Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

In the mental space, Shukaku shouted anxiously.

It's really in a hurry now, mainly because it's anxious for Fenfu.

It knew that if Bunpuku fell into the hands of the enemy, it would only be temporarily changing hosts, but Bunpuku was different. Once the tailed beast was removed from him, he would be doomed.

Fenfu was the only human friend he had ever met who he truly respected, and he didn't want Fenfu to die at all.

"Shukaku, you mustn't do anything reckless!"

Fenfu understood Shouhe's meaning. He didn't want to die yet, and he didn't want Shouhe to fall into the enemy's hands. He quickly made a decision, sighed, and then released the restraints on Shouhe, allowing Shouhe to temporarily take over his body.

In an instant, Monk Fenfu's eyes transformed into Shukaku's golden eyes with cross-shaped pupils, and he let out a triumphant laugh: "Hahaha~, I've finally come out."

As Shukaku's laughter rang out, a terrifying burst of chakra erupted from Bunpuku's body, instantly shattering the sealing array beneath him.

Kirito's expression changed as he heard Shukaku's arrogant laughter and saw his sealing array crumble under the influence of Shukaku's chakra. He then clapped his hands together, and five huge chakra chains reappeared on his body.

"Don't think I'm like that idiot Fenfu."

Shukaku saw Kirito use the Adamantine Sealing Barrier again and roared angrily, then spat out a huge air cannon filled with high-density chakra.

Wind Release: Sky Bullet Training!

The massive air cannonball instantly blasted away the five chakra chains, then continued its attack on Kirito, but Kirito easily dodged it with his Water Body Flicker Technique.

The air cannonball lost its target and continued flying further away, instantly destroying all the rocks and forests along its path and shredding them to shreds by the dense wind blades within, demonstrating its terrifying destructive power.

On the other side, the Raijin puppet's attack arrived, and the giant lightning blade transformed from Raimimaru slashed towards Bunpuku, which Shukaku was controlling at the time, but was blocked by a huge yellow beast claw.

Then, another huge yellow beast claw slammed down on Thor's puppet.

Thor's puppet had no choice but to use the Thunder Strike Secret Technique to dodge quickly.

In less than a few seconds, Bunfuku's hands and feet transformed into the shape of Shukaku's hands and feet, and a long yellow tail grew out of its buttocks.

It seems that Shukaku is not far from completely breaking free of its seal.

"The situation seems to be getting a little out of control."

Kirito sighed as he looked at Bunfuku's ugly appearance.

Before long, a huge yellow raccoon appeared in the forest of the Land of Rivers, and a large number of Konoha and Sunagakure ninjas quickly noticed it.

Chapter 192: Taking Shukaku

Ebizo fled desperately, but while running away, he didn't forget to use his third eye to keep an eye on the movements behind him. He discovered that Bunpuku had indeed effectively resisted the pursuit of the Thunder God Puppet, and his heart, which had been in turmoil, finally calmed down a little.

But soon, his heart became uneasy again, because he saw Shukaku run out.

"Shukaku cannot afford any mistakes."

Ebizo looked at the huge, yellow raccoon dog laughing wildly in the distance, and instantly made his choice, turning around and running back.

Shukaku is the most precious treasure of Sunagakure. Sunagakure can do without Ebizo, but it absolutely cannot do without Shukaku.

The responsibility of losing Shukaku was something even Ebizo, a Kage-level shinobi from Sunagakure, couldn't bear.

The reason why the five great ninja villages can dominate the ninja world is not only because they have Kage-level ninjas and a large number of outstanding ninjas, but also because they all possess Tailed Beasts, which are catastrophic weapons.

In the ninja world, from ancient times to the present, tailed beasts have been known as natural disasters that cause disturbances. Once they become angry, they can be a catastrophe for ordinary people.

The fact that the ninjas of the five great ninja villages could subdue and control them symbolizes a powerful force that can easily gain the trust and respect of people from various countries.

Similarly, it is precisely because of the existence of the Tailed Beasts, such terrifying mobile natural disasters, that the Five Great Ninja Villages are known to people from all countries and have a great international reputation. As a result, the Five Great Ninja Villages have been able to successfully share a large number of mission requests from people from various countries in the ninja world.

Ninjas do not engage in production; they are essentially a group of mercenaries.

Although ninja villages have established a one-village-per-country system with various countries, allowing them to openly ask the daimyo for money, in order to remain unrestrained and maintain their independence, their wealth primarily comes from various missions and commissions from the people of those countries. This is the biggest source of wealth for each ninja village.

Why did Sunagakure attack Konoha? Besides wanting to seize the fertile land of the Land of Fire and obtain more resources, one of the biggest goals was to step on Konoha's shoulders to become the strongest ninja village in the ninja world, make Sunagakure famous, and thus grab a bigger share of the pie in the ninja world's mission system.

It's all because of self-interest.

If Sunagakure were to lose Shukaku, a strategic weapon, its reputation in the ninja world would certainly suffer a severe blow, and the number of missions commissioned by the public would plummet.

Bunpuku came out of the Sunagakure battlefield headquarters this time to save him, but if saving him leads to Shukaku escaping, and Ebizo is unable to bring Shukaku back, even if he manages to return alive, he will not regret dying and will never be able to hold his head high in Sunagakure for the rest of his life.

For both public and private reasons, Ebizo cannot stand idly by. Even if it costs him his life, he will bring Shukaku back safely today.

"That brat from Konoha seems to be stronger than I thought. Even Bunpuku was forced to release Shukaku to fight him. Once Shukaku escapes, it will be difficult to get him back. The Third Kazekage is also poisoned and injured and cannot take action for the time being. Meanwhile, there are people from Konoha watching us like hawks. What should I do?"

Ebizo thought anxiously to himself.

He did indeed intend to bring Shukaku back, even at the cost of his own old body, but he was already seriously injured and lacked the means to seal Shukaku, so bringing Shukaku back smoothly would be fraught with difficulties.

For now, he only hopes that Fenfu can wake up quickly.

He certainly dislikes Bunpuku, but he has to admit that Bunpuku is currently the strongest person in Sunagakure. The reason Shukaku was able to come out is most likely because Bunpuku deliberately used the Sleep Technique, temporarily putting his consciousness into deep thought. As long as Bunpuku wakes up, Shukaku will most likely be sealed away by him again.

On the other side, at the sealing barrier, Sakumo Hatake, who was being treated by a medical ninja after being poisoned, suddenly saw a huge yellow raccoon appear in the forest ahead, and his expression changed drastically.

The same was true for the large number of Konoha ninjas around them.

They never expected that this battle, which was only of medium scale, would prompt Sunagakure to use its trump card, the Tailed Beasts.

Looking at Shukaku's enormous size, feeling the terrifying chakra fluctuations constantly emanating from Shukaku, and witnessing the terrifying destructive power that Shukaku unleashed with every move, even Sakumo Hatake's expression turned extremely ugly.

Sakumo Hatake was skilled at killing, but when faced with a Tailed Beast, a behemoth that was almost impossible to kill, he had no choice but to retreat.

"Lord White Fang, what should we do now? Should we go and help Lord Kirito?"

The Nara clan's Jonin quickly came to his senses and hurriedly asked.

Orochimaru, the overall commander, is not here for the time being, so Sakumo Hatake, the strongest and most prestigious, automatically becomes the highest-ranking person in charge here.

"Of course we should help Kirito! That big guy looks tough to deal with, and it's too dangerous for Kirito to face it alone."

Before Hatake Sakumo could answer, Nawaki, who was standing next to him, spoke without hesitation.

He and Chizuru had already broken free from Kirito's Blood Dragon Eye illusion long ago, and afterwards they watched almost the entire battle between Kirito and Ebizo.

Both of them were quite agitated by this, as they were very surprised that Kirito had reached Kage-level strength so quickly. Although they had known for a long time that Kirito would eventually become a Kage-level ninja, they never expected that he would break through this goal so quickly, a goal that most ninjas could not achieve in their entire lives.

Chizuru didn't speak, but the Sharingan she activated and the blue-white lightning gradually appearing on her body spoke volumes.

“Shukaku has come out. Those guys from Sunagakure will definitely not sit idly by. In order to seize Shukaku, they will definitely send a large number of elite troops. We cannot deal with Shukaku, but we can help Kirito block the reinforcements from Sunagakure. Also, Nara Shuka, contact the headquarters immediately and request new reinforcements.”

Sakumo Hatake pressed Nawaki's head down with his hand and then said seriously.

After saying that, he temporarily gave up treatment and prepared to force himself to go and support Kirito.

"You should stay here for now. Ebizo's poison is not so easy to neutralize. If you don't get treatment in time, even if you don't die, you will suffer serious aftereffects."

Suddenly, a cold voice appeared, interrupting Sakumo Hatake's actions.

Orochimaru, the commander-in-chief who had been idly observing the battlefield, finally made his appearance. As soon as he arrived, the other Konoha ninjas around him perked up and looked at Orochimaru with expectant and respectful eyes.

In just one year, Orochimaru had become the overall commander of the battlefield here, and led the people of Konoha to defeat Sunagakure on the front lines many times. His prestige had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

They trusted Orochimaru more than Sakumo Hatake, a Kage-level powerhouse who had suddenly appeared.

"Lord Orochimaru, what is your opinion?"

Nara Shuka saw Orochimaru appear and turned to ask him a question.

"Let's do as Lord White Fang says. Kirito is an indispensable genius for Konoha, and he has just made a great contribution. We can't afford any mistakes. Besides, if we can take down that big guy, we might be able to end this long war and go home."

Orochimaru smiled upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, the other Konoha ninjas' eyes lit up, revealing expectant looks.

"Kirito, can I ask you for a favor, Orochimaru?"

When Hatake Sakumo saw that Orochimaru had taken over command here without making a sound, he was not angry. He just looked at Orochimaru expressionlessly and said, his sharp eyes fixed on Orochimaru's somewhat evil golden vertical pupils.

Kirito had severely injured Ebizo, and Konoha had a chance to capture him. However, many of Konoha's Jonin were unwilling to fight to the death and merely coasted along, missing the best opportunity to kill him.

The reason this situation occurred was partly because many of Konoha's Jonin were seasoned veterans who were unwilling to fight Ebizo to the death, fearing that they would be dragged down with him. However, the main reason was that Orochimaru, the overall commander of the battlefield, failed to intervene in time.

If Orochimaru had been willing to intervene and stop Ebizo, the other Konoha ninjas on the battlefield certainly wouldn't have been idling on the sidelines.

Therefore, Sakumo Hatake now has a very bad impression of Orochimaru.

"Don't worry, Sakumo, Kirito is very capable. Even Shukaku can't do anything to him. As long as he wants to leave, no one can stop him. You should know this better than I do."

Orochimaru stared directly into Sakumo Hatake's sharp eyes, his smile quickly fading as he answered.

Sakumo Hatake was not entirely satisfied with Orochimaru's answer, but he said nothing more.

He had realized that Orochimaru must already know about what had recently happened in the village, and that Orochimaru was clearly on the Third Hokage's side.

He wasn't surprised by this, because Orochimaru was the Third Hokage's most favored disciple and the successor he most hoped for. The interests of the Third Hokage and Orochimaru were already closely intertwined.

Seeing that Hatake Sakumo remained silent, Orochimaru stopped looking at him and instead glanced at the Rock God Puppet and the earthen-yellow sealing barrier not far away.

The Rock God Puppet was currently focused on activating the Sealing Barrier Technique: Earth Prison Hall to absorb the chakra of the ninjas inside, and then continuously transferring the absorbed chakra to Kirito's main body through chakra threads.

Because of the return of a large number of Konoha ninja who had been pursuing the defeated Sunagakure soldiers, and their knowledge of the sealing barrier created by Kirito, a large number of Sunagakure prisoners have now been captured within the sealing barrier. Some young Konoha ninja who admire Kirito have even voluntarily entered the barrier to contribute their chakra.

"The ability formed by combining puppetry and sealing techniques is truly wonderful. With a sealing barrier, Kirito basically doesn't need to worry about running out of chakra on the battlefield."

Orochimaru stared intently at the sealing barrier, and subconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.

Without a doubt, Kirito's combination ninjutsu, which uses puppetry and sealing techniques to absorb the chakra of other ninjas, is very suitable for use on the battlefield. It can be said that it is a combination ninjutsu prepared to maximize the power of top ninjas.

Orochimaru himself is not a ninja of the chakra level. Because of this, he usually fights using various strange secret techniques he developed himself. These secret techniques are basically of the type that consume little chakra but have considerable power, which can effectively help him defeat his enemies.

However, if he could possess a vast amount of chakra, he would actually prefer to use various powerful ninjutsu to kill his enemies.

After all, he was a ninja who mastered the five basic chakra natures and a large number of Five Elements Ninjutsu.

Now that he has witnessed Kirito's combination ninjutsu, he himself can't help but want to spend some time learning puppetry.

There's no way around it, this combination ninjutsu is just amazing. It allows the user to effectively use the enemy in battle, and perhaps it can be used in other even better ways.

No one would ever complain about having too much of this magical energy called chakra.

"After I help him act as the monster later, I'll exchange this interesting sealing technique with him."

Then, Orochimaru's gaze returned to Shukaku, a greedy glint in his eyes. He thought to himself, and then began to lead the other Konoha ninjas around him quickly toward Shukaku.

Seeing that everyone else had started to move, Nawaki also intended to follow, but Hatake Sakumo's hand was still firmly pressing down on his head, so he had no choice but to obediently say to Hatake Sakumo, "Hatake-sensei, let me go, I also want to join the battle."

"Don't cause trouble. You'll only be a burden to Kirito if you go there now. If you want to join the battle, go over there. Kirito definitely needs your chakra right now."

Sakumo Hatake rolled his eyes at Nawaki, then pointed to the sealing barrier not far away and said.