Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

After saying that, she took Kirito down to rest.

Kirito needs to rest in a quiet environment for a while.

Seeing that the Nine-Tails had been successfully sealed and Kirito was unharmed, the others all wore excited and happy smiles, some even shouting and crying with excitement.

The Konoha ninja defeated the Nine-Tails, and they did so without the help of the God of Shinobi.

For them, this was undoubtedly a triumphant feat, demonstrating that even without the God of Shinobi, Konoha still had the ability to keep the Nine-Tails, the strongest tailed beast, in Konoha.

Konoha's reputation as the strongest ninja village remains well-deserved.

However, this joy did not last long in the hearts of many ninjas, because many of their comrades still perished in the operation to seal the Nine-Tails.

Under the command of the third generation, they began to quickly clean up the battlefield. Looking at the corpses of their comrades who had permanently stopped breathing, the joy in their hearts was quickly overwhelmed by sorrow. Sad expressions appeared on their faces, and a feeling of shared grief arose in their hearts.

The Nine-Tails was indeed too powerful. If Kirito and the Sannin hadn't joined forces at the crucial moment, perhaps even more people would have died in this Nine-Tails inheritance operation.

Most of them are just lucky ones.

Most of them didn't even have the ability to protect themselves in front of the Nine-Tails.

In an instant, many people recalled the young figure who had single-handedly bound the Nine-Tails, and felt even more grateful and awe towards him.

If the Nine-Tails breaks the seal again in the future, Kirito will be their greatest support.

……

With the Nine-Tails successfully sealed, Konoha obtained the second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Nine-Tails inheritance operation officially came to an end.

However, for the Third Hokage, there was still a great deal of cleanup work to be done.

He quickly gave a brief explanation to the people in charge at the scene about the various cleanup matters, and then prepared to return to the Hokage Building to deal with the mountain of documents in his office.

At this moment, Jiraiya quietly approached the Third Hokage, hesitating several times as if he wanted to say something.

"Keep up, let's talk as we walk."

Upon seeing this, the third generation instantly realized something and whispered.

His disciple, who had been giving him the most trouble lately, suddenly returned from the Land of Rain without saying a word. It was clearly not to participate in the Nine-Tails inheritance operation; most likely, he had something important to report to him in person.

Upon returning, he unexpectedly encountered the Nine-Tails breaking its seal, and ultimately, he happened to participate in the Nine-Tails' inheritance operation, playing a significant role.

The third generation was very satisfied with this.

It must be said that Jiraiya's return was very timely this time.

It was thanks to his summoning technique, Roof Collapse Technique, that Kirito was successfully saved from the danger of the Tailed Beast Ball. This prevented Kirito's efforts to restrain the Nine-Tails with the Adamantine Sealing Chains from being in vain. Later, he also used the summoning technique in conjunction with Kirito to successfully suppress the Nine-Tails, ensuring that there were no major casualties in this Nine-Tails inheritance operation.

But what kind of important matter could have prompted this disciple, who had previously been reluctant to return, to personally rush back to Konoha?

The Third Hokage was quite anxious at this moment, hoping that Jiraiya would bring back good news this time.

The Nine-Tails had just been sealed, and the mountain of pressure that had been weighing on his heart had finally been removed. He didn't want another mountain of pressure to appear right away.

"Teacher, I must report this to you privately."

Jiraiya said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage narrowed his eyes, glanced at the several Anbu ninjas around him, and then nodded slightly to Jiraiya.

The next moment, he set off, leaping and darting swiftly among the trees of the Death Forest.

Jiraiya quickly caught up and came to the Third Hokage's side.

The ANBU ninjas wisely dispersed and followed the two at a distance.

"Teacher, this is information I obtained from Hattori Masanari. Please take a look."

After confirming that there was no one else around, Jiraiya took out the important information he had on him and handed it to the Third Hokage, saying...

When the Third Hokage heard that the information came from Hattori Masanari, he immediately became interested.

Hattori Masanari had been eyeing the two elite puppeteers from Sunagakure who knew a great deal of secret information about the village. However, he was disappointed when Hattori Masanari chose to trade with Iwagakure instead of Konoha after receiving a notification last night.

Unexpectedly, things have taken a turn for the better, and there is hope for a deal again.

He quickly took the scroll, opened it, and took a closer look. His face immediately showed a mixture of shock and delight.

"Is the intelligence accurate?"

The third generation closed the scroll and said somewhat anxiously, his breathing becoming rapid.

There was no other way; the information Jiraiya brought back was too important. If it was true, they could immediately wipe out one of Sunagakure's important supply depots on the battlefield, causing huge losses to Sunagakure.

Moreover, this information was clearly just bait thrown out by Hattori Masanari; the bigger rewards were yet to come.

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "Hattori Masanari said that he obtained this from those two elite puppeteers from Sunagakure, but its authenticity still needs to be verified. But as you can see, if this information is true, it will be extremely valuable. It is precisely because it is so important that I personally brought the information back. Master, please send an elite team to confirm the accuracy of this information as soon as possible."

"That's right. As soon as I returned to the Hokage Building, I immediately sent people to investigate."

The Third Hokage immediately nodded, agreeing with Jiraiya's words.

“Teacher, this matter must be handled by someone who is absolutely trustworthy. Hattori Masakado himself is quite hostile towards Konoha now, and he seems to have suffered a great loss from Root before. He is very uneasy about this transaction with Konoha and said that if he finds anything wrong, he will immediately cancel the transaction and never trade with Konoha again.”

Also, to ensure this intelligence wasn't leaked, I temporarily knocked out the four ANBU ninjas who came back with me.

Seeing that the Third Hokage was taking this matter seriously, Jiraiya gave him further reminders.

“Root, I understand. You handled this matter very well. I will definitely send the most trustworthy person to investigate.”

When the Third Hokage heard Jiraiya's words, the image of his old classmate Danzo's cold face flashed through his mind, and his heart suddenly felt heavy.

Although Jiraiya phrased his words rather subtly, he fully understood what Jiraiya meant.

Jiraiya suspected that there were Root moles among those around him.

In fact, the Third Hokage had long been aware of the existence of Danzo's spies among the Anbu ninja directly under the Hokage's command.

After all, many of the ANBU ninjas were originally martial arts ninjas, so it's not surprising that some of them were bewitched by Danzo and became his agents.

However, the Third Hokage is currently unable to ascertain who Danzo's people are, nor does he have the time or energy to investigate thoroughly.

There was no other way; he was already exhausted from dealing with the daily affairs of the village and the various matters coming from the battlefield. He had no energy left to do such a thankless task. He could only secretly have the most trusted person conduct the investigation.

Unfortunately, every ninja who could join the Anbu was an elite among ninjas, with excellent disguise skills, so they were never discovered.

However, judging from the current situation, if he does not take this issue seriously, it will inevitably lead to very serious consequences in the future.

For example, if Danzo finds out about the information Jiraiya brought back, given his understanding of Danzo, Danzo will definitely send someone to bring the information back from Hattori Masanari before Jiraiya does.

As for Danzo's purpose in doing this, it is very likely that he wanted to use this information to make a deal with him.

The Third Hokage wasn't actually bothered by Danzo sending people to steal information from Hattori Masashige. If he could get it for free, that would be ideal, since Konoha wasn't exactly wealthy and he'd been struggling to find a way to make money lately.

War is incredibly expensive. Even though Konoha is wealthy, it can't sustain such a prolonged war. If it hadn't decisively ended the war with Amegakure, Konoha might be secretly selling off its assets to fill the financial hole caused by the war.

While getting something for free is very tempting, the consequences would be severe if Danzo failed to seize it by force.

It's definitely not going to happen that Hattori Masanari has the intelligence that could influence Konoha's victory over Sunagakure, which is the worst possible outcome.

Furthermore, considering the strength Hattori Masashige has demonstrated, it's clear that no one other than a Kage-level expert could capture him in the Land of Rain. It's highly likely that the Root elites sent by Danzo will fail to capture Hattori Masashige and may even be captured by him.

At that time, the war that Konoha and Amegakure had finally managed to end might break out again.

With this thought in mind, the Third Hokage had no desire for Danzo to know about this matter.

But is this possible?

Just how many spies did that bastard plant around him?

"Danzo, should I keep you here...?"

The Third Hokage, realizing the potential danger Danzo posed to Konoha as a double-edged sword, was filled with murderous intent. However, he suddenly remembered his friendship with Danzo, and his heart was filled with complex emotions.

……

Meanwhile, deep within Konoha Prison, in the Root leader's office.

Danzo was looking at a report that had just been delivered by his subordinate. Although his face remained expressionless, he was cursing inwardly: "He's still alive! The Nine-Tails inside that old man has clearly escaped, how come he's not dead?"

If Danzo hadn't been certain that the information in his hand was personally delivered by one of his loyal subordinates, who would never have lied to him, he certainly wouldn't have believed the fact that Mito Uzumaki had lost the Nine-Tails but was still alive.

He's really confused right now.

It is a fact that Jinchuriki will definitely die once the Tailed Beast is extracted from their bodies. This is a fact that other ninja villages with Tailed Beasts have learned after paying a heavy price. So why does this not make sense when it is applied to Mito?

"Damn it, how come they can't die? Is the Uzumaki clan's vitality really that abnormal? They can even survive after having their tailed beasts extracted?"

Danzo cursed inwardly, and when he lowered his head, his face was already clouded with gloom.

He was willing to wait so long in this damned prison because he hoped that Mito Uzumaki, that old bastard who wouldn't live much longer, would die soon, so that the Third Hokage could find an opportunity to bail him out.

This Nine-Tailed Fox inheritance operation is a good opportunity.

The Nine-Tails' inheritance operation has now successfully concluded, and it turns out that Mito Uzumaki, the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, did not die. Moreover, the intelligence reports indicate that her condition is much better than before.

It seems that after losing Kurama, Mito Uzumaki's extremely weak body no longer had to bear the pressure brought by the tailed beast Kurama day and night, and she showed some signs of improvement.

It looks like this old man can live for a while longer.

This is absolutely outrageous!

What should we do? As long as Mito Uzumaki lives, Danzo will never see any hope of leaving this damned prison.

He was fed up with this damned life, especially after that idiot Third Hokage released the beast that was the Uchiha clan. He didn't want to stay here for another day.

"I must get out of here as soon as possible, otherwise the Uchiha clan will ride roughshod over Konoha, and the Konoha that my teacher passed down will be destroyed by that idiot Third Hokage. I will never allow this to happen."

The thought of the Uchiha clan being allowed to fight and gain merit by the Third Hokage filled Danzo with resentment. He wished he could leave this cage immediately, quickly integrate the Root's power, and use dirty tricks to kill the Uchiha clan on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wants to go out now, it's impossible without the third generation's order.

With Mito Uzumaki still alive, the Third Hokage couldn't openly get him out of prison.

This is a deadlock that can never be resolved unless Mito Uzumaki dies.

"Take advantage of her weakness and unconsciousness, and kill her?"

Seeing no hope that Mito would die anytime soon, Danzo naturally thought of using the most common method used by the Root organization to achieve his goal.

However, he promptly abandoned the idea as soon as it came to mind.

Just kidding, Mito Uzumaki is still Mito Uzumaki. She won't become weaker just because she lost the Nine-Tails, nor will she really become weak just because she's weakened. She still has at least Kage-level strength, and might even be able to continue to crush him.

Moreover, Mito was constantly protected by the old woman Momoka and many elite Senju clan ninjas, making it impossible for anyone from Root to get close.

"Isn't there any other way for me to get out of this damn place?"