Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village

"Do you know that the power I created, this power of death, is something I can control, monitor, and perceive? I am the master of this power, its sole source. I can clearly feel a 'Kurihara Kushimaru' being created little by little, just like my people, my children."

"If the power of the Shinigami can do this, then what about chakra?"

"Is the being who created chakra also watching us from some corner, some world?"

The chilling words came from Ye's mouth, and Yu Mei's expression slowly froze on her face.

If things are really as Night says, then are those who constantly use chakra merely wooden puppets for the amusement of those beings, or are they livestock to be harvested like leeks and sheep?

"Lord Ye, this..."

"Of course, this is just my guess."

Ye spoke softly, "No one knows what the future holds, but for now... just think of it as me wanting to have another armed force at my disposal."

Yumi pursed her lips.

She knew that Ye wouldn't speak without reason. In other words, it was truly possible that legendary beings like the Goddess of the Rabbit or the Sage of Six Paths would appear in the future, and she could be considered an enemy!

She didn't know what that meant, but she wouldn't doubt Ye's decision. Since Ye had brought these things up, all she had to do was try to understand things from Ye's perspective.

"It's going to succeed."

As Yoru watched the gradually solidifying chestnut-shaped slug, Yumi also snapped out of her shock and began operating the equipment.

With the perfect fusion of natural energy and soul energy, Kurihara Kushimaru was completely restored.

Under the watchful eyes of the two, the former Hidden Mist Ninja Swordsman slowly opened his eyes, a hint of confusion in them, and stepped off the machine.

The physical body of the Shinigami landed on the ground, just like the physical body. Kushimaru Kurihara clenched his fists, feeling a sensation completely different from before.

"What on earth is this..."

"This is the Shinigami transformation. It is the power I have gained to revive your souls after your physical bodies die."

Night explained, "And you, Lord Kurishari Kushimaru, you are the first case!"

"A soul experiment... You really dare to be so audacious, Night. You actually dare to touch such forbidden things now?"

Kushimaru Kurishari raised his head, his gaze falling on Yoru's blue and white divine robes: "And the clothes you're wearing..."

"Ah, thanks to the villagers' support, I have now taken over the mantle of the Third Mizukage and become the Fourth Mizukage who protects the village."

Night smiled and turned around, pointing to the words "Fourth Mizukage" behind her.

His appearance, which was almost unchanged since the time he died in battle, made Kushimaru Kurihara fall into a slight silence.

The Fourth Mizukage did have high hopes for Yoru back then, but he never expected Yoru to be able to achieve this level!

"It seems that a lot has happened since my death... How is our war with Konoha going?"

"Many things happened after you died, and it's impossible to explain them all in a short time." Ye shook his head: "You can go out and see for yourself, which will also make it easier for me to obtain more data through the changes in your body."

"Furthermore, you do not possess chakra; instead, you have spiritual power, which is the power of your soul."

"The way to use this power is very simple. You can treat it as a non-attribute chakra. However, most of the ninjutsu you used to know will probably be unusable. But I will also provide you with a completely new combat power system."

"……it is good."

"Next, we need to check your current condition."

"Yes."

For the ninjas who emerged from the blood mist, the Mizukage's orders were absolute. Even when Kushimaru Kurihara died, Yoru was still one of his subordinates.

With the help of Kushimaru Kurishari, Yoru and Yumi tested his various indicators, including soul strength, the stability of his Shinigami transformation, and the degree of control over his spiritual power.

Upon testing, Kushimaru Kurihara's Shinigami transformation was found to be perfect, fully conforming to the proper state of a Shinigami.

The only drawback might be that the spiritual energy in the world is too scarce, leaving him in the same state as Ye.

The spiritual power used cannot be replenished by absorbing spiritual particles from the outside world!

Yoru originally intended to create a fake body for Kushimaru Kurihara to use, which would allow him to maintain his fighting ability using chakra.

However, this idea was rejected by Yumi.

"Since the future enemy is very likely to be the ruler who controls chakra, what the Shinigami need to do at this stage should be to adapt to the power of the Shinigami without chakra."

"If the spiritual particles cannot be replenished, what we need to do is solve the problem of spiritual particle scarcity, rather than staying in our comfort zone!"

"You're right, Yumi."

Ye Shen nodded in agreement and gave Yu Mei a thumbs up.

Such awareness is truly worthy of being the person I chose!

However, how to solve the problem of spiritual particle scarcity has become a major challenge.

"The essence of the scarcity of spiritual particles is that there is no soul power in the present world. All spiritual power is absorbed into the Yellow Springs Pure Land when it appears. What if the binding of the individual soul is transformed into a regional one?"

"You mean..." Ye raised an eyebrow slightly.

Yumi said softly, "When I was still in Uzushio Village, I read the Will of Fire of Konoha, and one sentence in it left a deep impression on me."

"Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

"I don't know if Konoha spread this will within the village, or if those who inherited this will actually did it."

"But we can learn from this. Using secret techniques such as the Soul Imprisonment Technique, we can prevent the souls in a certain area from returning to the Pure Land of the Underworld, keeping them there forever. Once they decay and disappear like fallen leaves, spiritual energy will gradually spread, and the newly born Grim Reaper can also use this power to sprout and grow!"

"...That's quite a unique and reasonable argument."

Night stared blankly at the swirling girl in front of him, and understood what she meant.

She wanted to...

Man-made, a place imbued with spiritual energy!

A place with abundant spiritual energy is a special area formed by the excessive accumulation of soul power in the mortal world.

However, because all the souls of the dead are absorbed by the Yellow Springs Pure Land, only going in and not coming out, this has resulted in the fact that in the present world, let alone a place of spiritual energy, not even a trace of spiritual power can be seen.

Yu Mei's idea was to artificially create such a place, using the souls of the deceased to forcibly build up a place of spiritual rebirth!

Although the concept of reincarnation exists in the Naruto world, it is not actually the case.

All the deceased, after their souls enter the Pure Land of the Underworld, will not enter the cycle of reincarnation to begin a new 'life', nor will they have a 'ghost life'.

What awaits them is eternal slumber, until their souls and consciousness vanish completely in the endless darkness, transforming into spiritual particles.

This is their end.

However, if they were to become part of the Spirit Land, although they would still perish, their deaths would be given a completely new meaning compared to meaningless annihilation and silence.

It is a kind of inheritance, a kind of succession, and a kind of future!

Where souls wither, the power of the soul continues to grow.

The spirit of our ancestors will continue to illuminate the path ahead, guiding those who follow...

So this is the Will of Fire?

I understand!

……

As time flies, three months have passed quietly.

The situation among the five major powers is becoming increasingly unpredictable.

After ending the Blood Mist policy, Kirigakure, under the leadership of the Fourth Mizukage, Mizuki Yoru, began to heal its wounds from the war, develop industry and commerce, stimulate economic development, restore the village's overall strength, and vigorously implement a population recovery plan.

In just three months, hundreds of women in Kirigakure (including civilians) have been confirmed to be pregnant.

The vitality of new life is constantly being injected into the village, making this village, which was in dire need of reconstruction, harmonious and prosperous!

With the signing of the peace treaty between Kirigakure and Konoha, Konoha was finally able to focus all its attention on the battlefield of Iwagakure and devote all its strength to dealing with Onoki.

Even a broken ship has three pounds of iron. The battered and bruised No. 1 ninja village in the ninja world demonstrated its extraordinary resilience and managed to stabilize the situation.

After Minato Namikaze, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Danzo Shimura, and others arrived at the front lines, the Konoha forces even began to counterattack, attempting to push the battle out of the Land of Fire's territory.

Having already unleashed its full firepower, Onoki naturally wouldn't show weakness. He certainly didn't believe that his Iwagakure was inferior to a battle-damaged Konoha!

The fighting became increasingly fierce, with both sides determined to win the war and giving it their all.

While the two major powers were locked in fierce combat.

The remaining two countries are also not at peace.

The Cloud Village, which had remained silent all along, seemed unwilling to let the war end like this. As the two great nations of Fire and Earth fought more and more fiercely, they began to stir again, trying to make the flames of the war burn even brighter and to profit from it!

The secretive Cloud Village had already summoned the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from the Cloud Thunder Gorge. They were observing the battlefield on the border of the Land of Hot Water, looking for an opportunity to intervene and make their move.

As for Sunagakure, which was the first to withdraw from the battle, some changes have also occurred.

Rasa, who succeeded as the Fourth Kazekage, actually took the initiative to transplant the One-Tailed Beast and became its Jinchuriki.

Not only that.

The high-ranking officials of Sunagakure conducted an in-depth study of this war that affected the entire ninja world. They discovered that Kirigakure, which should have been at the bottom of the five great ninja villages, had actually transformed into a force that could make Konoha surrender!

Kirigakure, once led by the Second Mizukage, was indeed powerful, a large village comparable to Iwagakure. However, with the death of the Second Mizukage, the village's situation deteriorated rapidly.

But in this war, Kirigakure's performance exceeded everyone's expectations!

"The reason lies in the Third Mizukage's Blood Mist policy!"

"This is what Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage and Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, said at the Sunagakure high-level meeting."

"By using extremely brutal competition, the most outstanding geniuses are trained... The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure, Mei Terumi with dual bloodlines, Mangetsu Hozuki, the Water Demon, and the current Fourth Mizukage, Yoru Minazuki, are all top geniuses born under this system."

"The natural environment of Sunagakure is so similar to that of Kirigakure. They are situated in the vast ocean, while we are surrounded by endless yellow sand. We both have extreme conditions that cannot be compared with Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure. In terms of population and the number of ninjas, we are at a disadvantage from the start."

"Since we can't surpass Konoha and Iwagakure in terms of numbers no matter how hard we try, let's try to overtake them in terms of quality!"

"And that's exactly what Wuyin did, and they succeeded."

"If Kirigakure could succeed with the Blood Mist Policy, why can't we, Sunagakure?"

"Therefore, I have decided that the Sand Village will implement the Blood Sand Policy from now on!"

Rasa's voice was resolute, and most surprisingly, this decision was unanimously approved at the Sunagakure high-level representative meeting!

In a dark corner unnoticed by anyone, two figures silently watched all of this unfold.

"Only those who have experienced pain can understand pain; only those who have tasted the bitterness of defeat can develop a strong desire to become stronger..."

"Everything is for the purpose of gaining the upper hand and securing an advantage in the next war."

"So……"

Welcome to the Land of Blood Sand!

Chapter 110 The New Akatsuki Organization: A Game Between Two Foxes

The country of Taki.

This is a place located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, surrounded by four countries, and composed of many waterfalls. The huge waterfalls prevented invasions from other countries, and one of the great waterfalls hides the Hidden Waterfall Village.

As the war between the two nations of Saturn and Fire intensifies, these peripheral small countries are trying their best to reduce their presence and preserve their military strength as much as possible amidst the conflict between the great powers.

Within this country, there was a renowned ninja who repeatedly darted between the warring states of Fire and Earth, accepting various bounty missions and amassing a great deal of wealth.

Today, having just completed a mission and earned hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, he has been targeted by a group of mysterious people.

"Shinra Tenzheng!"

The deafening roar of the landslide shook the entire valley, stones flew through the air, and the earth trembled.

Amidst the swirling dust, an orange-haired man dressed in a black robe adorned with auspicious cloud patterns and sporting numerous black nose studs slowly emerged.

"Kakuzu, the immortal ninja who fought against the First Hokage and stole the Takigakure treasure."

The orange-haired man, with his strange purple, wavy eyes, looked down indifferently at the shattered ground below, staring at the black tentacles emerging from it, and said expressionlessly, "I am Pain, and we are here to accept you as a member of Akatsuki."

"Cough cough!"

The pitch-black Earth Grudge ripped away countless rubble, and countless black tentacles dragged Kakuzu's body and slowly merged together on the ground, their eyes staring in horror at Pain, who was suspended in mid-air.

This guy's combat power completely exceeded his expectations. He didn't even feel the fluctuation of chakra. In just an instant, the waterfall valley where he was located was razed to the ground by its devastation.

In all his long years of experience, only those creatures left over from the Warring States period, as well as large summoning beasts and tailed beasts, could possess such terrifying power.

This level of attack seemed to be just a casual strike from Payne!