Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Before long, Kirito's White Zetsu clone returned to Konoha's headquarters in the Land of Rain.

By this time, the war had fully begun, and all the Konoha ninjas remaining at headquarters were put on emergency combat readiness. Large numbers of Konoha ninjas rushed to the front lines with various supplies.

"You're finally back. There's some unusual activity in Iwagakure. I hope you can go and investigate as soon as possible."

Just as Hattori Masashige, disguised as a White Zetsu clone, returned, Tsunade rushed over and issued him battle orders.

The Amegakure was completely unaware that Kirito's true form had arrived at Konoha's headquarters.

So, the White Zetsu clone pretended to be unaware and asked doubtfully, "Is there a problem? If that Third Raikage comes, that little girl from the Uchiha clan alone won't be able to stop him, will she?"

"Don't worry, no problem. Just wait for good news. The situation in Iwagakure isn't good. If they can't hold on, they'll have to retreat."

Tsunade shook her head and said with a serious expression.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. You need to be careful too. You are the core of the Amegakure-Konoha alliance. With you here, I can cooperate with Konoha with peace of mind."

The White Zetsu clone said with a smile.

Over the past month, Tsunade has indeed demonstrated the potential to be an excellent leader.

She is decisive, responsible, fair, and of noble birth. She is generous, easygoing, and possesses exceptional medical skills that can save lives, which earns her the trust of many.

As Kirito said, it was precisely because of Tsunade that Amegakure and Konoha cooperated without so much estrangement, and even gradually developed a sense of camaraderie through fighting together.

They began to trust each other.

"Don't worry, I have so many people protecting me here, I'm perfectly safe."

Tsunade said with a confident expression.

Then, Hyuga Karen, who had come with Tsunade, also spoke up: "With me here, no enemy can escape my eyes."

“Little girl of the Hyuga clan, sometimes what you see with your eyes is not necessarily the truth. In the ninja world, there are still some disguise ninjutsu that can hide from the Byakugan. You can’t be too confident in your bloodline limit.”

Upon hearing this, the white Zetsu clone offered a reminder.

This is a living example right before our eyes.

Hua Lian clearly didn't agree with the White Zetsu clone's words, but due to her status and the fear of causing conflict between Amegakure and Konoha, she chose to remain silent as a way of responding to the White Zetsu clone's words.

They neither admit nor refute it.

"Nagato, I entrust Lady Tsunade's safety to you."

Seeing this, the White Zetsu clone decided not to continue reminding her and instead spoke to Nagato, who was to Tsunade's left.

With the help of Tsunade's excellent medical ninjutsu, Nagato has recovered his health. Although there are still some aftereffects, they are not serious and will not affect his ability to become an excellent ninja.

After Nagato lost the Rinnegan, his strength increased rather than decreased, and the amount of chakra in his body entered a period of rapid growth.

Before losing the Rinnegan, Nagato's chakra was already quite close to the level of a Tailed Beast. Now he has directly entered the level of a Tailed Beast, and his chakra is still increasing rapidly every day.

In terms of chakra reserves alone, apart from Kirito himself who possesses the One-Tailed Beast, no one has more than Nagato.

Moreover, Nagato's physical abilities are also improving rapidly.

Nagato used to be very thin and weak, but now he has a strong and masculine appearance.

Because of these two key ninja attributes being improved, Nagato, at only 12 years old, was already incredibly close to being a Kage.

The White Zetsu clone later obtained a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan for Nagato, and Tsunade successfully transplanted them. Nagato's strength had now steadily reached the Kage level.

That is why Nagato was allowed to serve as Tsunade's personal bodyguard.

Of course, Nagato's ability to become Tsunade's personal bodyguard was not solely due to his strength. The main reason was that Nagato had awakened the Kagura Mind's Eye and the Adamantine Sealing Chains, two unique ninjutsu of the Uzumaki clan. His reconnaissance and protective abilities were formidable, and as Jiraiya's disciple, he was trustworthy.

"Please rest assured, Lord Masashige, my life was saved by Lady Tsunade, and I will protect Lady Tsunade with my life."

Nagato answered with utmost seriousness.

After losing his Rinnegan, he survived, but his body was almost ruined. He thought he could no longer be a ninja, but after receiving treatment from Tsunade, his body gradually recovered.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Tsunade was Nagato's savior.

Because his parents died at the hands of Konoha ninjas, he still hates Konoha ninjas deep down, but he doesn't hate Tsunade. Like Jiraiya, she is a good person.

Chapter 281: Orochimaru as a Monster

With Karen and Nagato protecting her, and her main body keeping an eye on things at the main base, Tsunade is unlikely to get into any trouble unless she does something reckless.

Without further ado, the white Zetsu clone walked out of the room and began to quickly gather manpower according to his requirements.

Before long, one hundred elite Chunin skilled in Lightning Release and twenty Jonin appeared in front of the White Zetsu clone. Among them were Amegakure ninja and Konoha ninja, with Yahiko and Konan also mixed in.

To counter the collective Earth Release ninjutsu that Iwagakure excels at, Lightning Release ninjutsu is undoubtedly the best choice.

"Very good, let's go."

Upon seeing that everyone had arrived, Bai Jue's clone immediately spoke loudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful surge of Earth Release chakra erupted from his body. He then clapped his hands together and unleashed Earth Release: Super Light Heavy Rock Technique.

The next moment, the White Zetsu clone and 120 ninjas took to the air and flew at high speed toward the northwest of the Land of Rain.

Meanwhile, a large number of Konoha ninjas were also making unusual movements on the ground.

"No problem, right? This guy can carry 120 people on a flight at the same time."

Tsunade watched as the White Zetsu clone flew away with 120 ninjas, and said with some concern.

"No problem, with Lord Masashige's chakra, there will be absolutely no problem."

Nagato said proudly.

"Lady Tsunade, there's something inside that guy; it has a rather large amount of chakra."

Hua Lian then spoke up, his face showing deep solemnity.

Using her Byakugan, she could clearly see that the Rain Ninja named Hattori Masanari possessed three different streams of chakra. Although each stream was not as much as the Rain Ninja next to him named Uzumaki Nagato, when combined, they were no less than Nagato's.

She wasn't mistaken; that Rain Ninja, just like Kirito, was a true monster.

"What? Could the rumors be true? That guy has taken over Iwagakure's..."

Tsunade was surprised to hear what the two said.

"It's still a bit difficult, let's get this guy to help out."

On the other side, the White Zetsu clone flying in the air said breathlessly.

Using Earth Release: Super Heavy Rock Technique to grant 120 ninjas a flight buff is incredibly strenuous; even the White Zetsu clones, which already possess chakra close to that of a Tailed Beast, were struggling to withstand it.

Fortunately, the White Zetsu clone still had some chakra from the Five-Tails.

Compared to the One-Tailed Beast, the Five-Tailed Beast's chakra is undoubtedly much larger. Although the amount of chakra in the tail that the White Zetsu clone tore off from the Five-Tailed Beast did not reach the level of a tailed beast, it was not much different.

More importantly, that tail contained the soul of the Five-Tailed Beast, which later gave birth to a smaller Five-Tailed Beast.

In this way, this small Five-Tails, like the other tailed beasts, can quickly regenerate its chakra on its own.

After the White Zetsu clone captured the miniature Five-Tails, he sealed it within his body, becoming its jinchūriki and gaining access to its chakra. This also greatly enhanced his own Water Release and Fire Release talents.

Although the White Zetsu clones have not yet successfully developed the Boil Release bloodline limit, they can temporarily use the Boil Release ability by using the Five-Tails' chakra.

"Hey, that's not how I use my chakra, you damn human."

When the White Zetsu clone attempted to mobilize the Five-Tails' chakra within its body, an angry roar immediately resounded in the clone's mind.

At the same time, in the mental space within White Zetsu's clone, in a huge, constantly boiling lake, a pure white beast resembling both a horse and a dolphin emerged from the boiling water, glaring angrily at White Zetsu's clone in mid-air above the lake.

"Don't say that. I'm leading people there to fight Iwagakure to the death. So you should think of it this way: you're lending your power to me to fight Iwagakure. In this way, you're also fighting Iwagakure."

The White Zetsu clone spoke to the Five-Tails with a smile, trying its best to appease the Five-Tails' anger.

Hearing what the White Zetsu clone said, the Five-Tails felt much better.

Its resentment towards Iwagakure is incredibly deep, and it is very willing to lend a hand whenever it comes to anything related to Iwagakure.

However, it wasn't stupid. It knew that the Rain Ninja in front of it was making excuses, and said coldly, "Don't try to fool me. You clearly have plenty of chakra left. Why would you use mine? According to the agreement, I can only lend you my chakra when I'm dealing with my enemies."

Although it was sealed inside the body by the White Zetsu clone using a sealing technique, it did not submit to the White Zetsu clone. Even though it could not break the seal, it continued to engage in non-violent non-cooperation, which meant choosing to give up. It did not intend to recover its chakra on its own when it was exhausted, and used this method to fight against the White Zetsu clone.

When tailed beasts choose to give up, this has happened to the One-Tailed Beast as well. In response, Kirito had no choice but to negotiate amicably with the Five-Tailed Beast, satisfying some of its demands in exchange for a continuous supply of chakra.

The Five-Tails' request was simple: to take revenge on Iwagakure.

"Five-Tails, this time Iwagakure is attacking, and Onoki and Han are very likely to come together. When that happens, your chance for revenge will come, and you might even be able to get it back. I promise to help you then."

Seeing that the Five-Tails was not easily fooled, the White Zetsu clone immediately changed the subject and offered a bait that the Five-Tails found very interesting.

The five-tailed beast was indeed intrigued and quickly asked, "Really? You'll help me complete myself?"

"Of course, the stronger you become, the stronger I will become, and of course I'm willing to help you."

The white Zetsu clone answered with an affirmative tone.

The so-called "completeness" actually means making the Five-Tails complete again.

The Five-Tails within the White Zetsu clone is a clone created by the Five-Tails actively splitting its soul, but because its soul is much weaker than the Five-Tails' original soul, it inherits much less chakra and doesn't even reach the level of a Tailed Beast.

Furthermore, because his soul is incomplete, he loses the ability to continue growing, and his chakra reserves can never be increased.

Therefore, the five tails within White Zetsu's body yearn for completeness.

Strictly speaking, because the Five-Tails inside the White Zetsu's clone was sealed, it lost contact with the original body. Over time, it developed a strong independent consciousness, which led to its rebellion against the original body and its attempt to devour the original body and become the only Five-Tails in the world.

"Once I obtain the power of the original body, I will have the power to break the seal. Foolish human, I will help you for now."

From a purely self-interested perspective, the rebellious Five-Tails quickly believed the White Zetsu clone's words.

"Then it's settled. You can't kill Onoki with your strength. You might as well focus on Han. Once you catch him, you can deal a heavy blow to Iwagakure."

The rebellious Five-Tails suggested.

In order to get the rebellious Five-Tails to work hard, the White Zetsu clone readily accepted its advice.

On the other side, on the front lines of the great battle between Kumogakure and Konoha, tens of thousands of Kumogakure ninja, led by the Third Raikage, charged towards more than five thousand Konoha ninja on the battlefield.

Upon seeing this, Orochimaru, the battlefield commander of Konoha, immediately stopped his men from setting up a defense and led the charge towards the Third Raikage.

At this moment, Orochimaru's best friend Jiraiya arrived to provide support.

In a one-on-one fight, Orochimaru would certainly be no match for the Third Raikage, but with Jiraiya already in Sage Mode, the outcome would be different.

With the two working together, along with the two Sage Art summons Manda and Gamabunta, even the Third Raikage found the fight difficult.