Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Brubi was deeply moved by the Third Raikage's heartfelt words, which were filled with deep concern. Her spirits lifted, and she spoke with a firm gaze.

He knew about the Third Raikage's intention to attack Konoha and understood why the Third Raikage was like this. In order not to betray the Third Raikage's trust, he had to persevere.

"Very good, as expected of my brother. But I still have to remind you again, never push yourself. If there's anything you want to say, just talk to me. Don't keep everything bottled up inside. Briubi, we're the AB duo, we're brothers."

Seeing that Brubi insisted on staying, the Third Raikage placed his hands on Brubi's shoulders and looked at him sincerely.

He saw and remembered the sacrifices that Burubi made for Kumogakure. If he had to say who he owed the most to in Kumogakure, it would definitely be his brother. If it weren't for Burubi's appearance, he would most likely have become the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

Because Brubi became the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, he became the Raikage, a figure of great prestige in public, while Brubi became someone feared and dreaded by the villagers, creating a stark contrast.

"I will. I'm going to rest now. Contact me anytime if you need anything."

Brubi expressed her gratitude, and then prepared to return to her residence to adjust her condition as much as possible.

The Third Raikage readily allowed Brubi to return.

"Lord Raikage, Lord Brubi's situation is indeed very bad. If he suddenly loses control on the battlefield, our chances of defeating Konoha will be virtually nonexistent. The Eight-Tails is extremely hostile to our Kumogakure. Once Lord Brubi loses control, he will become an enemy force. If you really intend to continue your attack on Konoha, you must take this into consideration."

After Brubi left, Elui said with a worried look on her face.

She personally doesn't dislike Brubi, nor does she discriminate against this meritorious figure from Kumogakure. However, Brubi's instability is what she, as the Raikage's secretary, least wants to see. It's a double-edged sword; it's very useful against the weak, but against the strong, it can easily injure her.

The Cloud Village versus the Rain Village match is a prime example. Aside from the first time Brubi went berserk against Hanzo of the Salamander, he nearly went berserk several times. Fortunately, he reacted in time, preventing any casualties.

Therefore, she was not optimistic about letting Burubi join the war against Konoha.

If the enemy discovers Brubi's weakness, they will definitely try every means to target Brubi, causing him to self-destruct, thus throwing the Cloud Village into disarray.

“I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, I’ll consider it seriously. Now, tell me about the situation in Sunagakure. How should we view this ally whose strength is no longer on par with ours?”

The Third Raikage waved his hand impatiently, telling Ellie to skip the topic.

In Kumogakure, anyone can distrust Burubi, but he, as the Raikage, cannot. He must give Burubi 100% trust, and even if Burubi really goes berserk, he will bear the consequences.

The Fourth Raikage, standing to the side, wore a thoughtful expression.

Elui tactfully skipped the discussion about Brubi's rampage, then thought about it seriously and replied, "In terms of strength, Sunagakure is indeed not qualified to be an ally of our Kumogakure right now. However, we cannot kick them while they're down. Instead, we should provide them with appropriate assistance."

"Why? We, the Hidden Cloud Village, don't need such weak allies. They've already had their Kage killed by the Leaf Village, so they definitely can't continue fighting the Leaf Village. To us, the Hidden Sand Village is no longer of any use."

The young Fourth Raikage asked, puzzled.

The Third Raikage remained silent, his gaze also fixed on Elui; his son's doubts were the same doubts he was currently experiencing.

In his opinion, the now weakened Sand Village is indeed of no use, and there is no benefit in forming an alliance with it.

Chiyo received the distress signal from their spies in Konoha, but he had no intention of going to help. The reason was simple: the risks outweighed the rewards.

The forces Konoha must have deployed to hunt down Chiyo must have been enormous, and there must have been Kage-level shikigami among them.

If Kumogakure were to truly go to support Chiyo, deploying Kage-level combatants would be essential. However, the Land of Fire is Konoha's territory, and the personnel they send to support her would inevitably be isolated and helpless. If anything unexpected happens, failing to save Chiyo would be a minor matter, but losing their own Kage-level combatants would be a much bigger problem.

"Lord Raikage, what do you think our chances of winning against Konoha now are?"

Seeing that the father and son were both planning to kick Sunagakure aside, Elui smiled bitterly.

"Let's split it 30/70."

Upon hearing this question, the Third Raikage remained silent for a moment, carefully comparing the current top combat power of Kumogakure with that of Konoha. Then, under Elui's sharp gaze, he spoke with some displeasure.

Thirdly, they are from Kumogakure; seventhly, from Konoha.

The Cloud Village currently has a total of four Kage-level fighters: his father and son, and two Jinchuriki.

On the Konoha side, the known Kage-level ninjas include the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and Kirito Tohsaka. However, according to their intelligence analysis, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, the two powerful ninja clans of Konoha, most likely have Kage-level ninjas hidden within their ranks.

In other words, Konoha has five Kage-level fighters.

Of the five Kage-level fighters, Kirito Tohsaka is a formidable obstacle. He estimates that at least he and Burubi will need to keep an eye on this Konoha genius with astonishing combat power.

However, this means that his son and the two Jinchuriki, Yugimaru, will face the pressure of four Kage-level powerhouses and must be prepared to fight two against one.

The good news is that the Uchiha clan is not trusted within Konoha, so it's highly unlikely that any Kage-level shinobi from the Uchiha clan will be sent to the battlefield.

The main branch of the Hyuga clan is conservative and afraid of death, so it's highly unlikely they will go to the battlefield.

Furthermore, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, will remain in Konoha. Unless the Cloud Village attacks Konoha, he is unlikely to go to the front lines.

However, it's impossible for the Hidden Cloud Village to send out all of their Kage-level combatants at once; they have to leave one behind to guard the village. Yukimaru and his companion will remain in the Hidden Cloud Village.

Therefore, the Kage-level combat power of both sides on the battlefield should be considered balanced.

Of course, this is the ideal situation. Once the Kage-level shinobi of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans are sent to the battlefield, the situation in Kumogakure will be dire.

Therefore, he personally believes that the odds of going to war with Konoha now are 30/70.

"It's a 30/70 chance, it seems that Raikage is too optimistic. If we, Kumogakure, were to go to war with Konoha, we would be lucky to have a 20% chance of winning."

Upon learning of the Third Raikage's thoughts, Elui smiled wryly once again.

"Hey, Ellie, no matter how cautious you are, you can't boost the morale of others and diminish your own, can you? The fighting strength of the ninjas in Kumogakure is no worse than that of Konoha, and our fighting spirit is even higher."

At this moment, the Fourth Raikage, unable to bear Elui's pessimism any longer, said with great dissatisfaction.

"Then tell me, if Brubi goes berserk, what chance do we have of winning?"

Elui wasn't afraid of the Fourth Raikage, and she immediately questioned him.

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Raikage's momentum instantly weakened. He pursed his lips and remained silent, his mood suddenly becoming very depressed.

The same applies to the Third Raikage.

"If we had the help of Sunagakure, our chances of winning would be much greater. However, Sunagakure is clearly no longer able to play a role in restraining Konoha. Moreover, Kirito Tohsaka's combat strength is too amazing, adding too many variables to our war with Konoha. I really don't think it's a good idea to start a war against Konoha."

Seeing that the two had fallen silent, Elui continued her rational analysis.

"If that's the case, then why should we help Sunagakure? Let's just not fight Konoha."

The Fourth Raikage asked.

The Third Raikage nodded, signaling Ellie to continue explaining.

Elui still didn't answer the question directly, but instead posed a question that made the Third Raikage somewhat embarrassed: "Raikage-sama, what do you think of the reputation of our Cloud Village in the ninja world?"

Bandits of the ninja world—that's the current image of Kumogakure in the ninja world.

This shows just how bad their reputation is in the ninja world.

The Third Raikage, the most notorious bandit in Kumogakure at the moment, was well aware of his own limitations and could only give Ellie an awkward smile.

"Lord Raikage, from the current perspective, Konoha is too powerful. It would be too difficult for us in Kumogakure to defeat it on our own. We must unite with the forces of other ninja villages. However, if Kumogakure were to take advantage of our allies' misfortune now, who would dare to cooperate with us in the future? Even if our cooperation with Sunagakure is kept secret this time."

Therefore, we must help Sunagakure this time. Even if we fail, we must leave a good impression on the other ninja villages and show that Kumogakure is a cooperative partner.

Seeing that the Third Raikage was aware of the reputation of Kumogakure, Elui finally revealed her reason for helping Sunagakure.

Upon hearing Elui's explanation, both of them suddenly realized the significance of their intervention in Sunagakure.

“You’re right. We do need to send someone to support Chiyo. Although there are some dangers in supporting her, the rewards are very good. How about this, I’ll go myself. Even if we can’t save Chiyo, I can easily make a retreat.”

The Third Raikage thought Elui's words made a lot of sense and then quickly made a decision.

When Elui and the Fourth Raikage heard that the Third Raikage was going to personally rescue Chiyo, they were both shocked and instinctively wanted to object, but they were silenced by the Third Raikage's serious gaze.

Both of them knew the Third Raikage's temper; once he showed that look in his eyes, no amount of persuasion would work.

……

On the other side, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, lies the Konoha military camp.

Tsunade, the frontline commander, was looking at a piece of intelligence that had just been sent from Konoha with a troubled expression. The intelligence contained information about Kirito's great achievements in the Land of Wind that night.

"That brat has really grown up; he's becoming more and more disobedient."

Tsunade threw away the intelligence report in her hand, covered her head with her hand, and had a terrible headache.

Although the information was simple and a piece of good news, the risks it contained made Tsunade's heart pound.

She herself was unsure of Kirito's exact level of strength, but as Kirito's older sister, she really didn't want to see him take such risks.

Furthermore, Kirito carried out this operation behind her back, and even kept it from Momoka, which left her with an indescribable sense of loss.

"Tsunade, your younger brother is amazing. He has such strength at such a young age. However, his behavior is too radical. If he is not disciplined, he may become an extreme martial arts ninja in the future. With his outburst tonight, the peace talks between Konoha and Sunagakure have completely fallen through."

Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, was also in the room. He picked up the intelligence report that Tsunade had thrown on the ground, and after reading it, his expression changed drastically. He sighed deeply, feeling regretful that the peace talks had failed.

When Tsunade heard Jiraiya say that about Kirito, she felt a little uncomfortable. Just as she was about to retort, she suddenly turned her head and shouted loudly at the shadows in the corner of the room, "Who's there?"

Jiraiya noticed an uninvited guest in the room and, in perfect unison with Tsunade, attacked the intruder from the left and right corners.

The next moment, a person who made the two of them feel like they were facing a formidable enemy stepped out of the shadows.

Chapter 226: If I Were the Hokage

"It's you!"

Tsunade recognized the person who had arrived and her eyes widened in surprise.

Jiraiya then clearly saw who it was, and his face turned extremely solemn. He said coldly, "Hattori Masanari, this is Konoha's military camp. If you dare to act recklessly, the enemies your Amegakure faces will not just be Kumogakure."

The person who arrived was none other than Hattori Masanari, the Rain Village clone that Kirito had impersonated in his White Zetsu form.

"Don't be nervous. I have no intention of fighting you, much less of an intention to be an enemy of Konoha."

Kirito raised his hands to show he was harmless and said with a smile.

When Tsunade and Jiraiya heard Kirito say this, they didn't really believe him, because the person in front of them was already a Kage-level powerhouse. Although their strength was very close to Kage level, they were only close.

If they were to actually fight, even if they joined forces, they would probably lose more often than they win. After all, this Rain Ninja was someone who could lead a small number of ninjas to wreak havoc in the Hidden Cloud Village and escape unscathed; that battle was earth-shattering.

Their spies in Konoha had already reported the details of that battle to Konoha, concluding that Hattori Masanari was no ordinary Kage-level ninja. He was proficient in both water and earth ninjutsu, and had also mastered the Iwagakure S-rank ninjutsu, the Super Light-Heavy Rock Technique. He could fly and move freely, and any ninja who couldn't fly would only be beaten up in his presence.

Neither she nor Jiraiya knows any flying ninjutsu, so they'll be at a disadvantage against this person.

For now, things are alright. In this small space, the two of them still have a chance to win. But once they're outside, their chances of winning will be virtually zero.

Even more terrifying is that this person can use Earth Release: Steel Style Technique to create a rock giant with super strong defense. Combined with the Super Light-Heavy Rock Technique, the rock giant's weakness of being clumsy will be greatly reduced. This is definitely a super powerful weapon on the battlefield.

In the recent war between Amegakure and Kumogakure, this Amegakure member repeatedly used these two Earth Release ninjutsu to dominate the battlefield. If Kumogakure hadn't specifically sent the Third Raikage's son, who was proficient in Lightning Release chakra mode, to keep an eye on him, he could have single-handedly held off thousands of Kumogakure members.

Hattori Masanari's new title in the Land of Rain and even the ninja world is: the new guardian deity of the Land of Rain.

She had fought this person before, and the fight was evenly matched. However, in just one or two years, she hadn't seen him, but she never expected that his strength would improve so rapidly. It seemed that he had been holding back when he fought her back then.

However, the pressure this person is putting on her now is much greater than it was back then, making her feel like she was facing Hanzo the Salamander back then.