Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Within the Uchiha clan, the lower classes are generally quite content with their current lives and do not harbor much hostility towards outsiders. The reason they are hostile towards outsiders is twofold: firstly, the radical high-ranking members, such as the clan leader, have been spreading radical ideas; and secondly, the villagers themselves are hostile.

If these two issues can be resolved, it wouldn't be difficult for the Uchiha clan to integrate into Konoha. With just one or two generations of effort, the gap between the Uchiha clan and the village could definitely be greatly reduced.

However, neither of these problems is easy to solve.

The leaders of the radical faction are mostly nobles of the Uchiha clan. They control most of the Uchiha clan's military power, authority, and wealth, and it is impossible to get them to give up these things and obediently follow orders.

Bloodshed is inevitable, and only in this way can the radical faction within the Uchiha clan be suppressed to the greatest extent possible, causing them to lose support and control over the lower-class Uchiha civilians.

As for the hostility from the villagers, that problem is even more difficult to solve.

Kirito's solution was to strip the Uchiha clan of their rights in the security force, making it no longer solely their own clan, and to allow other Konoha clans to join them. He also suggested that Uchiha ninjas perform missions alongside ninjas from other clans.

In short, it's about getting rid of the guard unit, which is a source of hatred, and fighting alongside other ethnic groups.

"Sigh, bleeding is just unavoidable."

Although Mikoto Uchiha's proposal was rather subtle, Fugaku Uchiha immediately understood its meaning.

Being sent out on missions is probably just like being used as a tool to work for the village. If anything goes wrong, they'll be sent out on some high-difficulty missions and die a natural death.

This method truly kills without leaving a trace, but it is also a 'gentle' approach.

Mikoto Uchiha knew very well what Fugaku Uchiha's weaknesses were: his soft heart and indecisiveness.

Therefore, she decisively gave Uchiha Fugaku another push from behind, and said coldly:

"Hmph, it's better to let these brainless guys shed their last drop of blood for the Uchiha and Konoha flu than to let them keep inciting the lower-ranking clansmen to fight against the village and continue to run rampant. Sooner or later, the Uchiha clan will be driven to their doom by them."

Brother Fugaku, Kirito is one of the few Konoha shinobi who is no match for the Uchiha clan. Although he is Mito's disciple and has a very deep relationship with the Senju clan, he is not a true member of the Senju clan, and he has a close relationship with Chizuru.

Therefore, this is the best time for the Uchiha clan to change its status in the village. If we miss this opportunity, our Uchiha clan might not be wiped out, but we will certainly suffer a severe blow. Lord Kirito has never been a merciful person.

This was the first time Fugaku Uchiha had ever seen Mikoto Uchiha display such a cold expression and utter such ruthless words. The innocent little girl next door had undergone a great change after experiencing the trials of blood and fire.

No, she's grown up. She's no longer the little tagalong who followed him around and listened to everything he said. She's become an outstanding ninja with her own independent thoughts.

Mikoto Uchiha's ability to become a Jonin at this age is not solely due to her talent and the power bestowed upon her by Kirito; she also required rigorous training.

Like Kirito, Uchiha Mikoto graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of 10 and then underwent brutal training on the battlefield. Her Jonin strength was honed through life-and-death trials. She is proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, which is far superior to those mediocre special Jonin.

"I understand, Mikoto. I won't get in your way. But if you want my help, please let me meet with Kirito-sama."

After a moment of silence, Fugaku Uchiha made his choice.

"Okay, Fugaku-nii."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Mikoto instantly transformed back into the gentle and charming girl next door, smiling radiantly as she spoke.

……

Half a day later, at the Konoha headquarters in the Land of Rain, news of the Third Hokage's capture by Madara Uchiha was finally brought there by a Konoha ninja skilled in long-distance raids.

Tsunade was the first here to receive this news.

Upon receiving the news, her first action was to temporarily suppress it and then have someone quickly summon Kirito to discuss the matter.

A short while later, Kirito arrived at the headquarters, where Tsunade was the only one present.

"Tsunade-neechan, is there something urgent you need me to do?"

Kirito entered and found that Tsunade was the only one there, and that her expression was unusually serious and grim. He immediately knew that something serious had happened and asked her what was wrong.

After killing the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, he returned here immediately and then focused on continuing his research on the Rinnegan without wasting a single moment. Meanwhile, his White Zetsu clone was busy dealing with Amegakure's affairs, keeping himself extremely busy.

"Take a look, this was just sent back from Konoha."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade immediately handed the original information to Kirito.

Kirito took a look and his expression turned strange. He sighed inwardly, "This time, Madara Uchiha is really taking an unconventional approach. He actually kidnapped the Third Hokage."

He wasn't worried at all about the Third Hokage being captured by Madara Uchiha; in fact, he was quite pleased.

After all, in the current Konoha, if we were to say who the biggest obstacle to his further control of Konoha is, it would undoubtedly be the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage's capture is tantamount to the fact that the forces connected by the Third Hokage are about to fall apart.

To be honest, he was actually quite looking forward to Madara Uchiha killing the Third Hokage, so that he wouldn't have to worry about how to deal with the Third Hokage in the future.

If Madara Uchiha weren't his mortal enemy, he would have really wanted to thank him in person for putting on such a good show.

"Kirito, the Third Hokage made significant contributions to Konoha. I hope you can do everything in your power to save him."

Seeing that Kirito showed no sign of worry, Tsunade immediately understood what he was thinking and spoke in a pleading tone.

No matter how the Third Hokage treated her, he was still her mentor on her path to growth, and she didn't want him to be killed by that villain, Madara Uchiha.

Chapter 295: The Long-Awaited Skill Point Enhancement

"So, they really want me to save the third generation. This is such a headache."

Kirito's face immediately showed a troubled expression when he heard Tsunade's request.

"Kirito, I know this is difficult for you. After all, Madara Uchiha is very dangerous, and it's really too risky for you to face him alone. But I really can't just stand by and watch my teacher die..."

Upon seeing this, Tsunade said with a somber expression.

One is her mentor, and the other is her younger brother. Both are very important to her. If she had a choice, she would really like to disguise herself as Kirito and go to find Uchiha Madara.

However, she was well aware of her own limitations; going to find Madara Uchiha would only be suicide.

In Konoha today, if we're talking about who's confident of escaping from Madara Uchiha, it's probably Kirito and Minato Namikaze. One has mastered the terrifying Lightning Release movement ninjutsu, and the other has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique; both are incredibly skilled at escaping.

Even so, Kirito is still in great danger facing Madara Uchiha, because Madara Uchiha is certainly aware that Kirito has mastered the Lightning Transformation Technique and is very likely to take corresponding countermeasures.

There is no such thing as an unsolvable ninjutsu in this world. There are so many ninjutsu in the ninja world, and there may very well be ninjutsu that can counter the Lightning Transformation Technique.

Kirito, seeing Tsunade's troubled expression, felt a pang of pity and sighed, "Alright, since it's my sister's request, I'll give it a try. But I can't guarantee I'll be able to bring the Third Hokage back."

"Thank you, Kirito. I really don't know what to say."

Tsunade expressed her gratitude upon hearing this.

Then, a deep sense of guilt and helplessness appeared on her face.

She was an incompetent older sister, actually letting her younger brother do such a dangerous thing while she was powerless to do anything about it.

Upon realizing this, Tsunade felt a pang of sadness and wanted to cry, but she couldn't.

I want to cry without tears.

"Alright, sister, there's no need for this. You must be in a difficult position too. It's okay, Madara Uchiha can't do anything to me. Even if I can't beat him, I can still run away."

"Please pull yourself together. You're the commander here now; you can't let others see you looking like this."

Kirito, seeing that Tsunade was not upset because of guilt and helplessness, comforted her.

In the matter of saving the Third Hokage, Tsunade, caught in the middle, undoubtedly had the most difficult task. Although Kirito could not fully empathize with her feelings at that moment, he probably understood that she was in a very difficult situation, filled with guilt and helplessness.

Kirito could only try his best to comfort her.

There's no way around it; Tsunade is only a newly promoted Kage-level ninja right now. Even if she goes with him to see Madara Uchiha, she'll only become a burden.

"Kirito, you absolutely must be careful. If things become unbearable, retreat immediately. Konoha no longer has the Third Hokage; you absolutely cannot be allowed to fall."

Tsunade is a strong person. She was comforted by Kirito and quickly cheered up. She stepped forward, hugged Kirito tightly, and held him in her arms, giving him some words of advice.

Suddenly caught off guard by the puppet faction's attack, Kirito was momentarily out of breath. As he sniffed the scent of milk, he replied haltingly, "I understand, sister. I will definitely come back safely, don't worry."

After giving Kirito a series of instructions over and over for several minutes, Tsunade finally released him, whose face had turned slightly pale. With a serious expression, she said, "Kirito, give me one of those ninjutsu techniques that can help others enter a special Sage Mode."

As the older sister, Tsunade had to draw strength from her younger brother to become stronger, which made her, who was always proud, feel very embarrassed. But she was really fed up with this feeling of powerlessness.

She wants to become stronger, to become stronger as quickly as possible.

The special Sage Mode that Orochimaru used on the battlefield today gave her hope.

However, she did not intend to directly use Kirito's Sage Seal to increase her strength. Her real purpose was to use Kirito's Sage Seal to enhance her aptitude for cultivating Sage Arts, and then go to the slug to learn the slug's Sage Arts.

……

Kirito walked very fast. After leaving a top-level Sage Seal on Tsunade, he left the Konoha camp in the Land of Rain and rushed back to Konoha.

Madara Uchiha only told him to go find him, but didn't say where to go. Kirito could only return to Konoha first to see if that old schemer had left any clues.

"So that's how it is. It saves me the trouble of searching for this guy."

Not long after Kirito entered the Land of Fire, he sensed a familiar soul aura and sneered.

This spiritual aura is from the third generation.

As expected, this was the clue left to him by Madara Uchiha. However, this soul aura was extremely weak. In Konoha, only he, who had cultivated the Spirit Transformation Technique to an extremely high level, could sense it.

Now that he has found the clues left by Madara Uchiha, Kirito is no longer in a hurry. This will likely be his second time facing Madara Uchiha head-on. Before that, he must make full preparations.

He continued flying towards Konoha, then skillfully infiltrated the village and returned to the laboratory he had built underground at the Konoha orphanage.

The operating room in the laboratory.

Kirito took out a pair of Byakugan from a storage-type sealing scroll. One was no different from an ordinary Byakugan, while the other had a large number of mesmerizing purple light spots in the base color of its pupil, emitting a purple halo and also emitting a special chakra fluctuation.

These Byakugan eyes belong to Hyuga Tennin.

Kirito now plans to transplant them onto himself.

Kirito had already experienced the convenience of the Byakugan's abilities through his White Zetsu clones. With its help, his Gentle Fist technique was complete, and Madara Uchiha's every move in battle could not escape his notice.

However, there is now a problem: whether or not to transplant the Byakugan that has evolved into the Tenseigan.

While the power of this white eye is indeed formidable, the dark emotions it contains are not to be underestimated and could very well influence him, causing a drastic change in his personality.

"Forget it, the transplant is enough. I've gotten to where I am today because I have a smart and rational brain. If this thing makes me irrational, it will only be a loss."

Kirito made his decision in less than a minute, decisively retracting the Byakugan of the Hyuga Tennin that was on the path to evolution.

Next, he began the transplant, skillfully removing the Blood Dragon Eye from his left eye socket and then transplanting another Byakugan from Hyuga Tennin.

With the successful transplantation of the Byakugan, the Byakugan was nourished by the abundant life force within Kirito's body. His originally dull and numb eyes suddenly became lively, while at the same time, a strong sense of rejection began to appear.

Kirito is not a descendant of the Otsutsuki clan, so it would be very difficult for him to use the Byakugan.

But this didn't faze Kirito. An aggressive surge of Sage Chakra emerged from his body and was then injected into his Byakugan.

At some point, the Byakugan's pure white pupils, tinged with a hint of purple, were rapidly tinged with a pale gold. Its interior was quickly influenced by Kirito's Sage Chakra, causing its bloodline to change and its rejection of Kirito's body to decrease until it disappeared completely.

When the feeling of rejection completely disappeared, Kirito poured a large amount of chakra into his Byakugan and successfully awakened it.

"The next issue is how to allocate skill points. I currently have 5 enhancement points; where should I allocate them?"