Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

He instantly entered the memory library again to see if he had done anything that revealed a flaw during his contact with the Third Raikage.

Kirito knew in his heart that a fake is still a fake. No matter how well he acted, once he met someone he knew, they might be able to see through his act with just a glance or a word. If he wanted to play the part successfully, he should choose those inconspicuous people who had been forgotten for a long time.

For example, there are losers like Masashige Ikutobuki, who were forgotten or even thought to be dead early on.

However, Casalan, the beautiful ninja whose skin color is different from most people in Kumogakure, is undoubtedly a very eye-catching person. Her every move is watched. In addition, she is a woman. Even if he obtains all her memories, it will still be very difficult for him to successfully impersonate her, let alone the fact that he has only just begun to impersonate her.

"Oh, it's here. As expected, there was an oversight. This action shouldn't have been performed on the character Casalan."

Kirito quickly realized where he had made a mistake.

It was that gesture of wiping sweat with his arm after completing the treatment. This gesture was something he always did after treating patients; it was a habit. He had just expended a lot of mental energy to treat the Third Raikage, and he accidentally made this habitual gesture.

It can only be said that the power of habit is very strong, and it is very difficult to stop its emergence in a short period of time.

Having found the reason, Kirito left the Memory Library in less than a second and returned to reality, continuing to show the Third Raikage a pained expression, his eyes revealing the pain of being betrayed by someone he trusted.

When the Third Raikage saw the look in Kirito's eyes as he played Casalan, he felt a pang of guilt, and the grip on Kirito's neck tightened considerably.

To be honest, he couldn't tell that the Casalan in front of him was fake. The reason he attacked Kirito was entirely due to his trust in his beautiful secretary, Ellie.

Therefore, after receiving Elui's gesture and realizing that the Casalan in front of him was fake, he attacked Kirito.

As it turned out, he discovered that the Casalan before him was not a transformation he had created himself.

The tactile sensation he felt in his hand was real and authentic, unlike the fakes created by the transformation technique.

Now, seeing the look in Kirito's eyes, he wasn't even sure if he had really grabbed the wrong person.

"Lord Raikage, don't be fooled by her. This person is definitely not Casalan. Perhaps the person is, but the one inside is another matter."

At this moment, Elui said coldly from the side.

"What evidence do you have? Ellie, we can't wrong our comrade."

Upon hearing this, the Third Raikage increased the strength of his right hand again and punched Kirito hard in the abdomen with his left hand in response.

The Third Raikage's punch was undoubtedly very powerful. If it were a normal ninja, he would definitely be knocked unconscious. Kirito took the opportunity to faint and quietly released his control over Casalan's body using the Spirit Transformation Technique, returning to his White Zetsu clone.

At this moment, the White Zetsu clone used the Spore Technique to infiltrate Casalan's body. This was his escape route from the beginning. Once discovered, he would immediately dispel the Spirit Transformation Technique: Possession and then return to the White Zetsu clone inside Casalan's body to temporarily lie dormant.

"Lord Raikage, you went too far. This person is indeed Casalan, but she has only temporarily been controlled by some kind of Yin Release mental technique. This is very likely the Konoha Mountain Secret Technique: Mind Transfer Technique. Now that you have hit her so hard, you will definitely forcibly remove the mental technique from her body."

As for the evidence, it was that strange action she took right after her treatment. I'm quite familiar with Casalan; we sometimes drink together. She never wipes her sweat with that somewhat rough motion; instead, she takes out a handkerchief to wipe it.

Seeing the Third Raikage's actions, Elui covered her head and said with a headache.

"The Raikage's secretary is really something else; her observation skills far surpass those of the Third Raikage."

Kirito, who was lurking inside Casalan, secretly praised Elui's words.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Hearing his beautiful secretary's explanation, the Third Raikage said dejectedly, then gently put the heavily injured Casalan down from his hands.

Then, he immediately said to the group of Cloud Village ANBU who had arrived around him, "Conduct a full search of the village immediately. We must find that despicable guy who attacked Casalan."

"Ha~"

The entire group of Cloud Hidden Anbu answered in unison.

As soon as they finished speaking, they immediately used the Instantaneous Movement Technique to disappear.

After the group of Anbu ninjas left, the Third Raikage immediately summoned some medical ninjas to treat Casalan's injuries and had several ninjas skilled in genjutsu come over to carefully examine Casalan's mental state to see if he was still under control.

"Lord Raikage, Casalan's mental state is not under control, but it is not very good, and there are indeed signs that her mental world has been invaded."

After a certain genjutsu jonin used some kind of mental technique to carefully probe Casalan's mental world, he spoke seriously to the Third Raikage.

"Thanks for your hard work."

The Third Raikage nodded, then looked at Casalan, who was receiving treatment not far away, and then at Elui beside him.

Elui shook her head, indicating that there was nothing unusual about Casalan at the moment.

After a short while, Casalan finally woke up slowly.

She had just woken up when she quickly remembered what she had experienced not long ago. With a pained expression, she covered her head and shouted angrily, "Get out! Get out of here right now!"

"Casalan, calm down, I'm here, you're safe now."

Upon seeing this, the Third Raikage immediately stepped forward and said with a smile.

"Lord Raikage, I..."

When Casalan saw the Third Raikage, he felt as if he had found his pillar of support. The fear that had just arisen in his heart disappeared instantly, and he said aggrievedly.

As she spoke, she was about to get up from the bed to explain to the Third Raikage that she had just been controlled.

"We have a general understanding of your situation. You should rest and recuperate for now. I will never forgive the person who is controlling you."

The Third Raikage immediately intervened to stop Casalan from getting out of bed, replying.

Casalan, grateful for the promise from the Third Raikage, said, "Thank you, Raikage-sama."

She then closed her eyes in exhaustion, allowing other medical personnel to lift her onto a stretcher and take her to the hospital for rest. The Third Raikage's punch had caused her severe damage, injuring her internal organs, and she would need a period of rest to recover.

Soon after, Casaran was taken to a VIP ward in the hospital.

Suddenly, Casalan, who was lying on the bed, shuddered slightly, then opened her eyes again. She raised her right hand, looked at the bit of flesh and blood under her fingernail, and a smile appeared on her lips.

……

"Elui, which ninja village do you think did this, and what is their purpose?"

On the other side, after Casalan left, only the Third Raikage and Elui remained in the office. The Third Raikage immediately asked Elui a question.

He's good at fighting and killing, but when it comes to things like analyzing the causes of events, which require a lot of brainpower, he still needs to rely more on his beautiful secretary.

"I think the most likely candidates to do this are spies sent by Konoha's Root organization. Among the Root personnel, there are many members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. The Yamanaka clan is the organization's main intelligence-gathering personnel. Their expertise in Yamanaka techniques is indeed very suitable for intelligence-gathering and can temporarily control other people's bodies."

Their targeting of Elui might be related to the special drug she's secretly researching. As you know, once that special drug that can enhance physical strength is successfully developed, it will definitely greatly improve the strength of our Hidden Cloud Village.

Furthermore, the ninja who controlled Elui was also a medical ninja with strong medical ninjutsu skills, which is highly likely.

By the way, we received news from Lord Brubi that someone was spying on him, and then Casalan was apprehended. This person might also have been trying to gather information about Lord Brubi. The Anbu said Casalan is planning to return to the hospital.

Upon hearing this, Elui remained silent for a moment before slowly explaining.

"Konoha, huh? They're already at war with Sunagakure, yet they still have time to provoke Kumogakure. How despicable."

The Third Raikage said angrily.

After hearing Elui's explanation, he automatically filtered out the phrase "most likely" and was now convinced that it was someone from Konoha who did it.

The mere fact that Konoha is the prime suspect is enough.

Upon seeing this, Konoha spoke up. She knew her boss's personality well; once he made up his mind, he would never change it.

In short, she couldn't persuade her.

"No, we, the Hidden Cloud Village, must avenge this loss. We must not only make Konoha hand over the person who did this, but also make Konoha apologize. The Third Hokage probably doesn't want the Hidden Cloud Village to cause trouble for Konoha at this time."

The Third Raikage continued, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"Lord Raikage, please reconsider this matter. Launching a war rashly would harm the interests of Kumogakure. Moreover, we are far from the Land of Fire where Konoha is located, and our supply lines will be very long. If we get bogged down in a prolonged war, Kumogakure's finances may not be able to hold out for long."

Furthermore, many ongoing research projects in the village may be interrupted, such as the development of special drugs to enhance physical strength and the chakra cannon.

Seeing that the Third Raikage had the idea of ​​starting a war, Elui quickly tried to dissuade him.

In her view, maintaining a neutral stance is in the best interest of Kumogakure at present.

After all, the Land of Lightning isn't as close as the three great nations of Earth, Fire, and Wind.

Moreover, the Land of Lightning is barren and lacks resources, and its people are known for their fierce nature. The Hidden Cloud Village is also powerful, so there is generally no conflict between them and the Hidden Cloud Village, which brings them long-term peace.

In this way, as long as Kumogakure continues its policy of plundering resources from the surrounding countries, Kumogakure's strength has the potential to surpass Konoha, which has been constantly affected by war, and become the strongest ninja village in the ninja world.

However, once the Hidden Cloud Village is drawn into war and a serious conflict breaks out with the other major powers in the ninja world, it will be difficult for the Hidden Cloud Village to continue to enjoy the benefits of peace.

This is not only because other ninja villages will not easily stop the war after suffering losses, but also because many martial arts-minded ninjas within the Hidden Cloud Village will not easily let the war end.

At that time, the ever-improving momentum of Cloud Village's development will inevitably be interrupted.

"Don't worry, Ellie, I just want to annoy Konoha. Even if war breaks out, I won't choose Konoha right now. Konoha doesn't have what we need for the time being."

Upon hearing Elui's words, the Third Raikage's fleeting desire for war vanished instantly, and he replied.

"Lord Raikage is wise. It is indeed good to annoy Konoha, but we must first find the spy who attacked Casaran."

Elui praised.

"Let's put Konoha aside for now. I'm asking you, Ellie, what's the situation in Iwagakure? Have they shown any signs of wanting to attack Konoha?"

Seeing that he couldn't do anything disgusting to Konoha for the time being, the Third Raikage changed the subject and talked about what he was most concerned about right now.

The Land of Lightning is a country severely lacking in mineral resources, yet its domestic military industry is highly developed, creating a huge demand for mineral resources. In the past, this gap could be barely filled by plundering the mineral resources of neighboring small countries.

However, as the scale of the military industry in the Land of Lightning has grown larger and larger, it is no longer enough to rely solely on plundering the mineral resources of a few surrounding small countries.

Therefore, the ambitious daimyo of the Land of Lightning set his sights on the Land of Earth, which is rich in mineral resources, wanting to plunder its resources to accelerate the development of the Land of Lightning's military power.

The interests of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning are intertwined; if one prospers, the other prospers, and if one suffers, the other suffers.

Furthermore, the Land of Lightning has always provided substantial financial support to the Hidden Cloud Village, making it a vital force in the village's development.

Therefore, the Third Raikage could not ignore the request from the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and had been secretly preparing a plan to plunder a large amount of mineral resources from the Land of Earth.

"According to information from our undercover agents, Iwagakure does indeed show signs of wanting to attack Konoha. Their ninja force has exceeded 30,000. Given Iwagakure's current finances, it is unlikely that they can sustain such a large ninja force for long. It is inevitable that they will use war to deplete their ninja force in order to alleviate their internal financial problems and improve the quality of their ninjas."

However, relations between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain have recently eased, and they have been trading frequently on an increasingly large scale. As a result, the Land of Earth has recently profited handsomely from selling mineral resources to the Land of Rain, and Iwagakure has also gained considerable benefits as a result. Their finances should be able to sustain them for a longer period of time.

Furthermore, the number of ninja troops stationed along the eastern border of the Land of Earth has been steadily increasing, and it's highly likely that Iwagakure has already discovered our Kumogakure's intention to attack them.

Elui answered immediately.

The Third Raikage's desire to attack Iwagakure had been brewing for some time, and her secretary was well aware of it.

While she wasn't entirely supportive of this, she felt it was better than going to war with the resilient Konoha.

Based on the situation of the first war between Kumogakure and Konoha, she clearly knew how powerful Konoha was, and that Kumogakure's current strength was not enough to defeat Konoha.

It's better to fight the Hidden Rock.

The Cloud Village is skilled in Lightning Release ninjutsu, which is a perfect counter to the Earth Release ninjutsu that the Iwa Village excels at. If a real fight breaks out, the Cloud Village has a very high chance of winning.

"It seems there are quite a few rats hiding in our Hidden Cloud Village. It's necessary to conduct another internal inspection. Also, have the Anbu sabotage the trade between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain, and ideally, let the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Rain Village reignite their conflict."