Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Regardless, the intelligence that Root has sent is extremely important. Even though he has lost control of Root and cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood, he must take it seriously.

Judging from the intelligence, Iwagakure is intentionally trying to ease tensions with Sunagakure.

Akasuna is the son of the First Kazekage and Chiyo's son, and holds a prestigious position in Sunagakure.

Iwagakure might use this as leverage to gain some benefits from Sunagakure, such as reaching some kind of agreement.

Although the conflict between Iwagakure and Sunagakure is greater than that between Konoha and Sunagakure, it is possible that the two will reach some agreement and then join forces to deal with Konoha.

The Third Hokage hadn't served for nothing all these years; he understood that there was no such thing as eternal, absolute hatred between ninja villages. As long as the interests and threats were great enough, they could temporarily put aside their hatred and join forces to deal with the enemy.

The situation in Konoha is clearly dire. The events that happened not long ago have been leaked, and the effects of Danzo's death are continuing to unfold.

As the saying goes, the person who knows you best is often your enemy.

Clearly, the other major ninja villages are taking advantage of Konoha's current weakness.

If this information is true, then that short guy from Iwagakure is definitely plotting against Konoha.

To prevent Iwagakure from secretly joining forces with Sunagakure to attack Konoha, the Third Hokage needed to deploy some troops to the border with Iwagakure and also send Akimichi Torifu, a general, to intimidate Iwagakure.

Torifu is his old classmate and comrade-in-arms. He is very strong and can unleash the power of a Kage-level expert in a short time after taking the Akimichi clan's secret medicine. Moreover, he has rich combat experience. Only with him guarding the border of Iwagakure can he feel at ease.

"Sigh~, it's really unwise to start fighting amongst ourselves now. Why can't we defeat Sunagakure first and then start fighting amongst ourselves?"

The Third Hokage was deeply troubled by the current situation in Konoha.

In an instant, his dissatisfaction with Danzo and the Senju clan resurfaced in his mind.

However, since Danzo is dead, he can only attribute all his grievances to the Senju clan.

To be honest, if he weren't worried that taking action against the Senju clan now would further exacerbate the internal conflicts in Konoha and greatly deplete Konoha's strength, he would have already wanted to use the Hokage's authority to give the Senju clan a good lesson.

After all, since the start of World War II, out of respect for his teacher and Tsunade, he had not conscripted large numbers of Senju clan ninjas to the front lines for quite some time.

It's perfectly reasonable for him to send Senju clan ninjas to support the front lines now, and no one else can find fault with it.

"There are unusual movements in Iwagakure. I'm sure Kumogakure and Kirigakure will also take some action. Hopefully, our compatriots there can send us some useful information in time. However, for now, the war between Konoha and Sunagakure must be ended as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if Konoha is strong, it cannot withstand such a siege when facing multiple powerful enemies at the same time."

The Third Hokage forcibly suppressed his dissatisfaction with the Senju clan and once again became deeply worried about the current situation in Konoha.

At present, nothing can deter those hostile enemies in the surrounding area more than defeating Sunagakure.

However, defeating Sunagakure is no easy task.

The Third Hokage quickly made a decision: the fastest way to defeat Sunagakure was to find out the source of the unexplained funds that Sunagakure had recently acquired.

If the source can be found and destroyed, then Sunagakure will no longer be able to continue the war.

He had originally assigned this task to Danzo, but now that Danzo was dead and Root was out of control, he had no choice but to find someone else to handle it.

The White Fang Squad, currently located in the Land of Wind, is undoubtedly an excellent choice.

Because of Koharu's suggestion, he had actually planned to bring back Sakumo Hatake's White Fang squad and have Kirito, Chizuru, and Nawaki do other things. But now that the other ninja villages have changed their intentions, he has no choice but to let this sharp blade pierce into a more fatal place for the enemy.

However, this would undoubtedly make the White Fang Squad's situation even more dangerous.

If the mission fails, the entire White Fang team will likely be wiped out.

At this thought, a trace of sorrow appeared on the Third Hokage's face, which gradually returned to its expressionless state. He sighed, "Alas, I have no choice. I hope you can complete your mission successfully and return safely. All of this is for Konoha..."

……

A few days later, in the Land of Fire, at a supply depot on the edge of the battlefield where Konoha and Sunagakure were fighting, the White Fang Squad, whose supplies were almost exhausted, came to resupply and hand over the spoils of war they had acquired recently in order to earn corresponding merits.

"My God, you guys have destroyed Sunagakure's supply lines!"

A quartermaster in charge of logistics looked at the large number of storage-type summoning scrolls and the heads of more than a dozen Sand Village Jonin that the White Fang Squad had handed over, and said with a shocked expression.

There are quite a few ninja teams tasked with cutting off the Sunagakure border, but very few have successfully seized summoning scrolls containing supplies from the Sunagakure. This is the first time he has ever seen a ninja team like the White Fang team produce so many summoning scrolls at once.

"Hehehe, more or less. With our White Fang Squad here, those guys from Sunagakure won't be able to get their supplies to the front lines easily. You should calculate how many merits these things are worth."

Seeing the quartermaster's shocked expression, Rope Tree said with great pride.

He could already sense from the quartermaster's expression that they would receive a great deal of merit this time, perhaps even an S-rank mission merit.

In Konoha, a ninja's merits are calculated based on five mission levels: S, A, B, C, and D. Among them, S-rank missions are the highest level of merit and the most difficult to obtain. Once obtained, they represent a great honor.

At the same time, these effects also served as an important form of currency for ninjas to exchange for various valuable items from Konoha.

One S-rank mission merit is enough to exchange for one S-rank ninjutsu in the Book of Sealing.

"Ahem, please take inventory as soon as possible and then replenish us with enough ninja tools and medicines."

Sakumo Hatake coughed, signaling Nawaki not to get too carried away, then smiled and said to the quartermaster.

"Yes, please wait a moment."

The quartermaster didn't recognize the White Fang Squad, but he recognized the weight of the spoils before him and answered respectfully.

Before long, the quartermaster tallied up the merits that the White Fang Squad had recently earned, totaling one S-rank mission and five A-rank missions.

"That's awesome! Now I'm a ninja with an S-rank mission record! Hahaha~"

When Rope Tree learned that the White Fang Squad had won an award, he shouted excitedly.

He felt he had taken a big step closer to becoming Hokage.

The merit of one S-rank mission and five A-rank missions is an enormous achievement. Among the many Konoha ninjas, there are very few who can obtain so many merits.

Although Kirito and Chizuru weren't as excited as Nawaki, they still showed happy expressions.

Because of these achievements, they will have enough confidence to speak in front of other Konoha ninjas, and their status in Konoha will rise accordingly.

This is a very good start, and these achievements will be the best foundation for them to climb up the ranks in Konoha in the future.

Hatake Sakumo noticed the expressions of the three men, but he simply smiled slightly, showing no inner turmoil and no feeling whatsoever about the merits he had just gained.

Since becoming a Kage-level powerhouse, he has received S-level merits for completing S-level missions many times. If he hadn't been in charge of leading the team during this period, he might have been able to gain even more merits on the battlefield.

However, this doesn't mean he's uninterested in merits; he's currently thinking about how much money he could make if he converted those merits into cash.

Half an hour later, the White Fang Squad completed their resupply. They planned to rest and reorganize in a nearby town for a few days before heading to the Land of Wind again to carry out the mission of destroying the enemy's supply lines.

But then, a member of the Anbu ninja wearing a dog mask suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Lord White Fang, this is something that the Third Generation Lord passed on to you."

The ANBU ninja immediately explained their purpose and presented a scroll with both hands.

Sakumo Hatake took the scroll, opened it, and his expression immediately changed, revealing a look of confusion.

After a moment of silence, he finally accepted the new mission assigned by the Third Hokage. With a solemn expression, he said to the ANBU ninja, "Please go back and tell the Third Hokage that the White Fang Squad will do everything in its power to complete the mission he has been given."

Upon receiving a response from Hatake Sakumo, the ANBU ninja immediately formed a hand seal, transformed into a wisp of white smoke, and disappeared from the spot.

"Teacher Hatake, is this a new mission?"

After the ANBU ninja left, Kirito asked the question.

Sakumo Hatake didn't say anything, but simply handed the scroll to Kirito.

Kirito took the scroll, and Nawaki and Chizuru immediately came over to look at it together.

The scroll contained only one sentence: Cut off the source of the hidden funds in the sand.

"What does this mean? Just one sentence, without any clues."

Rope Tree looked at the contents of the scroll and said with a puzzled expression.

Chizuru was equally confused.

Kirito feigned confusion, but inwardly he was already cursing the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage's mission for the White Fang Squad was undoubtedly to infiltrate Sunagakure and kill Rasa, the gold miner.

Compared to their previous missions of cutting off enemy supply lines, this new mission was undoubtedly hellish and far beyond the capabilities of the White Fang Squad.

Given Rasa's current importance to Sunagakure, he must be under the most stringent protection of the village. It's quite possible that the Third Kazekage, who is hailed as the strongest Kazekage, is Rasa's personal bodyguard.

Therefore, the difficulty for the White Fang Squad to eliminate Rasa is basically the same as the difficulty for eliminating the Third Kazekage.

"Could it be that the Third Generation is trying to settle a personal score? Has this old man become senile so quickly?"

Kirito couldn't help but think to himself.

He knew exactly what kind of person the Third Hokage was in the original story. Although he appeared to be a very positive character, he had actually done many wrong things, and the decline of Konoha was undeniably responsible for the various questionable actions he took in his later years.

For example, he tolerated Danzo's mistakes, even though Danzo plotted to kill him and seize power through a coup, but he let Danzo go easily. For example, he was soft-hearted at a critical moment and let Orochimaru go, which led to Konoha suffering a backlash from Orochimaru. For example, he sent Hyuga Hizashi to his death, even though Konoha was the victorious country, he was worried about another war with Kumogakure and sacrificed his comrade.

Kirito didn't have a very good impression of the Third Hokage due to the Third Hokage's various unreasonable actions.

Not long ago, he joined forces with the Senju and Uchiha clans to kill Danzo, the Third Hokage's dog, causing the Third Hokage to lose face. Now, the Third Hokage has given the White Fang team a mission that seems like a suicide mission. It's hard for him not to suspect that the Third Hokage's purpose in doing this is to take revenge on the Senju clan.

After all, Nawaki and he are both important forces in the future revival of the Senju clan in the White Fang Squad.

Although the scroll contained little information, Hatake Sakumo was well aware of the specific tasks it contained and the difficulty of the mission.

Looking at Kirito and the other two, he couldn't help but feel a little heavy-hearted.

However, a task is a task.

Now that the Third Hokage's order has been issued, he and Kirito, as ninjas, must carry it out, even if it costs them their lives.

So he quickly composed himself and made a decision in secret. Then he smiled and said to the three of them, "We'll talk about the details of the mission when we set foot on the land of the Wind Kingdom again. Come on, let's go have a good meal."

……

On the other side, at the entrance to Sunagakure, three people shrouded in white cloaks arrived through the sandstorm.

When they arrived at the Narrow Gorge, the gateway to Sunagakure, they were surrounded by many Sunagakure ninja.

"Halt! Who are you?"

The leading Sand Village Jonin stepped forward and shouted.

The next moment, the person in the middle of the three took off his hood, revealing a dark-skinned face and a cloud-hidden headband on his forehead.

He was none other than the Fourth Raikage, who had traveled a great distance to Sunagakure after receiving orders from the Third Raikage.

As the Fourth Raikage removed his hood, the other two also removed their hoods, revealing their true faces and identities.

The Fourth Raikage looked at the Sand Village Jonin who posed no threat to him whatsoever, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes. However, he remembered why he was there, and forced a smile onto his hard face, saying, "We are envoys from Kumogakure, requesting an audience with the Kazekage."

Chapter 184: The Gold Exchange and the Death God's Pact