I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Hozuki Mangetsu smiled and said, "I will show my sincerity, Menma-senpai."

Naruto took a deep look at Hozuki Mangetsu, then disappeared into the street.

The Land of Water is Kirigakure's territory, and even more so Obito's territory. He cannot simply dispose of White Zetsu here.

Otherwise, it would be tantamount to telling Obito directly that he had left the Land of Whirlpools and entered the Land of Water, which would be detrimental to his subsequent actions and would also hinder his approach to Kirigakure and the search for the whereabouts of the Tailed Beasts.

In addition, he also wanted to take advantage of his trip to Kirigakure to find those descendants of the persecuted bloodline limit within the Land of Water, and strive to re-establish these bloodline limit families in the Land of Whirlpools, satisfying his collecting obsession while preparing for the creation of artificial bloodline limits.

After all, if Wood Release bloodline limit can be mastered through transplantation, there's no reason why other bloodline limits can't be mastered as well.

Once these technologies are successfully mastered, it might be possible to create artificial bloodline limits, or even artificial immortals and artificial Otsutsuki. After all, those Otsutsuki are ultimately just aliens who have mastered powerful technology.

After Naruto left, Zabuza sighed softly: "Full moon, it seems we are destined to be pawns. I hope this time we can become players."

Hozuki Mangetsu glanced at Zabuza, shook his head and sighed, "Zabuza, people need to learn to admit their insignificance. We weren't even pawns before, just dust that was crushed by the pawns."

Chapter 103 Civil War

After using his Chunin-level chakra to create shadow clones that roamed throughout the Land of Water, Naruto arrived at Kirigakure.

Unlike Konoha, which is sunny yet shrouded in shadow, Kirigakure is always shrouded in a thick layer of smog. Standing on the street at the entrance of the village, even the Mizukage Building in the center of the village is not clearly visible.

After wandering around, Naruto gained a lot of useful information, and what impressed him most was the villagers' attitude towards ninjas.

If the villagers of Konoha still harbored a sliver of arrogance towards genin and outsiders, the villagers of Kirigakure were left with only fear. They secretly despised the Kirigakure ninja, but outwardly they were respectful and dared not show the slightest disrespect.

After all, in Kirigakure, where the strong are respected, villagers have the freedom to insult others, and ninjas have the freedom to beat others.

Both the freedom ingrained in his bones and the isolated location of Kirigakure reminded him of a country from his previous life. Unfortunately, Kirigakure did not have the ability to become an offshore balancer.

Seemingly sensing the air filled with a sense of freedom, Kurama opened its eyes and said lazily, "I hate this place. There's just as much negativity here as in Konoha. Does that old turtle, the Three-Tails, live here?"

"Of course, the only villages in the ninja world that can compare to Konoha are Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and there, tailed beasts and jinchūriki face discrimination just like people there. Other ninja villages are even worse."

"Since you already knew, why did you still take me away from Konoha?"

Naruto dismissively said, "Konoha is good because of the contrast with other ninja villages. That doesn't prove that it's not bad. In the end, the ninja world is just a world where everyone is worse than the last."

After a pause, Naruto sighed softly: "Of course, if the Third Hokage had been a little more responsible and dared to take on the responsibility, I might have chosen to stay and strive for the position of Seventh Hokage, and then slowly transform Konoha Village."

"Why the Seventh Hokage?" Kurama was good at grasping details and then digging deeper.

"Because only those who become Hokage's disciples can become Hokage. The Third Hokage couldn't possibly take me on as his disciple directly. I should be the disciple of the next Hokage or the one after that, so that I can take over the position of Hokage."

"If that's the case, then if an Uchiha could become the Hokage's apprentice, they might also have the potential to become the Hokage in the future."

“That’s natural…” Naruto looked at Minato Namikaze beside him and said, “But unfortunately, even if an Uchiha becomes the Hokage’s apprentice, he will die mysteriously and not have a good end.”

Nine-Tails seemed to have thought of something and sneered, "You humans are really evil, always going to such lengths. I think the strong are respected in Kirigakure, maybe I can become the Mizukage someday."

"And then be controlled by the masked man again?"

Naruto retorted sarcastically without mincing words, then his expression returned to seriousness as he said:

"According to my investigation, the person who controlled you and the Mizukage should be the same person, an Uchiha who has mastered space-time eye techniques. By the way, could the masked man be Uchiha Madara?"

Upon hearing this question, Minato Namikaze also came over.

Naruto's comment earlier, "The Hokage always dies because of Uchiha disciples," had shattered his composure. Now, he was even more curious about the masked man's identity, since if it weren't for the masked man's appearance, he would still be the Fourth Hokage.

"Although he controlled me using a jutsu, he shouldn't be the Uchiha Madara of yesteryear. If he were Uchiha Madara, he wouldn't even need my assistance; he could have easily destroyed Konoha. That level of combat is beyond your imagination."

After recalling her past memories, Kurama's expression turned ugly.

He would never forget the humiliation of that day. As the strongest tailed beast, it was treated like a toy and manipulated at will, and was eventually sealed inside a woman's body, losing its freedom for decades.

Pulling her wandering thoughts back, Kurama reminded her, "Although he is not Madara and does not have Madara's strength, he can control White Zetsu. The true form of White Zetsu is a monster called the Ten-Tails. With the Ten-Tails' assistance, he cannot be too weak."

"White Zetsu, capture the nine tailed beasts and revive the Ten-Tails?!"

Each term made Minato Namikaze frown. He had never imagined that the masked man's reason for attacking the village was so complicated, nor had he ever imagined that Naruto, whom he still saw as a child, was already secretly investigating the masked man.

Naruto at this age should be studying at the Ninja Academy, not bearing these responsibilities.

If I were still alive, and if I hadn't chosen to commit suicide for love, would the outcome have been different?

For a moment, Minato Namikaze felt a surge of regret, but regret couldn't solve anything. Naruto was right when he said something like that.

He's already dead; it's no use for a dead man to know more.

Unless... unless the Impure World Reincarnation technique can be used, but that would violate the order of the ninja world. Once the boundaries between life and death are blurred, the ninja world will face an even more serious crisis.

Naruto looked at Kurama and deliberately asked, "Ku-Tails, are the Ten-Tails stronger tailed beasts than you?"

Nine-Tails nodded and said, "To be precise, I and the other eight tailed beasts were all separated from the Ten-Tails. Once we return to the Ten-Tails, the Ten-Tails will transform into the Divine Tree, causing all ninjas in the ninja world to fall into a deep sleep."

"I suspect the masked man's goal is the nine tailed beasts."

After hesitating, Kurama revealed almost all the information, not wanting to damage their relationship by concealing anything.

After all, it needs Naruto to stop the Ten-Tails from reviving, and it no longer has any ability to threaten Naruto. Even if the Eight Trigrams Seal is broken, the sealing technique that Naruto has learned can still restrict his movements.

Most importantly, he was willing to believe the old man's words one more time, and to believe that humans and tailed beasts could live in harmony.

After Kurama revealed his true colors, Naruto smiled and said, "No wonder you asked me to collect the chakra of the other tailed beasts. It turns out you wanted to notify them so that they could unite to deal with the masked man."

Having his thoughts exposed, Kurama said somewhat embarrassedly, "A Jinchuriki will die after the Tailed Beast is removed. You have saved yourself in this way. However, I do need to ask you to stop the Ten-Tails, as it concerns the safety of the ninja world."

The safety of the ninja world is at stake... Would the tailed beasts care about the ninja world? Minato Namikaze fell into deep thought.

Naruto glanced at Kurama and chuckled, saying, "Kuta, I still prefer your unruly self. Back then, you would bare your teeth and grin, which was much cuter than your round and chubby self now."

Hearing this, Nine-Tails snorted coldly and didn't say anything more.

Just then, Naruto frowned and looked in the direction of the Mizukage Building. He saw black dots flying out of the Mizukage Building and heading towards the other side of Kirigakure.

"Did Hozuki Mangetsu and his group act ahead of schedule, or did someone else attack Kirigakure?"

Chapter 104 The Betrayal of Pipa Juzo

Besides Naruto, Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu, who were hiding near the Mizukage Building, were also among those who discovered the Mist Ninja's operation.

They gathered more than a dozen Mist Ninja, preparing to storm the Mizukage Building under the pretext that the Mizukage was being manipulated, and to remove the Fourth Mizukage from the enemy's control.

Of course, in addition to these dozen or so people, Hozuki Mangetsu also contacted the respected Jonin in the village and asked them to observe from the sidelines. Once they discovered any signs that the Mizukage was being manipulated, they were to immediately take action against the Fourth Mizukage.

As for the masked man who might be behind the Fourth Mizukage, that was left to the Uzumaki ninja to deal with.

However, before such a meticulous plan could be implemented, the Fourth Mizukage unexpectedly left the Mizukage Building, taking with him a portion of the Anbu loyal to the Mizukage and heading out of the village.

This puzzled Hozuki Mangetsu, who frowned and realized that the masked man had discovered their plan.

At that moment, a Kirigakure ninja appeared before Hozuki Mangetsu, bowing his head and saying, "Lord Mangetsu, enemies have invaded the village. Judging from their appearance, they should be the rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi and the rogue ninja Biwa Juzo."

How did Juzo Biwa and Itachi Uchiha end up near the village?

After a moment's thought, Hozuki Mangetsu decided to lead a dozen or so subordinates out of the village. Since plans couldn't keep up with changes, they had no choice but to improvise.

After Hozuki Mangetsu left, the high-ranking members of Kirigakure, who were lurking in another block, also frowned.

They are Mei Terumi, an elite Jonin proficient in Boil Release and Lava Release; Ao, a Jonin in the Sensory Class; and Genji, an elder from the founding period of Kirigakure.

Yuan Shi, leaning on his cane, opened his eyes, looked at Qing beside him, and slowly asked, "After encountering the external enemy, the Fourth Hokage still showed up. Qing, was the Fourth Hokage actually controlled by the illusion?"

Qing once captured the Byakugan on the battlefield, which gave him the ability to see through illusions.

But the Mizukage is the Mizukage after all, and using the Byakugan to spy on the Mizukage is a great offense. He only dared to use the Byakugan to investigate the Fourth Mizukage with the permission of his master.

"White Eye - Open!"

After activating his Byakugan, Ao's face gradually turned ugly, and he nodded to Terumi Mei and Genji.

Genji sighed softly, his eyes filled with helplessness, and said, "The Hozuki family boy is right. The Fourth Hokage was indeed controlled by illusion magic. It seems that the absurd policies of the past few years all originated from the person behind the scenes."

Mei Terumi frowned and said, "Master Genshi, what should we do? The Fourth Hokage is the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails. How can we break the genjutsu on him?"

Yuan Shi smiled helplessly: "The Three-Tails can be dealt with by the Six-Tails. As for how to get close to Yagura, we can only rely on human lives. I wonder if that kid Man Yue has any ideas."

"However, matters in the village can wait, but dealing with the external enemy cannot be delayed. Let's deal with the enemy who attacked the village first. As for dealing with the external enemy, Yagura can be trusted for the time being."

"Yes, Master Yuan." Terumi Mei and Ao nodded and led their troops out of the village.

……

As the various factions in Kirigakure took action, Naruto successfully infiltrated them, disguising himself as an ordinary Kirigakure ninja, and rushed to provide support outside Kirigakure.

Soon, Naruto frowned; he had spotted the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.

Shouldn't Yagura be holed up in the Mizukage building right now? Why did he leave Kirigakure with his men? Did Obito discover Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu's plan?

But Zabuza and the others were clearly inside Kirigakure, and they had just been in contact through shadow clones.

After following for a while, Naruto saw Yagura Karatachi fighting in the forest. The ninjas fighting Yagura Karatachi were Juzo Biwa and Itachi Uchiha, which made him even more confused.

Wasn't the Fourth Mizukage already under Obito's control? Why investigate Kirigakure?

Could it be that there are internal conflicts within the Akatsuki organization, and that Nagato discovered Obito's secret control over Kirigakure, thus beginning to suppress Obito's power?

After thinking it over, Naruto felt that this guess was very likely.

After all, Akatsuki was a rogue ninja organization, and due to its composition, it was destined to be anything but a unified whole.

At this moment, the other Hidden Mist ninjas seemed to have noticed the place as well and rushed over.

Seeing that more and more people were around him, Naruto didn't have time to think. He mingled among the Mist Ninja and began to search for the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.

He was more interested in the Six-Tails and Three-Tails chakra than in getting involved in Akatsuki's internal affairs.

After all, the whole thing about supporting Hozuki Mangetsu to take the throne and the puppet village of Kirigakure was fake. His real purpose for this trip was to obtain the chakra of the Six-Tails and the Three-Tails.

After sensing the crowd and using genjutsu to control one or two Mist Ninja, Naruto still hadn't received any news about the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. Thinking about it, it was understandable, since even Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu didn't know where the Jinchuriki was.

Aside from the Fourth Mizukage, the only people who truly know the location of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki are probably other high-ranking members of Kirigakure.

Besides the Fourth Mizukage, the only person who truly held the power in Kirigakure was Genji, but with so many Jonin around him, it was difficult for him to make a move.

Just then, Naruto noticed a gaze sweeping over him and casually responded with a genjutsu.

Without even guessing, it must be the perception of Ao, a Jonin from Kirigakure. Although Ao, who has obtained the Byakugan, cannot see through his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, among so many ninjas, there is only one person whose identity cannot be seen through with the Byakugan, so there is not much difference between him and someone who can see through him directly.

Why not take this time to visit the Water Shadow Building? You might find something else interesting.

After being affected by the illusion, Qing covered her eyes, her face filled with pain.