Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

However, this time, the internal strife in Konoha resulted in deaths, and it was a very important person who died.

Danzo, those who don't know him might think he's the darkness of Konoha, having made many contributions to the village. But those who truly understand him know he's a cancer on Konoha, doing far more harm than good.

As luck would have it, Onoki was the one who knew Danzo was a threat to Konoha.

Because he had cooperated with this Dark One of Konoha several times, although no concrete evidence of cooperation was found, this Dark One of Konoha did indeed use Iwagakure to eliminate several Uchiha and Senju clan ninjas.

The reason why Iwagakure was able to kill these ninjas so easily was that when these ninjas were on a mission, their spies infiltrated into Konoha accidentally obtained information about them. However, these spies who obtained the information soon mysteriously disappeared, completely severing their contact with Iwagakure.

The Iwagakure members noticed something amiss and conducted a thorough analysis, ultimately concluding that it was a conspiracy orchestrated by Danzo, the Dark Lord of Konoha.

Iwagakure, which always values ​​internal unity, naturally despises Danzo for betraying his own people, and would certainly execute him immediately upon discovery.

But since Danzo was a member of Konoha, Onoki and other high-ranking members of Iwagakure were very pleased with this.

Because they were well aware of the harm that a black sheep like Danzo could cause to the whole organization, especially since Danzo held a high position of power and influence, which made the damage to Konoha even greater.

Furthermore, doesn't the Will of Fire in Konoha emphasize mutual love among comrades, and even the willingness to sacrifice one's life for them?

With someone like Danzo serving in the upper echelons of Konoha, how can the Will of Fire be properly passed down in Konoha?

It's already good enough if they don't become disloyal.

As the Tsuchikage, Onoki was very clear that a ninja's death does not begin with the end of his life, but rather with the collapse of the will he had always believed in during his growth.

The reason why ninjas are so powerful is not only because they master powerful ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu, but also because their strong personal will is an important part of their strength.

If Danzo can shake the Will of Fire, the spiritual foundation passed down from Hashirama Senju, it would be tantamount to shaking the very foundation of Konoha.

Therefore, in Onoki's view, Danzo's death may have a negative impact on Konoha in the short term, causing great damage to Konoha's intelligence system and even preventing it from obtaining the support of Root, but in the long run, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

Furthermore, that mysterious Shadow-level expert is also a huge problem.

The unusual actions taken by the Senju clan that day were tantamount to indicating that Danzo's death was related to them, and this mysterious Kage-level powerhouse was naturally inseparable from them.

"Since the deaths of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, this powerful ninja clan has rapidly declined from its peak. Now, the clan has fewer than two hundred members, and even the last pillar, Mito Uzumaki, has died. I never expected that even in such a state of decline, it still possesses such enormous power."

If we also include Tsunade, Kirito, Nawaki, and Kushina, the Senju clan seems to be experiencing a resurgence.

Onoki thought with deep concern about the current situation of the Senju clan.

Although the Senju clan has declined, it still has potential. For example, Tsunade, the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, is far inferior to her grandfather, but she is about to break through to the Kage level at the young age of just over 20. She can be considered a genius and will have no problem supporting the Senju clan in the future.

The grandson of Hashirama Senju, named Senju Nawaki, was even more remarkable. At a young age, he already possessed the strength of a Jonin. According to intelligence, Senju Nawaki inherited his grandfather's advantage of having a large amount of chakra and was also very talented in taijutsu training.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely become another Kage-level powerhouse in the future.

There's also Kushina Uzumaki, the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Because of Mito Uzumaki, she's naturally a member of the Senju clan. According to intelligence, this new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has the potential to become the second Mito Uzumaki.

Finally, Kirito Tohsaka, Mito Uzumaki's disciple, is even more remarkable. He possesses the strength of an elite Jonin solely through sealing techniques, easily subduing Jonin. Moreover, he is highly proficient in taijutsu, genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and ninjutsu.

According to the latest intelligence, this Konoha genius is also proficient in puppetry and possesses a special eye technique called Bloodline Limit.

This is a complete all-rounder.

If Iwagakure cannot eliminate this person as soon as possible, he will surely become a major threat to Iwagakure in the future.

However, based on intelligence analysis, this kid named Kirito Tohsaka has become quite a force to be reckoned with. In Iwagakure, it is estimated that only he and two Jinchuriki have the opportunity to kill him. If anyone else goes, there is a high chance that he will escape, or even turn the tables and kill them.

After all, Konoha has now made Konoha White Fang act as the caretaker of this Konoha genius.

Therefore, based on superficial intelligence analysis, the Senju clan is highly likely to revive.

At that time, Konoha will surely have another Hokage from the Senju clan.

This new Hokage is different from the current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He possesses the immense prestige of the Senju clan in Konoha, and upon taking office, he will have the support of many powerful ninja clans and individuals. He will bring tremendous cohesion to Konoha, thereby indirectly strengthening the village's overall strength.

"Danzo underestimated the Senju clan, a super ninja clan with a history of over a thousand years. He thought that with Mito Uzumaki dead, he could easily control the Senju clan. In the end, he played with fire and got burned, killing himself. He really harmed himself and others."

Ōnoki finally put down the intelligence report with a sullen face, and complained endlessly about Danzo's suicidal plan.

If Danzo hadn't died, Onoki felt that Konoha wasn't actually that scary. With Danzo around, it would be very difficult for Konoha to regain its former strength, because this cunning and treacherous guy was clearly consciously suppressing the Senju and Uchiha clans, the two powerful clans that founded Konoha.

In his view, the most threatening forces to Konoha were the Senju and Uchiha clans. If these two clans were to perish, Konoha would certainly perish as well.

As for the Sarutobi clan, Hyuga clan, Shimura clan, and the Ino-Shika-Cho ninja clan, Onoki didn't take them seriously at all.

But now that Danzo, this cancer of Konoha, is gone, if things continue as they are, the revival of the Senju clan is inevitable, and it is not impossible for Konoha to regain its former glory.

Judging solely from the potential shown by that little guy named Kirito Tohsaka, he'll at least become a Mito Uzumaki in the future, and might even rival Hashirama Senju and that despicable guy.

"We must never allow Konoha to become strong again."

Soon, Onoki made up his mind.

The next moment, he took a scroll out of the drawer, quickly wrote some words on it, and then closed it again.

Then he shouted, "Someone come here!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burly ANBU ninja appeared before Onoki and respectfully asked, "Lord Tsuchikage, what are your orders?"

"Have someone deliver this scroll to the Kazekage of Sunagakure."

Onoki immediately picked up the scroll, flew up from his seat, landed on the ANBU ninja, handed the scroll to him, and said solemnly.

"Ha~"

The ANBU ninja took the scroll with both hands and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

After the ANBU ninja left, Onoki thought for a moment and then pressed a button on the table.

A moment later, a mature and voluptuous black-haired female ninja pushed open the door and entered the Tsuchikage's office, smiling as she said to Onoki, "Tsuchikage-sama, you wanted to see me?"

The black-haired female ninja is Onoki's daughter-in-law and also his secretary. She is responsible for Onoki's daily life and intelligence communication.

"Red Earth, has the reply from Amegakure arrived yet?"

"Ohnoki asked."

"Not yet. The ninja in charge of delivering the package has returned, but Hattori Masanari didn't give a clear answer immediately, citing the need to discuss it with Hanzo of the Salamander. However, he promised to give us a reply as soon as possible."

Hongtu answered truthfully.

"Hmph, that little rascal, at it again. Tell me, what kind of request has he hinted at this time?"

Upon hearing this, Onoki said with displeasure.

He had recently written to Hattori Masanari, hoping that the other party could increase the drug transactions between the two sides, but the guy was clearly not very willing.

Because the Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company invested in and built a factory in the Land of Rain, establishing a huge pharmaceutical production base, and Amegakure provided great support, Amegakure also invested in the company under the pretext of providing military support. Amegakure has now become the largest shareholder of Higanbana.

Because of this, the Other Shore Flower Pharmaceutical Company successfully entered the market of the Rain Country and, taking advantage of the Rain Country's excellent geographical location, sold a large number of medicines to neighboring countries.

After studying the medicines produced by the Higanbana Company, Iwagakure discovered that the quality of the medicines produced by the Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company is very high. Among them, the latest type of soldier's ration pill with medical capabilities and a wound medicine called Golden Wound Medicine have great strategic significance and can greatly make up for the current lack of medical capabilities in Iwagakure.

However, Hattori Masanari has always strictly controlled the export of these two medicines, making it impossible for Iwagakure to purchase them in large quantities in a short period of time.

“Hattori Masanari did indeed give us hints that he wanted us to loosen the export of chakra metal.”

Hongtu solemnly declared.

"Chakra metal again. This guy's appetite is getting bigger and bigger. What does he want to do? He needs so much chakra metal."

Upon learning of Hattori Masanari's request, Ohnoki spoke with a stern face.

Over the course of the year, the exchanges between Iwagakure and Amegakure were quite close. Iwagakure gained a lot of profits from the Land of Rain, while Amegakure used this opportunity to quickly restore its nearly collapsed economy. It was a win-win situation for both sides.

However, since Hattori Masanari returned to Amegakure, the village has changed drastically.

Compared to Hanzo the Salamander, Hattori Masanari is undoubtedly an outstanding leader. The current series of reforms in Amegakure and the series of economic policies in the country are all his work.

Because he proposed the policy of building roads first to get rich, Amegakure formed a ninja army composed entirely of Earth Release ninjas, specifically to build roads throughout the Land of Rain.

At this time, the large number of Earth Release ninjutsu that Iwagakure had traded to Amegakure played a significant role.

Thanks to the help of a large number of Earth Release ninjas, the originally backward transportation in the Land of Rain has rapidly become developed in just over a year.

Furthermore, Masanari Hattori proposed a policy of tariff reduction, with a key point being that domestic companies could receive further tariff reductions.

Because of these two policies, merchants from many other countries saw the huge business opportunities and flocked to the Land of Rain to invest and build factories. This allowed the Land of Rain's economy and people's livelihood to recover rapidly, and the Hidden Rain Village also received ample funds to develop and grow.

There's also his book, "The Will of Rain." After its publication, a martial spirit gradually emerged in Amegakure and even the Land of Rain, and the people's mental outlook was completely renewed.

In short, Amegakure's strength is recovering at an extremely rapid pace.

Onoki had seen and remembered the changes in Amegakure.

On the one hand, he hoped that Iwagakure and Amegakure would continue to maintain a friendly and close relationship and exchanges, so that the Land of Rain could continue to be a dumping ground for large quantities of minerals from the Land of Earth, thereby gaining more benefits from the Land of Rain. On the other hand, he did not want Amegakure to become powerful again.

Therefore, in order to curb the development of Amegakure, he kept a close eye on the chakra metal trade, basically selling only about one ton of chakra metal to the Land of Rain each year.

In fact, the amount of chakra metal that exists in the Land of Earth each year is far more than that; most of the chakra metal is secretly hidden by the Hidden Stone Village.

This is precisely the main reason why Kumogakure coveted Iwagakure. The various secret weapons research and development projects carried out within Kumogakure required chakra metal, but the Land of Lightning was severely lacking in this special mineral, so they had no choice but to rob it.

"Lord Tsuchikage, chakra metal is an important strategic resource. Although the medicines produced by Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company are very good, they are still far inferior to chakra metal. I personally believe that Hattori Masanari's request should not be met."

Seeing the gloomy expression on Onoki's face, Kurotsuchi shared his opinion.

A weak neighbor is worse than a strong one.

Red Earth's idea was simple: she believed that Amegakure now posed a threat to Iwagakure, so Iwagakure absolutely could not hand over the chakra metal that could produce powerful weapons to Amegakure.

“Sigh, I know what you’re saying, but those barbarians from Kumogakure are eyeing Iwagakure with hostility. If a fight breaks out, and we don’t have enough medicine reserves, I don’t know how many of our comrades will die because they can’t get timely treatment. This little rascal must have seen this as the reason he’s so confident in negotiating with me. Fine, let’s increase the share of chakra metal sold to Amegakure by 50% this year. Go and inform Yotsuchi, and make sure Hattori Masanari agrees to our demands.”

Onoki shook his head and sighed.

"Ha~"

Hongtu immediately responded.

After saying that, she prepared to go out and run errands.

But Onoki called her back: "Wait."

"Is there anything else you need, Lord Tsuchikage?"

Hongtu immediately stopped, turned around and asked.

The next moment, Onoki quickly returned to his seat, took out another blank scroll from the drawer, wrote some things on it, and then closed it again.

He handed the scroll to Red Earth and instructed, "Have Yellow Earth secretly deliver this scroll to Hanzo the Salamander."

Hongtu took the scroll, nodded, and then quickly left the room.

"I hope things go smoothly. Konoha must never become strong again. Once is enough to bear the same humiliation."

Onoki flew to the window, looked out at Iwagakure Village, and said with a worried expression.