Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Soon, he successfully created a small chakra pool around the chakra pool that could store tailed beast-level chakra, and then smoothly put the liquefied Sage Mode chakra into it.

After the Sage Chakra was stored inside, nothing unusual happened; it remained quietly in the secondary pool.

"Success! Sage Chakra can be stored using the Yin Seal."

Kirito continued to observe for a while and indeed found that the Sage Chakra remained very stable in the secondary pool, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

What is the biggest drawback of Sage Mode?

Of course, the duration cannot be long. Once a ninja enters Sage Mode, the Sage Chakra in his body will be rapidly consumed once he uses Sage Techniques. After using it a few times, the Sage Chakra will be completely depleted, and he will immediately exit Sage Mode.

Before Naruto became a perfect Jinchuriki, when fighting Pain, it was because the Sage Mode lasted too short that Naruto was able to suppress Pain from the beginning, but was eventually defeated by Pain after Pain found an opening.

Kirito currently possesses the Yin Seal, which stores a vast amount of chakra. Theoretically, his Sage Mode can be maintained for a relatively long time.

However, his Yin Seal now takes a very long time to fully charge, and it's being used up little by little.

He had previously activated the Yin Seal and then used the sealing technique, Adamantine Sealing Technique, to suppress the Nine-Tails, which had already reduced the chakra stored in the Yin Seal to less than one-third of its peak strength.

Fortunately, after successfully mastering the Yin Seal, the chakra pool he had gradually built using chakra was now fully formed. This would prevent the chakra from flowing out without filling the pool, thus preventing him from freely using the Yin Seal.

In conclusion, if Sage Chakra can be stored, it's best to store as much as possible for unforeseen circumstances.

If possible, Kirito wants to replace all the chakra stored in the Yin Seal with Sage Chakra, so that the chakra constantly being output at low power by the Yin Seal becomes Sage Chakra. This way, he might be able to maintain Sage Mode in his daily life and have his body continuously nourished by Sage Chakra.

"It will probably take a long time to achieve this goal. If we could capture a Tailed Beast, we could greatly shorten the process. Unfortunately, all the Tailed Beasts are now owned, so it will be difficult to seize them. Even if we do manage to seize them, it won't be easy to keep them. Konoha has enough enemies now. If we really try to seize them, it could easily trigger a war."

Kirito thought of using Sage Chakra to fully charge the Yin Seal. His first thought was of the Tailed Beasts, monsters with almost unlimited chakra. He planned to capture one and use it as a tool to generate Sage Chakra, but then he decided against it.

However, the seed of this idea had already been planted in his heart.

If one day he discovers a wild tailed beast passing by him, or a jinchūriki from another ninja village alone, he certainly doesn't intend to miss it.

He has the ability and means to capture the Tailed Beasts, so why doesn't he do it?

He's currently struggling to suppress the Nine-Tails with the Yin Seal using the Adamantine Sealing Technique, but suppressing the other tailed beasts is no problem at all. After all, the combined chakra of the other eight tailed beasts probably doesn't even equal that of the Nine-Tails.

The Tailed Beasts have owners?

Bullshit! If he actually gets it, it's his. If he's not happy about it, come and cause him trouble.

Then we'll see whose fist is harder.

Suddenly, Kirito realized that Tsunade was coming back. He quickly put one hand on the wall, allowing the White Zetsu clone to leave his body using the Mayfly Technique. Then he removed the sealing barrier in the room and obediently went back to bed.

Now that he's still a patient, he can relax and enjoy Tsunade's gentle care.

After upgrading his Sage Mode skills, he's not as dizzy anymore, and his health has improved significantly, allowing him to happily focus on watching the game.

Soon, Tsunade came in with a pile of food and then gently fed Kirito by stuffing it into his mouth.

……

After using the Mayfly Technique, White Zetsu's clone returned to the Land of Rain in less than a few minutes. He then discovered that Yellow Earth had not yet sent him a message. Knowing that Iwagakure had not yet made up its mind to make a deal with him, he decisively left the Land of Rain and headed to the Land of Waves.

He hadn't been active in the Land of Waves under the alias Gojo Shin for several days. Although this alias wasn't very important anymore—the Night Organization had grown, and Gato's Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company was under the Night Organization's protection—it was still a pity to just abandon it so easily.

"Hmm, he's actually here."

Kirito had just controlled his White Zetsu clone back to Gojo Makoto's mansion when he released his soul perception and immediately discovered an unexpected soul aura in the mansion.

Shan Zhongyun, a key member of the Night Organization who usually travels around, is currently in the courtyard.

Meanwhile, in a simply decorated room in the mansion, Yamanaka Kumo, who was looking at a piece of information, suddenly looked up in the direction of Kirito's room and said excitedly, "Finally back."

Since joining the Night Organization, he has been busy traveling the world to cause trouble for Root, trying his best to annoy Danzo, his wife's killer. Occasionally, he will also impart some useful intelligence experience to some members with good potential.

Therefore, he is usually very busy and only communicates with Kirito through secret letters.

The reason he came to find Kirito in person is because he recently found some important information about Root.

However, now that Kirito is back, he's not in a hurry to go over; he knows he'll probably be invited over soon.

Sure enough, in his perception, the maid named Uzumaki Ryoko arrived.

Ryoko Uzumaki knocked on the door of Kumo Yamanaka's room and asked, "Mr. Kumo, are you resting?"

"Not yet, may I ask what brings you here, Ms. Ryoko?"

Shan Zhongyun said patiently.

"The real Lord is back, and he requests your presence."

"That's what Ryoko Uzumaki replied."

"Okay, let's get over to this now."

Shan Zhongyun immediately gave a reply.

After saying that, he opened the door and quickly walked towards the room where Kirito was playing the role of Gojo Makoto.

Ryoko Uzumaki followed closely behind, her eyes fixed on Kumo Yamanaka's back.

Soon after, Yamanaka saw Kirito. He looked at the character Gojo Makoto was playing and his eyes flickered with a thoughtful expression.

He discovered that Kirito's strength had increased significantly since he last saw him, with the biggest change undoubtedly being the change in his chakra.

His mastery of the secret techniques of the mountains gave him an exceptional sensory ability, allowing him to roughly sense the amount of chakra within a ninja's body.

He then discovered that Kirito's body contained an extremely large amount of chakra.

"Who exactly is he? His strength has increased so quickly."

The clouds in the mountains were secretly on guard.

Like Root, who joined Danzo, he has no loyalty to the Night organization he has now joined. He only joined this mysterious organization, whose true identity he does not even know, because he was given a cursed mark and wanted to take revenge on Danzo.

However, judging from the current situation, this mysterious organization called Night is growing rapidly and will one day become a powerful force that influences the ninja world.

Whether this organization will then target only the root of the problem remains to be seen.

He might be creating a major enemy for Konoha right now.

Although he was a Konoha ninja and had already defected, he was still loyal to the village and did not want Konoha to be harmed.

Of course, dealing with Danzo's Root organization is another matter entirely.

For a moment, he wanted to use the Mind Turning Technique to see Kirito's true identity.

But the thought only lingered in his mind for a moment before he suppressed it. The hatred in his heart wouldn't allow him to do that; he still needed the help from the person in front of him.

Furthermore, this person is a powerful ninja, and an extremely skilled sealing ninja. It's hard to guarantee that he doesn't possess any means to counter the Mind Transfer Technique.

"Mr. Yun, is there something you need from me? It's rare for you to appear at my residence today."

Kirito had no idea what Yamanaka was thinking, nor was he interested in knowing. He was only interested in the information Yamanaka had brought back. Seeing that Yamanaka was done and had personally brewed him a cup of tea, he asked with a smile.

Some people never visit temples unless they have a specific reason to.

Yamanaka Kumo is that kind of person. This avenger who is tirelessly seeking revenge for his fiancée must have obtained important information about Root, and then realized that he couldn't handle it, so he came to find him in person.

Otherwise, given the authority he granted Yamanaka Kumo within the Night Organization, Yamanaka Kumo could easily deal with two or three Jonin using the various manpower and resources provided by the Night Organization, without needing to mobilize him, the strongest combatant in the Night Organization.

"Yes, Master, I recently learned from my informant that the entire Skull Squad of Root has been mobilized."

When asked, Shan Zhongyun promptly cut to the chase.

"Oh, the Skull Squad."

Upon hearing the name, Kirito's eyes narrowed, and he instantly became interested.

The Skull Squad was on the Root member list that Uchiha Homura gave him, and it was listed at the very top.

However, the identities and abilities of the members of this ninja squad are unknown. All that is known is that it is a five-person ninja squad, an important force protecting Danzo. They usually guard Danzo closely, never leaving his side, and rarely leave his side.

The fact that the Skull Squad has now been deployed indicates that Danzo's protective forces have reached their lowest point in history.

"pity……"

Kirito immediately dismissed the idea of ​​killing Danzo right now.

"Yes, the Skull Squad is an important force protecting Danzo. They are usually only responsible for protecting Danzo and are not easily sent out to carry out missions. Master, this is an opportunity. As long as we eliminate the Skull Squad, we can severely damage Danzo's power in Root and further weaken his control over Root."

Seeing that Kirito had become interested, Yamanaka Kumo immediately added fuel to the fire with his explanation.

"That's true, but are you aware of the strength of this Skull Squad? And what is their mission?"

Kirito nodded slightly, then asked two crucial questions.

Being able to take down the Skull Squad would certainly be a good thing, but only if it's actually possible. Otherwise, it might end up getting caught up in the fight instead.

Kirito is indeed very strong now. His White Zetsu clones can now also activate Sage Mode. In the Land of Rain, he might be able to unleash Kage-level power.

But he doesn't think he's invincible now.

In ninja battles, intelligence plays a very important role, and it is quite common for ninjas to cooperate well and defeat stronger enemies together.

In the original storyline, the Third Raikage died from a combination of Earth Release ninjutsu used by a large number of Iwagakure ninja.

The Skull Squad is a ninja squad, and they must already have a very good understanding of each other.

They are Danzo's trusted protective force, so their strength must be considerable. Most of them are skilled in some kind of powerful secret technique or ninja, and some may even be ninjas with bloodline limits.

He must give such an elite ninja squad enough attention.

"The Skull Squad consists of five people, each with the strength of an elite Jonin and possessing unique secret techniques. If they work together, even a Kage-level expert would find it difficult to defeat them in a short time. Their target this time is Hattori Masanari from the Land of Rain. You must have heard of this Rain Ninja who has recently risen to fame. He is extremely powerful, especially in the Land of Rain. It is said that only a Kage-level expert can defeat him."

"Sir, we could take advantage of the Skull Squad's battle with Hattori Masashige to launch a surprise attack. With Hattori Masashige, a powerful ninja, holding the Skull Squad back, we might be able to find an opportunity to kill a member of their team."

When Yamanaka Kumo heard Kirito ask this question, he was not surprised and immediately gave the answer he had prepared in advance, continuing to lure Kirito into taking action against the Skull Squad.

"I see. The information you found is very valuable."

Kirito spoke to Yamanaka Kumo in a pleasant tone.

However, he was already cursing in his heart at that moment.

Of course, he wasn't criticizing Shan Zhongyun, but rather the entire family.

He painstakingly relayed the intelligence back to Konoha, emphasizing that Danzo should not be aware of the intelligence transaction. However, Danzo still found out and secretly dispatched the Skull Squad to attack his disguise.

He had no doubt that the information was leaked by Jiraiya; unsurprisingly, the problem still lay with the Third Hokage.

"So, Master, do you mean to do it or not?"

Shan Zhongyun asked somewhat nervously.

Eliminating the Skull Squad, even just one or two members, would be extremely difficult for Danzo. These individuals are crucial to Danzo's control over Root, and losing one or two would weaken his control over Root, clearing many obstacles for him to kill Danzo later.