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

However, the familiar sound of the explosion reminded him of the explosion outside Konoha Village that night.

Could it be that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki didn't go berserk that day, and the explosion similar to the Tailed Beast Ball was caused by the person in front of us?

As for whether the person in front of him could be Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Itachi Uchiha had a moment of doubt, but Naruto was younger than Sasuke and couldn't possibly have strength comparable to the Hokage.

The Hokage couldn't just let powerful Jinchūriki run around freely; what if they got kidnapped?

After taking a deep look at the mysterious person opposite him, Itachi Uchiha glanced at the Three-Tails, which was in a berserk state, and the thought of retreating arose in his mind.

He no longer needed to fight the other party, so revealing his strength would only benefit the masked man.

He was saving his Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu eye techniques to deal with the masked man. After weighing the pros and cons, Uchiha Itachi sped away into the distance and soon disappeared into the boundless jungle.

Naruto did not stop Itachi from leaving. On one hand, he did not want to fight Itachi and Obito to the death for the time being. On the other hand, the Three-Tails had its eyes on him, and it would take a lot of effort to subdue this mad beast.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Naruto headed towards the Three-Tails.

After a few rises and falls, Naruto appeared on top of the Three-Tails' head and used the Rasengan again, slamming it hard into the turtle's shell and smashing it into the bottom of the lake, causing an island to reappear on the lake's surface.

Then, Naruto plunged into the water and found Yagura, the Jinchuriki inside the Three-Tails.

Chapter 111 Subduing the Tailed Beasts in Three Steps

After finding Yagura, Naruto dispelled the genjutsu.

After breaking free from the genjutsu's control, Yagura's eyes gradually cleared, and he looked at Naruto in front of him with a very complicated expression, moving his lips to say thank you.

He remained conscious during the period he was under the illusion's control and was aware of everything that happened during that time.

This was undoubtedly the greatest pain for Yagura Karatachi. He was determined to govern Kirigakure, but he could only watch helplessly as Obito issued decrees that plunged Kirigakure into internal strife, and he could do nothing about it.

After saying that, Yagura Karatachi fainted again, apparently from drowning.

Naruto ignored Yagura, placed his hand on the Three-Tails, and said to Kurama, "Ku-Tails, can you communicate with the Three-Tails? The Kirigakure outside will be here soon."

Nine-Tails gently shook its head: "You knocked Isobu unconscious just now, and it hasn't woken up yet."

Naruto looked somewhat embarrassed: "Can tailed beasts be knocked unconscious? Aren't you chakra life forms? Or is the Three-Tails too weak to withstand the Rasengan's attack? But you clearly..."

Kurama interrupted Naruto and explained, "There are also differences in strength among the tailed beasts. Isobu is not very good at fighting, but even if it is not awake, I can still get its chakra. Go and tear off its tail and seal it into your body."

Naruto nodded, went around behind the Three-Tails, and snapped off one of its tails.

Then Naruto forcibly stuffed some of the Three-Tails' chakra into his body and reinforced it with the Four Symbols Seal. Soon, a sealing mark appeared on his stomach.

After completing all this, Naruto looked at the drowning Yagura and cast a sealing jutsu.

Under the effect of the sealing technique, the Three-Tails gradually shrank back into Yagura's body. Then Naruto dragged Yagura toward the shore and casually threw him onto an open ground.

By this time, dozens of Mist Ninja had already gathered on the open ground by the lake.

Upon discovering the unconscious Mizukage, their expressions were incredibly complex; they all harbored a degree of disgust towards this Fourth Hokage who issued orders arbitrarily.

But after what had just happened, they realized that the Water Shadow was just a puppet, and the real order was given by someone else.

But this isn't good news. If even the Mizukage can be manipulated, what does all their resistance and struggle over the years amount to? Is it just a joke?

A complex emotion flashed through their minds as the Kirigakure ninja all turned to look at Naruto, the mysterious and powerful figure who had defeated the Mizukage and the masked man.

The mysterious powerful figure is stronger than both the Mizukage and the masked man, and his attitude will determine the future of Kirigakure.

Under the scrutiny of so many eyes, Naruto walked expressionlessly toward Hozuki Mangetsu, patted the latter on the shoulder, and said in a low voice:

"The masked man was more difficult to deal with than I expected. I almost messed up. You Mist Village must pay more for this job."

Hearing this, Mei Terumi and the others next to her twitched their lips slightly. They hadn't noticed any danger at all. From beginning to end, this old man had been dominating the other side and had even destroyed a large area of ​​forest.

At this moment, Zabuza, who had just arrived, asked with some curiosity, "Lord Menma, how did you subdue the rampaging Three-Tails?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumi and the others also showed curious looks. At that time, due to the chaotic chakra, they could not sense the situation at the bottom of the lake.

Naruto stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said:

"It can be roughly divided into three steps: find the three-tailed creature, knock it unconscious, and then seal it directly with a sealing technique."

Upon hearing this, everyone was speechless. Everyone knew that dealing with the Tailed Beast only required three steps: finding the Tailed Beast, defeating the Tailed Beast, and sealing the Tailed Beast.

The first step is relatively easy, but the second and third steps require the entire village's resources to complete.

In particular, defeating the tailed beasts would require unimaginable casualties, but Naruto made it seem like a trivial matter.

After their initial reflections, Mei Terumi and the others raised their assessment of Naruto's strength to a new level.

The opponent's strength is comparable to the Second Mizukage or the Third Raikage, and is no less than the demigods of the ninja world back then.

Thinking of this, the elderly Master Yuan, leaning on his cane, came to Naruto's side and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help, sir. May I ask how I should address you?"

Naruto glanced at the elderly Master and said calmly, "Menma, Uzumaki Menma."

"swirl……?!"

Yuan Shi opened his eyes wide, as if he could see the expression under Naruto's mask, and sighed softly, saying, "So you are a ninja from the Uzumaki clan. Come back to Kirigakure with me and have a chat. This place is not suitable for conversation."

Yuan Shi's reaction made Naruto frown, and then he thought of the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and realized something.

The Land of Whirlpools was destroyed when it was besieged by several ninja villages, including the Hidden Mist Village. Those ninja from the Hidden Mist Village may have died in battle or from old age. The only one still in power today is probably this elder, Genshi, who was there when the village was founded.

That's why Genji reacted so strongly when he learned that he was a Uzumaki ninja.

However, he was not a native Uzumaki ninja of the Land of Whirlpools, but a Uzumaki ninja born to Kushina, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and raised in Konoha.

Thinking of this, Naruto said to Minato Namikaze, "Fourth Hokage, it seems we're not far from knowing the truth about the Land of Whirlpools. Let's see what you, as Hokage, don't know..."

Minato Namikaze's expression changed slightly; he knew the reason for the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools.

When the Land of Whirlpools was besieged, Konoha was at war with several other major powers and had no time to care about the safety of the Land of Whirlpools. By the time they found out, it was too late.

After all, although the Land of Whirlpools is very close to the Land of Fire, it is thousands of kilometers away from Konoha Village.

Even if a Jonin travels at full speed, it would take at least three days to provide support. Three days is enough time to destroy a country, but this matter still seems suspicious.

Seeing that Minato Namikaze didn't refute him, Naruto felt a bit bored and automatically skipped the topic.

He wasn't directly involved in the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools. There are some things that only the Fire Gate and the old clan chief can truly understand. Once he knows the truth, he'll tell them both.

After all, the Whirlpool Country he was rebuilding was not the Whirlpool Country of the Whirlpool Clan, but a small country that belonged only to him.

Half an hour later, Naruto followed Master Yuan and the others to Kirigakure. He was treated as a distinguished guest and arranged to rest at a hotel. After dinner, they would go to the Mizukage Building to discuss cooperation matters.

Naruto knew that the Mist Ninja were about to hold a meeting, but he didn't care; he had already achieved his goal.

Just then, the Nine-Tails in the sealed space slowly said, "Naruto, Isobu has woken up. Come and see it quickly, I need to rest soon."

Chapter 112 Yagura's Awakening

Inside the Water Shadow Building.

After being rescued by medical ninjas, Yagura Karatachi awoke from his coma. With a complex expression, he looked at the Kirigakure Jonin in front of him and slowly asked, "How long has it been since I became the Fourth Hokage?"

"After this month, Yagura, you will have served as Mizukage for eleven years."

The Hidden Mist Jonin exchanged glances, but in the end, it was Genji who stepped forward and gave the exact time.

Yagura Karatachi paused for a moment, then sighed softly and said, "So it's been that long? I remember you were quite young back then, Master, and Mei Terumi and Mitsuki were still studying at the Ninja Academy..."

As he spoke, Yagura Karatachi fell into deep thought, and suddenly looked much older.

For him, the experience of being controlled by the masked man was as unbearable as a nightmare, and what was even more tragic was that after waking up from the nightmare, everything became reality.

His plans to develop the Hidden Mist Village were interrupted by the masked man's interference, and were replaced by a prolonged period of internal strife.

Not only were the bloodline clans besieged and wiped out, but even the core force of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was reduced to only one member, with the rest of their swords either lost or unable to find suitable successors.

After a long silence, Yagura inquired about the recent situation and Naruto's identity.

Upon hearing that Naruto had been invited by Hozuki Mangetsu, Yagura Karatachi looked at the latter and slowly said, "Mangetsu, tell me about this Uzumaki Menma, his background, and the reward he received for assisting Kirigakure."

Hozuki Mangetsu looked around, and finally, at Genji's prompting, revealed part of the deal he had made with Naruto.

Upon hearing the details of the deal, Yagura's expression turned somewhat strange. These transactions amounted to Kirigakure bowing down to the Land of Whirlpools, betraying the interests of many ninja villages. Signing such a deal would be a disgrace.

Upon seeing this, Hozuki Mangetsu frowned. If the Mizukage didn't agree, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

Knowing Naruto's terrifying strength, Mei Terumi stepped forward and said, "Fourth Hokage, I think you'd better agree to some of the conditions. If Naruto Uzumaki were to cause trouble, the village currently has no countermeasures."

Yagura Karatachi gently shook his head: "I intend to agree to all the conditions above, and the sooner the treaty is signed, the better..."

Hearing this, Hozuki Mangetsu breathed a sigh of relief, while Terumi Mei looked somewhat puzzled.

Yagura sighed softly: "You don't know who the masked man is, but I've already guessed his identity. If I'm not mistaken, he should be Madara Uchiha, who dominated the ninja world decades ago."

"Uchiha Madara?"

Upon hearing this name, everyone was taken aback. They recognized the name; it belonged to Shura, a legendary figure who was on par with the God of Shinobi and founded Konoha.

At this point, Yagura Karatachi continued, "Furthermore, I suspect that besides me, the Third Hokage was also controlled by Madara Uchiha back then, which is why he issued the cruel Bloody Mist Village policy. If we include this, Madara Uchiha has been controlling Kirigakure for decades."

"The Third Hokage was also controlled?" Mei Terumi said in disbelief, somewhat taken aback.

Master Yuan took a deep breath, nodded and said, "The Fourth Generation is right. The Third Generation was also suspected of being manipulated back then. However, the Blood Mist Elite Education was the idea of ​​most of the higher-ups at the time, and they didn't pay much attention to the Third Generation's abnormality."

"But later, the Third Hokage sent the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to invade the Land of Fire and used Jinchuriki to destroy Konoha. This plan was suspicious and violated the Hidden Mist Village's strategy of helping the weak and eliminating the strong."

Master Yuan's words gave the Mist Ninja the illusion that the whole world was an illusion.

They always thought that Kirigakure was an equal ninja village to Konoha, but a ninja who defected from Konoha was able to secretly control Kirigakure for decades.

Yagura Karatachi sighed softly and said, "Master Genji is right. I suspected the Third Hokage back then, but unfortunately, when I was searching for the truth, Madara Uchiha came knocking on my door."

"Now that we've finally found a ninja who can fight Madara Uchiha, we absolutely cannot give up easily."

"After all, compared to saving face, ensuring the continued survival of Kirigakure is the most important thing."

Yagura's words silenced the members of Kirigakure.

At this moment, Ao, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Fourth Hokage, you just said that Madara Uchiha manipulated the Third Hokage and you, Fourth Hokage, but from the battle just now, the masked man did not show the corresponding strength, which I find very strange."

"Perhaps it's because Madara Uchiha wasn't confident he could handle Menma Uzumaki."

Yagura Karatachi also found it a bit strange, but he couldn't care less about that now. He said with a wry smile, "In short, we must form an alliance with Menma Uzumaki and have him share the firepower with Kirigakure."

After making the final decision, Yagura dismissed most of the Jonin, leaving only Genji behind.

Before Master Genji, Yagura Karatachi, who had been so assertive just moments before, revealed a pale face and said weakly, "Master Genji, I plan to begin the selection process for the Fifth Hokage. Do you have any recommendations?"