Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

The Hyuga clan did not refuse, taking on this heavy responsibility that would offend people.

The number of White Zetsu found was not large, but many spies from the four major ninja villages were uncovered, and the number of spies remained high, which shows how much the four major ninja villages fear Konoha now.

Because of this, Hyuga Kazuma, the head of the search team, was well aware of the current attitude of the four great ninja villages towards Konoha, which was one of fear and hostility.

If anything happens in Konoha, the four great ninja villages will definitely do everything they can to find out what Konoha is doing and then quickly take countermeasures.

Clearly, once the four great ninja villages discover a plan like the "Enhanced Human Project," their leaders, unless they are fools, will immediately react violently. They might very well temporarily set aside their prejudices and hatred and unite to deal with Konoha.

Hyuga Kazuma has a deep understanding of Konoha's current situation. While it is indeed thriving, it also faces a huge crisis, and one wrong move could lead to its destruction.

Therefore, he personally believes that Konoha should play it safe for now and not act so recklessly.

In his view, Konoha's current strength has already increased quite a bit. Although he didn't want to admit that he was somewhat incompetent, Konoha had a top-tier powerhouse like Kirito who could fight against Madara Uchiha, so it couldn't be too bad.

“Even if this plan is not launched, Madara Uchiha and the four great ninja villages will not stop being wary of Konoha. You can’t expect Kirito to bear most of the pressure alone. He must have discovered something to propose this plan.”

Chizuru once again expressed her opposition.

She had a deeper connection with Kirito than anyone else present, and she also knew better than anyone else how much pressure her rival was currently under. So she was very angry, and very angry at these adults who didn't seem to have much responsibility.

Even a strong person like Kirito, who could have easily stayed out of it, dared to fight so fiercely. What right do you weaklings who hide in the background and enjoy peace have to object?

"Chizuru, you've gone too far. Everyone here loves Konoha to the core and is willing to bear the pressure for Konoha, even at the cost of their lives. But this plan involves the fate of Konoha and the lives of many people. We cannot make decisions for them so easily. Even if you are a strong person, you are not qualified to make decisions for them."

Upon hearing Chizuru's audacious words, Tsunade immediately rebuked her loudly.

Chizuru was reprimanded by Tsunade and instinctively wanted to argue back, but considering Tsunade's position in Kirito's heart and the latter's friendly attitude towards the Uchiha clan, she held back but did not apologize.

Tsunade was increasingly troubled by Chizuru's unruly behavior.

At the same time, the four elders, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, all looked very grim.

Chizuru's words clearly implied that they were afraid of death.

However, they couldn't refute it, especially Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was alive and well thanks to Kirito's risky rescue.

However, in order to play it safe, he doesn't actually support this plan.

“Tsunade, this plan is indeed too risky. The four great ninja villages are not a united front anymore. We can try to win them over, but we don’t need to go to such extremes. If this plan is implemented, it will definitely provoke them severely and will only push them to Madara Uchiha’s side.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately let reason prevail and spoke up to express his opposition.

Of the five elders, four objected, so the outcome was already clear.

Chizuru was furious at how things had developed, but she was powerless to do anything about it. She couldn't force all these people to support her.

"This kind of boring discussion is really pointless. Was Grandpa constantly dealing with people like these back then? It's so frustrating."

Chizuru thought angrily.

Rather than resorting to intrigue, she clearly prefers to solve problems directly with her fists.

The position of clan chief is a real troublesome thing.

When Tsunade saw that even her teacher was against it, she was well aware of the outcome of the discussion. The five elders wielded considerable influence in Konoha, and without their support, Kirito's plan would be impossible to implement.

Kirito clearly understands this principle as well.

"I understand everyone's opinions. In other words, this plan is not suitable for implementation at present. However, if I say that I would only implement a part of this plan, how likely do you think that is?"

"Tsunade asked."

"Tsunade, which part are you referring to as the 'implementation part'?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately responded.

To be honest, he really wanted the plan to be implemented, but he opposed it because he thought it would seriously provoke the four great ninja villages.

However, some things in this plan are really good, such as the simplified version of the enhanced seal.

He had been eyeing this kind of enhanced seal for a long time, but Kirito wouldn't give it to him at all, because this kind of enhanced seal came at a great cost.

If we can't get the complete version of the Enhancement Seal like Kirito's, getting this simplified version is not bad either.

He was certain that as long as this simplified version of the enhanced curse seal could be promoted in Konoha, the strength of Konoha ninjas would soon be raised to a higher level.

Furthermore, this increase in strength would not overly provoke the other four great ninja villages, as Konoha, lacking the ability to rapidly build up its army, is not enough to make them set aside their hatred and unite.

Chapter 329: The Tailed Beast Training Plan

"The final result is support for the promotion of the simplified enhanced seal. It's both unexpected and reasonable. As expected, they are still afraid of losing control of the power."

In the basement of the orphanage, Kirito, who was training, suddenly opened his eyes and said expressionlessly.

Just now, he learned the final result of the Konoha decision-making body's discussion from a shadow clone placed outside.

Kirito was somewhat disappointed by this, but he could accept it.

The promotion of the simplified enhanced cursed seal will certainly be able to steadily improve the strength of Konoha ninjas, but the base number will still be difficult to increase. It is impossible to fight against Uchiha Madara and the four great ninja villages with such power alone.

However, he was aware of Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi's concerns. They hadn't prepared for the worst and were still hoping to win over other ninja villages as a check, thus achieving victory with minimal cost.

"People only truly understand where they went wrong when they are hurt, but by then it's too late to regret it."

Kirito shook his head.

He then used the soul connection channel to transmit a message to the White Zetsu clone.

In fact, he never imagined that Tsunade and the others would approve his plan; he was just trying it out. The place he really wanted to implement this plan was Amegakure.

Unlike Konoha, Amegakure is now a force truly under his control. As long as he gives orders, his subordinates will obey and carry them out as quickly as possible.

After more than a year of recuperation, the number of ninjas in Amegakure is still far from recovering to its previous level, but the country's previously collapsed economy has been restored. This is thanks to the honeymoon period that the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain have entered, with the Land of Fire providing strong support to the Land of Rain.

Therefore, Amegakure's current financial resources are sufficient to support the implementation of this plan.

One advantage Amegakure has over Konoha is that it has fewer ninjas and fewer expenses, giving it ample funds to implement Kirito's plan.

Shikkulin, the place where the Slug Immortal resides.

The White Zetsu clone, who was currently practicing Sage Mode, had already received a message from the main body and whispered, "The workload is going to increase again. Fortunately, I can delegate it to the people below. Hmm, I'll leave it to Konan to organize, and Hattori Hanzo to supervise and protect her."

"Kirito-sama, what are you saying?"

The next second, a soft, sweet voice came from beneath the White Zetsu clone.

"It's nothing, Slug. Let's continue. I feel like I'm not far from mastering your splitting immortal technique."

The white-haired clone smiled and spoke to the enormous slug immortal beneath him.

For more than a year, he spent most of his time here cultivating immortal arts with the Slug Immortal. Because of the great differences between humans and slugs, he had not been very successful in mastering the two core immortal arts of the Slug Immortal.

The Slug Sage's two core magic arts are splitting and fusing. As the names suggest, these arts involve splitting and fusing the body. To master these two magic arts, the key is to activate the entire body and give it amazing healing and regeneration abilities.

Then, the soul is allowed to penetrate into every cell and tissue of the body, so that when the body splits, the soul also splits, thus making each split individual a complete and independent individual.

The White Zetsu clone is currently stuck on the first step, but he has already mastered the second step.

The reason he was able to skip the first step and complete the second step was entirely because his spiritualization technique was of a high enough level and his soul power was extremely strong, allowing him to easily penetrate his soul into his body's cells.

The reason he wasn't afraid of his soul collapsing or going insane even after splitting his soul was because he had mastered the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, a ninjutsu that could greatly enhance the strength of his own soul.

This ninjutsu gave him an anchor that could stabilize his state in a certain sense, ensuring that only one Kirito Tohsaka could exist in this world, without worrying that his clone would become a complete individual and betray him.

"I also feel that Kirito-sama's body's ability to revitalize is getting stronger and stronger. It seems that you have found a way to solve the problem of not being able to die after the body is divided."

When the Slug Sage heard what the White Zetsu clone said, he gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, it's all thanks to the wisdom of other human ninjas. I got inspiration from their ninjutsu and developed a ninjutsu that temporarily and greatly enhances the body's activity. It's not far from being fully developed."

The white Zetsu clone nodded.

He developed a new ninjutsu that can temporarily and significantly enhance the body's vitality, called the Forbidden Medical Technique: Body Activation. Its development was inspired by Shennong's Forbidden Medical Technique: Body Regeneration.

This forbidden medical technique falls under the category of Sage Art, requiring the use of Sage Art Yang Release Chakra to perform, and the user must also enter Sage Mode.

However, the forbidden medical technique he has developed so far is not powerful enough. It can only cut off fingers and turn them into miniature Kirito, but it cannot cut off the whole body and make the person survive.

"I see. Human intelligence is indeed very powerful."

"The slug immortal sighed."

As a living history book, she has a deep appreciation for human wisdom. Although humans are greedy and cruel, they are indeed the most intelligent creatures in the ninja world. Countless ninjutsu techniques have been developed and accumulated by humans through their own wisdom over generations.

As a result, humanity has become increasingly powerful.

……

In the Land of Waterfalls, in the Hidden Village of Waterfalls, there is a spacious underground laboratory equipped with many sophisticated instruments.

Orochimaru was staring intently at a piece of wood on the lab table.

This piece of deadwood is no ordinary thing; it was a fragment of the divine tree that he took from the Gedo Mazo after he had done several great things for Uchiha Madara.

Through his careful research, he discovered that this piece of wood possessed the power of Wood Release and had the ability to absorb chakra.

Furthermore, after absorbing a large amount of chakra, this piece of wood miraculously revived from its dead state, then absorbed natural energy from the outside world, continuously transforming chakra and further rejuvenating itself.

Although the process of rejuvenating is very slow, it has grown to one-tenth of its original size, and some tiny roots have sprouted on its surface.

Orochimaru believed that as long as it continued to be given enough chakra, it would continue to grow rapidly, and he was very much looking forward to seeing what it would eventually become.

After all, the mere presence of the wood fragments allowed him to discover many secrets of Wood Release, giving him a completely new understanding of this bloodline limit. Combined with the research data he obtained from special creatures like White Zetsu, it will be of great help to him in mastering Wood Release in the future.

“Madara Uchiha mentioned before that he wanted to capture the Tailed Beasts, and that guy named Black Zetsu hinted that the giant stone statue with a terrifying amount of chakra inside it would be a container for the Tailed Beasts. That means that this piece of wood can also absorb the chakra of the Tailed Beasts, and it may even have some unique effects.”

Orochimaru said with a smile, his face revealing deep anticipation.

He then turned his attention to a huge glass container in the laboratory, inside which was a transparent cicada wing. The cicada wing was so huge that it almost covered the glass container, which was nearly three meters tall and one meter wide.

At the same time, this cicada wing emitted an astonishing amount of chakra.

"It should be ready to use in a little while."

Orochimaru looked at the cicada wings in the glass container and pondered.

This giant cicada wing was formed from some of the Seven-Tails' chakra he collected and carefully cultivated. He spent a lot of effort and money to cultivate it to this stage.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to worry about money.

Because he now has a ninja village supporting him.

Takigakure, once a powerful ninja village second only to the Five Great Ninja Villages, has now fallen into the hands of Uchiha Madara. He has used powerful genjutsu to directly control the current Takigakure Kage and several important high-ranking officials, and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki has also been controlled by him using genjutsu.

However, relying solely on genjutsu to control the higher-ups and dominate Takigakure is clearly not a long-term solution, and sooner or later, people will discover the anomaly.