Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

When the rabbit-masked man saw the bald old man refuse again and even offer to return the deposit, he laughed, but his laughter was somewhat cold.

The next moment, more than a dozen shadowy spikes suddenly appeared and pierced through the bald old man's body.

However, no blood flowed from the bald old man's body. His body began to change, and a large number of black worms appeared in front of the rabbit-masked man.

Insect Secret Technique: Insect Clone!

"That old bastard is cunning, but you can't escape. You've taken Gen's money, and you won't get away until you finish the job."

Seeing this, the rabbit-masked man was not surprised. He immediately retreated, then used his shadow to create a screen to block the attack of the disgusting worms in front of him. He sneered and then disappeared back into the shadows.

Outside the cave, the bald old man crawled out of the ground. He immediately bit his thumb, smeared the blood from his thumb onto the palm of his other hand, and then quickly formed a hand seal.

As he completed the hand seals, he pressed his hand heavily onto the ground, and a summoning spell appeared.

Spiritual communication!

"Bang~"

A puff of white smoke appeared, and a giant five-spotted ladybug, two meters tall, appeared in front of the bald old man.

"Mushinosuke, take me away from here."

The bald old man jumped onto the ladybug's head and gave the command.

Upon hearing the command, Ladybug Inu no Suke immediately spread its wings and flew high into the air, carrying the bald old man with it.

At that moment, a black cloud of insects surged from the ground not far away, quickly catching up with the bald old man and Mushinosuke.

"A Mushi Master of the Aburame Clan, huh?"

The bald old man saw the rapidly approaching black cloud of insects and said coldly, his eyes filled with deep hatred.

In the ninja world, the most famous insect manipulator clans now are the Aburame clan of Konoha and the Kamiryuu clan of Iwagakure. But once upon a time, the Xuanyuan clan was also a renowned insect manipulator clan.

Unfortunately, during the Warring States period, the Xuanyuan clan suffered annihilation because they chose the wrong side.

The Aburame clan sided with the Senju clan early on and remains active in the ninja world, continuing to grow and expand.

The clan that attacked the Xuanyuan clan back then was the Aburame clan, because the Senju clan stood behind the Aburame clan, and the Xuanyuan clan ultimately failed.

The next moment, the bald old man opened his mouth, and a stream of black poison gas shot out from his mouth.

Insect Secret Techniques: Insect Poison!

The black poison gas quickly enveloped the approaching black insect cloud, and a large number of parasitic insects, unable to withstand the corrosive effects of the gas, fell from the sky, causing the insect cloud to thin out.

Next, the bald old man threw several kunai with explosive tags into the thinning black swarm of insects, killing and blasting away all the remaining parasitic insects that were chasing after him.

On the other side, on the ground, a man in black wearing a rat mask emerged from behind a large tree. He looked at the bald old man flying away in the air, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He never expected that his parasites would be poisoned.

As a Jonin of the Aburame clan of Root, his parasitic insects were specially bred, so his resistance to poison was naturally exceptional, making him immune to almost all the poisons in the world. But now he has been infected.

Otherwise, given the flight speed of those special parasitic insects he cultivated, they would definitely have been able to intercept the bald old man.

"I didn't expect you to fail. That's quite an accident."

From the shadows of the large tree, the man in the rabbit mask emerged and sneered.

"The other party is, after all, a highly skilled insect manipulator. It's not surprising that he has special methods to counter the parasitic insects. Don't worry, with Youji watching over him, he won't be able to escape. The Xuanyuan clan's insect secret techniques—parasitic insect techniques and explosive insect techniques—will definitely become the Root's weapons."

The man in the rat mask said coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a large number of parasitic insects and disappeared from the spot.

Upon hearing the answer, the rabbit-masked man was finally relieved, and then he returned to the shadows and quickly disappeared.

Chapter 163: Saddle Horse Illusion

After confirming that everything was safe, the White Fang team set off again.

However, Sakumo Hatake decisively changed his route, no longer choosing to go directly through the Land of Rivers, which borders the Land of Fire, and then into the Land of Wind. Instead, he chose to enter the Land of Rain first, and then enter the Land of Wind.

After changing their route, the White Fang Squad's journey went very smoothly until they reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, where they encountered no further enemy attacks.

Due to the targeted attack and his first murder, Nawaki's initial excitement about going on a high-level mission quickly faded. He stopped rushing ahead and obediently followed behind Hatake Sakumo, forming a three-person formation with Kirito and Chizuru.

Just before nightfall, the White Fang Squad finally approached the border of the Rain Country.

At this moment, the sky quickly turned gray, and the entire sky was covered with thick rain clouds.

Before long, a heavy rain began to fall.

The White Fang team quickly put on their raincoats and continued on their way.

Half an hour later, the White Fang team stopped in front of a fast-flowing river.

This is a very wide river, nearly three kilometers wide. In heavy rain, unless you are a Byakugan ninja, you can't see the opposite bank at all.

The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain is the great river that the White Fang Squad uses. Because the river flows very swiftly, people from the Land of Fire usually have to cross some bridges on the border to enter the Land of Rain.

There was a bridge not far from the White Fang Squad, but it was actually just a long iron cable connecting the other side of the river.

For an ordinary person, this iron chain would certainly not be a bridge to cross the river, but for a ninja, it was enough.

"The Land of Rain is just ahead. Remember to keep a low profile and don't cause trouble. It's only been a little over a year since the war between Konoha and Amegakure ended, so many people in the Land of Rain are quite hostile to us Konoha ninjas. If you are provoked, don't act impulsively, especially Nawaki. Your identity is special, so you must not act impulsively, otherwise you may be used by someone with ulterior motives to deliberately create conflict between Konoha and Amegakure."

Sakumo Hatake led Kirito and the others to the iron chain, then turned to the three of them and said something.

"Ha~"

The three of them said in unison.

After Sakumo Hatake finished speaking, Kirito said, "Hakegi-sensei, there are quite a few people on the other side of this river. It's not safe to cross it by relying solely on this iron chain."

Are there many people?

Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo narrowed his eyes slightly and asked.

"Of the twenty people, judging by their chakra levels, there is one Jonin, three Chunin, and the rest are Genin."

Kirito immediately responded.

As his level of cultivation of natural energy increases, his ability to perceive natural energy also continues to improve. Although his perception range is still not comparable to that of soul perception, which covers an area of ​​nearly six kilometers, it is already close to three kilometers.

"Is it coming for me again?"

Rope Tree said through gritted teeth.

Having experienced a targeted attack and deeply felt the malice directed at him by external enemies, he is now extremely sensitive.

"It doesn't seem like it. They're probably border guards from Amegakure."

Kirito patted Nawaki on the shoulder, telling him to calm down and state his deduction.

"Even if they're after you, we're not afraid. We'll just kill them all."

Chizuru, standing to the side, said nonchalantly.

In her view, as long as the number of people coming does not exceed a hundred, the number of Jonin does not exceed twenty, and no Kage-level powerhouses appear, the so-called attack is not a big deal, and their White Fang Squad is more than capable of handling it.

"Chizuru, our White Fang Squad is here on a secret mission. We must avoid unnecessary battles as much as possible, and keep our whereabouts as secret as possible."

Sakumo Hatake reminded him.

Chizuru remained silent, only nodding in obedience.

"Kirito, find a weak spot, and then we'll force our way across the river."

Seeing Chizuru nod, Hatake Sakumo turned to Kirito and said.

"I understand, come with me."

Kirito answered immediately and then ran quickly ahead, with the other three following closely behind.

Meanwhile, on the opposite bank of the river, a group of Rain Ninja were guarding the other side of the iron chain. One of the young blue-haired female ninjas suddenly opened her eyes and said, "Lord Onizo, there should be a sensory ninja among those four. They have discovered us and are starting to move away from us. Should we send a signal to notify the others on the border?"

She is the only sensory ninja here. With the Rain Tiger Free Technique, she can use the rainwater falling naturally from the sky to monitor every move within a five-kilometer radius.

Upon hearing this, the other Rain Ninja all looked at the strongest member of the group, a one-armed Rain Ninja carrying a large sword on his back.

"Hmph, they're smart enough not to try and break through from our side. Lord Masashige said that any ninja who sneaks into our Land of Rain without permission must be intercepted as much as possible. Even if we can't intercept them, we need to confirm their identity. You all send a signal to notify the others immediately."

The one-armed rain ninja, Onizo, stared at the opposite bank of the river with a murderous look on his face and said coldly.

"However, the people on the other side should be Konoha ninjas. We Amegakure are currently cooperating with Konoha, so it shouldn't be a problem to let them in, right?"

A chubby, middle-aged rain ninja muttered under his breath.

"What did you say? Do you know how many of our people those guys from Konoha killed? Just because Konoha gave you spineless cowards a few bones, you're going to grovel before them? You have our country behind you, a place that not just anyone can easily sneak into."

Gui Cang immediately turned around, staring intently at Pang Yu Ren with murderous eyes, and shouted loudly.

The middle-aged Amegakure ninja could hardly withstand the aura of Kizo, a Jonin who had survived the war between Konoha and Amegakure. Rumor had it that he was a powerful ninja capable of killing Uchiha Jonin and had earned the title of "Kizo the Greatsword" on the battlefield.

Staring at him like that, his fat face turned deathly pale. He lowered his head and took a few steps back, not daring to meet the gaze of the one-armed rain ninja.

"Hmph, a useless piece of trash without any balls."

Seeing the cowardly appearance of the middle-aged rain ninja, the one-armed rain ninja lost the will to continue arguing and mocked.

However, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness.

Since Amegakure was defeated by Konoha, many of the village's ninja who survived the war have developed a strong fear of Konoha and have always been hesitant and timid when it comes to anything involving Konoha.

Now that Amegakure and Konoha have formed an alliance, the situation has become even more serious.

If most Amegakure ninjas are like this coward in front of me, when will the rise of Amegakure, as Hattori Masanari-sama spoke of, ever come true?

Just as Hattori Masanari-sama said, Amegakure needs a fresh start.

With this thought in mind, Guizang looked at the other young Rain Ninja around him. Most of these young Rain Ninja were genin, but they all had a firm and resolute look in their eyes that the middle-aged Rain Ninja lacked. He couldn't help but feel gratified and said loudly:

"Remember this: you are ninjas from Amegakure in the Land of Rain, not lackeys of Konoha. If anyone dares to say anything as weak as you just said, don't blame me for being impolite. Now, immediately give me the signal."

"Ha~"

The group of young Rain Ninja answered loudly in unison.

"Hehehe~, a bunch of self-righteous losers."

Suddenly, a cold, mocking laugh reached the ears of the Rain Ninja.

"Over there!"