Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."

Hongtu obeyed the order and then quickly left the office.

After Kurotsuchi left, Onoki leaped from his chair and returned to the window, sighing, "Onoki, you're really getting worse with age. You're actually planning to surrender to the enemy. Has the stubbornness in your heart been shattered?"

……

Half a day later, in the leader's office atop the central tower in Amegakure Village.

The White Zetsu clone had already received Onoki's reply. After reading it, he looked at the burly Iwa ninja in front of him and joked, "Yellow Earth, your old man isn't planning to trick me into going to the border and then kill me, is he?"

"Hmph, are you Hattori Masanari afraid? Or do you really intend to send your true form to meet my Tsuchikage?"

Huang Tu said in a sarcastic tone.

Back then, the leader of Amegakure used a shadow clone to make a deal with him, which shows just how afraid he was of death.

"That's true. It's just a secret meeting, there's no need to send the real person there."

The white Zetsu clone nodded.

"If there's nothing else I need to say, then I'll take my leave."

Huang Tu said coldly when he heard what the White Zetsu clone said.

"Please do as you wish."

The White Zetsu clone laughed.

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Tu used his Instantaneous Movement technique to disappear.

The next moment, Yahiko, wearing a mask, appeared in front of the White Zetsu clone and asked, "Lord Masashige, should we follow him?"

"Of course, give the order to ensure that he leaves the Land of Rain safely, and there can be absolutely no mistakes."

The white-haired clone suppressed his smile and said seriously.

He had achieved his goal of meeting Onoki, but the key was to ensure the smooth progress of this secret meeting. The safety of the messenger, Hikari, was now of paramount importance; if anything happened to him, the secret meeting would be ruined.

"Yes."

Yahiko immediately heard it, then turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared.

After Yahiko's shadow clone dissipated, Konan, who was standing to the left of the White Zetsu clone, spoke up: "Lord Masashige, won't it anger Konoha if we secretly meet with the Tsuchikage? We're allies with Konoha now."

Amegakure is currently developing very well. After more than half a year of development, most of the reconstruction work in Amegakure has been completed. However, the reason why it was completed so quickly is inseparable from the support of Konoha.

Therefore, Konan was very worried that her leader's private meeting with Onoki would cause the current relationship between Amegakure and Konoha to cool down.

"Don't worry, Konan. Konoha is eager for us to negotiate with Iwagakure. If we succeed in negotiating with Iwagakure, it will mean that the relationship between Iwagakure and Konoha can be eased. After all, we are allies with Konoha."

Hearing Xiao Nan's concern, the White Zetsu clone replied with a gentle expression.

Then, he suddenly asked somewhat irrelevantly, "Konan, Yahiko hasn't been contacting you much lately. Did you have a falling out with him?"

As soon as the question was raised, Xiao Nan's face turned cold, and she said with an unfriendly expression, "Lord Zhengcheng, you still have many documents to process. Instead of worrying about your subordinates' private lives, you should help me share some of the workload. Only when I have less work will I have a chance to go on dates."

"Yes, yes, I will try my best."

Upon hearing this, the White Zetsu clone quickly smiled apologetically, then picked up the seal and continued to act as the ruthless stamper.

Seeing this, Xiao Nan snorted and then picked up a large pile of signed documents from the table and walked out.

But as she walked, she felt increasingly uncomfortable and muttered to herself, "You stinky Yahiko, you should at least tell me where you've been these days, even if you're busy cultivating."

Meanwhile, in the office, the White Zetsu clone had already quietly activated the Byakugan, closely watching Yahiko outside Amegakure until he disappeared from the Byakugan's detection range before closing it.

"This kid's behavior has been quite unusual lately. Instead of rushing to chase Huang Tu, he's been dawdling around outside. What's he up to?"

The white Zetsu clone closed its eyes, pondering with doubt in its heart.

He naturally paid close attention to Yahiko, the genius ninja of Amegakure, and held high expectations for him.

However, judging from the current situation, this genius from Amegakure seems to have other ideas and does not intend to continue to grow in accordance with the path he has planned.

The White Zetsu clone didn't really care about this. After all, if the other party wasn't his own son, he could just give him some help. If the other party didn't appreciate it, then so be it.

"I hope it's nothing serious. Konan and Nagato are both very good subordinates, and I don't want to put them in a difficult position."

The white Zetsu clone sighed softly, then continued to act as the stamper.

Chapter 333: Hidden Trap

"Onoki is someone who possesses Dust Release, a bloodline elimination technique. Bloodline elimination is a special bloodline that transcends bloodline limits. If you can seize this special bloodline, your strength will definitely increase rapidly in a short period of time, and surpassing Hattori Masashige will not be a problem."

A highly seductive voice surfaced in Yahiko's mind.

Upon hearing this voice, Yahiko's expression changed instantly, revealing a struggle. He muttered, "Shut up. Onoki isn't so easy to kill. Even Hattori Masanari isn't his match."

"Hahaha~, it seems you're still blind. Your leader's strength is not that simple. After obtaining the power of the Five-Tails, his strength has long surpassed Onoki. You don't think your leader is just an ordinary ninja, do you? He is also a person with a bloodline limit."

The voice in Yahiko's mind suddenly turned cold and carried a mocking tone.

"He also possesses a bloodline limit?"

Yahiko exclaimed in surprise.

"You're just being stupid. Since he's already become the perfect Five-Tails Jinchuriki, he naturally possesses the Boil Release bloodline limit. He's Hattori Masanari, one of the top genius ninjas in the ninja world. Do you think he can master Boil Release on his own after obtaining its power through the Five-Tails?"

The mocking voices resounded again.

Yahiko finally fell silent.

Bloodline limit, bloodline elimination—these are tangible things that can enhance one's strength, which is exactly what an ordinary ninja like him pursues. Otherwise, how could he compete with those top-tier powerhouses?

Throughout the entire ninja world, the vast majority of renowned powerhouses are ninjas who possess bloodline limits. Even those who don't have them possess special bloodline constitutions or master certain powerful forbidden techniques.

Yahiko is an ambitious man. Long ago, he aspired to become a strong person, strong enough to protect those around him. However, the loss of Nagato's Rinnegan made him deeply aware of his own weakness and helplessness.

"After Hattori Masanari acquired his bloodline limit, his strength naturally increased even further. Even Onoki would probably no longer be his match. If you want to defeat him, with your current strength and talent, you're still a hundred years away from it."

According to Hattori Masanari's thinking, your friend's Rinnegan will never be retrieved from Konoha in this lifetime.

The owner of the mysterious voice seemed to sense Yahiko's current agitated state and continued to mock him.

"Shut up, I will definitely get Nagato's Rinnegan back."

When Yahiko's sore spot was hit, he immediately made a ferocious face and said.

The loss of Nagato's Rinnegan was his deepest pain. He knew very well how Nagato's Rinnegan was taken away. If it weren't for him and Konan, Nagato would have had a chance to escape at that time, given his abilities.

Unfortunately, the Rinnegan was ultimately gone.

These immortal eyes were once seen by Yahiko as the hope for the strength of the Land of Rain, how could they be gone just like that?

How could Yahiko not be heartbroken, not feel pain for his friend, and not feel remorse?

Therefore, after he escaped death, he secretly vowed to take back the Rinnegan.

As time went on, this had become a source of anxiety for him.

"You? The Rinnegan is now in Kirito Tohsaka's hands. Even Hattori Masanari is no match for him. You can't even beat Hattori Masanari? Don't even dream about it. Besides, with Hattori Masanari around, Amegakure will never turn against Konoha. He's already a dog of Konoha."

The mysterious voice chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Yahiko's eyes turned red instantly, and his face became increasingly ferocious. He covered his head with his hands, trying to expel that damned voice from his brain, but it was no use.

This mysterious voice suddenly appeared in his dreams shortly after he killed the jade ring holder of the Demon Organization.

At first, he thought it was just a dream, but when a crisis came, it reappeared and taught him a powerful stealth ninjutsu to help him overcome the crisis. Later, it continued to guide his training and teach him some powerful ninjutsu, which accelerated his strength once again.

Although Yahiko harbored deep fear of the owner of the mysterious voice and once wanted to report him, he hesitated to do so because he coveted the other party's ninjutsu and guidance and was afraid that he would be dealt with as a result.

Until the other party gave him a powerful forbidden technique called the Demon Sprout Technique, which allowed him to plunder the bloodline limit of others. He actually used this technique to plunder the Ice Release bloodline limit of a Demon Organization ninja.

But when he got to that point, he finally realized he had been tricked. He shouldn't have rashly used that forbidden technique, Ghost Sprout Art, and he shouldn't have underestimated the danger of forbidden techniques.

After successfully obtaining the Ice Release bloodline limit, his body quickly experienced bloodline rejection. This abnormal method of obtaining the bloodline limit was not something he could easily master, causing him immense pain and bringing him to the brink of death.

Left with no other choice, he had to beg the devil for help and then accept the devil's demands, betraying some unimportant information about the village.

And all of this is the beginning of his current path of no return.

"It's no use. Give up. With your current abilities, you can't possibly get rid of me unless you turn yourself in. Perhaps Hattori Masanari can help you get rid of me, but by then, you, the traitor, won't be able to hide anything. Do you think your two friends will forgive you? Will Amegakure still tolerate you? Hahaha~"

No matter how hard Yahiko struggled, the mysterious voice in his mind continued to echo, and that deeply mocking voice filled him with regret.

Fortunately, the mysterious sound did not last long; it disappeared within a minute or two.

"Puff~"

Yahiko knelt on the ground, his face showing deep remorse.

"No matter what, Yahiko's Rinnegan must be retrieved, at all costs."

A moment later, Yahiko composed himself, muttering blankly.

Since he could never go back, he decided to throw caution to the wind and sacrifice himself to gain immense power so he could reclaim Nagato's Rinnegan.

Although the owner of that mysterious voice was despicable, he did indeed give him real power, and he was right about some things. Hattori Masanari is now Konoha's dog, and with him around, Amegakure will never be able to get the Rinnegan back from Konoha.

"Dust Escape, huh..."

Yahiko formed hand seals, conjuring an ice mirror in front of him. Then, looking at the yellow earth reflected in the mirror, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

Ice Release: Clairvoyance!

On the other side, at Mount Myōboku, Nagato, who was sitting on a plank placed on a huge spike, suddenly felt a pang of fear. His mental state was instantly shattered, and the balance formed by the combination of natural energy and chakra within his body was also disrupted.

In an instant, Nagato showed signs of turning into a toad.

"Clap~"

A black rod lashed out at Nagato, instantly dispersing the uncontrolled natural energy within him. Nagato's toad-like transformation vanished, along with hundreds of shadow clones nearby who were also undergoing sage training.

"What's wrong, Nagato? You were perfectly fine when you entered meditation, how did things get messed up?"

Fukasaku Sage holding the black stick said doubtfully.

Nagato's Sage Mode training has made tremendous progress recently. After learning to use the Shadow Clone Technique to accelerate his training, his advantage as a member of the Uzumaki clan has become apparent. He is now progressing by leaps and bounds in Sage Mode training, much faster than his master Jiraiya.

Now that Nagato's cultivation of immortal techniques is nearing completion, he shouldn't have failed after only two or three minutes of effort, as he did just now.

"I'm sorry, Fukasaku-sama, I was just distracted. I'll get back to myself right away."

Nagato replied.