Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

He firmly believed that as long as there were enough humanoid puppets, coupled with a certain number of puppeteers, they would form a terrifying puppet army, and the Sand Village would possess unparalleled power on the battlefield in the future.

By then, destroying Amegakure and Iwagakure will be a piece of cake.

"You're still here every day, aren't you? They're just some low-level puppets. Is it really necessary to come and check on them every day?"

Just as Akashi was indulging in his fantasy of leading a puppet army to destroy Amegakure and Iwagakure, a familiar yet annoying voice interrupted his reverie.

Upon hearing this voice, Akashi's eyes turned cold, but his expression remained unchanged. With a wave of his hand, five chakra threads shot into the five humanoid puppets present.

In an instant, the eyes of the five humanoid puppets opened, and sharp blades appeared on their hands and feet. They then quickly surrounded a shadowy corner.

Black Zetsu stared at the five identical humanoid puppets pointing their blades at him, showing no reaction whatsoever, treating them as if they were air.

However, he couldn't help but praise Akasuna for finding its location so quickly: "Not bad, your perception has actually become stronger after you became a puppet. How did you manage to do that?"

"What are you doing here? I remember the time is still a long way off."

Akasago gave a completely irrelevant answer, his attitude unusually cold.

Hei Jue was unfazed by Akasago's indifferent attitude. According to the information he had gathered from monitoring this acting Kazekage, the acting Kazekage had already used the forbidden technique of human puppetry on him, and the area of ​​the knife he used was very large.

It can be said that this acting Kazekage is no longer a real human being, but a human puppet with thoughts, and as time goes by, his human aspects are constantly disappearing.

The reason why this acting Kazekage became like this is largely because his genius son made a great breakthrough in human puppetry and invented something called a chakra core.

With this, puppeteers can break free from their weak physical bodies, transfer their souls to the chakra core, and thereby control the puppets, gaining powerful puppet bodies and even breaking free from the limitations of lifespan, achieving immortality to some extent.

"Although the agreed time has not yet arrived, new orders have been issued."

"Black Zetsu said quietly."

"That's against the rules, I don't want to hear it."

"It's red sand," Akasa said coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he manipulated the five humanoid puppets back to their original positions and then prepared to leave.

Seeing Akashi's firm stance, Black Zetsu sighed inwardly, realizing that those who cooperated with Uchiha Madara were all treacherous and ambitious individuals, none of whom would obediently follow orders.

Then, it began to speak in a mocking tone: "Are you really planning to leave? You don't actually think that with this puppet workshop and by turning yourself into this inhuman form, you're qualified to oppose Lord Madara, do you? Or are you already planning to betray Lord Madara?"

Faced with Black Zetsu's blatant threat, Akashi, whose emotions had been in a state of indifference for a long time, couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. He turned around again and stared at Black Zetsu with murderous intent.

"It seems you've indeed grown quite bold, but your brain seems to have deteriorated considerably due to this forbidden technique of puppetry. In that case, your son's improved puppetry technique is still not very effective. This kind of forbidden technique that lowers intelligence is clearly more harmful than beneficial to you as the leader of Sunagakure."

Black Zetsu completely ignored Akashi's threat and even started to mock him.

Akashi couldn't hold back any longer after being mocked by Black Zetsu. Just as he was about to make a move, he found that he suddenly couldn't move. Clumps of strange white matter grew out of his body and wrapped around his entire body.

Moreover, the chakra in his chakra core is being rapidly absorbed, and as the chakra is absorbed, the white substances on his body are growing rapidly, exerting increasing constraints on him.

If this continues, the chakra in his chakra core will be completely absorbed in less than a minute, and at that point, he will likely die.

This is precisely the result of Black Zetsu activating the White Zetsu that had been lurking within Akasuna's body using the Spore Technique.

When the fear of death surged into his heart again, Akashi once again deeply felt the power of Uchiha Madara.

He never expected that even after being transformed into a puppet and equipped with various powerful weapons and equipment, he would be subdued without even having a chance to use them.

"Stop, stop it now! I know, I'll do as you say. Just stop these disgusting things on my body."

Akashi begged for mercy.

Black Zetsu pretended not to hear until Akashi was on the verge of death. Only then did it stop the White Zetsu binding Akashi from absorbing chakra, and mocked, "You really are the same as before, a coward who loves life and fears death."

Chapter 332: Madara Uchiha's Scheme

Akashi was furious at being so humiliated by Black Zetsu, but now he was at the mercy of others. In order to achieve his future revenge and destroy Amegakure and Iwagakure, he endured it, keeping his head down and remaining silent.

Black Zetsu, being an old fox, knew the principle of moderation. He used the White Zetsu lurking on Red Sand to intimidate and humiliate him, but then he didn't continue to pursue the matter. He said coldly, "Remember, Lord Madara's orders are absolute. Everything you have now was given to you by Lord Madara. You have no right to bargain."

Akasago remained silent with his head down, indicating his acquiescence.

"Lord Madara said that once you have three thousand puppets here, he will immediately attack Iwagakure."

Upon seeing this, Black Zetsu finally relayed Madara Uchiha's order.

Upon hearing this, Akashi's face changed, his eyes flashed wildly, and his anger instantly turned into excitement. He couldn't help but ask, "Is Lord Madara going to make a move against Iwagakure?"

If Madara Uchiha intends to attack Iwagakure, then he won't be in a difficult position.

Dealing with Iwagakure was something he had always dreamed of doing, and all the efforts he was making in Sunagakure were precisely for the purpose of dealing with Iwagakure.

In fact, he didn't hate Amegakure as much as people thought. He only hated Hattori Masanari, but compared to Iwagakure, his hatred for Hattori Masanari wasn't as intense.

Back then, Hattori Masanari defeated him fair and square, and then just starved him for a long time without doing anything humiliating.

The Hidden Stone Village was different. In order to extract information from him, they not only verbally humiliated him but also tortured his body. They even took away the two most important things about him as a man. This hatred was as deep as the sea, and he had to die to get it over with.

"Hmph, that's not something you need to know. Just follow orders when the time comes."

Black Zetsu did not give a direct answer upon hearing this.

Why did Madara Uchiha order Sunagakure to attack Iwagakure?

Black Zetsu knew very well that this was Madara Uchiha's preparation for seizing the Tailed Beasts. He wanted to use the war between Sunagakure and Iwagakure to divert everyone's attention and then have the Demon Organization secretly carry out the capture of the Tailed Beasts.

The whereabouts of the Jinchuriki from the major ninja villages are unknown, except for the two Jinchuriki from Konoha. The tailed beasts from the other villages have been found out by the White Zetsu. All that's left is the opportunity of the great battle between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

"Personally, I certainly agree with Lord Madara's order, but there are many anti-war factions in Sunagakure right now, and even my mother wouldn't support my attack on Iwagakure. If I want these people to support me in dealing with Iwagakure, I need to find a suitable reason."

When Akashi heard Black Zetsu say this, he immediately concluded that this was a signal from Madara Uchiha that he was preparing to deal with Iwagakure. He was overjoyed, but then hesitated.

With the substantial funds provided by Madara Uchiha and his own formidable strength, he has essentially secured his position as Kazekage. However, the forces within the village that are close to Konoha are also growing stronger, and his mother, Chiyo, is now only superficially at odds with him. As a result, his control over the village is still somewhat insufficient, and he cannot simply issue an order to mobilize the village's ninjas to fight against Iwagakure for him.

"This guy is a complete waste; he still hasn't been able to fully control Sunagakure."

As soon as Akasa said this, Kuroze thought to himself with a grumble.

However, it also knew that Red Sand was only a puppet controlled by Madara Uchiha to control Sunagakure. It couldn't force him to succeed, so it replied, "There will be a reason when the time comes. You just need to be prepared."

Akasuna was finally relieved and nodded: "I understand. I will definitely not disappoint Lord Madara. However, I hope that Lord Madara can grant me a small request, which is to leave Onoki to be killed by my own hands."

"I will pass on your message."

Black Zetsu gave an ambiguous answer, then quickly burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

Then, the White Zetsu on Akasago also released themselves from their restraints and disappeared into the ground.

After regaining his freedom, Akasago's expression didn't change much, but he looked down at his own body, his mood as gloomy as if shrouded in dark clouds.

……

In the office of the Tsuchikage in Iwagakure Village.

Onoki stood by the bed, deep in thought, gazing at the panoramic view of the village outside. At his feet lay a crumpled document, the title of which was the Artificial Human Project.

Ever since Onoki discovered that the village lacked high-end combat power, he secretly launched the artificial human project, spending a huge amount of money in an attempt to create one or two high-end combat power in a short period of time.

However, creating artificial humans is a taboo subject involving the creation of life, and it is not so easy to achieve. Let alone artificially creating a Kage-level powerhouse, it is not a question of whether there is enough money, but a question of whether there is enough talent and technology.

Talent and technology cannot be accumulated quickly in a short period of time.

Without a doubt, after more than half a year of implementation, the success of Onoki's artificial human project was completely disproportionate to the effort he put in.

He calculated that the funds spent were enough to train thousands of qualified genin and upgrade the demolition team's weapons and equipment to a higher level.

In short, the artificial human project was a huge loss.

"Sigh, what should Iwagakure do next? The situation in the ninja world is changing too fast. If we can't cultivate another Kage-level ninja as soon as possible, Iwagakure will definitely be in grave danger in the upcoming Ninja World War."

Ohnoki looked at his face, which looked much older than before, in front of the glass window and thought with a troubled expression.

Although the ninja world appears calm on the surface, how could he, a seasoned veteran, not see the terrifying undercurrents lurking beneath? Because of the unstable factor of Uchiha Madara, all the major ninja villages are now working hard to expand their armies and prepare for war.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next Shinobi World War will likely occur soon, and Madara Uchiha's revenge against Konoha will most likely be the trigger.

Madara Uchiha's revenge against Konoha has nothing to do with Iwagakure.

Onoki was not a superficial person. He knew very well that Madara Uchiha's attack on Konoha was not just a simple matter of revenge. There must be some huge conspiracy hidden behind it.

Furthermore, although Konoha is despicable, and he would love for Konoha to be destroyed by Madara Uchiha, what happens after Konoha is destroyed? Who will then keep Madara Uchiha in check? What is Madara Uchiha planning to do next?

These two questions alone were enough to make Onoki feel extremely wary of Madara Uchiha.

Therefore, if Iwagakure wants to survive the upcoming Shinobi World War, it must cultivate a sufficient number of high-end combatants. It is not feasible to defeat top-tier powerhouses like Uchiha Madara by sheer numbers.

To defeat Madara Uchiha, all participating units must be Kage-level powerhouses. Without Kage-level combat strength, one is not even qualified to intervene in the battle.

"Bang bang bang~"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Upon hearing the noise, Onoki quickly composed himself, sat back down in his chair, coughed, and said, "Come in."

The next moment, his secretary and daughter-in-law, Hongtu, walked in carrying an encrypted document.

"Lord Tsuchikage, this is an urgent telegram from the Land of Rain."

Kurotsuchi quickly approached Onoki and whispered.

Onoki was startled, realizing that something was amiss, and immediately took the encrypted file to examine it.

A few seconds later, he put down the encrypted file, then leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to ponder.

Red Earth wisely stepped aside to await Ōnoki's instructions.

She translated the encrypted file herself, so she knew its contents clearly. The contents were Hattori Masanari's request for Ohnoki to restart trade between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth.

The resumption of trade between the two countries is a major event.

This is because it means that the relationship between the two countries will change from hostility to friendship. For Iwagakure, this is undoubtedly a very difficult thing to accept, after all, Iwagakure suffered a great loss at the hands of Amegakure before, and even the tailed beast was taken away.

Once this matter gets out, it will surely enrage a large number of militant factions within Iwagakure.

However, times have changed. Although Iwagakure is still stronger than Amegakure overall, there is no longer a gap between the two in terms of top-tier combat power, and in some ways, Iwagakure even surpasses Amegakure.

In this way, the two villages would be on roughly equal footing, if not completely equal.

Finally, given the increasingly dire situation in the ninja world, Iwagakure is in a very bad predicament. If it cannot resolve the situation on its own, it urgently needs external assistance to overcome its difficulties.

In other words, Iwagakure now faces the question of which side to side with in the upcoming Shinobi World War.

“Red Earth, write back to Yellow Earth and tell Hattori Masanari to meet me at the border.”

After a moment of contemplation, Onoki opened his sharp eyes and spoke.