Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

"Lord Mito is still alive."

The Third Hokage remained silent for a moment, then stared intently into Danzo's eyes and spoke loudly.

Danzo's expression froze when he heard the Third Hokage say that, but he sneered inwardly.

He understood that the Third Generation had once again yielded to him, using Mito to pressure him, simply to drag him down with them and make them share the blame.

What's wrong with him taking the blame for Konoha's sake?

Besides, hasn't he already taken enough blame for three generations of his family?

"Hiruzen, your capacity is nothing more than this. Konoha would be better led by me."

Danzo did not hesitate any longer and said coldly, "Lady Mito is old, so there's no need to trouble her with this matter. We can handle it together."

Seeing that Danzo still had no intention of giving up on using Kirito to lure out the traitor hidden within Konoha, and that he was determined to continue down this path despite Danzo's objections, the Third Hokage hardened his fist.

However, considering the dire situation of the battle between Konoha and Sunagakure, he finally loosened his fist and said with difficulty, "The mission can fail, but we must protect Kirito."

"You're being too weak. You're putting the cart before the horse. You'll regret this."

Danzo was surprised that the Third Hokage would say something so weak, suggesting that Kirito should be protected first, and immediately objected.

Finding the mole must be done right the first time; otherwise, if you alert the mole, it will become even more difficult to find him later.

He didn't believe that three generations of people didn't understand this principle.

"Shut up, I am the Hokage."

The third generation slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.

Regardless, Kirito is the village's super genius, the pillar of the village's future, and also Mito-sama's personal disciple, inheriting all of Mito-sama's sealing techniques. If anything were to happen to him because of this, how could he face Mito-sama?

Using Kirito as bait to lure out the traitor was already his biggest concession; he absolutely could not allow Kirito to make any mistakes.

When Danzo heard the Third Hokage utter those familiar yet incredibly grating words, he immediately knew there was no room for further negotiation. He could only stare coldly at the Third Hokage for several seconds before turning away with a sour face, slamming the door behind him.

The two parted on bad terms once again.

After Danzo left, the Third Hokage immediately said, "Someone come here."

The next moment, an ANBU ninja appeared kneeling in front of the Third Hokage.

"Keep a close eye on Danzo."

The third generation issued a command.

"what."

The ANBU ninja immediately obeyed the order and then used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

On the other side, Danzo, who had already walked out of the Hokage Building, still maintained his usual cold expression, causing passersby to instinctively stay away from him.

Two masked ninjas had appeared beside him; they were Root ninjas who obeyed Danzo.

Danzo soon realized that someone was following and monitoring him along the way.

He didn't need to guess to know that these were ANBU ninjas sent by the Third Hokage, whose purpose was obviously to keep a close eye on him and prevent him from doing anything out of line.

"Hmph, foolish Hiruzen, do you think you can get away with just keeping an eye on me, the leader of Root? You have no idea how powerful the darkness of Root is. Just wait, whether it's a spy or Kirito, they will all be mine."

Danzo's lips curled into a confident smile.

Chapter 36: Tracking

After leaving the Hokage Building, Kirito didn't immediately go to Mito to have his soul aptitude assessed. Instead, he obediently returned to school to attend classes.

It's still school time. If he goes to see Mito now, he'll only get a scolding and make Mito angry; he won't get anything in return.

Moreover, Mito's health has been deteriorating recently, and he spends more and more time in bed resting. He needs to wait until Mito gets out of bed and moves around before he can get better.

However, Kirito had already mastered most of the school's courses. Since the following courses were all theoretical and did not require hands-on practice, he left only a shadow clone in class to diligently study a pharmacology book that Nara Shuun had given him, while his main body slipped away to the village.

"One, two... a total of fifteen people. These are two squads of secret agents following and monitoring me. What a big operation."

Kirito strolled aimlessly through the streets, secretly using his sensory abilities to confirm the number and location of the people following him.

These people have been following him ever since he came out of the Hokage Building.

Unsurprisingly, these people are all members of the Anbu, but whether they are directly under the Hokage or from Root is unknown.

But there's no doubt he's being watched now.

To be precise, he was used as bait by some people to lure out certain individuals.

Kirito had anticipated this outcome; he had already foreseen this result when he used Magnet Release.

There's no way around it; Magnet Release is a well-known bloodline limit of Sunagakure, and the current Kazekage is a famous Magnet Release ninja in the ninja world. If you were to ask who in the ninja world wouldn't want Konoha to obtain the Magnet Release bloodline limit, it would definitely be this Kazekage.

In order to prevent Konoha from fully understanding Magnet Release, the Third Kazekage will definitely try every means to eliminate this Magnet Release ninja from Konoha.

Being targeted by a Kage-level powerhouse, who is also the village chief of Sunagakure, is exciting to think about.

Yes, it was exciting, but without any tension or fear.

Of course, no matter how powerful the Third Kazekage is, he can't possibly come to Konoha to kill him personally. He's safe now with the village's protection.

While Konoha's F4 may be unreliable, Konoha's overall strength is still very reliable.

The most powerful threats have been kept outside the village; Kirito only needs to be careful of those hidden arrows that might come from anywhere.

Kirito ate and drank his way through the village.

He was never stingy when it came to satisfying his appetite, and he spent money lavishly. If he saw a dish he liked, he would buy it on the spot, and if he didn't have enough money, he would pay on credit. Every shopkeeper who owed him money would happily agree to pay.

Watching Kirito happily devour all sorts of famous village delicacies, the ANBU ninjas who had been silently following him swallowed hard countless times.

"Isn't this kid an orphan according to his file? How come he's so rich? The three-color dumplings at this confectionery shop are delicious, but they're super expensive. One skewer costs 200 yen, and he actually ordered twenty skewers."

A female ninja from the Anbu, wearing a cat mask, watched Kirito enter a high-end confectionery shop she visited every week, buy twenty skewers of three-colored dumplings in one go, and begin to devour them, while she made an envious comment.

"That was a year ago. This kid is no ordinary brat. He's Lord Mito's prized disciple. He entered the sealing class for an internship a year ago and is now a group leader in the sealing class. This shows how outstanding his sealing skills are. Moreover, this kid is quite good at making sealing talismans and sealing scrolls. He often makes sealing talismans and sealing scrolls in private to sell, making him very rich."

Upon hearing this, the male ninja from the Anbu wearing a dog-head mask explained to his colleague, who had only recently joined the Anbu, his voice laced with bitterness.

The group leader of the sealing squad earns much more than him, an ordinary member of the dark unit, and his work is easier and safer. As for sealing talismans and sealing scrolls, they are high-level strategic materials with extremely high prices. One sealing talisman is worth a month's salary for him.

That's right, Kirito is actually quite wealthy now. If he didn't create those money-burning creatures, he would probably be the richest kid in the whole village.

Sealing techniques are ninjutsu that only highly educated ninjas can master.

After all, it is a ninjutsu that can suppress even tailed beasts and Kaguya Otsutsuki, so its value is self-evident.

Once an ordinary ninja is sealed by a sealing technique, even a Jonin will generally have no choice but to surrender.

Just think about those immortal ninjas resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation who were sealed by sealing techniques during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and you'll know how powerful sealing techniques are. They are the perfect ninjutsu to subdue any kind of rebellious ninja.

Therefore, items like sealing talismans and sealing scrolls, which allow people who don't know sealing techniques to use them, have always been extremely expensive.

However, no one complained.

Because in a critical moment, these ridiculously expensive items might just save your life.

The male ANBU ninja with the dog-head mask once bought a sealing talisman made by Kirito. Of course, he didn't buy it from Kirito himself, but rather it had changed hands countless times.

The reason he knew it was made by Kirito was because the sealing talismans and sealing scrolls made by Kirito all had the letters "MITR" written on the back.

Because he labels his self-made sealing talismans and scrolls with "made" labels, and because of their excellent quality, Kirito is quite well-known in the market for buying and selling sealing talismans and scrolls. Many merchants enthusiastically call him the youngest sealing technique master in Konoha.

"Wow, that's amazing! He's only 8 years old, but he's already much richer than me."

Upon learning of Kirito's abilities, the female ninja from the Anbu was astonished, her eyes wide with disbelief. She said sourly that she wished she could learn sealing techniques immediately.

The other silent ANBU ninjas around them nodded secretly, also having the same thought of going back and diligently learning sealing techniques.

"Ahem, alright, you two, stop being so sour. He's rich because he's capable. You know how difficult sealing techniques are to learn. If you're not smart enough, don't even think about it. Don't waste your time trying to learn it. Keep focusing on tracking and protecting him."

Seeing that his men were starting to waver, the squad leader of the secret service coughed and gave them a warning.

"what."

Those who can join the Anbu are all elite ninjas with strong discipline. As soon as the Anbu squad leader reminded them, the others obeyed and continued to diligently monitor Kirito.

Kirito strolled around the food street and finally came to a shop called Yakushi Gourmet House.

As soon as he entered the store, a beautiful blonde woman greeted him. She had a healing smile on her face and wore round-framed glasses, looking both intellectual and charming. She was none other than Yakushi Nonou, who had used her transformation technique to impersonate an adult.

"What brings you here at this hour?"

Yakushi Nonou looked at Kirito, who had suddenly arrived, and asked in confusion.

"To get you business."

Kirito replied with a grin.

As soon as he finished speaking, several people walked in one after another; they were ANBU ninjas who had used their transformation techniques.

When Yakushi Nonou saw these people, her eyes changed slightly.

At the same time, two middle-aged men with disabilities who were leisurely drinking tea in the corner of the shop suddenly stopped talking and glanced at the people who had followed Kirito in.

Chapter 37: Development

In two years, Kirito transformed from an ordinary orphan into a ninja with Chunin-level strength, mastered excellent sealing techniques, and created his own unique Magnet Release ninjutsu. The changes he underwent were undoubtedly enormous.

Similarly, over the course of two years, Kirito's friends at the orphanage also changed a lot.

The person who changed the most was undoubtedly Yakushi Nono.

Despite never having attended the Ninja Academy, through Kirito's daily after-school tutoring and his own hard work, he has become a powerful genin who has mastered the Three Body Techniques and several Water Release ninjutsu, and possesses considerable talent in chakra manipulation.

In addition, after two years of running the restaurant, Nono has grown into an excellent chef and owner.

She integrated the various hometown dishes taught by Kirito, and then added local characteristics to them, processing them into special dishes that satisfied the local tastes, thus making Yakushi Gourmet House a well-known brand and one of the most popular restaurants in Konoha.

In the past two years, under her management, Yaoshi Meishiju has not only expanded its scale, but also opened two additional branches.

Nowadays, the daily income of the Pharmacist's Gourmet Restaurant is quite considerable, and it is an important source of funding for the orphanage and Kirito's biological research.

Pharmacist Nonou is a very opinionated person who cares deeply about the development of the orphanage.

As the orphanage gradually became wealthier, in order to ensure its safety, she took the initiative to propose a plan to Kirito to hire ninjas. She issued missions to the village to hire ninjas to protect the orphanage, and also hired some retired ninjas due to injuries and illnesses to serve as guards at the Yakushi Gourmet House.

Her decision to hire disabled ninjas received strong support from the Third Hokage, who even used it to promote his idea in the village.