Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

"Hmph, you definitely didn't listen just now. But whatever, since you don't want to be Hokage, you can't possibly understand the sorrow I, the future Hokage, feel right now. I really want to grow up quickly, gain Jonin strength as soon as possible, and then go to the battlefield to defeat those bastards from Amegakure and Sunagakure."

Nawaki pouted and stared at Kirito, saying with a dissatisfied expression.

As he spoke, he channeled his grief and anger into his appetite, quickly devouring the food on the table, and then left triumphantly under Kirito's bewildered gaze.

He will continue to hone his skills on the training field.

"That idiot, I hope he won't be used as a pawn by someone with ulterior motives. It's not good for him or the Senju clan to have such opinions coming out of his mouth.

After Nawaki left, Kirito regained his calm expression and sighed inwardly.

Then he picked up a bell from the table and shook it.

Soon, a maid entered from outside and said respectfully to Kirito, "Lord Kirito, please give your orders."

"Could you please bring another table of food?"

Kirito said in a pleasant tone.

"Yes, I'll have someone prepare it right away."

The maid answered immediately, then quickly withdrew and told someone to prepare new food for Kirito.

"Indeed, having great strength is the fastest way to gain the respect of others."

Kirito looked at the maid's respectful manner towards him and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Ever since it was revealed that he possessed the ability to easily kill a special Jonin, the villagers' attitude towards him has obviously changed dramatically. No one dares to treat him as a child anymore; their attitude has changed from care or contempt to respect or awe.

This change in attitude had both positive and negative effects on him.

The downside is that he feels more distant from his peers. Many of his old friends who used to play ninja games with him are now hesitant to greet or talk to him. Even when they do talk to him, they are somewhat reserved and not as casual as before.

In short, it has become increasingly difficult to connect with people your own age.

Another major downside is that the good old days of trying to buy things from those uncles and aunts' shops by pretending to be young and getting discounts are gone forever.

However, there are also many benefits. The biggest benefit is that the ninjas who are older than him no longer dare to treat him like a child. Genin will speak to him with an equal or even respectful attitude. A large number of Chunin will do the same. Jonin will at least regard him as an equal and will listen to him carefully.

This change in attitude became increasingly apparent after he officially became a medical ninja.

Once he demonstrated strength at the Jonin level, his status as a child was no longer a disadvantage in Konoha, but rather a plus.

Clearly, any ninja who isn't mentally unstable understands his potential, and that potential is very likely to be realized quickly. Perhaps in three to five years, he will become a Kage-level powerhouse.

Therefore, befriending him beforehand can only bring benefits and no harm.

For example, in the recent incident where the Third Hokage accepted Amegakure's surrender terms without paying reparations, which sparked protests from many militant ninjas, Kirito felt that this change in attitude was very good.

He merely 'inadvertently' revealed his dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage's appeasement policy to some patients during a consultation, and many civilian ninjas from the militant faction came to him.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already been regarded as someone to whom many of the village's martial arts ninjas could seek refuge.

Chapter 79: The Land of Rain

The land of rain, nestled in the mountains and fields.

The sky continued to pour down rain, as if the country itself were weeping.

Kirito, wearing a black raincoat, walked along the muddy mountain path.

The body he was using at this moment was naturally a White Zetsu clone, and the identity he was using was that of a Rain Ninja who had become a bandit.

His purpose in coming to the Land of Rain was mainly to see this war-torn country and to see the current owner of the Rinnegan.

More than a month has passed since the war ended, but the country still shows no signs of recovery.

Along the way, Kirito saw nothing but abandoned farmland, severely destroyed villages, and displaced civilians.

Due to the war, the entire Land of Rain was almost destroyed. The only place that was relatively well preserved was the capital, which was under the protection of the Rain Village.

Kirito arrives at a village that is still inhabited.

Like the villages he had seen on the road, this place was also severely damaged, with many houses destroyed and only a small amount of crops surviving.

Because of his identity as a Rain Ninja at this time, he was not ostracized by the ragged villagers, but he was not welcomed by them either.

Kirito saw fear and wariness in their eyes.

"You'd better leave our village right now, you're not welcome here."

Suddenly, a boy rushed out of a dilapidated house, angrily shouting at him and bravely throwing stones at him.

"I'm sorry, sir, please forgive him. His parents were killed by bandits yesterday. He was just being childish. Please forgive him."

Just as the boy roared at Kirito, an old man with gray hair rushed over from a nearby house. He pressed the boy's head firmly into the mud, forcing him to kneel down. The old man then knelt down as well, kowtowing to Kirito and pleading with him.

Upon hearing the old man's words, Kirito instantly understood the reason for the boy's anger towards him.

Unsurprisingly, the so-called bandits were Amegakure ninja, or more accurately, rogue ninja from Amegakure who had become bandits.

Faced with the powerful Konoha, not all Rain Ninja dared to challenge them. More often than not, after witnessing Konoha's strength, they fell into despair and fear, ultimately choosing to flee with their tails between their legs, becoming shameful deserters and living a life of ignominy.

Ninjas do not engage in production; they are essentially a group of mercenaries.

Having become deserters, the Rain Ninja could not possibly return to Amegakure. They had all automatically become rogue ninjas. Having lost all normal supply channels, they had no choice but to become even more shameful bandits and robbers in order to continue living.

Villages that have lost their protective power are their favorite targets.

They couldn't defeat the Konoha ninjas, couldn't protect their homeland, and now they're harming their own homeland instead—it's truly ironic.

"Don't worry, I'm not like those scoundrels. I won't take your things."

Kirito sighed and spoke.

After saying that, he walked past the old man and the boy kneeling on the ground and quickly left the village.

But he had only walked a short distance out of the village when he found himself surrounded.

Five Konoha ninjas appeared one after another and surrounded him.

Through his soul perception, he already knew he was being followed. These five people had been secretly tailing him ever since he left the village.

As expected, these five Konoha ninjas had just been lying in wait in that village.

Five Chunin.

This is Kirito's judgment based on his perception of natural energy, which he uses to determine the amount of chakra within the five individuals.

“We, Amegakure, and you, Konoha, have already ceased hostilities. We have no reason to fight any longer. Let me leave.”

Kirito, not wanting to take action against the Konoha ninjas, tried to dissuade them.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a Chunin who had lost an eye shouted angrily, "Who said we made peace with Amegakure? Don't be so wishful."

Upon hearing this, Kirito immediately knew that things were unlikely to end well today.

He was unlucky; this time he encountered radical militant ninjas in Konoha who opposed the ceasefire.

Among the martial arts ninjas of Konoha, there are also factions, which can be divided into the moderate faction and the radical faction. The moderate faction advocates using negotiation as much as possible to resist, while the radical faction advocates using violence to resist.

Undoubtedly, among the Konoha ninjas still stationed on the battlefield in the Land of Rain, there are many radical militants. After seeing no hope that the Third Hokage would refuse to accept the surrender of Amegakure, some of them are determined to restart the war in their own way.

The simplest and most direct way to reignite the war between the two ninja villages is undoubtedly to create bloodshed and let the hatred between them continue to grow.

Even now, the ninjas of the two villages still harbor deep hatred for each other; this powder keg could be ignited by the slightest spark.

Then the war will reignite.

Clearly, his encounter with these five radical, militant ninjas was an attempt to restart the war by slaughtering the Rain Ninja.

"Stop wasting time talking to him, just kill him quickly. We can't stay here for too long, as this area is the territory of the Rain Ninja."

Another middle-aged ninja said coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, several kunai and shuriken were quickly shot at Kirito, one of the kunai even had a lit explosive tag attached to it.

Seeing this, Kirito had no choice but to accept the challenge.

He clapped his hands together, and a wall of water instantly appeared from the ground, blocking the kunai with explosive tags. He then used the kunai to knock down the remaining incoming kunai and shuriken.

Water Escape·Water Formation Wall!

At the same time, four water clones split off from his body and quickly rushed towards the four Konoha ninjas.

Water Release: Water Clone Technique!

"This guy is very strong. If he goes all out, I'll hold him back."

The pineapple-headed ninja among the five saw Kirito unleash two Water Release ninjutsu without a seal, and he immediately realized that they had encountered a formidable enemy. He shouted loudly, then formed hand seals and used the Nara Secret Technique.

Shadow Imitation!

His shadow stretched rapidly, pointing directly at Kirito's shadow.

At this moment, Kirito began to use ninjutsu again. This time he finally formed hand seals, but under the horrified gazes of the Nara clan chunin, he actually managed to successfully unleash a very powerful typical ninjutsu of water-style ninjutsu with only five hand seals.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

A giant water dragon instantly formed from the nearby accumulated water and then rushed menacingly towards the pineapple-headed ninja.

The pineapple-headed Chunin had no choice but to cancel his Shadow Imitation Technique to dodge, but the Water Dragon's attack was not so easy to avoid. He was bitten by the Water Dragon, and a large amount of high-pressure water hit him and swept him away.

The other four Konoha ninjas wanted to provide support, but they were entangled by Kirito's four water clones.

One of the Chunin, skilled in swordsmanship, finally defeated one of Kirito's water clones, only to find that the pineapple-headed Chunin had collapsed, coughing up blood and unable to fight any longer. Overwhelmed with grief and anger, he grabbed his chakra-covered ninja sword and charged toward Kirito.

Just as he successfully struck Kirito with his ninja sword, Kirito turned into a stream of water.

It turned out to be a water clone.

The swordsman Chunin immediately realized he had fallen into a trap and tried to escape, but it was too late. The water clones, which were formed from water, seemed to have a life of their own and entangled him.

A giant water sphere instantly trapped the sword-wielding ninja.

Water Release: Water Prison Technique!

"Stop. Your companion is in my hands now. Stop if you don't want him to die."

Kirito emerged from the ground behind the Chunin ninja who had mastered swordsmanship. He plunged his hand into the water sphere to maintain the Water Prison Technique and addressed the remaining three Konoha ninja who had already dealt with the water clones.

Chapter 80: Tsunade

"Despicable and shameless."