Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Hanzo the Salamander still didn't believe it.

"Sigh~ I believe you will understand in the future, Hanzo. Let's not talk about this for now. The reason I called you here today is to give you a very important task. If you do it well, your dream may come true."

Upon seeing this, the white-haired clone sighed.

As soon as he finished speaking, he tossed a scroll to Hanzo.

Hanzo, quick-witted and agile, opened the package and his face gradually showed astonishment. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Is this real? Amegakure is participating in the Five Kage Summit!"

"Of course it's true. The invitation was personally sent by the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure. Konoha and Iwagakure have already agreed to let Amegakure participate. Whether Sunagakure and Kirigakure, which is almost wiped out, object is no longer important."

The White Zetsu clone looked at the astonished expression on Hanzo's face and said with a smile.

When Hanzo heard the White Zetsu clone's explanation, he immediately believed it. He already knew about Kirigakure when he was in Konoha, and at this moment, a fire ignited in his heart—a fire called the desire to become a great ninja village.

Once upon a time, making Amegakure a great ninja village was his lifelong dream. He devoted most of his life to this goal, but he failed because he mistakenly chose Konoha as his target, and almost ruined Amegakure's future.

He thought he would never see Amegakure become a great ninja village in his lifetime, but fate played a cruel joke on him, giving him the opportunity to realize his dream.

He suddenly realized that the scroll in his hand was unusually heavy, even a little hot, and he could hardly hold it.

Is he qualified to represent Amegakure at the Five Kage Summit?

He asked himself honestly, wanting to say yes, but couldn't find any reason.

He knew very well that Amegakure's current strength was not because of him, but because of this old comrade-in-arms who was becoming increasingly unfathomable. It was because he had stolen the Five-Tails from Iwagakure and demonstrated great strength, as well as his good relationship with Konoha, that Amegakure had the opportunity to participate in the Five Kage Summit.

Looking back now, it seems that Amegakure has already met the requirements to become a great ninja village without anyone noticing. All that's missing is the accumulation of experience. Once the next generation of Amegakure ninja grows up, Amegakure will be able to become a new great ninja village simply by virtue of its strength.

For a moment, Hanzo's feelings became extremely complicated.

"Masashige, I..."

Hanzo stammered.

"Go, Hanzo, represent Amegakure at the Five Kage Summit. I can't think of anyone else from Amegakure who can go besides you. You know I definitely can't go. If I go, there will be no one to protect the village. Madara Uchiha is a madman and doesn't play by the rules."

The White Zetsu clone walked up to Hanzo, patted him hard on the shoulder, and said in an affirmative tone.

With the words "White Zetsu clone," Hanzo finally felt relieved and nodded, saying, "I understand. I will definitely complete this mission successfully."

"Very good. Then go back and prepare, and set off as soon as possible. Because of Madara Uchiha, this conference is being held very urgently. It will begin in three days. I will send Nagato and Yahiko with you."

The white-haired clone smiled with satisfaction.

"So anxious?"

Hanzo exclaimed in surprise.

To be honest, he wasn't really mentally prepared. He had no experience in meeting with the Kage of other major ninja villages, and he didn't have a deep understanding of the current situation in the ninja world, making it difficult for him to secure benefits for Amegakure.

"It is indeed urgent, but you don't need to worry too much. We just need to follow closely behind Konoha. Our Amegakure's interests are now aligned with Konoha's."

The white Zetsu clone said solemnly, giving Hanzo a reassurance in advance.

Upon hearing this, Hanzo felt somewhat disappointed, but ultimately said nothing more.

Because he knew that Konoha's participation in the Five Kage Summit with Amegakure had already brought great benefits to Amegakure, Amegakure should therefore fully support Konoha.

……

Half a day later, Hanzo secretly set off from Amegakure with Nagato and Yahiko.

The white Zetsu clone stood by the window, watching the three leave with his Tenseigan. Then, he suddenly said to Konan, who was engrossed in processing documents, "Konan, I have a task for you."

"No way, I'm already so busy."

Upon hearing Bai Zetsu's clone's words, Xiao Nan's pretty face, with slight dark circles under her eyes, immediately showed a resentful expression as she said unhappily.

"Don't worry, I'm not giving you extra work. Just think of it as a relaxing vacation. My task for you this time is simply to protect Hanzo and the others from behind. If they encounter any trouble, you don't need to do anything. Just send a message to the village as quickly as possible."

The white-haired clone turned its head and smiled slightly.

Konan was a very sensitive and intelligent person. She immediately sensed something unusual in the White Zetsu clone's words and quickly asked, "Lord Masashige, could they be in some great danger?"

Chapter 358: Thor's Upgrade

"Opportunities and dangers coexist. It won't be easy for Amegakure to become a Great Ninja Village. Even with Konoha's support, we still need to be strong ourselves. This Five Kage Summit is likely to be anything but peaceful."

Upon hearing Xiao Nan's worried words, the White Zetsu clone sighed.

Upon hearing this, Konan's worry deepened, but she also knew that the current situation in the ninja world was indeed very tense and dangerous. If Amegakure wanted to take a further step at this time, it would be impossible without taking risks.

Soon, Xiao Nan felt relieved.

This is how the ninja world is; where is there a truly safe place? If Amegakure doesn't seize the opportunity to advance further, it will only fall into the same predicament as before, being ravaged at will by the major powers as a buffer zone for war.

Only by continuing to strive for self-improvement despite difficulties can Yu Yin's future be brighter.

"Then I'll set off now, Lord Zhengcheng."

Xiao Nan straightened her face and said with a firm look in her eyes.

"Go, but remember, when you are not strong enough, do not act impulsively. Only by staying alive can you have a chance to solve the problem."

The white Zetsu clone nodded in reminder.

Xiao Nan nodded to indicate that she understood, then formed a hand seal, and her entire body transformed into countless pieces of paper that flew up and quickly disappeared into the rainy sky through the open window.

"I hope you can really stay calm then."

The white Zetsu clone came to the window, closed it, and murmured.

Meanwhile, in Takigakure, in a room within Orochimaru's underground laboratory, screams of agony were emanating from within.

Suddenly, the screams stopped abruptly, and the intense chakra fluctuations in the room quickly disappeared.

"Failed again. It seems that this attempt to improve the technique is still not very successful. However, judging from the finished product, its strength has improved, which shows that my research direction is correct. Adding Yin-Yang Release techniques to the Impure World Reincarnation Technique can indeed greatly improve the shortcomings of the Impure World Reincarnation Technique. It's just that the improvement is a bit difficult."

A white-haired, fair-skinned boy with three-tomoe Sharingan eyes looked at the corpse lying on the ground in front of him amidst a large amount of ashes and paper scraps, and said with some excitement.

"It's far from perfect. Your crude method of adding Yin-Yang Release techniques to the Impure World Reincarnation technique is completely unreliable. With your methods, no number of test subjects would be enough for you."

A black-haired man with golden snake eyes sneered not far from the white-haired, fair-skinned boy.

"Hey, Orochimaru, what do you mean by this? Are you questioning my research direction? In terms of understanding Yin-Yang Release, I'm far ahead of you. You simply can't comprehend the wonder of the Yin-Yang Release techniques I added to the Impure World Reincarnation technique."

Upon hearing the snake-eyed man's words, the white-haired, fair-skinned youth's forehead veins bulged instantly, and he turned to shout angrily at the snake-eyed man.

"What's so special about it? I only see a pile of garbage. It's you, the loser, who actually thinks my understanding of Yin-Yang Release is worse than yours. Hiruko, when did you come up with such an absurd illusion? The person in front of you is a ninja who has achieved immortality. When it comes to the study of life and death, you can't even compare to me."

Orochimaru sneered, his mockery growing even stronger.

Hiruko was naturally very unhappy to be belittled by Orochimaru, but he couldn't refute what Orochimaru had just said. After all, this stinky snake had indeed developed an amazing immortality ninjutsu that even he coveted.

However, he is no pushover. He only talks and doesn't fight. He is no longer the loser he used to be. In terms of talent and strength, he is now better than Orochimaru, or even stronger, after using the Oni-Garaku Technique to fuse several bloodline limits.

"Orochimaru, do you really think you're the boss here? I'm not your assistant. I can do my research however I want, and it's none of your business to tell me what to do."

"Hiruko said coldly."

The next moment, he rushed in front of Orochimaru like lightning and grabbed Orochimaru with his hand.

Then, a large amount of chakra surged from Orochimaru's body into Hiruko.

Using his Swift Release ability, Hiruko successfully ambushed Orochimaru at close range, and then, using his Dark Release ability, he is frantically plundering Orochimaru's chakra.

Orochimaru was suppressed by Hiruko's Dark Release, and his chakra was rapidly decreasing, but he showed no tension on his face, and even revealed a playful expression.

"what!!!"

Upon seeing this, Hiruko immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly stopped absorbing Orochimaru's chakra. However, a sharp pain from within his body caused him to let out a miserable scream.

Amidst screams, Hiruko curled up on the ground in agony, and then large amounts of white snake scales began to grow on his body, and his entire being began to transform into a snake.

"As expected, you're still a loser. The Ghost Sprout Technique is indeed good, but it's a complete waste in the hands of a mediocre person like you. Moreover, even with your current strength, you don't even understand that kind of energy. You're really too useless."

Orochimaru watched the terrifying changes happening to Hiruko's body and sneered.

Hiruko's Dark Release is indeed very strong, but chakra is not something that can be absorbed casually. If it is mixed with some strange things, absorbing it rashly will lead to death.

Just like Hiruko now, who rashly absorbed the Sage Chakra that he created by combining chakra with natural energy, and as a result, he began to turn into a snake because he couldn't control it.

Next, without him needing to do anything further, Hiruko will die due to her failed snake transformation.

Sage Chakra is such a terrifying power that it cannot be absorbed casually. Even among other sages, absorbing the Sage Chakra within another sage requires extreme caution, or one might as well expect to self-destruct and die.

Hiruko certainly didn't want to die. He was trying his best to expel the special chakra from his body, but this special chakra was like a persistent thorn in his side. Once it entered his body, it would run rampant and constantly modify his body, completely out of his control.

Soon, something even worse happened to him. The balance that the three bloodline limits in his body had managed to maintain was broken again, and the three bloodline limits began to repel each other. This caused his body to quickly become like a piece of porcelain covered in cracks, and his body was rapidly collapsing and tearing apart.

In an instant, Biluhu suffered torment more painful than being devoured by ten thousand ants, and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Orochimaru, seeing his former comrade in such a state, showed no intention of helping him whatsoever; instead, he watched with a look of enjoyment.

He had long disliked this loser who started to flaunt his achievements and strength in front of him and who often contradicted him in his research. He wished he could kill him.

However, he couldn't bring himself to kill Madara Uchiha because of him.

Now that Hiruko has taken the initiative to attack him and ended up in this state, he can only blame himself and does not need to bear any responsibility.

"Alright, Orochimaru, help him. Even if he's worthless in your eyes, he's still a good assistant. Research on the Impure World Reincarnation technique is urgent. Lord Madara, you don't have much time left."

Just as Orochimaru was about to turn around and leave Hiruko to fend for herself, Black Zetsu's voice suddenly rang out in the room.

Orochimaru immediately turned his head to look at the corpse not far away, and Black Zetsu slowly emerged from behind the corpse.

He showed no surprise, as if he had already noticed Black Zetsu's arrival, and sneered, "I've already made progress on my research into improving the Impure World Reincarnation technique. I no longer need this guy. With him dead, it will be easier for me to complete my research."

"Orochimaru, Konoha has already taken action, and Takigakure has also become a suspect. Moreover, while you and Hiruko were fighting amongst yourselves, Takigakure was already surrounded by a large number of Konoha ninja. I don't think this is the time for you to fight amongst yourselves."

Seeing that Orochimaru still intended to leave him to die, Black Zetsu immediately revealed information that shocked Orochimaru.

Upon hearing that Takigakure was surrounded by a large number of Konoha ninja, even the audacious Orochimaru couldn't help but have the thought of fleeing. He immediately questioned, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Why didn't those White Zetsu come to report this to me?"

"Of course, all the White Zetsu responsible for keeping watch outside have been found and killed. Konoha has Byakugan ninjas, and it seems that they have mastered the method of finding and distinguishing White Zetsu. Those Konoha ninjas outside are all carrying strange ninja tools."

Black Zetsu explained, his mood quite bad.

Although he knew that once the abilities of White Zetsu were exposed, ninjas would quickly find ways to counter them, he did not expect Konoha to find a way to counter them so quickly.

"I see. It seems that the abilities of those white monsters are no longer so reliable."

Orochimaru said regretfully, without doubting Black Zetsu's words.

In fact, he himself had already found a way to deal with White Zetsu. With Kirito Tohsaka and so many other excellent ninjas in Konoha, how could they not find a way to counter White Zetsu?