Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Ailu shook her head and reminded her.

"How can you expect me to stay calm? You know better than I how dangerous the village is right now. This feeling of helplessness is awful, and the thought of having to ask Konoha for help makes it even worse. Right now, I just want to find someone to have a good fight rather than keep waiting in fear."

The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist into the iron desk, leaving a deep fist mark, and said angrily.

However, seeing the serious and cold look in Ailu's eyes, he finally took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and then asked, "Ailui, how much information do you have about the enemy that destroyed Kirigakure?"

Even now, the Hidden Cloud Village still has no clear idea of ​​what kind of enemy destroyed the Hidden Mist Village, only having the pitiful information that a giant snake attacked the Hidden Mist Village.

"There weren't many. The number of ninja survivors who escaped from Kirigakure was very small. Our people finally found one, but he had gone mad. After seeing our people, he kept shouting the name 'snake,' and then he died not long after."

Our people attempted to directly read his brain to obtain information using ninjutsu, but they also went insane, seemingly suffering a very severe mental shock.

Ailu shook her head again, her expression turning incredibly grim as she spoke.

Although no intelligence was obtained, judging from the survivors of Kirigakure and their intelligence personnel, the enemy that destroyed Kirigakure was undoubtedly extremely powerful and ruthless.

As expected, the situation in Kirigakure is even worse than anticipated.

"Damn it, Yuzuki Maru's situation hasn't been resolved yet, and then this happens."

The Fourth Raikage's expression was equally grim, clearly sharing the same thought as Elui.

Then, he shared his guess: "Eluyi, do you think the survivors of Kirigakure mentioned the snake, could it be related to Ryuchi Cave, which has also been destroyed?"

"Actually, I also have this guess. If there is a connection, then the destruction of Kirigakure is definitely related to Uchiha Madara. Moreover, Yukimaru, the Fourth Mizukage, and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki of Kirigakure are also missing."

When Ailui heard the Fourth Raikage say that, she sighed and then shared her own guess.

The whereabouts of the three Jinchūriki are unknown!

The Fourth Raikage was startled by Ai's reminder.

He suddenly realized a possibility: Yukimaru, the Fourth Mizukage, and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki were all captured by Madara Uchiha, and Kirigakure was destroyed because it blocked Madara Uchiha's path to capture the Tailed Beasts.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and this could very well be the truth behind the destruction of Kirigakure.

"It seems that Lord Raikage has also figured out why Kirigakure was attacked by the enemy. Although it is humiliating, the truth is probably just like that. It was really close. It was definitely the right decision to let Yugimaru leave Kumogakure."

Seeing the Fourth Raikage's lingering fear, Ailu smiled wryly.

Then, her expression turned serious, and she said angrily, "Lord Raikage, this is a disgrace to Kumogakure! To prolong our lives by sacrificing our comrades is not the style of Kumogakure. Please give the order to convene the Five Kage Summit immediately. There is no time to lose."

The emergence of a terrorist capable of destroying a major ninja village poses a tremendous threat and challenge to the other major ninja villages.

The destruction of Kirigakure can be seen as a blatant provocation by this terrorist against all the major ninja villages.

Faced with such a terrifying enemy, if the major ninja villages were to continue fighting amongst themselves, it would be tantamount to courting death.

In Ailu's view, if Kumogakure wants to protect itself, it must unite with the power of other great ninja villages, especially Konoha. They must win over Konoha's help; only in this way will they have any chance to resist Madara Uchiha's attack.

“The Five Kage Summit, huh? Your suggestion is excellent. With such terrible news happening in Kirigakure, it is indeed necessary to convene an emergency Five Kage Summit.”

The Fourth Raikage paused slightly upon hearing Ailu's request, then understood her meaning and nodded.

The Five Kage Summit is a meeting convened by the five great ninja villages to resolve their conflicts. The leaders of the five villages will be present, and various issues can be discussed. Since the leaders of each village are present, once an agreement is reached, it signifies the signing of a pact.

The Fourth Raikage has already figured it out: the main purpose of this Five Kage Summit is to unite with other ninja villages to eliminate Madara Uchiha, this major threat.

He had thought that although Madara Uchiha was powerful, he was not a threat and that the power of Kumogakure was enough to defeat him. But now it seems that this idea was a real pity. Madara Uchiha, who had mastered the Rinnegan, was far more terrifying than he had imagined. Using him to restrain Konoha was simply wishful thinking.

……

On the other side, in the woods outside Kirigakure, a black-haired boy suddenly appeared; it was Kirito himself.

After teleporting there using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he immediately jumped into the sky, then formed a pair of chakra wings on his back and flew through the air, quickly arriving above Kirigakure.

"It seems this guy doesn't intend to hide any longer. He's taken the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails with him. Counting the Four-Tails from Iwagakure and the Two-Tails from Kumogakure, he already has four tailed beasts. Now that he's also obtained the power of Ryuchi Cave, his strength is indeed powerful enough to destroy a ninja village single-handedly."

Kirito looked down at the ruins of Kirigakure and said with a solemn expression.

He had considered that Madara Uchiha's strength would greatly increase after destroying Ryuchi Cave, but he never expected that Madara Uchiha would be so ruthless as to launch a surprise attack on a major ninja village, taking the village's tailed beast and destroying it at the same time.

Because of this butterfly, the original storyline has undergone tremendous changes, and Madara Uchiha has also become increasingly insane.

In the original story, he wasn't this ruthless. Of course, this doesn't rule out the possibility that he was powerless at the time and could only use Obito and Nagato to achieve his goals, while he himself had already died long ago.

For some unknown reason, Madara Uchiha's lifespan has been extended, and he no longer needs to rely on Obito and Nagato to achieve his goals; he can accomplish them on his own.

But in any case, the final battle is not far away.

"No, I can't just stand by and watch him absorb the Tailed Beasts and become much stronger. I must find him and the Gedo Mazo as quickly as possible so that I can end this madman's plan at the lowest possible cost."

Kirito looked at the numerous unseeing corpses in the ruins below and spoke with a cold gaze.

He must stop Madara Uchiha, that madman, or the fate of Kirigakure today will be the fate of Konoha tomorrow.

Chapter 354: The Slug Immortal Tells a Tale

After the Fourth Raikage and Ai reached an agreement, several Cloud Ninja skilled in movement techniques quickly left Kumogakure with the letter, heading towards Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Amegakure respectively.

After a day, the leaders of the four ninja villages received letters from the Fourth Raikage.

Meanwhile, the tragedy in Kirigakure has spread widely throughout the ninja world. Because Kumogakure deliberately sent people to smear Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Madara is a prime suspect in the destruction of Kirigakure, people all over the ninja world are terrified of Madara.

Anxiety began to spread throughout the ninja world.

Yomi, Konoha, in the Hokage's office.

Tsunade, Kirito, and the four Hokage advisors—Senju Momoka, Uchiha Chizuru, Hyuga Kazuma, and Akimichi Torifu—are all gathered here. Apart from the former Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who is far away in the Land of Earth supporting Iwagakure, all of Konoha's top leaders are here.

"You've all heard about what happened in Kirigakure, right? You don't need to doubt it anymore. It was Uchiha Madara who did it. Kirito has been to Kirigakure and sensed Uchiha Madara's chakra there."

Once everyone had arrived, Tsunade got straight to the point.

Apart from Kirito and Chizuru, everyone else shuddered upon hearing Tsunade's words, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

Of everyone present, only Kirito had personally fought Madara Uchiha, and he was also the strongest among them. His words undoubtedly carried authority and were absolutely credible.

As a result, they once again felt the terrifying pressure from Madara Uchiha.

He single-handedly destroyed Kirigakure. If such a powerful force were used against Konoha, what would happen?

Is Kirito still capable of stopping them?

For a moment, the three of them simultaneously thought of this question, and then all looked at Kirito with questioning expressions.

"His strength is even greater than it was a year ago. Although I don't know how he managed to improve his strength so quickly, it may be related to the tailed beasts. As far as I know, the four-tailed, two-tailed, three-tailed, and six-tailed beasts have all fallen into his hands."

"The Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Six-Tails were recently captured by him. If things go as expected, once he uses some unknown method to seize the power of these three tailed beasts, his strength will increase even further. At that point, I don't know if I'll be able to defeat him."

Kirito noticed the looks the three were giving him and understood what they were thinking, so he gave a half-truthful reply.

"So it really is related to the Tailed Beasts. What terrifying thing is this guy hiding? He can actually seize the power of the Tailed Beasts for his own use. Could it be that he wants to seal all the Tailed Beasts into his body and become their jinchūriki?"

Senju Momoka said with a grim expression.

As the head of Konoha's intelligence department, she had been focusing on gathering information about Madara Uchiha. After it was confirmed that Madara Uchiha had taken the Four-Tails from Iwagakure, she suspected that Madara Uchiha was planning to use the power of the Tailed Beasts to cause trouble.

Now, given Kirito's words, it's certain that Madara Uchiha was purposefully collecting the Tailed Beasts.

"Impossible. If he seals all the tailed beasts into his body, isn't he afraid of causing problems with his body? Even if he is Madara Uchiha, it would be difficult for him to control all the tailed beasts at once. He might accidentally commit suicide."

Akimichi Torifu said in surprise upon hearing this.

"Who knows? That guy is a madman, and with the power of the Rinnegan, he might actually be able to control all the tailed beasts at the same time."

Chizuru sneered.

She, as the holder of the Mangekyou Sharingan, is probably the ninja who knows the most about how powerful the Rinnegan is, besides Kirito.

He wasn't bragging, but with the power of her Mangekyou Sharingan, controlling a tailed beast was actually quite easy for her; it just wouldn't last very long.

However, the power of the Rinnegan is many times that of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and it also possesses various incredible and powerful abilities, making it possible for it to control all the tailed beasts simultaneously for an extended period of time.

Hinata and Mahi nodded thoughtfully, then remained silent.

"Perhaps it doesn't need to be returned to the body at the same time. Do you remember the Otsutsuki clan member on the moon I brought back, named Otsutsuki Toneri? According to the information I obtained from him, something called the Gedo Mazo was originally sealed on the moon."

But over a decade ago, it was suddenly summoned away, and only someone possessing the Rinnegan could summon it, because the Gedo Mazo was sealed by the Sage of Six Paths, and the power of the Rinnegan was necessary to unseal it.

Seeing that the conversation had smoothly steered towards the tailed beasts, Kirito began to talk about the Gedo Mazo.

"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path? What is this? It actually requires the power of the Rinnegan to seal it."

Tsunade was also hearing about the Gedo Mazo for the first time, and quickly pressed for details.

Her intuition told her that this heretical golem was something very important.

Everyone else present felt the same way and turned their attention to Kirito, hoping he would reveal more information.

"Chizuru, Chief Kazuma, it is said that there is a legend in your family called Princess Kaguya. Is this true?"

Instead of revealing all the information directly, Kirito asked a question in return.

Chizuru and Hinata Kazuma exchanged a glance after hearing Kirito's words, then each nodded to him.

"That's right, this myth is indeed recorded in a very old book of my Uchiha clan, but it's just a very old-fashioned story."

"Indeed, the story of Princess Kaguya is passed down in my Hyuga clan. It tells of how Princess Kaguya came from outer space, planted a giant tree, and brought peace to the world. However, she later turned evil and wreaked havoc on the world. In the end, her two sons set things right and defeated her."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade and Momoka Senju both showed thoughtful expressions, while Akimichi Torifu looked completely bewildered.

"This is not a myth, but a true story. Princess Kaguya's real name was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. The Sage of Six Paths and the ancestor of the Hyuga clan, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, were her sons. They joined forces to seal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya to the moon."

As for the Gedo Mazo, it was transformed from the giant tree planted by Kaguya Otsutsuki. The nine tailed beasts were actually powers separated from the Gedo Mazo by the Sage of Six Paths using the Yin-Yang Release. Now, Madara Uchiha is collecting the tailed beasts, likely intending for the Gedo Mazo to absorb them and regain its power.

Kirito took in everyone's expressions and then said something that surprised and puzzled them all.

"Wait, Kirito, where did you get all this information? Did you get it all from Ōtoriki Toneri?"

Tsunade said in disbelief.

Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and the nine tailed beasts were things that the Sage of Six Paths separated from the Gedo Mazo. This information is so shocking and ancient, and everything seems to be impossible to verify.

Not only Tsunade, but also Senju Momoka, Hyuga Kazuma, and Akimichi Torifu did not quite believe Kirito's somewhat mythical words.

"Sister, the Rinnegan, which originally belonged to the Sage of Six Paths, has appeared. What else is there that cannot be believed? Very well, I will ask a friend who has witnessed this ancient history to explain it to you personally."

Kirito sighed when he saw that Tsunade and the others didn't quite believe him.

He wasn't surprised by Tsunade's reaction; after all, not everyone has God's-eye view like him, and it's quite possible for them to accept such ancient information in a short time.

The next moment, he bit his index finger and used his blood to perform a psychic technique.

With a "pop," a cloud of white smoke appeared, followed by a slug the size of a basketball that appeared in everyone's eyes. It was a small clone of the Slug Sage.