physical strength depends on the individual. An ordinary person might increase by 1, but someone like Rope Tree, who has superior alien blood, might increase by 2 or even more.

Even considering only physical strength, Kirito, who continuously strengthens his body with Sage Chakra, wouldn't dare say he's stronger than Nawaki.

"Then I'll play with you."

Kirito smiled slightly as he watched Nawaki kick his leg towards him.

The next moment, a red line shot out from his pocket and quickly formed a diamond-shaped blood-red shield in front of him.

"Clang!"

Rope Tree, wearing steel clogs, slammed his foot heavily onto the blood-red shield, producing a metallic clanging sound.

A terrifying burst of energy followed, spreading in all directions.

The fact that the blood-red shield withstood such a powerful and heavy kick without leaving a trace demonstrates its extraordinary defensive capabilities.

"Hmph, today I'll show you how to break your move, Leaf Whirlwind."

Nawaki used the reaction force to retreat a distance, then looked at the blood shield formed by blood in front of Kirito and said loudly with a solemn expression.

The next moment, a layer of green light instantly shone on his body, and a powerful chakra fluctuation erupted from him. He then unleashed a kick with even greater speed and power than before.

"Boom!"

A dull sound appeared.

The diamond-shaped blood-red shield in front of Kirito, which he had formed by manipulating blood with his Blood Dragon Eye, was kicked and cracked, with some blood-red fragments falling off and turning back into ordinary blood on the ground.

"Not bad, the power of that kick just now was comparable to a Rasengan attack. Did you just open the Second Gate?"

Kirito looked at the blood-red shield, which was almost kicked apart by Nawaki, and said in surprise.

"Hehe, that's right. Once I open the three gates, you'll be beaten to a pulp."

Rope Tree nodded, smiling with immense pride.

Since learning the Eight Gates technique, he finally saw hope of defeating Kirito. He felt that this forbidden taijutsu was perfect for him, simple yet powerful. Although the training process was somewhat painful, he was fascinated by the feeling of making real progress through hard work.

Muscles are power!

He had made up his mind; he should embark on the path of specializing in physical techniques. Relying on this forbidden physical technique, he firmly believed that he could become a Kage-level powerhouse, or even reach a level comparable to his grandfather.

"Is that so? Interesting. I'm looking forward to it."

Upon hearing Nawaki's words, Kirito smiled and said, a hint of bloodlust flashing in his eyes.

The next moment, he unleashed a burst of speed no less than that of Rope Tree and charged towards Rope Tree.

"Haha~, you've come at the right time."

Nawaki blocked Kirito's kick with one hand, retreated a few meters, and laughed excitedly.

As he spoke, he unleashed an even faster attack.

Kirito readily obliged, combining natural energy to enhance his speed and strength in order to fight against Nawaki, who had opened the second gate.

"Bang bang bang~"

In an instant, the two engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat contest in the spacious courtyard filled with snow.

However, the two were moving faster and faster, and it was difficult for ordinary people, genin, and even chunin to keep up with their speed with their eyes. Only jonin could see their rapid movements clearly.

This was definitely a taijutsu contest at the Jonin level, and a very high level at that, because the two were not only incredibly fast, but also had extraordinary strength.

Each collision unleashed a powerful blast wave and a sonic boom that was incredibly piercing to hear and feel.

"It's so noisy! If you keep making noise, you won't be eating dinner tonight."

Just as the two were getting more and more into their fight, a majestic voice suddenly appeared.

Upon hearing the sound, Kirito and Nawaki froze instantly, then accidentally bumped into each other, almost kissing face-to-face.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Then, the two quickly stood up from the ground and bowed in a certain direction to apologize.

"Humph."

After the two men sincerely apologized, a cold snort followed.

Upon hearing the hum, Kirito and Nawaki breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the crisis had passed.

"It's all your fault, you made me get scolded by the teacher."

Kirito straightened up and retorted.

"How was I supposed to know that Grandma didn't activate the sealing barrier to teach Kushina today? If I had known, I wouldn't be fighting with you here."