Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

The Fourth Raikage finally reacted. He looked up at Ailu and said seriously, "What should Kumogakure do next? Tell me properly."

He wasn't good at scheming or plotting, but he was good at listening to others' opinions. If there was any hope, he absolutely didn't want to see Kumogakure living a miserable life in Konoha's shadow for a long time.

Making Kumogakure the number one ninja village in the ninja world was also the dream of the Fourth Raikage.

Seeing that the Fourth Raikage had taken the bait, Ailu immediately said, "First, we need to restore the reputation and strength of Kumogakure..."

……

In Iwagakure, at the Tsuchikage Building, in the Tsuchikage's office.

Onoki was intently looking at a project proposal titled "Artificial Human Development Project."

"Hmm... what should I do?"

Onoki said with a worried look on his face.

This artificial human training plan actually existed a long time ago, but he had been hesitant to implement it, so it had been shelved for a long time. However, the current situation in Iwagakure and the ninja world forced him to reconsider the feasibility of this plan.

The original intention of this artificial human training plan was to cultivate more top-tier experts in Iwagakure.

There was no other way. Although Iwagakure had a large number of ninjas, there were very few Kage-level shinobi among them. Apart from him, there were only two Jinchuriki. Now, one of them was gone, and the Tailed Beast was also lost. Iwagakure's fighting strength had dropped to its lowest point in history.

Fortunately, it wasn't just Iwagakure whose fighting strength had been severely reduced; Kumogakure and Sunagakure were in the same boat, with Sunagakure being the worst off. This meant that Iwagakure's status in the ninja world wasn't significantly affected.

However, the weakness of Iwagakure lacking top-tier combat power has been exposed, and Ōnoki, as the Tsuchikage, must resolve this as soon as possible.

Otherwise, Iwagakure would be in danger.

Onoki didn't know how the other ninja villages viewed Uchiha Madara, but he always remained extremely vigilant and never relaxed his guard against him just because Konoha was currently under immense pressure from him.

Back then, when he and his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, were defeated and humiliated by Madara Uchiha, he realized that Madara was a person who would not show mercy to the weak. His attitude towards the weak was always one of conquest and command, with no possibility of cooperation.

Konoha is clearly not to be trifled with these days.

If he were Madara Uchiha, he certainly wouldn't rush to provoke Konoha. Instead, he would first choose to devour some weaker individuals to increase his own strength before dealing with Konoha.

Iwagakure was undoubtedly the weak in Madara Uchiha's eyes.

"This bastard possesses the terrifying forbidden technique of Impure World Reincarnation. He doesn't need any allies at all; he can kill everyone else and then use that damned forbidden technique to control them."

Onoki cursed under his breath.

In fact, after learning that Madara Uchiha had mastered the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he immediately ordered someone to investigate the graveyards of Iwagakure. They discovered that the graves of many outstanding ninjas in Iwagakure's history had been robbed, including the graves of the First Tsuchikage and the Second Tsuchikage.

Upon hearing this news, Onoki was so angry that he jumped up and down, cursing Madara Uchiha and the Second Hokage as two despicable guys.

"Although it goes against human ethics, it is the only way for Iwagakure to survive. Iwagakure must acquire the power to protect itself as soon as possible."

After much deliberation, Onoki finally suppressed his guilt and decided to launch the artificial human project.

If the artificial human project succeeds, Iwagakure's strength will be greatly enhanced in a short period of time, and they will not be afraid to face the increasingly severe situation in the ninja world.

"However, it would be too difficult for Iwagakure to make this plan a success in a short period of time with its own research capabilities and financial resources alone. We must find another way, and it would be best to find some talents who have outstanding abilities in human research."

After making up his mind, Ohnoki began to worry about the difficulty of realizing his plan.

Iwagakure knew better than anyone his own research capabilities in human anatomy. While they were decent, he didn't know when he would be able to complete the artificial human training program on his own.

Ultimately, their hidden community lacks top talent in human anatomy research.

Soon, Onoki came up with a pretty good solution: to find someone to collaborate with on the research.

At that moment, he thought of the enemy group to the south who liked to play with puppets.

The puppetry techniques of Sunagakure are undoubtedly deeply connected with human research. In the ninja world, perhaps no one understands the secrets of the human body better than Sunagakure.

As the Tsuchikage, he was well aware that Sunagakure possessed a terrifying forbidden technique called Human Puppetry, a horrifying puppetry technique that could transform living people into puppets. To master this puppetry technique, the puppeteer must have an extremely clear understanding of the human body's anatomy.

"I heard that the old woman didn't die. If she joins the plan, it will definitely be much faster."

Ohnoki thought to himself.

……

Sunagakure Village, Kazekage Building, Kazekage Office.

Akasago was facing a woman whose entire body was wrapped in bandages. As the acting Kazekage, Akasago was extremely respectful to this woman and dared not even speak too loudly.

This bandaged woman is Chiyo, who escaped from Uchiha Homura.

Because of the Root's intrusion, Chiyo barely escaped from Uchiha Homura, but she suffered severe burns all over her body and was not far from death. She was able to survive thanks to a guy who claimed to be Uchiha Madara.

But from the current perspective, she was indeed saved by Madara Uchiha.

Although she didn't know Madara Uchiha's true purpose in saving her, she still remembered this kindness and knew that she would have to repay it one day.

"Akasago, your plan is good, but do you think it's realistic given Sunagakure's current capabilities?"

Chiyo sighed after listening to Akasuna's plan to standardize puppets.

The idea of ​​standardizing puppets is undoubtedly a good one.

With Chiyo's foresight, she could see the potential of this plan at a glance. If the plan succeeded, Sunagakure would have a militarized puppet army, and the puppeteers would no longer have to worry about their puppets lacking repair parts, greatly reducing the difficulty for the puppeteers to repair the puppets.

Furthermore, once a certain number of standardized puppets are produced, quantitative change can lead to qualitative change, playing a significant role on the battlefield.

In addition, it can greatly reduce casualties.

After all, puppets are not as fragile as humans.

However, the prerequisite for completing this plan is that Sunagakure has sufficient financial resources. Not to mention training a large number of puppeteers, just building a standardized puppet production line would require an investment of money that Sunagakure cannot currently afford.

Unless the Daimyo of the Land of Wind is willing to give his full support.

However, ever since Sunagakure's strength was greatly reduced, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind's attitude towards Sunagakure has become increasingly worse, making it almost impossible to gain their strong support.

“Mother, I know that Sunagakure is currently facing severe financial difficulties, but we should still be able to implement this plan if we try our best. The situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly dire. If Sunagakure cannot recover its strength within the next few years, it may very well be destroyed. Those damned Konoha ninjas and Amegakure ninjas have a deep grudge against Sunagakure.”

Seeing Chiyo's opposition, Akasuna tried to persuade her.

Upon hearing this, Chiyo remained silent for a moment before finally shaking her head and saying, "Akasago, I know better than you how bad the situation in Sunagakure is right now. Let me be frank with you, morale is low, and the team is very difficult to lead. If we force ourselves to do anything too violent, Sunagakure might just split up."

"Why can't we just kill all those despicable traitors?"

Upon hearing this, Akasago said fiercely.

The peace negotiation team that returned from Konoha wasn't just Chiyo; it also included Kurosawa and others. However, many of these people had become Konoha's lackeys, secretly sabotaging the unity of Sunagakure.

"If you're not afraid that Konoha kid might do something drastic, we can give it a try."

Chiyo sighed helplessly.

Chapter 304: The Change of Blood Mist

Chiyo's words completely silenced Akasuna, leaving him speechless for a long time. He truly felt a deep sense of powerlessness given the limitations of his strength.

When he heard that the Third Hokage had been captured by Madara Uchiha, he thought that the opportunity for Sunagakure to rise again had come, but he never expected that only a day later, the Third Hokage would be rescued by Kirito Tohsaka.

Madara Uchiha didn't utter another word.

As a result, his plans to eliminate traitors and revitalize Sunagakure fell through.

The supporters behind the traitors in the Black Sand Village are Konoha. Once these people are dealt with, Konoha will definitely not let it go. At that time, the one who will most likely come to deal with the Sand Village is Kirito Tohsaka, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast.

This is a terrifying figure who could even contend with Madara Uchiha. Akashi has already given up hope of taking back the One-Tailed Beast from him.

“Mother, is it really true that Sunagakure is powerless to save the village? If we continue to let those traitors like Kurosawa live in the village, Sunagakure will inevitably split up sooner or later. This is no joke. Once that happens, Sunagakure will be completely finished.”

A few minutes later, Akasago finally broke the silence and said with a worried expression.

The strongest fortresses are often breached from within, and this is currently the case in Sunagakure.

Damn Konoha, not wanting to continue fighting to the death, resorted to underhanded tactics, making them fight amongst themselves and initiating self-destruction.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Although the Black Sand Gang is an eyesore, they are nothing but clowns. In the world of ninjas, strength is the ultimate factor. Sunagakure is still in charge. Our Sunagakure is now severely weakened and is the weakest of the five great ninja villages."

At times like these, keeping a low profile and quietly accumulating strength is the most sensible thing to do. Your ostentatious display of standardized puppets—do you think Konoha isn't paying enough attention to Sunagakure? Don't think that just because Uchiha Madara is in the lead, Konoha won't do anything to us.

Madara Uchiha is a nomadic man, making it incredibly difficult for Konoha to target him. But we, Sunagakure, are right here; it would be far too easy for Konoha to target us.

Chiyo, seeing that her son still wanted to cause trouble, immediately shouted at him.

After surviving a near-death experience, she finally understood one thing: the current Konoha was not something that Sunagakure could afford to offend. At least until Kirito Tohsaka died, Sunagakure had to keep a low profile.

Of course, once Kirito Tohsaka passes away, it will be time for Sunagakure and Konoha to settle scores.

We must take back even the last one.

Unfortunately, Madara Uchiha failed to kill Kirito Tohsaka. Instead, he was outmaneuvered by this Konoha kid, which further enhanced Kirito's reputation.

This is precisely why there are more and more surrender factions in Sunagakure, because these people have been intimidated by Kirito Tohsaka's reputation and dare not harbor any thoughts of revenge.

This is understandable; when the gap in strength becomes large enough, jealousy can turn into admiration, and hatred can turn into submission.

Many of these surrender faction members probably now think that being Konoha's dog is actually a good thing.

Chiyo could only lament his self-degradation, and for the time being, she had no good way to deal with it.

Chiyo's reprimand left Akasago with a somber expression, his heart filled with resentment. He felt that being the acting Kazekage was meaningless; if he couldn't make a name for himself in this position, he might as well resign and go home to focus on studying puppetry and teaching his son.

“Akasago, I know you’re upset, but as the Kazekage, you have to endure what ordinary people cannot. You absolutely cannot act impulsively. Remember, the Kazekage is the one who leads the village to survive in the ninja world, not just a tool.”

Chiyo said coldly.

Akasuna is her son, so she knows him very well and understands why he became the acting Kazekage.

But understanding is one thing, supporting it is another.

As long as she is alive, she will not allow her son to abuse his power as the Wind Shadow and run rampant in the village.

Rather than her own selfish interests, she would always stand on the side of protecting the village.

Akasa understood Chiyo's implied meaning and her heart tightened. She quickly softened her tone and said, "Mother, I have always kept your teachings in mind, which is why I always discuss important matters with you first. Please don't misunderstand."

"Hmph, that would be best. Akaza, the standardized puppet plan is unrealistic to implement now, but an elite training program is achievable. Sasori, Rasa, and Pakura are the future of the village. You might as well focus your efforts on training the three of them. As long as one of them succeeds, Sunagakure will not be removed from the list of the Five Great Shinobi Villages in the future."

Seeing that her son had given in, Chiyo softened her attitude and pointed out a true and clear path for him.

Elite training program.

This is the only way out for Sunagakure right now.

Lacking money and resources, forcing large-scale training will only accelerate the decline of Sunagakure. Only by concentrating resources to cultivate elite talents can Sunagakure have any hope of rising again.

What does Sunagakure lack most right now?